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

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Greetings,

Today I am once again writing from the sunny land of California. I have a couple more days here with my grandkids before heading home. I enjoyed attending Bethel Church yesterday and I have had a great week with my son Aaron, daughter in law Amani, grandson Kaden, and granddaughter Zaria. I love my family!

I have been addressing our need for God’s word, the instruction of Holy Spirit, and the path of understanding that He gives when we seek Him. Without God’s word in our lives, we are subject to bow to other words in this world. Without God’s instruction to our hearts, our hands become instruments that take what is in the world to satisfy our own needs and desires. This is the way of men and women in the world. They seek to get things in their attempt to be satisfied in life, only to find that created things can never bring full satisfaction. Only God can satisfy us because He doesn’t merely meet our needs, He empowers us to meet the needs of others. For this reason, we need God’s words to us in life. Unless we treasure the word of God in our hearts and minds, we will wander from the true path of life in our journey. His word is what He has said, what He would say, and what He is saying to us today. The word of God is essential to the strength of our knees. God’s words to us lead to the instruction of His Spirit in our lives. This is not always understood in words, but in a sense of direction that leads to life. God’s instruction to our hearts will activate our hearts and minds to motivate our hands to be instruments of life-giving healing to our world. Valuing what God has said enables us to properly hear what God is saying to us and it is only then that we find the true path of life.

Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

We will attach our hearts to whatever we value in life. We must value God’s words to us more than anything. Knowing Him will bring the fullness of His life to our world. God’s commands to us are commands that bring the fullness of life to the reality of our world. His statutes are the boundaries that contain an abundance of blessing and the fruitfulness of life in all things. We must fill our hearts with God’s word like treasure. When what He has said, would say, and is saying are treasures to us, we seek to fill our hearts with. If we fill our hearts with His words, we will not seek to fill our hearts with things that are disconnected from Him. This will keep us from all sin. God’s judgments can be trusted because they are judgments of truth that lead to eternal life. What He judges a thing to be is what we embrace to be true. His testimonies are greater than the testimonies of our own way. His precepts, His mandates, are more valuable than our own dreams or visions in life. In this, we will not seek to debate Him in an attempt to persuade Him to bless what He is not blessing. We will embrace His words, instructions, and path as the way to true blessing.

Psalms 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

In the Bible’s record of the first man, Cain killed his brother Abel because of his love for created things above God. Cain’s sin was that he loved the ground more than he loved God. He didn’t put God first by giving Him a first and didn’t give God an offering of the best. It was only after a process of time that Cain gave an offering to God. It was more of a guilt offering, than it was a love offering. Abel did the opposite. He gave God an offering of the first and an offering of the best. He valued God above all else in his life.

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.

The Bible doesn’t say how Cain killed Abel. It is often said that Cain killed his brother with a rock, but there is no Scripture text that says what Cain used to kill his brother. Cain valued the ground more than he valued God, so perhaps he used some part of the ground to kill his brother. This could have been a rock, a stick, or something that came from the ground. When we love any created thing more than we love God, we will be willing to kill others with something from what we love in our attempt to legitimize our distracted passion. This can even include killing another by a debate to defend what we love and to justify it as a treasure of life. Cain wanted God to bless what he loved, rather than seek to find what God was blessing. God told Cain that sin was at his door, but if he did well, God would accept him too.

Genesis 4:6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

When we value God, we value what He says above all else. It is for this reason we seek to stand on His word, follow the leading of His Spirit, and let the knowledge and wisdom of God reveal our path in life. That knowledge and wisdom includes the commandments, statutes, judgments, testimonies, precepts, and ways of God in our journey of destiny.

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

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Greetings,

Today I am in Redding, California with my son Aaron and his family. Bonnie and I are enjoying the blessing of Kaden and Zaria around us with lots of love and life. There is plenty of sunshine here and the swimming pool may be a necessity this week. I hope you had a great weekend and that your week is blessed as well in this season of summer sun.

