Breaking the Burn Ban and Taming the Fire of Hell

I was sitting in my usual seat at the board of aldermen meeting last night when Cody Martin burst through the door into the town hall. 

Immediately, Jan said, "Cody, we're in a meeting."

"Someone has a fire in the fire pit." There was such urgency in his voice that we all turned around to look at him. "I saw it when I drove past the park."

It took a few seconds for the implications to sink in. The fire pit in the park is underneath a wooden pergola. A wooden fence is separated from the pergola by mere inches. A fire that was visible from the road had to be big.

We've had a state-wide burn ban for weeks. No open fire is allowed. The fine is $500. The risk is enormous. There have already been problems with fire in our area. A man died in a fire that got out of control. Acres have burned. 

The realization of the potential the fire presented hit us like a ton of bricks. We know what happens out West when fire gets started. We don't want that kind of devastation in our town. 

"Send a policeman down there," someone said. The chief was out of town for a class. We had no one to send. 

There was a scramble as we all jumped up from our chairs. Someone made a motion to end the meeting, someone else seconded it, and we voted as we headed out the door. We might not be able to arrest a fire bug, but we were going to do something.

We all converged on the park. At the fire pit area, I had to step back. The pit was filled with wood. The flames were enormous. Nearly as tall as my head. 

I demanded that the fire be put out immediately. Cody came with water in a jug. Malcolm unlocked the water faucet. Jan called the fire department.

Everyone did something. (Yes. My actions were the least helpful of all.)

Cody had the fire almost out when it flamed up again.

Curt Clayton came with the fire truck. They unrolled the hose, stretched it to the pergola, and pumped water on the fire until it was completely out. 

The timely action of a young man who could see a risk and take action prevented what could have been a catastrophe for the people in our town, none of whom knew the drama that was unfolding. I wish more people were as responsible about the danger of fire as Cody Martin. If I'd had a medal to pin on him last night, I'd have done it. 

I still can't get the thought of fire out of my mind this morning, and I'm reminded of what James wrote. 

"So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among the members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell....With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God..." James 3:3-6, 9 nasb

The danger of fire is very fresh in my mind. That my tongue can be even more dangerous is a horrifying though. And yet, I know it's true.

I've been careless with my tongue more times than I want to remember, but I'm choosing to do better. To guard my words. To give my tongue to Jesus, who is the Only One who can tame it.

Today, join me as we take a look at the fire of hell in our own tongues. Do we bless God and curse our fellow men with it? Are we careful about every word? If we need some divine tongue-taming, and we probably do, let's invite our Lord to take control over our tongues and sweeten our words with the gentleness of His Spirit.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." Proverbs 18:21 esv

"A gentle tongue is a tree of life..." Proverbs 15:4 esv

_____________

Today, I'm grateful for my fellow citizens who see a need and take action to meet it. I'm especially grateful for Cody Martin.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The One Who Always Keeps His Promises

Here's the link to support this ministry: Leanna Hollis  Account #4841

#burnban #fire #thankful 

Leanna's Favs, #1: The Blazing Fire

In celebration of the upcoming first birthday of Lines from Leanna, we are celebrating with Leanna's Favorites this week and the most popular posts of the year next week.  I had such a hard time picking the posts that had meant the most to me that I'm posting my favorite devotionals in the morning and the stories that mean the most to me in the evening.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed writing them and selecting them.

_______
The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, “Could this John be the Messiah?” But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.” (Luke 3:15-16 MSG)

What a word picture! Despite all the years of waiting, the people were still anticipating their Messiah and were wondering about John. "Maybe he's the one," they thought. John did not give those rumors time to get started. "Nope. Not me," he said. He went on to tell them a little about Jesus. I wonder what they thought when he spoke about baptism by fire. It is such a vivid idea in my mind. A blazing fire and somehow being lowered into it but emerging (hopefully) unscathed. It brings Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to mind.

When John explained his metaphor, he painted a beautiful picture, didn't he? The idea of igniting implies that the tender is ready and the fire is laid. Jesus is coming, John explained, to ignite the fire in our hearts with the Holy Spirit. It will give us "kingdom of God life" in our hearts and change us completely. We will be fresh and new. Here's the wonderful part that would be easy to miss: the Holy Spirit is coming to stay, to live within our hearts, and Kingdom life (the life God desires for us) is available permanently.

The pilgrims who walked the Emmaus road with Jesus described the experience with these words, "Our hearts were strangely warmed". In the presence of Jesus, that fire of the Holy Spirit burned within them and made them different.

The fire is laid in our hearts, the tender is ready. How bright is that Holy Spirit blaze? Are we keeping the fire stoked with Bible study and obedience to the commands of our Lord? What a wonderful thing it is to be cleansed, changed, warmed by the fire of His love!

Pray today that we would keep the fire burning bright with our faithfulness and that our loved ones will see that fire in us and want it for themselves.

The unexpectedly Grateful Heart part 12

The forecast was for temperatures in the 20's last night and someone at the office asked if I liked cold weather. "Well, what I really like is seasons," I said. I love the snow in winter, the flowers in spring, the sun and gardens in summer, the crunch of falling leaves and the cooler temperatures of fall. Tonight is the first fire (in my fireplace) of the season, and I'm celebrating cooler weather! Listening to the crackle of the fire, watching the dance of the flames, and enjoying the aroma of burning oak is a fine way to spend an evening.

