OUT OF THE BOX

My book, Spiritual Power for Everyday Living is an excellent tool for introducing people to spiritual gifts and to the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit in the church today. The objective of this book is to inspire the reader to hunger for and experience the presence of God. The lessons and examples presented here are not simply academic in nature but were experienced in my life as a pastor and minister working with people over the years. Part One defines and explains spiritual gifts and supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit and gives first-hand testimonials. Part Two helps the reader to understand the prophetic ministry as practiced in the lives of the first Christians. Part Three gives clear teaching to help the reader understand praying in tongues and its role in aiding the believer in a deeper experience of intercessory prayer and praise. A careful reading of this book will bring clarity and remove misconceptions relating to the role of spiritual gifts, prophesying,...

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19. REFUSING COMFORT “Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for Him.” Genesis 37: 34-35 "Refusing comfort" refers to the state in which the loss or pain is so great and final that there seems to be absolutely nothing that could possibly heal the hurt, relieve the pain, or replace the loss. Jacob found himself in this condition as he experienced heart-wrenching grief over the loss of his son Joseph. No one was able to comfort him. No words could relieve or console him. GENUINE, NOT SUPEFICIAL To a person in such grief the idea of comfort often seems like an empty and futile promise. Consolation is viewed much like the consolation prize which is...

  The New Testament Christians were as amazing in their suffering as they were in their power. The following paragraphs give many Biblical verses that speak of the courage and special grace believers display during persecution. However, we also know that there is suffering involved, and we stand with those Christians who are suffering around the world today. We pray and intercede for God’s presence, grace, help, and comfort to be with them as they stand in faith and perseverance.  –Billy Long Every Christian who stands on the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ should read the Bible verses listed below. These verses describe how Christians should handle persecution, and they encourage us to stand courageously in faith and love when we are reviled, falsely accused, and persecuted. We listen to the words of Jesus and follow the examples of those first believers who experienced extraordinary grace enabling them to display exemplary behavior in the face of great persecutio...

Dear Friends I posted this article about 14 years ago. Many of you read it at that time. I am re-posting it because I have many new readers visiting my blog. PS.  I welcome comments. Billy Long   John 15: 19. “A little longer, and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me...” Rev. 1: 10-17. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet…And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me…and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength…” 1 Cor. 15: 3-8. “…He rose again on the third day…and was seen…by Cephas…by the twelve…by over five hundred brethren at once…and after that He was seen by me also….” To see or not to see? The natural man comprehends God in the same way as a blind and deaf man would view a brilliant sunrise or listen to beautiful music. He would be oblivious to the wonders around him no matter how brilliant the sight or how loud the sound. The revelation of God works on the same principle. The person wh...

    “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

   Dear Friends, This post is made up of three parts dealing with abortion. I am re-posting them because of the seriousness of this issue. As you will remember, New York recently enacted a law allowing babies to be aborted even during the 3rd trimester, which would be right up until the time of birth. Other states are following their example. This law also allows them to kill the child if the aborted baby is born alive. Now California’s governor just signed into law a bill that will allow the death of the child up to 28 days after birth. This is child sacrifice. This is a cruel and wicked abomination. It is these practices that will bring the judgment of God upon our nation. It is time for Christians to pray and for pastors to speak up in the pulpits. --- Billy Long   PART ONE THE BRUTALITY OF ABORTION BODIES IN JARS Excavations of pre-Israelite Canaan uncovered a large number of jars containing the remains of children sacrificed to Baal. Other excavations discovered many...