Old Paths Journal

Nehemiah 1:3
“And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”

When Hanani came to visit Nehemiah in Shushan, he heard of the condition of the remnant left in Jerusalem. The one thing that broke the heart of Nehemiah was to hear that the walls were “broken down,” and that the gates were “burned with fire.” He understood the importance of the walls and the gates. He understood the walls kept them safe from the enemies attack from the outside, but that the gates kept them from unwanted influences that could destroy them from the inside.

It is heartbreaking to see people live a life that leads to misery and disgrace. What is so tragic about this is that these people could easily turn their life around if they would simply build walls and gates in their life. Every time I deal with someone whose life is in ruins, I find the cause is because they lived a careless life that led to misery and disgrace. The two things that led to Jerusalem’s “affliction and reproach” are the same two things that will lead a person to live a life of misery and disgrace.

The first thing that leads to a life of misery and disgrace are no walls built in one’s life to keep the outside influences from destroying them. Every person must build rules and boundaries to keep the outside influences from destroying them. A life without walls is a life that has no defense against the attacks of the world and Satan. A life without walls is a life headed for misery and disgrace. You cannot run with any crowd and not expect their influences to hurt your Christian testimony. You cannot live an unholy life of doing what you want to do, dressing like you want to dress, and living without restraints without eventually finding yourself walking the road of heartache. You always hear the attacks of those who bemoan the “rules and standards” of the old paths as being constrictive and warrantless, but one day the life without walls will result in misery and disgrace.

The second thing that leads to a life of misery and disgrace is not having gates to protect you from inside influences. The gates of your life are your eyes and ears. What you see and hear will eventually destroy you. One reason I have strongly admonished Christians not to read books by authors who don’t use the King James Bible is that their false doctrine will influence and destroy you. The idea that you can eat the meat and spit out the bones is simply fatuous and insane. The influence of what you read and who you hear can’t be thrown out; it is forever engraved in the archives of your mind. Their influences will eventually start coming out. You must have gates established in your life that keep you from reading from those who can destroy you, seeing those things that lead to sinful behavior, hearing those people who sow seeds of corruption in your mind, or listening to things that could destroy your faith in God’s Word.

If you want to avoid a life of misery and disgrace, you had better set up walls and gates that keep you from that life of reproach. You can be guaranteed that misery will be the life of those who have been disgraced because of sin. It can all be avoided by being sure you have built the walls and gates the Scriptures give to keep you from a life of misery and disgrace.

Ezra 1:1
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,”

The first year is one of the most important years because it establishes your pattern for years to come. The first year of a marriage sets the habits for the remainder of the marriage. A child’s first year is instrumental in building their character and habits for the rest of their life. A leader’s first year often dictates the degree of success and influence that leader will experience.

Cyrus, whether or not he realized the magnitude of his decision, made a decree in the first year of his reign to rebuild the house of God. This proclamation set in course the actions of those who followed him, and it let them know his desires and direction for the remainder of his reign. Five things can be learned from Cyrus’ decision that every person should establish in their first years.

In the first year, establish the basis of right and wrong. Cyrus established his decree by “the word of the LORD.” You must establish early on that you are going to base all your actions on the Word of God. You cannot allow opinion to become the basis of what you do. In a marriage, church, or a child’s life, the word of the LORD must be the foundation for every decision and determination of right and wrong.

In the first year, establish the right atmosphere. In the verse above, “…the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus…” Having the right atmosphere determines your influences. You must let God’s Word determine what type of atmosphere you will allow yourself to be around. Many have allowed the wrong atmosphere in their home, marriage, life or church, and it led to temptation, compromise and sin. Atmosphere dictates actions; you must be sure your atmosphere is right if you want to have the right actions.

In the first year establish right desires. Cyrus made a “proclamation,” which showed his desires and what he wanted to do. If you publicly make known your desires to do right from the beginning, you will ward off many of the wrong influences. I have seen many preachers in the early years of their pastorate not want to make public their desires of who they will associate with, only to see the buzzards of worldly preachers hover over these men to pull them into their flock. You would be wise to publicly proclaim in the first year who you are and what you want to do in your life, job, marriage, ministry and new endeavors if you want to deter those who would influence or lead you the wrong way.

Finally, in the first year, establish the right objectives. Ezra 5:13 says, “But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.” Cyrus established that he wanted his reign to be marked by building. Set your objective early in your life that you will be a builder and a finisher. Don’t waltz your way through life. Finish every day by asking yourself, “What have I finished or accomplished today?”

Establishing these five areas early will set the pattern for your life. Do them, and you will find the LORD can do great things through you your entire life.

