OUT OF THE BOX

The New World Order and Persecution of Christians “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation, and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the Island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” -Revelation 1:9 “Why does the world hate Christians?” Many will consider this topic irrelevant because America has historically been favorable to Christianity. But the subject is appropriate now because the atmosphere in our nation is changing. There are forces at work that seek to silence Christianity and remove the Bible and Judeo-Christian values as predominant influences in our culture. As these forces capture the minds and hearts of people, they gain control and power in government. The result will be an increase in their attempts to suppress Christianity, even to the point of persecution by means of law. Many citizens of our nation do not recognize the depth of the evil and the disastrous consequences that are hidden benea...

The following article is a re-print from April 2011.  I decided to include this more light-hearted word before my next post which will be more somber.     ---Billy Long BUT THE ROOSTER WAS FIERCE “…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 l...

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This article is meant to be a discussion of current times, not end times. I don’t want to get into theological debates around eschatology. Some emphasize the great falling away while others argue that the Gospel will conquer. There is often an element of paradox in spiritual truth. The Bible speaks of great evil and darkness while also speaking of the glory of God and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of a person’s perspective on end times, it is indisputable that we are currently in a time of world-wide intensity, as seen in nature, politics, economics and sociological dynamics. Nations are filled with conflict and distress. Those that seem to be at peace are better described as being in a malaise (that vague sense of ill-being and debility that accompanies the onset of an illness). Even people who lack spiritual perception can sense the urgency of the times. We are moving into an era of troubled people and troubled times, a time when the devil will be active and angry,...

This is the second post in the series entitled “The Fierce Society.” The purpose of the series will be to help Christians to understand the times and the nature of the society we will be dealing with. Christians should be living in and demonstrating the kingdom of God in the midst of an ungodly society in perilous times. This second post simply touches on the Christian’s influence in a society that seeks to silence that perspective. –Billy Long The Church and Government The church as an organization should not control civil government, but Christians as individuals should participate in government and express themselves and their values in matters of civil law. Everyone else does; why not us? Every legislator votes according to his moral values or lack thereof. The problem for us is that humanistic and godless people have been gradually taking over and pushing the Judeo-Christian perspective into the corner and out of the room. God and the Bible are considered irrelevant and offens...

Introduction I have been working for a few weeks on a series of posts entitled "The Fierce Society." I have not posted any articles until now because I have been waiting for inspiration on how to present the series in such a way that people will actually take time to read it. I decided to begin with one of my past articles that illustrates how Christians tend to enjoy church but also fail to take the message of the Gospel out into the world. Since the founding of America we have had the unique experience of living in a society that has enjoyed the fruit of the Judeo-Christian world-view, ethics, and values. This context has made it relatively comfortable for Christians. For the most part we have not been seriously persecuted.  This, however, has been changing over the last few decades, and the trend seems to be intensifying. While Christians have been reluctant to face the battle out in the world, we need to be aware that the battle may now come t...

Tharon Hardee was my maternal grandfather. The grandchildren called him Pa Pa. He loved to play the banjo and was well-known for playing at square-dances all around the area. The photo below was taken sometime around 1950. Below is an article that I posted last year. I think it will be beneficial to those of you who are new visitors to my blog. -Billy Long The Pretending In 1964 Pa Pa 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 wal...

This article is a re-print from last year. I am posting it again because there are so many who need to find the comfort that only our Lord can give.     Billy Long "In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19. Refusing Comfort “Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for Him.” Genesis 37: 34-35 "Refusing comfort" refers to the state in which the loss or pain is so great and final that there seems to be absolutely nothing that could possibly heal the hurt, relieve the pain, or replace the loss. Jacob found himself in this condition as he experienced heart-wrenching grief over the loss of his son Joseph. No one was able to comfort him. No words could relieve or con...

This post is a reprint of a past article. I think there are many of you who will be encouraged by it.  -BL Peter's Examples "Get thee behind me, Satan" -Matthew 16: 16-17, 22-23 We learn through our mistakes if we remain humble, teachable, and entreatable. At one moment Peter received a great revelation from the Father; the next moment he was influenced by the enemy. In one moment he was praised for his insight; the next moment he was rebuked for speaking without knowledge. Experiences such as these helped Peter to grow in discernment. If Peter and the other disciples had to learn through their mistakes, how much more should we expect to do the same? Instruction and discipline are the way of life. We should not be surprised and ashamed when we need them. "Lord, let us build three tabernacles..." -Luke 9: 33 Peter stood in the glory of God and, even there, spoke foolishly. The Father had to silence him and move Peter's focus back to Jesus. It is a m...

