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

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Greetings,

I had a great day yesterday speaking at Everyone’s Church in Mt. Vernon, Washington. God was in the house and I was able to speak in two services in regard to Christ as our Rock in the coming season of 2021. This new year is going to be a year of knowing the Rock of Christ in our lives. In knowing Him we will become like Him in our place of standing in this world. By the testimony of Christ in us and us in Him, we will stand as a place where God shines to our world. When Joshua was about to enter the Promised Land, he encountered a Man that was a testimony of the Lord. His encounter with that Man was essential to his continued journey into the Promised Land.

Joshua 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15 Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The Lord is the Rock of Christ and this is a year to encounter Him in a fuller measure. Joshua wanted to know if the Lord was for the Israelites or for their adversaries, but the Lord’s response was that of being the Commander. We may be asking the same questions. Our encounter with the Lord is not an encounter to prove whether the Lord is for us or for our adversaries. It is an encounter to invite us to be for the Lord. He is the Commander, and He is calling us to be for Him in the testimony of our lives. Like Joshua, we must take off our sandals. We must stand barefoot upon the ground of Christ to become a testimony of Christ in our lives. It is a place of embracing vulnerability before God. A place of inviting truth by the mercy of God and not by the strength of our own way. It is a testimony of trusting the Lord and submitting to His will in our lives.

As I have considered the Rock of Christ some attributes have impressed my spirit. What are attributes of the Rock? As I am considering this, the following attributes come to my mind, such as: steadfast; anchored; trustworthy; enduring; immovable; dependable; treasure house; hidden truth; faithful; solid; strong; unshakeable; foundational; generational; refuge; shelter; stronghold (of love); and salvation.

Responding to hearing God is what joins us to the Rock of Christ. It is a relationship of dancing with the Spirit of God, with Holy Spirit as the lead partner in our live. This is the true strength of our foundation that will lead to increasing life in our earthly and heavenly journey. It is our response to God’s voice in our lives that will empower us to find Him in an increasing way of intimacy. Hearing God’s voice and responding to what He says is essential for a sure foundation in our lives. Hearing God is not merely about knowing what to do. Our response to God in our lives is not merely about the things we do in life. It is about the substance of our lives. Hearing God is a matter of knowing God. Knowing God is more important than knowing what to do, because knowing God is what transforms our lives to become as He is in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. As we enter this new year we must seek to be people of God and not merely people who are blessed by God’s merciful love. This is to be people who walk in God’s life-transforming grace.

Grace is a testimony of God’s life overcoming all manner of dysfunction and death. We often think that we are wrestling with circumstances in our lives, but the truth is that God is wrestling with us in life. He is wrestling with us because He wants us to know Him and to manifest who we are meant to be because of Him and in Him. Our strength is not in the flesh. Our strength is in the presence of God in our lives. It is also the presence of us in the life and testimony of God. Jacob sought the blessing of God in his life, but God wanted Jacob to know that God had an even greater plan.  Jacob thought his journey was the journey of Jacob (a seeker of God’s love), but God wanted him to know that His journey was that of being Israel (a prince with God).

Genesis 32:24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

I believe this year is going to be filled with things of wrestling, but there is also going to be a comeback to God, a comeback to victory, and a comeback to one another as the people of God.  It is our opportunity to become people who are steadfast, anchored, trustworthy, enduring, immovable in our faith, dependable, habitations of precious treasures, authentic testimonies of truth, faithful, solid in the character of Christ, strong in the Lord, unshakeable in our love, foundations for generational inheritances, refuges of hope, shelters of life, strongholds of God’s love, and ambassadors of the salvation God in the environment of our word. This is a day to know the sure mercies of David with the opening of legitimate doors and the closing of illegitimate doors to become the authentic truth of the people of God in this 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

I hope you are well and growing in your connection with God in the midst of all that is going on in the world. Yesterday I was blessed to speak at our home church of ALife. I presented some things that I hear and see God doing in the season before us.

