Hank’s Place

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The other day a dear friend suggested to my wife that she read John 14 through 16. And Mary did! She took a week to slowly, slowly, read each verse. And shared several with me, praise the Lord! One particular verse jumped off the page and into Hank’s Place: John 16:27, “…for the Father Himself loves you.…” The Father Himself loves you. Take a breath, relax, for the Father Himself loves you.

Remember the beginning of John 3:16? “For God so loved the world, that He gave….” We don’t earn our Father’s love. We don’t perform to attain to our Father’s love. We can’t, for God so loved the world….

Are you getting it? The Advent season is often a time of depression, stress, anxiety. “Woe is me, I have no friends, my family won’t talk to me, nobody loves me — especially not God, I’m not good enough,” and so on. Yet Jesus, who never lied, said, “for the Father Himself loves you.…”

Let’s check this passage in full context, “In that day (after Jesus has risen from the dead), you will ask in My name (in the nature, the character of Jesus), and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”

We do not need the intermediary of Jesus, Mary, or anyone, to get a loving response from the Father, “for the Father Himself loves you.”

But what about that part “…because you have loved Me”? Dear friend, this is not a requirement, an obligation on our part, a performance needed. It’s evidence. It’s a response. David Guzik explains, a pulse doesn’t make the heart pump, but it is evidence of it. Our love for God doesn’t make Him love us, but it is evidence that He loves us, and out of that love, we love. “We love for He first loved us.” That’s 1 John 4:19.

Depressed? Hearing voices saying you should end it all? Meditate on the truth: the Father Himself loves you. Believe it. Receive His love today. Then give it away! Yes, you are connected to the inexhaustible supply of God’s love. Take action! An act of love toward someone. A stranger. A friend. Be daring and express love to a family member!

Don’t stop with one. Perhaps invite strangers in for meal. Our children tell me when they were growing up it seemed like we were always having strangers in for a holiday meal. Sometimes really strange strangers. Some could have been angels, I don’t know. But I do know it was lovely! Go ahead, take a step of love, and COME ALIVE!

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You may be familiar with a children’s song, “My God is so BIG.” My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do – it goes on, “the mountains are His the valleys are His, the stars are Handiwork, too.” Jesus holds all creation together by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:3. The heavens are the work of His fingers. Psalm 8:3. God’s finger-painting. He counts and names ALL the stars. Psalms 147:4. Let me tell you, that means God is — BIG.

Earth is big. But a million earths can easily fit into the our sun. Our solar system, sun and planets, is a speck in the Milky Way galaxy, for it consists of over 500 billion stars. That’s really big. And God made it. And He made other galaxies, too, most of which are bigger than ours.

How many galaxies, you ask? Well, The Hubble space telescope was once pointed to an empty part of the sky and a month long time exposure was taken to find out if it was really empty. The area they focused upon was about the size of a pencil point on a paper held at arm’s length. And you know what the astronomers found? Galaxies – tons of galaxies. Over 5,000 galaxies, each containing billions of stars, in a spot of sky the size of a pencil point to our eyes. They looked in several other blank areas of the sky and had the same result: over 5,000 galaxies, each with billions of stars. Now imagine how many pencil points there are to our eyes to fill the sky. Immeasurable numbers of galaxies. God counts them all, and numbers and names each of their stars. God is BIG. 

Oh, wait, the universe is expanding. Because of that, there are countless, countless, other galaxies whose light has not yet reached the earth. In coming centuries there will be many more galaxies discovered. And God has already numbered and named each star in each of those galaxies.

Psalm 8:3 says it’s all God’s finger painting; just an exercise by God showing us a facet of the immeasurable greatness of His power. God, OUR GOD — is Big. Powerful. Our problems — however big to us, are so very small to our God. Very small. Very. He is well able to deal with sin, sickness, oppression, discouragement, devils, you name it. He is capable of effecting a great deliverance for us, of changing EVERYTHING for the good.

Today, this advent season, let not your heart be troubled. Take time to consider the immeasurable greatness of our BIG GOD – while we wait to celebrate again His Son’s arrival on earth in the flesh. He came for us. To save us. For unto us a Savior has been born. Pause, and believe. Then ask for anything. And receive — and COME ALIVE!

