Introduction
Near where I currently live in La Crescenta, California (USA), the Eaton Fire in the Eaton area has caused numerous people to lose their homes, with even 16 people confirmed dead, 6 firefighters injured, and 5,718 buildings destroyed by fire (January 16, 2015). I only found out about the fire in the Eaton area last Wednesday morning, and after a warning was issued for our area as well, my wife, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, our dog, and I evacuated due to the bad smoke from the fire. My wife, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and dog went to my sister-in-law’s house, and I went to the church, where I stayed in the pastor's office for about three days. During that time, I was monitoring not only the Eaton fire but also the largest fire, the Palisades Fire, on the internet. Suddenly, I remembered two lines from a gospel song we had sung during the New Year services (January 1 and 5), which were offered by the mixed praise team and by me with the Victory praise team: ‘May the fire of revival ignite,’ ‘Holy Spirit, blow upon us.’ The reason those lines came to mind was probably because at that time, the Santa Ana winds, which are sometimes called the “devil’s wind,” were blowing so strongly that two power lines in front of my house had snapped and were lying in the street. Because of this, the fire suppression rate was at 0%, and the fire was spreading uncontrollably. At that time, I wrote a short devotional on the morning of Thursday, January 9th, in the pastor’s office at the church, focusing on Mark 4:35-41 from the Korean Modern Bible version. The title was “Even though I may face a great wildfire, my soul is always at peace—my soul, my soul, is at peace.” I’ll share just a part of it:
'When the boat that the disciples were in with Jesus was about to sink' (Mark 4:37, Korean Modern Bible), I reflected on this verse, and it reminded me of something from about 22 years ago. I faintly recall when Pastor Han-Heum Oak, who has since passed away, spoke at the Church Pastors’ Renewal Conference retreat at the Ansan Retreat Center in Korea. He compared the Korean church to a boat, saying that the boat (the church) was sinking. I remember him saying that if church leaders lower their standards, the Korean church would perish just as a sinking ship would.
Perhaps that’s why, as I was taking photos and videos of this wildfire and sharing them through the internet and KakaoTalk with people, I suddenly thought of the lyrics from the praise gospel song "Revival" that we had sung at last week’s Wednesday service (https://youtu.be/8jC7qEvXVcw?si=hwLdzcNiJD90KnVp) and Sunday service. The lyrics are: ‘May the fire of revival ignite,’ ‘Holy Spirit, blow upon us...’ Seeing the crisis of this great disaster, I have been praying, and continue to pray, that the wind of the Holy Spirit will blow upon our church leaders and that the fire of revival may ignite. My conviction is that true revival, which the Holy Spirit brings, begins with repentance. Leaders like myself in our church must tear our hearts and return to God (See: Joel 2:13) [Repentance, Reconciliation, Restoration, Reformation, Revival. Without repentance, reconciliation, restoration, reformation, and revival are meaningless!].
I shared this short devotional with the church members via KakaoTalk on that day (January 9, Thursday), and one of the congregation members sent me the following message on my personal KakaoTalk: 'As we began the new year, the song 'Revival' we sang together and the post you shared in the Victory Room have also given me grace and deeply touched my heart. It might be difficult to say this to those who are currently affected by the fire and facing hardships, but if we base it on the word of the Lord, we cannot overlook the fact that the Holy Spirit, in His holiness, teaches us with sharp discernment, revealing all that we face as something to be understood only in the Lord. The unexpected great fire at the beginning of the new year, just as the lyrics of the song we sang, is truly the fire of the Holy Spirit! I boldly confess that it is a gift of mercy through which the Spirit has come powerfully to burn away our idols (both outwardly and inwardly), and I find myself grateful for it (perhaps a story that will get me in trouble? 😅). The Santa Ana winds are often called the ‘devil’s winds’ in the world, and because the direction of the wind cannot be predicted, it is extremely difficult to control the fire. Truly, as the Bible says, the Holy Spirit is like the wind—no one knows where it comes from or where it goes [(John 3:8) 'The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going...']. It is an unstoppable force that man cannot control, and the wind of the Holy Spirit cannot be blocked by anyone! This is the truth. I sincerely hope that even in the midst of this pain, God's people will have ears to hear and eyes to see the words that the Holy Spirit is speaking to the churches. And that, whenever the Lord gives us the opportunity, we will embrace the fire of the Holy Spirit—which burns away our idols—with gratitude, accepting it as a paradoxical love. I hope that we will be filled with the overwhelming joy of proclaiming and boasting about the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit and be raised up as living witnesses of Christ Jesus. This, I believe, is the greatest blessing we can receive. Because everything has already been completed according to the Creator Jehovah God's intention and design before the foundation of the world, though we may have been shocked for a moment, fearful for a moment, or sad for a moment. I pray with all my heart that the miraculous peace that comes from above will completely overwhelm us, and that the traces of this divine joy will continue to increase and deepen in our lives. I pray earnestly. Hallelujah~.’ I replied to this message with “Amen.”
Then, about six days later, yesterday (January 15), during the online Wednesday service, our Pastor Emeritus asked everyone to pray together for those who are suffering. I was kneeling and praying on my bed in my bedroom, and I remembered the sermon by Pastor Gi-sung Yoo that I had listened to a few days earlier in my car on YouTube. His message was about the serious struggles the citizens of Korea are facing, particularly regarding family issues. Even before hearing that, I had been reflecting on how many people are suffering from marital and parenting issues, as I have been conversing with many people through my internet ministry via secret comments on my Naver blog (https://blog.naver.com/kdicaprio74) and KakaoTalk (ID: jamesthemonk). Additionally, every year, when I visit mission fields and stop by Korea for about two weeks to meet various people, I cannot help but think about how many are suffering due to problems in their marriages and with their children. Out of the seven couples I have been praying for, three of them have already divorced. And then, once again, the lyrics from the gospel song 'Revival' came to mind: 'May the fire of revival ignite,' 'Holy Spirit, blow upon us ...' And then I remembered the title of this book, “May the Fire of Revival Ignite in Our Home!” So, after meditating on God's Word this morning (Thursday, January 16), I began writing the manuscript for this book. My earnest desire is that the Lord will have mercy on our families, forgive our sins, and heal our homes, firmly establishing them as Lord-centered families.
Within the Lord, the Master of our home,
James Kim
(January 16, 2025, remembering and commemorating the 58th birthday of my dear friend, Brother Albert Kim)