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I Hate Wheelbarrows

I Hate Wheelbarrows

Oh, I guess there are some good things that could be said about them. But that still doesn’t change my mind. I hate wheelbarrows. I hate them for any number of reasons, some of which I will tell you.

First, I hate wheelbarrows because they’re too much work. Entirely too much effort has to be expended to make them go.

Second, I hate wheelbarrows because they are prone to become “lopsided” easily which demands additional effort to correct. They get off balance too easily.

Third, I hate wheelbarrows because they all have to be pushed. They won’t do one thing by themselves. They’ll never budge unless made to. They’ll never go forward unless someone wears their self out pushing them. Then, just as soon as the pusher stops, the wheelbarrow stops too.

Some folks are like wheelbarrows. They’ll carry the load, but you have to push them. They only respond to pressure. And even them, you’ve got to watch them in case they get lopsided.

They have to be pushed to worship God.

They have to be pushed to find the prayer room.

They have to be pushed to live right.

They have to be pushed to dress right.

They have to be pushed to witness.

They have to be pushed to testify.

They have to be pushed to trust God.

They have to be pushed to forgive.

They have to be pushed to be faithful.

They have to be pushed to give.

They have to be pushed to read the Bible.

They have to be pushed to make progress at all.

They have to be pushed in everything.

I hate wheelbarrow Christianity.

I hate what you’ve done to yourselves.

I hate what you’re doing to others.

I hate what you’re doing to you’re church.

I hate what you’re doing to the ministry.

I hate the fact that your spirit is contagious.

I hate the fact that your children may be just like you.

I hate the fact that you can’t ‘have church’ without the preacher pushing you.

I hate the fact you don’t love God enough to progress on your own.

Do you know what we need? I’ll tell you. We simply need a good old-fashioned case of the “I want to.”

I want to have church.

I want to live for God.

I want to have liberty.

I want to have to victory.

I want to worship.

I want to pray.

I want to live holy.

I want to have revival.

I want to be a blessing.

I want to be faithful.

I want to give.

I want to obey the Word of God.

I hate wheelbarrows! I wonder what God thinks about them. I wonder what you think about them. I hope you hate them too. Hate them enough that you refuse to be one. Hate them enough that you will refuse to wait until you are pushed before making progress in God.

Written by Martyn Ballestero

June 11, 2010 at 10:56 pm

Posted in Christian Living, Personal Growth

That Was A Lousy Performance

with 14 comments

That Was A Lousy Performance

per·for·mance

n.

1. The act of performing or the state of being performed.

2. The act or style of performing a work or role before an audience.

3. The way in which someone or something functions.

4. A presentation, especially a theatrical one, before an audience.

5. Something performed; an accomplishment.

Our carnal minds are impressed with performance, be it speed, strength or skill. We use words like ‘Awesome’ to describe a ‘performance’ we enjoyed.

All of us love a song and a singer that pleases our ears. The skillful playing of an instrument fascinates us. It is easy for us to go away feeling awed because of the performance of the musician, singer or speaker.

It’s not that it’s so wrong. It’s actually very normal. Even the Psalmist said in Psalms. 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

From this scripture, it even looks like heaven enjoys a good performance.

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Yet it’s possible that we bring that mindset over into the area of preaching, testifying and special singing.

Nothing deflates our ego any quicker than to feel like we weren’t at our best, or that the crowd response was less than we’d hoped for.

Most every preacher knows what’s it’s like to want to just leave the building as soon as he finished a sermon that didn’t ‘go over’ well. There have been times when a trap door hidden behind the pulpit seemed like a good idea to me.

I’ve seen young singers cry after they went down off of the platform because their song didn’t come out as good as they’d planned.

The devil has told some that stood and testified in a church service that they had made a mess of their testimony and they should never testify again.

Remember the story of the Sower? (Actually the parable is more about the soil than the sower.)

He sowed everywhere he could on his property. He didn’t get good results everywhere. Nevertheless he was faithful in the sowing of the seed.

Performance never entered his mind when he walked into the field that morning. It didn’t make any difference if he sowed with his right hand or his left hand. All he had to do to get a crop was sow the seed. He was just going to sow the seed until he had planted everywhere he could. The power was in the seed, not in him.

If he had sown the seed in our present day ‘church’ fields, we would have expected him to jump up about 2 feet high, click his heels and then power slam the seed into the ground. People would have stood to their feet and screamed ‘Amen’ and maybe a few even run the aisles.

