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