We are not merely people in this word. We are not people of the world. We are in this world, but we are sons of daughters of God empowered by God’s heavenly grace. We are new creations in Christ, and we are meant to shine as lights to the darkness of this world and invite all to come and know the life of being new creations in Christ. It is a supernatural experience, and it includes supernatural testimonies. It is also a change in our way of living. We must stand on God’s words to our hearts, and we must heed the instructions of the Spirit of God to be able to walk a path of true life in this world. There are many words and there are many voices of instruction, but only Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Our connection to Jesus by the Holy Spirit who has come in His name is the true voice of His words and instruction to our hearts. Other voices often disguise themselves as voices of life and deception can be so cunningly misleading. How do we know that the words we are hearing are God’s words? The written word of God is the true shadow to the personal voice of God to our hearts. The principles, patterns, and values found within its text is true to the principles, patterns, and values found in the voice of the Holy Spirit to our hearts. The written word is not meant to be our teacher, but the written word is essential to recognizing the voice of the true teacher.

Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

Romans 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone (Abraham) that it (righteousness) was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

1 Corinthians 10:7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

We must hold the written word of God as the one true witness to the voice of God in our lives. It is unchangeable in its testimony but is only understood by the voice of Holy Spirit to our hearts. The present generations in the earth have been distracted by many words of many writers, but we must lay hold of the value of God’s truth and seek to understand God’s words and instructions to our lives through the witness of His written word. To have little, or no use, for the written Scriptures is to have little, or no, guidance to understanding God’s words to our hearts.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Unless we value the written Scriptures and give diligent time to studying it, we will not be complete as men and women of God. We will not be thoroughly equipped for the good works that God has called us to walk in as sons and daughters of God. If we don’t study God’s written word, we will find ourselves in a condition of being ashamed at times in our lives. It is essential to our personal testimonies in Christ.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If you have ever assembled a piece of Ikea furniture, you know that the instruction manual is essential to putting the parts together in proper order. Without the instruction manual you will end up with parts in wrong places and a piece of furniture that makes you ashamed of not taking the time to read the instructions. This is especially true when assembling something with lots of parts. There are lots of parts to being a son or daughter of God. The Scriptures are key to getting things right in putting things together in understanding God.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Wow! What a great weekend! We had our first meeting in our new remodeled space at the church and the presence of God was wonderful. The crowd was up and there was lots of hope and expectation in the house. We are in a new season for another measure of life!

At the close of 2020 I wrote that 2021 would be a year of knowing the Rock of Christ in our lives. It is in knowing Him that we will become like Him in the place of our standing. As a Rock, He is One to be trusted and He will prove to be trustworthy in our lives. As a life-giver He is immovable in His character, nature, way, power, and authority. It is through and intimate relationship with Him that we become empowered to stand as a place of God grace that shines to our world. As the year has been unfolding, I believe this is also a season of leaves. It is a season of personal testimonies in Christ. Our personal standing in Christ determines our personal testimonies in Christ. Our personal testimonies are connected to our personal connection to God. How well do we know God our Father? How well do we know Jesus the Son? How well do we know Holy Spirit in our lives? God is inviting us to know who He is in a fuller way. When we know Him, we can see Him! When we see Him, we become like Him for He is a life giver, and His life transforms us to become life in increasing ways. That life is a testimony of love, forgiveness, kindness, truth, and peace. Leaves of a tree turn towards the light of the sun. As we turn towards the light of Christ in us, we find the life that comes from that light, and we then bring that same life to our world. This includes change in our hearts and minds to become like our heavenly father in our character, nature, way, power, and authority.

How important is the word of God in our lives? How important are His words to us in life? How important is His instruction to us in life? How important is correction to our way in our path of destiny?

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

God words to us are different than merely the words of men. His words are words of a Creator, not words of the creation. All creation testifies of Him, but He is the Creator that causes creation to be His words. We must value the words of God more than we value the words of men. We must value the words of the Creator more than we value any expression of creation. As a Creator, God gives life and as His sons and daughters we are to be givers of life to our world. This is the true work of our hands. It is the true testimony of our lives. How do we strengthen our hands to be givers of life when we are tempted to grasp as the world grasps to get rather than to give? How do we strengthen our knees when we are tempted to bow to other life forces? How do we make straight paths for our feet when the ways of the world tempt us to walk a path of human compromise? We can find a secret in the book of Job in words that were spoken of Job, a righteous man. If these words were true for the righteous man Job, how much more are they true for our heavenly Father.

