Iron and Iron

Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

God knows I’m dull

blunted by my blindness

ignorant of wisdom

searching for direction

So He put me

in Christian community

My friends take the off the rust

they sharpen me

speak Truth to me

show me the Way

so my Life is bettered

through being together

And God uses me

to help them grow

refine their thinking

help them see direction

comfort in their pain

help them find their way

Ancient warriors honed their swords

together — iron and iron

bringing edges to dull weapons

strengthening each other

to gain advantage and defeat

the enemy put on retreat

Like those soldiers

fighters together

sharpen each other

stand as brothers

better together

grateful forever

my great Savior

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;

our God is merciful.

The LORD preserves the simple;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

Psalm 116:5-6

Jesus my Savior has done these four things for me. First, He is the grace of God upon me, showering me with the unmerited favor of God’s love. I did not earn His grace. I am by nature a lowly sinner who was born the enemy of God. I deserve condemnation for all my sin. My sins deserve to be cast away from the presence of a holy God. But grace forgives the sinner and even more than that, draws me near to the Father by the work of the Son.

Next, my Savior is righteous. In Jesus I see all that is good. And I have been blessed by His Word to read His life, seeing His righteousness over and over again in the gospels. And by His death and resurrection that same righteousness is now applied to me. I can be seen as good and can live in the righteous work of Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, my Savior is merciful to me. By giving Himself to me, Jesus does not treat me as my sins deserve. He gives me abundant life instead. He brings me eternal life. He teaches me to be merciful as He is merciful so that I too can be not just forgiven in Him, but also a forgiver to those who hurt me. This frees me from both regret and bitterness. This mercy overflows!

And finally, my Savior preserves me. I am kept, not by my works, which always fall short, but by the power of Jesus, which never fails! He Who began this saving work in me will be faithful to complete it in me. He will always be faithful to me, even when my heart struggles to believe Him. I rest secure in my gracious, righteous, merciful, and powerful Lord!

powerful worship

Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven,

2 Chronicles 6:13

In the public dedication of the temple, Solomon not only made it clear that it was his life’s ambition to complete the Lord’s glorious temple (2 Chronicles 6:1-11), but he also humbly exemplified submissive worship to the Lord as he led in worship at this first public gathering at the temple.

Solomon made sure that all Israel would know that he was serious about God. It showed in his introductory speech. It was shown in his preparation of a special raised platform before the altar that would ensure that all gathered would see and hear the king as he worshiped. He publicly displayed a posture of worship, kneeling on that platform and lifting his hands Godward in prayer. And he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving, acceptance, awareness of God’s care, submission to God’s will, and praise for God’s power to save (2 Chronicles 6:14-42). Solomon’s prayer rehearses Israel’s history (both the good and the bad), commits to the covenant that God has made with Israel and with David’s descendants, and acknowledges the need for forgiveness of sin that the temple sacrifices would always emphasize. It is like a sermon for all listening as Solomon pours out his heart in commitment to God for the nation.

This very public posture of praise emphasized that Yahweh was the true King of Israel. Those who make much of God’s rule will be blessed with peace and His care. And Solomon shows us how humble praise will bring power. Immediately after his prayer, God sent fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice, and God’s glory filled the temple so brilliantly that the priests had to wait before entering. And Israel worshiped... oh how they powerfully worshiped! (2 Chronicles 7:1-3).. Worship is more than just attendance at a gathering. It is mutual recognition and submission to the power of God as He displays Himself among us.

Faithful to judge and save

For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Numbers 26:65

Four decades of waiting

slowly those forty years came

but God was keeping His word

both to judge and to save

The wilderness stretched on

and Israel never could nudge

any further than that desert

as God led, dealt, and judged

A generation endured punishment

from their God’s firm, righteous hand

they all died in that desert

faithless bones left in the sand

Two faithful believers

who trusted God and were brave

watched all their contemporaries fall

while their two lives God did save

Joshua and Caleb

were kept from the grind

of desert wandering death

to know the promise God had in mind

So we worship a God

with power to judge and to save

knowing on the cross Jesus too

judged sin and new life gave

The power of our Savior

we should never begrudge

He can do as He pleases

He is both Deliverer and Judge!

in danger of drifting

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Hebrews 2:1

This warning which was so true for the first century Christian is even more compelling for those of us in the twenty-first century. If we get our focus shifted away from Jesus, we can drift away from the gospel. Some very powerful currents can carry us away from Him! This tendency towards dangerous drift is why we must always center on Jesus. And it is why the letter of Hebrews spends so much time showing us a superior, powerful, saving Jesus.