Then all of the critics of sowers would have said, “Man, that’s really sowing the seed! That’s the kind of seed sowing we like around here. He really did an awesome job of sowing the seed.”

We’re so afraid someone will think or say, “That was a lousy performance.” We would be devastated because we are conditioned with a performance mindset.

Yet all of us know that performance has nothing to do with the sowing of the seed. In actuality it may even slow down the process. If the sowing of the seed has to wait until we get done with our performance then heaven may not be pleased.

All the sower has to do is just let go of the seed. Nature and the seed take over from there. He did his job. It didn’t have to be pretty. It didn’t have to be powerful. It didn’t have to be exciting. It just had to be released.

I’m not calling for an end to good preaching and singing. Neither am I asking for any of us to not do our best. What I am asking for is for you to not be disheartened by your own sense of ‘failure’ when your ‘performance’ doesn’t turn out like you wanted. Remember. You are sowing the seed. Seed sowing doesn’t require performance to be effective.

Just sow the seed. Sow it in a song, sow it in a testimony or sow it in a sermon. Forget about performance. Don’t let Satan steal your song, shut your mouth or make you discouraged. When it leaves your hands, God takes over.

Written by Martyn Ballestero

June 9, 2010 at 10:02 pm

Posted in Christian Living, Ministry, Singing, Sowing The Seed, Testifying

Larry, The Confused Lamb

with 14 comments

Larry, The Confused Lamb

Larry the lamb enjoyed the flock. What a wonderful day it was. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. The grass was green and lush. The brook was clear and flowed slowly. He happily pranced and played with the other lambs. Life in the flock was great.

He explored the meadow where they were and even listened to the older sheep tell stories. They told about the times that wolves had come close to the flock and their shepherd had protected them. He’d never seen a wolf but he’d heard them howl. It was scary. Mama told him not to worry because the Shepherd heard the wolf too and everything would be OK.

The older sheep bragged on their Shepherd. They all said that he was the best one in the world. They were all safe because of him. He had taken good care of them for many years.

Larry loved his Shepherd too. Shepherd Smith had always taken the flock to safe and comfortable places. There was always plenty to eat and drink in this flock. Shepherd Smith had seen to that.

One day Larry and his friend Simon were standing by the edge of the flock. They looked way across the meadow and saw another flock of sheep in the distance. They noticed that there were lots of lambs in that sheep fold. There were more lambs there than there were in their flock. Some cute ewe lambs were over there too.

One evening Larry and Simon decided they wanted to go visit the other flock. They were afraid to ask for permission because they’d heard that their Shepherd was reluctant to let his lambs go visit other flocks. Shepherd Smith had said he was required by his master to watch carefully over all the lambs and sheep. He didn’t want to be overbearing, but he had to be careful for their sakes.

When Shepherd Smith was looking the other way, Larry and Simon scampered to the other side of the meadow. They were warmly welcomed. Shepherd Johnson stood and announced to the whole flock that they were visiting and wanted the flock to make them feel at home.

All the lambs in Shepherd Johnson’s flock were very friendly. Larry and Simon had so much fun. They laughed and romped with the other lambs. This was a wonderful day. This was a great Lamb Group.

Later, Shepherd Johnson came over and bragged on them personally and told them that they were welcome and very needed in his flock. He didn’t try to send them back to their own flock. But he did offer Larry a job as Lamb Leader in his flock.

During the visit, Shepherd Johnson led his flock into places Larry and Simon had never been before. The curfew for bedding down here was different from Shepherd Smith’s too.

Shepherd Johnson wasn’t quite as restrictive as their Shepherd was either. He let his lambs wander a little bit closer to the edge of the meadow. Larry and Simon got closer to the Big Woods than they’d ever been before. There were more liberties here than they had ever experienced.

These lambs got to go see things the lambs in their flock had never seen. Oh this was exciting.

Simon said, “Larry, I like Shepherd Johnson, and I like Shepherd Smith. I just wish that our flock was as big as Shepherd Johnson’s and that our Lamb Group was as much fun as theirs too.”

“Me too,” was all Larry could say as they began to scamper back toward the home flock. The sun was starting to go down and Larry knew that Shepherd Smith would be concerned and miss them.

In the next several days, Simon and Larry went visiting the neighboring flock. From time to time they would invite other lambs from their flock to go with them.

One day while visiting Shepherd Johnson’s flock, they heard some of the lambs talking about another flock in the big meadow that was led by a Shepherd named Jones. Larry and Simon caught each other’s eye. Maybe they should go check out Shepherd Jones flock too. They did.

