A Call for Sharpshooters in 2012 January 2, 2012
A Call for Sharpshooters in 2012
You might not realize it, but there are two approachesto expert marksmanship. The first is to train the crosshairs on the exactcenter of the target, take a deep breath, exhale about halfway and hold it, andslowly squeeze the shot off, holding your aim steady on the bull’s-eye theentire time. The second approach is to forget all that disciplined skill andjust shoot the rifle. Then, you just go paint a target around the spot wherethe slug leaves a hole. Pretty simple, huh?
Obviously a joke. That’s not how sharpshooters aremade—by firing first and painting later. But sometimes that’s how we live ourlives, isn’t it? We don’t really aim for much; we just do what comes naturallyand then see where we end up. How strange! And how unbiblical!
Ever notice how many people in the Bible purposed tolive a certain way or aim for a specific goal? “Daniel resolved that he wouldnot defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.” (Dan1:8). “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”(Job 31:1) “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Godin Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). Daniel, Job, and Paul all have a target and areaiming directly at it.
So here we are, at the start of a brand new year. Iwonder where we’ll be when the holidays roll around again in 2012. Will we bemore faithful in our devotions? Will we have talked to anyone about Jesus? Willwe know God better through prayer and meditation on His word? Will we havegiven Him our best every day, or will we give only enough to get by?
Here’s what I’d like to suggest. Take part of thisholiday to evaluate your life. Pray a lot. Think hard. Then write down a fewspecific “targets” you’re going to aim at during this new year.
After you write down your goals, do one more thing.Read over and pray about them at least weekly. In reviewing them like this,we’ll be following the great example of Jonathan Edwards, who used toread hislist of personal resolutions weekly, too (a list that grew to 70 goalsby the time he finished!).
Let’s aim for something significant this year, OK? Nomore firing first and painting later!