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

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Wisconsin. I have been here for several days with a very good friend of mine. We have had a wonderful time sharing in the goodness of God and one another. It was also good to see some friends from the past at Living Waters Fellowship in Ellsworth, Wisconsin yesterday. I have blessed to be here.

Christ in each of us is the hope of glory in and through our lives. We are each a dwelling place of Christ and together we live our lives as the manifold dwelling place of God. Our lives are to be a testimony of the righteousness, peace, and joy of God. We are the visible expression of who God to our world.

John 14:19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Do we see Him? The more we see Him the more we become like Him. Perhaps, whatever we look at is what we become. What has our attention? What is the focus of our lives? Looking at a created thing will limit us but looking at Jesus will transform us to become givers of life to all creation in our world. Because He lives, we also live! What does it mean to live? Jesus said that eternal life is to know God as our Father and to know Jesus the son. Our lives are to be lived in Him and Him in us (Jn. 17:3). We can expect Jesus to manifest Himself in our lives daily.

John 17:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Eternal life is not simply where we are going to go when we die. Eternal life works today! It is true life! It is life that destroys death today, tomorrow, and in every situation to come. Not even the second death can overpower it. To embrace the Spirit of Christ in our lives today is to destroy the power of death today, tomorrow, and in every place to come. Holy Spirit in you and me inspires us to call out for the testimony of our husband, our head, to come. Jesus will manifest today in our lives!

John 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. 

Christ in us empowers us to be as He is. Christ in us empowers us to be keepers of His word. His word is a testimony of His love for us and through us to the world around us. His love redeems, restores, and reveals His true life in every phase of our journey in life.\

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is living in a place of connection to God in heaven. It is by our connection to God in heaven that heavenly things become the testimonies of our lives. God is the word, but we are His voice. We are expressions of Him in this world. The peace that God gives to us is a peace of connection to Him in all things. We have access to His house, and He has access to our house to make our house a testimony of His presence.

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,

Today I am heading home after a great weekend with CitiLife Church in Deming, New Mexico. God was good and I believe the weekend is going to bear some good fruit in the lives of many. The church here is doing a great job and Jesus is being glorified. I look forward to coming again.

The year of 2021 is a year to know Christ the Rock. I declared this prophetically in December of 2020 and proclaimed that 2021 would not be an easy fruitful season. I also declared that 2021 would be a ‘come back year’. It would be a season of connection to God and purposed connection to one another. It is, and has been, a time to be renewed. The renewing is a testimony of being renewed in the courage of the Lord, renewed in the holiness of the Lord, and renewed in our faith in God. This is not the strength of our own flesh, but our confidence in the strength of God’s Spirit in us, upon, and with us in all things. It is a year of an increased knowing of God’s rest.

This is a testimony of God resting in us and we resting in Him. This is the place of being the body of Christ, the gate of heaven’s grace in the earth. This is not a year of great fruit, but it is a year of knowing a great God. It is a year of individual testimonies that are like leaves on a tree. Those leaves bring healing to the world around us. The testimonies of God in us are what heals the brokenness in others. These are personal testimonies for the healing of nations. 2021 is the space between. It is the space between what was and what is to come. There is a new look, a new mode of operation, a more enduring testimony.

John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Thomas was known as the disciple who doubted, but perhaps he was the disciple that demanded hard evidence. There is nothing wrong with wanting things to be true. The questions of Thomas were not bad, but Jesus’ answers to Him were the true key to finding truth. Our relationship with God and our perception of God is dependent upon faith. It is found in our spirit connection to God by His Spirit. This truth was further illustrated in the questions of Philip and the further answers of Jesus.

John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

As the way, the truth, and the life Jesus testified that His life as a man was a testimony of His heavenly Father. He didn’t do anything without being a place of the Father’s habitation. He was a temple of the Holy Spirit in all things. He demonstrated living, moving, and having His being in God. He was also a testimony of the Father living, moving, and having His being in Jesus. This is the way, the truth, and the life for all of humanity. We must live, move, and have our being in God and we must also be a dwelling place that demonstrates God living, moving, and having His being in us. It is empowered by Christ in us, upon us, and with us in all things.