Job 4:3 Surely you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands. 4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees…

Only the instructions of God by His Spirit can empower our hands to be instruments that give life to our world. The instructions of other voices feed our personal desires to receive, but the instructions of the Spirit of God fuel our hearts and minds to be givers of life to our world in all that we are and do. It is God’s words to us that empower us to stand as men and women who will not compromise in the true character as sons and daughters of God. When we know God’s words to us, we become strong in our knees. We do not bow to created things, but we stand as life-giving sons and daughters of God in all things. It is the knowledge of God, His word, and the wisdom of God, His instruction by His Spirit, that give us understanding. That understanding is the straight path of life that charts our course of destiny for the glory of our family name whereby we can say; Our Father in Heaven, holy is your name!

Job 5:17  “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. 18 For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole. 19 He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. 20 In famine He shall redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21 You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. 22 You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23 For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. 24 You shall know that your tent is in peace; you shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss. 25 You shall also know that your descendants shall be many, and your offspring like the grass of the earth. 26 You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season. 27 Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

God’s correction in our lives is not a correction of merely right and wrong. It is a correction that keeps us moving forward in a life-receiving and life-giving way. We will walk through troubles, and we will experience evils in this world, but God will lead us through all things. There will be days of famines, death, war, and various forms of destruction, but God will demonstrate His love to us in all the circumstances of our path. The fruit of life cannot be destroyed by the power of death because that life is eternal, and it contains the power of the resurrection from the dead. This is the way of peace in Christ. It is the way of connection to God at all times.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

I hope you are well today. We are enduring the heat in the Pacific Northwest. It is quite warm here, much warmer than usual for our part of the world. I am getting lots of painting done at my house and we have moved our church meetings into our new remodeled space. It has been a season of a lot of physical work, but the dividends are now going to pay off. It is time for a fresh look to the testimonies of our lies.

We are in a season of leaves. Leaves are Scripturally symbolic of our individual testimonies that bring healing to the nations. Healing is not just for our physical bodies. It is for our whole being. Each of our own individual testimonies of healing bring life to someone else.

Jeremiah 33:6 Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

God’s healing in our lives also reveals God’s peace and truth in our lives. If we have experienced God’s peace, we become people of peace for the sake of others. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict, it is being one with the presence of God for the fullness of wellness, happiness, friendly connection, welfare, health, healing, and prosperity. It is the testimony of life that happens when you are in God’s house, and He is in yours. When we are one with God, we also become authentic in who we are meant to be. We know God for who He is, and we become as we are meant to be. This is truth. If we have experienced God’s truth, we have found the freedom that comes from truth. That is when we look for truth that brings freedom to others. A testimony of being healed is seen in being free from things that have held us captive. It is seen in things being rebuilt in our lives. This is peace and truth.

Jeremiah 33:7 And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.

God’s healing in our lives includes being healed in the flawed places of our hearts. Our internal weaknesses become transformed by God’s grace. The root causes of sin in our lives are healed by God’s presence in our hearts. It is by this that we know true joy and become His praise in the earth as an honor to His name.

Jeremiah 33:8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. 9 Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’

This is a season to know God in an intimate and refreshing way. What was impossible is made possible in Him. Even what was lifeless and desolate becomes a place of abundance of life. This is a season to know that God is good, and His mercy endures forever.

Jeremiah 33:10 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: “Praise the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for His mercy endures forever”—and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD. 12 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD. 14 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: 15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

To be THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS is to be the people of God. This is not a testimony of individualism, but it is a testimony of individuals that create the fullness of the life of the tree. Each one expresses the righteousness of God in their own lives to bring healing to the nations. These are those who have the true vision of peace – the Jerusalem from above. These are those who are the true praise of God in the earth – the Judah of 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

I hope you fathers had a great Father’s Day. Bonnie and I were blessed to share at our home church yesterday. We did a team message on the present season of leaves for healing the nations. It is time to stir our expectancy for what God is doing and going to do. I am continuing the topic of leaves again today.

