Archive for August 2010
Preachers, Facebook and Begging For Money
Preachers, Facebook and Begging For Money
Beware! An old problem has invented a new avenue to intrude uninvited into your world!
Over the years, ethical pastors, missionaries and evangelists have strived to work in harmony to further the Gospel.
When an emergency presented itself and additional finances were needed, the brethren all understood there were limitations and restrictions attached to acquiring the additional funds.
Our old pastors taught the younger ministry that ‘If you have a gift, it will make room for you. Don’t make room for your gift.” The advice is still relevant and appropriate today. I have tried to live by that.
They also taught us that if you claimed to have a ‘Faith Ministry” and went around asking for money, it wasn’t ‘Faith’ at all. You didn’t have a ‘Faith Ministry’, you were just a beggar.
Today through the conduit of Radio and TV, many are scammed. They are hoodwinked into investing and ‘sowing seed’ into bogus ministries.
(The great news is that all of us can have salvation and healing without investing a dime in some false prophet’s coffers.)
We now have the Internet. Along with that came Twitter, Everyone’s Apostolic, Facebook and other social networks.
It seems like lately that most of us have been swamped with notes in our Inboxes from assorted preachers.
- Missionaries, that some of us have never even heard of, want you to send them money.
- Evangelists are posting on your pages desperately wanting you to give to them.
- Preachers starting a church or pastoring a small one somewhere need you to contribute and they don’t mind asking.
Don’t give to them.
- You heard me right.
- They are not ethical.
- If they where ethical, they wouldn’t ask you!
Here is how the whole system works. Let’s start with the Missionary first.
Missionaries.
There are two basic and acceptable avenues for them.
If the Missionary is with an organization, they back him. He travels and gets acquainted with new congregations and revisits his faithful supporters. The pastors of those churches make pledges and mail their monthly checks to his Missions Department. The Missions Department then sends him a regular check. If an emergency arises, he contact his Missions Department and they respond. Sometimes a local pastor friend may hear of the need and respond privately.
If the Missionary is independent, he has no headquarters to help him out. He is at the mercy of the Lord and his friends. If he has an emergency, he may call or write a close pastor friend or two. This friend, may not have enough money himself to meet the crises. He them become a spokesman for the missionary and on his behalf will call some of his pastor friends. These men then will go to their churches, if need be, and raise the offering that way.
How ever it’s done, it’s never done privately between a saint in a church and the missionary.
Missionaries who get on Facebook and plead with saints for money are without scruples or ethics. Don’t give to them. Let your pastor guide your giving.
Pastors
Pastors that likewise plead for money from someone else’s saints, are without ethics or principles. Do not respond to them.
You don’t go next door to your neighbors and ask their working teenager to give you money to pay your bills.
Evangelists
Evangelists are out of line to EVER ask a dime from ANYONE. I have pastored 30 years and I have been preaching out for 50 years. During all those years, I have preached 919 revivals and never called and asked for one. I’ve also preached 335 conferences and 62 camps besides.
If you are a God-called preacher, don’t you think that the same God that called you will provide for you? He does!
No evangelist should ever ask for money on Facebook. Don’t be foolish and give to him, no matter if you like him or not.
His asking is without principle.
No evangelist should ever receive money from saints in the church where he is preaching a revival.
If money somehow makes it to his hand or pocket, he must give that to the local pastor.
If the pastor decides to keep the money or give it back, that is the pastor’s prerogative.
Every preacher must understand that God has a way of balancing every thing out. The same God that fed Elijah with a raven knows where each of us is laboring in the vineyard. Our day will come, where all the wine tours will be for us.
If these preachers are having to call and write around begging for money, maybe they should have stayed in their local church and helped their pastor. Maybe,(God forbid anyone should say it.) they’re not really called.
In spite of our talking till we are blue in the face, grievous wolves run loose among the flock. They will fleece you of your money if you let them. Don’t. Give the Bible way. Bring it into the local storehouse. (Church)
Do you want a blessing! Do you want to help the work of God? Then give bountifully to your local church. Give God your tithe. (You want a real blessing? Tithe on your Gross!) Give extra to your Building Fund, Missions and Sunday School. And while you are in a giving mood, slip some money in your pastor’s hand and bless him.
I Love What I Hear!
Marcia June Starr – Martyn Joseph Ballestero
45th Wedding Anniversary
August 14, 1965 – August 14, 2010
______________________________________________________________________
My Dear,
I Love What I Hear!
