How close are you to hitting 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 our sins.
Romans 3:23-24
As I remember from my days in high school track when one competes in the pole vault, we are focused on doing one thing - jumping higher than the mark where the bar has been set. Once you have Jumped, there can only be two outcomes. You either cleared the mark or fell short. If you failed in your attempt to clear the bar, whether you've missed by an inch or a foot doesn't matter. You stilled 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 miss by a mile. How close you come doesn't matter. Close isn't close enough. The moral bar 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 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 penalty when you miss the mark.
Selah people' and friends it is important to recognize that everyone sins. Shift your focus to the future, not to the past. Because of Jesus, guilt and the fear of punishment no longer weigh you down. You are free to jump higher than ever before.
"When you miss the mark, ask for God's forgiveness, learn from your mistake, and keep moving forward."
Your pastor,
Rev Patrick Muston
Selah Christian Church
Four Oaks, NC
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