TARGET SHOOTING
What target are YOU shooting for as you live your life each day? Here is mine.
-“clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Romans 13:14 – New International Version of the Bible ) My personal version goes something like this — “Put on the whole armor of God and don’t make plans to sin.”
Only God knows how close I come to my target, or if I ever hit smack in the middle of the bulls-eye, but my desire is to honor God in everything I do and say. The Bible is very clear that God commands us to live holy lives. Matthew 5:48 says we are to be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect, and I Peter 1:16 tells us to be holy in all you do, and then it refers to a Scripture verse in Leviticus which says to be holy as God is holy.
Is it possible to be completely holy and perfect? Of course not, but if you have been born again by God’s Spirit, you will WANT to be holy and perfect and you will aim at it every day and every minute of the day. But unless the Spirit of God resides in your heart, you will not have the power or even the desire to aim at the target.
As I said, I know I often miss my target, but I don’t stop shooting at it. Does someone practicing with his bow, or gun, or whatever, just shoot into the air, without aiming at all? What would be the purpose? And in the same way, we all need to have a purpose for which to live our lives.
The problem with this nation, and world, is that too many are living their lives either without purpose, or without the power to accomplish their purpose, or with the wrong purpose altogether. And the purpose and target for all of us should be to honor our Maker and bless His name.
What happens when people do not honor God and the truth in His Word? What happens when we discard the truth and accept lies and all kinds of sinful desires as good and beneficial? What you see happening in America today is what happens!
Isaiah 59:14 says, “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance, truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.” Thankfully, there is still “some” truth to be found in our nation. I sometimes see truthful sayings on Facebook, but they are often followed up with lies so that I’m sure it is very hard for many to distinguish between the truth and the lies.
In the end, the choice belongs to each one of us. How are we going to live? If we choose to follow the truth of God’s Word, we will need to drop to our knees and ask Jesus Christ to fill us with His Spirit and give us the strength and desire to follow Him. When we do that, He will be faithful to bless us and enable us to be a blessing to others. And when enough of us turn back to God, there may be hope again for this nation.
