Ted J. Hanson's Weekly Blog – ted4you.com

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am posting from my home in Bellingham. It is wonderful being home for a bit. My family and home are a piece of heaven on earth. My church family is an extension of that heavenly blessing. It is good to know God’s love and to be an expression of His love in this world.

When we live as children of God, we live to give honor to our Father. We live for the Father’s will and desire. The Father’s heart is for His children; therefore, we honor our Father by loving His children. This is the testimony of being the family of God. God sees all people as His children, though most don’t see Him for who He is. They view Him as a taker in some way and thus they despise Him in their hearts. They define Him as a noun and never see Him through eyes of love. They don’t seek to know His mercy and grace because they see Him through the view of their own hearts and minds. They don’t want to find Him for fear of losing their own way of living. They don’t understand His love; therefore, they don’t value knowing Him. They don’t realize that when we lose our lives in Him, we find them. We must be born again in our spirits to experience Him in our hearts.

God desires for all to come to Him and to know Him. For this reason, the Son of God, Jesus, came to reconcile all in the world to God as their Father. Jesus is the One by whom we can know the Father’s love.

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

The mercy of God through Jesus Christ is enough for all of mankind to come near to God. Those who were near by the covenant of God through the reality of the Torah/temple system, and those who were far away and bound by the deceptions of the world, have both been brought near to an intimate relationship with God as their Father by the blood of the Lamb. We can call upon God and He hears. We can seek Him and find Him! The nature of God is to show mercy. His nature is to abundantly pardon.

The evidence of God in our lives is seen through our love for Him and for one another. The testimony of God’s presence is His love flowing through us. When we know God’s love, we show love to one another.

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

The first man of faith mentioned in the Bible was Abel. Abel gave God the first and the best, but God never commanded him to do so. God ‘respected’ Abel’s offering. The Hebrew word for ‘respected’ is the Hebrew word שָׁעָה šâ‘â; HSRN 8159. שָׁעָה šâ‘â; a primitive root; to gaze at or about (properly, for help); by implication, to inspect, consider, compassionate, be nonplussed (as looking around in amazement) or bewildered. This was the way of Abel’s life. He put God first and he gave God his best. God was amazed with the surprise of Abel’s love.

Genesis 4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

Cain’s works were not righteous. He only considered God after a process of time. He lived for himself before he lived for God. Cain didn’t practice righteousness. His first thought was for himself. Abel’s first thought was for God. He lived to put God first and to give God his best. Cain murdered Abel because of a self-focused agenda. He saw his brother as a threat to himself, and he therefore sought to destroy him, thinking it would be to his own benefit.

We are to practice righteousness. Our righteousness is seen in our love for one another. When we find God in our hearts, we find love in our thoughts. When we find love in our thoughts we are empowered to show love in our actions towards others. These things happen when we put God first in everything and when we give God the best of all that we are and have.

We live in a day where God can be easily found by those who seek Him. Seek Him today! Find Him today! Taste and see that He is good! Consider Him today and boldly seek His presence and eagerly receive His love. Expect to find Him! Expect to be surprised by His goodness in your life. Expect to show His goodness to others in your world!

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am home after a long journey of a month from home. My trip was very fruitful, but being home is a blessed reward. I did a prophetic training here on Saturday and it was wonderful assisting and watching people released in the prophetic flow of Christ’s life. I am looking forward to the week that is ahead.

We are called to be dwelling place of God by His Spirit. As His dwelling place, we find our identity, testimony, and purpose in Him. We take on the attributes of our foundation—our foundation is the life-giving stone of Christ. 

1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.”

When Solomon built the temple, he used large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones (1 Kin. 5:17). Large stones are tried stones, costly stones are precious stones, and hewn sones are sure stones—they are cut to fit with other stones. In the story of the tower of Babbel, mankind sought to build a city unto themselves. The materials of their structure did not exhibit the characteristic of the life-giving stone—Jesus. They used bricks and bricks do not have the strength of being tried stones. They are formed to match other bricks but they don’t have a strength to endure the many tests found in life.

Baked bricks are fired bricks, and they have a hard exterior. They give a surface appearance of being strong, but inside they are the fragile material of clay. These bricks symbolize a life that is concerned with how things look on the surface. People with the quality of fired brick are concerned with how they look and like baked bricks they can only reflect the image of self when gazed upon. On the inside they are brick and they depict a life that is natural in its thoughts. These bricks represent a hardened life, not a living one. They are conditioned to withstand the surface elements of life, but they don’t reveal any real quality within.

