"Fire Works!"

“Then I said, ‘It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s armies.’Then one of the angels flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar. With a pair of tongs, he touched my lips with it and said,‘See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.’ ” - Isaiah 6:5-7 (paraphrased from the NLT)


This past Fourth of July, I took my two boys to a celebration that was being held at an area High School’s football stadium. The music that was being played by a band unfamiliar to me was good. So were the refreshments and the weather. Then the fireworks display started. It was beautiful…loud, but beautiful. The fireworks were a big success. After the boys and I got home and we all lay down to sleep, my mind began to think about the day, about how I had acted towards others, specifically one particular person. I thought about what I had said, and the way I had said it. I realized that on this and several other “Independence Day(s)” for that matter; I had exercised my own “independence”. I had said to others what I wanted to say, the way I wanted to say it, without realizing how it sounded and how it would make them feel. Suddenly, I felt very ashamed. Then this passage of scripture (the one paraphrased above) came to me. And I realized…fire works!

You see, fire can be used for a lot of different things; it can be used for cooking. It can be used for making art like pottery. And it can be used for cleaning…more specifically purifying. That’s what the angel did in the book of “Isaiah”. Using a pair of tongs, he took a burning coal (from the fire), and used it to remove the guilt and sins from Isaiah’s mouth and life. “Wow (I thought)! That’s what I need! I need an angel to touch my lips with a burning coal every time I say something that is out of line.” I would keep him really busy! I think a lot of us would. I think a lot of us say we love God and want to do His will, but then say and do things that would reflect just the opposite.

The apostle Paul struggled with that. Writing to the Romans, he says: “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:15, 18, 24 NLT)

I think that’s exactly right. The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord, and have been struggling with trying to do that which is good, I urge you to get to know Him. If you’re like me and do know Jesus as your Lord, but still find yourself constantly struggling with trying to live and speak in a godly way, cry out to Him. He can send down a fire that will remove your guilt and forgive your sins. A fire…that works!