2 Chronicles 26:18
“And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.”

Uzziah had experienced tremendous success in his reign as king. God had helped him to defeat armies, build towers, dig wells and build a great army. These accomplishments are great by any standard. However, these accomplishments led to pride in Uzziah’s heart. He became so filled with pride that he overstepped his boundaries by burning incense on the altar of incense. Offering incense was the duty of the priests. He had no business doing something that God had specifically ordained for the priests to perform. It didn’t matter what his position was, he clearly overstepped his boundaries which led to God striking him with leprosy.

Boundaries are a part of life. When you drive down the road, there are boundaries to keep you from getting into an accident. When you go to factories, you will often see yellow lines drawn around certain machinery as boundaries to keep people from being hurt. Boundaries are a part of life that keeps everything running smoothly, and they help to keep order. Let me give you some thoughts about boundaries that you need to consider.

First, everyone needs boundaries. Boundaries are not restrictions that keep you from enjoying life; rather, they are established to help you better enjoy life. Everyone has boundaries; the difference is that some have more boundaries than others. Just because you don’t agree with the boundaries doesn’t give you permission to overstep them.

Second, leadership has no right to overstep their boundaries. One of the mistakes Uzziah made was in thinking that his position gave him a right to do what he wanted; however, leadership position is not a license to do what you desire. You have no right as a leader to expect your followers to follow the boundaries if you are not going to follow them. Whatever boundaries have been established must be followed by all.

Third, when boundaries are overstepped, the authorities who trespassed must be addressed by the authorities whose boundaries were crossed. The priest did exactly what they were supposed to do when they approached Uzziah about overstepping his boundaries. One of the greatest cautions I can give is that someone must be strong enough to approach leadership when they have overstepped their boundaries. If they don’t, the authorities will continue to abuse their powers, but they will abuse them in a greater fashion if not addressed. I know it won’t be easy to approach authorities who overstep their boundaries, but it must be done for the sake of God’s blessings.

Finally, how you respond to correction when you overstep your boundaries will determine God’s blessings on your life. Uzziah responded in the wrong way and lost the blessing of the LORD. Rebuke is never easy to take, but you must take it with a good attitude and spirit if you want the LORD’s blessings on your life. Don’t get angry when you are corrected, but humbly repent and the LORD will continue His blessings on your life.

2 Chronicles 20:12
“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”

When I was training to get my pilot’s license, the instructor constantly taught us in the ground school how to recover from a spin. He said that you only had a few hundred feet to recover, so responding correctly was a life or death situation in most cases. We were taught when the plane went into a spin to let go of the yoke, push the opposite rudder pedal of the direction of the spin, push in full throttle, and then pull up. I honestly thought I would never need that advice.

One day, I was practicing maneuvers to better my skills. I was flying solo, which means I was the only one in the plane. While practicing turning stalls, the plane went into a full spin. Immediately, I did what I was trained to do during ground school: I let go of the yoke, applied the opposite rudder pedal of the direction of the spin, pushed in full throttle, and pulled the plane back up into level flight. Though the spin caused my blood to flow a bit more, the recovery from the spin was accomplished by following the instructions I had been taught.

When Jehoshaphat saw the great armies of the Ammonites and Moabites coming to war against Judah, he must have felt like he was in a spin. The verse above truly shows that he knew it was out of his hands. Jehoshaphat could only trust in God to fight this battle, and that trust proved to be the key to winning the battle. When you find yourself in a spiritual spin, the steps Jehoshaphat took will help you to recover.

If you are going to recover from a spiritual spin, you must first acknowledge your inability and God’s ability. Jehoshaphat said, “…we have no might against this great company…” The worst thing to do when you are in a spiritual spin is to continue to use your wisdom when God’s wisdom is the only thing that will pull you out of the spin. Friend, stop relying on what you know and start depending on what God knows.

Second, you must take your hands off the controls of your life if you are going to recover from the spiritual spin. Jehoshaphat continued, “…neither know we what to do…” You are going to make your spiritual spin worse the more you try to recover on your own. There must come a time when you take your hands off and say, “Neither know I what to do.” The longer you attempt to do things yourself, the worse your spin will become. Christian, you are going to have to trust the LORD if you want to recover.

Third, you must keep your eyes on the LORD if you want to recover from your spiritual spin. Jehoshaphat said, “…our eyes are upon thee.” All he could do was rely on the One Who had the power to pull him out of his situation. When you find yourself in a spiritual spin, you better get alone with God in prayer and place your eyes on Him. God has the power to pull you out of your spiritual spin. He knows what caused your spiritual spin, and He knows how to counteract what caused it.

You will never recover from your spiritual spin until you take your hands off the controls of your life and trust God to pull you out of it. It is a hopeless feeling to be in a spiritual spin, but the LORD can help you if you place your eyes on Him.

