OUT OF THE BOX

    “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by who the offence comes.”  Matthew 18:7 “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come.” Luke 17:1 Offenses are wicked, but Jesus said they are necessary and must come. They reveal the truth about people as well as providing occasion for Christians to prove themselves and draw upon the grace of God. This aspect of life is another reason we must strive to please the Lord in all things instead of using occasions of mistreatment and offense as an excuse for our sin.   The word "offense" is rooted in the Greek word for "stumble" and refers to that which potentially causes people to stumble. The scripture warns those who lay the stumbling block. But we are primarily focusing on the one for whom the offense is set. Will he stumble or will he stand? Will he fall and turn his back on God, or will he stand in obedience and faith and continue...

  “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29 The “Others” Hebrews 11:32-35a gives an impressive list of victories and conquests achieved by God’s people as they moved in obedience and faith. We emulate their experiences as we read how they subdued kingdoms, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle and turned to flight the armies of aliens. Some even received their dead raised to life again. As Christians we stand in faith and believe that we also will see these same victories accomplished by followers of Christ today. However, we must also be to prepared to join and stand with the “others” described in the next few verses (Hebrews 11:32b-40). These “others” also stood in faith and were strong in the grace of God, but they did so during suffering. “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, tha...

Look at the picture of the old car riddled with holes. Inside the car two men are slumped over dead in the front seat and one in the back seat. The photograph looks like a scene from a gangster movie or from the life of Bonnie and Clyde. Based on this description, what would be your answer to the following questions: What kind of people are in the car? What kind of people fired on the car? How would you describe the relationship between the people in the car and the people who fired on the car? What was the objective of those who fired the shots? People are very surprised to learn the true answers to these questions. The picture is from an article in the December 1991 issue of National Geographic about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The actual caption reads as follows: Slain by friendly fire, shipyard workers John Adams, his father, and a friend were five miles from Pearl Harbor when their Packard was hit by shrapnel from errant five-inch Navy shells. American anti-aircraft ...

  Psalm 61:-1-3 When I was a child I marveled at the stories in the Bible. There was something in my heart that longed to see the manifestation of God’s presence working intimately among His people. I wanted to experience the Lord’s presence in the same way as did those people in the Bible. I especially remember sitting in a revival meeting in our Baptist church and feeling such frustration at how complacent and satisfied the people seemed to be. The Lord was with us; I knew that. But I felt so strongly He wanted to do more and that He would surely come if we asked Him. I decided to do something about it. When the pastor gave the invitation at the end of his message, I walked up to him and asked if I could say something to the congregation. He stopped the music, asked the congregation to be seated, and stepped back so I could speak. I am sure he thought it would be a good thing and “safe” to let a sixteen year old boy speak to the congregation. Everyone listened intently. I looked ...

  THE DIRE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTING GOD There was a revival among the Christians and churches in Cuba as Fidel Castro and the communist party were coming to power. A missionary who was in Cuba at the time told me that most of the Christians supported Castro. They believed his promises. Like the socialists and communists of today, he was promising them equality and all the utopian benefits that come about by redistributing the wealth. Once he was in power…reality struck hard. Everyone became equally poor and under the power of a government that controlled everything and told them what they could and could not believe. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia promised to free the people from what they considered to be a repressive regime and replace it with the equality and prosperity of a socialist and communist utopia in which all their needs would be met by the government. But with communism’s rise to power came oppression, suffering, poverty, shortages, and the absence of freedom. Th...

  To those of you who visit and read my blog, I thank you from the depths of my heart. I do appreciate all of you. Please consider making a comment in the comment section. Let me know if my articles have blessed you or your friends. Thanks again, Billy Long broblong@gmail.com P.O. Box 101, Longs, SC 29568 USA