Good Morning Sharpened One!

Proverbs 27:17 NIV ~ “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Have you ever got ready to cook something and you had to cut up some stuff and your knife was dull? When you think about sharpening something, it’s not just for fun, it’s always for a purpose. A chef doesn’t just sharpen their knives so they can show it off, or for it to remain in the drawer. It’s sharpened on purpose! Just like when you are being sharpened, it’s for a reason. Being sharpened is for you to be effective and efficient in the things of God and His Kingdom!

Every great chef or cook has a great set of knives, with sharp blades and there is one for everything that you need to cut. A chef will tell you that a dull knife can be more dangerous than a sharp one, because when a blade is dull, it’s harder to use it takes more force to cut something, and it’s harder to control. A dull blade can slice you quicker than you can slice a tomato, this why a chef will go to great lengths to purchase the right knife! A knife will become dull if you do not properly take care of them and keep them sharpened, once this happens, they can never become sharp again!

There is one truth about knives that is true about you too! A knife cannot sharpen itself, nor anything that is weak, it has to be sharpened by iron. Iron Sharpens Iron! You can wave the knife around the steel all you want, but if it doesn’t come into constant contact with the knife, it cannot be sharpened.  A knife that doesn’t come in contact with the iron will become dull and useless.  So, it is with you, if you do not stay close to Jesus Christ and other disciples that will hold you up accountable, you will lose your sharp edge and become of little use in the family of God and sooner or later we fail.

Do you have a friend or prayer partner that inspires you to be better? Someone who sharpens you in the Word for a better understanding of the Scripture, one who has wisdom and can assist you in becoming you wiser, Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” A friend who helps you to expand your capacity to love others. Know this, if you have been sharpened and you never put it to use, you will become dull with nothing to show for all that sharpening that you went through. You are being sharpened to sharpen someone else to be used to advance the Kingdom of God! A sharpened Christian is a growing Christian! When I looked at what was in iron, I saw that there were all types of impurities at different strength levels and it had to be sharpened by something that was stronger than it was in order to remove the impurities, that is why it had to be two different types of alloy iron! So, in order for you to be sharpened you need to have prayer partners and friends that you spend intentional time with that and you desire to that kind of person to them and they to you!

We have learned how valuable, powerful, and useful iron is to our lives and God has shown you just how good it is to live in fellowship with others. Today, you need to ask yourself this question if you want to be sharpened and sharpen someone else, “Am I investing in others who live for Jesus Christ in a way that I want to live?” Does the people you are around lives reflect Jesus Christ? There is a place that build strong relationships, it’s when the brethren’s gather together to talk about the Lord, Jesus Christ; Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

Let’s Pray:
Father, Thank You! Thank You for being my strength and source for all good things in my life! Father, Thank You for helping me to grow in my faith and for the friends in my life who sharpen me and that I sharpen too. Father You said in Your Word that two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. Father, give me friends like this and help me to be a friend like this and that You are the cord that ties us together for Your service and Glory, (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; 12). Father, help  me to use my sharpness  to advance Your Kingdom here on earth. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

Blessings…
Minister Jean