OUT OF THE BOX

"..and a sword shall pierce your soul.” -Luke 2: 35 A supernatural word from God does not mean your life will henceforth be easy and free of grief and pain. Sometimes, to the contrary, it may mean the suffering, hardship and tribulation involved in entering the kingdom of God and extending it into a hostile world system. The Apostle Paul’s commissioning word from God included the phrase, “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My sake.” The angel Gabriel visited Mary telling her that she would be the earthly mother of Jesus. We celebrate these words at Christmas as we sing about the joy and wonder of it all, while often failing to recognize the perplexities that accompanied the fulfillment of that revelation. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song inspired by the subsequent word given to Mary by the elderly prophet who warned her of the grief she would someday suffer at Jesus’ crucifixion. “A sword shall pierce through your soul.” Then later Mary must have wept wi...

What blessing, strength, encouragement, and life we receive from those who serve the Lord faithfully and without complaint! How our hearts are touched by those whose lives demonstrate such surrender to God’s will, and whose love for the Lord is revealed in their willingness to lay down self, take up their cross, and follow Him. Below is an email from a friend whose life has been such an example to me. An Email From A Friend October 28, 2002. Dear Billy and Laurel, ...I've been meditating recently on a comment by FB Meyer: "There is a providence of loss, a ministry of failing and fading things, a gift of emptiness…" This has been relevant to me, obviously, in the face of our family's loss and the necessity of giving 5-6 hours a day, 7/7, en route to or at the hospital. Let me say, there is no place I'd rather be. I don't begrudge it at all. My heart is to be there. But it has been a huge pruning as far as having time, energy, strength for "ministry...

The last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 19: 30; 20: 16.  “The apostle Peter answered and said to Him (Jesus), ‘See we have left all and followed you. Therefore what shall we have?’”   Matthew 19:27.  “And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?”  Matthew 20: 9-15. The first verse (Matthew 19:27) quo...

This article is a follow-up to an earlier post entitled "Some Thoughts On the Manifested Presence of God."   To read that article you have to scroll to the bottom of the page and click "older posts" and do that until you reach the post you're looking for.  -BL We should not use “bad apples” as an excuse to avoid all “apples.” Grocery stores and trees are full of good apples, and it is extremely rare to find a bad one. When I was a kid I found a worm in a peach taken from a tree in our yard, but it did not stop me from eating peaches. I found a rotten egg once when I was a child. It stank worse than anything I had ever smelled before or since. But I knew that it was an exception to the norm. Eggs are good, and so I continue to enjoy them as a part of my usual breakfast menu. I did not let one bad egg cause me to henceforth approach all eggs cautiously as if they might be rotten. If you were to visit a church where people were swinging from the chandeliers or...

In our weakness and failures we go through self-condemnation and guilt, we feel the disdain of society, the disappointment of our friends, and neglect or rejection from the church. This swirl of emotions and experiences can leave a person confused and struggling, and cause him to forget that God loves him with a steadfast and unfailing love that is beyond comprehension. Self-Condemnation I received the following email from a friend. He writes… “I say this with mixed feelings of regret and joy: at (almost!) 60 years old, and after 42 years as a Christian, I am actually beginning to have an abiding awareness of God's affection for me and gracious care of me. It has taken me an awfully long time to get past feeling like expecting Him to really like me and want to do good for me is presumptuous. (‘Who is poor, pitiful me to expect anything from a holy God?!’) Not sure where that came from, except a lot of shame in my past, but I am very gratefully learning to renounce such a curse...

An Honest Heart In trying to “referee” a relational conflict I found that one of the parties involved was a man with whom I could not find any solid ground on which to communicate. I realized that he was one of those people who create their own false reality and then make themselves believe it. A man deceives himself first, so he can lie to everyone else with a clear conscience. Integrity starts with being honest with ourselves. Learning the Hard Way Human nature often learns the same thing the hard way more than once. When we were kids, my cousin William walked up to me one day limping. When I asked him what the problem was, he told me, “I stepped on a bumblebee barefoot.” “Why did you do that?” I asked. “I just felt like it,” was the reply. Then a few days later he was limping again. “What happened this time?” I asked. “I stepped on a bumblebee barefoot,” he replied. “Why?” I asked. “Didn’t you learn anything the last time?” “I thought if I did it quick, it wouldn’t hurt....

[The following article is a re-print of an earlier post. It is a good story, and some of you newer visitors may not have read it yet] -Billy L.D. was a colorful character who ran a country store a couple miles from Longs crossroads where I grew up. I used to stop in occasionally, and visit with him and any of the local farmers who happened to be standing around the old wood heater that sat in the middle of the one-room store. He watched and listened as people from the local churches dropped in. From his position behind the counter he would hear all the latest gossip and get a good whiff of all the “dirty laundry” to which he was exposed on an almost daily basis. Consequently he did not have a favorable impression of many of the church members who passed by. When one of the local pastors tried to talk with him about his need to repent, LD quickly responded, “You surely don’t want to check behind your members too close. Cause if you do, you’re going to be disappointed.” LD knew...

How do we expect people to act when they are being used by the Holy Spirit? A fellow once said to me, “My preacher is so anointed he pure foams at the mouth.” That is a strange one, and I am thankful that the Lord does not expect us to do that. So what style do we use in our presentation? The Spirit-filled Harvard professor very calmly walks up to someone and in a very dignified and stolid voice and says, “This is what the Lord is saying to you, Your canines will develop acariasis and become acaudal.” A backwoods farmer then walks up to the same person and in a very emotional and enegertic manner says, “Thus saith the Lord. Thy dogs-uh will become infested with ticks and lose their tails-uh.” The fact is, these men said the exact same thing, but each one spoke out of his own personality and style. The Lord’s word was in the content while the style represented the individual vessel. I want to share three examples below that show us that we can be ourselves and not have to act a c...

Over the last 30 days 411 visitors from around the USA and other parts of the world have made over 900 visits to this site. I want to thank each of you for taking the time to visit and read the postings. Your comments posted to the blog as well as your emails have been so appreciated. If you are a visitor whom I have not had the privilege to meet, would you consider sending me an email and introducing yourself. It would be a blessing to me to know who you are and what part of the country you are from. Send correspondence to blong8@sccoast.net Thanks, Billy Long

“Hot Off the Griddle of Heaven.” Pastor and Mrs Varnell did all they could to encourage us young college “preacher boys.” Their little church in a nearby town provided many opportunities for us to speak at their meetings. I remember one special occasion when Pastor Varnell called me and said, “You boys come and preach this Sunday.” Usually one of us would deliver the sermon, but on a couple occasions we did a “tag team” message, dividing the time up between us. On this particular occasion Pastor Varnell was letting us decide who would address his congregation. Our circle of aspiring ministers consisted of Larry, Lonnie, Mike, George, and me. On this particular Sunday, however, Larry Rodeffer and I were the only ones able to attend the meeting. On our drive to the church I turned to Larry and asked, “Do you have the message?” He shook his head and said, “No, Billy. I don’t have a thing. Do you?” Very confidently I replied, “Yes, Larry. I’ve got the message.” We arrived at the chur...

“But if all prophesy (speak by revelation), and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” 1 Corinthians 14: 24-25 The verse quoted above indicates that the Lord moved among the early Christians in a very supernatural way in giving revelation, discernment, and insight to His servants as they reached out to people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would like to share with you three examples of this happening in my own life. A fellow on a plane A few years ago the Lord gave me a word for a fellow who was sitting across the aisle from me on an airplane. Awkwardly I turned to the young man and said, “I am a Christian, and sometimes the Lord shows me things about people so I know how to pray for them. The Lord has shown me that there are issues between you and your father that need healing.”...

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A girl from our church in Raleigh NC was taking a philosophy of religion class taught by a professor from Duke University. Nancy came to me one evening and shared how she had been brought to tears when some of the other students mocked her for sharing her faith during a class discussion. Nancy was a committed Christian and loved the Lord. She was shocked at the unbelief and skepticism of the professor and the students,and soon came to discuss it with me and fellow believers at church. Now she was asking me to visit the class. The professor had told the students to invite their pastors to come sit in on the discussions. My first thought was, “This professor wants to pull out all his weapons of complex, intellectual, theological, and philosophical thought, all his esoteric terms, and make me or any other pastor who shows up look like an idiot in front of the class.” But I knew this was a great opportunity and so agreed to go. The next week one of the men from the church went with me to t...

After you read this, scroll down and watch the accompanying video. I have received so many responses from people telling me they wept as they watched the Derek Redmond video below. Why does it have this effect on so many of us? First of all, the anguish and disappointment in the young man's face is heart-wrenching. Also, the determination of his loving father to help him finish the race is deeply moving. But I think it touches us so deeply because subsconsciously we identify with this young man. Most of us don't see ourselves finishing the race so strong and proud as those who sped across the finish line up front, but rather we see ourselves stumbling, broken, limping, and often crippled, and finishing the race because our Father in heaven in His great love and mercy towards us has come to pick us up and help us along to the finish line, holding us in His arms. These Bible verses seem very appropriate here. "If I say, 'My foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord, will hold ...

Over the years I have occasionally drawn cartoons for church newsletters. Below are a few from the past. Many of the characters are actually caricatures of real people whom some of you may recognize. You have to know the people to fully appreciate the humor.

John 15: 19. “A little longer, and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me...” Rev. 1: 10-17. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet…And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me…and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength…” 1 Cor. 15: 3-8. “…He rose again on the third day…and was seen…by Cephas…by the twelve…by over five hundred brethren at once…and after that He was seen by me also….” To see or not to see? The natural man comprehends God in the same way as a blind and deaf man would view a brilliant sunrise or listen to beautiful music. He would be oblivious to the wonders around him no matter how brilliant the sight or how loud the sound. The revelation of God works on the same principle. The person who has a heart after God will see or hear Him in the smallest sign, while the one who has rejected God in his heart will see nothing or explain it away, no matter how powerful the Presence or how obvious th...

“I have not been alone in hearing… that God is moving His people …from a focus on self, personal healing and individual blessing to a focus on demonstrating the power of the kingdom of God beyond the walls of the church for the sake of all those Jesus came to save.” -a quote from Sanford article in Charisma Magazine. Cat and Rat When I was just a kid we had a yard cat that should have been out hunting mice, but instead, was always sitting at the screen door meowing and whining plaintively, “begging” for someone to let him in the house. “Meow, meow, meow!” he cried. Translated into English this means, “Let me in. Feed me, pet me, help me, comfort me, make me happy. I want to go inside where it is comfortable and safe. I don’t want to face the world outside.” My Dad hated for a cat to sit at the door begging like that. So he pushed the door open, and shoved the startled cat out onto the carport. As he walked past he said, “When I get back, I am going to haul you off to the shopping cente...

DISILLUSIONMENT The term "disillusionment" means to be freed from illusion and no longer be misled or deceived. Disillusionment can be helpful because it forces one to face reality. It is beneficial to see truth and be freed from misconceptions, but the term also has a negative connotation when it describes one who has been enlightened to some disheartening reality. It refers to the disappointment that accompanies the enlightenment, to the paralyzing effect that it can have on a person's will to act, and to the discouragement that comes with discovering the disappointing truth about someone in whom hope and trust were placed. Disillusionment becomes a problem when a person does not respond to it correctly, when he overreacts and becomes overwhelmed by it. If it is not handled in the grace of God it can cause one to become cynical and bitter, to quit trusting people, and even to question God. Disillusionment, taken to an extreme, causes people to enter into another form of...