Sharpen The Tools

My husband recently started cleaning up his tools of which he has many either needing sharpened, repaired, or tossed. I have tools that come from God that I need to keep sharpened, as well. 

 

The Word that never gets old. It never changes. It is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (Psalm 119-105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

    I can only sharpen The Word by staying in it!

 

The Church- God’s group of people who are to encourage and love one another. The people may change, but God always has another in place. (Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”)

     I can only sharpen my assembling by attending!

 

Trials- Hardships bring us closer to God; they strength us.  He is the Guide, the Go-To-One, the Omnificent One who sees, hears, and knows all. (James 1: 2, “Blessed is the man who remains under trial, for when he has stood the test he will received the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. )

     I can only sharpen my trials by, without fear, giving them to God- by relying on Him. 

 

Challenges- Challenges sharpen us as we look to God for answers. He is always at our fingertips. As we look to God, we become wiser in our choices.  (Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”)

     My challenges sharpen me.

 

I am just the clay that God molds with His tools every day. If I can use God’s tools properly, my life is transformed more into what God desires. (Isaiah 64:8 “O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the work of Your hand.)

     I need to keep God’s tools sharpened while also letting them sharpen me in my reliance upon God.  

 

 

A Testimony

The Bible is a testimony of God; a revelation about Him and a source of God’s will, guidance, and hope for me.

     There are three people I can readily point to who gave a testimony directly to both God and Jesus of who they were to them. These are testimonies not to be ignored. 

 

When Jonah prayed to God, he said, “I knew that You are slow to anger and are filled with loving-kindness, always ready to change Your mind and not punish.” Jonah 4:2 

 

When Peter was asked a question by Jesus, he answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Matthew 16:16

 

When Thomas saw Jesus after the resurrection He declared to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” John 20:28

 

God, Himself spoke from heaven and introduced Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

 

Jesus, Himself, said, “I and my Father are one.” John 10:30

I cannot talk directly, face-to-fact, with God, but I can testify that God is my Lord, Jesus is my Savior, and They are One. I can testify that God is loving, kind, and by my side daily, leading, guiding, and blessing my path.

 

Set Aside

When I started cooking, I had to learn to separate the egg yolk from the whites, often setting them aside for their own individual purpose. It was important not to forget to use the one set aside for later. 

     There are some things that God separates and puts aside, as well. 

 

     God set aside my Sundays from the other days of the week to give me a rest day. (Genesis 2:3, “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”)

 

     God also has set me aside. He set me aside because I am a believer. When I received Christ I was set aside as a “special” child of God.  I am set aside with my own unique purpose and added to the fold of His sheep. God knows me by name, and I am Not forgotten!

More

As I have lived life, I found that I always wanted more, never being content with just a bit. Often this was just a selfish whim on my part, but I have also found that it is not a bad thing to want more. Not if the “more” is within what God has in His plans. I can honestly say, "I want more of what God has in store.” 

More

 I tasted

And was not sated.

I wanted more

Of what I’d just had before.

It was like honey on my tongue;

It clung-

I embraced the flavor,

Enjoying it like a refreshing lifesaver.

It satisfied,

Inside and outside.

There was clarity,

Sincerity,

Solidarity.

But there was more of what Christ had to offer.

I wanted, no more, to be a scoffer.

I wanted more of His love and care,

Of all He promised to share.

Hours and days had gone wasted,

But now I have tasted;

Felt His love and His grace,

And there is so much more to embrace

With God living in my space. 

I have tasted and want more

Of what God has to outpour.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 8/26/2025

 

“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring.” 

Isaiah 44:3 KJV

 

I Am Awed

The are certain words that express powerful emotions; like astounded, overwhelmed, and amazed, but today I chose to use awed, meaning a feeling of wonderment or reverence.

I Am Awed

 

Every heartbeat,

My hands and feet,

Every breath until death;

They are a blessing from You, O God,

And I am awed!

 

Every finger, every toe

Every joint, knee, and elbow,

My brain and the blood within my vein,

You planned, O God,

And I am awed!

 

You took Adam’s rib and passed it around.

But I wasn’t just a hand-me-down.

You added more for what I’m here for.

With love,

You planned me, drew me, made me,

And listen to every plea.

You had a plan just for me, 

O God!

And I am awed!

 

You formed me with loving kindness,

Always granting forgiveness;

You’ve stayed the course, by my side,

Being my Go-to Guide.

In Your heart-felt presence, O God, 

I am awed!

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 8/25/2025 

 

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3 

 

 

 

 

Replacement For Me

There is much to be learned from Isaiah 53 about Jesus’s replacement on the Cross for me.  

Isaiah 53:4-6 NLT  

“He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.
⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.”

 

What does Jesus’ replacement mean to me? 

 

R eplacement (Jesus took my place on the Cross)

E nded (Jesus death on the Cross ended God’s anger over my sin)

P ierced (His body was pierced for me)

L aid (My sins were laid on Jesus at the Cross)

C rushed (He was crushed for my sin)

E nded (The Cross ended condemnation for my sin)

M eant (The Cross was my burden to bear but Jesus took it)

E nded (The Cross ended my death penalty)

N o Other Way (Jesus made a way for me, an imperfect to go to a perfect place and be with a perfect God) 

T rust (Jesus is God’s Son and I am to trust in Him, His death, His resurrection, and His love for me) 

 

Spring of Living Water vs Fruit of the Spirit

As I was reading Jeremiah 2:13 which states, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water,” I thought of the poem I wrote and posted a few days ago about, “The Well That Never Runs Dry.”

     I was referring to the Living Water which occurred at the moment of salvation. God, Himself, poured out into me the Holy Spirit who is continually filling me, guiding me, and working with me continually.     

     Thinking of this further, I also thought about how my Living Water produces fruit and how I am to develop a character which shows I have the Living Water flowing continually.  I immediately connected it to the Fruit of the Spirit; that of, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, patience, and self-control. 

     I also wish to produce a stream of living water by living the Fruit of the Spirit. Let it flow out of me!