Lyle's Blog

For several years I’ve heard pastors referring to sin as missing the mark. That’s true to be sure, but I feel it undermines the seriousness of the consequences for missing the mark. I suppose if you steal something worth a paltry dollar, you’ve missed the mark. Is the mark missed when we commit murder? It seems like some of us miss the mark by a little and some by a lot. How much wiggle room does God have when the mark is missed?

I hate to bring the Bible into this (I’m kidding) but Micah 3:6 tells us God never changes. James 1:17 states, there is no variableness, no shadow of turning with God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, right? Let’s see how missing the mark undervalues God’s judgement.

Numbers 21: 4-6 “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God and against Moses, “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people and much people died. Wow! Sounds like they were in the hands of an angry God. Psalms 7:11 God judges the righteous and is angry with the wicked every day. So God judges us whom he has redeemed and is filled with anger at the wickedness of the world. However, we have the privilege of Christ advocating for us; the world does not.

The people coming out of slavery in Egypt were weary of the road. No water, no food except for the lousy light bread God provided. They, with good reason, were angry with God, Moses, anybody that talked them into taking this trip out of Egypt. This was a terribly hard journey. They had a right to be frustrated, but angry? Problem was, God didn’t think so. No better bread, no water, just retribution. We don’t see God makings things easier but instead, harder. He brought a bunch of serpents to bite and kill the people. And to add insult to injury, God told Moses to make an image of the serpent, put it on a pole, and anyone that looked at it would be healed.

They were forced to look at the thing which hurt them in order to be healed. Modern people, especially American Christians can’t even grasp what God is trying to teach us. He is God, there is no other, and it is by his grace that we are not destroyed. God is not your friend; he is your God. Jesus is your friend and the Bible tells us he is continually making intercession for us, reminding the Father of the price paid to redeem us. If Christ wasn’t our advocate we would be destroyed.

Missing the mark is an American idea and most of us don’t even see the target. So where to from here? We read scripture to know God, know what he desires or expects. Starting with the Ten Commandments, that is, you will have no other gods in your life and you will reverence him only. He commands you to make him your god and if you actually do them, you won’t steal, murder, look with envy on your neighbors property, bear false witness, commit adultery, and will honor the position of your mother and father.

So simple, yet so profound. So what are we to do? Confess our sins daily because we are daily tempted; and then pray one for another. Some of us are weak and some strong. We know we are in God’s gracious hand when we love one another and accepting those who are weak or strong, rich or poor. When someone knows someone else is praying for them, it makes a difference because prayer doesn’t always change things but it changes people. Changing lives is what it is all about.

In your life you’ve got to put your trust in something. After I’ve noticed one constant, one stability in the world’s madness. God, he doesn’t change, his Word continues to this day reminding us, we are here for a short while and it might just be wise to come to him for salvation. There is no other god, just the Creator of all things. He provided a way for us to please him, that being, accepting his son Jesus Christ as our only way to him. With that thought in mind I quote from the “Message” Bible, Psalm 62:1-8.

God, the one and only-I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.

How long will you gang up on me? How long will you run with the bullies? There’s nothing to you, any of you-rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters, anthills plotting to bring down mountains. You talk a good line, but every “blessing” breathes a curse.

God, the one and only-I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I’m set for life. My help and glory are in God-granite-strength and safe-harbor, God. So trust him absolutely people; lay your live on the line for him. God is a safe place to be.

The last two weeks have given us the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk, a follower of Jesus Christ, and Satan’s children gleeful of his demise. For decades we have had an over-abundance of wicked people who cheer the criminal and mock the victim; and these people have had children even more prone to violence. The land of the free is under siege and I personally don’t see a way out. If we’re lucky, the kill-shot will take its toll on them although I believe many on the freedom side will suffer the same fate. We always want the “good guys” to win but we’ve been complacent and allowed the the lunatics to flourish all for the sake of “unity”.

That said, what hit me yesterday as I was at Costco, was a baby maybe a month old or so being carried in a carrier by its mother. He had his finger in his mouth and was wide-eyed, taking the world in. So fragile, so innocent, so unaware of the world he was entering. I was grateful he had parents that were taking care of him. I see babies all the time but none has quite struck me in such a way.

For those who have chosen violence as a way of life, this child would certainly be expendable right along with his parents. Women and children seem to be the target of their hatred and it is up to us to be prepared for the wicked days to come. Men must protect those who are vulnerable to these thugs at all cost. If they don’t, we’ll all be killed that have uttered any support of morality. We all want to believe there’s middle ground but that is a ship that sailed long ago.

King David lived a thousand years before the birth of Christ. When he was old, he passed the kingdom on to his son Solomon which was typical of the ancient world. What I want to focus on is the way kings were treated back then. In reminding David that he had promised the kingdom to Solomon, Solomon’s mother (Bathsheba), Nathan the prophet, and anyone else coming before the king, bowed their heads to the ground in reverence for his position. Whatever the king said happened. Kings had power over their people.

We see across the globe a similar thing today, or a actually a mixture of rule. Some countries, North Korea, China and some smaller players have dictatorships. They put on a show to camouflage or hide some of the worst abuse to facilitate the trade they must engage in. We in the West have leaders highly skilled in the art of screwing their constituents over so it’s still brute power but we get just enough benefits to keep us begging for more.

Our founders knew government of any kind was dangerous but to keep people hanging together some government had to be formed. They did their unbelievable best and I thank them for it.

Government is kinda like a bowel movement; you know you’re going to have one and there is always a mess to clean up.

To be or not to be, that is the question. Hamlet gave us a deeper look into why we bother with life. Life, after all, is a circular experience. We start out naked and we end the same. We do our best to sensationalize our lives and get the most out of whatever this life is, and if we have opportunity, we go for the gusto. We may achieve a great life by kindness or theft. Blessed with ambition or talent we may excel, living a life many are supposedly envious of; or maybe not. The contented soul recognizes their constant need for covering themselves. Our awareness of the nakedness we can’t shed leaves us a little unsure of the future we have loosely planned.

It seems to me we spend a lot more time planning our vacations than preparing for one-minute after twelve. We’ve heaped together voices that support our preconceived thoughts on our worthiness to stand before the king. The Bible’s words are compromised on a regular basis inferring no matter whatever view someone has, there’s new ones to hang your hat on. We just want to be comfortable with our belief in that one-minute after midnight. We strive for a comfortable and secure life and our afterlife view must match. It’s probably well and good we don’t meet that Jesus guy in our travels on earth. Giving your riches to the poor and a rock for a pillow kinda speaks against comfort.

I hear talk that God wants us to have good things which provides a great excuse for over indulgence. Life has become jammed full of options no other generation has ever had and it’s gone on just long enough for us to think it is normal. This of course is one of the reasons we’re supposed to give our riches to the poor. We’re to stay connected with the grace of God, understanding God hates an ungrateful heart. We, above all peoples of the earth, should be shouting the praises to God. The bulk of the population are blissfully unaware of the debt they owe to God but we should not be in that number. We shouldn’t worship the gods we’ve made, but the God who made us. One last thought; why would God make a wretch his treasure? Because it cost everything he had to give.