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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: HONE AND SHARPEN

There is an old saying you have to walk before you can run. I see a lot of people trying to be something that they are not, they want to be the CEO of a company and do not even know what the company sells. They want to be an Olympic gold medalist, but have never tried the sport. But they love to give advice to those who are doing.

Among the body of Christ, we have a group of judgmental people that have one purpose, to be used by satan to cause conflict. They want to tell everyone what to do and what their problems are, without first considering their own heart. They say the sinners prayer and they feel like they can tell the world what to do, even those who have been pastoring for years. Just as God will use whosoever will let him, even if they are not the most on fire Christian. Satan too, will use anyone who will let him.

Jesus said

Matt 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

This is why we need to not judge without compromising on the truth. It is not an easy balance, but people will do what they want and will make their own choices. The only one we are fully responsible for is ourselves. This is why we need to guard our hearts and lives against satan and his lies.

I don’t want to be judged harshly by God because I was judgmental. That is different than standing for the truth of God’s word.

Matt 7:3-5 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

This is why we have to guard our hearts and make sure to hone in on our motives, before we open our mouths. I recently had to tell a fellow Christian something that was hard to tell them. I knew it was for their good and I knew God was pushing me to say something. I prayed about it for a few weeks before saying anything. Then God opened the door and through love I was able to share what God has put on my heart with them.

If I had been judgmental and went to them a month earlier, before I prayed about it, the outcome could have been much different. But by waiting and praying, God used me to help them and not hurt them.

Prov 27: 17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

The right tool needs to be used to sharpen or hone a blade. When we are in a position to help someone in their faith walk, we need to tread lightly. We cannot approach them with a superior, judgmental attitude. We have to be humble and show them the love of Jesus. It takes the anointing or the oil to help with the process. Most of the time, the stones used to sharpen or hone a blade have oil put on them for lubrication. This ensures that not too much is taken off the blade at once. It is a process.

Knifeanalyst.com says, (Hone is a term often used in the context of bladed weapon maintenance. At its core, “to hone” means to refine or sharpen a blade to improve its cutting edge. While some may believe that honing and sharpening are synonymous, there is an important distinction: sharpening typically involves removing metal from the blade with a coarser abrasive to restore or create an edge, whereas honing involves the finer process of realigning and smoothing that edge after it’s been established.)*

I know from watching my dad when I was growing up that many use a special stone with oil to sharpen and hone their pocketknives. It takes our rock, which is Christ Jesus, and the anointing or the oil of the Holy Ghost to hone us into the person we need to be in order to be soul winners.

The word says the person that wins souls is wise. We have to be wise when dealing with people. We are all flawed. The moment we think we have arrived and are above everyone else is when we are on our way to a serious fall. Because that is walking in pride, and pride goes before a fall.

We are living in serious times. Now is not the time to be playing church. Now is the time to ask God for more love toward people; especially the judgmental, Bertha better than you’s. They need our understanding and compassion more than we know. These people are normally very insecure and want to point out our flaws and shortcomings to make themselves feel better.

I was raised to believe that everything was black and white, but the older I get and the more I learn about God’s compassion, I realize there is a little grey area called grace. His grace is something that we all need a lot more of, because Jesus is coming soon for those who are ready.

I don’t believe he is coming after a bunch of self-righteous, judgmental people. It is time for us to ask God to use the oil and the stone to sharpen us and prepare us for the harvest.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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*Information copied from https://knifeanalyst.com/hone-the-definition-and-meaning/

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