Week Fifteen, 2024
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).
One of my first jobs was working in an automobile dealership, sometimes in the repair shop, where there were a multitude of mechanics, each doing their own work. There was one exception. If a wheel was removed to work on the brakes and other things, before the tire could be put back in its place, the job had to be inspected by another mechanic. It was a good check to make sure that no one got hurt if the wheel came off.
That’s a good lesson for our Christian journey. Iron sharpens iron and we have a duty to help other believers of the faith. I remember a time when I was contemplating a business venture that I was excited about. A group of men in my Bible study came to me to talk and point out what I was overlooking. They said I was excited about the “frosting” on top and ignoring the cake underneath. You know, they were right, and I passed on the opportunity. That decision, all because of their coming to me saved me a lot of heartache …. and money.
There are times when Christians are called upon to “talk to” or try to correct a fellow Christian. Assuming we are talking about a matter of sin in a believer’s life, our motive and intent should always be to bring about repentance and restoration to the erring brother or sister in Christ.
We can’t divorce Jesus’ methods from His message and expect Jesus’ results. As Christians, we have to invest in other Christian’s lives. It has been said that if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, travel in a group. You don’t help fellow Christians by lecturing to them, but rather by understanding them and investing in their lives.
The phrase “iron sharpens iron” is found in Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” There is mutual benefit in the rubbing of two iron blades together; the edges become sharper, making the knives more efficient in their task to cut and slice. Likewise, the Word of God is a “double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), and it is with this that we are to sharpen one another—in times of meeting, fellowship, or any other interaction.
The proverb also indicates the need for constant fellowship with one another. Man was not made to be alone, for did not the Lord God say this, even before the Fall (Genesis 2:18)? How much more, then, after the Fall of Man, do we need to come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ for seasons of fellowship and prayer? Clearly, this was recognized by the saints of the early church (Acts 2:42–47), who “devoted themselves” to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer, all corporate activities that provided opportunities for sharpening one another.
Whose iron are you sharpening?
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
I was in Dollar Tree last night and there was a lady and two kids behind me in the LONG line. One was a big kid, one was a toddler. The bigger one had a pack of glow sticks, and the baby was screaming for them so the Mom opened the pack and gave him one; which stopped his tears. He walked around with it smiling, but then the bigger boy took it and the baby started screaming again. Just as the Mom was about to fuss at the older child, he bent the glow sticks and handed it back to the baby.
As we walked outside at the same time, the baby noticed that the stick was now glowing and his brother said, “I had to break it so you could get the full effect from it.” I almost ran because l could hear God saying to me, “I had to break you to show you why I created you. You had to go through it so you could fulfill your purpose.”
That little baby was happy just swinging that “unbroken” glow stick around in the air because he didn’t understand what it was created to do which was “glow”. There are some people who will be content just “being” but some of us have been chosen by God to be “broken”.
We have to get sick. We have to lose a job. We go through divorce. We have to suffer with the disease of addiction. We have to bury our spouse, parents, best friend, or our child because, in those moments of desperation, God is breaking us, but when the breaking is done, then we will be able to see the reason for which we were created.
So, when you see us glowing just know that we have been broken but healed by his Grace and Mercy.
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Words of wisdom from Edgar Aponte:
• Christ’s grace extends to us even when we are neither expecting nor asking for it.
• There is a cost to follow Jesus, but the cost to not follow Him is infinitely more.
• Jesus is not like a used car salesman trying to trick you to buy anything.
• Discipleship is living a life with Jesus.
• There is a cost to follow Jesus but there is also an urgency.
• Jesus paid an incredible cost for our redemption. Be prepared to pay a cost for being His disciple.
• A call to follow Jesus is a call to count the cost and o commit to Him completely. Follow Him now.
• Conditional acceptance is a complete rejection and delayed obedience is disobedience. Follow Him today.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
We all need to be careful in what we do or say, lest we lead others to stray from basic moral truth. Jim Wilson
In order to be faithful to the mission and message of Jesus, we must abandon old traditions, practices and prejudices that are not in line with the Gospel. Tommy Campbell
We often get upset because we think someone is getting by with evil deeds. But sooner or later, their sins will catch up with them. Dan Shock
As we begin to hear and answer God’s call to action to “Do Something”, we have to remember that God’s grace and forgiveness are a free gift and not given to us just because we are trying to do good things. His grace and forgiveness aren’t earned. They were given to us on the cross – through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Marty Stubblefield
Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain. Mark Twain
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank
God knows that fear is born when we focus on the problem or on the power of the enemy. Dan Shock
Anything you don’t pray for you don’t really care about. Jim Wilson
Mercy is a divine attribute of God. He is always merciful. So we ask for His mercy and we can know it is there because it is an attribute of God. We are recipients of His mercy each day. Elbert Nasworthy
The Bible says, only on Jesus is eternal. Stephen Bernard
It’s always a good idea to be careful how you use Scripture; it only took God a few hundred years to get it right in delivering it to us. We would be wise to only apply the Bible as the Creator intended. Dwight Short
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money. Margaret Thatcher
As a Believer and Follower of Jesus, it’s time for us to bravely and boldly put our faith to work, time for us to step out of the darkness and shine God’s light, time for us to overcome our fears and weaknesses. Look around you. See what needs to be done. Marty Stubblefield
I believe that no man or group of men is good enough to be trusted with uncontrolled power over others. C.S. Lewis
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