Are you falling short of the mark?Today's Scripture:
All have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away sins.
Romans 3:23-24
As a freshman at Swansboro High school my track coach introduced me to one of my events that earned me my first varsity letter it was the pole vault. When a person competes in the pole vault, he is focused on doing one thing ~ jumping higher than the mark where the pole's been set. Once he has jumped, there can be only two outcomes. He either cleared the mark or fell short. If he failed in his attempt to clear the pole, whether he missed by an inch or a foot doesn't matter. He still failed.
The same is true with sin. The Hebrew word for sin literally means "to miss the mark." Everyone sins by choosing to go his own way instead of God's way. Some people miss God's mark by an inch; others by a mile. How close you come doesn't matter. Close isn't close enough. The moral pole god has set for you to clear is a high one; it is so high that it's impossible to continually clear it on your own. a perfect, holy God can't embrace anything less than perfect.
The good news is that this perfect and faultless God is also perfect and loving.
That's why he provided a way for you to clear the bar more consistently, as well as a means for you to avoid a penalty when you miss the mark.
It is important to recognize that everyone sins. Shift your focus to the future, not the past. I'm almost 26 years past my first pole vault attempt and thankfully I'm no longer limited to just my little high school to reach for heights the opportunities are limitless. Because of Jesus, guilt and the fear of punishment no longer weigh you and I down. We are now free to jump higher than ever before.
Selah people' and friends when you miss the mark, ask for God's forgiveness, learn from your mistake, and keep moving forward.
"Peace be with you as you and I strive to reach the mark that Christ has set for us."
Be sure to stop by and visit our church website at http://selahchurch.com/ and check out our upcoming events, photos and listen to our online audio sermons.
Your pastor,
Rev Muston (PreacherPatrick)
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