Monday May 11, 2020
Your Daily Dose of Inspiration:
1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
“These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in.” – C.S. Lewis
Everyone has sinned; there is no getting around that fact. We have all done wrong and it is likely that we will again. Such is the human condition. We are beings created for perfection who constantly fall short of that ambition. That is why we need Jesus. He is the solution for our inability, the cure for the disease, He is the new heart, and the reconciliation. We participate in His death and resurrection in order that the body of our sin might be removed, and we would live according to the righteousness of Christ. Despite that, sin persists. We often fall back into that old nature and prove to ourselves that we are still in desperate need of His grace. Though we have accepted Him as Lord and Savior, we find ourselves falling short of the mark.
One of the words for sin in the Greek is hamartano. That word bears the image of an archer aiming at the bullseye and missing it. He misses the mark. That is an apt description of our attempt to live righteously. We know that there is a right way to live, a right way to think, speak, and act, but we constantly fail to do so. We try and try to live rightly, and yet, despite our best efforts, we still miss. We can all recognize this problem in others, and the more reasonable among us can also recognize it in ourselves. Why then do we miss the mark? One reason may be because we are not aiming at the right target. For if we are missing the mark that means there is a particular target we are meant to hit. Perhaps we are aiming at the wrong target. The target that we are to aim for is not good behavior, but right relationship with God.
-Jared Freeman, “Missing the Mark”
View this past Sunday’s Sermon – Missing the Mark
Listen to Our Worship Playlists
Jump Into Conversation & Competition By Playing Cards!
Jared & I had so much fun learning these card games last week. We took a night off from the TV and sat across from one another at the table, playing cards and laughing the night away. -Alicia