If you do an internet search on the spiritual symbolism of leaves you will find the leaf is meant to symbolize the individual believer within a community. In the same way that a tree is filled with many leaves to create a full display of life, each leaf contributes to that display because of its own unique testimony. That testimony of life happens because each leaf on the tree turns towards the light of the sun. In that process, the leaf also produces oxygen for the air of the world. The leaf of the tree is also a testimony of the season of the year. In the spring the leaf testifies of new birth, new expectations, and a willingness to open up in new ways. In the summer the leaf displays the confidence of life and the fullness of life as it takes on its full identity as a leaf. In the fall the leaf goes into the majesty of color, testifying of a full season of life fulfilled. In the winter the leaf willingly falls to the ground, testifying of a season of rest that also provides nutrients for the seasons to come. We are in a spiritual season of leaves. I believe that the present season of leaves is a prelude for the fruit that is to come in a greater way. This is not a time for great corporate expressions of the body of Christ, but we are in a season of for each of us as believers to find a greater connection to the Light of Christ in us. As we find that Light, we will affect the world in the same way that a leaf brings oxygen to the atmosphere. We will bring a fresh life of the Spirit of God to the world around us. This is a season of personal connection to God that brings about personal testimonies of God working in our lives for the sake of the world around us.

Leaves are the testimony of a new beginning. They indicate new life, a new thing, and a new season. A great example of this is found in the story of Noah. After the flood, Noah sent out a dove from the ark. The dove returned to him with a fresh leaf in its mouth, an indication that the waters were receding, and that new life had begun.

Genesis 8:10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. 11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.

The leaf in the mouth of the dove was not an immediate confirmation of a changed world. It was a confirmation of a changing world towards life. I belief we are in a season like that. Something new is happening, but we must each embrace the new life that the Holy Spirit brings before we can enter the fullness of the new thing that God is doing. God is giving us a season of leaves for the healing of the nations! If the leaves of the tree are a testimony of healing to the nations, what can we expect to see in the healing?

Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.

As leaves turn towards the light, we must also turn towards the Light of Christ. He is our true righteousness and as we turn towards Him, we will see Him arise with healing in His wings. Wings are a biblical symbolism of witness. They are a testimony of heavenly things sent to us by the Spirit of God as a witness to the world. It is the healing of God in our lives that brings about the true prosperity of life. Health to each of us is also health to our world. That prosperity is a prosperity of peace – a union with God in the Spirit. That prosperity is also a testimony of truth that frees us from every pretense and lie to who God is and to who we are.

Jeremiah 33:6 Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

God’s peace and truth are what reveal God’s healing in our lives. If we have experienced God’s peace, we become people of peace for the sake of others. If we have experienced God’s truth, we have found the freedom that comes from truth. That is when we look for truth that brings freedom to others.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

We had a great day yesterday at ALife! Pastor Jonathan challenged us all to be fully engaged in the NOW of God and to receive the New Wine of what He is doing in our lives. Good enough often resists what God wants to do in our lives today. It is time to treasure the past but embrace the new things of God in our lives and in the earth.

I believe we are in a season of leaves. The leaves reveal the health of the tree. The ultimate destiny of the tree is the fruit that it bears, but for the tree to be fruitful it must also be a healthy tree. Leaves are the covering of a tree. The actions of our lives are a testimony of the health of our lives. Those actions are the outward expressions of the inner being of our hearts and minds. The testimonies of our hearts motivate the actions of our lives. God teaches us in His word that love covers a multitude of sins. I believe that leaves are the testimony of God’s love in our lives that motivates the actions of our lives towards the well-being of one another.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.

Proverbs 17:9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.

James 5:19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Our ability to cover the sins of another is a testimony of our love for them. Our love for another is the healing medicine that covers them in their time of affliction. This is a good work of love! This good work of love is only possible if we carry the substance of love that spawns an attitude of mercy and forgiveness in our hearts. This doesn’t mean that we ignore injustice. It simply means that even when affected by the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of others, it doesn’t invoke similar iniquities in our own hearts that become transgressions and sins towards them.

