Fire in the Oven!

Tonight, Daddy cooked pizza. He spread the sauce, carefully placed the pepperoni and ham, sprinkled cheese and whipped them into the preheated oven at 450F. What Daddy did not know was there was a plastic bag stuck to the bottom of the pizza pan on the bottom rack of the oven.

Oh, yes. You know there is trouble when you smell burnt plastic!

As soon as I smelled the plastic I knew I was in trouble, when I opened the oven smoke filled the room and I could see my pizza’s were roasting over a nice little puddle of burning plastic collecting in the bottom of the oven.

High alert!  Fire alarms go off. They make a nice stereo effect as each screams from opposite ends of the house. That was neat.

I start giving commands. Move out of the kitchen, get the dog, open windows. My wife is already ahead of me instructing the girls. I get the pizzas out of the oven and issue more commands to the girls. They are frozen in place. Panic on the oldest girls face. The youngest is trying to hold the dog. He is stronger than her.

I get the fire alarms off. (There was really no danger. Just lots of smelly smoke) My older daughter still in panic mode.

It was interesting to try to understand her response. She was scared. Unfortunately we have done little to prepare our children for what to do. But most interesting was she was completely unable to do anything asked of her. She was not listening. She was powerless.

Had the family really been in danger I would have had to grab the girls and go because they could not make rational decisions on their own.

Hmmmmmm.

I feel the same way when it comes to trying to overcome/control the sin in me. We know the Word. We know the dangers of sin. But when temptation comes, I am glued to the floor watching it come closer, unable to move or resist. Powerless.

God knows this. That is why he swooped in to take care of you.

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4

The law was unable/powerless to save us. We are unable to do it. If we were to stand before the living God without Jesus on, we would be like little puddles of burning plastic (forgive me for being a little graphic). The good news is Jesus.

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

God is taking care of everything. Jesus is cleaning up sin. We are safe.

God bless. Thanks for reading my story. Oh, and make sure you don’t have any plastic stuck to the bottom of your pizza pans.