Are You Protected by the Ultimate Security System?

We live in a dangerous world. Threats to our safety and security are growing. Is there a way to insure that you and your family are always protected?

Dateline: Dec. 18, 2009, WDTN TV Channel 2, Dayton, Ohio: "The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office arrested two men after a Jefferson Township woman called 911 as she hid in her bedroom from two men who were breaking in the back door.

"'They're outside, but I can hear them banging,' she told the dispatcher. 'Are they trying to break in?' he asked. 'Evidently, but I'm hiding in my bedroom ... Hurry, please hurry,' she said. The woman stayed on the line as officers rushed to the home. When they arrived, police said they found two men inside the home.

"'You never know what a person's intention is; they might have just walked away, or they may have hurt her, you just never know,' said Captain David Hale, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office."

Dateline: Dec. 10, 2009, The Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York: "Niagara Regional Police are looking for four men who pulled off a home invasion robbery on Riverdale Drive Wednesday morning. Police said the four robbed residents of the home about 10:10 a.m., barging inside after ringing the doorbell.

"Two residents were found bound by the hands and feet when officers responded to a home intrusion alarm.An undetermined amount of cash was stolen and police said they believe the robbery was 'not a random act.'"

Dateline: Dec. 15, 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald, Engadine, New South Wales, Australia: "A 21-year-old man had a shotgun pointed at his head in a violent home invasion in Sydney's south last night, police say. The man heard three men trying to enter his home at Dunstan Place, Engadine about 11:40 p.m., police said.

"He went out to confront them and had a small shotgun pointed at his head. He was marched back into his house, where the gunman demanded money, police said. The man and two other housemates, aged 24 and 26, were forced to the ground before he was allegedly hit on the head with a blunt object. Police said the alleged robbers fled with some household items when they were unable to get any money from the residents." 

A growing threat

These reports are actual news stories describing recent home invasions. A home invasion is the crime of entering an occupied private residence with the aim of carrying out a crime, whether assault, robbery, rape or murder. It's a legally defined offense in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Over the past decade, law enforcement officials have observed a marked increase in the number of home invasions. This may be due to many banks, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, all traditionally targeted by criminals, installing advanced security and surveillance devices. As a result, criminals are now targeting less secure residential neighborhoods.

What can occur during a home invasion? Chris McGoey, a professional security consultant, discusses this subject on his Web site:

"The most common point of attack is through the front door or garage. Sometimes the home invader will simply kick open the door and confront everyone inside. More common is when the home invaders knock on the door first or ring the bell. The home invader hopes that the occupant will simply open the door, without question, in response to their knock. Unfortunately, many people do just that.

"Home invaders will sometimes use a ruse or impersonation to get you to open the door. They have been known to pretend to be delivering a package, flowers or lie about an accident like hitting your parked car. Once the door is opened for them, the home invaders will use an explosive amount of force and threats to gain control of the home and produce fear in the victims . . .

"Some home robbers have been known to spend hours ransacking a residence while the homeowners are bound nearby watching in terror . . . A major fear is that the robbers might commit more violence like sexual assault or even murder . . .

"If you can delay a home invader at the point of entry then you have a chance of deterring them or have time to call the police . . . The weakest home security link is the home occupant who fails to lock doors or windows or who will open the door without question at the sound of a knock" (crimedoctor.com/homeinvasion.htm).

Are you at risk?

Obviously the thought of a home invasion or any crime is alarming. Could you and your family members be at risk? Becoming a crime victim is certainly a possibility. In the United States, for example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that more than 9.7 million property crimes took place in 2008, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available, resulting in $17.2 billion in losses. The FBI also estimated that nearly 1.4 million violent crimes occurred that year, including murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. 

What can you do to make your home less susceptible to a home invasion? Security professionals encourage good safety habits and also advise installing solid core wood or metal outside doors with high-quality locks and deadbolt mechanisms. Many experts also recommend using window alarms, motion-sensitive outdoor lighting, video surveillance cameras, interior motion detectors and a two-way, voice-activated security monitoring system.

However, while these devices can help reduce your chance of a home invasion, they cannot guarantee that you won't become a crime victim. No matter where you live, you are at risk in a dangerous world. So what can you do?

It comes down to a simple question: Are you protected by the ultimate security system? This system insures that no matter what trouble comes your way, you will be safe and sound. It is summarized in this statement by King David of ancient Israel: "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
See All...).

A failed security system

While humanly designed security systems have their place and we should do what we can to shield ourselves from harm, complete protection can only come from God. Regrettably, most people have rejected this critical security arrangement. Too often they have placed trust exclusively in humanly-devised safeguards, which can and do fail.

For example, consider the infamous Maginot Line. This massive security project, designed chiefly as a strong barrier against any future German invasion, was constructed by France on its eastern border during the 1930s. Named in honor of André Maginot, a World War I hero and French minister of war during the 1920s, its intricate network of forts and bunkers was intended to provide sufficient time for French armed forces to mobilize in the event of an attack.

Built between 1929 and 1938, the Maginot Line became a vast, state-of-the-art defense complex stretching more than 400 miles along the German and Italian borders. Most of the system's fortresses, which included miles of interconnected tunnels and railroads, were located underground.

The multiple thousands of soldiers who served throughout the intricate configuration were sealed behind reinforced concrete walls and heavy steel doors. There they trained, watched and waited for war. And war came on May 10, 1940.

