OUT OF THE BOX

“Then the men…took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the golden rats and the images of their hemorrhoids. Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh (back to Israel), and went along the highway lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. 1 Samuel 6: 10-12   “Pulling the cart” The Philistines had captured Israel’s Ark of the Covenant and were passing it from city to city placing it on display as they gloated in their victory in a recent battle with Israel. However, the sneering did not last long, for every city where they set the ark experienced a plague of rats and hemorrhoids. The Philistines finally had enough of these plagues and decided to send the ark back to Israel. They placed it on a cart, along with a special gift of golden mice and golden hemorrhoids sent as trespass offerings to acknowledge the hand of God in t...

This particular article is an excerpt from a series of teachings on "Facing Conflict." Other chapters deal with mercy and forgiveness, which are a necessary accompaniment to this post and help the believer walk in faith, a balanced approach, and with godly attitudes during relational difficulties. While the believer must forgive and return good for evil, he still needs to be aware of the lessons taught in the following paragraphs--- that God is the Righteous Judge.      -Billy Long God is the Righteous Judge. Christians often have difficulty with the fact that God seems to delay in punishing those who hurt and offend us. We are glad for Him to be patient and merciful with us, but want Him to be severe and quick in rebuking others. We often refuse to forgive offenses because we feel God is too slow in administering justice. We fail to really believe He is the Righteous Judge. We think God is allowing us to suffer while our oppressors get...

We Knew It Was For Our Good When I was a kid there was discipline and order in the classroom. Teachers could actually teach, and kids could actually learn. We had a healthy fear of punishment, and we knew it would certainly come if we deserved it.   A ll of us kids instinctively knew it was not abuse, but a justified response to misbehavior and rebellion, or an attempt to prevent us from doing things that were dangerous or harmful. We knew our parents and teachers (generally speaking) loved us and were trying to educate us and train us to be mature and responsible. Mrs. Parker's Electric Paddle In my third year of elementary school, we moved from the old, white, wooden schoolhouse into a new brick facility.   When I stepped off the bus onto the new school grounds, the word was going around that our principal, Mrs. Parker, had an electric paddle installed in her new modern office. None of us wanted to face that mysterious and unknown instrument. Whe...

I see I have many visitors from South Korea. Thanks for reading my blog. If these articles have been helpful to you, please consider sending me an email and introducing yourself.  My address is  blong8@sccoast.net Thank you, God bless you, Billy Long

“If a cat sits on a hot stove, he will never sit on a hot stove again. But by the same token, he will never sit on a cold one either.” –Mark Twain   We fail to see the beauty and good purpose of a thing when blinded by prejudice, bias, and misinformation. Bad experiences often cause us to avoid even the good ones. Therefore, I am reaching out to those who have never done a biblical study of the Holy Spirit’s work and to those who have been “turned-off” by bad examples. I would encourage the reader to take another look at the subject from a biblical perspective rather than taking cues from negative experiences that often hinder our ability to see the pattern and examples given us by the first Christians in the book of Acts. To remove common misconceptions we should look at the many clear and obvious Biblical examples of the Holy Spirit at work. When we stand before God, we will not be able to use other people’s actions as excuse for our inaction. The Lord will say, “You had My wo...

FRAGRANCE My mom wanted me to drive her to the store to do some shopping. So I splashed some cologne on my face and went on ahead of her to the car and took my seat. She soon came out of the house and sat in the front seat on the passenger’s side and immediately began sniffing the air. I watched as she leaned forward and started checking the bottoms of her shoes. Turning to me she said, “Billy, check the bottom of your feet and see if you stepped in any dog poop before you got into this car.” I went through the motions of checking my shoes, but I knew it was the cologne. I never used that particular brand again. Smells range from pleasing fragrance to repulsive odor. The sense of smell can strengthen our romantic attraction to someone we love or wonderfully enhance the pleasantness of a room. The sense of smell is vital to our enjoyment of good food, but also senses decay and corruption and warns us to discard that which is unfit for consumption. A bad smell can be repulsive to t...