John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Anything we ask in the character and authority of Jesus will be done. How do we ask in His name? We must be the place of His habitation. We live, move, and have our being in Him. He also lives, moves, and manifests His being in partnership with us in all things. To ask something in Jesus’ name is to manifest the character, nature, way, power, and authority of Christ in who we are. This empowers us to fulfill the will of God in and through our lives.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

The Holy Spirit is in us, spilling over to be upon us, and with us to reveal Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. He is our righteousness, peace, and joy.

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 another great service at ALife yesterday. Pastor Jonathan gave a great word on being rivers of life to our world. The things that God does in our life have been and are great, but God Himself is greater. The flow of God’s Spirit in our lives is more valuable than the things that He has done. It is time to expect new and greater things.

Jesus demonstrated who He was as a man connected to God as His Father in every way. He demonstrated the life of a human being who was full of grace and truth. The manifest presence of God in Him, upon Him, and with Him in all things illustrated a redeemed human life in Christ. At the end of His earthly course as a man He summed things up to His disciples and prepared them to launch the life-giving force of humanity in Christ and Christ in them.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus is our righteousness, Jesus is our testimony of peace, and Jesus is our connection to life-giving purpose in all things. How do we know Him and How do we connect to Him? Holy Spirit in us is our connection to Jesus as our righteousness. We know that God is our God by the internal belief of our hearts and the external confession of our ways and actions in life. We have been granted a right relationship with God in Christ that empowers us from within to live in a right relationship with others in our world. The overflowing presence of Holy Spirit upon our lives is our testimony of peace. His overflowing presence upon us is the evidence that we have access to all that is in heaven for a heavenly testimony in this world. Jesus is the Word, but we are expressions of His voice in the power and fruit of our lives. There is no gap between us and God. We are growing increasingly like Him in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. We are clothed in Christ! Holy Spirit with us is the evidence of our partnership with God as our Father in all things, by this the presence of Jesus in His character and authority is manifested for the destiny of our purpose in Christ. We have the fullness of joy by knowing God’s presence with us in all things. These three things are the evidence of the kingdom of God working in, through, and for us as the kingdoms of our lives become known as kingdoms of our Lord and Christ.

Romans 14:17 …for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

God is our Father and together we are a many faceted house for His holy habitation. Each of us are a place of God’s presence, but together we are a place of His presence in a greater way. His coming is a perfect and imperfect tense of His nearness to us in life and into the fuller glory. We are not abandoned or waiting for a time to know God. We know the presence of the Lord in our lives more and more each day. Our connection is to God as our Father and to Jesus as the Son by the fellowship of Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is our access to Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. As the way, Jesus connects us to true life. As the truth, Jesus causes us to become testimonies of life to our world. Knowing Him is to truly see Him for who He is. The more we see Him, the more we become like Him. This is truth. When we know Him in truth, we become truth in who we are, and truth crumbles every lie. As the life, Jesus is the presence of authority in our lives that fulfills the joy of God’s purpose in our lives. He is manifestly with us in all things to demonstrate we live together for His purpose in all things. This is the fullness of joy!

John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Embracing the truth of Christ in us and us in Christ is the key to fulfilling our true purpose in life. This is a year of personal testimony, and it is the secret to our ability to be unshakeable in a shaking world. When heaven and earth shake it is because the unshakable kingdom of God is growing in heaven and on earth. We truly can be renewed in the courage of the Lord, the holiness of the Lord, and our faith in God. God is in us, upon us, and with us in all things through the character and authority of Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the 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,

It was a good week and weekend here in Bellingham. I am finishing up several projects I have been involved in and looking to focus on new things for a new season of life. Pastor Jonathan presented to us yesterday that we are in a season of God’s rest. It is Him resting in us and us resting in Him – the space between.