I'd been enjoying the fire for a bit, making a to-do list for an upcoming meeting, when I thought about my Coleman lantern. I shuffled through the leaves, crunching as many as possible for maximum crackle, to my shed to get the lantern. You never know when you might need it, of course, but I have a meeting scheduled for my house tomorrow night, and I announced last month that it would be a bonfire meeting. (I know you are secretly wishing you could have such a meeting). Since I don't have electric lights down by the bonfire spot, I need some illumination for the chili table. (Another good idea for a meeting, huh?) Of course, the wick bag (what is that thing called) is missing, and I can't get anything to come out of the propane tank  so maybe it's time for flashlights after all. 

I quickly abandoned the lantern project and was pondering the whole bonfire idea when I remembered that Bill the Magnificent was going to work on making a fire pit.  I grabbed a flashlight and headed down by the lake to see what he'd gotten done. I could not believe my eyes!! Bill the Magnificent is making a magnificent fire ring/pit!! You may not have problems with this but I can envision the most marvelous project, only to have it fail because I can't communicate it effectively to the builder. It is in the early stages, but every indication is that Bill the Magnificent gets it, and I am incredibly grateful. It's amazing how much different the work becomes when the vision is shared, isn't it?

Thinking about vision reminds me of what Proverbs 29:18 says. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."  The Hebrew word for vision here is chazown and literally means a vision or divine communication. Wow. Shared dreams and plans are really nice, but they are not the the stuff of life. It's the divine communication that is so life-giving that we perish without it. That's a sobering thought, isn't it? How often do you get still enough to actually receive a divine communication? How likely are you to obey a divine communication no matter what it says? 

Tonight, I'm grateful for the seasons, the crunch of fallen leaves, the sensory delight of a blazing bonfire, and that Still Small Voice, so often barely perceptible, that is both life giving and life sustaining. I'm overwhelmed with awe and delight, as well as gratitude, that the Divine One would share a vision, and communication, with me. 

And you? What will you do when the Still Small Voice whispers in your heart?  It's life giving. Don't miss it

Burning the Trash (Luke 3:17)

"...He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” (Luke 3:17 MSG)

NASB translates this by saying Jesus has a winnowing fork in his hand and he will gather the wheat and burn the chaff with an unquenchable fire. 

The Holy Spirit comes into our heart when we allow Him to ignite the fire in our hearts, but John wants us to understand something important. Holy Spirit's job is not to tend the fire. We tend the fire by staying close to our Lord. Our obedience and surrender tends the fire. 

The Holy Spirit gets busy with housecleaning. He wants to keep all that is good (the wheat), but whatever is not good goes straight to the fire. Wikipedia defines chaff as "the dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain..." It's inedible and keeps us from the "good stuff", the nourishing grain inside. Why would we want to hang on to chaff? It's just the waste part. It's wheat trash. How silly we are to argue with The Lord about keeping such useless garbage. But, we do. 

Holy Spirit is no dummy. He knows that, given our druthers, we would try to keep the wheat AND the chaff. Sometimes we are even foolish enough to try to keep the chaff at the expense of the wheat. He has a great solution for that - FIRE. He just burns it up.

Here is the really amazing thing that occurs to me for the first time - maybe the unquenchable fire with which the Holy Spirit has baptized us, the fire of His love in our hearts, is the very fire that burns up our chaff (so we can't get it back) and leaves the wheat. 

How great is that? God is determined to cleanse us and He does it with the powerful fire of His love! Wow! Heart cleanup doesn't seem nearly so scary when we look at it like that, does it?

Well, that brings us to our own chaff. I had a little chaff burning yesterday, and will need some more chaff burned today. I have the worst problem with chaff, but praise God He can handle it! Better yet, He prefers to do a daily clean up rather than handle a mountainous mess at once. He keeps our hearts clean and usable that way. 

Take a look at your life, your heart. What chaff are you storing? What needs to go? Today, invite the Spirit to pile all your chaff on the fire of His love. Just imagine the blaze it will make. The good news is this: burning chaff makes the nicest blaze, and it warms you all the way through!

Today, pray that we and our loved ones will recognize the chaff our Lord sees and will invite Him to cleanse us with His love. 

The Blazing Fire (Luke 3:15-16)

The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, “Could this John be the Messiah?” But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.” (Luke 3:15-16 MSG)

What a word picture! Despite all the years of waiting, the people were still anticipating their Messiah and were wondering about John. "Maybe he's the one," they thought. John did not give those rumors time to get started. "Nope. Not me," he said. He went on to tell them a little about Jesus. I wonder what they thought when he spoke about baptism by fire. It is such a vivid idea in my mind. A blazing fire and somehow being lowered into it but emerging (hopefully) unscathed. It brings Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to mind.

When John explained his metaphor, he painted a beautiful picture, didn't he? The idea of igniting implies that the tender is ready and the fire is laid. Jesus is coming, John explained, to ignite the fire in our hearts with the Holy Spirit. It will give us "kingdom of God life" in our hearts and change us completely. We will be fresh and new. Here's the wonderful part that would be easy to miss: the Holy Spirit is coming to stay, to live within our hearts, and Kingdom life (the life God desires for us) is available permanently.

The pilgrims who walked the Emmaus road with Jesus described the experience with these words, "Our hearts were strangely warmed". In the presence of Jesus, that fire of the Holy Spirit burned within them and made them different.

The fire is laid in our hearts, the tender is ready. How bright is that Holy Spirit blaze? Are we keeping the fire stoked with Bible study and obedience to the commands of our Lord? What a wonderful thing it is to be cleansed, changed, warmed by the fire of His love!

Pray today that we would keep the fire burning bright with our faithfulness and that our loved ones will see that fire in us and want it for themselves.