Have you ever known someone, a co-worker perhaps, who could be a source of instant disagreement by just opening their mouth? Chance were they were what our verse this week calls 'a hot-tempered man.'

Now, I will be the first to admit that I can get a temper when provoked. Through a lot of prayer, my REAL CHIEF has calmed me in those situations and I don't become as easily riled as I used to. Admittedly, I still have a long way to go to be anger-free.

However, we are talking about the type of person that seems to wake up in the morning angry. Do you know the type? I have had partners in the past who, when we would walk in to someone's home, would seem to get them yelling and upset without so much as a harsh word... like just looking at them made them upset. There are people like that. It is how you react that determines the outcome, though.

Have you ever heard someone say, "Yeah, I like to fight?" They are very likely the hot-tempered type we are talking about. They love to start a fight. They love, as our verse says, to stir up dissension - as the dictionary says, 'tension or strife.'

So, how can we help? Our REAL CHIEF says we must be 'patient' people to calm a quarrel. Patience is another virtue that I pray for... "I want patience and I want it now!" hehehehe

I think patience and humility are two of the things I pray for the most for my own life. If I can learn to be totally patient and humble, I can be the 'calmer of quarrels.'

Yes, GOD, please, make me humble and give me patience as I serve...

"Teamwork"

January 22, 2006

"The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

- Genesis 2:18 (NIV)

Have you ever tried to solve a problem in your life on your own? I think we all have.... tried, that is. I don't know about you, but if I try to do it on my own, I fall flat on my face. I usually end up in a bigger mess than when I started. Why do you suppose that is? The answer, really, is pretty simple - we were designed that way.

It's kinda like going out on a working structure fire. You can't; be command, interior, rescue, perform a search, catch a hydrant, lay a supply line, ladder and ventilate, fight the fire and be on the RIT all by yourself, can you? Okay, I know.... you're saying, "I am volunteer and I do all that. Sometimes I'm the only one on the engine." Granted. But, you get my point... you won't successfully mitigate that emergency without help, right? You may be a "one man show" for a while, but that house is going to burn down unless you have help.

So it is with life. We were designed to be a part of community. We were designed to have friends and family and co-workers and a spouse.

So, why do we go on trying to do things on our own? Without asking for help? Without asking GOD?

When a situation arises that becomes a challenge, remember to "give it to GOD" first. Pray about it. Seek advice from friends and/or from you spouse. You will find yourself under a lot less stress and you will probably resolve the problem much more efficiently.

Ask our REAL CHIEF to 'take command' on the firegrounds of your life, as you serve...

"Obeying Command"

January 15, 2006

"The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin."

- Proverbs 10:8 (NIV)

I am sure all of us have experienced the over-confident rookie. I think we tend to see them more in a volunteer agency... perhaps because rookies that go through an academy are taught differently. In any case, the over-confident ones are usually (not always, but usually) the ones who tend to tell everyone within earshot about every call they have made... whether they made it or not. Do you know the type? They are 20 or 21 years old and to hear them talk, you would think they have been in the business for twenty or twenty-one years.

Now, I understand that the stories the rookies tell tend to be a front... a way to try and fit in. I think we also know that the 'know-it-all' attitude is quickly shot down at the very first working fire or major entrapment scene. They are the ones standing there like a deer in the headlights or are trying to tell others why they are doing something other than what command has told them to do.

Funny thing about our business... you can't bluff your way through it. You can't just 'talk the talk.' No, sir, you have to learn to listen to the boss. And, you have to know that those commands are given for two reasons; to mitigate the problem at hand and to get you and your crew out of there safely.

Our verse for this week says it really well - if you are wise, you listen... if you ramble, you're a fool. And what happens to fools? Well, it's kinda like the know-it-all rookie - they go away... either by their own volition or otherwise. And usually, they leave the service... they 'come to ruin' if you will.

On the fireground... and throughout life - learn to listen and obey command. Our REAL CHIEF has your best interests in mind as you serve....

"Recognition"

January 8, 2006

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him."

- John 1:10 (NIV)

Before we get started, I just wanted to say "thank you." We are into our seventh year of writing this weekly devotional. GOD is good! So you will know, this article goes out via email to almost 600 people weekly... by request! Additionally, the website gets, on average, about 2000 hits per day. I believe it is because folks like you and me are hungry for HIS word.... HIS truths.

This week, let's talk a little about recognition. Of course there are several types of recognition. There is "good" recognition... like being presented an award for something. Then there is what I would call 'bad' recognition.... that is, failing to be recognized. Such as; running 'hot' to a call. Do people recognize that there is an emergency vehicle coming towards them? Maybe. Do they recognize that they need to pull out of the way? Usually not.

That is what our verse is about this week... failure to recognize. The coming of the Messiah had been foretold for centuries. Not just HIS coming, but who HE is, how HE would come, etc. Yet, when CHRIST became a man, the world, the BIBLE says, failed to recognize HIM.

It's kind of like this scenario. You are told that you have been finally awarded custody of a child you have been trying to adopt through an agency in a foreign land. You have spent months and months, maybe even years, learning about the child. You've seen pictures. You've seen health and education records. You know everything about the child. Now, it is time to meet them and pick them at the airport. You anxiously await the deplaning. Then, the child gets off the plane and wanders off into the street. Was it because you failed to recognize him/her?

I believe that everyone comes to a point in their life where they feel like "something is missing." Everyone has this 'hole' in their heart... a GOD-shaped hole, that only HE can fill. Learn to seek HIM. Learn to recognize HIM as the REAL CHIEF in your life. Let HIM fill that GOD-sized hole in your life as you serve...