Author: David Short

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron,
And a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Personal Challenge

Iron is a dull, lifeless metal. If, however, you hone it and sharpen it against another piece of iron, it will begin to shine and take on a life that will cut through many other things. This is an image of us. We are dull and covered with our sinful nature and acts. When we are honed by another who cares for us and challenges us, the dullness of our sins falls away and we become a sharp tool in the hand of our Lord. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Personal Challenge

There are a lot of us that proclaim to be followers of Christ who will have a shocking revelation on our day of judgment. And yes, I include myself in this group… regretfully. Paul entreats us to not let corrupt words proceed out of our mouths (or off our fingertips in this day of social media). We are to only put out words that are good for edification of another, importing grace to those who hear (see) our words. Are we falling prey to the culture of rudeness, demeaning others, and supporting lies and falsehoods? If so, we need to remember that we will be held accountable for our actions. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Proverbs 25:4

Beat drossy silver,
And it will be made entirely clean.

Personal Challenge

Silver can be a beautiful metal to use to make jewelry…if it is done correctly. At the beginning of the process the silver will be covered with dross. Isn’t this like all of us? At the beginning of our walk with Christ, we are covered with our sinfulness. To eliminate the dross, it is pounded and beaten until the dross is brought to the surface and then eliminated. Again, isn’t this what the Christian life is like. We are presented with challenges and difficulties that God uses to form and shape us into the image of Jesus. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 4:26-27

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Personal Challenge

We were created in the image of God that makes us special in relationship with all the rest of creation. God gave us our emotions. He gave us our desires. He also gave us free will to exercise those emotions and desires appropriately and in godly ways. So, our task is to exercise our emotions and desires for God and to not let the devil create a place in our lives, in our hearts, to pervert and abuse these gifts. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Proverbs 23:18

For if you keep these words, you shall have offspring,
And your hope will not depart from you.

Personal Challenge

So, does this mean that if I keep the words of the Proverbs, the wisdom book, that I will have children? Not necessarily. God’s wisdom is given to us so that we can grow in the image of His Son. Our hope that comes from God can be one of the offspring in our lives that comes from keeping His word! Glory be to God!

Ephesians 4:1-3

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Personal Challenge

We are called to be actively walking worthy of our calling if we desire to be followers of Christ. This means that we live our lives with lowliness humility and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This is a far cry from what we are seeing in the media today with regards to people proclaiming to be Christians. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have money! Lord, have mercy!

Proverbs 22:17-19 (22:20-22)

Incline your ear to the words of the wise and hear my word,
And establish your heart, that you may know they are good.
And if you apply them to your heart,
They will gladden you and at the same time be upon your lips;
That your hope might be in the Lord,
And His way might be known to you.

Command With a Promise

We are given here various things to do in our life following Christ that will result in clear consequences. We are to incline our ears to the words of the wise, hear his words, and establish them in our hearts, knowing that they are good. The results will be that they will gladden us and they, the words, will become our words as well. Our hope will be in the Lord and His way will be made known to us. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Encouraging Words

In the final days of Jesus, He prayed for unity in His Church. Here we have Paol bowing to his knees and petitioning God on our behalf again. He is asking that God will grant, according to His riches, that we might be strengthened in our work for Him, that Jesus Christ will dwell within our hearts, that we will be rooted and grounded in love, and comprehending how much God loves us. Finally, he asks that we might be filled with the fullness of God. What a wonderful petition. Glory be to God!