은혜기도원 기도산 정상 기도굴
산불 도중 화마를 모면한 삼성장로교회
Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (1)
Soo Yong Kim
We can hardly see snow in California except at mountain altitude. Throughout the year, we have agreeable, warm weather. California is a very attractive place for people who dislike cold climates. However, for many years there have been droughts with low humidity, and this has caused may wildfires throughout California. Many residents living in the hills or near mountains are especially wary of wild fires.
Fire fighters could lose their lives or be injured while battling fires. The cause of a wildfire can be a cigarette butt, recreational fires, by the carelessness of a hiker or even arson. Even though the cause of fire can be found in the long run, the residents suffer from devastation wrought by wildfires and cry out from frustration. To make things worse, homeowners insurance companies have been known to cancel policies and back homeowners into a corner.
When strong winds sweep through the state, fires can spread quickly, blowing sparks from place to place. The sparks set dry plants, grass, and trees on fire. The swirling funnel of fire uproots trees and strips away bark. It can even twist and knock over large electrical towers.
I had been living in my home without worrying about wild fires because I do not live in the hills. However, in the fall of 2011, wild fires were flaring up in all directions all over the surrounding hills. My pastor and my church members lived nearby, and we kept calling one another to ensure everyone was safe. Just when we appeared to be threatened by fire, God changed the wind in the opposite directions. Miraculously, God saved my pastor’s house and only one of church members had her palm trees and separate annex burnt down except her main house. Fortunately, all church members had no burnt houses and casualties from fire except for a trivial loss such as shed, etc. Thanks to God, nobody got hurt. We gave thanks to God in worship. Our God was a refuge, a shield, a rock and a stronghold. He is really an awesome God.
There was a big news about God’s miracle in the newspaper after wild fire. Sam Sung Presbyterian Church on the hillside had been surrounded by wild fire and all church members gathered together at the church to pray to God to save the church. Suddenly, the wind blew outward from the church boundary. Like Noah’s Ark, the church was well preserved by God without any damage. After I saw the picture in the newspaper, there was no rational explanation as to why the church had not been consumed as its surroundings had been; it defied human imagination and explanation. It was really a miracle of God and a mighty work indeed. It reminded me of the story in the Bible, Daniel 3:17. “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told the King, Nebuchadnezzar, “But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Three young men didn’t bow down to golden image of gods and didn’t worship them. The King was furious and threw them into the blazing furnace. However, God rescued them from the blazing furnace and not even one strand of hairs was not burnt and their bodies were whole. “They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”
In Hebrew chapter 13:8, St. Paul declared, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” I remembered this verse. Our God has performed miracles yesterday and performs today, too.
After massive wild fires swept away trees and houses on the mountainside, the air pollution caused by smoke was serious. Ashes continued to scatter all over my house. I had to close every window and doors. Ashes were scattered all over my house. I had to close every windows and doors. I turned on two Air Purifiers, so I could breathe at home safely. I confined myself. Because strong Santa Ana Wind kept blowing, the wild fires were spreading violently. Fire fighters couldn’t do anything to extinguish the fires. Some residents fled from the fire without taking any valuables from their homes. Some residents dared to enter their burning homes to rescue their valuables. Sparks from the fire burnt their skin and their clothes. At last, they gave up everything in the house and had to flee.
I was speechless at the sight of thieves attempting to steal valuables from the burning houses and being arrested and hand-cuffed by the police on the scene. Despite the chaos of wild fires, they ignored homeowners’ broken hearts and were possessed by evil having no pity for the homeowners’ misfortune. Fortunately, a lot of pets and homeowners were spared. Unfortunately, pastures in Chino Hills were burnt and cows grazing on the pastures had to move to safer places.
A lot of debris and ashes were scattered all over in the aftermath. They looked like battle fields after mass destruction. Some homeowners dried their tears due to the horror and shock of it all.
It was reported that a medical doctor in Brea purchased a brand-new home after he saved his money at work, and in a day, it was consumed by fire. We can’t predict our future. His daughter who was attending Berkley University was supposed to come home to celebrate ‘Thanksgiving Day with her family. Her father told her to stay up in Berkley as he wept bitterly because there was no house for her to stay in. He didn’t want to see his daughter being distraught.
God created man and woman in his image in the garden of Eden in the east and he put the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. The LORD God commended them, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” But Eve disobeyed God’s command and she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns ad thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”
In Romans 6:23, God says “Wages of sin is death.”
Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” God commanded, “Make yourself an Ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. You and your wife, three sons and three daughter-in-laws with all kinds of animals and birds enter the ark.” God saved only eight people and all animals inside the ark, and killed all evil men and women on the earth. When Sodom and Gomorrah was full of sins, God decided to destroy the wicked people in the cities except Lot and his two daughters. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of heavens.
In the future, there will be no more flood like Noah’s times to sweep away evil people from the earth. According to the Bible, God’s judgment will start with fire. God is love and righteousness. When the disciples of Jesus Christ asked. “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” The Lord said, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and the kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” As Jesus prophesized in Matt.24:1-51, there have been earthquakes all over the world. Recently we witnessed the Indonesian Tsunami and New Orleans’s hurricane Katrina. In 2 Peter 3:10-14, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
When I observed this wild fires, I came to conclusion that a As soon as God sent the strong winds, ll the equipment manufactured from the latest in modern technology was useless to extinguish the wildfires. AS soon as God sent the strong winds, the wildfires spread rapidly, and there was no time for firefighters to extinguish them. They were helpless and hopeless in the face of inferno. We are creations made by Creator, our God, therefore, we should be very humble before God, and we shouldn’t be arrogant.
Roman emperor, Nero, set Rome on fire and blazing flames raged in all their fury throughout Rome while Nero smiled a complacent smile. When the fire was burning at its peak, he played the harp and then he played another instrument like the violin.
Roman citizens blamed Nero for setting fire on Rome, and he lost his popularity among people. He attributed the fire to Christians, and he started persecuting Christians in Rome. Christian fled to Catacombs, which was like a public underground cemetery. They never escaped the maze-like Catacombs and eventually were martyred in them.
There was a very famous movie named “Qua Vadis, Domine” based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, who was awarded Nobel Peace Prize. When the apostle Peter escaped from Rome during the persecution of Christians, he encountered Jesus Christ on the way. Jesus said to Peter, “I am going back to Rome to take the cross to be crucified again.” Peter repented of trying to escape from Rome, and he made a decision to return to Rome and preached Gospel to the Roman Christians and gentiles until he died. In the end, he was martyred on the upside down cross.
We should be prepared and ready to welcome Jesus’s second coming. We should be alert all the time. Nobody predicted the city of Pompeii would be buried under lava from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The Bible tells us in Matthew 24:37, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
(Continued…)