Shepherd Jones was very nice. Larry and Simon liked the flock very much. All the sheep and lambs were kind and made them feel welcome. They were all well fed in this flock.

Shepherd Jones noticed Larry and Simon. He came over and introduced himself. He asked the lambs if their Shepherd knew that they were here?

Larry said that he didn’t ask but he didn’t think there was a problem with them visiting other flocks.

‘I’m going to have to let your Shepherd know that you were visiting over here.” Said Shepherd Jones.

“You are?”

“Yes. It’s what I always do when lambs from another flock wander over into mine.” Some Shepherds don’t always return the favor though.

“You’ve got a wonderful Shepherd, Larry. Don’t ever go visiting other flocks unless your Shepherd approves.”

“Thank you, I won’t” said Larry as he and Simon left to go back home.

They had enjoyed their visit. Shepherd Jones seemed like a wise and careful Shepherd. He didn’t let his lambs wander close to the Big Woods like Shepherd Johnson did. He seemed cautious and protective. He guided them all in places of safety.

Larry talked with Simon on the way home. He said, “Simon, I’ve noticed that all flocks are different. The Shepherds all have different rules and lead the lambs in different directions. I’m starting to get confused about which flock is the best. About which Shepherd is the best. I’m really confused.

The next day, Shepherd Smith asked to talk with Larry and Simon.

He said, “I’ve heard from some of the sheep that you’ve been visiting other flocks in the meadow and I’m becoming concerned about you. I’m concerned about what happens to you when you allow different Shepherds to lead you. It confuses you very quickly.”

Larry and Simon nodded their heads in agreement.

“The Shepherds in our meadow are good men, I’m sure, but you are only to have one Shepherd in your life to guide you. It’s his voice and his voice alone that you are to obey. Especially when you are a young lamb, it’s important that you stay close to your Shepherd.

“Before you were ever born, I told this flock, that for their own safety, I don’t want you all to make a habit of visiting other flocks. You may not understand why right now, but when you get older you will understand.

“It’s kind of like a Mother Ewe having a little lamb and after it’s born letting other Mama Ewes that wanted too, help raise it. That would be very confusing to the lamb. Each mother is different, so she parents differently.

“Or it would be like you taking a framed blank canvas around to everyone that calls themselves an artist and let them paint on it whatever they want. When they got done it would be all messed up. It wouldn’t be beautiful at all. That’s what would happen to you. Each Shepherd, with his teaching, paints on the canvass of your heart. If the painting is done by a group of different artists, it can wind up looking jumbled and confusing.

“There may be times when I announce that our flock is going to go over to another flock and visit. In the future, just wait for me to make an announcement about that. When I do , then it’s OK to go.

“If I don’t announce it when the other flocks are having something special, then it’s probably a good thing for you not to go. I may have a good reason that I can’t tell you.”

Larry said, “Thank you for talking to me Shepherd Smith. I love you and I love my flock. I don’t like being confused.

“I think you should know that Shepherd Johnson offered me a job as Lamb Leader in his flock. My father said that other Shepherds shouldn’t do that. He said that it wasn’t right and he should have talked to you first and then if you felt good about it, you would have come to me and told me what to do.”

“Your father is right Larry. He is one of the finest sheep in our flock.

“In the future,” said Larry “I won’t even go visit other flocks unless you tell us we are all to go. I don’t want to ever get confused like that again.” Said Larry.

“Me either,” said Simon.

“Thank you,” said Shepherd Smith. “If you’ll do that, you’ll never be confused again!”

Written by Martyn Ballestero

June 8, 2010 at 2:05 am

Posted in Christian Living, Loyality, Visiting Other Churches

I Love You, I Just Don’t Want To Talk To You!

with 10 comments

I Love You, I Just Don’t Want To Talk To You!

I Love You But I Just Don’t Want To Talk To You!

I really do love you though.

I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings in anyway.

I feel like we’ve had a wonderful relationship.

You know that.

I absolutely cherish you.

I’m fearful that I am hurting you by saying this though.

I would never want that to happen.

You’ve been so good to me.

I’m hoping you understand.

I think I know what you’re going to say.

You’re going to remind me of all the nice things you’ve done for me.

I really appreciate it too.

I always enjoy listening to you talk to me.

But it’s hard for me to talk to you.

I don’t know why.

I know this all sounds crazy.

But, I love everything about you.

I would be devastated if you left me.

I would never leave you for anyone else.

It’s never crossed my mind.

You are my whole world.

I enjoy being with you.

I want to be wherever you are.

I want you to love me forever.

