.

Of course like all good men they decided they could put it out themselves. Of course like many good men in this situation they were wrong. My friend is calling 911 and watching all this go on. They were hitting this fire with everything they could find but it continued to spread.

Then someone from the inside made the wise decision to get a fire extinguisher. He came running out of the building extinguisher in hand ready to be the hero who put out the fire. He came to the fire, aimed and nothing happened. He took a look down and realized he had not taken out the pin that allows the extinguisher to work. He had to step back and figure out how to operate the machinery.

One of my friends made this statement concerning the gentleman with the fire extinguisher, “he should have read the directions before he used it.” I told her yes it would be best to read the instructions before there was a fire. This got me to thinking.

How many of us read the instructions before the fire starts? We would be wise to do so. As a matter of fact we could avoid a lot of fires in life if we would simply read the instructions and go by them.

Many of the fires of our life are self inflicted because we ignore the instructions in the Bible and think we can get by on our own. We stand too close to the fire and eventually get burned. Why this should surprise us I will never know.

Many turn to God only when the spark of sin has turned into a raging fire. We look to His word and His comfort only after we have exhausted our humanly efforts. When we work it that way we waste a lot of time catching up. While the fire is burning hotter and hotter we are scrambling back to God.

As a person who has stood in the fire let me assure you it is much easier to put out a little one than a big one. Will there be fire’s in our life, yes. Can we be ready for them no doubt.

Imagine this, the yard man starts a fire, the man working the counter sees it walks outside with his extinguisher and puts it out. They turn around walk in, end of story. No 911, no working yourself to death trying to put it out on your own. No fire department called. Quick and easy.

Imagine this, you step too close to the fire of sin, you notice things are out of control. You call on God, you read His work, you call on Godly friends and before you know it things have cooled off. No long term consequences, no charged life to deal with, no length of time out of fellowship with God. Quick and easy. That is how it was meant to be.

One side note here is that normally when we find ourselves in a fire it is because we have put the instructions on the shelf and decided we can handle things on our own. As a matter of fact that attitude is normally what leads to the spark in the first place.

One last illustration I want you to think of. Everywhere you go there are fire extinguishers all around. Many see them; in reality few know how to use them. Same with the Bible, they are all around, always a best seller. Many have them, few use them.

Next time you find yourself in a fire, make sure you have read the instructions for your safe return first.

Friendly Helps to Stay Out of or Avoid the Fire:

• Read the Word daily. Make a habit out of it.
• Never play with fire (sin), it burns. Prevention is the best medicine.
• Don’t wait, at the first sight of trouble get help.
• Remember you can not put it out yourself. Use prayer, scriptures and worship.
• Pride will never extinguish a fire. It only keeps you in it longer. Humble yourself before the Lord.

Scripture: Romans 8:5-6, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;”

Prayer: Dear Father, help us to use your word and your Holy Spirit to live lives that are pleasing to you. Help us to avoid sin, but when we find ourselves in it convict us so that we might flea from it as soon as possible. We thank you for your forgiveness of sin and how you love us. In Christ name, Amen.