The Old Paths!!

[b]THE OLD PATHS[/b]

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!

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!

[i][color=00CCCC]'The Old Paths' was written by a retired minister who lives in Tennessee[/color][/i]

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 [is] 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.

Dear JRuth, what are the paths that your heart is longing for, "the flag of America to be honored" again?"

Thank you.

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 that 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 better 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 past 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 righteous. Surely, there are worse things in relation to American that we should denounce. I say this only as a thought for all, starting with myself, to avoid the negative wherever possible. Thank you and may the Lord bless you all.

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 desisions on IT!!! America can not be honored because she has turned her back on God!

JRuth

Country and God used to be synonymous. But then the country became so wealthy that she decided she didn't need God anymore. And now she is so very, very, poor - and lost.

AMEN!!!! Thanks for your imput Heartsong!!!

Hello JRuth and everyone,

I would like to recommend one sermon on the subject of the questions that I raised:

[b]The Kingdom vs. Patriotism by Art Katz[/b]
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=10795

I would be happy if you listen to it and give response.

Thank you.

Tears_of_joy wrote:
Hello JRuth and everyone,

I would like to recommend one sermon on the subject of the questions that I raised:

[b]The Kingdom vs. Patriotism by Art Katz[/b]
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=10795

I would be happy if you listen to it and give response.

Thank you.

Good sermon. Thanks for posting.

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 was the "patriotism" in it!! Why?

JRuth

The Star Spangled Banner

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

Son of John Ross Key, Fran­cis is best known as au­thor of the Amer­i­can na­tion­al an­them, “The Star Span­gled Ban­ner,” at­tend­ed St. John’s Coll­ege in An­nap­o­lis, Mar­y­land. He served as Dis­trict At­torn­ey of Wash­ing­ton, DC, was a ves­try­man of St. John’s Church and Christ Church in George­town, and taught Epis­co­pal­i­an Sun­day School. He al­so helped or­gan­ize the Do­mes­tic and For­eign Mis­sion­ary So­ci­e­ty in 1820, and in 1823 served on the com­mit­tee pre­par­ing the new Pro­test­ant Epis­co­pal hym­nal.

Here are the four vers­es Key wrote dur­ing the 1812 siege of Fort McHen­ry, with a fifth by Ol­iv­er Wen­dell Holmes:

THE DEFENSE OF FORT MCHENRY

O say, can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose stripes and bright bars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’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
O’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 foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines in the stream.
’Tis the spar spangled banner, O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band which so vauntingly swore,
’Mid the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country they’d leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep’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 war’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, “In God is our trust.”
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 liberty’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.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/k/e/key_fs.htm

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 understand, those of you from outside the USA probably can't understand!!!"

"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 mine 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 Jehovah encapsulate the essence of what it means to be a patriotic Christian. Loyalty and patriotism to a King and a Kingdom as 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 patiently 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 thy fuel, Flame of God' "

Brother Aaron

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 ;-) !!!