Don’t Play with Fire!

Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
….His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
….Who can ever praise him enough? Psalm 106:1-2 NLT

Acts 19:11-22 (<<click here to read the passage)

A fair amount of the acreage behind our home has not been cleared – though we mow a small glade in the middle of it, most of it is wooded. Directly behind the portion we mow at the front is a rise populated mainly by shag-bark hickory trees. In the autumn we have all kinds of leaves fall to the ground.

One year, late in the fall, we decided to try and clear some of that area by burning the leaves that had accumulated over the years. My son was in his teens at the time and together we worked to keep it from spreading too quickly. Things went well for a while then the fire began to spread into some undergrowth around several small trees. It got a little crazy, but we were able to keep it under control.

Though we succeeded in doing so, shortly thereafter several of our local volunteer firefighters arrived with a firetruck and equipment because someone driving by had reported an out-of-control fire behind our home. Being that we aren’t allowed to have any open burning until after 6:00 pm, it was dark, and we couldn’t be seen.

We weren’t playing with fire but seven young opportunistic exorcists in the area where Paul was preaching did play with fire and boy did they get burnt!

They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” v13b

The passage goes on to say,

…one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. vs15-16 NLT

They may have been wowed at Paul’s miraculous works and wanted to get in on the action. But as my Life Application Study Bible says,

They discovered, however, that no one can control or duplicate God’s power. These men were calling on the name of Jesus without knowing him personally. The power to change people here comes from Christ. It cannot be tapped by reciting his name like a magic charm. God works his power only through those he chooses.

Being a follower of Christ is serious business. It most certainly brings great joy, but it is not fun and games simply to entertain ourselves or others. It demands a dedication of heart and soul, and a giving of ourselves to the point that God can use us to expand His Kingdom in the lives of those around us.

So don’t play with fire, or you might just get burnt!

June 29^th, 2022, Wed, 9:17 pm