With government permits in hand and with signed agreements with the adjoining neighbors, we are scheduled to have our creek on the west side of our property widened. With each large rain, due to a concrete wall that fell in years ago, our lawn area has been being eaten away by erosion. In the process of preparing for the renovation along the creek bank, I cut an area of very large cane along the creek about 10 feet wide by about 80 feet long, which produced a lot of cane to deal with in some way. Some of it I stripped and stacked for whatever, some is cut and just laying there in a pile at this time, and some was old and dead and I piled it up for a bonfire. When cane burns, since it is made up of hollow enclosed cylinders all joined together, pressure builds with the heat and it explodes. It makes for a noisy fire, even sounding like a 22 rifle or the larger cane sounding like a handgun going off. We have joked saying the best time to burn cane in town is July 4 and nobody will think a thing about it.
The Bible says Jesus came to take away the sin of the world and baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (John 1:29,33; Luke 3:16). In the operation of fire, things that burn are done away with, and things that won’t burn remain and are sterilized. Some things burn with a little crackling sound and some things, like cane, burns with a loud report. In cane (some of this we have is 4 inches across at the base), the larger the chamber, the bigger the bang. On the day of Pentecost, all were filled with the Holy Spirit, all spoke with new tongues, but Peter was the “big bang” who was the spokesman for the group. He sounded out loud and clear and 3,000 people were converted to believe on Jesus Christ (Acts 3). Later he boomed the message out again by the power of the Spirit that was within and upon him, and 5,000 people became believers in Jesus. As the fire continued to burn in him “multitudes” came to where they were gathered bringing “a multitude” of sick folks, so many they had to lay them in the streets, and as Peter’s shadow passed over them they were all healed (Acts 5:12-16). This was a spiritual bonfire of magnificent proportions, burning for all to see and hear, booming out the word and demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us pray that God raise up some bamboo cane believers on fire for Jesus that as fires of evil and ungodly ways sweep across the land, we will fight fire with fire, the fire of God in all love, truth, and holiness, proclaiming and demonstrating the all powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. The time has come to light the bonfire and keep it stoked up to burn.
