"For ye have not passed this way heretofore" (Josh. 3:4). These were the words of Joshua to the children of Israel. The Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River and enter into the promised land. It was a new experience for them! They had not passed this way before. Having wandered in the wilderness for forty years, they were now on the threshold of realizing the reception of God’s promise.

There is a parallel between the position of the ancient Israelites and ourselves in the present time. This is the first Lord’s Day of a new year. 2006 represents untrodden paths. "We have not passed this way heretofore". The new year may be compared to an unknown country where none of us have ever been. At times it is good to undertake things that are new to us. The challenge is invigorating to our lives. One of the great concerns of the Lord’s people is that of staying alert and watchful. "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" (I Cor. 16:13). The new passage for the Israelites was ordained and directed by God. We must accept the challenge of 2006 and walk in its days as God directs us in His Word.

What will we encounter along the untrodden paths? We do not know what the future holds. Modern soothsayers and sorcerers abound who contend that they know. They are false and full of deceptions. In God’s arrangement for us, perhaps it is best that we do not know what lies ahead. Best that we are not able to look into the future. We are to live each day in the light and strength that the God of heaven gives us. Jesus said: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matt. 6:34). I suppose it would be quite frightening for the most of us to contemplate the untrodden paths of 2006 if it were not for the elements to conquer these untrodden paths in whatever they might present to us. What are some elements to conquer untrodden paths?

A GUIDE. A good guide brings assurance and confidence. The Israelites were told to follow the ark of the covenant. Who is our guide? The answer is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). He has the qualities that are so necessary in a proper guide: experience or knowledge; loyalty or faithfulness. Jesus fits these perfectly. He is able to guide us through temptations (Heb. 4:14-16), out of sorrows (Matt. 26:36;Heb. 5:7), and through all problems (Col. 2:10). If we are to be benefited, we must follow the guide wherever He leads us!

CERTAIN PROVISIONS. Ample provisions are a necessary concern for a proper journey. We need a chart for the course. The Word of God is the true chart that cannot be improved upon! The Psalmist wrote: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalms 119:105). Concerning the Scriptures, we read: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Word of God is sufficient to bring us along the untrodden path. We need to stay with the chart and ever be familiar with it.

PROPER CLOTHING. The apostle speaks of spiritual clothing in Col. 3:12-14: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forebearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." We are to put on these things. Can you improve upon such a wardrobe?

NEED FOR FOOD. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" (I Peter 2:2). "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Not only is the Word of God the chart for the course, it is food for the soul. We need to feed our souls with God’s Word as we walk the untrodden path of a new year.

DAILY BIBLE READING. Efforts to teach others and 100% attendance at all services constitute untrodden paths for some who profess to be Christians. Why not start walking in these untrodden paths as far as your life is concerned? Obedience to the gospel of Christ is the untrodden path for the alien. Why not obey the gospel of Christ and walk with Christ in the new year? We may not know what will occur in 2006. But we can certainly know Him who does. Four years ago as we began 2002, who would have thought that events of Sept. 11th would have occurred? We need to always stay close to God!