There are no character flaws

    If we consider God's reality on character, and design, He designed us flawlessly. Now, obviously, from a worldly standpoint, it's hard to point to "flawless" people, and we can be quick to make judgments about what specifically makes people "flawed" and character "deficits" some people "struggle" with. Yet, I will make the claim and take the position that "Because God designed us flawlessly, humans are inherently flawless." This is the claim that I'm sticking with because how do you argue against it? 

    Well, there is one counterargument. People aren't perfect, are they? I mean consider the person who was resented for being alive by his dad. Was his dad perfect? Well, let me frame it this way. Was what his dad did, or the feelings he had felt about his son perfect? I would not be able to argue that they were healthy, and many might consider it borderline emotionally abusive. Nor were his dads' attitudes perfect. This is what transgression is by nature though, that even though the flawless and perfect character God designed is somewhere within the mountain of junk that led the dad to think this way, and therefore the man himself is flawless because the junk is not him. This is why design is so important, and more than likely is the rubric of which God will judge us, especially as Christians. "How well did you walk in your design?"

    For as we consider this, let us take the Fear of the LORD to heart, and hope in the salvation that he has provided for us by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which has perfected us, and given us the ability to receive the grace that we need to walk in the flawlessness of our design. So, therefore, be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

How much worse punishment?

     Heb 10:29 “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of Grace?” 

    We, according to this verse, are sanctified. Not "being sanctified" as is being taught by most churches nowadays just to provide a clear definition of "sanctification vs. forgiveness". Yet, there still remains growth, steadfastness, fruits to bear, light to live within, presence and service to work out, and salvation to be convinced of. There is a disparaging difference between the two things, and it's not so clear-cut what the word "sanctification" means besides having some similarities with the words 'holy', 'set-apart', and 'perfect'. We are being taught continually that the 'perfectionizing' is a process, and so we just have to come to the conclusion that the author of Hebrews has gone crazy and is talking nonsense, or they were right. I would personally vouch for that latter, but I have reasons for that besides just saying "because the Bible is the inspired word of the Living God, and every verse therein can be used for correction and discipline." 

    Consider this: The blood of Jesus Christ, Son of the Highest, Living God. Fully God, sheds His throne, His authority, and His omnipotence to come down to earth and live among us, falling from the highest heights and taking His place in the lowest lows. Consider the value of blood today. ~$237 for a liter to restore about a fifth of your livelihood should you lose a liter of blood, and or need a transfusion of about a liter. It's hard to measure value until you take into consideration how much you could be restored to, let's say you die if you lose anything more than a liter of blood, think about the loss of connection that you suffer from your family, and the loss of connection that your family suffers from you dying. Think about the hours spent in front of a TV, reading, enjoying your spouse or friends that are suddenly lost. Pretty deep.

    Some of the things that we take for granted are often the most valuable things that we have available to us. How much more valuable do you think blood is than $237/L now? Well, I haven't finished if you suddenly see that that, in retrospect, is pretty cheap for a liter of blood. 

    How valuable do you think it is to be sanctified before the righteous Judge of the universe? To be whole, complete, and perfect? Considering how much holiness He demands of His creation, I would say very high, the Most High really. But I'm only talking about that on an individual level, and the only power that HAS sanctified completely is the blood of Jesus. How much more valuable do you think it would make it considering that Jesus has sanctified ALL who are in His fold, by ONE sacrifice of His blood? A bit more valuable than the blood of a normal lamb, don't you think? 

    So then, seeing the value of which Jesus has given to us, to be freely sanctified totally before His Father, how much more grave do you think it is that we look at that in complete fear when He says "How much worse punishment"?  Often the sentence for stealing from hospitals would be close to two-ten years depending on the value of the thing being stolen. It's easily measurable when things are stolen to measure a punishment, it's not so easily measurable when we consider what else is considered sin and defilement, or even a trampling in God's eyes. 

    And so we conclude by talking about communion, and the wine that Jesus shared in accordance with the Law, with community, and with His beloved. The thing that He invites us into by His blood, and the one act that we do without Him to remember His sacrifice until the day of his return, and at the same time using His blood as a seal of the better covenant that He Himself mediates. What happens when we take this holy meal in spite? With sin in our hearts, or our spirits, or our flesh? How much worse do you think the discipline will be when we do this? How badly do we trample the blood? How much worse the punishment when we've accepted His offering and not realized how sanctified we really are, whilst still allowing us to practice iniquity or defilement? How could you?

Covered in gratitude

    Have you ever been thanked by the Lord? If so, what was the context? Do you know why? I remember the first time that I felt God say "thank you" for a small thing, just for hanging out with Him during an afternoon. When I first heard it I thought I heard wrong. When I asked, "Did you really just thank me?" He responded by saying, "Did you expect to be the only thankful person in this relationship?". That was an afternoon of laughter for me, and I still remember the joy I felt at being thanked by the Father. Like how does a God that big, that capable, resourceful, infinite then turn around and thank me for something so small? What a humbling experience. 

    Then I had an experience earlier last year where I purposefully said "thank you Abba" in my heart, over and over, as often as I could. I had the desire to make my "prayer without ceasing" to be so covered in gratitude that the portions and requests would be far overshadowed by the thankfulness that Abba deserves. Not only that, but I wanted to be as grateful as possible. Today I still notice and see that my prayers are always marked with gratitude. The content of what I am grateful for, though still based in God and Him just being Him, has changed over the past year. I know that I was grateful for my spirit then, and the ministry He was doing to me personally to strengthen and nurture the part of me that comes directly from His essence. Today I am grateful that He is ministering to my emotions and my heart. One thing that I have remarked on is the generosity of the Lord. 

    To say that my God has been generous beyond all expectations this season is far understating what He has accomplished and given out of His careful hands, which have planned every work from the beginning of the foundation of the world. Earlier this past September we had the opportunity to have a school to teach people about the prophetic. From the first week, there was a student who had caught my eye, and though then she showed up in my blog posts just because of the interactions we had together, I had no foreknowledge of what generosity God had stored up. Several weeks into the school she shared a testimony of being completely healed of endometriosis, an illness that would leave her bedridden and would only be able to be treated through hormone treatments, and through pain medicines. 

    As I continued to get to know Evelinn I took notice of her humility and devotion to Jesus. There, a desire was born to continue to get to know her, and as the school went on, we had the opportunity to do just that. Soon after the school finished, I decided that I wanted to act on the desire on another level, and asked her if she would like to be my girlfriend. She said "yes". Since then we have continued to cultivate a long-distance relationship, and one of the things that mark this relationship is gratitude. I am continuously in awe of the generosity of God to allow this wonderful human into my life at such a level that we can grow in love, and humility, toward a God whom we can also learn to share. Though Jesus shares himself with everyone, not everyone can share intimacy on that same level. 

    Today I gawk at what God has done in her life, and what He has restored and I find myself in awe more often than not, and I celebrate with Him what He has accomplished in both of our lives with, and through each other. This next weekend I go to visit her and her parents in Luxembourg again, and am excited to get to share time in person again. However, as in all things, being covered in gratitude implies that I am content and grateful for what God has given me, and He has given us all we need. 

    For now, I am covered in gratitude to have her in my life, and am excited to continue to grow with her.