Missing the mark(Tips on your Christian walk)

 

This past week, I did something I had never done before, which was ax throwing. As seen in the picture above, I did not get a bullseye; I missed the mark. With God’s target, everyone misses the mark.

What is sin? The biblical definition of sin is something you think, say, or do that goes against God’s law. The word sin originally came from the Greek word hamartia, which means a fatal flaw leading to downfall.

Sin is originally an archery term; when someone does not make a bullseye on a target, they would say that person has sinned. So likewise, God has a target or standard of righteousness that we are expected to meet, and if we aren’t meeting that standard, then we are sinning. As I mentioned, God’s target is his law which is the ten commandments.

Ten commandments

• No other Gods before me. The first command seems easy, especially in western culture, the predominant religion is Christianity. But it’s more complicated than that. A god can be anything you put before the one true God. It can vary from a relationship to a material thing like phones or some prized possession that you hold near to.
• Don’t worship anything or image but God. One and two go hand and hand, but the second command is not to worship any image.
• Shall not take the lord’s name in vain. This one is explanatory. You would not use your father or mother’s name as a cuss word, so don’t use God’s name as a cuss word either.
• Keep the Lord’s day. In the Jewish culture, they were supposed to worship on Saturday, but they could not do certain things because that would have been considered work.
• The fifth commandment is what every child doesn’t want to hear, but God commands us to honor our father and mother. I know some of us have not had the best relationship with our parents, but if they tell you something that aligns with the Bible or doesn’t put others in danger, we are obligated to listen and obey. That goes for all authorities as well.
• The sixth commandment seems easy, but there is a disclaimer. Don’t kill; most of us reading this have never killed anyone, but Jesus says even if you have hateful thoughts toward anyone, then you committed murder.
• The seventh commandment is Don’t commit adultery. Everyone knows that when you cheat on your spouse, then you have committed adultery. Still, Jesus said even if you look at a woman with lust, then you have committed adultery in your heart.
• Eighth commandment: Do not steal, here’s another one where most people have not robbed a bank or gone to jail for robbery but do not steal also includes the time you had taken another kids blocks so that you could complete your lego tower or took someone’s pencil in school to take your test.
• Ninth commandment: Don’t bear false witnesses; in other words, don’t lie. As a kid, I had a problem with lying. I would tell lies unconsciously. That’s the ninth commandment do not lie.
• Last but not least, the tenth commandment is to do not covet others things. This is much more than jealousy. It’s desiring other’s specialties and doing whatever it takes to get that specific thing.

This is God’s target, some people look at this list of commands, and they may have done only 3-4 apossed to someone else that has committed six or seven. However, the Bible says if you commit one, you have committed them all.

What to do about it? When it was my turn to go up there to throw the ax, it took me several times, and I couldn’t get the bullseye no matter how hard I tried. The same goes for our Christian walk; we try so hard to do better and live a holy life, but that is as impossible as me getting a bullseye, and I may have tried over ten-fifteen times. The point is us trying to clean up our act by ourselves is useless. The Bible describes our works as filthy rags. There is not a single thing you could do to clean yourself up, but God is standing with his arms out wide with a broom and dustpan in one and a mop in the other, waiting to clean you up.

Takeaway  Those of us who are believers, God can’t love you more or less than he already does. I say he loves us a lot because he sent his only son to die in our place. For the wages of sin is death, so death was my punishment, but the gift of God is eternal life with him forever.

Final response For the believer’s let’s live like we have been forgiven. If you have questions or have never heard the gospel message, please comment “I have questions,” and I will be more than willing to answer any questions you may have. The Bible says today is the day of salvation, so don’t live your whole life with your questions unanswered.

Thank You! All I can say is thank you my last blog post titled “When God is off the grid” has reached people from the USA to China, so thank you for sharing my previous post, and I ask if you were encouraged by this post that you would do the same for this one!