Old Paths Journal

07/05/2025

Discover how being full of the Holy Ghost transformed Stephen’s life

Stephen was not a pastor of a church; he was a layman who was full of the Holy Ghost. Yes, he became a deacon in the church, but he became a deacon because he was full of the

07/05/2025

The greatest reason many despise the old paths is because they have taken their eyes off God to live life their way

07/05/2025

There are three types of people when it comes to following Jesus. The first type are those who have no quarrels about not following Him. This is a very shallow life.
The second are those who straightway follow Jesus. This is the crowd that God uses to do His great works. All of Jesus' disciples straightway followed Him, and that is why He was able to use them to turn a world upside down for Him.
The third crowd are those who say they will follow Him, but have some things they feel they need to care for first before they follow Him. Two men said they would follow Jesus, but one wanted to wait until his parents died and the other wanted to go home and bid his family farewell. This crowd is disingenuous at best.
What is the key to this third crowd being disingenuous. You will notice one said, "suffer me first." The other said, "let me first." One keyword in both of their responses that shows that they did not want to follow Jesus, and that word is "ME." They wanted to keep themselves first before God. You cannot put me before God and follow Christ.
My friend, when it comes to following Jesus, you will either straightway follow Him, or you will say, suffer me first. Those who put themselves before Christ will never be successful in serving Him. You cannot have anything before Christ and successfully follow Him. You can attempt to follow Christ on your terms, but you will fail; you MUST always follow Christ on His terms.
Do you have something that you are trying to care for first or enjoy first before you follow Christ? Whatever you put before Christ is an idol, and it is the thing that is keeping you from enjoying God's greatest blessings for your life. Put down the "me first" and follow Christ straightway. You will never regret putting Christ first in your life when you see that He has used you to change your world for Him.

07/04/2025

Three principles to breaking up the inactive and stagnant Christian walk

The word fallow means inactive, resting, or stagnant. When God tells Israel to Break up your fallow ground, He is telling them to break up their inactivity or stagnant life. God is against inactivity, and He will step in to change the status quo of inactivity so that your life will

07/04/2025

God doesn't want to be planned into your life; He wants to be your life

07/04/2025

Israel made a huge mistake that many still make today. They said, "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:" Israel remembered what they wanted to remember; they had selective memory. They forgot the beatings, the servitude, the bo***ge, and the prayers they prayed to be delivered from Egypt. They forgot how excited they were the first time God gave them manna from heaven. Their selective memory only chose to compare God's provision to that which fed their flesh from Egypt, and that led to them wanting to return to Egypt.
My friend, selective memory in your walk with God will only lead to that walk becoming a burden to your life. Many have chosen to have selective memory about world's treatment of them to their demise. Many have walked back to the world only to face the world's cruel punishment. You may remember the pleasure of the world that lasted for a season, but you must not forget the bo***ge, heartache, sorrow, and servitude the world always brings.
When you choose to have selective memory about the world, you will quickly despise the daily manna of blessings that God gives to you. Never let the daily manna of God's blessings and miracles get old, for when you do, you will look for greener grass, but you won't see that the green grass is simply weeds that destroy your life. Cherish the daily manna of God's blessings and miracles that He has given you and selective memory will never become a part of your life.

07/03/2025

Learn how to recognize and discern God’s voice in your life

Knowing God’s voice in your life is critical to doing the right thing. How many times have you thought God spoke to you and later realized that it was more your desire than God’s voice? We can always justify what we want to do

07/03/2025

False Christs and false prophets groom believers to trust them before they sow their false doctrine to destroy God’s work

07/03/2025

The tribe of Levi could easily think that what they did was not important, but God made it clear that they were to keep "the charge of the children of Israel." In other words, they were doing work that the children of Israel needed them to do. Without the Levites doing their part in the tabernacle, the children of Israel would not be able to have the sacrifices needed for their sins to be atoned.
The Levites were a type of the church worker. They were not the high priests, but they were workers in the tabernacle to do the service of the LORD. Just like the Levites were workers in the tabernacle, you are to be a worker in your church. What you must never forget is that what you do in your church is important to everyone else. The work you do for God, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is critical so that lost souls can be saved.
My friend, NEVER treat your job in the church as if it is not important. Everything we do for God is critical to the work of God. We must never get to the point where we think that if we miss one service that it won't hurt the word because everyone is important to the work of God. One person not showing up or doing what they are supposed to do affects the whole work of God. Be in your place, do your best with what you do for God, and your work will help to compliment the whole work of the church so that souls will be saved. Every soul saved will go to the account of every person involved in making the work of God to go forward.

07/02/2025

Discover the powerful truth of God’s willingness to abundantly pardon

One of the most encouraging phrases in the Scriptures is that God will abundantly pardon. Now, let's look at these two words to understand what God did for us. The word pardon means a decision to forgive someone for

07/02/2025

I live a holy life not to bring attention to myself, but I live a holy life so that my life points people to Christ

07/02/2025

When you got saved, the one thing you must always remember is that you now belong to God. God always tried to get His children to remember that they belonged to Him. This is why God said, "Sanctify yourselves...and be ye holy..." He then says in the next verse, "I am the LORD which sanctify you."
The word "sanctify" means to be consecrated, sacred, or dedicated to God. In other words, your purpose for living once you get saved is to fulfill God's purpose for your life because He is the One who sanctified you. Because you are sanctified, you are to live a different life. You are not to live to look like the world, dress like the world, talk like the world, or think like the world, but you are to live to look like someone who belongs to God, dress like someone who belongs to God, talk like someone who belongs to God, and think like someone who belongs to God.
Now the big question that you need to honestly ask yourself: would anyone know that you belong to God if they looked at how you live? My friend, there is no way others would mistake who you belong to if you lived the sanctified life. You will notice that though the LORD sanctified you, it is your responsibility to choose to live that sanctified life. The command to "Sanctify yourself" is a command that God gives you the choice to do, but not to obey this command is to bring yourself into disfavor with God. It is the greatest honor of my life to be sanctified for the LORD's use, and it should be yours as well. I challenge you to start everyday remembering that you are to live each day fulfilling the purpose God has for you that day because you are sanctified to live for God.