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It’s Thanksgiving Day – my good friend Nate Krupp of Salem, Oregon sent out a reminder of the Thanksgiving Story – a story well worth remembering. With thanks to Nate, here is that story.

The Pilgrims were a godly people who left the Church of England to start something they considered more simple and more biblical. They left Plymouth, England, on August 5, 1620, on the Mayflower ship enroute to an English colony in today’s Virginia, in search of religious and political freedom. They were blown off course to today’s Cape Cod Bay on the East Coast of Massachusetts. Before disembarking on November 21, they drew up the Mayflower Compact, which was the first time in history that free and equal men voluntarily, in writing, covenanted with GOD and each other to create their own civil government!

On shore, they discovered 20 acres that were already cleared and ready for planting! Nevertheless, 44% of their number died that harsh first winter. In March, an Indian chief, Samoset, appeared and greeted them – in English. He explained that the land had been cleared by a warring tribe, the Patuxets, before they had all died from a mysterious plague four years earlier. He returned a week later with Squanto, who had lived in Spain and England for nine years, where he had learned English, and had just returned from England six months earlier. He stayed with the Pilgrims and taught them how to fish, hunt, plant, etc., and greatly increased their chances of survival. Samoset and Squanto introduced the Pilgrims to Massasoit, the chief who controlled the entire area and with whom a peace treaty was arranged. In October the Pilgrims invited the Indians for a time of celebration and THANKSGIVING TO GOD, which lasted three days.

In 1789 President George Washington proclaimed November 26 as a day of national thanksgiving. President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November, 1863, as “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.” In 1941 Congress ruled that the fourth Thursday of November would be observed as Thanksgiving Day.

Today, at Hank’s Place, we encourage you to take time to give thanks to GOD – for His mercies, lovingkindness, His son Jesus our Savior – for ordaining America as God’s covenanted nation. Thank Him for His hand yet upon America — He’s not done with America, or YOU. Give thanks, and COME ALIVE!

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In Ro 5:15-21, Paul shares about this gift of righteousness God offers us.

He says this gift is NOT like the transgression – in one way, Adam sinned and it passed down to all the human race. No choice. It’s in our genes. But Jesus’ act of righteousness resulted in a ‘free gift’ Paul says, a gift of righteousness. A gift that must be individually received, and results in justification before God. Jesus righteous act has given each of us opportunity to receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness by which we reign in life. That is POWERFUL! Read this passage for yourself!

Vs 21 says grace reigns through righteousness. Grace is not a license to sin as some warn; grace actually leads us into righteous acts and behavior. Man says no, but God says so. Vs 21.

How righteous is this righteousness? 2 Corinthians 5:21 says we who believe have become the righteousness OF GOD. Not some form of righteousness; we’ve become the very righteousness of God! God’s righteousness. God is not more righteous than you and me. What? Paul has to be kidding, right? We and God both have the same righteousness – HIS. Man says no, but God says so.

By faith we receive the gift of God’s righteousness. The accuser of the brethren does his best to keep God’s children, us, from knowing this. Reminding us of every misstep, slip-up, whatever.

But, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10. And, “For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14. We didn’t get it by what we said or did, but by believing. Thus nothing we do or say can make us unrighteous.

Again, God has made us righteous — we cannot make ourselves any more righteous; we cannot make ourselves any less righteous! This righteousness before God is a gift. It’s always based on His perfect righteousness. He has made us perfectly righteousness with His righteousness for all of time — and nothing can change that!

Contrast that with spirit of unworthiness: you are not good enough. You’ll never be good enough for God. You’ll never have His approval. “You are not worthy” it shouts, to receive anything from God. Many Christians hear that voice of unworthiness and work hard at earning God’s approval. An approval they already have in Christ Jesus. 

Today – KNOW you are righteous. Your righteousness is God’s righteousness — top notch — so rejoice! Be STRONG. Be confident. Be assured. That accuser of the brethren has no place in you! Yes, KNOW this gift of righteousness is yours — and COME ALIVE!

