Missing the Mark

The simplest and truest definition of sin is to miss the mark.

This definition of sin comes from Greek and Jewish cultures. It means failing to hit the bull’s-eye when throwing a spear.

The Greek culture considers sin to be the action of not achieving your fullest potential. Jewish philosophy sees sin as failing to love God. It is not living by His word.

From early childhood, I recognized the principles of right and wrong.

Obedience to my parents and faith in their love for me brought safety. 

Innocence remained uncomplicated. 

Love, coupled with authority, provided boundaries that kept me secure. I had no concept of sin, and I trusted my parents without question.

The Bible tells the story of Adam and Eve in a paradise walking with God in the cool of the day. They had a loving relationship. Everything was perfect for them.

They were innocent, trusting in their Creator, their Father. He had only one command to test their trust and obedience:

“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Loss of Innocence

Lucifer, lifted up in pride, had committed the first sin.  He missed the mark when he attempted to usurp the authority of his creator.

“Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket. How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.’” Isaiah 14:11-13

He was the angel responsible for ushering up the worship of all created beings before God. He was beautiful above all other heavenly beings. His body was created as an instrument of praise and worship.  But he lifted himself in pride and said, “I shall ascend to be as the Most High God.” 

He missed his mark and, as a result, lost the position of lifting worship to God. Mankind was created with care, as a son. He was to take his place. This proved that God would receive worship from a willing heart.

It was so until Lucifer, through deceit, convinced Eve. He made her believe that God wanted to keep knowledge from them. He wanted to limit what they could become and deprive them of being like the gods by knowing the difference between good and evil.

He despised the love and fellowship that Adam and Eve had with God.

Full of hate and bitter defeat, he devised the destruction of innocence. He would defeat the Almighty and rob God of His cherished relationship with man.

His plan was momentarily victorious but devastatingly short-sighted.

The devil convinced Eve to eat from the tree of the Knowledge of good and Evil. She persuaded Adam to join her. The moment their eyes were opened, they lost their innocence.  They were naked and afraid.

Instead of becoming as the gods, they were filled with guilt, fear, shame, and confusion.

They had sinned!  God had warned them of the consequences of disobedience. What was death? They had never seen it. When would it happen? They had to hide that they were naked.

They must hide from God!

Judgement is the result of sin.

Death happened. Death of innocence. Death of the lamb to cover nakedness. Separation from paradise, no longer walking in fellowship with God. Sin separates.

Now there is toil and frustration, sickness, hunger, fear, regret, anger, and blame.

There is pain in childbirth and subjection to authority.  There is a cursed ground that brings forth thorns and weeds. Life is a struggle. The consequence of sin is real.

Why Free Will?

Sin matters!  Missing the mark matters.  Sin knows no cultural barriers. 

There is no racial distinction or economic privilege.  Sin proliferates throughout all of humankind, exacting consequences for violating the principles and precepts of God. 

Millennia have passed and the battle continues to rage. Lucifer is still persuading mankind to live in sin, missing the point that God loves them. He desires to bless and commune with them in the cool of the day.

God came as a man, Christ Jesus. He came to redeem his creation and satisfy the judgement of death. This restored them as his sons and daughters. He is indeed, our heavenly Father desiring to draw us unto himself.

He is our protector, provider, healer, and confidant.

We must choose to have faith in him, to acknowledge that He is and that he rewards those who diligently seek Him. He has chosen us but He declares, “Whosoever will, let him come.” 

There is that word. Will.

Lucifer said, “I will ascend unto the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” Eve thought, “I will eat of the forbidden fruit” Jesus said, “I will lay down my life.” 

Mankind says, “I will cast off the knowledge of God and rule my own life.”

Though we have rejected the one true God and made many other gods, His plan is still being fulfilled to the tiniest detail.  

God alone has created the heavens and the earth for His pleasure. He has set natural laws in place. He has established the truth. His truth.

We have created new gods and chosen to worship the creature more than the Creator.

We have chosen to forget the truth by excusing and justifying our failures. We mock God, change the rules, and have made ourselves to be little gods.

We acknowledge spirits, energy, and mind vibrations. We believe in the inner connectedness of all things. We manifest abundance and exercise the law of attraction. We believe in terrestrial beings.

Yet we think there is no God because he doesn’t play by our rules or give us what we demand.

It is much like an ant on the rails of a track screaming at the top of his lungs, “If there is a God, let him squash me right now!” I am sorry for the little ant’s ignorance. God doesn’t answer to you or operate on your schedule.

Sin does matter. Our faith, with obedience or denial, does have consequences. 

God is not to blame for sin.

God didn’t make broken homes, murder, hatred, child abuse, divorce, thievery, poverty, sickness and disease. Yet, we blame God for the evil of this world.

God gave us free will.  The choices we and others make have created the conditions we live in.  He has allowed what we have chosen but has given us the power to change it. We call it repentance.

