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A while ago our youth group, Stepping Stones, went out to a fire pit we had in the field behind the church to make it ready so that we could use it. It had not been used for over a year because of Covid and you can imagine how bad it was. A small pile of wood and the pit itself were so overgrown with weeds they could hardly tell that there was anything there other than the fact that the mower could not cut that spot. After thoroughly cleaning the area we dug out the pit, placed a decorative steel ring in the pit and cleaned up the area around it, and built a stone area around it to make it look nice which gave us a safe distance to stay away from the fire because of the heat. 

The following week the weather was nice and we met outside around the campfire. The message that night was based on the campfire and was very inspiring however I like to expand on it further. One of the primary ways that the Holy Spirit is depicted in the Bible is by fire. Like a fire, if we don’t keep feeding the Holy Spirit it will eventually go out. We see the Holy Spirit through attending a good church, Bible studies, and reading and studying the Bible at home. 

But here comes the major problem with keeping the fire going, what are we feeding the fire with? A very good friend of mine is a professional landscaper and has been doing it for a few decades. As part of that, he also cuts and sells firewood of which occasionally I am blessed by being able to help him. In working with my friend I have realized how much it makes a difference as to what kind of wood or what condition the wood is that you can use on the fire and is the fire going to be indoors or outdoors, and a critical one, are you going to cook food on it or not. Some words burn really slow while others burn fast. Also, some make a lot of smoke and some don’t. If you use wood that has been used for other purposes it could be treated and very toxic and the fumes poisonous, so you would not want to use that indoors or even outdoors if you’re cooking food. 

Now back to Holy Spirit and Christ’s campfire. My question here is what are you feeding that campfire with. You may think that what you’re using is perfectly okay but the question is it really okay. Are you feeding it with where I call feel-good preachings that will burn up real quick or wood that will burn a long time and really nourish the spirit? Or worst case, are you trying to feed it with a bunch of nonsense and information that is not spiritually grounded or biblically accurate which would be like dumping very wet lumber or green lumber and would only lead to a bunch of smoke and would eventually put out the fire. Even worse you can be trying to feed the fire with lumber that is been treated and is toxic and when other people use it as advice (eat from the bread) it could be deadly to the Holy Spirit. 

The apostle Paul constantly reminds us to test the spirits and make sure that what we are accepting as a Bible truth is really a Bible truth and we have checked it against the Bible to be sure. The point here is that when we feed the fire of the Holy Spirit we do so with caution and respect. That fire of the Holy Spirit that we may be feeding could be the spirit of somebody that we are teaching or consoling with. We must remember that our bodies and everybody else’s are the temple of the Lord and must be respected and taken care of. Do not forget where it says in

 Luke 17:2; 

It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin. 

That sin could be because we gave them the wrong information that led them into temptation and sin.