OUT OF THE BOX

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, ...