Know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God!

Many people in the church today do not understand God.  They do not understand Jesus Christ.  They live in constant fear and condemnation instead of peace and security.  All Christians need to realize that Jesus Christ loves them unconditionally.  He is not waiting to condemn them for every wrong thought or action.  He knows we are not responsible for initial thoughts that pop into our minds.  Thoughts are constantly flooding our minds everyday because we live in a fallen world and Satan will always tempt us.  We are only responsible if we choose to continue to dwell on a bad thought.  We can always ask God to forgive us.  The Bible tells us that we will be forgiven instantly with no condemnation from our heavenly Father.  This article is dedicated to those precious saints that constantly feel condemned.  They beat themselves up unmercifully because they do not understand, cannot comprehend, or accept the love our Lord has for His precious children.

Yes, it is true that we are human and thoughts will come to us daily.  These may be thoughts we did not choose and sometimes are ashamed of, but that is the reason we have a Savior named Jesus Christ.  Jesus came to die for you and for me to pay the penalty for whatever sins we have committed in thought, word, or deed.  All we have to do is ask Him to forgive us, and Jesus will instantly forgive and remember our sins no more!

The Bible tells us:  "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.   As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.  For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."  Psalm 103:10-14

Many people feel condemned because of the sinful lifestyle of their past. The Word of God states that we need to leave the past behind us, and move on to the future with a determination not to willfully commit those same types of sins.  If we do sin again, Jesus is there and His shed blood will cover our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 10:12-23 states, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;  From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;  And having an high priest over the house of God;  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)"

The mercy and grace of God, through Jesus Christ who took our sins and judgment, is so wonderful.  If people properly believe and accept the truth and fact of the gospel, it will take them out of a life of torment and depression.  We can start afresh and anew;  that is the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.  We can have a new beginning.  We can be forgiven.  We are forever accepted and loved by God through Jesus Christ.  He will never leave or forsake his children no matter what they think or do.  He is far better than a good human father who will never quit loving his children.

I recently read a booklet by Pastor Allan H. Franks concerning depression.  I was so impressed by the way he explained God's love toward each of us that I have included some parts of his book in this article.  I believe it will encourage you, just as it did me, and bring inspiration that reinforces to each of us what a wonderful, gracious, loving God we indeed have.  He is not out there waiting to condemn and destroy us, because we know He sent His Son to take our judgment so we can be forgiven.  God is certainly a God of mercy, grace, and most of all, unconditional love.

In the forward to the booklet, Out of Darkness-Overcoming Depression By Discovering Who You Are in Christ by Allan H. Franks, Woody Koenig states:

I have known Pastor Allan Franks as his therapist, his friend, and as a member of his former congregation.  In over twenty years of counseling I have never met anyone who is more committed to the healing process.  I marvel at the sincere daily commitment Pastor Allan has as he approaches his struggle with depression... Over the course of a lifetime, one in four women and one in ten men will suffer from depression...  The very nature of the illness of depression promotes feelings of low self-esteem, helplessness, and self degradation, that leads to hopelessness and even deeper depression.  As an outpatient therapist I feel I am often expected to fight this illness with my hands tied behind my back.  This is particularly true for the non-Christian or the Christian counselee who does not understand their "position in Christ".

When a person experiencing depression understands the Biblical truth that they are a totally accepted child of their Father it provides empowerment...Pastor Allan's understanding of the illness of depression is both clinically and spiritually sound.  One of the first goals of the therapist is to instill hope in a person who feels no hope.  Pastor Allan understands this and goes to the source of all hope-Jesus Christ.  The power of the message contained in "Out of Darkness" comes from Jesus Christ.  As you enter your devotional time you too can become empowered by the truths revealed directly to you by your Father, your Friend, your Brother, your loving Savior, Jesus Christ."  (Pg 6-7) [Woody Koenig is a MSW Licensed Social Worker].

Pastor Allan Franks writes, "I have tried in each individual personalized account to be true to the context and meaning of the scripture.  This has not been an attempt to re-write scripture but rather to place myself and my readers in the scripture making it, a personal message to us from God, which is what scripture truly is." (pg. 41)

2Corinthians 5:21;  Romans 6:18
My Loved One, to discover the real meaning of righteousness, you need to look at Me.  I am the meaning of righteousness, and I give out My righteousness as a gift.  It can’t be earned.  I am the one who puts on you the breastplate of righteousness.  That’s why I want you to ask Me to put it on you.  You can’t earn righteousness.  I have given it to you.  I have clothed you with it.  You don’t have to perform to some standard to receive it.  I have given it to you.  And I can give it to you because I became the sacrifice for your sin.  I was totally righteous and pure, but I voluntarily became sin for you so that in Me you could become righteous.