“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 hi...

This post is a reprint from August 2010.   -Billy Long 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 t...

This article is a re-print of an article I posted a couple years ago.  -Billy 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 behaving strangely, would you then reject emotions and joy in your spiritual walk ? Would you say, “These people are crazy,” and use this as an excuse to avoid any search for God? Or would you search fo...

Manipulation in Leadership Too often leaders are guilty of manipulation. Manipulation is unhealthy in any relationship and is a violation of trust. It involves the dishonest use of influence to get people to do what you want them to do and is an underhanded means of controlling people. Leaders use manipulation when they lack the ability to lead by inspiration, when they have ulterior or hidden motives, or when they are trying to get people to do what the individuals most likely would not do if they had access to all the facts. Manipulation involves giving partial truth and withholding information that would be necessary for others to make an objective decision. It means distributing information selectively, giving little twists to the facts, and sharing only that which would cause other people to respond favorably to the objectives being presented. Diplomacy and Truth Being diplomatic can “put a sweet face” on manipulation. Diplomacy in its positive sense refers to the ability to ...

Introduction The issues highlighted below are principles I learned while serving “as referee” (and in some cases a participant) in a few church “fights” and were originally written with the intention of helping pastors understand some of the issues that get them into trouble. Initially I was reluctant to share these with a broader audience, but then realized that the principles are apropos to any discussion of healthy leadership. Many readers will identify with one or more of the problems discussed. For every issue there is a flip side. There is always the “other side of the coin.” This “flip side” issue is especially true for some of the areas covered in this article. For example, pastors usually teach on gossip, and they legitimately try to prevent unhealthy and destructive communication within their community of believers. But my emphasis here is the other side of the issue, which is leadership’s unhealthy control of communication among members. Control of communication amo...

Pigs or People (Mark 5: 1-19) Jesus cast a legion of demons out of a man who lived wild among the tombs, cutting himself, breaking chains, fierce, and threatening all who approached him. The spirits left the man and entered a nearby herd of swine which promptly ran down a steep embankment into the sea and drowned. When the multitude saw the healed man and the dead hogs they were afraid and begged Jesus to depart from their territory. How is it that these people who had endured the fierceness of this demon-possessed man were now so afraid of the holy and compassionate power of God that they begged Jesus to leave? They seemed to have more compassion on the hogs than on the suffering man, and they were more afraid of the power of God than of the demon-controlled man. This exposes the misplaced priorities and twisted perceptions of those who do not have a heart to know God. The Religious Response (Matthew 12: 7-14) The Pharisees also showed this same lack of compassion. Their religiou...

“…And we are His witness to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5: 32 We usually think in terms of the Lord enabling us to share the good news of Jesus death and resurrection, but we should not overlook the “also” in the verse quoted above. We should remember that He will walk beside us to give His own witness and add power to our testimony. We bear witness, but so does He. Below is a dramatic example of this second dimension of our testimony. High School Kids Experience Jesus In 1971 when Laurel and I were first married we were asked to speak at a youth retreat for a group of high school kids from a Baptist church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The youth pastor had prepared for the event by calling friends and intercessors to pray and fast for the Lord to visit these kids. There were about 40 of them at the event. Most of them attended church, but I don’t think many of them really knew the Lord or had a real personal relationship ...

Thanks for visiting. I would love to hear from those of you who have been encouraged or blessed by these posts. If you are a regular visitor or an occasional guest, please introduce yourself. You can send me an email at this address:    blong8@sccoast.net Billy Long

I strutted around thinking I was really something, pleased with myself as I showed off the tail-feathers of my talents and abilities. Then the Lord gently spoke to my heart as He placed His finger on certain areas of my life, and asked me to humble myself and obey His leading. But I closed my ear and did not listen. So He quietly plucked a feather. I did not notice the plucking, and so went on in my sense of self-importance. Soon He returned, and placed His finger again on the area of my heart that He wanted me to surrender. Again, I ignored Him. So He plucked another feather. And I, unaware of it, continued on my way. In His lovingkindness and patience He continued to visit me and point out the area of my need. But I kept strutting around in my self-satisfaction. Then one day, my tail-feathers were all gone. But amazingly, I kept strutting about thinking I was as beautiful as ever.   When with rebukes You correct man for in...