- I’ve heard “Good Morning Honey,” 16,436 times!
- I’ve heard “I love you,” too many times to count!
- I’ve heard “I miss you,” more times than a husband should.
- Four times I’ve heard, “It’s a boy!”
- I heard that 8 more times at our Grandson’s births!)
- Once I heard, “It’s a girl!”
- I heard that said 4 more times at our Granddaughter’s births!)
- I love What I Hear!
≈≈≈
I Love What I Feel!
- I’ve felt loved for 45 years.
- I’ve felt needed all of those days.
- I’ve felt appreciated above my worth.
- I’ve felt missed when I’m away.
- I feel content when I’m with you.
- I feel at peace in our home.
I Love What I Feel!
≈≈≈
I Love What I See!
- I see your face brighten into a smile when I come home.
- I see your acts of service.
- I see your constant sacrifices made for my benefit.
- I see your tenderness.
- I see your devotion.
- I see your purity.
- I see your modesty.
- I see your wholesome goodness.
- I see your sincerity.
- I see your grace.
- I see a Christian.
- I see your beauty.
- I see my Dreams Come True.
- I see Love at it finest.
I Love What I See!
≈≈≈
I Love What I Know!
- I know I my beloved is mine and I am hers.
- I know I am loved.
- I know I am cherished.
- I know I am thought of.
- I know you are faithful.
- I know you are my Pride and Joy.
- I know I am not complete without you.
- I know that I am lost without you.
I Love What I Know!
≈≈≈
I Love What I Am!
- I love what I am because of you.
- I love how you’ve helped me grow.
- I love how you’ve helped me be a better father.
- I love how you’ve helped me be a better man.
- I love how you helped me be a better husband.
- I love how you’ve helped me be a better Christian.
- I love how you’ve given peace and serenity to my world.
- I love how you’ve brought reason and wisdom into our decisions.
I Love What I Am Because Of You.
≈≈≈
For Sixteen Thousand Four Hundred And Thirty Six Days I Have Been Married To The One I Love. The Love Of My Life!
Thank You My Darling, For The Best 45 Years Of Marriage A Husband Could Ever Hope For!!
I Love You!!
Martyn Joseph Ballestero Sr.
Don’t Waste Your Season
It’s A Season!
Each Season Has It’s Purpose, Don’t Waste It!
Somehow the word ‘Season’ sometimes seems to us that it is a world without end!
But, it doesn’t snow all year long in my town. Neither does it rain all year long in your town.
- Farmers don’t plow all year long.
- Farmers don’t plant all year long.
- Farmers don’t irrigate all year long.
- Farmers don’t harvest all year long.
- Farmers understand that ‘different’ things happen in ‘different’ Seasons.
We commonly hear and use phrases like: Spring Time, Summer Time, The Fall, and Winter Time.
(Then there’s even the Rainy Season and the Dry Season just to complicate things.)
Every nation in the world understands the concept of those Seasons.
We live by them. We dress accordingly. We adapt to them. We understand that this Season will soon change. It’s just a Season. We may wish that Summer would last longer, or that Spring time would never end. But all Seasons come to an end.
Seasons come and Seasons go.
Seasons are even shown in animals. Horses, dogs, and cows, to name a few, grow a ‘Winter Coat.” They adapt for the Season. Isn’t it strange how we humans struggle with adaptation?
Caterpillars look lowly and without beauty or distinction, but don’t let that fool you. It’s just a Season. Soon that Season of their life will pass and they will become a Beautiful Butterfly that turns every child’s head and causes them to marvel.
We understand that the Seasons of our Natural Environment that are controlled by the moon.
- Psa. 104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons:
We must have an understanding too, that the Seasons in our Spiritual Life are controlled by the Son.
May it bring comfort to those in pain to understand that it’s a Season. Is it a Painful Season? Yes, most assuredly, but a Season nevertheless.
Weeping endures for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. The Weeping Season concluded with a Season of Joy. May your Weeping Season end the same!
- Psa. 30:11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
Thou hast turned for me!! God controls your Seasons! He knows where you are at and what you are going through. Have confidence in His great ability!
There Are Seasons Of Sickness. There Are Seasons Of Healing.
- Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
There Are Seasons Of Opportunity
- John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
May this be your Season to be Healed!
May this be your Season to be Blessed!
May this be your Season to be Delivered!
May this be your Season for Revival!
May this be your Season of Financial Blessings!
May this be your Season of Spiritual Growth!
May this be your Season of Victory!
