Cut and Polished

Recently I was reading the 31-Day Devotional written by the prophet Kathy S. Wilson, entitled "It's A New Day". In one of the chapters she talks about us as believers serving as Jewels in the Crown of God (Malachi 3). She states that in order for us to go from "gems in the rough" to Jewels of God, we must first be "Cut and Polished". Saints, this is the process that we must undergo if we're going to be fit and prepared for the Kingdom Movement that God is getting ready to release in the earth. We must allow the Spirit to Cut and Polish us.

The God we serve is a Cutting God. When He established the Covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament, the Covenant was sealed by the rite of Circumcision. In order for the Jews to be in Covenant with God, every male had to have the foreskin of their penis cut off. God is not interested in cutting off physical flesh in the New Covenant of the Blood of Jesus, He now wants to cut off the flesh of our hearts. God is now interested in the Circumcision of our Hearts (Romans 2). There are still too many believers that are prone to indulge the lusts of the flesh and the affections thereof (Galatians 5). The bible clearly states that anyone who indulges in the activities of the flesh (the sinful nature) cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5). This scripture has been misinterpreted to suggest that if you indulge in the lusts of the flesh that you will not go to Heaven. This is incorrect. We're not going to heaven based upon our works, good or bad (Ephesians 2). We're going to Heaven because of our confession of faith in the shed Blood of Jesus Christ for the remission and forgiveness of our sins. We're saved by Grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2). However, self-indulgence can disqualify you from the Inheritance that Jesus procured for you through His Blood. Yes you'll receive the Gift of Eternal Life, but you'll miss out on the Reward of the Inheritance that the Father has prepared for you; in this life and in the life to come (Colossians 3). This is why God is allowing certain adverse circumstances in order to "cut" some things out of your heart.

Then we must be Polished. Another way to describe this process is to be smoothed or sanded off. This is not some easy process like wiping dust off of a table or drawer. This is like a piece of wood that you're shaving and sanding off to make it smooth. The key to the smoothing process is the friction. There are some rough spots in the bosom of our hearts and souls that the Father wants to polish and smooth out. He wants to sand off some of that bitterness. He wants to smooth out some of that anger. He wants to polish off some of that resentment. He wants to work out some of that arrogance and pride, self-centeredness and conceit. The prophet John the Baptist quoted the book of Isaiah, "the crooked shall be made straight and the rough ways shall be made smooth" (Luke 3). No matter what you may look like on the outside, no matter what state your life may be in, if you are child of God and a born-again believer in Christ, then you are a Gem in the Rough. But now is the time for us to allow the Holy Spirit to Cut and Polish us.