General Topics :: The Old Paths!!

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1 The Old Paths!! - posted by JRuth (), on: 2008/8/2 17:44 THE OLD PATHS I liked the old paths, when Moms were at home. Dads were at work. Brothers went into the army. And sisters got married BEFORE having children! Crime did not pay; Hard work did; And people knew the difference. Moms could cook; Dads would work; Children would behave. Husbands were loving; Wives were supportive; And children were polite. Women wore the jewelry; And Men wore the pants. Women looked like ladies; Men looked like gentlemen; And children looked decent. People loved the truth, And hated a lie; They came to church to get IN, Not to get OUT! Hymns sounded Godly; Sermons sounded helpful; Rejoicing sounded normal; And crying sounded sincere. Cursing was wicked; Drugs were for illness; And divorce was unthinkable. The flag was honored; America was beautiful; And God was welcome! We read the Bible in public; Prayed in school; And preached from house to house To be called an American was worth dying for; To be called a Christian was worth living for; To be called a traitor was a shame! Page 1/7

2 Preachers preached because they had a message; And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY! Preachers preached from the Bible; Singers sang from the heart; And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED! A new birth meant a new life; Salvation meant a changed life; Following Christ led to eternal life. Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God; Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord; Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus; And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you! Laws were based on the Bible; Homes read the Bible; And churches taught the Bible. God was worshiped; Christ was exalted; And the Holy Spirit was respected.. Church was where you found Christians on the Lord's day, rather than in the garden, on the creek bank, on the golf course, Or being entertained somewhere else. I still like the old paths the best! 'The Old Paths' was written by a retired minister who lives in Tennessee Re: The Old Paths!! - posted by Tears_of_joy, on: 2008/8/2 19:11 Dear JRuth, Do you believe and long for these old paths: "To be called an American was worth dying for;"? Do you think that the author of this poem is refering to the old paths described in the Bible, the old paths that we should ask and walk, as it is written: Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest f or your souls. -Jer 6:16 Or the author is refering to some other and total different paths than the biblical, but in the same time labeled as such. Dear JRuth, what are the paths that your heart is longing for, "the flag of America to be honored" again?" Thank you. Page 2/7

3 Re: The Old Paths!! - posted by Koheleth, on: 2008/8/2 22:50 Hi Tears and all, I wish to offer another perspective. Upon first reading the poem my response was (and is) the same as yours. The flavor was too "American" for me. However, I find that we are too quick to root out the negative and put other people's offerings down. I want to confess this myself, so I am not pointing fingers. In regards to honoring the flag, I am not going to say th at we should, but only that the Bible says "honor the king" etc. There is a place for honor, even as Romans 13 indicates. After all, Christians are not and should not be the ones burning the American flag, just because we are citizens of a bett er country. Rather, it is the godless who are burning the flag. I am not saying that we should promote it or worship it, but we can at least recognize that to every other country on the earth, America has a very significant Christian history the pa st 3 or 4 hundred years. I believe the Scriptures would permit there to be respect and appreciation, in moderate degree, even for a bit of the American culture for American Christians who believe that older days were more moral and righteou s. Surely, there are worse things in relation to American that we should denounce. I say this only as a thought for all, sta rting with myself, to avoid the negative wherever possible. Thank you and may the Lord bless you all. Re: - posted by JRuth (), on: 2008/8/3 16:12 Hey Tears of Joy, Thanks for the question! I am longing for a return to the old paths where people read the bible and based ALL their desis ions on IT!!! America can not be honored because she has turned her back on God! JRuth Re: - posted by HeartSong, on: 2008/8/3 16:18 Country and God used to be synonymous. But then the country became so wealthy that she decided she didn't need Go d anymore. And now she is so very, very, poor - and lost. Re: - posted by JRuth (), on: 2008/8/3 16:20 AMEN!!!! Thanks for your imput Heartsong!!! Re: The Old Paths!! - posted by Tears_of_joy, on: 2008/8/3 20:50 Hello JRuth and everyone, I would like to recommend one sermon on the subject of the questions that I raised: The Kingdom vs. Patriotism by Art Katz I would be happy if you listen to it and give response. Thank you. Re: - posted by PreachParsly (), on: 2008/8/3 22:38 Quote: Tears_of_joy wrote: Hello JRuth and everyone, I would like to recommend one sermon on the subject of the questions that I raised: The Kingdom vs. Patriotism by Art Katz I would be happy if you listen to it and give response. Thank you. Page 3/7

4 Good sermon. Thanks for posting. Re: - posted by JRuth (), on: 2008/8/5 16:52 That was a good sermon, but I do not see the connection between the poem I posted, and that sermon. That poem was NOT about patriotism, it was about a return to the old paths. You read the whole poem but the only thing you noticed wa s the "patriotism" in it!! Why? JRuth Re:, on: 2008/8/5 18:12 Quote: Tears_of_joy wrote: Do you think that the author of this poem is refering to the old paths described in the Bible, the old paths that we should ask and walk, as it is written: Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. -Jer 6:16 Or the author is refering to some other and total different paths than the biblical, but in the same time labeled as such. The "old paths" described in the poem may remind the reader of times past in America, with their appearance of godline ss. However, it must be stated that these are by no means the old paths that the Lord calls His people to return to. American Christians should look back to the apostolic church reality in the Scriptures, not to some tradition of men, even of godly men, or to some former state of theirs which appears superior to the present. I catch myself doing the same for Bulgaria. I idolize my people's pre-wwii past as something good and honorable (mostl y associated with country living, the family and community aspects of life). But were Bulgarians then more pleasing to th e Lord? Were they better? I believe people then feared the Lord more and were less likely to go about sinnning boldly. H owever, many were good religious people who had never repented from their sinful ways, even though they maintained f air reputation before men. These were "improved" men, but not saints. For only fallen and unregenerated men try to rest ore their former goodness and greatness, while the Lord's elect can only cry out in Jesus' name. Only by grace we can stand. No fleshly efforts of ours can help us limit or extricate the works of the flesh. A man who tri es to improve his condition has not come to the end of himself. We are NOT called to be as good as our ancestors. We are called to be "perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect." Eve ry other path is a lesser one. Re: - posted by HeartSong, on: 2008/8/5 18:13 The Star Spangled Banner Francis Scott Key ( ) Son of John Ross Key, Fran cis is best known as auâ thor of the Amer iâ can naâ tionâ al anâ them,  The Star Sp anâ gled Ban ner,â atâ tendâ ed St. John s Coll ege in An napâ oâ lis, Mar yâ land. He served as Dis trict A tâ tornâ ey of Wash ingâ ton, DC, was a vesâ tryâ man of St. John s Church and Christ Church in George town, a nd taught Epis coâ palâ iâ an Sun day School. He alâ so helped orâ ganâ ize the Do mesâ tic and For eign Mis  sionâ ary So ciâ eâ ty in 1820, and in 1823 served on the comâ mitâ tee preâ parâ ing the new Pro testâ ant Epi sâ coâ pal hymâ nal. Here are the four versâ es Key wrote durâ ing the 1812 siege of Fort McHen ry, with a fifth by Ol ivâ er Wen dell H Page 4/7

5 olmes: THE DEFENSE OF FORT MCHENRY O say, can you see by the dawnâ s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilightâ s last gleaming, Whose stripes and bright bars, through the perilous fight, OÂ er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocketâ s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star spangled banner still wave OÂ er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mist of the deep, Where the foeâ s haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, oâ er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morningâ s first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines in the stream. Â Tis the spar spangled banner, O long may it wave OÂ er the land of the free and the home of the brave. And where is that band which so vauntingly swore, Â Mid the havoc of war and the battleâ s confusion, A home and a country theyâ d leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footstepâ s pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and salve From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave. And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave While the land of the free is the home of the brave. Oh, thus be it ever when freeman shall stand Between their loved home and warâ s desolation; Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land, Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto, Â In God is our trust.â And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave While the land of the free is the home of the brave. When our land is illumed with libertyâ s smile, If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory, Down, down with the traitor that dares to defile The flag of her stars and the page of her story! By the millions unchained who our birthright have gained, We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained! And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave While the land of the free is the home of the brave. Page 5/7

6 Re: - posted by JRuth (), on: 2008/8/6 12:27 That is a very nice song, one that I love to sing!! Thanks Heartsong!! As to those of you who don't agree with some of the things on this post, all I have to say is..."maybe you just don't under stand, those of you from outside the USA probably can't understand!!!" Re:, on: 2008/8/6 15:31 I, for one, will not apologize for being an American Patriot. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, and a citizen of His Kingdom first and formost. While I wear this mortal body... I am an American too. I wont apologize for that to anyone, or be made to feel ashamed of that. I wont apologize for my Cherokee ancestors who have been on this continent for thousands of years. I wont apologize for my ancestors that came here from Scotland and Ireland and England 70 some years before the Revolution. I wont apologize for my ancestors who fought valiently against the British in North & South Carolina, particularly at Cow Pens and Kings Mountain. I wont apologize for my ancestors who fought for their Constitutional right to secede during the War of the Northern Invasion... though that war ended in the best way for America as a whole, and for humanity's sake in freeing black Americans from the atrocity of slavery. I wont apologize for my ancestors who fought in WWI and WWII to help other countries be freed from tyranny. And the list goes on and on. Just as in the Bible, pride in your nation and your people is NOT a sin. Israel faultered and stumbled... but it had great n ational pride, and I mean pride in a good sense, not as in sinful pride. I hold no prejudice against any person based on the color of their skin, or their nationailty. But I am an American, and no man will make me ashamed to call myself as such. Even tho many in this country have turned their backs on God... many have not! We still send out more missionaries tha n any other country in the world. We still send out more Bibles than any other country in the world. We send out more ai d and food and medical supplies than any other country in the world. When there is a disaster somewhere in the world... where do they turn to for help? Who gives the aid and the help witho ut batting an eye?... America. We are still a good people. I know it makes people feel super spiritual to look down their noses at America, and consider themselves too spiritual to love their country... but I have a flag on my lawn, and a flag on my upper deck. I would forsake America only for Jesus, and nothing else. So far He hasnt asked me to. Krispy Re: - posted by Swordbearer (), on: 2008/8/11 17:03 "Father, take my life, yea, my blood if thou wilt, and consume it with thy enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mi ne to save. Have it Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for the world. Blood is only of value as it flows before thine altar." ~Jim Elliot. I suppose these words, penned by a man who seven years later would pay the ultimate sacrifice as a servant of Jehova h encapsulate the essence of what it means to be a patriotic Christian. Loyalty and patriotism to a King and a Kingdom a s yet unseen in its fulness. This then, is truly the "Old path" - The path trodden by our Lord, His disciples, and untold numbers whose souls await pa tiently under the altar of God for their vindication. Hear Mr. Elliot again; "Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. But flame is often short lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul? Short life? In me there dwells the spirit of the great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. 'Make me t hy fuel, Flame of God' " Page 6/7

7 Brother Aaron Re: - posted by JRuth (), on: 2008/8/16 13:36 Ok...I can see that most of you see this in a little different light than the one I see it in...thanks for all of your impute...and don't take everything so seriously ;-)!!! Page 7/7