Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Today Bonnie and I are very blessed to be with our family in Northern California. This is where our son Aaron, his wife Amani, our grandson Kaden and granddaughter Zaria live now. We are having the best of times in the place of family love. This is truly the richest thing in life. I think we should see God is the same way we see the family dynamic of love.
It is great to be the place where God lives. Not just a place where God visits, but a place where God lives. God has always wanted a place of dwelling in the earth. That is His family. The family of God lives with a culture of grace. A culture of grace is also a culture of mercy. We cannot truly know the grace of God without first, and continually, knowing the mercy of God. God doesn’t just have a measure of mercy for us in life. He has and endless supply! His mercy is new every day for us and His grace is sufficient for us to overcome all things. This is not an overcoming by the power of our own flesh, but by the empowerment of God’s sevenfold Holy Spirit working in our lives. It does involve our willingness to receive Him and to pursue Him, but it is ultimately His manifest presence in our lives that gives us another measure in the testimony of His salvation of our lives.
When we face pressures in life, it is not a sign that the devil is having victory over us. Even when we fail in some way, it is not the final story in the testimony of our salvation. Our weakness can be the very place where God does His best work. We have the treasure of Christ within us and it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory in every season of our lives. The pressures of life are the very things that reveal the hidden truth within us. Christ in us is the hope of glory! If Christ is in us, then the pressures of life should manifest the testimony of Christ in us to the world around us.
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Tribulations are the pressures of life. At the writing of this Scripture by the apostle Paul, that tribulation was a matter of life and death. In some parts of the world this is true today. For those of us in the west it is not the tribulation of life and death, but the tribulation of life that challenges our faith in God. It is hardly a comparison, but it is true for most in the western church culture. In any case, the pressures of life lead to the perseverance of our faith. I believe that the tribulation in our lives can also include our own human failures. When we fail, we must find God’s grace to overcome. It is a matter of hearing God in our hearts, when our minds tell us we should not be able to. Remember, it is God’s love that qualifies us and not our strength in the flesh. God wants us to learn to persevere. The Greek word used hear, implies two ingredients. It contains the ingredient of endurance and it also contains an ingredient of cheerfulness. It is cheerful endurance. Cheerful endurance is the key to activating the character of Christ within us. If we decide to be miserable while in the midst of our circumstances we appeal to the old nature of the flesh, but if we stand with cheerful endurance we draw on the life of Christ within us, then the life of Christ within us can manifest. This manifests the character attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22, 23). These are the substance of the fruit of the Spirit within us. When this happens, we manifest the testimony of Christ in a measure of His glory. This is the testimony of hope. Christ in us is the hope of glory.
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
Thanks to everyone who has helped support House of Bread and make it possible to purchase our travel tickets for September. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.
We are still in need of more funds for ticket purchase for October, and November. Please pray with us that the provision of God will be loosed so we can do all God has called us to do in this season. If God gives you the means to help, please consider making a donation to House of Bread Ministry.
Thanks Again – 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
