Hang Together or Hang Separate
Dave Andrews • Aug 02, 2021
A call to unite and to work together.
At the founding of our nation, when the Declaration of Independence from England was being signed, Benjamin Franklin reportedly said “We must hang together or surely we shall hang separate.” Whether Franklin said it or not, British power indeed did rise up to take back what they thought was rightfully theirs, and to crush the rebellion. But in the end, the underdog, the tenacious forces of the Continental Army would prevail. They were not perfect. They had their weaknesses. But they hung together at great expense to themselves, they stuck it out, they had their eyes on the prize, and fought the fight to secure a legacy of freedom for many generations to come.
After considering all the events of the last year and a half, it is with no hesitancy that we can easily say our nation is under attack at the very core…the heart. Politics have failed us, medicine and science have failed us, goods and services have failed us…all the things that we have gloried in as a nation have failed us. Those empty guides have left us wondering who we are, what happened to the heart of our nation, and when did it leave.
The failures of our recent way of life is not entirely a bad thing…if we can revive our heart as a country…a heart that was founded on Christ. You see, our founding fathers were clearly not alone (no matter what the modern history books say). God was with us. The last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner demonstrates what our founders knew…for a nation to succeed, we must have God’s blessing.
“Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust,"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
As believers in Christ, we know that the Holy Spirit is the only one who can really change a heart. So if we want to see God’s blessing return, for the rampant immorality to wane, and for our nation to be greater than ever before, it is time for God’s people to mobilize with the message of Christ. It is a time to live boldly…speaking truth and proclaiming redemption, the Gospel. We are His servants and representatives in this nation…we may be the minority now, but the resources of the church are still vast…certainly vast enough! We CAN turn this nation around…if God is with us, and if He is proclaimed for the salvation of souls.
Ecclesiastes says there is a time and season for everything. There is a time to rest absolutely...but some of us have forgotten to do anything but that. There is also a time to work. Sunday is commonly our day of rest, but there are 6 other days of the week! In 2 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul warns us against being lazy…he goes so far as to tell the Thessalonians to not associate with the believers who are idle and disruptive. May we not ever be found among their number.
Just as we work, we should work together. KJOL has been encouraging ministries and churches to work together all year long…we are just crazy enough to think God’s people are stronger together. God's Word is our common ground. As the hate for Christian principles ramp up in our nation, we may just find that if we don’t hang together, we will hang separate. It happens in this day and age in other countries...and if God has removed His blessing...it can happen here too. We need to stick together.
This last week we started hearing reports of ministries and a few churches doing just that. And in addition, we had an amazing time seeing that in action, as various churches and ministries came together to put on a foster kid appreciation day for Project 127. I saw churches active, and a number of ministries doing what they do best. It was a major blessing as the local unreached were introduced to some hard working Jesus lovin’ Kingdom centered Christians!
Are you ready to sign Declaration 2.0? Are you ready to unite, to work hard, to live boldly, and to serve together? Our nation cannot succeed much longer without God’s rejuvenation. We are His servants. We stand on His Word. No more hiding. It’s time to get to work for the Kingdom.
-Dave Andrews
Station Manager
Our annual Spring FriendRaiser is underway for the month of April; and as a part of that, our theme this year is Share The Light. As you share the Gospel and the Light of Christ, KJOL has compiled 30 tips for every day of the month. Here they are:
During KJOL’s April “Friendraiser” month, we want to say THANK YOU to our faithful supporters. And THANK YOU to everyone who makes a first-time donation. And finally THANK YOU to God, the giver of all good gifts in our lives, starting with Jesus Christ! KJOL has a lot of new songs that say THANK YOU. I hope you enjoy them! That Thank You Song! Citizen Way Thank God Stars Go Dim Thank You Life.Church Worship I Thank God Housefires Thanks Giver Crowder Thanks and Praise Lucy Grimble and Vineyard Music A Thousand Thank Yous Sarah Kroger Thankful VERSES Thank You Jesus For The Blood Charity Gayle
In January, we told you about four new artists at the KJOL music blog . This month, we have four more new artists. Jordan Smith “This Is Jesus” Jordan Smith is a 30 year old Kentucky native who grew up singing in the church choir. In 2015, he won NBC’s The Voice. He sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and "Mary Did You Know." Natalie Layne “Amen” Natalie Layne is a 24 year old Colorado Springs native, where she was a worship leader at New Life Church. She received a masters degree in piano from Belmont University in Nashville. In 2019, she won Belmont’s Christian Showcase. She continues to serve as a worship leader at her church in Nashville. Terrian “Big God” Terrian (Woods) is a singer/songwriter from Memphis. She is also a member of TobyMac's band Diverse City. And she serves on the staff of AngelStreet in Memphis, which mentors girls as part of an all girls choir. Seph Schleuter “Counting My Blessings” Seph Schlueter ( pronounced “seff shleeter”) spent 7 years as a missionary. In 2020 he formed the worship collective Damascus Worship, in conjunction with the organization “Damascus” which conducts two-year programs to develop leaders who will impact their generation for Christ with the aim of bringing revival to the Catholic Church.
He had noticed we had been off the air on 94.5 FM in Delta…and I related to him it was one of “those” weekends for our poor equipment. Not only did our AM 1400 Delta transmitter go down causing us to make a very expensive replacement only weeks before, but our FM transmitter in Delta went down at the same time as our Montrose 91.9FM transmitter, and only hours after our whole network went down across the Western Slope!
The other day a kindly woman knocked on my door asking for a donation to help build the local swimming pool. I came back with a glass of water. Doesn’t it feel great to give to a good cause??
The English version of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” turns 75 years old in 2024. To mark the anniversary, a new recording has been released, including a brand new verse by Matt Redman. First a little history… Swedish pastor Carl Boberg wrote the original lyrics in 1885. Boberg said that after a strong thunderstorm passed by, he opened his window and heard church bells ringing. He immediately was inspired to write his poem, set to the tune of a Swedish folk melody. It was translated into Russian, where English missionary Stuart Hine heard it while in Ukraine in 1931. He wrote two new verses (3 & 4) and translated it into English in 1949—which is the 75 th anniversary. British missionaries around the world soon began to spread the song. Eventually it reached Billy Graham and George Beverly Shea , who performed it during Graham’s 1957 New York Crusade. The audience liked it so much, they asked Shea to sing it over and over. Graham then used it every week on his Hour Of Decision radio program. Fifteen artists have now collaborated to record the 75th anniversary edition, called “How Great Thou Art (Until That Day)” . When you hear the song on KJOL, the first two voices are from Chris Tomlin and Hillary Scott . The remaining voices include: Kari Jobe and her husband, Cody Carnes Naomi Raine (Maverick City Music) Taya (formerly with Hillsong) Blessing Offor (from Nigeria) Matt Maher (who also plays piano) Matt Redman For the 75 th anniversary, the Stuart Hine Trust commissioned Matt Redman and Mitch Wong to write a new fifth verse: Until that day When heaven bids us welcome, And as we walk this broken warring world, Your kingdom come, Deliver us from evil, And we’ll proclaim our God how great You are! And we’ll proclaim, our God how great You are Redman said they wanted to tie the verse to Stuart Hine’s work in Ukraine, especially in light of the current conflict there. “I wanted the word ‘war’ in there,” said Redman . “It’s kind of a gritty word. But we have to sing about both the everyday and the eternal.” Time will tell if the fifth verse becomes a staple in hymnals. But few will argue that “How Great Thou Art” is one of America’s favorite hymns. And with this new rendition, hopefully it will continue to be loved by future generations.
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