Lips and Life

·       “If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much.”[i]
 

·       “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”[ii]

Several months prior to my mother’s marriage to my father on June 12, 1960 in Minford, OH; my paternal grandmother (Stella Kinker) encouraged my mother one Sunday morning to go forward to the altar for prayer to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.

Grandma told my mother she would never regret that decision. As a senior woman now, she is thrilled the younger version of herself made that crucial decision.

·       “Nothing in the Christian life is more important than forgiveness (our forgiveness of others and God's forgiveness of us).”[iii]

My mother doesn’t exactly remember when she first heard the hymn, “I’ll Tell the World That I’m a Christian.” It seems to have always been a constant reminder in her life of the eternal decision she made as a young bride-to-be. My mother hopes that her descendents will remember her fierce loyalty to the Heavenly Father that helped her through everything in her life.

In the distant future when my mother moves on to her new celestial home; she has requested I sing this song at her funeral. (I pray I’ll have the strength to grant this last wish to a wonderful mother from a grateful son when the time comes.)

Lyricist Baynard L. Fox was twenty-six when the first of four copyrights total (1958) was done on his song, “I’ll Tell the World That I’m a Christian.” [iv]

The lyrics below are based on the declaration stated in Romans 1:16 (VOICE):  ^“For I am not the least bit embarrassed about the gospel; I won’t shy away from it…It is God’s power to save every person who believes: first the Jew (and then the non-Jew).”

 

Verse One

I’ll tell the world, that I’m a Christian,
I’m not ashamed, His name to bear;
I’ll tell the world, that I’m a Christian,
I’ll take Him with me anywhere.

 

Verse Two

I’ll tell the world, how Jesus saved me,
and how He gave me a life brand new;
And I know that if you trust Him,
that all He gave me, He’ll give to you.

 

Verse Three

I’ll tell the world, that He’s my Savior,
No other one, could love me so;
My life, my all is His forever,
and where He leads me I will go.

 

Verse Four

For when He comes, and life is over,

For those who love Him there’s more to be;
Eyes have never seen the wonders,
That He’s preparing, for you and me

 

Verse Five

Oh, tell the world, that you’re a Christian,
Be not ashamed, His name to bear;
Oh tell the world, that you’re a Christian,
And take Him with you anywhere.

 

I understand why this hymn (of personal conviction) has become a favorite for many people (like my mother). Verses one and five (the beginning and the end) are both identical in message, and speak of steady commitment to the Christian walk (no matter how that looks in one’s life).

 

Verse two speaks of the total positive transformation Jesus made possible in one’s life. Verse three reiterates the promise that we all understand in our hearts, “Jesus loves all human beings. Verse four provides us with the information that one day Jesus is returning to Earth to take His children home. He is preparing a wonderful place for them to live once their earthly life has concluded.

 

Baynard wrote all types of religious music during his lifetime. Here is his rather extensive list: anthems, cantatas, choruses (accompanied and unaccompanied), sacred (mixed voices, four parts) with and without keyboard or piano, hymns, English organ and piano music, arranged Sacred songs (low or medium voice) with piano, and  sacred vocal quartets with piano.

A few of the other songs that Baynard has written lyrics for include: “Amazing Grace How Can It Be,” “Sweet Fellowship,” “When God Steps In,” “I Have A Friend His Name Is Jesus,” “I Am The Way,” and “The Christmas Spirit.”

Baynard’s had a daughter by the name of “Caroline.” Baynard died at the age of fifty on October 1982.[v] With his final residence in Tucker, Dekalb County, Georgia. (Baynard Fox lived twenty years shorter than the average Fox family member.)

Thought-Provoking Quotes:

·       “God has a time for everything, a perfect schedule. He is never too soon, never too late. The when of His will is as important as the what and the how.” (Richard Halverson)

·       “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” (C. S. Lewis)

·       “Christ is a substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for Christ.” (Henry Allen Ironside)

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[i] This quote is by Henry Allen Ironside. This quote means, “If what you say, and how you live don’t match your witness for Christ will be harmed.”

 

[ii] This quote is by Corrie Ten Boom. This means is God in control of your life, or do you only bring Him out in times of trouble.

 

[iii] This quote is by John F. MacArthur

 

[iv] Baynard L. Fox was born on September 21, 1932 to his father (Baynard F., twenty-nine) and his mother (Thelma, twenty-two). On April 1, 1940, he was eight years old and lived at 3910 Massie Avenue in St Matthews, Kentucky with his parents and brother, Randall L.

 

[v] Websites used for this post: www.hymnary.org, www.namethathymn.org, us.search.ccli.com, www.worldcat.org, www.ancestry.com, www.ancientfaces.com