OUT OF THE BOX

The message below is a reprint of an article I posted to my blog a couple years ago. It's not the kind of message that causes goose bumps, but it contains principles that I think are vital for healthy and mature believers. I hope you will take the time to read it. In Christ Billy Long TAKE WHAT IS YOURS AND GO YOUR WAY. “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 you...

MANIPULATION 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 handle affairs in s...

Excessive control by leaders is one problem. It can be rooted in wrong motives, not trusting people, and not trusting God with people. It can stem from a leader’s inflated opinion of himself, from a desire for power, or even from insecurity. Often it is used to hide flaws and lack of integrity within the organization or in the leadership itself.  The need to control is often manifested in the fear of delegating responsibility. When a leader is reluctant to release people to their various areas of gifting and ministry, he suffocates the unique creativity of the people God has placed around him. He gathers around him people who do not threaten him, people who will serve him and his vision while failing to develop their own. He will be unable to tolerate people of substantial gifting and charisma, the very people he could train to replace himself. As a result the organization has to import or hire new leaders from the outside because of the inability to raise them up from within. He a...

In our spiritual growth we need to walk in faithful obedience to the Lord in the full range of experiences, from “pit” to “peak” and everywhere in between. We grow in spirit and depth as we walk with Jesus through desert places as well as “green pastures,” and in the “deep,” on stormy seas as well as the peaceful walk by “still water,” The Psalmist speaks of remembering the Lord from the Jordon valley as well as from the heights of Hermon. He experienced the Lord’s lovingkindness in the daytime and His song in the night. Near or far, high or low, there is no extremity that can separate us from God’s love and care. Below is a very candid and honest excerpt from my journal written 17 years ago in the summer of 2003 during a very difficult time. It might sound like an excerpt from Job’s journal during his most painful moments. I am confident I kept my heart right and tried to please the Lord as I came through that season; but I also had moments in which, like Job, I spoke words without k...

I remember years ago working on a construction site with my uncle who is a follower of Jesus. He hurt his arm, and the first words out of his mouth were "Praise the Lord!" One of the fellow workers said, "You just hurt your arm, why are you praising the Lord?" His reply was, "I could have broken it." How often in our unpleasant situations do we fail to give thanks that the Lord did not lay on us more than we could bear? If we look closely at the storms we face, we will see the silver lining traced by the hand of God and which represents a small glimpse of the greater glory of His presence and working that are hidden in and behind the apparent darkness. The sparrows do fall, but Jesus said that not one of them is forgotten before God, and not one of them falls apart from His knowledge. Jesus is reassuring us that the Father, who loves us with a stedfast and everlasting love, is aware of where we are and what we face. Like the sparrow we may face unpleasant ...

Dear Friends Our culture of information overload, special effects, fast food, and everything geared to entertain has created a generation of people with short attention spans. People don’t read like they used to…especially if a post or article is long. For that reason, I usually try to make my posts to be relatively short and easy reading. This one, however, is a bit longer and is more of a Bible study or a teaching tool.  As you read keep in mind that in addition to wood and stone idols, there are also idols of the heart ( Ezekiel 14:3). Covetousness is also a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5).    One purpose of this post is to show the foolishness of mankind in his attempts to avoid the God of the Bible. These paragraphs contain some very good lessons and speak to our current generation which is being flooded with New Age philosophy that is infiltrating the church and causing many to go astray. I encourage you to read the whole thing. Billy Long “You Might Be an Idol Wo...

Dear Friends, Below is an email I received from a dear friend, a young lady who received a very dramatic healing. This is a wonderful testimony of how she was healed when oppressing spirits were cast out of her during a prayer gathering at her parents’ home. This is New Testament Christianity. I hope you will take time to read this inspiring testimony. Billy Long AUTUMN’S TESTIMONY OF DELIVERANCE Mr. Long, I wanted to update you on what has been happening to my family. Attached is a copy of a letter I composed to send to My husband’s family and to anyone who is interested in what has happened to me. We are super excited here and want to see God glorified! Love you, Autumn Dear Family, Joel and I have some very exciting news we would like to share with you. You all know I have suffered from celiac disease for some time and I've also been dealing with some other health issues on and off for the past few years. July and August hit us particularly hard because I got a mystery infecti...

Dear Friends Not acknowledging God is one of the worse forms of ingratitude (Romans 1:21). The Lord has given us life and all things. We should not only recognize Him, but also be very thankful. This post gives some practical reasons why we know there is a God, and why evolution is so foolish. --- Billy Long GOD CREATED US “In the beginning God the heavens and the earth…” -Genesis 1:1. "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead..." -Romans 1: 20. LOOK AT YOUR NOSE Life is infinitely too complex to have come into being randomly and by itself. There are so many interdependent systems that are necessary for the existence of life on earth; and the degree of refinement, accuracy, and perfection in the coordinated performance of all these operations necessary for life are too complex to exist apart from design. They are independent yet dependent and interdependent,...

