I am incredibly thankful to have several blog {and real life} friends that I can call on to guest post for me while I am away. Our first guest post comes from a sweet blog friend of mine, Megan, who blogs over at Just a Small Town Girl. You have heard me mention Megan before, as I frequently share her passion for helping families who are currently adopting through her fundraiser, Ornaments for Adoption. If you haven't done so, go check out her work! The ornaments are adorable!!
So, without further ado, I am going to turn the blog over to Megan.
***
Hello {All Things New} readers!
I am Megan and I blog over at Just a Small Town Girl and that's what I am-a girl from a small town in Alabama who is now
living in a bigger city in North Carolina. I basically blog about my life and the things I think, create,
and do along the way. I am so excited to be sharing with you today.
Archery has become a very popular sport thanks to a little book turned movie called The Hunger Games.
Haha...seriously. I've always thought archery was cool.
My hubby loves to bow hunt.
He's always trying to convince me to get one of those fancy hunting bows. I'm not interested. I'd love to just have a plain long bow.
But I'm getting off topic here. So, why all this archery talk?
The point of shooting a bow is to hit a target.
You can also hit a target with a gun and since my hubby doesn't think I need a long bow, this is the only target picture I have.
If you're like me, you are off the mark more than you are on target.
In the same way, we miss the target of God's standard in our lives.
God calls us to be holy and perfect.
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
-1 Peter 1:16
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
-Matthew 5:48
I am not holy or perfect. I fail every day and so do you.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
-Romans 3:23
Hamartano is a Greek word which means to miss the mark. In the same way that an archer can miss the target, we miss the mark of the target of God's standard for our life.
Related to the word, hamartano, is another Greek word, hamartia, which is translated into English as sin.
hamartia=sin
sin=missing the mark of God's standard
I don't know about you, but this makes it so clear to me. When we sin, we are falling short of the way God has called us to live.
Because of this sin, we deserve to die.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
-Ephesians 2:1
But wait, there's good news! God did not leave us in this dead state. He has made a way for us to hit the target.
The way comes from another Greek word. This word is my favorite.
The word is charis and it means undeserved gift (grace).
God gave us an undeserved gift in that He sent His son, Jesus to die for our sin, for our hamartia, for all those times we missed the mark.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
-Ephesians 2:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8
Now when we accept God's gift, does this mean that we suddenly become "perfect archers" and hit the target every time?
No! We will continue to sin. We will continue to miss the mark.
But Jesus' blood is now covering us and covering that sin.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
-Romans 8:1
Archery has become a very popular sport thanks to a little book turned movie called The Hunger Games.
Haha...seriously. I've always thought archery was cool.
My hubby loves to bow hunt.
He's always trying to convince me to get one of those fancy hunting bows. I'm not interested. I'd love to just have a plain long bow.
But I'm getting off topic here. So, why all this archery talk?
The point of shooting a bow is to hit a target.
If you're like me, you are off the mark more than you are on target.
In the same way, we miss the target of God's standard in our lives.
God calls us to be holy and perfect.
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
-1 Peter 1:16
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
-Matthew 5:48
I am not holy or perfect. I fail every day and so do you.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
-Romans 3:23
Hamartano is a Greek word which means to miss the mark. In the same way that an archer can miss the target, we miss the mark of the target of God's standard for our life.
Related to the word, hamartano, is another Greek word, hamartia, which is translated into English as sin.
hamartia=sin
sin=missing the mark of God's standard
I don't know about you, but this makes it so clear to me. When we sin, we are falling short of the way God has called us to live.
Because of this sin, we deserve to die.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
-Ephesians 2:1
But wait, there's good news! God did not leave us in this dead state. He has made a way for us to hit the target.
The way comes from another Greek word. This word is my favorite.
The word is charis and it means undeserved gift (grace).
God gave us an undeserved gift in that He sent His son, Jesus to die for our sin, for our hamartia, for all those times we missed the mark.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
-Ephesians 2:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8
Now when we accept God's gift, does this mean that we suddenly become "perfect archers" and hit the target every time?
No! We will continue to sin. We will continue to miss the mark.
But Jesus' blood is now covering us and covering that sin.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
-Romans 8:1
Isn't that beautiful?
Despite the fact that we continuously miss the mark, God gives us an undeserved gift. He adopts us into His family where we can experience His forgiveness and love.
I hope you haven't let yourself get defeated by missing the mark. I hope you have found God's free gift. If you have any questions, I would love to talk with you or pray for you {and I'm sure Megan would as well}.
Thanks to Megan for allowing me to guest post today and thank you to her wonderful followers for reading!
***
Thank you, Megan, for sharing with us! And yes, I would absolutely love to talk or pray over any of you if you are struggling with accepting God's free gift of salvation. I know it can be difficult at times to wrap your head around the depth of such love.
If you would like to talk, or desire to share a prayer request with me so I can pray over you,
email me at megan {dot} card {at} gmail {dot} com
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