We are in the process of being manifest as the people of God in a fuller measure. It is the challenges of life that manifest the supernatural reality of being sons and daughters of God. The true test of grace is found I the process of tribulation, cheerful endurance, character change, and hope. That hope is the testimony of the work of grace proven in our lives. The revelation we receive becomes the substance we become by the work of God’s amazing grace.  A new gift of trust is being given to us that is unlike anything we have known before. We can expect to be tested in our trust. God desires for us know a work of trust that comes by the grace of God. That trust is not a trust in the works of the flesh, but in the goodness of God. To know the trust that God desires for us to have is to know Christ as the Rock of hope in our lives. He is the Rock that is solid and true. He wants our character to match the character of His truth as a Rock of our salvation. I believe a prophetic charge for 2021 is for us to know the call of the Spirit to God for us to find the Rock of Christ to cause us be people who are immovable in the testimony of God’s love.

Psalms 61:2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

A house is only as secure in its standing as it is in its connection to a foundation. Christ is the foundation of our lives and He is the life-giving Rock that empowers us to become a house that reveals the substance of who Christ is to the world around us. As we enter this new year we must embrace an authentic connection in hearing and responding to all that God says to us. Foundations guarantee the future of the house. Every house that is built faces the elements of testing and the opposition of many seasons of life. In Christ the foundation of our lives is established in the Rock of Christ. The objective is to be connected to the Rock, not to see how great our house can become, but our connection to Christ causes our house to reveal a testimony of who Christ is to our world. When we are connected to the Rock of Christ, even if the house were to fall down, we will be ok. Our connection to the Rock is a connection to LIFE in every moment and season of our lives. We are a house of God’s presence in all seasons of our lives.

Luke 6:47 “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

Foundations guarantee a future. When Christ is the foundation of our lives, the trials in our lives cannot prevail over the faithfulness of God in the foundation of our lives. The man who dug down to the rock, was the one who responded to the words of God in his life. In this story of two houses, both houses were built in the same geographical location. Both may have been the same design of house and even the same size of house. Perhaps they both were drawn with the same architectural floor plan. Both houses are likened unto people who God was speaking to and who were hearing what He had to say. The difference is that one responded by acting upon the words he heard while the other did not. Jesus says that the one who heard and responded to what he heard was like one who digs down to the rock and establishes a foundation for his house. The one who merely heard is like someone who built his house without any foundation at all. If we just hear God’s words of love for us without responding with love for Him, we will fall short in becoming who we are meant to be. Our love for Him is seen in our responding relationship with Him. The response of acting upon what God is saying is a testimony to the process of setting a foundation for the house. Both houses in this story were faced with the violent storms of life, but only the house with the foundation set upon the rock was able to stand.

Deuteronomy 32:1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass. 3 For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. 4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.

This new year is going to be a year of knowing the Rock of Christ in our lives. In knowing Him 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. We will stand as a place where God shines to our 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Once again it is great to be back in Washington. We had a great service yesterday at ALife. God’s presence was there and Pastors Jonathan and Danie gave us a great word concerning being thankful for 2020 and to see it as a gift from God. We must be thankful for all that is good, thankful for things that didn’t happen or happened in a way we didn’t expect, and thankful even in the bad for how God works things out for good. It was a great challenge and a good day.

Some things are impressing my spirit in this present time. I spent a few days in the woods last week and I feel some important words were stirring in my heart. Words that are relevant for this present season are words like: transparency; vulnerability; truth; intimacy; connection; faith; love; loving; transforming; and authentic. On Saturday I heard God say that 2021 is a ‘Come Back’ year. A year to come back to Him, to come back to victory, and to come back to one another. There will be some tough things to walk through, but God is birthing something new and stripping away the non-important things in our lives. He is stripping away performance and birthing authenticity in who we are and what we do. This is the story of being the people of God.

The Spirit of the Lord says that in living in the moment you have not lost My momentum in your life. I am your Father and ours is a business of purpose and destiny. You will find that this year is a year of a great come back. Nothing that I have set in motion will be lost. What looks like loss in your life will prove to be great gain because I am the God of ‘Come Back’. Though it looks like the path is a path of depletion things will turn and what seemed to be lost will come back again. I am birthing the fruit of generations and the plans of men will not thwart My path of life. I am the God of redemption and the price has been paid for mercy and for grace.