Leviticus 19:17  “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.”

The testimony of the leaves of our lives are testimonies of kindness. Even when our neighbor crosses the boundaries of who they are in a way that infringes upon us or others, we can rebuke them, but we never hate them. The leaves of our lives are expressions of love and life given to another as the true wisdom of life. The works of our lives are works that seek for peace. The expressions of our tongues seek to make peace and to ward off the destructive ways of death. We seek the instructions of God that change our ways to be ways of life that the leaves of our lives might bring healing and not disease to our world.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4  A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5 A fool despises his father’s instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent.

As the people of God, we must seek to give soft answers to those who are harsh towards us and others. If we are harsh, we will only propagate anger. We won’t bring healing. We can know the truth, but we must never use the truth to destroy another human being. It is foolish for us to ever seek to destroy someone else. The purpose of truth is always redemptive. We deserved the condemnation we embrace, but the love of God came to make us free. God loved us while we were still sinners. He loved us when we were evil towards Him and others. God cares about the evil and the good. We must always use the words of our mouths and the expressions of our lives to bring life to others. To not be true to this is a perversion to being sons and daughters of a loving Father who always gives life. It is common sense for us to seek to be like our heavenly Father to bring life to our world. It lacks sense to act as those in the world do and hope for life. Whenever we choose a different covering than that of God’s love, we lack the healing necessary for our journey in this world.

Jeremiah 30:12 “For thus says the LORD: Your affliction is incurable, your wound is severe. 13 There is no one to plead your cause, that you may be bound up; you have no healing medicines. 14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they do not seek you; for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased.

For the leaves of our lives, the testimonies of our lives, to bring healing to our world there must be a constant and continual growth in our own maturity to be healed in our hearts and minds in every way. The prophet Jeremiah appealed to Israel that their wounds would be healed but they had desired the chastisement of a cruel one for they had rejected the healing medicine of a loving Father. They had chosen other lovers; they had chosen other sources of intimacy than God. The wounds of their lives were not wounding from an unloving God, they were wounds for choosing other sources of intimacy. The iniquities of their own hearts had propagated many sins in their lives. If they had chosen God, they would have found healing medicine to heal their wounds. God’s love covers a multitude of sins, and He heals ever sin-sick soul.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings;

I hope you are all well. We have entered into Juneuary, which is an unusual month unique to the Pacific Northwest. It is that month of the year here where it should be June, but somehow January gets mixed in (ha ha). I am sure we will have summer once we get to July 5^th, the day after Juneuary ends. This seems to be the history of where I live. Anyway, we had a great weekend, and it was good to be with my church family in Bellingham.

I don’t believe that we are in a season of an abundance of fruit, but I do believe that we are in a season of leaves. God says that the leaves of our lives are for the healing of the nations. They are the medicine that brings health to a sick world. What are those leaves? I believe those leaves are the testimonies of our lives and the good works that we present to the world because of those testimonies. They are testimonies that are the result of God’s healing in our own lives. We are all wounded at times, but only God’s grace and the power of His love can turn the wounds of our lives into testimonies of life and healing for others. I believe there is a great example of this in the testimony of Jesus after His resurrection. The disciples were hiding in a room for fear of being killed as their friend Jesus had been crucified. They no doubt felt the shame and guilt of denying Jesus and not standing with Him through His ordeal. They probably didn’t feel qualified for God’s love. There was no doubt fear and confusion in their hearts and minds as they sat in their place of hiding. When Jesus appeared to them in that room, His testimony was only one of love for His friends.

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Jesus’ response to His friends was not one of shame. What they had done did not change who He was. Who He was, and His love for them, was what empowered Him to embrace the cross of crucifixion. When Jesus walked into the room He said, “Peace be with you”. He was letting them know that His love for them was not shaken.

John 20:20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

The wounds in Jesus hands and the wounds in His side were not wounds. They were testimonies of His love for His friends. They were like piercings and tattoos on His body as a testimony of His love for them and for us all. He didn’t allow the wounds of the cross to wound Him. He embraced them as the marks of His love. Jesus did not die of crucifixion; He gave His life freely for the sake of love. He embraced the cross and decided to die. The marks of the cross were the evidence of His love. They were the testimony of Love’s conviction!

