"Preacher"

Out there in the empty,

Came singing on the wind,

A voice so strong and gentle,

And with it to begin,

To tell a distant story,

A time before the past,

When mountain man and cowboy,

And tribes that would not last,

Knew the one called Preacher,

The shot no one could beat,

And in any battle,

He never would retreat.

But he was on a mission,

And soon the frontier knew,

He was kin to Moses,

And old John Baptist too.

A mane just like a lion,

Golden beard and eyes,

And when he preached the gospel,

There was no surprise,

That he could touch a sinner,

He could claim a soul,

He could bring the lost ones,

And get the story told.

Could be an Injun warrior,

Or a mountain man by trade,

One of the cowboy herdsmen,

Or outlaws on a raid.

He knew his gun could stop ‘em,

But he preferred the Book,

And something ‘bout the Preacher,

Made ‘em want to look.

He founded ne’re church house,

He never passed the hat,

He rode the fastest horses,

And spread the word, that’s that.

What happened to the Preacher,

No one really knows,

Someone said he took a squaw,

Just before the snows.

Found a place in Yellowstone,

To stay warm from the cold,

And there began his family,

But you never really know.

But one thing sure is certain,

He was a man of God,

Who lived out all his preaching,

And held the Shepherd’s rod.

And when this life is over,

And all tomorrows gone,

And standing there with Jesus,

We hear the angels’ song.

There will stand the Preacher,

From back before the past,

He built life on the Good Book,

And rode his horses fast.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations…” (Mt. 28:19, NLT)

The mandate for every generation of believers is to share the faith. It’s our mission statement, given by Jesus, to make disciples of the nations. In all periods of history this was true. Did the church always fulfill its mission? No. Do we always do it now? Again, no. But someone did or else we wouldn’t know about Jesus. And by the way, someone told us about HIm. As powerful as living out the faith must be, the Great Commission requires a verbal witness. We are called to talk about Him, and thank God there have always been some who did.

Lord, help us make disciples for You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Keith Batchellor, keithbatchellor.com. Used by permission. Thanks, and God bless you.