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Are you at the top of your game?  Would your tools or equipment be considered state of the art? Have you reached your peak! These phrases imply success, excellence, achievement.  Perhaps you don’t feel very successful right now, but with God’s help you can be on the “cutting edge.” Hi this is Doug Flemming, your personal development consultant, today on Take Five.  Take Five produced by the Church of the Nazarene.  Dr. Ralph Wilson in his new internet devotional series explores the work of a lumber mill to explain how we can achieve personal improvement. Dr. Wilson visited a lumber mill and watched massive redwood logs being cut by huge saw blades. Upstairs, away from the noise, he examined the immense blades at close range, 40 feet in circumference, suspended far above the sharpening room floor. Here machinists worked over the previous shift's blades, spending 45 minutes to sharpen each saw tooth by tooth. The immense band saws ripped steadily for four hours, then were removed and sharpened before being cutting the oversize logs again. The routine continued day and night--four hours of cutting, then a rest for sharpening. Work then sharpen. Given this care blades last for years ensuring a clean cut every time. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is also a secret for keeping our lives on the cutting edge.  Come back after this song and I’ll explain more.

Today’s Music: I Need You, Phillips, Craig and Dean

Our lives are much like those giant blades. To cut cleanly day after day, we need to come aside for regular sharpening, faithfully submitting to God's maintenance. Quiet time with our Lord may seem unproductive to many, or too difficult for others. Yet if you desire true success then this regular time with God is necessary to keep the cutting edge.  Jesus regularly reminded his disciples, 'Come away by yourselves to a quiet place, and rest a while.”  Friend, the best way to achieve personal improvement and real achievement is to spend time with God, allowing His Word to keep your heart and mind sharp for His use.