I want to love you forever.

I even tell my friends how wonderful you are.

I brag on you.

I sing your praises to all who will listen.

They’re really impressed.

I’m indebted to you.

I know that.

You know that.

I will never forget the first day we met.

I fell in love with you.

I’m still in love.

Thank you for loving me.

You make me so happy.

My life has changed because of you.

I don’t want to live in this world without you by my side.

I want you to know I love you.

I’m coming over to your house tonight at 7:30pm.

I won’t make it in time for the pre-service prayer though.

I love you, but I just don’t want to talk to you.

Written by Martyn Ballestero

June 6, 2010 at 3:28 am

Posted in Prayer

“What God Saw When He Came To Church”

with 21 comments

Psa. 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psa. 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Psa. 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psa. 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psa. 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

(This beautiful Psalm at first glance, has nothing to do with my title.)

NOTE: These are real people in real churches, with real problems. The names have been changed.

†††††

“What God Saw When He Came To Church”

He watched them as they drove their cars into the parking lot before service.

He knew their needs and wished to bless them tonight.
He was coming tonight to heal all that would let Him.
His Spirit was ready to save and uplift them as well.
Some were coming early for prayer because they enjoyed talking to Him.
Some came because they were asked too. He could tell the difference.

He noticed that many were not careful how they entered in His House. They did not come before His presence like they did in days gone by. He watched all manner of people walk into His house. His house became full. At the appointed time, singers and musicians began to praise Him. That pleased Him greatly.

The Lord stood on the platform and watched His people as they began sing. He carefully scanned the crowd and observed their hearts, their thoughts and their words.

He knew their struggles, their successes and their failures.
He knew that tonight would be difficult for Him to accomplish what He desired.
Not every one was coming expecting to receive something from Him.
He knew that He would have to work in spite of the efforts of Hell.
He could see the handiwork of sin everywhere.
This is what he saw! He didn’t like it either.

†††††

Harold Wilson and his wife Angie had argued for the past two days.

They had even argued in the car coming to church and had been harsh in their comments to each other.
That’s all they could think about.

Tommy Bourne, a rebellious teen sat slumped in his pew and refused to join in.

Roger Ellis secretly smoked cigarettes and piously played his guitar.

Mary Alice was 17. She was also 3 months along and neither her parents nor her boyfriend knew yet. Her mind was in a whirl.

Tiffany Clanton had been stealing money from work.

Bob Mathis was insanely jealous of his wife.

He had been imagining the worst.
He made far-fetched accusations constantly.
He watched who talked to her and for how long.
He even watched where she glanced.
Bob’s marriage was in trouble because of his stupidity and imagination.
Bob didn’t need any enemies.
His own mind was enemy enough

Victor Thomas had his car repossessed at 3:30am today and was ashamed to call anyone for a ride.

Everyone was going to know.
How could he hold his head up?

Larry Woods heard that, this coming Friday, his crew was going to be laid off. What would he do now?

Prentiss Duvall played the keyboard and sang with the Praise Singers.

He noticed that Robert Mitchell looked especially cute tonight.
He prayed that no one would find out about them.

The American Idol and Desperate Housewives was all that Joyce Proctor could think about.

She couldn’t talk about it though to most of the people.
Her TV was her secret.

Gary and Pam Griffith drank Margaritas with their supper at an out-of-town restaurant last night where no one knew them.

Bradley Duncan went into a strip joint 2 nights ago.

Darryl Johnson stared down at the floor. He never looked up much. He lived with condemnation and depression.

Jason Harper hadn’t paid tithes in 14 months. He wasn’t even under condemnation. He didn’t care. He couldn’t afford to pay tithes.

Ed Conner was an ex-convict and he had missed reporting in to his parole officer today. His mind was processing all of the possibilities. He expected at any time to see police officers come into the building.

Patsy Sikes disliked the pastor’s wife and said so to everyone who would listen.

Jerrod Walker was a Peeping Tom. He wasn’t cured yet.

Willy Yonts gave his wife Barbara permission to trim the dead ends of her hair a week ago. He sent her to the Beauty Salon.

He dared anyone to say anything about it.
Lots of Pentecostals were doing it.

Kandy Watkins had been out of a job for weeks now.

She had submitted more applications than she could count off the top of her head. Nothing seemed promising so far.

Billy and Sharon Glovers and their two children had shared a can of creamed corn for supper today. That’s all there was. There was no more food in the house and no money to buy more.

Larry Benson was tired. He was real tired.

