“For by one sacrifice He (Jesus) has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (perfect).” Hebrews 10:14

A hobby of mine is shooting. While I grew up with guns in the house and have always been around them, it hasn’t been until the last year that I could actually call ‘shooting’ a hobby! When I’d go, it was always questionable as to how I well I would do. Hitting the target was never consistent and keeping score never a thought! Until Dan, my friend and fellow Jesus guy said, “meet me here Tuesday morning!”

I started teaching Sunday School when I was in Jr. High School. When teachers couldn’t handle me, dad made ME a teacher. And what a wake up call THAT was! I didn’t really know what I DIDN’T know until I HAD to KNOW IT! I learned early that to be a good teacher, one needs FIRST to become a good STUDENT!

Dan began teaching me what I had never learned. I LISTENED because he was OBVIOUSLY smarter than me in the area of pistol shooting! From day one he said, “you’re doing well!” Even though I RARELY felt I was. I wanted to be perfect. He wanted me to, simply and consistently, improve. “You’ll get there,” he’d say. And yesterday I did!

Looking at the target, I see 5 misses. The middle circle is the ‘X’ ring’ or ‘bullseye.’ But anything in the BIG circle counts as ‘perfect.‘ While I was semi-happy, Dan was ecstatic! Jesus and Dan have a lot in common!

This is not bragging about what a good shot I am. The next time could easily be far worse! But I am MUCH better than I was a year ago because I have a GREAT instructor…AND I LISTEN to him. I mean BOTH of them! Jesus and Dan!

I LOVE the Bible verse today because it tells me my actual standing before God…PERFECT! To Him I am PERFECT ALWAYS! Not because of anything ‘I’ have done, but because what His SON has done on MY behalf! Now don’t get me wrong! He has a LOT to teach me and He EXPECTS me to listen to Him and do what He says! I simply commit to doing just that!

I am now PERFECT in Gods eyes…and ‘getting perfecter’ every day as I walk with Him. That’s even when I don’t FEEL like it. Misses and missteps that may look like failure to me and others are NOT reasons for God to abandon me. It actually draws us CLOSER in our relationship of teacher and student! And WHAT A RELIEF it is to know that the Master of the UNIVERSE looks at me and see a straight shooter! So…. ‘How YOU doin?’