Steak Knife or Butter Knife...?

PHAT Faith with Friends~

And so the question remains...who is keeping you in check? 
I am telling you, guys - we need each other. 

  Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Can you imagine how effective a dull sword would be?  Not very.  We are meant to live abundant lives of purpose and meaning, sharp and effective, making a difference in each others lives.  A sharp sword makes a difference, a dull one...not so much.  It is like a butter knife or a steak knife.  You get to choose which one you want to be.  It is easy to give in, give up, stick your knife in the butter and lay out this round, but don't!  You are worth the fight.  In this fight, I would rather have a steak knife by my side (I do enjoy a good filet mignon...but that is beside the point).  I imagine that some people don't care about their health because they don't feel they have any worth.  But be assured, You are worth so much more than you could ever imagine.  "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."  
1 Corinthians 2:9  
Every morning when you wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I am worth it!  I am worth the fight."  Then look up to heaven and tell God, "Let's do this!"  
Remembering that with God all things are possible...all things.


So, get up off the couch, drop the twinky, pick up your steak knife and
let's get sharpened!

SHARPENING TOOL #1:  A GOOD FRIEND (or two)


<< Ecclesiastes 4 >>

If one falls down,

his friend can help him up.

But pity the man who falls

and has no one to help him up! 

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, 

but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: 

                                                                                      “Bad company corrupts good character.”

 

You can choose friends who push you off the cliff or 

friends who catch you as you go~

 

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

Choose friends who love God first.  For you see, "God is love." (1John 4:8)  So, without God (who is Love) they wouldn't even know how to begin to love.

I have already told some of you guys on our Facebook page that my brother, Joe, and I are reading 1 Corinthians together.  He asked me last night if I had started reading it yet.  I had to answer truthfully that I had not...(ouch, getting sharpened here!)  But what did I do that night?  Yes!  I dug into 1Corinthians with a renewed passion.   You need a brother, sister, friend who will hold you to the fire, and love you enough to sharpen you.  And so I ask, "Have you been in God's Word  today? this week? this month?  Even those of us with the bestest of intentions still fall, and how sad it would be if there were no one there to catch us...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~thanks for catching me this time little brother!





 C.S. Lewis Friendship Quotes

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”

“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.”

 

 

 

 

...stay tuned for more sharpening tools....