Below is a series of short articles I posted on facebook, and decided to post here for visitors to read. You can scroll down below to read them. They are on the following subjects:  Elements That Make Democracy Work Brokenness Facing Persecution Pouring Your Heart Out Before the Lord Advice to the Girl (Woman) Looking for a Good Man. --- Billy Long

ELEMENTS THAT MAKE DEMOCRACY WORK Strictly speaking we are a republic, which means we are governed by representatives elected by the people and who govern according to law. The principles given below apply to both republican and democratic governments. ---Billy Long Plato and other Greek philosophers believed that democracy is a bad form of government because it eventually degenerates to the lowest common denominator, resulting in a society governed by the rule of the uneducated, uninformed, morally weak, and self-indulgent masses. We see these trends today. People move from freedom to license and chaos that ultimately bring society under the tyranny of excessive government control and dictatorial rule. Plato and the philosophers were right in that democracy is a bad form of government— UNLESS it is held together by the following necessary ingredients that work to make it the best form of government, creating the most freedom and prosperity. A Democracy can only be sustained wher...

BROKENNESS Brokenness is a subject that requires revelation to see the reality and depth of what is being discussed. It is a topic for which most people will only see the tip of the iceberg while the main body and substance will remain hidden. Therefore, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” --B L Psalm 51:17 “A broken and a contrite heart, Oh God, You will not despise.” The essence of brokenness is surrender and humility. It speaks of how we respond to God and to his leading and discipline in our lives. Brokenness refers to a contriteness that is willing to die to self and its desires. The absence of brokenness is characterized by a stubborn and self-centered struggle to resist change, correction, and God’s rule. Our unbroken human nature can be compared to the wild horse that is unwilling to submit to the rider and the bridle. The spirit of rebellion is basically the desire to cast off the yoke of God’s rule, to go its own way, and to satisfy its own desires. Much stress a...

FACING PERSECUTION 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 to us. The spiritual forces that hate God and His word will also hate Christians. But to be more specific, they may claim to love God, but just hate Jesus Christ, and those who follow Him. That's why the Bible calls the end time "man of sin" the anti-Christ." As the western world tends to unite under some all-inclusive religious unity devoid of Christ, it will begin more and more to attack Christians personally and legally through the laws of...

POUR OUT YOUR HEART BEFORE THE LORD. “…always laboring fervently for you in prayers…” Colossians 4: 12 There was a prayer chapel on the first floor of the men’s dorm at the college I attended. It was a small, carpeted room with an altar up front. I would often go there at night to pray. The fellows who went in there to pray usually left the lights off and sat in the soft light that passed through the stained glass in the door. I would sit on the wooden pews or kneel, but often I would lie on the floor. It was there, during my freshman year of college, that I discovered a deeper level of intercessory prayer. I would begin to weep before the Lord, sometimes vehemently, as I cried to Him in behalf of various family members and other areas of concern. During these intense times of prayer, I was not able to speak much or say anything, but could only cry before the Lord. I described this to one of my professors, and his explanation made a deep impact upon me. “During those times,” he said, ...

DON'T "SELL YOURSELF CHEAP." If you sell yourself cheap you will not be treated as valuable. Men subconsciously believe the old saying: “You get what you pay for.” If it costs nothing it must be worth little. The average fellow who has not committed himself to biblical morality will usually fall into the lifestyle governed by the crude maxim, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk free.” So don’t sell yourself cheap. Be the priceless treasure you are. Make some guy pay the price for you to be his. A man who is rich in character and integrity will be lavish in his love and commitment to a woman of virtue.  But a man who “buys” what is sold cheap is himself impoverished of character. If you sell yourself cheap, you will attract only the stingy, self-centered, selfish, and immature “buyer.” There was a country music song entitled “I like my women a little on the trashy side.” It is interesting that he said “women” —and not “wife.” The song sends the subconscious message...