Lesson 160: Our Mission for the New Year

   5th Kentucky Chaplain J. W. Binion

Last week I spoke to the truth that God’s love for us is unconditional. This truth is provided through the fact that He has provided us a way out of our sin through the substitutionary death of His Son. During the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ we are given an immediate and compelling mission. I have spoken often, in these written messages, of this mission and some may get tired of being reminded of that mission. My comment to those who tire of this is – get over it. The Lord leads me to speak to you concerning the execution of the mission and attempt to persuade you to obey the marching orders of our supreme commander.

The New Year is ahead of us and we should examine our battle plan for marching ahead for the Lord. Just how are we, members of the 5th KY, going to attack the enemy (the evil one, Satan, liberal left wingers who would have all mention of Christ wiped from the public arena) and win victory for the Prince of Peace? Please bear with me and allow me to suggest such a strategy of attack.

Yes, the prime directive is found in the Gospel according to St. Matthew the 28th chapter, 19th through the 20th verses. This passage is commonly known as The Great Commission. We have all read and heard this passage many times. While it is vitally important that we follow this commission to the letter and spirit, I am suggesting that we have another set of orders that are equally imperative.

The set of orders to which I refer is found in the Gospel according to St. John the 21st chapter, verses 15 through 21. In this scripture the resurrected Lord is speaking to St. Peter. The Lord asked Peter if Peter loved Him and each time Peter answered in the affirmative and was given an “order.”

The first “order” was to “feed my lambs.” Feed them what? I submit that we are to feed the lambs the Word of the Lord. It is our mission to provide the ‘food’ so that the lambs may be afforded the opportunity to ingest the truth of the Lord’s mercy and grace. We can not make them digest it, but we must provide the opportunity to take it in. This mission will be accomplished by our words and actions within the camp and our association with our fellow re-enactors. We have already committed ourselves to honoring the memory, the history, and the truth of our ancestors’ sacrifices. We have been blessed with growth and strength within our ranks because “Christ is in our camp.” But, is it enough to have HIM within the camp? Must we share HIM with the encampment? YES, we must FEED the lambs throughout the entire community if we are to complete the mission.

The second “order” St. Peter received was to “tend my sheep”. To ‘tend the sheep’ we must display true Christian charity to all with whom we come in contact. The love and concern we show must be genuine, not self-serving, not phony or gushy – but it must be REAL and from the heart. Within our camp we need to love, forgive, and nurture not only our fellow “Sangdiggers” but also those within the total encampment. We must face those who are drinking, cursing, and behaving badly with compassion, forgiveness, and concern. We need to show those that are unbelievers that the way to true happiness and peace is through the Lord Jesus Christ – we can not do that if we allow in-fighting or pettiness to be practiced around our own camp fires.

The third “order” given to the apostle is “feed my sheep.” What is the difference between feeding lambs and feeding sheep? Lambs are the young in the faith, sheep are those who have previously accepted the Lord and are growing in their faith. Feeding the sheep is as important as feeding the lambs. This mission is one of the main goals of your chaplains; it is our directive to provide the food to the sheep. Feeding the sheep is done through not only the Sunday preaching, but also through the messages we bring you on this website and that of the Ben Caudill Camp. You can help us do that by encouraging each other to read these messages. You need to also attend regular worship while in Winter Quarters and Sunday services during re-enacting events. Our regiment is lead by godly officers and is blessed by that fact. All of us need to commit ourselves to these three orders just as we have committed ourselves to honoring our ancestors. Other units attempt to honor the history and sacrifice of ancestors, but they have not committed to honoring the Lord and it shows.

Let it be our continued mission to honor not only our ancestors, but also to be totally committed to serving our God. Honor, Truth, and Valor were the aims of our Southern ancestors – they also were known for their commitment to God and the freedom to worship HIM openly. Your obedient servant – Chaplain J. W. Binion 5th KY INF CSA