God is making it possible for us to be transparent in our lives. Our transparency is not a transparency of our own perfection. It is a transparency that empowers us to take hold of God’s loving gift of mercy and the power of His love to find grace that brings about His transformation so that we can become authentic sons and daughters for our Father’s glory. A new gift of trust is being given to us that is unlike anything we have known before. In the environment of our world, it is impossible to trust, because so many things are being revealed to be not trustworthy. Who can we trust? We can trust God because He has proven He can be trusted. Jesus was a man for all of mankind, men and women. He was the word made flesh as the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person. He opened the door to the throne room of God’s grace for us all. The Old Covenant Law was merely a shadow of the good thing to come. The good thing to come was the manifest presence of God as the word made flesh. He was the word made flesh so that all flesh could become something of an expression of God in his or her being. Each and everyone of us is meant to be something of the brightness of our Father’s glory and an expression of His person in the flesh.

Revelation 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

The seven seals on the scroll were the seven seals that contain the sevenfold grace of God. The opening of those seals by a Man opened a new and living way for us all. This is the testimony of the New Covenant. Only the Word as flesh could walk across the sea of God’s Word in full transparency and nothing that was not authentically an expression of God’s character, nature, way, power, and authority could be found. He walked across that sea as a fulfillment of the Law to make it possible for us all to boldly come to the throne of God’s grace to become authentic expressions of God in all that we are. I believe that we are entering another measure in the path of becoming the people of God in authenticity and truth.

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 have been back in Washington for a week and I am enjoying my time home, though I am missing my kids and grandkids in California. We had a great Thanksgiving here with our daughter Joanna, her husband Patrick, and granddaughter Eleonore. It was also good to see our other two granddaughters this past week as well. Family is wonderful!

Today I want to remind us all that the kingdom of God is an internal kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit that affects the external kingdoms of men from the inside out. Each of us are responsible to embrace the life-giving presence and power of Holy Spirit in our hearts Who gives us a true righteousness, a right relationship with God and man from within. Holy Spirit within our hearts gives us true peace; a oneness with God’s presence whereby the fruit and power of the Holy Spirit becomes an observable evidence of our lives by others. Holy Spirit within our hearts gives us true joy; a testimony of a partnership with God in all things that causes the focus of our lives to be one that fulfills the purposes of God in all things. True joy is connected to purpose and it is only found in the manifest presence of God from within. This is the kingdom of God – righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Luke 17:20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

The external acts and works of our lives are not the kingdom of God, but they should take on the characteristics of the life of the kingdom of God. The actions and works of our lives are the testimony of our own kingdom and each of our kingdoms should be expressions of the kingdom of God. I believe this is what it means when God says that through Jesus the kingdoms of this world would become kingdoms of God’s Lord and Christ.

Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

We don’t put our hope in the natural kingdoms of this world. We put our hope in the kingdom of God. That is not just a hope to go to heaven when we die. It is a hope of heavenly things made known in the natural realities of our lives by the internal connection to God in our hearts. God’s grace is the ability to reign in life. When Jesus reigns in our hearts we can manifest as sons and daughters of God who have a heavenly testimony in all things. Our hope is in the supernatural kingdom of God’s grace working in our hearts, but we also believe that God’s grace empowers natural changes in our lives in supernatural ways. The internal kingdom of God must be sought, activated, facilitated, and released in and through all that we are and do. We cannot blame God for our failures, we can only seek God to transform us from within in a way that transforms our attitudes, actions, and outcomes of our lives. This is true for us individually, our marriages, our families, our livelihoods, and every expression of our lives. God’s grace is the power of God working in our lives to overcome all wickedness that seeks to suppress the truth of God in our expressions of life in this world. Without the working power of God’s grace we are vulnerable to wickedness and unrighteousness in the expressions of our lives.

Romans 5:2 …through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

In grace, there is tribulation or suffering. It is during that resistance that we cheerfully endure. During challenges, we cheerfully endure and our character changes. That change in us brings forth hope. Is that hope just for us, or is it for the world we live in? Paul rejoiced in his suffering for the sake of others. He filled up in his flesh what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ. We must embrace the internal kingdom of God in our hearts and find God’s grace to overcome for the sake of our world. Our kingdoms must become expressions of the internal kingdom of God at work in our hearts. This doesn’t just happen. It happens by the overcoming power of God’s grace working in and through us as we stand by faith 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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

I have finally made it back to Washington. It was a blessing to be able to help my family in California this past month. Yesterday was a great morning with my church family and family in Bellingham. God’s presence was with us, even in the present restraints. We can be thankful to God for who He is and for His presence with us in all things. We must honor men, while never dishonoring God for who He is at all times and in all situations.

