Hope For Today

Ken Andrews • February 1, 2022

...and tomorrow

 

“…now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

(I Corinthians 13:13/NIV)

 

The Apostle Paul’s “dissertation” on love in 1 Corinthians 13 is a most articulate and insightful look into God’s love for us. Love completely, unselfishly and with a heart for others. As he wrapped up the chapter, he succinctly stated the threefold foundation for our walk in Christ. Faith, hope and love.

 

There’s no doubt, love reigns supreme, as love reflects the very essence of who God is: “…God is love.” (1 John 4:8/NIV)

 

And the Scripture clearly presents the economy of faith – faith in God and His risen Son. The author of Hebrews exhorts us to “…draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:22/NIV)

 

Interestingly, faith is mentioned with a key component: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1/KJV) (I’ve always loved the way the King James Version expressed that.)

 

Hope. It’s a word that for many years has fascinated me. And, in fact, it is a part of the “Big Three” that remain, though it seems to have taken a back seat the other two. So, years ago I embarked on a study of hope. I wrote articles on it, taught it in Bible Studies and presented it from pulpits. I was naïve enough to think I had it down pretty well. So I thought…

 

I recently went back to hope as a “new” study. I learned so much – it was humbling to see how much I had missed. But it was worth the exercise of revisiting the “third leg” in this Biblical foundation. So, bear with me!

 

The best definition of hope I’ve ever heard came from the late, distinguished Bible Teacher, Warren Wiersbe. He defined hope as “desire with confident expectation of fulfillment.” We’re not talking about “wishing.” We don’t have a “confident expectation” of winning the lottery. The odds are astronomical. It’s exceedingly unlikely to happen – and more likely a “wish” than a “hope.”

 

The Bible stresses where we place our hope. Simply put…our hope is in God. Our expectations are fulfilled in Him. Despite what godly Job endured, he could still say “…yet will I hope in Him.” (Job 13:15/NIV) And, back to Hebrews, from 6:10: “We have this hope as an anchor for the souls, firm and secure.” We can be absolutely confident in in this expectation called hope.

 

 

 

A little word study from the Hebrew and Greek helps…and I needed the help. Strong’s Concordance generally provides the Old Testament definition of hope as expectancy, trusting, waiting, longing for – and even - patient! The Greek from the New Testament speaks to confidence, expectation and even anticipation with pleasure. Dr. Wiersbe was right on, all along!

 

While all that may seem self-evident, I really had not deeply explored the issue of hope as it correlates to waiting and patience. (I’ve always wanted patience, just not the waiting or the process necessary to get it.) But how valuable to discover the blessings of hope as we wait on God “who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13/NIV)

 

We are living, as the Apostle Paul told us, in perilous times. We long for Christ’s return. Soon. VERY soon. All the while, we know He will come, in HIS time. In the meantime, we wait, in hope. God’s Word gives us the encouragement and instruction to do that.

 

These are frustrating, challenging times…even anxious times. The whole world is on a slippery slope. Perhaps as never before, believers are hopefully– and - anxiously awaiting Christ’s return. King David may have had some anxious thoughts when he penned Psalm 40, where he said: “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry.” The result? David says God lifted him out of a slimy pit and “set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalm 40:1-2/NIV)

 

Similarly, Paul addressed waiting, patience and hope in Romans Chapter 8. He wrote: “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes or what he already has?” (vs. 24/NIV) Great question! If I already have something desired, I’ll not be hoping to get it. I’ll likely have moved on to something else I hope for – but don’t yet have. Paul brings us to the conclusion of the matter in verse 25: “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

 

That’s hard for me. How about you? Let me leave you with encouragement – even hope – from that lament from the Prophet Jeremiah. He knew about fearful times and hope.

 

“…this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
     for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
     therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
     to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:21-16/NIV)

 

Blessings,

 

Ken Andrews

VP United Ministries/KJOL

Station Update

By Dave Andrews • September 2, 2025
Our August drawing is of course over, but congratulations to our three winners of couples registrations to the Weekend To Remember Conferences. If you missed out, I want to let you know, that underway through September 15th, the Family Life Today Weekend to Remember Getaways are half off…so be sure to use the group nam

Big Daddy Weave says "Let It Begin"

By Kurt Neuswanger • August 29, 2025
Big Daddy Weave released their new album “Let It Begin” in May. It was their first album in six years. There’s a reason for that. Most bands release new albums every two or three years, but on January 2, 2022, Jay Weaver died from COVID. He was Mike Weaver’s younger brother (hence the “Weave” in the band’s name). They spent the next three years processing the loss and putting their grief into song. In 2023, they released the duet with Katy Nichole, “ God Is In This Story .” God is in this story, God is in the details Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails Later that year, Big Daddy Weave released “ Heaven Changes Everything .” In the light of eternity I have this hope Thank You, Jesus, Heaven changes everything In 2024, they released “ Let It Begin .” Mike Weaver said he had been intensely grieving the death of his brother and would cry every time he told the story on stage, until one night the healing began. Meanwhile, Matt Maher had written this song without knowing that Weaver's healing that had started. Mike remembered, “He reached out to me and was just like, ‘Man, I’ve had this song that has been on my heart for you guys.’ I read the lyrics, and it’s what I couldn’t say.” If my wounds could tell one story, Let it be a testimony That You don’t leave me where I’ve been. If this is healing, let it begin Their new single is “ I’ve Just Seen Too Much .” Listen for it on KJOL. Some days it feels like I’ve been losing more than I have found I won’t tell you that I’ve got it all together, If you know me, then You know my faith has wavered If you ask me why I trust Him When it feels like everything has come undone All I can tell you is, I’ve just seen too much

