BURNING OFF THE DUST

Fire can be very destructive, but  we all know there are benefits to fire.  I have had a few pre-cancerous spots burned off via freezing.  The process kills those skin cells which are prone to become cancerous and produces "new skin cells."  

There is a process called "controlled burns" when dealing with forest.  " A controlled burn is a planned low-intensity fire that is often used to prevent uncontrolled wildfires from overwhelming a forest landscape by removing hazardous fuels such as low growing vegetation," according to the American Forestry Association.   If you have ever seen the scar left by an out of control wildfire, you understand why this is important.

Recently the apartment complex sent a message to all the residents ~

"Residents, the weather is predicted to fall into the 30's.  If you turn on your heater, please be aware that you will smell a significant odor that can compare to a 'burning' smell.  This smell is from the dust that has settled on the coils over time.  You will smell this smell, and your smoke detectors may go off briefly.  This is normal for the first time the heater is turned on."

Well I have been around long enough to understand this--"BEEN THERE-DONE THAT"-

It is NOT the smoke alarm which causes me concern--although it can annoy the stew out of me--it is the sprinkler system going off which causes me angst.  The management does not give me any assurance this will not happen and my head goes into overdrive over what a mess that would be!  I am a tidy beaver and dust is not allowed to settle before I am wiping it away,,,BUT...what about the former apartment tenants?  Perhaps they were not obsessive about dusting and cleaning.  What if in the six months they were here there is a deep level of dust on those coils?  Could that cause a dust fire?  Could the entire building burn down around our ears with sprinklers spitting at the blaze?  I have an active imagination.

So perhaps I should turn on the heat in the apartment once a month as a pre-cautionary.  You know a regular burning off of the dust.  Perhaps I could avoid the annual alarm if I did that?  BUT when it is triple digit temps outside-that is difficult to imagine turning on more heat. ENOUGH about that!

The Word speaks on fire quite a bit.  It addresses "Refiners Fire" 171 times.  The refiners fire burns off the dross so that only the pure element is remaining.   God purifies our hearts so that we will stand pure and righteous before Him.  I can just imagine us shining white as snow when we stand before Him because of the cleansing that comes from Jesus.  I am thankful for the fire!

"I know how great this makes you feel,

even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime.

Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure;

genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine.

When Jesus wraps this all up,

it's your faith, not your gold,

that God will have on display as evidence of His victory."

I Peter 1:6-7

The Message

POSTSCRIPT--I have turned the heat on after the last "cold front" went through.  When it gets into the 30's I am forced to make the switch.  I opened the front & balcony door and created cross ventilation and turned the fans on to keep the air moving.  SUCCESS---No smoke alarms, no sprinklers, & minimal smell!    As Yogi Bear says--"I'm smarter than the average bear."  LOL!