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Welcome to Hank’s Place — 

Here we place an emphasis upon the GRACE of God. Jesus was full of grace. Through Him we have received grace upon grace. Acts and Paul’s epistles constantly remind us of the grace of God toward all believers. We have believed through grace, we have been saved through the grace, and much more.

I remind you of John 6:28-29 – when the disciples asked Jesus,“What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, (in other words, this is the ONE THING God requires of all men) that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” You do believe in Jesus don’t you? The Savior God has sent to save us from ourselves, right? 

So, salvation is ours by the grace of God, as we express FAITH in Him. Faith and grace; grace and faith. Not our works. Remember Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Striving is not the secret to life — asking of God — that’s the answer. 

Maybe you say, “I don’t get blessings. They don’t fall upon me. God doesn’t favor me; He’s got a low opinion of me. And those I pray for get worse.” What can you do about that, when it seems as if God is your problem?

No, the real problem is devils, this world, our flesh, promoting UNBELIEF. If we believe according to these things, it is impossible to believe the REAL truth. So, how do you know what you are believing, dear friend? 

The EVIDENCE of what we believe is found in what comes out of our MOUTHS, for the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart. Matthew 15:18. So, listen to how you respond to life. That it’s going to happen to you? That you can’t do anything about it? That you are going to lose…something? Those words are a sign — of unbelief. Even a mixture can keep God’s hand from moving, James 1:6-8. And many Christians live in that mixture today.

I urge you, do not believe the media or thoughts that just ‘come your way.’ Ask God for wisdom, and understanding; He gives generously. ASK ASK ASK of God, it’s what pleases Him. 

Challenges to our faith happen all the time. Demonically inspired voices around us attempt to pump lies into our minds. And bad things do happen. Time to believe God DOES work all things together for GOOD for those who love Him. For you and me. 

Today, believe — make the good confession. Let the world hear it from your lips — you’ll COME ALIVE!

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Here we place an emphasis upon the GRACE of God. The world, everything around you, places an emphasis upon OUR performance. Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them (the other apostles), yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10. He achieved much, by God’s grace — and so can we through His grace.

We urge you to have FAITH in God. From pleasing God, to moving mountains, to casting out demons, conquering kingdoms – read Hebrews 11. Many go around magnifying their troubles, depressed over world issues, expressing hopelessness, when they could, and should, be magnifying God by expressing faith in Him to save, deliver, heal, help — you know, talking the talk, walking the walk found in Scripture.

In this New Covenant Jesus has given us His RIGHTEOUSNESS. We look at ourselves and see miserable performance failures. God does not see us that way. As Romans 4:5 says, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” He has justified us, dear Christian. Made us completely pleasing in His sight. Believe it, for it is true.

We talk about the HOLY SPIRIT at Hank’s Place. When we were born again, we were sealed in Him by the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13. We urge you to keep moving forward and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit — begin experiencing the gifts of the Spirit as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12. They are for today, for you and me — to help us help others, and ourselves, Come Alive!

At Hank’s Place there is DELIVERANCE from demons. The very first sign of those who have believed is that they will cast out demons. Mark 16:17. Whoa! Instead of being kicked around by demons, or stand by helplessly while loved ones and others are tormented by them, believers will cast them out. You and me! We’ll help you get going in this vital aspect of expressing the authority God has given all believers over the power of the enemy – without fear of retaliation. Luke 10:17.

Many Christians come up with excuses why there are no Holy Spirit gifts in their lives, why they still call themselves sinners when the bible calls them New Creations, why they feel they haven’t done enough to please God, why they are being kicked around by the devil. Well, we don’t talk that way here. We don’t talk in words of unbelief. Here we’ll help you change your talk. It’s what we do.

You are welcome to come on in to Hank’s Place, get renewed, empowered, restored, and of course — COME ALIVE! It’s beyond cool.

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Welcome to Hank’s Place — 

2 Corinthians 5:17, “…if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Furthermore, these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself – through Christ – and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ, Father — Son, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our wrongdoings against us.… 

Salvation is God at work! Crafted by the Father and Son, it is far too important, and too impossible, for man to play a part. Remember the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15? A smoking oven and flaming torch passed between the split animal sacrifice while Abraham — slept. We believe the Good News — share it with others — but salvation is God’s business. Acts 16:31.