Hosea 14:1
“O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.”

God said about Israel, “…for thou has fallen by thine iniquity.” Who could this not be said about? There are many people who at one time fell because of sin. I think oftentimes we only think about those whose sin has caused them to lose position as fallen, but scripturally anyone who has sinned has fallen. What I love about the terminology that God uses in the verse above is that it didn’t mean the end. There are three things fallen doesn’t mean.

First, fallen doesn’t mean destroyed. God didn’t say, “…for thou hast been destroyed by thine iniquity.” God said that Israel “hast fallen.” Just because you may have fallen in sin doesn’t mean that your life is destroyed. Certainly, sin rearranges the landscape of your life, but it doesn’t have to be the end of your life.

Second, fallen doesn’t mean unusable. God wasn’t done with Israel because they fell. In fact, if you go to the Book of Revelation, God still has plans for Israel. Christian, just because you have fallen doesn’t mean God can’t use you again. Read the Scriptures and look at how many people God used after they fell. David wasn’t unusable after he fell. Let me also remind you of Samson, Peter, John Mark, Jacob, Abraham and many more. The Scriptures are filled with people who fell because of iniquity, but God still used them. Sin may have severely damaged you, but you are still usable. Don’t allow the negative impact of sin’s damages cause you to believe the Devil’s lie that you are unusable. God can still use you, even after you have sinned.

Third, fallen doesn’t mean there is no hope. One of the greatest reasons I’m glad that God used the word “fallen” is because that means there is still hope. Sin may make you feel hopeless, but there is still hope as long as God is involved in your life. God is the master at restoration. The depth of your fall doesn’t keep God from restoring your life.

Christian, be careful about being judgmental of the fallen and discouraging them. God has not given up on them, and neither should you. When someone has fallen, you should be the first one to their side to help them get back up. Don’t be the tool which turns the fallen into destruction; instead, be the tool God uses to turn the fallen into a beautiful story of God’s restorative grace. You must remember that you are not above someone else because they have fallen. Who is to say that it won’t be you someday? If you treat every fallen person like you would want someone to treat you or a loved one if you fell, you will find that you will treat the fallen in the same manner that God treats them. Always hope and pray that every fallen person becomes a story of God’s grace.

Moreover, if you have fallen, don’t let the whispers of Satan’s accusations discourage you. You have a great God Who is very capable of restoring you no matter how far you have fallen into sin. The first step of getting up is always the hardest step to take. Let me encourage you to take that first step and get up. Don’t forsake church or those who want to help you. Don’t go into a hibernation mode because you are embarrassed. You will find more people are excited that you have come back than there are those who look at you through disdainful eyes. If you have fallen, it is not the end. God’s grace can restore you if you get up and start walking through the steps of restoration.

Hosea 5:15
“I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.”

A sad commentary about Israel is found in this chapter. Israel’s pride led them astray and to sin against God. Because of their sin, God pronounced judgment against Israel. He said that one day they would be “oppressed and broken in judgment.” He said that one day Ephraim would be “desolate in the day of rebuke.” God’s judgment would eventually cause Israel to wake up and “acknowledge their offence.” God said, “…in their affliction they will seek me early.”

Israel’s affliction could have been averted had they sought God before His judgment. They could have avoided the heartache and desolation had they sought God early. The word “early” in the verse above means at the onset. In other words, they could have avoided the return had they sought God at the onset. Likewise, if every Christian sought God at the onset, they would never have to return to God because they would never leave Him. The best way to avoid the return is never to leave God. Certainly, God always accepts the repentance of the returning saint, but it would be better if they had never left. There are four times that every Christian should seek God early if they want to avoid the return.

First, seek God at the onset of the day. If you seek God early in the day, you won’t have to worry about returning later. I’m not saying that you won’t do wrong if you seek God early, but what I am saying is that you have a better chance of avoiding the departure from God if you seek Him early every day. In other words, simply seek God in the Scriptures and prayer before you start anything else in your day.

Second, seek God at the onset of sin. My friend, don’t wait until sin has ravaged your life and judgment has come to seek God; instead, as soon as you’ve done wrong seek His forgiveness. I’m not condoning sin, but the first time the Holy Spirit convicts you is the time to seek God’s forgiveness. You won’t have to face sin’s judgment if you seek God’s forgiveness at the onset of the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

Third, seek God at the onset of a project. Don’t wait until you’ve failed to seek God’s mind, but seek His mind before you start. I’m afraid most of us have been guilty of waiting until we come to the point where we need God to rescue us from a failed project to ask for His help. Christian, instead of waiting until the failure has happened, ask God for His wisdom at the onset of the project. The first action you should take at the onset of everything you do throughout the day is to ask God for His wisdom and help to accomplish that project. You will see more accomplished and less failure if you seek God at the onset of projects.

Fourth, seek God’s strength at the onset of affliction. As soon as the trial comes, ask God for His strength. Stop trying to work through your strength to make it through the trial, but ask God for His strength to face your trials at the onset. When you see the storm clouds gathering in life, it is at that moment you should ask God for help.

Christian, you can avoid the return if you go to God at the onset. Don’t be the Christian who waits for the affliction to seek God, but seek Him at the onset and there will be no need for a return.

Daniel 3:28
“Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.”

One of the most intriguing events in the Scriptures is when the three Hebrew children stood for what they believed, were thrown into the fiery furnace, and delivered by the mighty hand of God. Their actions changed the heart of a heathen king, and their actions changed the mindset of this nation towards their God. Their actions were not the easiest actions to take, but their actions are what changed their world.

When you look at our modern-day world, you see a world that seems to be out of control and in desperate need of change. It seems like weekly we see another event happen that shows us this world is out of control. It is not just one nation that needs to be changed; it is a world that needs to be changed. The only way we are going to change this world is for every Christian to change their world. The three world-changing actions that we see in the three Hebrew children must be found in every Christian if we are going to change this world. Let me show you these world-changing actions.

First, they knew what they believed and stood. When these men were offered another chance to bow to the golden image they said, “…we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.” You will never change your world if you change to the whims of this world. The Christians who know what they believe and stand for it are the ones who make a difference in their world. Stop looking to the crowd and the world for your beliefs and look to the Scriptures that can change this world. You must engrave the Scriptures into your heart and stand if you are going to make a difference in this world.

Second, they knew Who they trusted and didn’t change. These men said to Nebuchadnezzar, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” My friend, you are not going to be able to stand if you don’t settle your trust in God. You must have a faith that trusts the unseen God to change the visible circumstances to keep from positionally changing. You will only stand for right when you stop looking at the visible circumstances and start focusing on God through the eyes of faith.

Third, they knew where they would go and went all-in. These men had the faith to “yield their bodies” because they knew that if they physically died their soul would be in Heaven. You will never change a world until you are willing to yield your body to do whatever is needed to accomplish the LORD’s will. You will never change your world when you hold back for the sake of self-preservation. It is the all-in mentality that changes a world.

Do you have what it takes to change your world? It all starts with knowing what you believe, and in Whom you put your trust. When you get these two things settled, you will find that it is not difficult to yield your body for Christ’s sake. Every person who has ever made a difference in their world had these three actions in their life. If you want your life to make an impact on this world, these three actions must become who you are.

Ezekiel 48:1
“Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.”

Around the house in which I live, you will find yellow markers at the four corners of my property. These yellow markers mark the property lines that I own. These lines are the borders for which I am responsible. I don’t look at these borders and get upset with my neighbor for having borders, because we both have borders by which we are to live within, and those borders help us to stay at peace with each other.

For some reason, Christians tend to cringe when a preacher talks about setting up borders in their Christian life. God didn’t think that borders were bad because He mentions the word “border” twenty times in Ezekiel 48. God knew that Israel needed to be divided up into tribes, and the only way they would know where they were to live was through borders. Not only did those borders define the tribes, but they defined Israel’s borders. If God thought it was important for Israel to have borders, I would think He wants the Christian to have borders in their life. Several observations can be taken from God establishing borders.

First, borders are not bad. Everyone has borders; the only difference is how tight different people set their borders. Just because someone has chosen to have tighter borders than you doesn’t make them bad. Life is easier to live when the borders are clearly defined for everyone to live within.

Second, borders define who you are. Each tribe was defined by the borders God established. Likewise, the Christian is defined by living within the borders of the Word of God. It is ludicrous to think you can live without borders, because you do have borders, and where you set them defines who you are.

Third, borders are established by God. Israel didn’t establish their borders; God did. Christian, you have no right to set your own borders, because God has already established them in His Word. God’s Word clearly defines the borders with which the Christian should live within. You may not like them, but you are not the one who defines borders; God is.

Fourth, borders define where you should and should not go. The established borders show each tribe where they should live. Likewise, God’s established borders define what the Christian should and should not do; where they should and should not go. In other words, borders define the standards of holy living. You are living in rebellion and disobedience anytime you allow yourself to live outside of God’s established borders.

Fifth, borders mean nothing if they are not enforced. God established clear borders, and He each generation was to define those borders to the next generation. Christians must clearly define the scriptural borders God established to the next generation. A person’s dislike of borders doesn’t exonerate them from their responsibility.

Christian, when you live within God’s established borders, you will find yourself at peace with God and with yourself. You will never be happy in life until you establish scriptural borders and live within them.