Costly stones are precious stones. They are stones of extremely high value. They reflect the builder’s heart, because only an extravagant builder would use such materials. The material of a house reflects the values of the builder. Costly stones reflect the glory of God. They magnify the life and light of God. They give honor to God and to their adjoining stones. Costly stones are symbolic of lives that reveal the passions and attributes of the Father’s heart. These are life-giving stones for a spiritual house.

Costly stones have gone through the pressure and fire of the earth and thus they are transparent and translucent in their quality. Costly stones are made in the hidden places of the earth and then revealed in the common ground of men. They are not found in the place they are formed; they are found in common ground as a testimony of where they came from. Costly stones come from the depth through a work of fire and pressure in the earth. They have gone through the chamber of destruction and have come through with a testimony of life that cannot be destroyed. The pressures of the earth did not destroy them; they revealed who they really are. Our future is not determined by what we make it to be; our future is determined by what we allow God to make it become. A precious stone reflects the glory of light; a fired brick dimly reflects the image of the person who looks upon it. The dreams and visions of our own hearts are not the testimony of God’s true glory. The dreams and visions of God birthed within us are the testimony of His glory.

Asphalt represents lives that are connected to others by common material interests. The real value of their connection is in the glue of the material between them. There is no real value for true relationship. They are stuck together because they are part of the same ministry. They are stuck together because they like the same sport. They are glued together because of the same job. Some common interest has stuck them together. Those who seek connection with others based upon common interests do not really see the need for relationships.

Stones in a living house are sure foundations. They are like the hewn stones of Solomon’s temple. These are relational stones. They are cut to fit together by divine shape and form. Hewn stones are polished and finished. They have a relationship with one another. They provide a place where God can dwell and thus provide a ‘sure foundation’ and a ‘sure structure’. These stones are cut to meet the needs of others. Friendship is the result of their connection and brings strength of their connection. Hewn stones find their place of fit in the wall, and they support the strength of the house.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am still in the Free State of South Africa. I had a wonderful week experiencing the beauty of the Golden Gate area with good friends. We enjoyed a very blessed time together. Yesterday I ministered in Bloemfontein, and I was blessed to experience God with God’s family here. I am here for a few more days and then I will be heading home.

When mankind lives for their own independence and will, they become proud in their ways, and they seek to exalt themselves to a place that is beyond their purpose and destiny. This was the case after the flood. Mankind unified for their own will and way. They sought to build a city unto themselves with bricks of common shape. The purpose and destiny of each of us can only be found and fulfilled in God. We must be dependent upon God in all things.

When King Solomon built the temple, he used specific stones in its construction. Those stones were large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones (1 Kin. 5:17). These three types of stones are symbolic of the three qualities of character found in the foundation of Christ. These depict attributes of living stones. They each depict a characteristic of ‘life-giving’ stones for a spiritual house.

The opposite of a ‘spiritual house’ is a ‘natural carnal house’. The story of the tower of Babel is a clear testimony of a ‘natural carnal house’ (Gen. 11:1-9).

After the flood, there was a unity of mankind in the earth. Perhaps that unity came about by their need to overcome many things after the flood in a world that now faced many extremes. The creative ability within humanity empowered them to overcome and they became one voice in themselves. They then fell for the temptation of human pride, and they sought to build a city unto themselves that reached the heavens. They sought to build a tower made with man-made brick, fired to be hard, and put together with asphalt—the opposite of the materials found in a spiritual house.

Bricks are symbolic of that which is bound to natural understanding. They represent being focused on natural desires. They take on a shape of a form given to them that is sought to be the same identity as others. Bricks are easily broken and therefore represent a character that is easily offended. Bricks are formed according to how the earth settled within limitations and thus they represent a characteristic of lives that are shaped by circumstances and shaped by a desired image common in the world. They depict the evidence of being controlled and manipulated to create their existing shape and form.

People often say that their lives are the result of what was given to them. This is naturally true. People who are set in their ways will even resist the word of God when it is presented to them. They justify their differences and resist the expectations of God upon their lives. They express things like, “I know what the word of God says, but I am not like that.” Of course you are not like that! You’re a brick! You may say, “I don’t raise my hands, I don’t love God expressively.” I know; you’re a brick! That is not how you were formed in life. You didn’t grow up in a family that was spontaneous. The form of your family was not spontaneous! Your dad and your mom were not expressive that way. We can’t expect you to be that way. This is naturally true, but God has a better plan. He desires for us to become an expression of His community that comes down from heaven.