In a world of global shutdowns, human restraints and restrictions, and growing mandates of control – what is the line of obedience as a believer? We are to honor governing authority, but we must also know that the authority of God cannot be dishonored in our honor for the power of men. Power and authority are not the same thing. Authority is a God-given measure for the sake of bringing life to others. Power that is taken that is not within your sphere of God-given influence will create dysfunction and death in some way. A nurse has a God-given measure of authority as a nurse, but not a God-given measure as a doctor. A doctor has a God-given measure as a doctor, but not as the personal voice of a patient’s conscience. A governor has a God-given measure as a governor, but not as a parent to your children or a voice in your own home. True authority is the power of being what something is and not beyond the measure of what it is.

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words at a time when the ruling emperor of Rome was Nero Caesar. Nero was a wicked and evil man. He was a homosexual, kicked his pregnant wife to death, his favorite aphrodisiac was to watch people suffer horrifying and disgusting torture, and he married men on two occasions in public ceremonies (consummating them publicly). He would clothe men and women (especially Christians) in the skins of wild animals and watch as dogs tore their bodies apart. He considered this a stimulating aphrodisiac. He used burning Christians to light the Roman streets as well as light for his carnal garden parties. Nero launched the first imperial persecution of Christians at the instigation of the Jews in order to destroy the Church. He erected a 120-foot-high image of himself and demanded absolute worship of himself. He controlled his kingdom through suicide orders, and the like. He was the epitome of a kingdom and system of darkness. Paul said that believers were to be subject even to rulers, such as Nero, within the bounds of their God-given responsibility. Paul wasn’t telling believers to be subject to Nero’s perversity or dishonor for life or God. He was simply saying respect the governing authority even in their flaws. Pay your taxes, even if you think they are unfair. I address this subject in my book and online courses concerning authority (Authority – Control? or Release! – Understanding Authority (Part 1) – Understanding Authority (Part 2) – www.houseofbread.store).

What is our stand as believers in times where men and women grasp for power? One can have power without manifesting true authority. Authority is meant to give life. We cannot control what the powers in the world do, but we can be true to being who we are as sons and daughters of God. A good question to always ask is: will my attitude and action produce life? An attitude or action simply based upon being right is not the same as that of producing life. A judgment of law is not the same as a judgment of love. Actions don’t necessarily grieve the Holy Spirit, but attitudes for sure do. I deal with a lot of churches on a global spectrum and pastors and leaders are having to navigate rules and restraints imposed upon them by the secular governing authorities without dishonoring God. I believe we have to walk these things out, not in defiance of the powers of the world, but in honor to the best of our ability. When the world says we cannot do something our reaction should not be against what the world is putting upon us, but one of maintaining our faithfulness to God while still walking in honor to the authorities of our world. How do we love and serve God in the midst of restraint? How do we find our ‘yes’ towards God in the midst of a ‘no’ in the world?

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the captives placed into service of the king after Babylon laid siege to their nation (Dan. 1:7). These men were placed into a natural circumstance that destroyed all of their former expectations of the future as sons in Judah. They were even made eunuchs, a surgical procedure that destroyed their ability to have children or the family life they had hoped to have. Natural sight was for sure a challenge to their faith. After assessing the situation, these men requested that they be allowed to eat only vegetables and drink only water for ten days (Dan. 1:12). The number ten is symbolic of ‘completeness’, ‘totality’, ‘judgment’ – more specifically, a ‘judgment of love’, as the ten commandments sum up a love for God and a love for others. The lives of these men exhibited a faith towards God and a testimony of not fearing death. Faith works through love (Gal. 5:6, 13). These men refused to compromise in their love for God and they were not shaken in their belief of His love for them. They had faith to eat the Babylonian vegetables and drink the Babylonian water; but eating the other delicacies of Babylon would compromise their faith towards God. They refused to be separated from their love for God while still being faithful to learn the language, the culture, and the skills of Babylon. They were a voice of wisdom to Babylon and they continued in the midst of a worldly circumstance for seventy years without being able to keep the former customs of Judah as they had been. They worshiped God from their hearts, not merely with their past traditions. They did this with an attitude and an expectation of life!

