OUT OF THE BOX

Immediately below is Part Three in the "Facing Trials Redemptively" series.  You must scroll down to read Part One and Part Two.     -BL

”As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.” Proverbs 27: 19 In commenting on the two previous posts a friend said, “Billy, I hope part three will include some REHAB.” His statement highlights the fact that it is easier to list problems than it is to provide solutions. “How To” books are generally disappointing to me. They give insights, inspire, and point in the right direction but are limited in their ability to bring us to full satisfaction in the results we anticipated. This is because the solutions lie primarily in the heart rather than mechanically following a list of steps. The heart, not the mind, determines our spiritual state. It is the heart that determines how a person perceives God, and how he deals with life, other people, and his environment. The mind is the battlefield, the mind can be blinded and confused, but it is a product of the heart. The disposition of the heart determines the revelation a person can receive, the clarity and accuracy of h...

To read Part One and Part Two in this series of articles on "Burnt Stones" you must click "Older Posts" below. -Billy Long

STANDING IN THE RUBBLE "...The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are unable to build the wall."  -Nehemiah 4:10 "If a cat sits on a hot stove, he will not sit on a hot stove again. But by the same token, he will not sit on a cold one either."    -Mark Twain Isaiah prophetically called our age the year of God's favor. This means that God is working by His grace to turn all things to good for those who yield to Him in obedience and faith. He sends the fire to purify. He allows trials in order to "perfect, establish, and strengthen." He applies the rod of discipline to train and to produce holiness. Even judgment itself, which generally represents punishment upon the wicked, is often God’s intense effort to effect repentance in the lives of rebellious people. God deals with His people in His love and wisdom, and intends for them to come through all things in better shape spiritually than when they started. It ...

The following post is Part One in a series of articles designed to encourage the believer to stand in faith and trust God in all circumstances. By engaging the Lord properly we can "come through the fire without smelling like smoke."      -Billy Long

"...The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."  Nehemiah 1: 3 "...Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?"  Nehemiah 4: 2 The drama of the church is often reminiscent of those scenes from war movies in which excited new recruits march toward the front lines while being met by weary veterans limping along bandaged and bloody, carrying their wounded, and still in shock from the trauma of battle. The new recruits move forward ready to conquer the world, while battle-weary veterans groan in the pain of failure and disillusionment. Multitudes start out in the Christian walk, everybody expects testing, they just don't expect it to be so intense and real. They expect victory without battle (naiveté and untested faith) or battle without victory (skepticism and unbelief). Untested faith and motives must inevitably face the refiners fire; and the disillusionments of time and testing can take a h...

The article posted below is a reprint from January 2010.  I had the privilege and joy of witnessing the Lord's amazing work in the life of my grandfather. Many of our new readers may not have heard this wonderful story.  -Billy Long

Tharon Hardee was my maternal grandfather. The grandchildren called him Pa Pa. In 1964 he was in his seventies and a member of the church, but living a life inconsistent with his Christian testimony. I was 15 years old at the time, and remember sitting in Pa Pa’s family room and listening intently as my mother, her sisters, and brother expressed to him their concerns about his eternal soul. “Daddy,” they told him, “we are worried about you and are concerned that you are not walking with the Lord as you know you should.” “Why, Jesus is my all in all,” he responded emphatically, and acted surprised that they would question his behavior. He was not ready to admit the truth about where he was, and it seemed that the discussion had no apparent effect. He continued his life doing the things he knew were displeasing to the Lord. A few months later on a Saturday evening while I was at my weekend job of steaming oysters at a local seafood restaurant I received word that Pa Pa had had a str...

Our self-centeredness often blinds us to the eternal perspective and causes us to approach God like spoiled children rather than humble, obedient servants. The article I have posted below is a re-print of an earlier article from November, 2010. It shares some important lessons about our need to trust God’s love, wisdom, and timing in how He apportions our responsibilities and dispenses our rewards.    -Billy Long

"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) quoted above is a stat...

