Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.   Colossians 3:5 ESV

I’ve told you before that I often have a song playing in my head. Sometimes I will hear a song on the radio, and it will play on in my head for a day or two. Well, this morning the song is The Smoke of a Distant Fire by Sanford Townsend Band. This song was released in 1976 and went to number 9 on September 17, 1977, just days after my 12th birthday. The song has a great uplifting beat, but it tells a sad story.

It’s a story of a young man who realizes his true love has set her sights on someone else. The lyrics from the chorus say, “Girl your eyes have a mist from the smoke of a distant fire.”

How does this relate to our Scripture passage? Well, I’m glad you asked. Fire attracts people. Now it has been really cold the last few days and you might think it’s just the warmth of a fire, but it’s also the light the fire produces. I have often heard it said that if you are under attack in a public place scream “Fire!” to get people to you. They are more apt to come to a fire than an attack.

Fire is vibrant and alive. It crackles and pops and gives light and warmth. If it’s about to go out, you can stoke it and make it come alive again. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today. Do you need to stoke your fire?

When we get saved, we are often described as being on fire for Jesus. When we humbly come to Him and confess our sins and repent and ask Him to come into our hearts and surrender to Him as Lord and Savior, it’s exciting. We want to tell others about the great thing going on in our lives. We want others to experience the peace and joy we have found in Him.

But this angers the devil. And you can bet he is lighting a fire in the distance and trying his best to draw you away from God and into his fire. He wants you to burn in the lake of fire with him and all the other unrepentant sinners. He will lie to you and do his best to seduce you. He wants you.

These fires may come in the form of new relationships that don’t honor God. They may come in the form of a desire for wealth that leads us away from God. There are many ways the devil distracts us and tries to draw us away. In plain and simple terms, they are idolatry. They will take us away from our one true love and lead us into a world that will eventually break us down and will destroy us if we aren’t careful.

Have you been saved? Are you being drawn in by smoke from a distant fire? Is the devil seducing you to do things you know are wrong?

My friend there is a remedy for this problem. Turn to Jesus. Rededicate your life to Him. Surrender your all to Him even your bad habits or behaviors. He is faithful. He will forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness if you simply confess your sin to Him (1 John 1:9).

If you can’t let go of your sin and you refuse Him, however, He will give you over to your sin (Romans 1:18-24). There will come a point when it is too late. There will come a point when He no longer wants to hear your confessions or hear you repent.

We are told that God is slow to anger and abounds in steadfast love. He is a loving patient God. I beg of you not to put that to the test. Surrender to Him today. None of us know how much more time we have on earth. Be drawn into the light of His fire and be on fire for Him today. Don’t be distracted by the smoke signals the devil is sending you today.

Have a great day!