Within Protestantism there are two main theological positions: Arminianism – Baptists and Methodists and others; and Calvinism — Presbyterianism and others. Both from the 16th century. Jacobus Arminius I understand was a pretty good kid. And for him there was nothing much to repent of. He simply embraced Jesus as His savior. It was easy then to think that just as easily a person could walk away from Jesus and ‘lose’ their salvation. And need to get saved again – and again. 

John Calvin on the other hand I understand was a rotten reprobate. When he got saved he saw it as a divine act of God overcoming all his rebellion. Out of his experience came doctrines of predestination and of God’s absolute sovereignty in the salvation of the human soul.

It’s no wonder their hugely different salvation experiences led to variances in theology. And extremes. Both agree it is a God thing, that we do not save ourselves. But can we lose it?

What do we believe at Hank’s Place? We believe Ephesians 2:5-8, Colossians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and more. We’ve been made us alive together with Christ (by grace), raised up with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, by grace. Christ has been placed in us, us placed in Christ. Translated out of darkness into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Transformed into new creations. When? When we put our trust, our faith, in Jesus as our Savior, and not ourselves. 

If you slip up, mess up, will God un-translate you? Un-transform you? Toss you out of Christ? Christ leave you? My dear friend, you know the answer to that. Backslidden perhaps? Then remember who you really are. Stir up that faith within you, enter that throne room of grace (Heb 4:16) for mercy and grace to help — you are still His child. Throw off that entangling cloak of dark deeds today — and COME ALIVE!

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Welcome to Hank’s Place — 

Jesus first ‘official’ ministry was in His home town. It’s found in Luke 4:18-19, where Jesus reads from Isaiah 61:1-2. The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me — to give good news to the poor — release to captives — recovery of sight to the blind — setting free the oppressed — and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

Then He added, “TODAY this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Declaring HE was the ‘favorable year of the Lord’ that Jubilee year. In Jesus EVERY year is our Jubilee Year my friend. Our debts are canceled in Jesus. Our burdens lifted in Jesus. Life worth really living is restored! Hopes and dreams come alive again. All in Jesus – believe it. Receive it.

His hometown didn’t believe it, and when He told them how hard of hearing they were – they were filled with rage and ready to kill Him. There’s a message there.

But I want to point out Isaiah 61:3 where the prophet declares those who benefit from all this will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting OF THE LORD, that HE may be glorified. Oaks. Mighty oaks. Standing firm in any storm. Steadfast. Immovable. Oaks of Righteousness. Picture yourself as one of those dear friend, because that is who you really are!

Romans 3:9 declares no one is righteous on their own. However good our best efforts may be, they are never good enough. We all need a Savior. Thank God for JESUS. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says of Him, “He (the Father) made Him who knew no sin (Jesus), to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become (in other words the transformation is effected) the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus became our sin offering, and the One who has carried our sin away. Now we are eternally the righteousness of God.

Perfectly perfect. Acceptable to God. Approved before God. Always at the receiving end of blessings. Favor. Mercy. Lovingkindness. Grace. And more. When this truth becomes TRUTH in our inner being and mind, our lives will change – significantly.

Many Christians, even pastors and missionaries, have yet to understand this. Why? Because they are mixing the 2 covenants together. Law and Grace. Maybe you are too. Likely you are. If you think God is kinda disapproving of you, kind of tolerating you, then you are.

Maybe you rejoice that God will bless you. But only if you do all the right things. That He will prosper you financially, but only if you tithe. That you will stay healthy. But only if you keep making those positive confessions. Rebuking sickness. And on and on. Grace and Law, Law and Grace. Depressing and making it difficult to receive all your Father has to give you.

God has sworn by Himself (Hebrews 6:13-14) to bless those who believe in Him. Today: reject the performance approach. Believe. Receive. Standing firm in Him. We have HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS as we stand before the Father. Consider these things — and COME ALIVE!