Because you are righteous, I can have fellowship, oneness and more with you.  My Loved One, I now have the rights to your life.  You surrendered them to Me.  You are now a slave of righteousness.  You are in bondage to righteousness, which in reality sets you free.

My Loved One, since I am righteous and I’ve given you My righteousness, you are now like Me.  Your righteousness makes you look like Me and reflect Me.  And I like what I see.

Your Brother  (pg.51)

Romans 8:14-17
My Child, I live in you!  I lead you!  I am your director!  Sometimes you forget this and you end up in the muck and mire.  But I am in you to stay.  I am yours and you are Mine.  I want to lead you every step of the way, all day every day of your life.  As your Father, you are My son/daughter.  You are My child and I love you as My own son/daughter.  I have adopted you and made you My own.  In fact, I’m not even aware that you were adopted.  You have all the rights and privileges of a full-fledged son/daughter. You are no longer in bondage as a slave to sin.  You have been freed.  You have nothing to be afraid of.  Your future is secure, you are in Me.  You are part of My blood line now.

My Child, you can call Me Daddy!  I’ve always been your Daddy, but now I want you to know I’m there for you to meet your every need.  My Child, I love you so much! I have put My Spirit in you to help you to know for certain, without any doubt, that you are My son/daughter and I am your Father.  You are one of My heirs.  You are a co-heir with My Son, your Savior, Jesus Christ.  You are one with Him.

My Child, at times you will need to share in the sufferings that My Son shared in.  It won’t be easy.  You will still have struggles and conflicts with people.  You may have more down times.  But even as you share in suffering, you will also share in My Son’s glory.

Oh, My Child, you are Mine.  You were bought with a price.  You were brought into My family with shed blood. I loved you, and wanted you as a part of My family enough, to let My Son die so you could be My son/daughter also.

My Child, you don’t have to perform for Me.  All I want is your love and obedience, and, even if your love is imperfect and even if you sin, I will never stop loving you and will never lose your place in My Family.  I love you!  You are Mine for eternity.

Your Father (pg.53)

1Corinthians 3:16;  6:19
My Loved One, you are not your own to do with as you please.  You are My dwelling place.  I live in you.  I have found you to be a suitable place for Me to live.  I feel comfortable living inside of you.

I am concerned about the sexual images that you allow to be viewed by your eyes on TV.  When you see them they become images on your mind.  They become temptations for you to dwell on.  My Loved One, you also take too many second looks at the opposite sex.  Your eyes wander and thus your mind runs to those images at times.

You must be careful about what you allow yourself to look at.  Take a stand!  Refuse to take second looks.  Take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Me.

Think all you want to about your wife/husband.  She/He is the one I’ve given to you.  Together you can enjoy sexual pleasure without ever polluting your body where I live.

My Loved One, it’s also crucial for you to not allow bitterness or resentment or sinful anger to pollute your mind and body.  It breaks you down in so many ways.  It is destructive!

Be careful about what you eat as well.  My Loved One, remembering that you are not your own, that your body belongs to Me, will give you great motivation to have discipline in these areas.  I love living in you!

Your loving Holy Spirit (pg.56)

1Corinthians 3:10-17, 6:16-20
My Loved One, you are My dwelling place, I live in you.  You are united to Me.  We are one! There is intimacy with us that no one else knows.  My Loved One, whenever you allow your body to deteriorate, you are harming your intimacy with Me.  You are reducing your ability to represent Me and show me to others.

My Loved One, you are one special person.  I have chosen to live in you, and I’m picky about who I choose to live in.  My dwelling place must be clean, pure, holy and cleansed by My blood.

My Loved One, your building, your temple, isn’t complete yet.  It won’t be until you reach heaven.  So it’s so important that you make Me your foundation and that you don’t destroy the building by investing in wood, hay and straw.  Build your life with eternal things.  Make My dwelling place beautiful and fit for a king to live in.  I am your King and your Master.  Oh, how I love you.  That is why I’m cleaning out all of the garbage in your life.  So we can have an awesome place to live together.  Keep allowing Me to clean and build.  I’m not done yet.

Your Friend, Jesus  (pg.57)

2Corinthians 5:18, 19
My Child, I’ve given you all you need to be in right relationship with Me.  I have left nothing out. There is nothing hidden, nothing more to do.  It’s all taken care of.

My Child, before you came to Me, I came to you.  I saw the predicament you were in because of the sin in your life.  Your sin was separating you from Me and on your own you couldn’t do a thing to eliminate this separation.  I saw this and out of My deep love for you, I did something about this separation.  I took care of your sin by sending My Son, Jesus, to balance out your account of sin.  He carried your sin when He died on the cross, so the separation between you and I would be erased.  Now, since you have walked across the cross to Me we are no longer separated.  You are reconciled with Me.  I no longer count your sins against you.  I’m not keeping track anymore.  They have been paid for.