John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Jesus looked for life in every day because every day was a day of life. His words to His friends confirmed that they could not be separated from Him, and the proof was in Him breathing the Spirit of Life into them. The bottom line is, we must look for life in this day of life. We will find what we are looking for and looking at. We will become expressions of what we are looking for and looking at. If bitterness is the root of the focus of our hearts, our eyes will look with a paradigm of a vindication of the flesh. We cannot heal the wounds of the past by seeking to erase the past. We can only allow the wounds of the past to become testimonies of love for the sake of others in our world of today. Jesus didn’t allow the marks of His crucifixion to be bitter wounds for carnal judgment. He allowed them to be testimonies for the sake of giving life and love to others, even to those who seemingly forsook Him in the day of His wounding.

What were the words of Jesus regarding forgiveness? He said that if we forgive the sins of any they are forgiven, but if we don’t, they are retained. I believe that Jesus in the room with His friends with a message of peace was the evidence that He had forgiven them. Their sins could not affect Jesus in a negative way. His love for them was more powerful than their sins against Him. When we don’t forgive another, the retention of their sins affects us. It binds us to wounds and torment. This was the case in the story of the man who was forgiven of debt, but then went and was relentless to collect what was owed him by others.

Matthew 18:34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

This man’s inability to forgive bound him to torture. I believe that the secret to the sins of another not being retained is about us being free. The disciples could see the marks on Jesus’ body, but they were not places of pain in Him. They had become like tattoos and piercings signifying His love for His friends. He didn’t allow them to remain as wounds. When we choose to forgive, what could be wounds of pain become leaves for the sake of healing others. They are the marks we wear that proclaim our love. This is the testimony of our lives in Christ as sons and daughters of forgiveness. The weapons formed against us that attempt to wound us become the tools that manifest our true healing. That testimony is one of healing leaves to the world around us.

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Yesterday I was blessed to minister at Everyone’s Church in Mount Vernon, Washington. I spoke in two sessions on the prophetic season of the church. Today I am going to begin blogging on the prophetic direction I am sensing in this season for us as the people of God. As many of you know, I have some fruit trees in my back yard that very often testify to me prophetically concerning the seasons at hand. One tree of significance is an apple tree with six grafted branches. Each branch is a different kind of apple. God told me to plant this tree in 2000 as a prophetic sign of His church with one root, one trunk, but a diversity of branches that produce a diversity of fruit. Last year, this tree grew sideways and not up. It was a year for the church to seek connections in a reaching out to one another way. I addressed this in one of my Leader’s Blog, The Broader Church (https://ted4leaders.com/a-broader-church/). This year there is little fruit, but the leaves are starkly alive and present a striking testimony of life! Each of my fruit trees are the same this year. When I look at them, I see little fruit, but a unique freshness to the foliage that displays their beauty. Perhaps this year is a year for healing the nations. God says that our lives have fruit for each season, but our leaves are for the healing of the nations. I believe that this is a prophetic season of healing more than it is a season of great fruit.

Ezekiel 47:12 “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

Revelation 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

I believe that this is a year of leaves. What are the leaves of the tree? The leaves of the tree provide shade from the heat. They are the part of the tree that reaches out to the world. They are the part of the tree that can be seen. The leaves of the tree can be read in the same way the leaves of a book can be read. What is it about our lives that can be read by the world around us?

Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

The testimony of our life is one of life and healing when we trust in the LORD and put your hope in Him. Our lives will be a testimony of our connection to God. We won’t fear the circumstances of the day, but we will exhibit a testimony of life in all things. We won’t be anxious when things seem in drought. The natural circumstances of our world will not determine our future. We will yield fruit for the season at hand.

Our trust in the Lord is a testimony to the world around us. The secret to our trust in the Lord is always found in our adherence to Him in all things. Are we planted in Him? Or are we planted in the testimonies of the world around us?

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.