I’m sorry I’ve sinned. I missed it, God!  I do believe in you. I want you. I want what is good and right. I want what is honest and pure. I want a clean heart and a right spirit.

Redeem me and restore me to the family. Deliver me from my brokenness and addictions. Come and live within my heart and lead me into all truth!

God will cover every contingency concerning mankind.  He will give people what they choose. Redemption and restoration unto eternal life or judgment and a place in the bottomless pit with Lucifer. 

He doesn’t want you to be lost and separated from him forever. He honors your free will. But he will judge sin.

When it is all said and done.  There will be a new heaven and earth. His government and kingdom will expand forever. The redeemed will reign with him for eternity.

He put on flesh and went to Calvary on your behalf. He wants you to share eternity with Him.

Don’t listen to the lies of this world with all its crazy, chaotic destruction.

Redemption is for everyone.

Ask Jesus to open your eyes to the truth and reveal Himself to you! Permit Him to work in your life. Use the free will He has given you to choose Him.

Declare, “I want You, Jesus.” Choose Jesus and watch in awe as He transforms Your life!

God will give you a new heart and open your understanding. 

After repentance, the next step is to be baptized in the name of Jesus. This act of obedience to His Word will cause you to be a new creature. All things are buried under the blood of Jesus Christ.

You come up out of that watery grave to a brand-new life filled with the promises and protection of a son of God!

In Acts 2:38, Peter, a Jesus apostle, commanded all to repent and be baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins. He proclaimed, “‘Ye shall’ receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” He and 120 of Jesus’ closest disciples had experienced it moments earlier.

The disciples had been praying and worshiping, the Holy Ghost fell on all of them and they began to speak in a heavenly language.  You too will speak in tongues when you are filled with God’s Spirit!

The Bible says that there were 3000 Jews who obeyed Peter. They repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus.

This was the birth of the Christian church which is still vibrant and victorious in today’s world.

I was saved in this very same manner.  I repented and was baptized in Jesus’ name. I can’t express to you the depth of joy I felt when I received the Holy Ghost!  I was overwhelmed with joy.

I was praising God after I had repented when my jaw began to stutter. In faith, I just let the sounds come out and acknowledged that I was being filled with the Holy Ghost.

I felt as though I was standing in the presence of God. I felt no shame or guilt, only complete peace and acceptance as God enveloped me with His warmth and love.

That was July 24, 1978! 

I was not proud of the life I had lived. Failures, homelessness, lawlessness, and drugs plagued me.

I was a liar and a thief, thinking only of myself and how I was going to get what I wanted. I knew about honesty and integrity. Even people without religion know there is right and wrong. There are parameters for how to treat people, but I really didn’t care. There are no rules in living to survive.

I had spent a lifetime feeling alone and unloved, not knowing who I could be safe with or what my purpose was. I knew if I could just find Jesus, everything would be alright.

Now, I can’t imagine living without Jesus in my life. I depend on Him to guide and keep me. I know I can trust Him with my life. He loves me as a father loves his child.

He talks with me and leads me when I pray. He is not just a concept or religious ideology. He is personal and tangible. His ways are practical. His word is reliable. 

Quagmire of Consequences

Sin. Missing the mark has led mankind into a quagmire of consequences. We have chosen to forget our Creator. We have become gods knowing good and evil and have, of our own volition, chosen evil, self-will, lust, envy, covetousness, hate, emulation, anger, and revenge.

The Bible says because we have chosen not to retain God in our knowledge but have worshipped what He created more than who He is, He has led us over to strong delusion to believe a lie. Thus, we have created a world of atrocity.

We have turned truth into a subjective noun. We use it to justify our excuses. Lies are acceptable means to an end. 

There is no accountability for our actions, but we cannot escape the consequences of a society that continues to spiral into untenable destruction.

Integrity, principles, and moral conscience have been twisted into hate crimes deemed punishable by a minority society that can’t tolerate an opinion or value opposing their scruples or lack thereof.

So sin, missing the mark, does matter.  What will you do when there are no laws or code of acceptable conduct, no mark to attain to? Where will you and your children find safety if nothing is considered wrong?

You may say but who am I to say what is acceptable?  I am nobody, but God, who created all things out of nothing, who spoke and the heavens and earth took on form, gave us a law. 

He later brought it into such simplicity that even a child could understand it.

“An expert in the law tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”

Jesus declared, “ ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’(Matthew 22:35-40)”

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

The Bible says that God created all things for his pleasure.  We were created to love God and fellowship with him through choice not demand.  You have that same choice. 

Sin will be judged. All who spurned the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ, whose names are not found in the Book of Life. will be cast with Lucifer into the bottomless pit for eternity.

He is a God of love. One day we will live in His presence without opposition. The battle of choice over sin or righteousness will be settled.

You can know Jesus, not as a religion, but as a father, a friend, a comforter, and a companion. 

The Bible is not man’s book about God. It is God’s book to us. It reveals all we need to know to know Him and His plan for us.

Please choose wisely.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)