“Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver” (Acts 19:18-19).

I remember two occasions on which I did some burning myself.

The first occurred after Barbara and I saw the movie about Saint Francis, Brother Sun and Sister Moon. I was not a believer at the time, but was searching. You could say I was nearing the state of desperation; I was becoming desperate for God. Having seen the film I was so moved in my desire that I came home and burned those things that were most precious to me. In those days we lived in a tiny rented farmhouse south of St. John’s, Michigan. Outside was a burn barrel, and into that barrel went my guitar and the writings I valued at the time.

Still, it would be days, weeks, or months before the real burning would come. I’m not sure what the hold up was; apparently I was not ready yet.

A lot happened in between that moment and the next. Without going into detail as to how it all came about, I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in October of 1974. It was three days later that Barbara, completely on her own and with no help from me, accepted the Lord into her heart. I don’t recall if it was that day, that evening, or the next, but we had a party. We did some burning.

We had–or should I say I had been (Barb was following me) engaged in an Eastern Religion, complete with a guru, his writings, pictures and placards about the house, plus records (these days they’d be CD’s) with that kind of music. Somehow we knew what to do with all these. So, in a joyful frenzy we searched every nook and cranny and gathered together everything we could find relating to our recent past, and just outside the back door, on the east side of the house, we burned everything.

The Lord Jesus, in setting forth His requirements for discipleship, calls us to forsake all. And that Barb and I did. We lit up everything that we knew and identified with at the time. And from there we went on to follow Jesus Christ.

That was over 45 years ago. I think we have burned a few more things, but mostly it has been a continual letting go of the things that seem to get in the way of a close relationship with God.

I have long taught that repentance is not a one time thing, but an ongoing attitude. It is certainly getting rid of ‘things’ – as in material things, at least not becoming too attached to them or allowing them to take precedence over your love for Christ. But more so it is those policies of heart that stand in the way of God having all of you. These are thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, motives, plans, words and deeds that do not line up with the will and word of God. These too need to be ‘burned.’

My guitar was probably not worth much, nor my writings. The books, pictures, placards, and records probably had some value–their purchase price, but they were nothing compared to what we received in return. Our lives have been far more richer than they could have ever been under that false system of religion, and have become increasingly so over the years.

Nowadays, we live in a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood. We’ve a car, a truck, a motorcycle, our own business, and just about everything we need and want. The important thing, though, is not what we have materially; this does not define us. Nor does it detract from what is most important. The key is maintaining that perspective. Otherwise, it all would need to go up in smoke. It would need to be burned too.