Streams in my desert: 3 Lessons From Iron Sharpens Iron - fellowship makes us better. We can’t sharpen, or be sharpened, if we’re a solo act. If you keep yourself tucked away in your sheath, you miss out. Fellowship with other believers in life isn’t optional - it’s mandatory. Friends draw attention to problem areas out of love and concern. To sharpen inherently means friction. But this friction creates what I call “love sparks” if we receive it. It’s a lot easier to let someone continue down a bad path than to confront them. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together ... but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching”

Thursday, May 22, 2025

3 Lessons From Iron Sharpens Iron - fellowship makes us better. We can’t sharpen, or be sharpened, if we’re a solo act. If you keep yourself tucked away in your sheath, you miss out. Fellowship with other believers in life isn’t optional - it’s mandatory. Friends draw attention to problem areas out of love and concern. To sharpen inherently means friction. But this friction creates what I call “love sparks” if we receive it. It’s a lot easier to let someone continue down a bad path than to confront them. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together ... but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching”

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." - Proverbs 27:17

I love this verse on so many levels.

But there are three core lessons we can draw out today.

One: Dull blades are dangerous.

Dull blades make you press harder for the same job.

So, if your hand slips while cutting, it creates a deeper wound.

When we’re dull, we’re dangerous to ourselves and others.

Two: Fellowship makes us better.

We can’t sharpen, or be sharpened, if we’re a solo act.

If you keep yourself tucked away in your sheath, you miss out.

Fellowship with other believers in life isn’t optional - it’s mandatory.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” - Hebrews 10:24–25

Three: Sharpening makes sparks.

A few verses earlier, Proverbs 27:6a says:

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend…”

Friends draw attention to problem areas out of love and concern.

To sharpen inherently means friction.

But this friction creates what I call “love sparks” if we receive it.

It’s a lot easier to let someone continue down a bad path than to confront them.

But as Jesus showed us in Matthew 18, conflict is the pathway to peace.

How do you practice iron sharpening iron?

Jordan from SDD

Jordan Loftis

President and Editor

Jordan writes and speaks about how to study and live out the Bible. He’s the author of two books, Today We Win and The Men With Bare Feet, host of The Bible Better Podcast, and the president and editor of Short Daily Devotions.

Jordan is also the founder of Story Chorus, an innovative publishing company, and the cofounder of It’s Your Time Wellness with his wife, where they coach people to optimal health. He lives with his beautiful wife and three kids in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Get every believer in the Word every day. Shortdailydevotions.com is just what it sounds like, a short, Christian daily devotional that can be read either on the website’s main page, or in a Monday through Friday email. The devotions are a quick read and an effort to love and edify God’s people amidst the rush of our busy lives. They are intended as a supplement to your daily walk with Jesus as you study the Bible, pray, and fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters.

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