When have you ever met with the corporate body of Christ on a Sunday Morning and watched not just one person... but two... bowl a PERFECT game? Yeah... we had an interesting day at Leavener today. This is race day in Indianapolis and our community tries to take advantage of that by cramming every annual event on this weekend. So today we had a Professional Bowlers Association Tournament taking place at Pinheads while we were meeting. We watched the perfect games occur before we left. That was pretty amazing... I can't even do that on the Wii!

On Friday, a few of our families traveled to the Cincy area to go to the new Creation Museum. I thought it was a pretty cool place. I was impressed with the museum and would highly recommend it. But while there, I noticed many different "Jesus" t-shirts. A couple of guys were wearing the shirt that was printed with "Not perfect... Just forgiven". I wanted to confront them and ask them if they got their shirts for half price because they were only half right. If they have faith in Jesus then no doubt they are forgiven. Colossians 2:13 says "And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses." Most Christians have very little problem with that truth.

But what about the "Not perfect" part of the shirt? That is not scriptural. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified." How do you justify that passage? Notice that it is past tense. It has already happened at the cross. It doesn't happen when we get to heaven. It is a done deal... NOW! Our spirit and soul have been redeemed and perfected as we watch the Brickyard 2008. What is being perfected is my flesh (behavior). Someday I will receive a glorified body that has been predestined for me and my behavior will perfectly line up with my already perfect spirit and soul.

As for me today... I truly identify in who I am in Christ and the Bible says I'm perfect. That is incredible news. That is way better than bowling a perfect 300!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

That is even way better than smashing the French in swimming!!!

Rusty

The headline read, “Perfect Pats”. It summarized of the 2007-08 NFL season for the New England Patriots. They amassed some amazing statistics during the regular season and were pretty well anointed the 2008 NFL Champions before the playoffs began.

Perfection is a goal for many and a destination for few. Think about it, the 2008 Patriots had arrived somewhere only three other teams had before. The 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears and the 1972 Miami Dolphins all had undefeated regular seasons. Amazingly out of this pack only the Dolphins managed to win the championship and complete and undefeated season.

But is an undefeated season the same as a perfect one? During that so called perfect season, Jim Kiick let loose of the ball 3 times, Mercury Morris had 8 fumbles and Larry Csonka only coughed it up twice. It would seem to the untrained mind that in a perfect season these three would have had zeroes in the fumbles category of their statistics. It would also seem as though the starting quarterback would have remained healthy and played all year in a perfect season.

Now that the 2007-08 NFL season is over, it is history that the Patriots failed in their effort for an undefeated season. The upstart New York Giants surprised them by winning 17-14. That three point differential is the variable that many pundits suggest will haunt the Patriots players the rest of their lives.

Maybe it is possible there is another source that will haunt people for less than perfect performance for the rest of their lives. Maybe it is possible to experience perfection, even when it feels as though we are in the midst of failure.

Perfection is a bad objective. There is only one source of perfection and it is not you. God sent His perfect Son Jesus to be our righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

What if you separate two components of your life; your being and your behavior? Your being came into this world imperfect due to Adam’s original sin. (Romans 5:17, 18) In other words, your perfect season was over before it began. Consequently, your behavior never had a chance; it only took a short time for your selfishness to be manifest into imperfect behavior.

Since your being was maligned by Adam’s original misbehavior, it is impossible to behave properly enough to ever equate to a perfect season in God’s eyes. So there is a gaping hole in the effort to achieve perfection. It requires supernatural intervention.

The difference between the Patriots so called perfect season and the one that got away was nearly supernatural. Giant’s quarterback, Eli Manning, was in the midst of Patriot defenders; one had his jersey and nearly pounded him to the ground. Remarkably, Manning slipped out of his grasp and hurled a massive throw. Giant’s receive, David Tyree, somehow wedged the ball against the top of his helmet and maintained control to set the team up for victory. It was a once in a lifetime play.

Perfection in life is the result of a once in a lifetime play as well. (Hebrews 10:12) At just the right time, Christ died for all. He was the fulfillment of prophecy. He came that we might have life and have it to the fullest.