Chuck Girard of Love Song dies at 81

By Kurt Neuswanger • August 15, 2025
Chuck Girard of Love Song dies Chuck Girard , the co-founder of the band Love Song, died on Monday, August 11. He had been diagnosed with cancer which spread to his lungs. He was 81. Chuck Girard was one of the founding members of the iconic Jesus music band Love Song , which had its birth at Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa in 1970. (The band was briefly featured in Greg Laurie’s movie “The Jesus Revolution.”) After Love Song, Chuck had a solo career marked by his worship anthem, “ Sometimes Alleluia .” He gave concerts several times in western Colorado during the 1990s. Around 1976, Girard gave his testimony of how he and his friends had formed Love Song around 1968, before any of them actually knew Jesus. “We felt that drugs and psychedelics were part of God’s plan to reach men who could be reached by no other means. We thought that LSD was the key to spiritual knowledge. I thought the Beatles were Second Messiahs. I really thought they had discovered something and they were trying to convey it to us in little doses. “And when their White Album came out, I felt ripped off. I felt the Beatles had copped out, that if they did know anything spiritual, they were afraid to tell it, and perhaps they didn’t know. “So we got obsessed with this idea of having a band that could communicate God to people. And we started--in the middle of our psychedelic period--a God band that was called Love Song, and we would go into nightclubs and throw in our God songs in the middle of our music, and a lot of the songs would have Jesus’ name in it, and people were just not used to hearing Jesus’ name in a rock ‘n’ roll band in a bar! “And we would go out and evangelize people on our breaks. We would go out and say, ‘Hey why don’t you come out with us on Sunday. We’re gonna drop acid and get into God.’ It’s a classic example of the blind leaving the blind, of people who were sincerely deceived, sincerely wrong. “And 2½ years later, after we started that first band, the Lord was faithful to draw us up to a place called Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, and for the first time in my life, the gospel was communicated to me. And for the first time in my life, lights went off and I went: That’s what it’s all about! And I really discovered that what I’d been looking for my whole life was Jesus Christ, the victorious Son of God who died on a cross and three days later, rose again from the dead!” ( transcribed from audio of an unknown source. Here is a similar testimony from 1971 at Calvary Chapel, when Chuck was just 28 .) Postscript: in 1971, a copy of the original Love Song record made its way to a small Colorado town called Wray, where a 14 year old boy listened to that album over and over after becoming a Christian. It was the first, and only, contemporary Christian music we had ever heard. And 54 years later, that boy is still playing Christian music for anyone who will listen!

Forrest Frank says his broken back is healed

By Kurt Neuswanger • August 6, 2025
Just two weeks after breaking his back in a skateboarding accident, Forrest Frank says God miraculously healed him . "So I broke my back exactly two weeks ago," he said . "I got an X-ray and a CAT scan. It showed I had multiple fractures. I wake up today, forget to put on my back brace, I pick Bodie up, and I realize, Wait, I'm not wearing my brace! What is going on? I order an urgent X-ray. I have complete healing in my back. I have no fractures in my back!" Frank says he believes God would have healed him the first day, but God wanted his songs and testimony to come to life first. While being confined to his bed, Frank wrote a song called " God's Got My Back " which he released a few days later. (You can hear it daily on KJOL.) Frank made his announcement of his healing on Saturday, August 2, giving him just a few days to prepare to perform at the Iowa State Fair on August 7!

Lauren Daigle releases first new song in two years

By Kurt Neuswanger • August 3, 2025
Lauren Daigle has released her first new song in two years, “ Let It Be A Hallelujah .” The first verse borrows from the hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be” by Frances Havergal in 1874. Take my life and let it be My soul devoted Lord to Thee Take my moments and all my days Make them endless praise Take my heart and let it move In spirit and in truth For the glory of Your name Daigle says she actually wrote this song eight years ago . "Years ago, in the writing cycle between 'How Can It Be' and 'Look Up Child,' I remember this gem, 'Let It Be a Hallelujah,' landing in the land of Dropbox and never making its way to my record," Daigle shares . "Fast forward years and years later, I truly believe that God had an incredible design filled with intention behind why this song wasn't brought forth into the world in the season in which we wrote it. This song was savored and salvaged for a time when my life needed to intersect with it."

Forrest Frank breaks his back, writes a song!

By Kurt Neuswanger • July 29, 2025
Musician Forrest Frank--who had the hit song Good Day--had what surely could be called a “bad day” on July 18 th . He broke his back! Frank was playing with his two year old daughter in the driveway when he crashed his skateboard and hit the side of the house. He broke his L3 and L4 lumbar vertebrae. You can see the video on his TikTok page . So while he was confined to lying on his back, what did he do? He wrote a song! What’s more, he recorded and produced it on his laptop while lying on his bed! He released the finished version of the song a few days later. It’s called “ God’s Got My Back .” God’s got my back Even when I fall or get attacked God’s got my back Even when I’m low and full of lack God’s got my back Even when my soul is full of sorrow I don’t have to worry about tomorrow Why’s that? ‘Cause God’s got my back!
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