We are reminded that Jesus brings us a “great salvation” and we should never want to slip away from that realization. Jesus Himself first declared the gospel that has saved us. His apostles attested to it. And incredible, miraculous events came pouring forth from the Holy Spirit as the gospel was first proclaimed by the apostles, showing us forever the unique, supernatural, great salvation Jesus brought to our world.

Jesus is Lord over all! How can we dare to drift away from Him Whom God has put “everything (including us) in subjection to”? (See Hebrews 2:6). He is crowned with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:9). It is for Jesus and by Jesus that all things exist (Hebrews 2:10). Jesus is bringing many sons (and daughters) into glory through His saving work (Hebrews 2:10-11). Jesus has destroyed the Devil’s hold over death (Hebrews 2:14) so that we could be delivered from sin’s slavery (Hebrews 2:15). Jesus is our great High Priest offering Himself as our holy sacrifice for all our sin (Hebrews 2:17). And His own suffering, even in fighting off temptation, helps us find that same victory over sin (Hebrews 2:18).

All of the greatness we see in our Savior helps us see the great salvation that Jesus has given us! On that we would be attentive to it so that we can fight our own dangerous drift!

warmth by His fire

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

John 21:9-10

This is a resurrection appearance of Jesus that just feels so natural, so real, to me. The disciples have been toying with returning to their former occupations. Peter leads a group of them off to go fishing. They have been out all night and caught nothing... it was a miserable failure that added to their frustration. It was beyond disappointing.

But then a stranger at dawn shouts out encouragement and fishing advice from the shoreline, telling them to cast their net one more time on the right side of the boat. And when the net is filled with fish, they knew at once that this helpful stranger was Jesus! Peter impulsively dives into the lake and swims to shore. There he finds Jesus, and a breakfast of fish and bread ready on the fire where he can warm himself. The last time Peter had stood by a fire hew was in denial of Christ. Now he has come back to be in fellowship with His Lord once again.

The closeness of this encounter with Jesus is compelling. Jesus cooked breakfast for these disciples. And then, after breakfast, He took a walk with Peter along the lake shore, calling Him back to love and follow the Master again. He affirmed Peter despite his three denials. And none of the disciples ever questioned their calling after this encounter. This was Peter’s last brief fishing trip.

Jesus,

You call me, even when my actions deny You... even when my heart is wooed back to the world... even when I think I have to make my own choices without You... You call me to follow You. And You love me, provide for me, and long to walk with me and press me with the hard questions that make me see only You! You bring Your disciples to share life in You and with You in the most natural and meaningful ways. And that is the life that I need, and will enjoy... forever!

Amen

Strategy to resist

Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,

for it is an evil time.

Seek good, and not evil,

that you may live;

and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,

as you have said.

Amos 5:13-14

For over forty years now, the trend in American evangelical culture over some societal downgrade is to talk about it loudly, to huddle in our sanctimony and point our fingers, glad that “we aren’t that way”. And then slowly, nearly imperceptibly, that same degradation makes its way into the church by a slow dirty seep. And we hardly notice it, may still rail against it, but have not seen that our tactic to fight it was completely flawed.

You don’t fight the sinful culture by screaming against it. Social change is not affected by Pharisaical responses. This warning from the prophet Amos shows us a more prudent path. When evil runs amok, we fight it by seeking a holy God, following Him personally, and helping one another to stay true to the Lord so that individually we are not taken in by the culture seepage of sinful suggestions. Then we together start working on holy actions that show our world how it is supposed to be.

Screaming on social media will not bring this kind of change. It will instead polarize and anger everyone. Political alignments alone are not the sole solution. Politics are run by sinful people and we have to be aware that brings sinful, cultural seep into the church if we aren’t careful. Instead of adopting cultural means to fight the culture, we should try what God says. Personal discipleship IS THE KEY! Helping one another seek God, personally win against temptations, grow in Christlikeness, live out the gospel, do acts of kindness and justice, care for one another AND the neediest that our culture runs over.... all that will show the world the evil they are in and the God that is with us. Thus the evil days are turned back.