Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
The kind of unity that God calls us to is not merely a unity of belief. It’s a unity that comes from God’s presence. When we experience God’s manifest presence in our lives we are transformed in our hearts and minds. This inspires our beliefs. As leaders we don’t merely lead people in beliefs. We lead them to know the One to believe. The manifest presence of God is most important in all that we do. True unity is not found in the place of man being the center of the world. It is found in the place where Christ is in the center of the room. Today I am reposting something that I have written before. Out of the mouths of little children comes truth. The following is a testimony of an experience in my granddaughter Zaria’s life when she was four years old.
When my granddaughter, Zaria, was four years old, she was video recorded by her parents presenting what I believe to be excellent theology. She had several pillows on the floor in the living room of their house. There was a pillow in the center, small pillows to the side, and two big pillows on either side of the pillow in the center of the room. She explained to her parents that the little pillows were the Holy Spirit. She said, you ride them like a horse. This is good theology. Holy Spirit is a seven-fold Spirit that is like a horse. Riding a horse is prophetically symbolic of moving in the strength of the flesh. Perhaps riding the Holy Spirit like a horse is moving in the power of God’s Spirit and not the power of the flesh. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, the Spirit of Might, the Spirit of Knowing, and the Spirit of Fear of the Lord. Like the many little pillows in Zaria’s illustration, Holy Spirit knows exactly what aspect of the Spirit is needed in every situation of our lives. Zaria also told her parents that the pillow in the middle was Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes in the name of Jesus but does not replace Jesus in the center of the room. For us to be able to move in the Spirit, we must see Jesus in the center of our lives. We must see Jesus in the center of the room. In the back of the room was a very large pillow. Zaria said that the large pillow behind all the pillows was God. The apostle Paul wrote that all things will be summed up in Christ and that when this happens, Jesus will present all things to the Father. The Father is God. He is behind everything and the object of the summing up of all things in heaven. In the very front of the room on the other side of the pillow representing Jesus was another large pillow. Zaria said that this pillow was the Holy Wife. Perhaps the Holy Wife is the Body of Christ upon the earth. Zaria said that she keeps her songs in the Holy Wife. The Body of Christ must always be filled with song of life, the song of the Lord, to carry the testimony of the Holy Wife. I believe that Zaria’s concept with the pillows is good theology. To be the living room of Christ we must be in the place where God in His trinity can be found. Jesus is in the center of the room, God the Father is behind everything, Holy Spirit is means by which we move forward, and the Holy Wife is what we become with the testimony of the new songs of God for every new season of His will. Good job Zaria! Gopa (grandpa) still thinks you have great theology. I think we should all embrace this theology in our lives.
Psalms 133:1-3 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing — Life forevermore.
God doesn’t bless unity; He blesses Zion. Zion is the place of the manifest presence of heaven on earth. It is the place where the anointing oil on the head of our eternal High Priest runs down His face, down His garment, and touches the earth. It is the place where the dew of heaven touches that little hill of Zion. That is where God commands the blessing, and that blessing is – Life forevermore! The result is a testimony of unity. Unity is not the starting point; it is the finished testimony. It comes when everyone finds heaven’s grace in the same place. If God simply blessed unity, we could all agree to be religious, we could agree to lie, or we could all agree to hate and expect some form of blessing from God. God doesn’t bless our agreement. Our agreement comes from the place of God’s blessing. The place of His blessing is the place of His kingdom invasion in our hearts. That kingdom invasion is one of knowing God and becoming a testimony of Him in the earth. We must become a house of God’s presence before we can be a community of His testimony. We must be a community of His testimony before we can be a people of His purpose. Our Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ are the source of true unity that comes by diverse individual experiences that express the testimony of the Holy Wife among the nations of the world. We must be filled with the song of the Lord, the song of life and love in Christ. Leaders must lead for this testimony and purpose in all things.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:
Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:
House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225
To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.
Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