I have been addressing the story of Cain and Abel. God is the one who gives us life, breath, and all things. His desire is to give life to everyone. Our connection to God’s love is our connection to life. When we love something more than God, we find our life in it. God is the true source of life, and He wants to give us life, breath, and all things. In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain loved the ground more than he did God. So, God in His love made it so Cain could not attach to the ground easily. Cain would be a wanderer in the earth. These consequences were not meant to kill him. God did not want him to die. He didn’t want anything or anyone to kill him. So, God put a mark on him so that no one would kill him. I believe that mark was a mark of consequence. God’s thinking was, “As long as you continue in this course of direction Cain, there is a consequence. The consequence is there because I want you to be alive. I don’t want you to die. I don’t want anyone to kill you. I want you to turn and to see honor. I want you to come to Me. I am putting a mark on you. I am cursing the thing that you love more than Me so you cannot easily attach to it. I am placing upon you a mark of consequence so you will get a revelation. I want your heart to be able to say, ‘You are the Lord my God. You are the source of my life!’”

Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. Did God kick him out? No! What would be the condition of not leaving? The condition would be to turn and come back to the place of honor and recognize that God is first and God is best, which is what Abel saw. It was not a law! It was a testimony to the source of life. Honor opens the door to life. The ground should honor Cain and give its strength to Cain, but the ground could not give honor to Cain because Cain was not giving honor to God. So, what did Cain’s life end up looking like? He went on a journey of wandering. He went to a land of wandering (Nod). This place of wandering was no longer in Eden, a place meaning “desirable”, a place of intimacy and relationship with God. It was not in a place of relationship with God. He had a child named Enoch – meaning ‘dedicated’. He then built a city, a big empire, a business, something he created. He named it Enoch, ‘dedicated’. He became ‘dedicated’ to what he could do. All of his family was dedicated to what they could do. If you follow the journey of the genealogy of the descendants of Cain you will find a descendant named Lamech. Lamech means, ‘mighty power belongs to God’. This man was known for singing the song of bitterness to those around him in life.

Genesis 4:19-24 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal- Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal- Cain was Naamah. Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy- sevenfold.

Lamech had three wives and it doesn’t say that he produced children, but his wives bore children. These children were merchant traders of livestock, creators of music and culture, and industrialists of bronze and iron. By all the standards of the world the family of Cain became entrepreneurs, artists, and inventors of new things. They became those who did all the great things that human beings do without God. They were the most successful people on the entire planet, but they didn’t know who they were because they didn’t know who God was. They ended up dying in the flood.

While Lamech of Cain died in the flood, there was another man in the earth named Noah who was also the son of a Lamech. His name was Noah – a name meaning REST. When we know that our mighty power belongs to God, we can become a place of God’s rest in the earth. God rests in us and we rest in Him. This is the foundation for life and a future and hope of life for our world.

God found a man that He could rest in and thus when He flooded the earth, He said He could rest in the family of Noah. He would destroy the earth, but where He rests it would be new again. The heart of the Father was towards the children and the hearts of children towards the Father. What was God looking for? He was looking for a family. He wasn’t looking for entrepreneurs, musicians, or industrialists. God wasn’t looking for successful people who were dedicated to conquer the earth. He was looking for a family who could inherit the earth. He was looking for a family of honor who would honor Him for who He was, and the earth could honor them for who they were in the earth. God could rest there. God was looking for the family who knew who He is and who they are in the earth. This is the place of honor. The future of the earth rests there.

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 am back in Bellingham and enjoying the sunny skies of summer. It was great being with my family in California, and now it is good to be home with more of my family and summer months to finish several home projects. My travel schedule is soon to increase, so I must finish all that I have to do here.