Large stones symbolize the characteristic of faith that works through a revelation of love. Large stones symbolize people who hear God and respond to what He says. They pass the test of change, because they are willing to do what He says and become like Him. They are people of faith, and their faith is a testimony of their love. Jesus is a large stone! He is a foundation of faith toward God. That faith is a testimony of knowing God’s love. Faith works through love and faith will change a world.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in South Africa. I have had a wonderful week here and I am looking forward to another week with good friends and hungry people. I had blessed meetings in Dewetstorp. Thank you to all who came for your hunger for God and your love for Him and one another.

Paradise is not a place where everything works. It is a place where everything works with God. Paradise is a place of relationship with God. It is a place of knowing Him, experiencing His love, and becoming a testimony of His love to the world.

Genesis 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

In a world of barrenness, God created a place of life for man that was filled with God’s presence, and the evidence of His presence filled that space with an abundance of life. Adam was formed from the dust, but then God invested time to plant a garden where he put Adam. Eden means desirable place. It’s a place of life-giving desire. It’s a place of knowing God’s presence in our lives. It’s a place of being loved by Him.

In the garden man was to have a relationship with God where he could be sent forth in a life of being fruitful, multiplying, filling, subduing, and having dominion. In the garden man experienced an administration of God’s influence where he could eat of all good things and of the tree of life for eternity, but man chose a tree of information instead of one of vulnerability, trust, and intimate love. He chose the tree of the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. He chose independence, rather than a dependency upon God in all things.

The consequence of that administration resulted in a perversion of the testimony of mankind. Only the family line of Seth led to the day of the salvation of Noah and his family in the earth. A disconnection from a dependency upon God only resulted in a hardening of the human conscience and a self-seeking way of life. Only one family line sought God with a conscience professing a need for God. The earth experienced a flood and only Noah and his family were left behind to populate the earth for the glory of God’s name. Mankind still had the administration of information, and they soon excelled in the pride of human accomplishments. The fruit of that independence led to a unity of man with an attempt to rise to heaven’s glory by the strength of human will.

Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

God looked and saw it and He spoke as a plurality. God the Father, the Word, and the Spirit said, this is not good. Let us go down and confuse them. Because nothing is impossible for them.

Genesis 11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

God did not desire for man to build a tower that left the earth and entered into heaven. The reason that God put man in the earth in the first place was so the glory of God could enter the earth. God wanted to move into humanity and bring a community that is built by God and not man. God wanted a community that would bring treasures that come from heaven to the earth, not treasures of earth that seek a high and lofty place secured through human pride. God’s desire was to bring the testimony of His goodness and love to the earth. This was not a secondary plan, but a first plan of God’s glory filling the earth. God’s plan was to invade the earth with heaven. His plan was to bring order to places that need order, to bring fullness to every empty place, to bring light to every corner of darkness. How was God going to do that? By fellowship with Him, spirit to Spirit. God and man and man and God in fellowship with one another. God in heaven and man in the earth as one together. God scattered them and confused them. He scatted them across the earth that they might seek Him and find the unity and life that can only come by God’s presence in every human life.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Huambo, Angola. It has been a blessing to be with hungry people who desire the blessings of God’s kingdom in their lives. I am blessed to partner with God and His children for His glory in all things. God is giving His love and life to the peoples of the earth.

The purpose of every season of our lives serves the greater purpose of harvest. Harvest is about seed for sowing and bread for eating. It is about life for the future generations and life for the world of today. The natural seasons of the year serve this purpose. Winter is a time of rest in creation, and it allows the earth to regenerate in preparation for spring. Spring awakens from its sleep to the environment of life. The spring rains and warming skies activate the genetics of life in the earth. Spring flourishes to enter the season of summer harvest. Harvest is culminated in the fall but harvest also happens throughout the summer months of life. Fall is the conclusion of a great season of life. It is filled with the colors of a season lived and a promise for the seasons to come. It is filled with the signs of life yielding to a season of rest. Creation sows its seeds for a time of rest that will again lead to a new year of life. Though it appears barren there is a promise of resurrection to life hidden beneath the natural evidence of serenity and even severity. What appears to be a time of death contains the promise and the guarantee of another season of life in the days of tomorrow. The seasons of the earth are generational in their purpose. No matter what season we find ourselves in, God has determined that the seasons of our lives always serve the purpose of life.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Harvest is the full manifestation of giving. It reveals the nature of the Creator. God doesn’t need anything. He gives life, breath, and all things. The touch of the Creator upon creation causes all of creation to testify of Him. The life that is hidden in the seasons of the earth contain a revelation of God’s love. God is a giver of life! This is attributed to who He is. He is love and as love He has determined that all things end in life.