There Are Seasons of Loneliness
When Paul was on trial, no one came to support him.
- 2Tim. 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
But God came through and brought him a Season of Comfort during his trial.
- 2Tim. 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
- 2Tim. 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Don’t Fail To Make The Most Of Your Season!
- 2Kings 13:18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
- 2Kings 13:19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
The King of Israel only made a half-hearted attempt. He never took full advantage of his Season. He learned that God does not force blessing or victory on you. You must recognize your Season!
Noah’s Day had their Season!
Ninevah had a Season!
America has had it’s Season!
Israel will be trodden down until the ‘Season’ of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
- Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
This is YOUR Hour!
This is YOUR Season!
Don’t Waste YOUR Season!
Are You A Carrot, An Egg, Or A Coffee Bean?
Are You A Carrot, An Egg, Or A Coffee Bean?
(Taken from an email about Sunday School illustrations…)
Author Unknown
___________________________________________
A carrot , an egg, and a coffee bean…
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying A word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!! !!
The Unreasonable Demands Of Sin
The Unreasonable Demands Of Sin
Mark 10:17-27- The Rich Young Ruler felt Christ’s demands were unreasonable!
- So, You think the Church makes unreasonable demands on you?
- Before you get the mindset that God’s is unreasonable, let me tell you about the Unreasonable Demands Of Sin.
There are Unreasonable Demands of Life
Keep up w/Jones’s, Car Model changes,
School Busing,
No Prayer in Schools
The Unreasonable Demands Of Life Are A Given. Let’s Talk About The Unreasonable Demands Of Sin.
Sin Wanted:
- Eve to Question and Disobey God. = (The Loss of God’s Fellowship)
- Noah’s Gen. to Ignore Only Saving message = (The loss of your life.)
- Naboth to sell his vineyard = (Lose your heritage)
- Daniel to stop praying = (Lose your consecration
- 3 Hebrew Children to bow down = (Lose your worship)
- That was a long time ago.
- Let’s Talk About The Unreasonable Demands of Sin Today.
Sin Demands:
- Your Innocence
- The Early Loss of Your Virginity to be accepted by the world, the in-crowd.
- Sin wishes to devalue you in your own eyes and the eyes of others.
Style Demands:
- You dress a certain way ——- even if you look stupid.
- Wear expensive clothes ——- even if you can’t afford to.
- That Holiness be ignored.
- That you wear things that God calls an abomination. (Everyone’s doing it)
- That clothes be designed without the church in mind.
Drugs Demand:
- You support an expensive habit, even if you don’t want to.
- You do whatever you have to do to get the money
- Sell your body for more drugs.
- Steal
- Get a criminal record
- Become HIV positive (dirty needles)
- Live a lie
- Change into a crazed animal at times
- Be abusive to others
- Birth children with serious birth defects
- Risk losing the ones that love you
- Warp your personality
- Damage your ability to think clearly
- Fry your brains for life.
Alcohol Demands:
- You destroy your family
- Your marriage go on the rocks
- You choose the Bottle over your family
- You miss work,
- Lose your Job
- Lose your career
- Consider homelessness an option
- Damage your vital organs
- Destroy your liver
- You Lose your Driver’s license and possibly your freedom
Smoking Demands:
- You knowingly kill yourself
- You jeopardize your health and those around you
- You breath stink
- Your teeth to turn yellow
- Your fingers to stain
- Your Hair, clothes, car, house, smell like an ash tray
- You turn your lungs into cancer containers.
- That kissing you is like licking an ashtray.
Your Temper Demands:
- You always have to get your way to be happy.
- That you become physical in your anger.
- That your family fear you and your violent nature.
- That your friends fear you too.
- You get offended easily and say things that you’ll regret.
- That submission becomes a constant issue.
Your Lust Demands:
- Gratification, regardless of the cost.
- You risk your health
- You risk your reputation
- You risk your soul
- You disregard risk of embarrassment or injury to your friends, church, family
Your Perversion Demands:
- That you become without natural affection
- That you live in a closet of deception all your life.
- That you continually risk your health
- That you continually risk HIV infection
- That you continually risk the violent reactions of others
- That you live in fear of being outed
- That you live a lifestyle that God hates
- That you live in fear of rejection by your family and others.
- That not only are your desires perverted, your mind is too.
- That you get in conflict with the laws of Man and the laws of God.
Your Rebellion Demands
- That Pride becomes your motivation
- That you ignore God’s Word and God’s Man.
