OUT OF THE BOX

WHEN GOD ARISES "Each ones work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it it." 1 Cor.3:13. When God arises issues are no longer left to the opinions of individuals. God pronounces sentence or blessing based on the reality of where people and things actually are. That which is of God will be blessed; that which is not of God will be judged. Saul and his house will fall in battle. Eli will drop over dead. The earth will open and swallow Korah and all that are with him. Shemei will face the sword of Benaiah. Alexander the coppersmith will be delivered to Satan to receive his just wages. The plaintiffs, the defendants, and the prosecuting attorneys will all have eloquently stated their cases, but God will arise to judge. All of them will be silenced together as He gives the verdict. The builders will be dwelling in the structures they have built. Then God will arise sending the ...

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 and then surp...

"Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed." Psalm 85:10 We all want mercy. But we must remember that mercy loves and accompanies truth. It is the honest heart that experiences the fullness of God's mercy. Mercy also loves mercy, meaning we must show mercy if we expect to receive mercy. We all want peace. But we must remember that peace loves and accompanies righteousness. There is no peace to the wicked. His mercies are new every morning and His peace passes all understanding. These are the blessings He gives to those who love and follow Jesus Christ.                                               ---Billy Long

If I made a list of the miracles I have witnessed and the ones I have been a part of, you would be pressed to believe in God and His desire to work intimately in the lives of people. But then if I were to make a list of my failures and struggles, you might say, “Where is your God?” I could write a book listing miraculous provision and answers to prayer in which the reality of the Lord’s presence was palpable. But then I could write another book telling of the times I was in “the deep” about to be swallowed up and close to losing everything. I could tell you of friends being healed through prayer and also of others dying in spite of it. I have friends who have experienced miraculous healings and friends who have been raised from the dead. Some have received an immediate response to prayer, and others have suffered what seems an interminable wait as they call on the Lord daily for healing, help, or an “open door.” I have experienced the people of God, their love for one another, and th...

I posted this article three years ago. I am re-posting it now because of its encouraging insights. It deals with the significance of a "boat" and how we should face the "storm" when it seems the Lord has sent us on ahead without Him, and when it feels like the Lord is "passing us by." ---Billy Long HE WOULD HAVE PASSED THEM BY? 1   "Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side...Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by."     Mark 6: 45-52 “He made His disciples get into a boat.” The “boat” is significant because it represents a context from which we can not easily escape. The disciples, on that small boat in the middle of the sea, could not simply change their minds and walk away from the problems and issues at hand. They could not escape the process; they...

Jesus knows the "all" and the "each.' It is true that our Heavenly Father knows us and everything about us. He knows the “all” and he knows the “each.” He knows the number of hairs on our heads and each sparrow that falls. All things are naked and open before Him, and nothing is hidden from His sight. When He walked on this earth He knew all men and needed not that anyone should testify to Him about men. He knew to whom He could entrust Himself, and He knew with whom to be reserved. It is an amazing truth that in His almighty sovereignty He knows His own. He knows His sheep and He calls each one by name. This should comfort us, but also inspire us to hold a reverent fear of God. Our conversation is in heaven. Our deeds are known. Our hearts are known. Our troubles. pains, and griefs are known. He sees us in the dark, in the hard place when we feel alone and forsaken. He also sees and will not forget our good deeds, our labors, and our love for Him. "How Do You K...

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