The fruit of life is the testimony of being loved by God. Reaping the benefits of His love is made possible by our response to His love in our lives. When we know His love, we love Him. When we love Him, we receive the benefits of His love.

Only a revelation of God’s love can invoke the testimony of His love within us. The Law of the Old Covenant revealed the information of His love, but only His manifest presence in our lives can inspire His love within our own hearts. The children of Israel were afraid of the presence of God so they chose Moses, they chose a mediator who would only be able to give them the commands of God. Knowing the commands of God is not enough to activate life within us. Love is a revelation, not a command.

Deuteronomy 11:13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’

Knowing God’s love inspires us to love Him. The seasons are a testimony to His love, and we must abide in His love in every season of our lives to see His nature of love produce the fruit of life in the season of our lives. The seasons of the earth respond to the conditions in the heavens. The source of love is not the command to love God found in some form of knowledge in the earth. It is found through a revelation of love that comes to us from God in heaven. For this reason God gave His only Son that we could become sons and daughters of His love.

John 13: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

This New Covenant command is based upon a revelation of God’s love. Only a revelation of God’s love will inspire a commitment of love. When we know how much God loves us, we are inspired to know how much God loves others. This is a testimony of giving because God’s love was given to us. It is the testimony of harvest. When seed is sown that seed grows to be seed for sowing and bread for eating in the seasons of life.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Portugal. I had a wonderful time in Samora on Friday and in Lisbon yesterday. We celebrated the presence of God and called out for another experience of knowing Him. God is good and His kindness transforms our lives. I will be heading to Angola this week. I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in Huambo. God is a good, good, Father.

It is important that we embrace every season of our lives so that we can find God’s presence in that season. We cannot live in the past and we have not yet arrived in our future. The only reality is today. This is truth. God’s grace always manifests in truth. When we seek to live in the past we are seeking to identify with something that does not exist anymore. This can only give us a false identity. When we seek to live in a reality that has not yet happened, we are also seeking a false identity. Truth is found in the season of today.

Embracing the reality of our season will enable us to find grace for that season. Grace is the testimony of God’s presence in our lives. God’s grace empowers us to be givers of life to our world in every due season. There is a length of time in the season of today and there are new experiences in the days of that season. To experience the testimonies of life we must live in the season of today. Finding God’s presence today will give us God’s strength in today and it will lead us into the next step to our tomorrow. We must be faithful and wise in every season of our destiny in life.

Matthew 24:45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.”

Every season in our lives is a gift from God, and we are called, appointed, and anointed to bring glory to our heavenly Father in every measure. He will give us the desire of life in every part of our journey. He is not a master who seeks to control us. He is a master in love and life, and He will always empower us in love and life for the truth of every day. Our way is not hidden from God and He is always faithful in every season of our lives.

Isaiah 40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

To wait upon the Lord is to bind ourselves together with Him today. Our expectation is one of knowing His presence in our lives each and every day. The Hebrew word for wait in this Scripture is the HSRN 6960. קָוָה qâwâ; a primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect. When we bind ourselves together with our Creator, we experience the creative power of His life to give us the power and strength we need for today.

Like the eagle, we find the strength in our wings to ride the winds of our day. We grow in the strength of God’s word when we abide in His word. We grow in the strength of His Spirit when we abide in His Spirit. When we partner with God and when we invite Him to partner with us, we find our identity, testimony, and purpose in Him in the season of today. Our ways are never hidden from Him, and nothing can separate us from His love. We will find His way in our way when we wait upon Him.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

I hope you are well today. I was blessed to minister at Everyone’s Church in Mt. Vernon, WA. yesterday. I will be headed for a journey out this week to Portugal, Angola, and then South Africa. I will be out for several weeks. I have been in a season at home but will transition to some time out.

What is it that determines the seasons of our lives? In the Western world, we live our lives around dates that are fixed upon a calendar, but the seasons of the year very often seem to ignore the times that we think they should appear. Sometimes spring is late or early, summer is short or long, fall is dry or rainy, and winter is hard or easy. The natural seasons of the earth are not dependent upon a calendar. The seasons of our world are determined from heaven. We cannot change the seasons by the independent works of our own hands, but we can navigate each season by our dependance upon God.

The seasons for Israel in the Old Covenant were not determined by specific calendar dates. They were determined by the conditions of heaven. The activity of the sun and the activity of the moon determined the natural seasons of the earth, and the feasts and celebrations of Israel were determined by that activity. The signs in the heavens proclaimed the beginning of a season and the full harvests of the spring and summer seasons determined their tabernacle with God. The last day of the seventh month year was determined by the sign in the heavens of the first day. God set signs in the heavens that determined the harvest season. These things are but a sign to our way in life.

The seasons of harvest in the earth create an environment for mankind to reveal God’s likeness and image in and to our world. Creation groans for us to manifest as sons and daughters of God in our course of life. The seasons of our earth are meant to end in harvest. The testimony of every season serves the purpose of life in and to our world. God created us for this purpose.

Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God has given, is giving, and will continue to give, to each of us, gifts for a harvest. Every aspect of the seasons of our lives serves the ultimate testimony of a last trumpet of life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace.

Some of the seasons sound wonderful and others we wish we could reject, but in every season there is a purpose. The secret to navigating every season in our lives is found in our intimacy with God. Knowing God’s love is the key to every season of our lives. The seasons change, but the constant in every season is God. The seasons of our lives are not determined by our actions, but by the heavens. However, we very often violate the seasons of our lives by the actions of our lives. The seasons are meant to reveal a testimony of knowing God. Knowing God and living in His love will produce the fruit of life, even in the difficult seasons of our lives. Eternal life is not a destination, but a part of our destiny in knowing God our Father and Jesus Christ His Son through the indwelling presence of Holy Spirit in our lives.

Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

To meditate in the law of God is to meditate in His law of love. We were born to be loved by God and the secret to every season of our lives is to navigate our course through a connection and response to God’s love. Everything that God has created is dependent upon God’s presence for their due season.

Psalms 104:27 These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. 28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good.

Psalms 145:15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. 16 You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

To wait upon the Lord is to intertwine our lives with Him in every season. We cannot escape the seasons of our lives, but we can navigate them well through intimacy with God in Christ.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Redding, California. Bonnie and I are having a blessed time with our son Aaron and his family. Our grandchildren are always a delight. We have a few more days and then we will head home to Bellingham. Family is a great blessing.

We find our identity, testimony, and purpose in Christ. Only in Christ, can we know who we really are. We were created in Christ to walk in good works that were prepared for us in this world. Those good works will bring life to our world. They will reveal the love and life of God to those that God has given to us. Each of us are a one and only and only by seeking our Creator can we live in and as the truth that we are meant to be.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

This is a year of truth, and the truth is discovered by knowing God so that we can know who we are in this world. We cannot become who we are meant to be if we put any created thing at a higher priority than our Creator. Whatever we worship determines who we become.

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Whatever we put first in our lives determines what happens next. Who, or what, do we put first? When we put our Creator first, we discover the creation we should be. When what is created worships the Creator, the blessings of the Creator are released to all of creation. This is a key to living in the truth of who we are. Our purpose in life can only be discovered and fulfilled when we honor the Lord with all that we possess. We honor Him with our attitudes, actions, and accomplishments in life. We give Him the firstfruits of all that He gives us in life. In doing so our barns will be filled with plenty, and our vats will overflow with new wine. These are the fruits of all that we are and do that brings life to our world. This fruit is both natural and spiritual and it brings the blessings of God to our world. We don’t just honor God as a powerful being. We honor Him as a loving Father who gives us our identity, testimony, and eternal purpose. When we put Him first as our Father, we become sons and daughters of God that are led in the path of life in all things. This includes any needed correction and direction that leads to our destiny.

Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Correction is not simply a matter of being right and not wrong. It is a matter of being a giver of life as our heavenly Father is a giver of life. When we live as givers of life to our world, we are true to who we are as sons and daughters of God. God’s correction in our lives keeps us in the path of life that enables us to give life to our world. This is truth.

Truth is not about what we know. Truth is about who we are. Jesus demonstrated truth though a living testimony of One who gave life to His world. In this, He was exalted as Lord and Christ to be the Savior of the whole world. If we look to any created thing as a source of happiness, we will be disappointed and we will even trade what is truth for a lie. It is most deceptive. The path of life is only found in the One who gives us life, breath, and all things!

Acts 17:24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

When we know truth, we will live as truth. We will be givers of life to our world. This is the testimony of our true identity, testimony, and purpose in life.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

We had another great week and weekend here in Bellingham. It was good to gather together yesterday as a church family. I hope you were able to celebrate the life and presence of God with others in a Christ centered community.