Today I am reposting a blog from five years ago. It fits with what I shared last week regarding valuing God the Creator above things that are created. When we value God above all created things, we seek to hear Him above all other voices in creation. We trust His voice and His values above our own or any other voice in life. We honor Him above all other things in life. Unless we put God in His proper place in our lives, we become hindered in our ability to put others in their proper place of honor in life. When we value God for who He is, we can value others for who they are.

If you read the story in Genesis chapter 4 where Cain killed his brother Abel, you will find how a father who is honorable deals with a son who has been dishonorable. God looked at the situation and He realized that the only way He could bring honor to a dishonorable reality was by doing something that would bring the dishonorable individual back to the source of honor. Cain could not honor God and he could not honor his brother Abel, because he honored the work of his hands more than he honored the Creator. He loved his values above the values of God. Honor is love. It is a testimony of recognizing who someone is. God said to Cain, “Didn’t I tell you if you do good all would be well.”

Genesis 4:7 “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.”

Cain fell for the sin that was at his door and now God cursed the ground for Cain’s sake. God did not curse Cain. He cursed the place of dishonor. The thing that was being honored above God was cursed for Cain’s sake. Creation was being honored above the Creator. God wanted his son Cain to discover the Creator.

Genesis 4:10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

The earth would no longer give its strength to Cain. It would no longer honor him. God did not curse Cain. He cursed the thing that Cain was attached to. He cursed the place of dishonor in Cain’s life. He cursed the ground for Cain’s sake. God wanted Cain to turn and attach to the One who gives life and liberty. He wanted Cain to see his own need for who God was in his life. God did not care if the sin was great, because God is the one who frees all men from sin. He is the one who brings us out of Egypt; He brings us out of darkness. God is the one who sets us at liberty. It was not too late for Cain. God wanted Cain to discover honor, but it was dishonorable for Cain to love the ground more than the place of honor. So now the place the Cain loved was cursed for his sake. It would no longer honor him. God’s hope was that Cain would turn and honor God so that honor would be restored in his life and the curse would be broken in the earth. But Cain said, “This is too much for me!”

Genesis 4:13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

Cain said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. This is more than I can bear. Why are You so judgmental in my life? Why have you made a decision about me God as though I have no good opinion? Why are you speaking curses over things that I am doing?” Cain might have been thinking, “Why are you cursing me?” But God was not cursing Cain. Cain said, “Surely you have driven me out from the face of the ground, and I will be hidden from Your face. Anyone who finds me will kill me.”

Did God say he would be hidden from His face? No, He did not. Sin did not separate God from Cain. It separated Cain from God. God still recognized who Cain was. He said, “Sin is at your door, if you do honorably it will be well with you.” God did not say, “Cain go away from me! I never want to see you again!” God created an environment that said, “Cain, I do not approve of your focus. I cannot bless what you are focusing on. I am making a judgment on your behalf. I have cursed what you are focusing on so you will turn and focus upon what you should be focusing on. I don’t want your world to be cursed, but unless you turn your heart to the Father you cannot recognize that the heart of the Father is already towards you.” God was thinking, “Cain I know who you are. You are the first. You are the best, but you do not know who you are. Now you are a taker. You are looking to find things in order to take things from the earth to make you strong. You are looking to take honor to make you strong. But strength doesn’t come from what you can take. Honor is not something you take from anyone or anything. I am the Lord your God who brings you out of Egypt, out of darkness, out of bondage – you shall have no other God’s before Me. I am your source. I am the giver of life. I want you to turn towards inheritance.” So Cain says, “This is too much! I will die!”

Genesis 4:16  Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son — Enoch.

God’s curse upon the ground was an act of honoring Cain. As long as Cain attached to the ground, he was going to be attaching to something that could not give him life. God wants us all to find life, but to find that life we must all first attach to Him! We must honor the Creator above all of creation. He is First before us, and He is the Last in all that we do. He must fill all in all for us to see His glory in all that we are and do. When we value God for who He is, we will seek to hear His words above all other words. When we value God for who He is, we will seek to embrace His values above all other values.

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,

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

Blog In Audio:

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