Jesus is Better
Dave Andrews • Nov 02, 2020
Someone once said “Be like a flower. Survive the rain; but use it to grow.” In 2020, you might feel more like a wilting flower! But the good news is that God is unshakable; and His Kingdom is unshakeable. And at the heart of the Kingdom is the King Himself.
I love a good western book or movie. Usually these are about men who are tough as nails because of past experiences, but are also prepared to go against all odds because of that “grit” they earned the hard way. While “what doesn’t kill us may or may not make us stronger,” as believers in Christ, our strength comes from the Almighty One and Creator Lord.
Our bodies and minds can only take so much, but His strength is a supernatural one. He is the Hero of old; and He is with us. In the tough days we are living in, I want to remind you that Christ, our King, is greater than anything on we can possibly face. Here are a few of those important areas that He is bigger and better.
1. Sin. Most religions are the same…their central theme focusing on how we live, least we suffer the consequences. Christianity is different though… our God actually took our consequences on Himself. He is the only One Who has ever taken on sin and killed it (on the cross), freeing us from enslavement to sin. He has defeated sin already (Romans 6:10), but one day soon, He will banish sin for good (Revelation 22:3).
2. Serious Heartbreak.
It’s easy to say “Christ is bigger” when things are going right, or when we are going through superficial day to day troubles. But how about when you lose a job or a home, or a spouse cheats on you, or your child is stuck in a life of sin, or you even loose a child. In the deepest heartbreaks of life, somehow, someway, we can still conclude that Christ is bigger. He is with us, always, and will never leave us. The big picture is that He is ultimately working for our good. One day we will get to experience that in all its glory. So we hold on and press on.
3. Sickness.
We experience it. He defeats it. The prophets foretold the Messiah would be a healer. And Christ sure was and still is. If you read the Gospels, everywhere Jesus went, “He had compassion on them, and he healed their sick.” That was His thing; and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still the compassionate healer and protector in this life, and also the Healer of our souls. The medical community can do some impressive things, but they have nothing on Him. That’s good news in the days of COVID. Even though, ultimately sickness leads to death, He has conquered even that.
4. Death.
It is our greatest curse and fear from old. One of the greatest heartbreaks we can ever experience is at the loss of a loved one. There are many like me who have experienced the pain of loss of a child in the womb. There are many who have lost a spouse, or are facing that soon. Perhaps someone close to you has a chronic disease, or you are facing a terminal diagnosis. Again, somehow, someway, in the seriousness of death, we can even say “Where O death is thy sting?” How can that be?? Christ has already won that battle. Death has no reason to hold terror over us anymore. Death is graduation day and reunion time. To paraphrase a quote from Dr. David Jeremiah, for those who are perishing, this life is the best there ever will be. For those of us who know Christ, this life is the worst it will ever get. Christ is bigger than even death.
When we know the King and belong to Him, we have a lot to be thankful for. Join me this Thanksgiving to give thanks that we have a perfect King, who is bigger and better than anything this life can throw at us.
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…” -Hebrews 12:28
-Dave Andrews
KJOL 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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