My Child, you owed Me a huge debt.  It was a sin debt that you could not pay.  I paid the debt for you.  In fact, I overpaid your debt.  I not only wiped out the debt you owed, I have given you all My wealth and riches.  You are a member of My family.  You are no longer on the outside trying to get to Me.  You are on the inside.  You are safe, secure, free and alive spiritually.

Because I have done all this for you, I am asking you to tell others about reconciliation.  Tell them that I will do the same thing for them as I’ve done for you.

My Child, bring people who are apart together and bring people who are separated from Me into the saving relationship that you and I have.

My Child, I’m so glad you are reconciled to Me.  It’s great having you on My side.  What a joy and pleasure it was for Me to cancel your sin. I love you!

Your Father  (pg.62)

Ephesians 1:1;  1Corinthians 1:2;
Philippians 1:1;  Colossians 1:2
My Loved Child, you are a saint.  You are known in heaven as that!  You are part of My Church and everyone who is, is a saint.  Being a saint means you are holy, set apart, and sanctified by Me.

My Loved One, this is how I look at you:  You are faithful, chosen, pure, consecrated, dedicated, committed, alive, free, clean, determined, and unified with Me and other saints.  Sin angers you as it should.

My Loved One, your sainthood doesn’t depend on what other people think about you.  It doesn’t depend on whether you reach a goal.  It doesn’t depend on your idea or any one else’s idea of success.  You are a saint, period!  You don’t have to do some miraculous thing to be declared a saint.  You just have to be you.  The you I have made holy through My blood.

My Loved One, even if you never win a soul, or never preach, or ever counsel, or ever give a dollar, or ever pray a prayer, or visit a sick person, or do anything, I consider you a saint because of who you are inside, not by what you do on the outside.

Believe this!  Live It!

Your Fellow Saint, Jesus  (pg.66)

Dear Saint, after reading this article I hope you will be convinced of the love of Jesus Christ for you and me.  Certainly, God will be pleased when we obey Him as faithfully as we know how.  If we are living in intentional sin, He will get our attention to bring correction so we stop sinning habitually.  Yet, His love for us is still there and He will never reject or forsake us even though we fall into sin.  He will spank us at times, as we do our own children, but His love for us is unconditional, just as my love is for my children.  They will always be my children and I still love them even when they are bad.  The only way we can be condemned is by rejecting Jesus Christ and living our life as a humanist, atheist, or under another religion.  God accepts the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the ONLY provision to forgive sins.  By faith alone He justifies us before Him in our imperfect, human, sinful condition.

In the next article I will continue with this most important topic, the love of Jesus Christ to His children.  I believe that understanding the love of God creates true freedom, peace and health.  It alleviates our fears and gives us assurance, hope and prosperity.

Psalm 103:2-4 states, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies”.

Dear Saint, God forgives us of all mistakes, weaknesses and sins.  All He wants us to do is ask Him to forgive us and help us to live our lives by allowing the love of Jesus to radiate out of us.  God is not asking His people to do great things for Him.  He asks us to let Him help us give love, mercy and grace to other people.  All of us have pride and immaturity which blinds us to our own hypocrisy.  Recently, God revealed to me my pride and showed me my hypocrisy.  As a result, this has given me a much better understanding of God’s love, mercy and grace, which I can now give more generously to others.

Romans 3:10 warns, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Do not judge one another by looking down on your fellow brother or sister with distain and bitterness, but love and forgive one another. I believe this is the will of God, understanding that but for the grace of God there go I.

I believe the person who cannot forgive and looks down on other people with contempt is the person that is so proud that he cannot see or understand his own wretched self.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galations 5:22-23)  May we all accept the love of Christ and live in freedom, not condemned by Satan who accuses and takes advantage of our ignorance, robbing us of our joy and peace.  Jesus never condemns when we confess our sins to Him.  Instead, He loves and forgives us, understanding our weaknesses and justifies us in God’s sight as perfect.

Love,  Jonathan Hansen

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Jonathan Hansen
Founder and President

Mission: To faithfully prophesy to the nations of the world, proclaiming the kingdom of God; giving warning to political leaders, the church, and society of God's coming judgment. We are "sounding the alarm" for the nations to repent of sin and to draw near to Jesus Christ.

Purpose: Our purpose is to influence and transform the nations whereby enabling peace, blessings and prosperity to come to the people. We are endeavoring to meet emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual needs through the love of Jesus Christ.

Vision: To reach 100% of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. To change the destiny of nations through reconciliation with God. To bring truth and restoration to the body of Christ and to set people free from bondage.

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The mission, purpose, and vision are being realized by the following means:

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