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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Fire! Fire!
Their names are Paul, Frank, Cole and John. Paul Lagrone, father of Frank and Cole, was critically injured, but Frank, Cole and John (Frank’s friend) died in the house, victims of a fire in the early morning hours of December 24, 2002. Officials stated the fire was caused by an electrical problem. Christmas Eve was deadly in Austin this year
Their names were Katie, John, Levi, Neal and Jonathan. They died almost two thousand miles from Austin, in Mercer, Pennsylvania, and about three weeks earlier, but they are dead just the same. Their parents, Rudy and Lizzie, had nine children when they went to bed on a Tuesday night, but only five the next morning. Their siblings, Anna, Gideon, Dan and Emma were injured, but should survive. Fire is a dangerous element in our modern world.
Fire has been a dangerous element for years, though it has brought warmth on a cold night, presented means of technological advancement, and allowed man to enjoy tasty food for centuries. We are glad for the existence of fire, but are not always able to control it. History records many events that surrounded the subject of “fire” and most of them are alarming. Major cities have been burned and almost destroyed by fire. During wartime, fire has been a major method in battle. The German city of Dresden was virtually destroyed by fire in 1491 and again in World War II, February, 1945.
Mentioned over five hundred times in the Bible, fire has played a major role in the history of mankind, from the days of Abraham down to the present.
- Fire from the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19.
- Moses was intrigued by the burning bush in Exodus 3.
- Fire was an integral part of the sacrificial system in the Law of Moses, Leviticus 10.
- A “pillar of fire” led Israel in the wilderness, Psalm 78.
- Elijah utilized fire as an instrument to overthrow Baal worship, 1 Kings 18.
- Solomon used “fire” to symbolize gossip, Proverbs 26.
- God’s Word was as a “burning fire” in Jeremiah’s soul, and a King tried to destroy God’s word by fire, Jeremiah chapters 20 and 36.
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were spared from destruction in a furnace of fire, Daniel 3.
- Men and women waited by a fire while Jesus was on trial before the Sanhedrin Court, Mark 14.
- God says the tongue can destroy as surely as a weapon; it is a “fire” capable of great iniquity, James 3.
- Jesus warned of an “everlasting” fire that awaits those whose lives are not in harmony with His will, Matthew 25, Revelation 20.
I’m no stranger to a burning house. One of my earliest memories is of my Father carrying me out to the car in a quilt and my Mother holding me there as fire consumed our house. As a four-year-old I saw the danger of fire. It can be a blessing or a curse to man, depending on whether we control the fire or the fire controls us.
We have many ways of protection from fire in modern times. Firefighters have protected us for many years, and we respect their courage and commitment. Mechanical and electronic devices are available to warn us of smoke and fire in our homes, and they have saved many lives. Its careful use can prevent potential dangers, but even though these devices are available, many do not use them, and many still die from fires in their own homes.
The absence or malfunction of a smoke detector in their home was mentioned often in news stories of the children killed by fire. Had they been installed and functioning properly, at least some of those children could have survived. It is too late for them, but we can learn from their tragic deaths.
So it is with the Word of God; it can save a soul from the fires of hell if it is read, studied and obeyed. Many have copies of the Bible, but unfortunately they are seldom read. Merely sitting on a shelf, the Bible has no protective power. Make sure yours is “installed” in your mind and functioning properly. It can save you from the “lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death,” Revelation 21:8.
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“The tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles!”
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
“Don’t kindle a fire you can’t put out.”
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What Are YOU Looking For?
They were looking for a lion,
He came as a Lamb, and they missed Him.
They were looking for a warrior,
He came as a Peacemaker, and they missed Him.
They were looking for a king,
He came as a Servant, and they missed Him.
They were looking for liberation from Rome,
He submitted to the Roman stake, and they missed Him.
They were looking for a fit to their mold,
He was the mold maker, and they missed Him.
What are you looking for?
Lion? Warrior? King? Liberator?
They were looking for their temporal needs to be met,
He came to meet their eternal need, and they missed Him.
He came as a Lamb to be sacrificed for your sin.
Will you miss Him?
He came to make peace between God and man.
Have you missed Him?
He came to model servant hood for all mankind.
Have you missed Him?
He came that we might have true liberty.
Have you missed Him?
He came to give you eternal life.
Have you missed Him?
When we submit to the Lamb, we will meet the Lion. Join with the Peacemaker, and we will meet the Warrior. Work with the Servant, and we will meet the King. Walk with the Submitted, and we will meet the Liberator. Concern ourselves with the eternal, and we will have the temporal.
If Jesus is not fitting into the mold you have, then come to the mold maker and get a new one. Submit to His plan for your life and you will see the eternal need met first; then all the other things you have need of will be taken care of as well.
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