OUR CARING GOD AT WORK EVEN IN THE ASHES
On 14 June a terrible fire broke out in north Kensington, UK in which Grenfell Tower burnt completely. Despite such tragedy, there is yet an amazing story of our living and caring God at work even in the ashes. The following is what happened on the day...
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace. …
For our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.
Our offences are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. ISAIAH 59:1-15.
Today, a succession of terrible tragedies has been taking place worldwide. Added to man-made disasters, natural disasters such as intense heat, drought, tornado, flood, forest fire, earthquake, strange events, strange weather patterns are happening everywhere. Surely we are now approaching the end times.
At 1 am on 14 June a terrible fire broke out in north Kensington, UK in which Grenfell Tower, a 24 storey tower, containing 120 flats burnt completely. Despite such tragedy, there is yet an amazing story of our living and caring God at work even in the ashes, which really encourages us. The following is what happened on the day at the Tabernacle Christian Centre located in that affected area.
Pastor Derrick…told us how they had opened the church at 2am on the night of the fire, and that people had almost immediately began to come in for refuge and shelter. Soon after that, donations of food and clothing, blankets, items of furniture, etc. began to arrive, so much so that the whole church, the rooms off it, the yard at the front and the garden, were full of donations. People had come from all over the country to give, and some had been divinely directed there; arriving in the area, and not knowing where to go, the Lord had then spoken to them and said, "Go to Tabernacle Christian Centre!". So they had done just that.
Pastor Derrick also told us that, on the Tuesday (13 June) evening as they were praying and having their Bible study, the Lord broke in and gave a word, which was that they must be prepared, as the Lord was going to bring many people to the church. The fire broke out a few hours later; how this Word has been fulfilled, and still is being!
The church has seen a steady flow of victims and survivors of the fire, most very traumatised and in a state of shock. They have come alongside each one in love and compassion, giving them food, water, goods and money, and offering a listening ear and prayer, which some have accepted - including Muslims. We are praying that some of the victims will return to attend the services there and turn to the Lord and be saved; may He be their solace (Lines added).
The following from Clifford Hill’s comment explores what the Lord has been revealing to us through continual disasters and tragedies today, which Prophet Isaiah poignantly expressed in the verses above. Not only Christians but also all nations should turn their ears to these warnings.
The TV news showed crowds of people bringing food and clothing and toiletries and a multitude of gifts for the survivors of the inferno. The spontaneous generosity and goodness of the ordinary people of London who immediately sprang into action on behalf of their neighbours was a wonderful reminder that love and goodness are not dead in our nation. People were coming from every part of the multi-ethnic community in Kensington, which was a powerful testimony to the latent goodness of human nature that goes beyond race, colour, class, nationality and every other human distinction.
This outpouring of love and generosity is a true picture of our nature created in the image of God. But we reserve this outpouring for special occasions; we do not carry it over into our everyday lives, where we display our fallen human nature marred by selfishness and corrupted by personal ambition. This gives us a clue to the central problem affecting the nation. Everyone is asking why the nation is in such a mess. The plain and honest answer is that we are a nation under judgment.
No-one really wants to face this unpleasant truth because Christians who firmly hold to biblical values are scorned and labelled, ‘right-wing’, ‘homophobic’, ‘Islamophobic’ and all the other clichés and invectives invented by secular humanists to try to discredit those who stand firm against the liberalisation of the nation and the rejection of our Judeo-Christian heritage. Sadly, some who call themselves Christians have adopted this language to abuse those who remain true to the Bible. …
Disasters will continue to happen unless we acknowledge that as a nation we have departed from the ways of truth and earnestly seek God’s forgiveness and blessing, which he is more than eager to bestow upon us. We cannot expect the whole nation to understand this situation and to respond rightly: but surely Christians can understand the ways of God! Now is the time for us to steady the nation with the word of the Lord. God’s love has not been withdrawn and never will be, but we have brought this situation upon ourselves. The greatest need today is for the mobilisation of Christians to intercede on behalf of the nation (Lines added).