“And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” Matthew 11: 2-3 “Did I miss it?” Sitting in a dark prison awaiting his execution John began to doubt himself, his message, and his work. “Are you the One or do we look for another?” he asked Jesus. He wanted to know if he had wasted his life in a pointless and now painful exercise in futility or if he had genuinely heard God’s voice and accomplished a legitimate and divine task. Jesus responded by giving him honor and calling him “more than a prophet.” We too are often faced with inexplicable and unexpected turns in life that cause great perplexity and  bring us to the verge of despair. We forget the significance of our purpose in God and do not see the hidden fruit of our labor. During these times we must not necessarily trust our sense of failure. Perceived failure may not be real failure. Flaw...

[There are three erroneous approaches to the subject of Satan and demons. The first is the open and active involvement in demonic activity as in the occult, psychic phenomena, and the animism of primitive societies. The second approach is to deny their existence altogether. The third, and somewhat irrational, approach is that of Christians who believe in the existence of evil spirits because they read about them in the Bible, but who simply ignore the subject as if the evil spirits described in the Biblical examples somehow mysteriously faded into the background and do not relate in any real way to our contemporary society except to entice people to sin. The spiritual realm as it is described in the Bible is real. The following article simply touches the subject in a matter-of-fact manner without giving any preparatory instruction. If we follow the Biblical pattern and model, we will present the subject in a balanced and proper perspective. But still it is difficult to make it palatab...

Awake and Asleep At the Same Time When I was about 12 or 13 years old, one night during my sleep I woke up in the air, shocked to realize I had just jumped off the bed. When my dad was a child he walked in his sleep one night and threw his bed mattress and sheets out the upstairs window shouting “Fire, fire!” while his younger brother, my uncle Norwood, watched and laughed at him. It’s difficult to explain somnambulism to someone who has never experienced it. Sleepwalking is an unusual state in which a person is sound asleep and acting out his dream, sometimes getting out of bed and walking around. He is awake enough to navigate through his environment but still asleep and interacting with the imaginary delusions of his dream. I have done this many times in my younger days. Running From the Wrecking Ball A few years ago I attended a conference with a group of pastors. We rented motel rooms with double beds in order to reduce each man’s cost. My friend Ron was across the room fast...

[Below is a re-print of an earlier posting. The story is full of spiritual implications, but I will point out only a few of them. - Billy Long ]   "Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side...Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by."    Mark 6: 45-52 “He made His disciples get into a boat.” The “boat” is significant because it represents a context from which we can not easily escape. The disciples, on that small boat in the middle of the sea, could not simply change their minds and walk away from the problems and issues at hand. They could not escape the process; they had to ride it out. The Lord desires to work deeply and significantly in our lives, but He knows that human nature wants to run from the fire and will attempt to escape if it has the option to do so. We would rather s...

I have written a quiz to test your knowledge of the Bible. Choose the right answer(s) from the list below each question, and then read the Biblical reference to confirm your answer. You might enjoy taking the test. It's just for fun. But the Biblical references contain some serious lessons. Billy Long Gideon was… 1. A man who left Bibles in all the motels of Israel. 2. One of the judges who delivered Israel from the Midianites. 3. One of the neighboring kingdoms and a faithful ally of Israel. Judges 6: 11-16 Lazarus was… 1. The city where Jesus lived. 2. A friend of Jesus who was raised from the dead. 3. A prophet who prophesied of Jesus’ birth. John 11: 11-15, 12:1 The Apostle Paul was sent to… 1. North Dakota 2. The Gentiles 3. Jerusalem 4. Summer Camp Acts 9:15; While Peter was preaching in Cornelius’ household… 1. Everyone in the house mocked him. 2. Everyone in the house was filled with the Holy Spirit. 3. His sermon lasted ...

I am grateful for all of you who visit this site, and especially those of you who visit on a regular basis. I now have visitors from all over the United States and from many countries around the world. I would enjoy hearing from some of you and getting to know who you are and where you are from. It would be a great blessing to me if you would write me at the email address below and introduce yourself. Thank you so much. Billy Long    blong8@sccoast.net

“Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth…I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure…. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6: 26-28 “…I was delivered out of the mouth of the Lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4: 17-18 “The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” Psalm121:7-8 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of go...