David and Karen West were 2 months behind on their rent. The Electric Company’s notice arrived in the mail today.

Elizabeth Stewart received a call back from her Doctor today with the results of her last biopsy. The news was devastating.

Kenneth Scott’s heart medicine made him sleepy this time of day.

Especially when he sat down.
His eyes were already closed.

Missy Morris kept her bedroom window unlocked at night for Brad Stanton.

Her parents disliked him and didn’t trust him.
If she got caught, she would be grounded for life.

Marvin Garrett had stopped taking the medicine the Psychiatrist had prescribed for him for a while now.

He didn’t need it any more he was sure.
He didn’t have a problem. Everyone else did.

Lela Flowers wanted a divorce.

Her husband Steve was an idiot.
It was time for her to move on.
Her marriage was boring.

Clyde and Sue Armstrong were sitting crossways with the pastor. They felt he had been preaching just to them recently.

Pat Thurston’s blood sugar level was out of whack tonight and she could tell.

Marsha Cantrell was in pain. Her gall bladder had been acting up. She also didn’t have hospitalization insurance.

Becky Shaw was unhappy with the church dress standards.

She tried to comply when she came to church.
She wasn’t convicted.
What she did on her own time was her business.
She posted pictures of her vacation on MySpace.
She was posing on the beach in her new short shorts.
She cropped the picture to show herself just from the waist up to post on Facebook.
A lot of the saints were on Facebook.
Not too many knew about her MySpace account.
She felt smug and somewhat superior.

Belinda Jones had been writings hot checks from one bank and depositing them in another.

By hurriedly going back and forth, she was able to make it look like she had more money than she did.
First Bank had called and left a message before service.
She feared she would be arrested for kiting checks.

Josh Palmer had 5 days growth of mustache on his face. He knew the Pastor frowned on facial hair.

He figured maybe Jesus even had a beard.
Josh loved to test the boundaries.

Don and Debra Martin had both recently resigned from leading the youth group.

They felt hurt that Paul Roberts was supporting the new youth leader so strongly.
Paul had never offered to help them.

Kay Ellis was busy texting Elaine Howard. Kay could text without looking at her phone.

She just stuck her hand in her purse and punched away.
No one knew but her and Elaine.

Keith Norman had stopped to talk with a Bankruptcy Lawyer after he’d gotten off work today.

Mark and Wilma Faraday’s 14-year-old son Jerrod ran away from home yesterday.

He’d left a note.
The police hadn’t found him yet.
They were beside themselves with worry.

Evelyn Conner was grieving.

Her darling of 52 years had died 6 weeks ago.
She was lost in her own grief.
All she could talk about was her Joe.
She missed him so much.

Satan stood in the back with his arms crossed.

A smirk was on his face.
He was pleased with his successes and accomplishments.
His Imps were grinning from ear to ear.
He just knew that he had made God’s work impossible.
He had done damage to their worship.
He had brought murmuring into their hearts.
He had led some astray.
He had confused the efforts of the Almighty.
He was exceedingly happy.

NEVERTHELESS…

The Lord ignored Satan. He considered neither him nor his works an obstacle He couldn’t overcome.

He then turned his eyes and looked the people over.
In spite of all the problems and problem people, there were hungry hearts in the building.
His heart melted at their interest in Him.

He was grieved by the sins of His children.

His arm was not too short to reach them.
His ears weren’t stopped up so that He couldn’t hear.
They were their own problem.
He would not force Himself tonight on them.
If they were unwilling to reach out to Him He would look for someone who would.

There were new faces in His house tonight. Many had never received heard His Word or felt His Spirit.

In spite of the wicked:

His hands reached out to touch those who reached out to Him.

In spite of the unbelieving:

He healed all those that believed in Him.

In spite of Satan’s work:

He gave strength to the weak

In spite of the unconcerned:

He comforted the broken-hearted.

In spite of the carnal minded:

His Glory fell on the righteous.

In spite of the ungodly:

Conviction fell upon the sinful.

In spite of the rebellious:

He blessed the willing.

In spite of the workers of evil:

He gave strength to the faithful.

In spite of the disgruntled:

He let His presence be felt.

In spite of the perverted:

He blessed the pure in heart

In spite of the sinful:

He let His holiness show

In spite of the downcast:

He lifted up heads.

In spite of His disappointment in their failures:

He gave His forgiveness.

In spite of past their failures:

He forgave their sins

In spite of Satan’s efforts:

Sinners repented.

In spite of Hell’s efforts:

Seekers were filled with the Holy Ghost.

That His Word might be fulfilled: