OUT OF THE BOX

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 all that

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