It is the testimony of our lives that reveals the story of our lives. Is our story one of wounding? Or, is our story one of being healed by God in all things? If our story is one of being healed, we will bring healing to our world. As I have already stated, the leaves of the tree can also be likened unto doors. The doors of the temple that Solomon built were said to be doors by use of a Hebrew word than can also be translated as leaves (1 Kings 6:31-35). That same word is used in the book of Psalms in reference to the testimony of our lips.

Psalms 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.

The door of our lips is expression of our lives as a testimony to our world. I believe this is a season of being healed to bring healing to our world. Our lives are a story to the world around us. The testimony of our lives is to be a testimony of healing. These are the leaves of our lives.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

This is a prophetic message by Ted J. Hanson for 2021. This message was preached at Everyone’s Church in Mount Vernon, Wa. on May 30, 2021. This message was preached twice, and these are those messages:

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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, a marker for the manifest presence of Holy Spirit in our lives. Holy Spirit is truly the source of new life for us all. Once again, it was good to be together as a local church community. I hope you were able to connect somewhere, and I hope Holy Spirit touched you in a fresh way.

Jesus promised that the Father would not leave us alone, but that He would send us the Helper who is the Holy Spirit. In some Bible translations this word is written as ‘Comforter’. This is not merely a matter of making us feel good or encouraging us in some way. The Greek word for Helper is the word paraklētos; an intercessor, consoler. It implies one who comes alongside of us in everything. Holy Spirit is God and Holy Spirit intercedes in our lives. I don’t believe that intercession is merely the saying of the right words. It is a drawing into our lives all things that are heavenly. Holy Spirit helps us by drawing what is in heaven into our everyday lives here upon the earth. This includes giving us divine strength, power, and a heavenly testimony in the midst of every aspect of our lives. He transforms us in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. He also works to transform the environment of our sphere of influence in life. An aspect of Christ in us, upon us, and with us is to know the very present Help of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Holy Spirit has come that He might make known the things of God to us. He is the Spirit of God sent to our lives to release the authority of Christ Jesus through us to our world. He is not only in us and upon us; He is also with us in all things. This is the partnership of God for the fulfillment of the purpose of God in our lives in all things.

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

The truth that Holy Spirit brings into our lives is not merely some form of information to our minds. It is a matter of giving us the right desires in our hearts that inspire the right thoughts in our minds. The thoughts of the Holy Spirit within us become the thoughts that we put on from the inside out! There is also an aspect of Holy Spirit going before us and even behind us in all things. He partners with us in the environment of our world. In this, even what the enemy intends for evil in our lives can be worked out for God and thus worked out for good.  It is not merely the sovereign ability of God working in our lives. It is the powerful love of God working in ways that only He can that demonstrates His love for us. God wants to partner with us and to guide us in our path of life.

God has chosen that we be a Spirit led supernatural church. This is not merely being led by spiritual gifts; it is being spiritual. The apostle Paul addressed this in his first letter to the church of Corinth.

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

In the original Greek text, the word gifts is not in this first verse. It has been added with the idea of giving clarity to the context, but the context of the entire chapter is not about gifts. It addresses gifts, ministry, and works. It addresses the concept of being spiritual people who are empowered by the charismas of the Holy Spirit, accomplishing the ministry of body membership and fulfilling the purposed works of the Father in all things.

Paul states that before we knew a relationship with God, lifeless, voiceless things were the drive and passion of our purpose. We were motivated by fleshly passions and desires, but at least we were motivated. Things such as parties, business, education, sports, adventure, vacations, shopping, music, science, discovery, and many other things that do not reveal or release the true destiny of human beings led us. Things are not the true issue. They are not necessarily bad, but when they become the controllers and motivators of our lives, they bind us to being natural people. They become the idols and lords of our lives. The real issue Paul was dealing with was one of being spiritual. Paul was challenging believers to be the most passionate and purpose focused human beings on earth. They looked like people with destiny when they were dead, but now they should really reveal the true destiny of human beings in the earth. They must be spiritual people. They were born to reveal the Lordship of Jesus in life! This can only happen by the power, testimony, and purpose of the Holy Spirit manifested in their lives.

