Have you ever had a feeling that no matter what you did in your life something was missing? It wasn't until Dave suffered through a divorce and found himself alone raising two young sons that he came face to face with that something. It was at the lowest point in his life he realized that something was Jesus Christ. He had been there all the time; Dave just hadn't taken the time to truly get to know Him. This book contains stories from his life as a firefighter, husband and father. He relates how God has been there to celebrate the good times and to comfort him during the difficult. His stories show God's hand at work in his life and prove that we are never alone. This book was written to encourage and uplift. These stories show just how active our Savior is in our lives and the miracles that surround us every day. The hope of this book is that even one person is brought to a closer relationship with Jesus. You may also come to understand the life of a firefighter a little better. May God bless and protect you.

Answering the Call

By David Wisher

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 David Wisher
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-3446-6

Contents

Chapter 1 Spiritual Firefighter.....................1Chapter 2 Putting on the Armor......................25Chapter 3 Command and Control.......................39Chapter 4 Tactics...................................45Chapter 5 Tools.....................................71Chapter 6 The Buddy System..........................81Chapter 7 Critique..................................89Chapter 8 Retirement................................99Chapter 9 Family....................................103Chapter 10 Conclusion...............................127Appendix 1..........................................131Appendix 2..........................................132Appendix 3..........................................133Appendix 4..........................................134

Chapter One

Spiritual Firefighter

Jude 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them.

It was early October, time for our annual Fire Prevention Week. We have several different demonstrations set up and run hundreds of children through to teach them fire safety. I was leading a group of 3-4 year olds from one presentation station to another. A four year old boy was walking beside me with his father, he kept looking up at me with his big brown eyes and his dad told me "my son loves this 'fire stuff'." We walked a little bit further and the little guy looked up again and said, "I love this stuff ... he paused.... and he said I love you too." His comment surprised me but melted by heart. I knelt down and gave him a hug. After that every one of his classmates wanted one of those hugs. It really touched me and made me remember how I should view my career. Firefighters are a special breed and blessed. This is why we do it.

As I thought about the unmerited love of this little boy, it struck me how fortunate we are to have a Savior that loves us, love unmerited but freely given. We run into fires to rescue people and give them a chance at life. Jesus took the cross in our place to give us a chance at eternal life. We are called 'heroes', He was crucified. Keep in mind being a good person is not enough. We will never be 'good enough'. The Bible says, "There are none righteous, not one." It takes actively receiving Christ in your life, this is a personal act; you cannot ride anyone else's coat tails. I have noticed that most verbs in the Bible are action verbs. The Bible also says we have been saved through faith and this is not from ourselves, not by works, so that no one can boast. Grace is a freely given gift from God, we cannot earn it. But James tells us that faith without works is dead. This is work that comes after you have been saved. God has things He wants us to do, we need to get busy.

Many people never take that action, whether it is the act of accepting Jesus or serving Him once they do. It's like a firefighter who is a twenty year rookie. He comes on the job and does nothing to better himself over his career. Every day we should be growing, advancing. If we don't train our skills degrade, the same is true of our faith. There is no holding pattern, we are either moving forward or backward.

Charles Spurgeon said "You will never go to heaven in a crowd. The crowd goes down the broad path," the path of least resistance, or so it seems. Eventually we will have to give account. That broad path is crowded and leads to hell. Make no mistake there is a hell and it is terrible. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Hell is undoubtedly full of people who did not actively oppose Jesus, but drifted into damnation by neglecting to respond to the Gospel. All you need to do to go to Hell is nothing.

The Call

As firefighters we are called to service by a dispatch system, the lights go on, tones go off and a dispatcher gives an address and nature of call. This can be any time of the day or night. We are dispatched to an emergency scene where our equipment and training are needed to save life and property. Jesus also gives us a call, a call to salvation; and we need to hear and respond to that call.

On one occasion several years ago, my engine company was dispatched on a possible apartment fire right around the corner from the station. We arrived first and noted lazy gray smoke coming from a first floor apartment. We pulled a line and entered the building, no occupants were visible but we did see that the kitchen cabinets were on fire. The flames were extinguished relatively quickly and a short period of overhaul found that the fire had not extended into the walls. Now that the fire was out, the task of doing a cause and origin investigation fell to me as the first in officer. As I began my investigation it was obvious from the point of origin and the cause of ignition that this was an intentionally set fire. I was informed that the occupant had been found and was outside, I needed to question her. As I approached her I noted a small blond woman possibly in her mid fifties. As I came closer I realized I knew her from previous calls (she was a 'frequent flyer'). One thing I remembered about her was that she never looked up, she never did, and she never said a word. I knew she had an issue with drugs and that she had also set a couple of other small fires in her past residences. I looked at her, head down, shoulders slumped forward, aged well beyond her years, (she was only in her thirties) and I was struck by the fact that here was a woman without hope; she was just the shell of a person struggling through life. I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Tina you need to get your life together, God is here." For the first time since I had met her she looked up and locked eyes with me. I'll never forget the look in her eyes, it was the look of someone who is drowning and sees a life raft but doesn't know how to get into it. I believe just saying her name and letting her know someone still cared gave her, if only for a while, a sense of worth. I still pray that at least a seed was planted. I never saw her again after that night.

It all starts with our own personal call. In the book of Mark Jesus went out to call his disciples and said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Do you remember the first time you heard the Gospel and how you responded? Could you feel the Spirit working in you or did your resist? I remember when I was testing for the fire department. I waited expectantly for that phone call telling me I had made it. I'm pretty sure most of us weren't waiting like that for God's call. I remember how happy I was when Urbana Fire called, (we should be even happier when God is on the line.)

I remember when Christ called me. I had been a "good guy" most of my life and thought that was enough. I knew of Jesus but had not pursued a deeper relationship with Him. I didn't know that wasn't enough, the Bible says that even the demons know who Jesus is. There is a difference in knowing "of" and actually "knowing" someone.

Have you been face to face with Christ and accepted Him into your heart? Have you made Him Lord of your life? In our vacation bible school we teach the children their ABC's of becoming a Christian, Admit you are a sinner, repent and turn from your sins, Believe Jesus is God's only son and Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is a very simple but necessary step in your walk with Christ. You can do this now, get on your...