A good friend presented some questions after my last two posts. Below are some thoughts to help clarify some of the points I discussed. I have re-read my recent posts dealing with God’s judgment, and I am comfortable with what I what I presented, given the context in which it is given. The first motivating thought in my post is that there is a God, as opposed to the Atheist who thinks God does not exist and that He is irrelevant to earth’s events, and as opposed to the deist who thinks God simply walked off and left us to ourselves. There is a God who manages the affairs of earth, and we must acknowledge and call upon Him. When I say “nothing is out of His control” I am saying that nothing is “out of control,” that is, God is not helplessly standing by watching. I would not make a blanket statement saying bad weather is God’s judgment. The weather is like everything else in life, some of it is good, some of it is bad, some of it is a blessing from God, some of it is an attack f...

I n a recent posting I suggested that God is trying to get our attention. The calamities and natural disasters that have been occurring so frequently and intensely should cause us to fall on our knees and cry out to God for mercy and turn to Him in repentance and faith. In the late 1800s there was a major earthquake that hit Charleston, SC. People in the Longs community 120 miles north of Charleston were unfamiliar with earthquakes and many of them rushed to my great-grandfather’s home to find out what was happening. They responded by reaching out to God in prayer. Over the following decades they gathered every year at the little country Methodist church on the anniversary of the earthquake and thanked God for His protection and mercy. They acknowledged God and turned their hearts toward Him in that hour, and continued to do so for years afterward. When I listen to the news and hear of the intense natural disasters, severe earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, fires, fl...

[This post accompanies the article posted above.  -Billy Long] “When the south wind blew softly, supposing they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea they sailed close to Crete…but not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon…and all hope that we should be saved was finally given up.” Acts 27: 13-14. The above verses describe the journey taken by the ship on which the Apostle Paul was traveling as a prisoner to Rome. The journey began peacefully with a warm, calm wind and beautiful weather. But then came Euroclydon, a tempestuous storm that destroyed the ship, and which would have taken the lives of all who sailed on it, had not Paul been there to hear from God and guide them to safety. A peaceful start followed by the storms of disaster is also illustrated in the examples that follow. The prophet Amos lived in Judah, but was sent by the Lord to the northern kingdom of Israel. The nation was in idolatry and going through empty religious motion...

“For…you have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.” Psalm 31: 7-8 The following paragraphs are intended to help us see that God’s hand is the undergirding “moving sidewalk” that is constantly carrying us forward in His purpose even when the enemy and circumstances try to point us in the opposite direction. Lawless hands may “grab” us, but God’s hand rules. We must see ourselves in God’s hands rather than victims of those who mistreat us. Whose Prisoner? “…I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you…” Ephesians 3: 1 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner….” 2 Timothy 1: 8 The apostle Paul did not take on the role of victim nor did he rail against those who placed him in chains. Focusing upon them would have depleted his spiritual life leaving him bitter and frustrated. He counted himself a "prisoner of the Lord" not of the Romans. And his enemies, without realizing it, sent him t...

“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. The Cat at the Door 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 s...

“…I have fought with wild beasts at Ephesus.” -1 Corinthians 15: 32 Paul Law’s Message at the African Pastors’ Conference The Kenyan pastors sat enthralled as Paul Law told them of the time he was surprised by the fierce growl of a lion crouching in the bushes in front of him near his missions ranch in the Congo. He had been told that the creature had left the area, and so he considered it safe to look for the remains of a cow the lion had previously killed and dragged into the bushes. But now the threatening roar announced the presence of the beast. Paul stopped in his tracks, and without turning his head was about to quietly give instructions to the three companions following behind him. They, however, were not there. They had already fled to the truck leaving him alone with the lion. He carefully and slowly walked backwards keeping his eyes in the direction of a possible attack. He made it safely back to the vehicle to find that the two men who reached the truck first, had jum...