- That your spirit be used of the Devil to hinder Revival in the Church
- That you feel more comfortable with Self Will than God’s Will
- That you bring the Judgment of God on yourself
- That Godly people discern your spirit and distance themselves from you.
- That you fall into the category of “a worker of iniquity”
- That you tempt the Lord every time you open your mouth
Hollywood Demands:
- You accept it’s morality
- Your senses become hardened by:
- Murder
- Violence
- Vulgarity
- Nudity
- Pre-marital Sex
- Infidelity
- Perversion
- Humanistic values
- It Demands Christians be portrayed as:
- Nerds
- Wicked and Hypocritical people
- Churches be put in a bad light
- Preachers are always bad people
Sin Demands that you:
- Doubt God, but trust your sinner friends.
- Disobey God
- Not Fear God
- Not Love God with all your heart
- Accept what God rejects.
- Ignore God
- Make light of God’s Word
- Ignore God’s Call
- You reject God
Sin Demands you:
- That you miss church
- That you get a job that helps you miss church
- That you justify worldly friends
- That you feel like God doesn’t love you
- That you feel like The Church doesn’t love you
- That you feel like the Pastor doesn’t love you
- That you believe sinful living is really freedom.
Sin Demands Your:
- Involvement
- Your participation, physically/emotionally
- That you recruit others
- That you not go to hell alone
- That when you did go to church to had no desire to recruit others.
- Time
- Finances – That you throw money to the devil, but have a problem with tithes
- Acceptance – Become addicted
- Life
- Future
Sin Demands that You Live In:
- Bondage
- Condemnation
- Shame
- Guilt
- Regret
- Reproach
- In Fear of Dying
Sin Demands You:
- Reject God’s Love
- It’s wages
- Go to Hell
- Feel Uncomfortable in Church
- Feel Uncomfortable in the presence of God
- Become hardened in your heart
- Believe a lie and be damned
- You backslide
- Get rebellious
- Lose your testimony
- If your Boss was Unreasonable, you’d quit
- If your Neighbors were Unreasonable, you’d move
- If the Gas Station’s prices were Unreasonable, you’d go elsewhere
- If the Restaurant’s prices were Unreasonable, you’d go elsewhere
- Sin is Unreasonable, You NEED to go Elsewhere
Sin Demands You consider Heaven’s Demands Unreasonable!
The Reasonableness of Serving God
- Yoke is easy
- Burden light
- Heaven is better than Hell
- God blesses you daily
- Great is your reward in Heaven
- Here is as bad as it gets
- God fights your battles
- God supplies your needs
- God directs your steps
- God gives you peace
- Guilt is gone
- Your sins are forgiven
Rom. 12:1-2 Holiness is reasonable
- Obeying God is reasonable
- Faith is reasonable
- Worship is reasonable
- Tithing is reasonable
- The New Birth Message is reasonable
- Witnessing is reasonable
- Fearing God is reasonable ……(the beginning of wisdom)
Sin’s demands at best, can only bring temporary pleasure
What’s Unreasonable about:
- God’s Love
- God’s Mercy
- God’s Protection
- Forgiveness
- Having your sins washed away in Jesus Name
- Being filled with the Spirit
- Heaven
- Letting God Guide you
- Letting God comfort you
- Say Good-bye to the Sinning Business
- Say Hello to the Reasonableness of living for God
What’s Reasonable About:
- Resisting God?
- Neglecting your Soul?
- Refusing Divine Help?
- Running from God?
- Ignoring God’s Love?
- Living in fear of the Judgment
- Living in fear of the Rapture
- Living without peace in your soul
- Being lost in eternity
- Saying goodbye to Salvation
Get Your eyes open to the fact that God loves you,
That the Devil doesn’t love you, he desires you.
- It’s Reasonable to respond to the love of God.
- It’s Reasonable to Give Him your heart.
- It’s Reasonable to Surrender your will to Him
- It’s Reasonable to Obey His Word.
- It’s Reasonable to Live for God.
- It’s Reasonable to Live Holy
- It’s Reasonable to Dress Holy
- It’s Reasonable to show the World, by how we act and dress, that we belong to God.
- When we were in Sin, we showed God who we belonged to, by how we acted and dressed.)
God hasn’t asked you to do some hard thing.
Here is what he’s asked you to do, it’s found in ACTS 2:38
- Repent
- Get Baptized
- Receive The Gift of the Holy Ghost…Speaking with other tongues
Let Him fill you today.
Live For Him! It’s Not Hard!