We must not be ignorant in being spiritual. We must not ignore, have little use for, have little value for, be uneducated to, or slack in any way in being spiritual people in life. As people of God, we must discover this mystery of life. Paul was dealing with the subject of gifts of the Spirit, ministries of Christ, and the  effects or workings of God in life.

1 Corinthians 12:4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

To be spiritual people we must have the power of the Spirit, know the uniqueness of who we are in being human’s expressing the power of Christ, and we must know our divine connections for our purpose in life. All humans must be empowered by God’s Spirit in their spirits, led by the spirit in their souls, and reveal a spiritual testimony in life. Paul was not merely talking about how gifts of the Spirit function in an institution called the church. He was talking about how the life of the Spirit works to make human beings, spiritual in their expression as the Church of Christ 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Spring is in the air and the season is changing. We had a great service at Alife yesterday and we are expecting good things from God’s presence as we choose to come together for His purpose and plan. God is good and He will always work things together for our good in life. I hope you have a great week filled with God’s presence and blessings in greater ways.

Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit came upon the body of Christ as an external witness of their connection with Jesus in heaven. New Covenant Pentecost was put into reality and Old Covenant Pentecost was fulfilled. Upon the ascension of Jesus to the Father, He spoke of the promised Holy Spirit. He told the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they would receive power from on high.

Just like the disciples of the first century, Jesus has a plan concerning our lives and the fullness that He intends for each of us as believers to have. That fullness comes when we receive the Holy Spirit in us and upon us to become a powerful witness for Him in our world. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and breathed upon them to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus then told those same disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they would receive an even greater testimony of the promise which He had spoken about. That promise was the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said would also come upon them with power. Jesus was the Lamb of God sent to take away our sins, but He is also the Lion of the tribe of Juda given to empower us with the victorious testimony of life. John the baptizer testified that Jesus would do two things: 1) take away the sins of the world; and 2) baptize with the Holy Spirit. As the Lord, He has taken away our sins. As Christ, He desires to baptize us (to be emersed) in the Holy Spirit. That emersion is not just an external pouring out of Christ’s Spirit upon us, but a filling up to overflowing of His presence for an external testimony of Him in our lives.

Acts 1:5 “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses of Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The Holy Spirit comes upon us to give us the power to be witnesses. Without a submersion in the Holy Spirit, we are not able to be the effective witnesses that God intends for us to be. What is inside of us must also be what clothes us. Christ in us is the hope of glory, but Christ upon us is the testimony of that glory to our world.  Jesus is Lord and He has taken away our sins. He is also Christ (the anointed one) and He is here to anoint us with power from on high that we might boldly declare Him to our world. This is not merely telling people about Him, but the ability to reveal His manifest presence to our world.

After Jesus ascended to the Father, His disciples waited for ten days in an upper room in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon them mightily. This event was witnessed by thousands who stood by in wonder of this miraculous testimony of God. Peter, one of the disciples, stood up before the crowd and gave this testimony:

Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Peter’s testimony declared that Jesus was not only Lord, but He was also C`hrist. The name Christ means the anointed one. As the anointed one, Jesus is able to anoint us with His Holy Spirit. That anointing is the testimony that we are one with Jesus as Christ. We are the body of Christ! Christ in us is also Christ upon us as a witness to our world.

The word baptism means to be engulfed, submerged, and totally surrounded with. Being submerged in the Spirit of Christ is not merely a one-time event, it is a way of life. When Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, we become engulfed, submerged, and totally surrounded with the Holy Spirit. When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, we received the Holy Spirit as an inward witness. When we embrace a lifestyle of being submerged in the Holy Spirit, we activate the Holy Spirit as an outward witness in our lives. 

Luke 24:49 “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

The Greek word for endued is enduo which means to invest with clothing (literally or figuratively): array, clothe (with), endue, have (put) on. To be endued with the Holy Spirit is to be clothed in the Holy Spirit. This is an outward evidence of the power of God in our lives. My challenge to us all in this season is to willingly embrace a lifestyle of being submerged in the Spirit of Christ. It is by our hands that the sick can be healed. It is by His Spirit and word through the expressions of the voice our lives that life can break every chain of bondage. The signs of His presence, testimony, and purpose is in us, upon us, and with us in all things.

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