  [Below is a reprint of an article I first posted in March 2011. I believe it is appropriate for us today. Keep in mind this article was written almost 10 years ago. The virus, the riots and the unrest today confirm the truth of this message. ---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 illus...

WHY MODESTY People who are into porn and public nudity often proclaim that the human body is good and we should not be ashamed to show it. They also charge that Christians, because they believe in modesty, think the sexual aspect of the human body is evil. But to the contrary, Christians frown on public nudity and pornography because sex is sacred, not evil. After all, God created male and female, and said “it is good.” There are two things the scripture forbids us to flaunt in public—that which is evil and that which is sacred. The evil is forbidden because it is evil. The sacred is to be treasured. It is not for the public eye because it is precious and not to be treated as common. Sex should be reserved for the intimacy of a man and woman in marriage, and not displayed as a public spectacle. God is not an old fogy who sees sex as evil. A reading of Song of Solomon will show that the sexual aspect of marriage is God’s gift to mankind. Man did not create sex when God was not looking a...

Billy Long P.O. Box 147, Longs, SC 29568 broblong@gmail.com Dear Friends Christians are to demonstrate the kingdom of God in the midst of an ungodly society in perilous times. This post touches on the Christian’s influence in a society where there are forces that seek to silence that perspective. My wife Laurel recently heard a statement made by a leader in "The Good Club" (involving people such as Bill Gates and George Soros) who stated that in an upcoming summit meeting they will be discussing how to silence evangelical Christianity, which stands in the way of their one-world gobal government goals. Christians in the United States must at this time kindle the fires of personal revival and be "salt and light;" for the days are coming when we will be facing real persecution. –Billy Long CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE IN GOVERNMENT CHURCH AND GOVERNMENT The church as an organization should not control civil government, but Christian influence, however, should pervade the gov...

This was my prayer when going through a particularly difficult time: Aug 18, 1994, My prayer this morning: “That I engage the Lord properly in order to come through this situation…in faith…in love…in purity…pleasing the Lord…and that I come through it with a pure word. I do not want to proceed with a ‘chip on my shoulder,’ cynical, bitter, in self-pity, and thus risk this coloring and tainting my message and life henceforth. I want to engage the Lord in such a way as to minister and speak with attitudes and words of grace and purity that are such that ‘none fall to the ground.’ (1 Sam 3) Let my message, rather than being tainted, let it be refined as silver is refined in the fire. Let me know how to be full of grace and truth in facing this and all other situations I may encounter." ---B Long

Avoid The Victim Mentality One reaction to mistreatment is to feel robbed — robbed of life, future, destiny, inheritance and joy. This sets the stage for despair, resentment and bitterness. A person in this condition will see himself as a victim rather than in the hands of God. The victim mentality is very destructive because it is difficult to get a person free from rebellion when he enters it as a result of being victimized. When a person has been robbed of something, he feels justified in his sin, in his carnal reactions, and in his bitterness and anger. He blames others, and that is a first step toward irresolution, defeat, and failure. If we think others are responsible for our condition, we will also think they are responsible to fix it… and they rarely do. We wait in anger with our focus on our oppressors rather than placing ourselves in the hands of God and moving forward. Dealing with life redemptively means that whatever other people, the devil, or circumstances deal out to ...

 RESILIENCE "...they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe." - Acts 14: 19-20 "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." - 2 Corinthians 4: 7-11 Resilience is "the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress, the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change, the capacity to withstand shock without permanent deformation or rupture, and the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change". This term should describe every Christian, every person who knows and trusts in the Sovereign Almighty God, Jesus Christ our Savior. We can be like the watch in the TV commercial that ...

KEEPING GOD AT A DISTANCE. "My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God." Psalm 84:2 All men have to reckon with the kingdom rule of God. No one can face it unchanged and walk away the same. It is an event that goes into the book. Our response to it is recorded. God cannot be ignored or treated indifferently. His presence (just by His showing up) forces a decision. When He shows up we can no longer plead ignorant or innocent. God’s manifested presence requires a “yea” or a “nay.” You cannot innocently say, “I’ll get back to you later.” That’s why so many people are afraid of the supernatural presence of God. In that place no one can be indifferent and pretend. He has to say, “Lord, here you are. I surrender and will follow you,” or he closes his eyes, covers his ears, pulls his uncircumcised flesh over his heart, and says, “I didn’t see anything or hear anything.” Men like to keep God at a distance because the closer He gets the more difficult it is to lie about what the...