The Ballestero Blog

What Would Pentecostals Post On Facebook If This Were 70 Years Ago?

I’m sure I don’t really know. It’s a crazy supposition, for certain. But what if there had been Internet and Facebook? What kind of posts would we read from friends and family in our FB news feed?

First of all, I am not sure how many would have even been on any social media. Some, in the 1940’s, regularly warned of the worldly influence of radio in Christian homes. Television was called a one-eyed monster.

Secondly, the whole world was at war. The saints of old actually believed they were living in the last days and most of them acted accordingly.

Thirdly, many of them had survived the great depression. Most had little money or possessions. Christ and the Church became the center of their lives.

With this in mind allow me to extract comments and excerpts from my family’s letters and wire recordings (Wire recorders preceded Cassette and Tape Recorders.) made during that same time frame.

I am sure they would have made the same type of affectionate greetings to family and friends.

We would have also read:

• Victory reports of revival and new church plantings
• Updates on our children and grand children’s lives
• Recipes and sewing tips
• But most assuredly, there would have been much talk about the coming of the Lord, the end time, Heaven, and the importance of being ready

Here are some comments taken from Carl Ballestero’s (my father) letters to Bro. Harvey Davis during WWII.

     1.    “I write to you, Harvey, as Jonathan would to David, with nothing but love and honor in my heart for you.  I know nothing of your failures, (I have enough of my own, for we all are unprofitable servants), but I looked for Jesus in you, and bless His dear Name, I found Him in you in a very pleasing way. It really isn’t hard to see our Jesus in one another, if we would but look for Him.

2.    “As I was sitting at the table thinking of what you said about going all out for Jesus, (you spoke my heart) and it seemed then, how few really want to see things done for God. Most people will go places for God when things are going good and when the message is popular, but only a handful are possessed with the “Jesus passions” for lost souls and genuine red-hot Holy Ghost revival fire to sweep not only their own hearts, but the whole community as well. I pray that God will give us a “go-through” spirit.

     3.    “May the Lord melt us and take away all bitterness from our hearts, for His Name’s sake.

     4.    “We’re strangers here, not wanted, not loved by man, we have a Heavenly City, not made with hands, and One ever beckons to the weary, tempted and tried pilgrims to “Come out from among them and be ye separate” for this world is not their home.

     5.    “Yes, there is hardly a preacher in Pentecost who doesn’t know how far short of the Apostolic power we are. Oh, it is true that we have the Gospel, but then too, “The letter killeth.” It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.” It takes more than plain good preaching to get people saved. It takes the signs following you spoke about.

     6.    “…But then may we now say, not “Where is the God of Elijah,” but “Where is the Elijah of God.”

     7.    “We, as young ministers could blame the preachers before us for this pitiful state of God’s Body, (and we would not be too far from wrong for they have not been altogether blameless), but we have a wall to build, whether we are the men to do the job or not, I am certain God is pleased that the thought is in our hearts. Let us therefore set our minds to the immense task that lies before us, and consecrate, humble, deny and keep under the Blood every fiber of our being that we might be of a truth, “The apple of God’s eye.” Surely He cannot help but bless that one who has determined to make his time God’s time, who realizes that his members are God’s temple, his very life and breath, a loan from a loving Friend who sticks closer than any brother.

     8.    “I can truthfully say, that my joy is to do the will of my Father in Heaven, yes, that is also my meat, it sustains me, gives me life, for Jesus is truly the “Bread of Life.”

     9.    “Let us evermore come to Him that we might have life and that more abundantly. Jesus said, “Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life.” We have life from Him, Brother, but not many have that abundant life, the holy and sanctified breath of God in them that makes giants out of weaklings, that makes heroes out of cowards, that makes intercessors out of sluggards, yea, that makes mighty, prevailing, unconquerable, rugged, self-denying Gospel and Gift entrusted Christian men and women who can move the mountains of sin in the abominable generation of our day.

     10.“What then shall we do? Shall we be sorry for our faults, or defeats? No, not sorry, but rather repent. It is harder to get a Pentecostal person to repent than a rank sinner. Yes, repent and launch out into the deep, for surely hell will be full of sorry people.

     11.“Most of my time is spent in the study of God’s Word. I now am spending more time in prayer that He first might make it burn in my heart so that I can preach it from the very depths of my soul with His fire and unction. I have a wonderful book entitled “The Preacher and Prayer” by Bounds, and if I can’t find any in the bookstores, I’ll send you mine. Marvelous truth! It will fire your passion for souls and shake you into a prayerful attitude.

     12.“My typewriter has been in hock for a few weeks now, so that explains the pen and ink. I pawned it so that I could buy a turkey for New Year’s Day. I am sending you all the money we have, but my Father is rich, and “I shall not want”, for truly, with food and raiment, the love of God in my heart, the hunger for more of Him and for others to know Him is more than I deserve, and if I cannot say like Paul, “I have learned …” I can say “I am learning to be content in whatsoever state I am in.”

     13.“Your letter touched my heart, just made me love you so, and cry, so I just had to write you these few lines. (It doesn’t seem many to me, for they flow from my heart.) If I have ever said or done anything to harm or hinder you, please forgive me, as I do want to make Heaven my home. If I have, it was not by choice, from my head, but not my heart.

     14.“We send our love to each of you, pray daily for you.

     15.“Other than what I’ve mentioned, in these dark and bewildering days, all that we have to look forward to is the coming of Jesus to deliver us from this body of death. The supposedly strong ones among us have forsaken our God and their cross and left the lambs to continue on with faltering step. It seems that those who really desire to pay the price and go through must do so amidst the railings of those who make a mock of sin, who have no confidence in Christianity, (and why should they have?) Yet, still the love and the Spirit of God pulls our feet homeward, saying “This is the way, walk ye in it.”

     16.“When I listen to good preachers, I begin to wonder if I’ve missed my calling or not, but when I see the way people are failing God, and faith has vanished; when I see the holy standard of Jesus Christ dragged in the gutter, and a bunch of old reprobates who live in sin, and brag about all their wonderful results, and claim to be the “fathers” of this Jesus Name movement, I take courage and make an attempt at preaching anyway,

      17.“Lose your money, lose your reputation, lose your car and all your possessions, but don’t lose your character, don’t lose the anointing of God, don’t lose your soul

     18.“There’s no place like the everlasting arms of Jesus when one is burdened, over-weighted with much sorrow, and about ready to abandon ship.

     19.“I would rather burn out for God than rust out.

     20.“I’m praying for you almost every night without fail. Might have missed you once or twice, but you’re usually upon my heart for your love and fellowship means so much to me.

Bro. Ike Terry’s Comments To My Mother, Connie Ballestero:

• “Sister Connie, I want to share with you a brand new One God Scripture that I found   today…”

Various Saints From The Bakersfield Church To My Mother:

•  “They carried me home drunk on the Holy Ghost last night. 
• “We had an all night prayer meeting.
  
• “My husband finally got the Holy Ghost during this revival, Hallelujah!
  

1. If any of the old saints had slipped off to a movie, or read a questionable book they would they have posted it or talked about it openly?
2. How much Sports talk would have been posted?
3. What photos would they post?
4. How much flesh would be on display?
5. How much would be written about Church, God and Christian living?

There would still have been fun and fellowship on the news feed of the 1940’s FB I’m sure, but I would like to think the Coming of the Lord and the End Time would have never strayed from the main focus.