No Christian Bats 1000

JAMES 3:1 LB 1 Dear brothers, don't be too eager to tell others their faults, for we all make many mistakes; and when we teachers of religion, who should know better, do wrong, our punishment will be greater than it would be for others. If anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way.

Baseball has a system to keep track of how successful each player is at hitting the ball. If they always make a hit without ever missing it, we would say they are batting 1000. But no baseball player has ever done that. And no Christian has ever been perfect without making a mistake, either.

Both the apostles Paul and Peter missed it. Your favorite preacher has made mistakes also, whether they admit it, or not.

None of us is perfect. If we were, we would not need a Savior.

Why do we miss it? Because we have an adversary constantly trying to deceive us and trip us up. Because we do not start out as mature Christians, but must grow up, just as natural human babies do.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:9 NKJ 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

So, you should do these three things.

Continue to feed your faith on God's Word.
Be merciful to others when they miss it.
Do not despair when you miss it. Do not beat yourself over the head. Receive God's forgiveness, forgive yourself, and go on.

1 JOHN 1:9 NKJ 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

PHILIPPIANS 3:13 LB 13 No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

SAY THIS: God loves me, even while I am still learning and growing.