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Welcome to Hank’s Place — 

Here at Hank’s Place you can come out of the rain of judgment. You can get away from the rat race — of trying to outdo your co-worker. There are no Jones to keep up with, hallelujah!

At Hank’s Place, each of us is accepted in the beloved. Eph 1:6. The Beloved of course is Jesus our Savior. His blood has covered our failures and inadequacies before the Father. His blood lives. What’s even more amazing is He has carried our transgressions away so they will never be found, by you, by anyone, not the devil, not even God, for He has promised to remember them no more. Heb 8:12.

And Jesus lives forever to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25) as our great High Priest — eternally so no new ones can be added in the future. Pretty powerful what Jesus did for us at Calvary, isn’t it?

When the God of all creation, the Almighty God, the One who sits on THE throne in heaven, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end, takes a look at you – or me – what does He see? His child. His son. His daughter. See His arms extended and welcoming you? See His face, smiling with joy as He beholds you? It’s true.

And at Hank’s Place I’m hoping these truths become more self-evident. They are in His word; I’m not making this up.

The devil’s big weapons are accusation, rejection, fear of rejection, and fear of death. From childhood we learned about accusation. Something happened – and an adult comes on the scene demanding to know who did it or who started it – and we may find ourselves the accused even if we had no part in it – happen to you? It’s happened to every child. And what child has not been left out, rejected from the team, the gang, the group, the ‘in’ crowd – it’s happened to all of us. Not pretty, and lengths we would go to in order to be accepted, right? How about fear of death? The lies we told to avoid a beating – or things we did, or didn’t do for fear of punishment? It has happened to all of us.

But NOW, IN CHRIST JESUS, we have been set free from condemnation. Ro 8:1. Set free from accusation. Set free from bondage to this body of flesh and principles the world lives under. Translated into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (Col 1:13) where there is LIFE and LIGHT, Gladness and JOY in the Holy Spirit.

My friend, whatever your burdens today, LOOK UP – REMEMBER Jesus your Savior, Almighty God your Father, approving of you. Supporting you. Remember the defeat of the devil at Calvary, a done deal. Col 2:15. Yes, remember — now, throw those grave clothes away, the way blind Bartimaeus did with his beggar cloak (Mk 10:50) when Jesus called him. Walk in the Spirit, walk in the kingdom you were destined for, by faith — and COME ALIVE!

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Welcome to Hank’s Place —                  

We have often shared why the New Covenant is SO much better than the Old. We’ve made clear the Old is but a shadow, a faint reflection of what was to come. It’s focus was the LAW and keeping it. Do good and be rewarded kind of spirit, just like the world today. But the Law cannot make anyone righteous, and that’s what we need to stand before GOD ALMIGHTY.

Romans 3:20 says, “by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” In other words, the more a person strains to do the right thing, seeking approval in God’s sight, straining to walk right and keep walking right, the more that person becomes aware of their limitations, shortcomings, and failures. The Law provides… not life — but condemnation.

Thankfully Romans 3 continues! “But now APART from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; without distinction.”

Verses 24 & 28 say, “being justified as a GIFT by His GRACE through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…” and, “we maintain that a person is JUSTIFIED BY FAITH apart from works .…” – performance.

Now that we are Christians, it’s not about keeping all the rules. To take our eyes off of Jesus and look to the Law is, as John Sheasby has said, like kissing the photograph of your wife when she is standing right there beside you.

In Romans 7:6 Paul declares we have been released from the Law by identifying with Jesus and His death so that NOW we can serve in newness of the SPIRIT and not in oldness of the letter. THAT’S powerful good news!

Romans 8:4 urges us to walk according to the Spirit – to HIS voice within us. That’s LIFE! But if we set our mind on the flesh, thinking of the how WE can keep the Laws for righteousness, well, that way is DEATH. So let’s choose, as vs 6 says, to set our minds on the Spirit, which is life and peace.

Today — let us walk in the righteousness we have by faith in Jesus. This free gift of God, this eternal life in Christ Jesus, is the stumbling stone. FREE GIFT. Believe. Let us not take life’s matters into our own hands to work out and prove OUR self-righteousness. Humbly, let’s RECEIVE. And we — will COME ALIVE!

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