This is not a time to measure leaders as to the decisions of church actions. It is time to be the body of Christ in the midst of challenging times. If the actions of the present can change the attitude of your heart you need to find a deeper connection with God and one another with an attitude of life. Do not quench the Holy Spirit! Keep a right heart and an attitude of life 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

www.houseofbread.store
            

Blog In Audio:

Greetings;

Today I am still in California helping my family. My daughter in law had a bit of a setback, so I am here for a bit longer. It is truly a year to live in the moment and not by some momentum or plan. Flexibility is key to this present season.

I have been writing for some time in regard to the present grace of God at work in the earth. I believe this grace is one of the Spirit of knowing or knowledge. This is not a knowledge of information, but a knowledge of intimacy. It is the working of the Holy Spirit in the aspect of the Spirit of Knowing that causes us to be the testimony of the people of God. Being the people of God is one of seven attributes of the body of Christ. It is an aspect of brotherly love in being the community of God with a testimony of a love for God and a love for one another. In the Old Covenant there were seven sacrifices and offerings that were a shadow of the good thing to come in being the body of Christ. The actions of sacrifices and offerings were really a shadow of levels of relationships found in being the living body of Christ. I believe the sacrifice that correlates to the Spirit of Knowing was the freewill offering.

Deuteronomy 12:5 “But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. 6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.”

God’s love is not merely a love of affection, but a love involving sacrifice. The love of God is something that God wants us to know, but it is not merely a feel-good love. It is a love that freely offers life for the sake of another. For the past several weeks I have been in California helping my son Aaron and his family finish a house remodel. I have been taking care of grandkids and working from early morning to night on the house project both inside and out. I am here because my daughter in law Amani had an emergency surgery a few weeks ago and I chose to come and help during this time of need. I have been making sacrifices of love for my family. I believe that there is a lesson in this concerning the present grace of God working in the earth. True love is a freewill offering, but it is also a sacrifice. It is not necessarily easy, but it is an easy decision. I have been doing things that have caused my physical  body to hurt, but the pain is simply the fruit of my sacrifice of love. When there is no pain in the offering there really is not testimony of true love.

There is a great example of an organic freewill offering in the life of King David and his mighty men. When David was in the cave of Adullam, the Philistines came up against him in a valley that had a name meaning “giant”. I believe it was a place of giant resistance and giant difficulty and it was there that David longed for some relief. The Philistines held the well of Bethlehem captive and David just wished for a drink from that well.

2 Samuel 23:13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD. 17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.

In this story, these three mighty men risked their lives to get David a drink from the well of Bethlehem. It was a risk of their lives. It was a sacrifice! It was a testimony of their love for David. When David received the drink, he realized how precious this gift was. It was a freewill sacrifice of love. David in turn poured the drink out to the Lord. His sacrifice was also a freewill gift of love to God. Nothing in this story was easy. There was pain in the offering. It was a testimony of true brotherly love. It wasn’t a matter of getting but one of giving life for the sake of another. I believe this is the grace that God is calling us to embrace in this hour. It is a grace of sacrificial love that cannot be offended and gives life in the hardest of 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

Greetings,

Well, today I am still in California helping my family in a time of need. We were able to get the new house ready enough to move in yesterday and now we will clean the old house and continue on with all the needed external projects for completion of the new house. Final details, inside and out, will be the agenda for the week. It has been a lot of work, but I am grateful that Amani is recovering well and that we are able to get things done that need to be done.

What can we expect to see in the cultures of the world? When the fruit of men’s decisions exalt selfish agendas in taking what belongs to another, destroying what belongs to another, and despising the boundaries of others the result is death and dysfunction in the cultures of society. It is a fruit of death and not one of life. Words are not merely crafted speech; they are the expressions of our lives that result in life and protection for others. Jesus didn’t set us free from the built in boundaries of life and death hidden within the fabric of creation. He set us free from being separated from the One who can empower us to walk rightly by an internal change of our hearts and minds by the law of life and peace in Christ Jesus. The law of peace in Christ Jesus is the power of God’s love working in our hearts and minds that empowers us to become like our heavenly Father in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. Unless we embrace the path to boldly come to the throne of God’s grace, we are left separated from God in our hearts and minds. It is not a consequence put upon us by God, but one that we embrace by not accepting the justification of true life that has been given to us all through Jesus. It is by Jesus as Lord and Christ that we can become the body of Christ that reaps the rewards of being the people of God in the earth. Those who do not choose this path are left with the testimony of their own doing.

Isaiah 3:9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. 10 “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.” 

James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Does God judge wickedness? Or is there a judgement upon wickedness that results in a consequence of dysfunction and death for those that embrace it? Those who boast in their own selfish desire and carnality bring evil upon themselves. God does not put it upon them. We often think of God’s judgment as a reaction to something bad, but God has built within the fabric of creation a judgment for good and the judgment for bad. When we don’t trust the judgments of God we thwart the blessings for things that He has judged as good and we embrace the consequence of bad things for choosing things God has judged to be bad. We cannot change what God has created a thing to be. We can only experience the blessings or the curses for such. It is a work of man’s doing and not a reaction of God towards men. We can choose good or we can choose evil, but God is the One who makes a proper judgment of what is good and what is bad. When we reason His decision concerning something to be false, we choose the consequence of our own decisions. It is the fruit of our own deception for not trusting the judgments of God.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, 23 who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man!

God doesn’t react to evil with judgment. Evil is the judgment that men put upon themselves when they reject the path preordained by God for blessings in our lives. God is a loving Father who willingly and eagerly invites all to come to Him and know a life of being sons and daughters of His will. When we form God in the likeness and image of creation we fall short of being true to the creation we are meant to be in Christ. We must embrace being new creations in Christ and that means that God is the one who determines who we are, and we do not determine who He is. He is not merely the God of the people; we are called to be people of God.

We are living in a time where God is stripping the forest bare for the sake of the birthing of a new generation of life in the earth. God has put before us blessings and cursing, life and death, and it is time that we all choose life! There is blessing in life. God desires to give us life and good. He wants to bless us, but we must trust His judgments to receive what He desires to give 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

Greetings,

Today I am writing from my son’s house in California. I have been here for the past week. My daughter in law had an emergency surgery and I am here helping with my grandkids and working on their house in order to get it done for appraisal and financing. Lots of work, but God is good. Amani is recovering and it is a blessings to be able to help.

I have written numerous times over the past few years in regard to this present move of grace. God is stripping away hiding places to birth new generations that are transformed by the power of God’s love in our midst. Iniquities are being exposed, not to be condemned, but to reveal a place of dependency upon the presence of God and His transforming grace. It is not a time to hide because of our differences nor to attack others because of their differences. It is time to be the people of God and to come as we are for the wellbeing of others and the generations to come. Christ in us is the hope of glory and the glory of God is to become all that He says we are for His family name. We are a temple of God in the Spirit and it is from the place of His habitation that we will become a multigenerational, Christ-centered, Christ-filled, community of brotherly love. We will be a community of little children, maturing sons and daughters of God who overcome all things by God’s grace, and fathers and mothers who live for the children and the children’s children as we see Him as the Father of us all.

Psalms 29:9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

We were born to be loved; not merely to be right. Love is a revelation, not a command. When we have a revelation of God’s love we cannot help but love Him and others. That love is not merely a love of affection, it is love that is willing to make sacrifices for others. It is a testimony of a freewill offering. When we think of freewill we often think of something easy, but the supernatural power of Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Knowing empowers us to do the impossible. This is the true testimony of Christ empowered freewill. When Jesus shed His blood, He shed His blood in seven ways. The sixth shedding of blood occurred in the piercing of His feet. Jesus stood upon the nail of judgment according to the knowledge of good and evil and made a judgment for us based upon our Father’s heart. He released us all from the sin of presumption to the sin of transgression when He said, Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing. He didn’t say those words from the law of the knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong. He said those words while standing in the higher law of the Father’s love and the grace of the Spirit of Knowing. He has granted us all the ability to receive the forgiveness of all our sins and the testimony of mercy that has triumphed over all judgment. Jesus shed blood from His feet for the standing of all men. He shed blood from His feet so all men could stand in a relationship of intimacy with God and intimacy with each other. Living Bread stood on the nails of sweat and human will. He stood as the judgment of love upon the nail of the judgment of right and wrong. His pierced feet won back dominion over the places we walk, that we might freely give the Bread of Life to all we meet. We stand in the eternal judgment of eternal life for all men.

