Déjà vu All Over Again

Our church organization, Four Square, owns a big camp called Old Oak Ranch, way up in the mountains above Sonora, CA. It is beautiful there. Snuggled in the woods, the cabins, dorms, barracks, tabernacle, dining hall, swimming pool, etc. are a wonderful place to spend time. Youth camps, retreats, and conferences all held there all spring, summer and fall.

 

Last week the pastors of northern California had a pastor’s conference there. The pastor of our church and his wife attended, as did my nephew Chris. They all arrived at Old Oak Ranch on Monday.

 

On Tuesday a forest fire started somewhere in the area. They thought the fire was far enough away that they were okay. However, some firemen showed up at the camp and told them that the fire had absolutely exploded and had almost completely surrounded the camp. They were told that they had to leave as fast as they could. There was not even time to grab their suitcases or anything else. They simply had to run as fast as they could to their cars and drive for their lives. The biggest problem was that the road that came up the mountain to the camp was completely engulfed in the forest fire. The only way out was a little dirt road that went out the back of the camp, over the mountain and would come out at a highway. The fire had almost reached the dirt road also, which was why they had to leave so fast.

 

Everyone took off running for their cars as fast as they could. They quickly realized that fire embers were dropping all around them as they ran. They were terrified to say the least.

 

As they drove up the side of the mountain on the little dirt road, they came to another fireman standing in the middle of the dirt road, and they had to stop. The fireman told them that it was too late. The fire had engulfed the dirt road and they were totally surrounded by the fire. He said there was no way out. The fireman instructed them to leave their cars and run back down the hill to the camp. They were all to get inside the tabernacle and the fire fighters would have bombers come over and drop fire retardant on the tabernacle and try to protect them. Now all of the pastors and wives attending the conference, the workers, and the firemen were trapped in the middle of the inferno.

 

Everyone got out of their cars and started running down the mountain. However, some of the pastors and their wives were retired, and quite old. They were not able to run down the mountain so some of the pastors stayed behind to help them down. Others were standing in the road with their hands outstretched toward the fire and calling on the name of Jesus to save them.

 

Everyone made it back to camp and into the tabernacle. I am quite sure that one of the world’s greatest prayer meetings was going on in that tabernacle. When God’s people call on His name, the power God sends is amazing.

 

All of a sudden, the firemen came back into the tabernacle and told them that the wind had changed. Evidently the wind must have blown right down the dirt road, because all of the fire had blown off the road and was far enough away from the road that they could drive through.

 

They were instructed to run as fast as they could, back up to their cars and drive out the dirt road. Of course, running up the mountain was much harder than running down it, so some of the pastors were almost carrying the elderly people to their cars. People were crying and praying as embers dropped all around them while they were trying to reach their vehicles. Everyone attending the conference, the workers, and the firemen all got out safely.

 

If you know anything about fire, you know that it doesn’t act like that. Fire does not start burning an area and then just pull back out. There is no question that God saved them. There is power in the name of Jesus.

 

Does this story remind you of anything? Let’s think about this. A group of God’s people have death approaching them from behind and an unpassable barrier in front of them. Then, God blows His breath on the barrier and makes a path through it, allowing His people to reach safety. Oh yes, it kind of sounds like when the children of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land to escape Pharaoh’s army.

 

WOW! Talk about Déjà vu all over again.

 

Your comments on this posting are welcome. I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

If you would like to hear about my book about creation as seen through the eyes of a little angel, please feel free to contact me at austinlass1966@yahoo.com.