I believe that this is a year of truth. What is truth? Truth is not measured by a knowledge of good and evil. Truth is measured by the fruit of life. Jesus said that knowing the truth will make us free. Truth is ultimately revealed in the person Jesus, the Christ. He was the Son of Man as a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. His once for all sacrifice made it possible for each of us to become a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. By this we will know truth and we will become testimonies of that truth. The truth of God is always found in conjunction with God’s mercy, His kindness towards us in Christ.

Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.

Whatever is bound around our neck will determine the direction of our vision in life. Just as the neck controls the position of our head, so will mercy (kindness) and truth give us a right direction to look in life. If something is not kind, something is wrong. If something is not true, something is wrong. It is not just what we think is kind, but what God knows to be kind. It is not what we think is true, but what God knows to be true that is the testimony of truth.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

The steps of our path in life must be determined by God’s direction. We must acknowledge Him in all of our ways. We don’t have our way and His way. His way must be the source of desire for our ways in life. This is for us as individuals, in our marriages, in our families, our social connections, our occupations, our recreations, our dreams and vision for every aspect of our lives. When God directs our steps in life the path of our life will lead to greater life.

Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.

Our wisdom is very often a self-seeking, self-focused, and even a self-preserving wisdom. It is based upon our natural understanding. It is often inspired by our emotions and personal desires. It can even be influenced by demonic powers, though we become blind to that reality.

James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

God’s wisdom inspires us to be God-seeking. God’s wisdom is motivated by a fear of the Lord. That is not a fear of death or a fear of circumstances. It is an awe of God and a willingness and desire to be consumed by the zeal of His house, even as Jesus lived His life for the zeal of God’s house. When we live by God’s wisdom we find health in this world.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

When we live for God’s will and way, we become testimonies of God’s presence in and through our lives to our world. This is a year of truth, and truth in only found in God’s way.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

We have just celebrated Easter. As a believer in Christ this is a time when we celebrate the resurrection life of Christ. We remember that Jesus gave His life for us upon the cross so that we can have an intimate relationship with Him today in His resurrection. This is not just a hope for our future but a testimony to each and every day. Jesus is our salvation in every situation of our lives. We have been granted the right to become children of God. We have been invited to know a life of being a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. This is not a life of self, but a life of partnership with God in all things. In this, we are granted the ability to know our Father’s heart and respond to His desires.

Proverbs 3:1 My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; 2 For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.

What does it mean to keep the commands of God from your heart? The commands of God are not merely doing what God tells you to do. The commands of God reveal the character, nature, and way of God’s heart. God is not a taker; He is a giver of life. His commands are never about what He can get from us. His commands reveal His character, and His character enables us to receive what He desires to give to us. He gives life, breath, and all good things. He will not withhold any good thing from those who walk rightly before Him.

Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

To keep God’s commands from our heart, is to embrace His character, nature, and way. It is to embrace the principles, patterns, and values of God in our hearts. God doesn’t just want us to do what He tells us to do. He wants us to embrace the values of His heart. He wants us to believe what He believes. We are not called, anointed, or appointed to create, form, or shape who God is. He is our Creator and as our Creator only He can form our hearts and minds as they should be. Only He can shape us to be as we should be in our world.

Psalms 119:68 You are good, and do good; teach me Your statutes.

Knowing God is not about knowing a sovereign God who commands our will. It is about a privilege of knowing God as our Father and friend. We get to present our bodies to Him for His will to be done and His kingdom to come through the expressions of our lives. In this, He transforms our lives to become what we could not be without Him.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Do you understand the mercy of God? Do you understand how good He is? Mercy ends the past. He passed over our sins. He looked at our formless, void and dark places and He saw who we were. Then He touched us, and He breathed into us the breath of life. He planted a place of life for us and He put us there. So, we need to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Let this be the place where He lives.

When we live as a dwelling place of God in all things, we are transformed in the renewing of our minds. A metamorphosis takes place. Our old way of thinking is changed by the influence of the mind of Christ within us. The power of this transformation comes by knowing the love of God in our hearts.

Taste and know that He is good. Don’t fall for the lie that you need to know what you are doing. Don’t fall for the lie that you need to be smart. Hold fast to the truth that He will transform your way of thinking and your way of being from the inside out. He will change the beliefs of your heart and inspire new thinking in your mind that is inspired from within your heart. He will prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God in your life because He rests in you.

We need the places of our lives to become the place where He rests. When God rests in our marriage, our church, in the nation, or wherever; things will be healed. God wants to rest in our lives!

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

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