The sacrificial love of Jesus is the testimony of being a Son of God. He was a Son of Man and a Son of God for the sake of us becoming the family of God in all things. His testimony is the testimony of us all as sons and daughters of God. God is wrestling with us, not us with Him. He knows who we really are, and He wants us to manifest truth. These are all attributes of this present grace of God’s Spirit at work in the earth. What is next? Will we stop and label Him as the God of the people or a Father who is kind to His children? Or will we move forward by the power of God’s grace to become the people of God? Will we embrace the things that require change in our beliefs, or will we allow the limitations of our present beliefs to hinder the expansion of our minds for the now testimony of Christ in the world?

God wants us to be heart sensitive and not merely word sensitive. To be the people of God we must embrace the voice of God. God’s words are defined by His heart and His dictionary. His voice is true to His character, nature, way, power, and authority. His voice is spoken in words that don’t necessarily make sense to our own understanding. Is it possible that God allows His words to be spoken to us in a way that is offensive in order to empower a manifestation of the character of Christ within us that does not take an offense? Is it possible that God uses a voice of the world to challenge us to manifest as sons and daughters of God who are heavenly in heart and not of this world? We must embrace being a testimony of the voice of God to the world in which we live. The voice of God bears the fruit of life. God’s voice is not destructive, but redemptive. God is a God of boundaries and honor. Those boundaries are not meant to divide us, but to define the uniqueness of who we each are for the sake of everyone. God’s voice is a voice of wisdom. It will empower us to move from today into tomorrow.

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

Greetings;

Today I am back after a week in Georgia activating the G42 students in the prophetic life of God’s Spirit. It was a great week! Those attending were hungry, teachable, willing and participated with Holy Spirit and one another in a life-giving testimony. Thank you to all who participated for your willingness and teachabilty. God speaks and life happens! I am ready for all that God is bringing and I am willing in flexibility for whatever that might entail. I am having to be flexible even with my time home, for today I am back in my truck driving south to California to help my son, his wife, and my grandchildren in a time of need. It is a time to be flexible.

We are in a season where God is causing hidden things to be revealed. He is stripping the forest of its trees and even stripping the trees of their leaves that He might bring to pass the new things that are being birthed in a generational testimony of life and destiny.

Psalms 29:9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” (NKJ)

Psalms 29:9 The voice of Jehovah paineth the oaks, and maketh bare the forests, And in His temple every one saith, ‘Glory.’ (YNG)

Some translations of the Scripture translate the word deer as oak, as in a new oak shoot growing. Some translations translate the stripping of the forest as the stripping of the tree. When the forest is stripped bare, we can see it is really the place where the deer are being birthed? When the oak is being stripped of all of its leaves, we see that the forest is the place where the new oak shoot is growing? The strength of the forest is the future life hidden within it. The deer is not for the forest, the forest is for the deer. The oak shoot is not for the tree, the tree is for the oak shoot. We are living in a time of legitimate doors being opened. It is easy to be distracted by the tumult of all that is being stripped away and miss what is being birthed. Our focus should be on what is life, not what is being lost. The other day I went to our local mall and saw the vast number of stores  that have been vacated because of the present lock down measures in our world. Will those stores return as they were? Perhaps they will, but perhaps they won’t. If they don’t, what is the new thing being birthed that is the place of God’s blessings? God is always bringing life into the world. We must put our focus on the life. This is not a time to be disconnected. It is a time to purposely connect in new ways. The enemy wants to cause us to isolate, separate, to recreate in our own little world, but God has a plan that is bigger than what we have seen before. Don’t be fooled, the future is a place of corporate connection in a more authentic and greater way. The only thing that is shaking is what can be shaken. The illegitimate doors of the past are being closed and legitimate doors of greater life are being opened. We are being called to be pillars in the house of God. A pillar in the house of God is not made of man made materials. That is the building substance of the houses of men. The house of God is a house of the character, nature, way, power, and authority of the Spirit of God. A pillar in the house of God is a vortex for God’s presence in the earth. It is a place of releasing the ascension of angels to rise and bring back the provisions of heaven through the gate of heaven in the earth. It is a place of being a cloud by day and a fire by night. This is to be a place of God’s manifest presence that protects us from the scorching of natural light and makes us become the supernatural light of Christ in the darkness of the night. We are children of God. We are people of the day not people of the night. People in the world are people of the night. We are being called to be light to those who are still living in darkness.

