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Mustard Seed - November/December 2004
How Does Good Look At "Little Ones"?
Stay On Target
Mustard Seed - November/December 2004
In the very late 1980’s and early 1990’s. My best friend and I were members of a legal state militia that had been setup under the National Guard. The unit only had about a dozen (gung-ho) twenty something year olds. We were training to be freedom fighters, just incase anything were to happen here at home during the 1st Gulf War.
In our youthful zeal, we thought we could protect a 100 mile radius around our city. In essence we were training to be what the military calls LRP’s (Long Range Patrols) our job was literally to go and cause as much havoc as possible behind enemy lines. We were mobilized to study, train and implement low-tech methods and techniques in order to accomplish that task.
One of the qualifying tasks that we undertook was marksmanship (sniper training), it was a simple enough “test”; we took a white rock about the size of a man's head, placed it on the side of a hill and paced off several hundred meters. When we reached our shooting area, the rock looked like it was the size of a dime.
The objective: take your long range rifle, locate the target and squeeze off three rounds as accurately as possible; as quickly as possible. Remember we were training for combat, someone usually is shooting back at you. Anyhow the test sounds quite simply doesn’t it?
When I took my “qualifying” turn, I used a British 101 (the old thumb jammer), a WWII era rifle, designed to be rugged, powerful and precise! We also used a spotter (one of the team members with a set of binoculars) his job was tell you how close your shot was to the target and to tell you how to correct your aim if you happened to miss.
I made a quick scan of the hillside, I acquired my target, I then aimed my British 101 rifle and fired. “BOOM!!” went the rifle and within moments you could see a puff of dust kick up where the bullet hit the ground. The spotter quickly yells out; miss, adjust – 2 meters down, 1 meter left…. As you can imagine at that distance of several hundred meters all you need is to be off by millimeters and you completely miss the target! I quickly readjusted: pulled the trigger again and “BOOM!”—spotter yells—HIT! I pulled the trigger again “BOOM!”—spotter—HIT! I pulled the trigger a third time, “BOOM!”—spotter--- HIT! Three direct hits in a row, do you think I qualified as a marksman that day?
Does this story, remind you of what it really requires to be a “Christian”? Do you believe, that God the Father and His only begotten son Jesus the Christ have set a standard (target) that you and I have to attain (hit) in order to be acceptable to God so that we may be received into God’s Holy Kingdom?
If you would open your bible to: 1 Peter 1:16 – “Because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy”. Also read, Matt 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”.
If this is the standard that God requires, “to be holy and to be perfect”. Then we need to ask ourselves, is what I believe, is what I’m practicing, is what I’m supporting truly from God and is it holy and perfect and acceptable to God? Another question we need to ask ourselves, am I missing the target, by how much and how do I know?
Is it important to have the correct version of the bible as our precise weapon that teaches us how to be holy and perfect, absolutely yes, especially as the new versions of the bible omit certain words and at times entire verses.
It’s also true of men and organizations that teach that the commandments of God no longer have to be observed and neither do we have to keep those Jewish holy days of the Old testament- “they’re done away nailed to the cross” and yet they don’t even flinch at telling people its OK to observe the satanic, paganistic holidays of halloween, christmas, new year’s, valentines day and ishtar (pronounced easter). Are these people really being good “spotters” and pointing you and me to the true God of Heaven. Are they really teaching us how to be holy and perfect, or are they making us excellent servants of the god of this world satan the devil.
Let’s read what a true “spotter” minister of God would teach:
Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
Psalm 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple”.
1 Kings 8:61 “Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day”.
1 John 3:4“Whosoever is committing sin is transgressing also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law”.
What is sin, what does it mean? Our English word “sin” comes the Greek [Ham-er-tan-o] and it literally means, “to miss the mark”. What is one way this can happen, let’s see an example in the scriptures:
1 Kings 11:4“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; (emphasis mine) and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father”.
I once heard a man make the following statement: “Anything permitted will grow” take a moment and really consider those words in light of what you have been reading. Now think about the scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:13 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners”. Hebrews 3:12 “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God”.
I close with the following scripture:
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
f this is hard reading and it really makes you think and question what you believe and who, then I can only encourage you to believe God and trust His Holy Word. In essence I’m asking you to readjust your aim, your focus, and direct your very life to God’s Holy and Perfect standard…..
Joel Maldonado
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