Sat. March 27

I’ll be at Hastings Books in Alexandria, LA today from 2-4 PM.

If you’re in the area, drop by.  If not, pray that I’ll be a good witness as I greet old friends and meet new ones.

Proverbs 27:17  “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

For most of my adult life I’ve been part of a small group of men*meeting weekly for coffee, talk, and Bible study.

My current partners are two wonderful friends named Frank and Mark.  Our5:30 am meeting each Tuesday is something I look forward to and gain so much from.

I always leave our meeting full of coffee and “sharpened” as a man.*   Frank, Mark, and I have travelled enough of life together that we don’t (and cannot) hide much from each other.  As we share our triumphs, worries, concerns, and struggles together,  I’m always strengthened by their wise counsel and prayer.

Every man (and woman*) needs friends who sharpen their spiritual edge.  None of us live in a vacuum and no man* is an island.   If you’ve got a friend who “as iron sharpens iron” in your life, you’re a wealthy man.*  If you’ve got more than one,  you’re in the Forbes 500 of true riches.

If you don’t have that type of friend, search one out… and here’s the kicker, you’ve got to develop your spiritual sharpness so you can be “iron sharpening iron for them.”

How does one do that?  My humble insight is simple yet sobering:  it takes a lifetime of growing, learning, and studying the powerful Word of God to become sharp.  I’m still working on it.

The good news is this: it’s never too late to start.

“Lord, thank you for how you work in our lives.  One of those ways is good friends who encourage, correct, and teach us.  Guide me to those type of friends.  And Lord while you’re guiding, make me the kind of friend who ‘sharpens others.’  Amen.”