As the key component of the German invasion strategy, Adolf Hitler's 19th Panzer Corps quickly sliced through the Ardennes region of the French-Belgium frontier and broke through near where the Maginot Line connected with Belgian fortifications. The French mistakenly believed the area's extensive forests and steep hills would pose a major impediment to the rapid movement of large motorized forces.

This failed strategy allowed Germany's main invasion forces to smash through to swiftly outflank and trap Allied forces that had advanced into Belgium and Holland. After expending enormous effort and resources on the Maginot Line, the security the French thought they possessed vanished nearly overnight. The German blitzkrieg overpowered and conquered the entire nation in just six weeks.

Absolute protection comes from one source

What lesson can we learn from this example? Even with a carefully calculated strategy designed to protect an entire nation, no security method is foolproof.

What if we applied this lesson to the most advanced electronic home security system? Here, too, we can find inherent vulnerabilities. A door or window could be inadvertently left open or unlocked, creating an opportunity for intrusion. And what about times away from home while driving, walking or shopping? A person's well-being could be compromised in these and other situations.

So is security even possible in this world? Where can we find the answer? A careful look into the Bible, the "instruction manual" for life, gives us the decisive answer. Throughout the Scriptures, we find that God offers His mighty protection to those who trust and obey Him. A number of passages confirm this important and comforting fact.

Israel's King David wrote of his profound confidence in God's pledge of security: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.' Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

"He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you" (Psalm 91:1-7 [1] He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
[2] I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
[3] Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
[4] He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
[5] Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
[6] Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
[7] A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

See All...).

Beyond the physical

Just as a mother bird instinctively covers its fledglings during a threat, God carefully guards those who believe and obey Him. But does this mean that no evil will ever befall those who trust in God? No, it does not. Biblical passages confirm that God permits difficult trials to afflict His people.

David distinctly understood this reality: "For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning" (Psalm 73:14For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
See All...). Yet although he suffered, David knew God stood by him and would deliver him: "Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory" (verses 23-24, emphasis added throughout).

David recognized that there was life beyond his physical existence. He knew that "glory"—eternal, spiritual life with God in His Kingdom—awaited him. The truth is, physical security and survival in the here and now is not an absolute biblical promise. It is not without exception.

In fact, Jesus Christ carefully explained to His disciples that they would face harsh persecution and some of them would suffer martyrdom (Matthew 5:11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
See All...; 24:9; John 16:2They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
See All...). The prophets of past ages had suffered the same. And even Christ Himself, though perfectly righteous, was viciously abused and then brutally murdered at the hands of malicious evildoers (Matthew 23:29-37 [29] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
[30] And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
[31] Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
[32] Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
[33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
[34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
[35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
[36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
[37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

See All...; Luke 23:33And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
See All...).

A future focus

The long history of God's true servants is one of distress at the hands of Satan's human instruments. The time just before Christ's second coming will be no different.

Although God supernaturally protects His people in numerous ways and will ultimately spare many from the terrible martyrdom that is coming, He will nevertheless allow others among them to be the focus of Satan's fierce rage at that time, even to the point of facing death (Revelation 12:9-17 [9] And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
[10] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
[11] And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
[12] Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
[13] And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
[14] And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
[15] And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
[16] And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
[17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

See All...). Yet for most, that prospect will not overthrow their faith! Why? Because their focus will then be on their future spirit life with God in His Kingdom rather than on this fleeting physical existence (Hebrews 11:35-38 [35] Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
[36] And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
[37] They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
[38] (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

See All...).

Just like those who preceded them in martyrdom in previous ages, they too will be more attracted to the promise of an eternal reward than a desire to extend their physical lives a few more days, months or years. "And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Revelation 12:11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
See All...).

Though some of God's people will die physically in this coming martyrdom, they will in the end be utterly victorious (Matthew 10:28-39 [28] And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
[29] Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
[30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
[31] Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
[32] Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
[33] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
[34] Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
[35] For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
[36] And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
[37] He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
[38] And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
[39] He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

See All...). They know that God's promise of perpetual security is absolutely guaranteed (1 Corinthians 15:53-54 [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
[54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

See All...).

While God regularly provides physical security to those who trust and obey Him, the protection of our minds and hearts is His foremost motivation and objective. The apostle Paul wrote, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

Physical safety is important, but our spiritual well-being ought to hold significantly more meaning and value to us. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4 [1] If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
[2] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
[3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
[4] When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

See All...).

Rescued from death

What then is the "ultimate security system"? It is our eternal salvation. Salvation simply means preservation, deliverance and rescue. And from what are we rescued? From the peril and threat of eternal death. Jesus Christ "has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
See All...).

Through His suffering, death and resurrection, we have been given full access to never-ending life as spirit beings in God's coming Kingdom (John 6:51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
See All...; Ephesians 2:22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
See All...; Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All...).

This salvation, which is our unending security, is only accessible through repentance from sin and our full acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf (Colossians 1:14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
See All...). Once we have repented and been baptized, we must diligently labor at "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
See All...). We need to "fight the good fight of faith" in order to "lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:12Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
See All...).

Our faith and obedience will be rewarded at the second coming of Jesus Christ: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work" (Revelation 22:12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
See All...).

That is ultimate security! The question is, are you protected?  GN