Once one comes to agreement with the idea He was the perfect sacrifice, they can begin to grasp they will never be able to do so themselves. He converted our imperfect being to a perfect one by faith. You are saved by faith and not works, so you have nothing to boast about. (Eph 2:8, 9)

Your inner being was set to a state of perfection the moment you trusted in Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. At that moment, God’s Holy Spirit began a mighty work from the inside out, to transform your outer being (behavior) to begin to reflect the perfection of your inner being. If you are trying to gauge perfection by your behavior, you will always come up short of the mark. But if you measure it by Christ’s perfection, you will hit the mark. The Bible says, “it is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

There is a remnant in our physical being called the power of sin. It is satan’s false holy spirit or his agent of condemnation. This is the mechanism he uses to haunt you during your lifetime. It is through your thoughts where he condemns Christians and suggests they are imperfect and unacceptable to God. John 10:10 suggests he comes to steal, kill and destroy. It is through these lies he strives to haunt you forever.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are perfect. Your behavior is not a complete indicator of your perfection, but will begin to look more and more like the One who lives in you.

Don’t let the evil one keep you in a desperate place just because your behavior falls short of the mark from time to time. It is the Savior who covered that shortcoming on your behalf and He is the one working in you. And as the apostle Paul said, “I am confident of this very thing, He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

That is way better than 18-1!

Keith Tyner

Diane Phillips' life on earth ended this week. She absolutely deserves to be at her heavenly home with her eternal Father. Her last few years here on earth were hard fought in a battle with cancer. Throughout the physical struggle she never gave up. She lived life to the fullest in most everything she did. I had the honor of serving beside Diane during her 10 years of service at Northside Baptist Church. She loved the children, encouraged the parents and always supported her fellow employees. There was never a negative statement that came from Diane. She was loving, she was honest, she was direct, she was concerned, she was self-sacrificing, she was patient, she was faithful, she was a hard worker. I have incredible respect and love for Diane Phillips.

Diane served as the Director of Children's Ministry for a reason. She desired to teach children about Jesus. She consistently encouraged parents in their own faith walk so they could be prepared to teach their children. I learned much by watching Diane interact with people. I learned much by just watching her spirit minister to others. I am thankful for my friend. I will absolutely miss her but know that she will be there someday to welcome me home.

Diane... thanks for sharing your life with us. Welcome home my friend from a job perfectly done in Christ!

Rusty

A perfect ending... to eighteen years on staff at Northside. First of all, my Mom (Dixie), my sister (Heidi) and niece (Emily) drove all the way from Tulsa, OK to be here for this celebration.

My last official act as a Northside staffer was to baptize my friend Andy Deo. What an incredible testimony this man shares. We quickly reminisced over the last 18 months about him coming to understand his own identity in Christ. Having his boys, Ben and Nick, looking over the glass into the baptistery was a special moment.

My friends at Northside planned the perfect party for my exit. It was all about baseball! It started with the National Anthem and my mom throwing out the first pitch. There was plenty of food (brats, sausage & dogs, cotton candy, nachos and of course Cracker Jacks). We split up teams and played some good ole boy softball.

One of the cool things they did was produce a set of "Rusty Kennedy" baseball cards and t-shirts. So the whole field was full of fun, food and memories. It was great to hang out with friends and family (some that I hadn't seen for quite some time). What had been forecasted as a chance of thunderstorms turned out to be a perfect day of weather with bright sunshine and a cool 75 degrees.

Perfect... That is a word that drives many. For others, it is unfathomable. It is an adjective that can be good or bad depending on the noun. It is a description that I have come to embrace about myself. It is not my opinion. It is clearly stated in the Word of God. Have you ever considered yourself perfect? If you know Jesus as your Savior... God views you as perfect! Oh my! That is greater news than any perfect party!

Coming to the understanding of perfection in Jesus could cause others to view that as an arrogant claim. Absolutely NOT! It is because of my weakness that Jesus' grace makes me perfect. Once again, it is nothing that I have done but everything God did.

It was perfect... It is perfect... It is finished.

Rusty