Keep on the Firing Line...the Wayfarer
1 year, 7 months ago
Keep on the Firing Line
Matthew 10:16-28
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
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.
Today’s title comes from a hymn that, although I probably heard during my youth, I either forgot, or had not recognized until attending a church service that used it as a closing song, and still does regularly for each portion of the song and praise opening of each service held there.
I have attended there many times since that first visit, having found kindred and brethren there who I now call friends as well as brothers.
One of those precious brothers has passed on, his portion of the battle completed, his perimeter secured eternally through Jesus, having accepted Him as Savior, and having accepted also the call to battle that is issued both by the opening scripture and the hymn used during those services he attended as often as allowed by the frailty of an elderly and weakening body until no longer able to attend, yet still to the very last moment carrying his portion of the load into the battle enjoined, valiantly following the prerequisites of his faith.
“If you’re in the battle for the Lord and right, Keep on the firing line.
If you win, my brother, surely you must fight, keep on the firing line.
There are many dangers that we all must face. If we die a fighting it is no disgrace,
Coward in the service, he will find no place, so keep on the firing line.
God will only use the soldier He can trust, keep on the firing line.
If you wear a crown then bear the cross you must, keep on the firing line.
Life is but to labor for the Master dear, help to banish evil and to spread good cheer.
Great you’ll be rewarded for your service here, so keep on the firing line.
When we get to heaven brother we’ll be glad, keep on the firing line.
How we’ll praise the Savior for the call we had, keep on the firing line.
When we see the souls that we have helped to win, Leading them to Jesus from the paths of sin,
With a shout of welcome we will all march in, so keep on the firing line.
You must fight, be brave, against all evil, never run, nor even lag behind;
If you would win for God and the right, just keep on the firing line.”
Too often forgotten is the fact that we are engaged in a battle that is and will continue to be ongoing until the return of Christ.
That battle is for the souls of those around us as well as our ongoing continual fight to stave off the onslaught of the chaos generated by an enemy that is also engaged in that battle, wishing only to steal those very souls for which we battle.
His weapons are many and varied, quite effective as is his proficiency in their use as is evidenced daily in the deaths recorded in the obituaries of our youth having succumbed to the lures set before them by way of pharmaceuticals, escapes from the reality that overwhelms them because of the lack of any recognizable assistance or hope and reason to pursue the labor that is required simply to live and complete the journey begun at their birth.
It is evidenced in the affairs of men, as men clash with others, all others, pursuing answers to questions and challenges faced, attempting to solve all those challenges with answers provided by men, while ignoring the answers already given by God.
This is far from a new state of affairs, having existed since Adam first chose to seek answers in the “knowledge” offered him in the forbidden fruit, also choosing to listen to the urging of someone influenced completely by that ancient enemy that remains a source of chaos, confusion, misery and despair using his first and most efficient weapon, his lies, to produce that influence.
Ezekiel reminded Israel of the cause of their misery, and the solution that they rejected:
Ezekiel 18:20-32King James Version (KJV)
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
That battle that was enjoined by Eziekiel continues now as well, not merely for a nation, but for each and every human soul.
That solution given in the words of this old prophet became more attainable, became more apparent, became accessible to all humankind through the coming of the only acceptable sacrifice for that ongoing, age old enemy…sin that could be enduring and final, Jesus, Son of God, mediator and Savior for any and all who would accept that sacrifice and meet the terms of redemption given for repentance.
The battle rages on. Sides must be chosen.
The war is won already, the victor is Christ, who overcame death and hell itself for us.
Still the battle must be fought, by each, for themselves, and for those around them as well until that victor returns to the field of battle to forever end the machinations of the thief that would steal those precious souls, and may only do so with their own assistance if the battle is not enjoined by those who stand victorious with Him.
Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer
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