Stay...Safe?
Dave Andrews • Jul 20, 2020
Is it God's Will For Us To Be Safe?
Correct me if I am wrong. I looked…I tried to find it…there doesn’t seem to be any verses in the Word of God commanding us to be “safe!”
Right now, the entire world, your friends and family, the local church, and maybe even you are at times consumed with “staying safe.” Billboards, businesses, emails, stores, governments, verbal greetings, all include that same robotic tag word. Yet, as for believers in Christ, it's different. We live for something... correction...Someone else. The concept of safety is not what God has called us to, nor is it found in the vain human efforts that we see today. A face mask does not prevent any and all people from dying of something; reductions to our churches doesn’t prevent disease or keep the world from persecuting (or prosecuting) us. In this sin-saturated world, safety is not fully attainable.
It’s not that safety in and of itself is a bad thing. On the contrary, I am rather fond of it! But it is not the goal for us, as it is for those who are perishing…those who have little else. Scripturally speaking, safety for the Christian is a benefit to knowing Christ and living a Godly life in Him. For example, God is our refuge and strength in times of trouble (Ps. 46). Also the Lord surrounds those who trust in Him (Psalm 125). There is no small supply of verses about God being our source of safety and protection. What an encouragement. God also wants us to care for the temple He has entrusted to us (1 Corthinians 6:19). Yet, there seems to be an intended silence in the area of safety being God’s will
for our life. In fact, there is a good argument for the opposite.
A side-effect of being chosen by Christ, is that trouble is likely a-coming. The world will hate us (John 15:18). 2 Timothy 3:4 says that anyone who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted. The disciples were killed in some pretty unsafe ways for the work of Christ. God sent the people prophets, knowing that that they too would be harmed and killed (Luke 11:49). Jesus prayed that we would not be taken from the world, but that the Father would protect us from the evil one (Jn. 17:15). Let’s face it, it’s not always safe being one of God’s people. God knew the risks to come; and yet He still has a task for us on this earth. We should be okay with that…safety is not our goal. Instead we have a serious hope. Our Hope is eternal.
We have that expectation of enjoying true existence in our Heavenly home just around the corner. There will be no more pain, no more death, for those things are about to pass away. In the noon hour, Dr. David Jeremiah has been discussing the amazing and very real life we get to look forward to one day soon…so we are to rather focus on that. Like the ‘ol hymn says…
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.”
While it is Biblical to exercise wisdom in this life, perhaps safety is a hurdle we need to overcome to truly be about the work of the Kingdom. Do we love others enough and care enough to risk a social connection, to bring them to Christ? Are we serious enough about our faith to do what God has commanded us to do…even to gather together, when it is not socially acceptable, safe, or even banned? How serious are you really about your faith…that He will truly “surround you if you trust in Him?” Did you know our brothers and sisters around the world risk everything in this life for His sake? Are you willing to contract COVID, be persecuted and harmed, or violate a man-made rule to fulfill His commands which are clearly laid out in Scripture? Whose Kingdom do you belong to?
We take a step out in faith, to do His work out of a love for Him, and then leave it up to God to worry about safety. He protects us…really. But whether we are actually safe or not…it’s all good. We trust the One who commands us, we know His power is at work within us, and as Hillsong quite correctly sings, there is "Another In The Fire.” He is with us in the fiery furnace…and always, to the end of the age. That is some seriously good news for Christians. Perhaps instead of telling each other to “stay safe,” we can start a new slogan…perhaps "For His Kingdom," or "Another In The Fire?"
-Dave Andrews
KJOL Station Manager
Local Christian Radio, KJOL
PS- Do you think it is time for Christians to proclaim a different slogan for the days we are living in? I would love to hear your slogan ideas! Email dave@kjol.org.
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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