Are you discovering that things you used to be able to hide in, or hide behind, are no longer places of refuge? Even in the natural, things are coming to the light. In a day of much knowledge, there is a revealing of many secrets. In a day of information, people make judgments based upon knowledge. But their knowledge is limited by their own understanding and translated through the filter of their own judgments and perspectives. Many things prove to be lies, but then the lies become exposed to truly be lies. The truth is being revealed, whether it is truth proving to be true or lies proving to truly be lies. This is the present season of grace and it is being made manifest by the true plants growing in the garden compared to the weeds that are only the counterfeit plats that distract from the true destiny of life in the garden. We must embrace this season to discover the life of Christ in our world. What is the true grassroots revolution in the earth? The true grassroots revolution is seen in the deer that is being birthed. It is seen in the oak tree putting forth its new shoot. It is seen in the place of God’s habitation in our lives and in our lives together among the communities of men. Being a temple of God’s presence is more important than being a forest that is stripped bare. God’s presence produces life again! In His temple we cry glory!

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 have been blessed to spend the week with my son Aaron, his wife Amani, and my grandson Kaden and granddaughter Zaria. We have been working on their new home purchase in California. It was a great week. It is always very sad to say goodbye, but I look forward to the continued stories of life and love of our family. Today I am in Cleveland, Georgia for a week of training with the G42 students. I just arrived after a long day and night of travel due to airplane issues. I am here and I am ready to go! I will be activating, facilitating, and releasing prophetic ministry in the lives of these hungry sons and daughters of God.

God is inviting us to be the people of God in the earth. To be the people of God in the earth, we must know who God is in heaven. Is He defined by what He does or what He can do? Or is He defined by who He is? He is a giver of life, therefore, all that He does is a testimony of life. Are we defined by what we can or will do? Or are we defined by who we are in Christ? A life-giving, loving Father is who God is. Some define Him by His sovereign abilities, but that is what He can do and not who He is.

God can be all knowing, but He chooses to know all things according to His love. Certain things He chooses not to know for the sake of love. He chooses not to remember our sins and lawless deeds when we come to Him and freely receive His mercy. He chooses not to know some things for the sake of us being able to participate with Him in a character of goodness, thus the element of surprise is a key part of our relationship with Him and He with us. He chooses not to know some things for the sake of us being creative with His love. As He is a creator I believe He freely gives us the liberty to be creative to His surprise. God can be everywhere present, but I believe He chooses not to be some places for the sake of us freely choosing to live where He lives in the freedom of His character, nature, way, power and authority. He also chooses to be some places He wouldn’t choose to go for the sake of demonstrating that nothing can separate us from His love. God is all powerful according to His love. Though He can do anything, since nothing is impossible for Him, He chooses not to do some things for the sake of love.

Mark 7:9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Though God can be all powerful, He has made it so our own traditions can be more powerful than His will and we can thus choose something less than the life that He has for us. He desires us to draw near to Him, but until we draw near to Him He is bound from being seen by our natural perceptions. Like the father and the prodigal son, the moment we turn towards Him, He runs to us to give us His restoration and love.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

God desires that all be saved, but are they? Though it is His will that all would be saved, we must choose to believe. His mercy has reconciled our accounts and we are justified to live, but we must choose Him to receive the life that He gives.

1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God is a loving Father. He changes His mind because He cannot change His character. He will change His mind concerning what He will do because He cannot change who He is. He is love. As the people of God, we must also grow in maturity to be known as people of love. We must be people who make judgments of mercy, but also people who seek to be empowered and to empower others to overcome in all things. Love can only win when love can transform our lives.

Is it God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence that define His love; or does His love define His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence? Do His abilities define Him or does who He is define His abilities?

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson