Fire! Warning and Destruction. . .
There was a fire at our house two days ago! It took us quite by surprise! We are grateful that is was an outbuilding that burned and not our house with us inside.
Fire at our house! Yes, I said our house!
We went to bed that night thinking all was well. We didn’t know that we were wrong. About 1 am I subconsciously heard a car zoom up our driveway and blast on his horn. I thought ” what in the world?” Then before we knew it, there was loud urgent repetitive knocking at our door. That woke both of us.
Why is someone knocking at our door early in the morning?
We were both irritated! My husband got up to check and I said “Be Careful, you just never know who might be trying something weird” He agreed and went to check. Well, he never returned.
I jumped up to use the restroom and kept hearing thunder, well I thought it was thunder. I saw an orange glow outside our bedroom window, but knew that our emergency lights had come on so did not think much of it.
But suddenly, I thought,
There is a Fire!
I quickly looked out the window and sure enough our shed, that my husband stores supplies in for his business, was in flames. It was right in plain view out our window. Wow! I shrieked to myself and thought I’ve got to get some clothes on and get out of here!
A few minutes later I was in the back yard with the couple who was so urgently knocking at our door. They had just left a friend’s house and saw the shed on fire. They were kind and concerned enough to stop and warn us and then call 911.
My husband tried his best to put some of the fire out with his water hose hoping to save some things, but it was no use. The shed was in flames and the fire was getting hotter and the embers were flying. He thought about a canoe that was around back and he ran to get it, but too late for fire had caught the end of it and burned it too.
It wasn’t long before our yard was covered with firetrucks, ambulances, and volunteer firemen. We were thankful for the quick response and the fire was out in just a few minutes. We and our house were safe. No one was hurt. How gracious and merciful God was to us.
As I thought about this fire, quite a few Biblical applications started popping in my mind. They are not in any special order, but just as they came to mind. I think the Lord put all these thoughts in my mind to help me realize that time is short and one day many will be in the eternal lake of fire or in His very own presence. I hope the latter is true of you.
Applications in relation to the lost being warned of hell fire
- The Fire came quickly, without warning. Eternity can come quickly without warning. The fires of hell are real. Please don’t delay in making sure your eternity won’t be spent here!
- We actually talked about the danger ahead of time. My husband had burned trash that afternoon and wanted to make sure the fire was entirely out, but we decided to put it off for a while since we were busy and take care of it later. But we FORGOT! And later never came before it was too late. Later may never come for you my friend. Maybe you are thinking about escaping the fires of hell at a later time after you do other things. But once again, eternity can come without warning! 2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
- We went to sleep that night thinking all was well. All was not well. You may think life is good and all is well, but until you have made peace with Jesus Christ, all is not well and danger is lurking.
- The fire was so close, but we didn’t even know it was there. Hell Fire is close and lost souls don’t even realize how close it is. They are asleep to the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ, but in a moment can and will lose their very soul.
- We were awakened in the night by a strangers furiously and urgently knocking on our door and blasting on their car horn. They wanted to warn us of the danger. As a Christian, I should be concerned about the urgency of warning others of the danger of hell fire. I need to be urgently telling others
(AFF link)and shouting that danger is near.
- We were aggravated, upset, concerned about strangers being in our yard and awakening us so abruptly in the middle of the night. Although folks of the world, may not like us intruding into their lives, we must furiously and urgently continue to warn them of the truth.
- We were actually ready to harm that person who came to warn us. Others may dislike us and even try to cause us harm because we want to warn them of the truth.
- When we realized the danger of the fire we did something about it. We were grateful to the strangers for warning us. Let us continue to warn others of the truth of hell fire and of the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. When the lost come to realize the truth, they will be grateful that we did not give up on them. John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Psalms 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me:
and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
Applications for the Christian
- The fire we had started out small and continued to grow until our shed was in blazes. It destroyed the shed and all its contents which was several thousand dollars worth of equipment for my husband’s business. The fire had become uncontrollable Our tongues are also compared to a fire:
James 3:5-6 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
- How important to allow the Holy Spirit to have control of our tongues each and every day to keep from spreading harm and destruction. Not only is the shed (our temple which is our body where the Holy Spirit indwells) destroyed, but many other lives can be destroyed too.
- When the fire department showed up the fire was put out quickly. The Chief was in control. When we give our tongues to the Lord, then the master is in control and any fire that is getting ready to spread can quickly be quenched or never even allowed to start in the first place.
Everything happened so quickly, that I never thought to get pictures except for this little video of the firetrucks in our yard. We are truly grateful for God’s protection.