Archive for August 2018
I Wish You Could’ve Come To My Funeral.
I Wish You Could’ve Come To My Funeral.
I walked up to my grave and stood there, waiting for the man below to bury me.
There were no flowers around me, and less than a hundred people were in attendance. My funeral was never reported. My obituary never even came out in the Palladium-Item, the local newspaper of Richmond, Indiana. I wasn’t well known.
I stood looking down into what was evidently a mass burial pit. One man said that over a hundred had been buried right there. I focused my gaze upon the man standing down at the very bottom. He looked up and me with a kind smile, but it wasn’t reassuring. I was only eight years old.
This was real. They were actually going to bury me. No one called the police. My Mother was crying. My Dad never took his eyes off of me or the man. My little sisters watched out of curiosity. The crowd pushed closer to me. They all wanted to watch me get buried. They wondered what I would do.
The man in the pit took his jacket off and rolled up his shirt sleeves. He was serious about his job. I remember silently praying. The man in the pit reached up to steady me and help me down. He pulled me close to him. He grabbed both of my wrists with one huge hand and the back of my shirt collar with the other and held me like that.
He looked up at my Dad and asked him if he wanted to say a prayer over me. He did. But, I was ready to die. I was ready to be buried. What happened next was a blur. When he buried me, the people clapped. It evidently made them happy. My Father even smiled. My Mother smiled through her tears. The crowd broke out into a song and the people seemed happy that I was buried.
The last words I heard the man say before he buried me was: “My brother, upon confession of your faith and your willingness to be buried in the likeness of the burial of Jesus Christ, I now baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins.”
That’s the night Bro. Robert McFarland, the pastor in Richmond, Indiana buried me in water. I was baptized me in *Jesus Name. That was the night my flesh died out and I was buried with Christ in baptism.
I Wish You Could’ve Come To My Funeral.
* Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Lies and Other Stupid Things You Tell God and Yourself.
Lies and Other Stupid Things You Tell God and Yourself.
1. I can’t afford to pay tithes.
2. Tithes were under the Law, I’m not. So, I don’t have to pay tithes.
3. This is not men’s apparel. I bought it in the women’s department.
4. God doesn’t have a problem with my ring.
5. It’s OK to go to professional sporting events.
6. This TV won’t hurt me. I can control it.
7. There’s nothing wrong with how I’m dressed. It’s the man’s problem if he is bothered by how revealing or tight my clothes are. They should turn their head.
8. Trimming the dead ends of my hair is healthy and will make it grow, plus the use of castor oil for hair will help me out a lot too. God doesn’t care.
9. I’m not convicted.
10. I’m not being fed here.
11. It’s OK to drink wine.
12. The Bible isn’t against make-up.
13. I’m too sick to go to church tonight.
14. I can’t drive in the rain, so I’m not going to church.
15. The pastor hates me.
16. No man has the right to tell me what to do.
17. I think it, so I might as well say it.
18. I don’t need to pray through, they’re the ones with the problem.
19. I can’t help it. Boys will be boys. This is how God made me.
20. I DON’T HAVE A BAD SPIRIT!!
21. I have a right to my own opinion.
22. Trust your heart.
23. What I’m doing isn’t hurting anyone but me.
24. All conservatives are harsh and have a bad spirit.
25. The Lord told me…
26. I can read and interpret the Bible for myself.
27. The church is full of hypocrites
28. If I go up to the altar, people will think something is wrong with me.
29. I can’t worship with that style of music.
30. God doesn’t look on the outside. He only looks on the inside.
Baby, You Took A Chance On Me – August 14, 1965!
Marcia June Starr Ballestero
Happy Fifty-Third Anniversary Darling!
You Took A Chance On Me – August 14, 1965
THANK YOU!!
I was nothing, yet you let me into your world.
I had nothing, yet you believed in me enough to partner with me for life.
I was so broke that I had to pawn my guitar to get to our wedding.
I couldn’t preach very good, and my revival calendar was empty.
But, you took a chance on me.
You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
You had talent and poise.
Your singing sounded to me like the voice of an angel.
I couldn’t sing,
I wasn’t talented,
I couldn’t preach,
I still had a face full of pimples,
I had nothing to offer you but a heart that was enraptured with the very thought of you.
But, you took a chance on me.
You took a chance on me without knowing much about me.
You took a chance on me and the very idea of you loving me was exhilarating!
You took a chance on me and made to the envy of all my fellows.
You took a chance on me and filled my life with peace, joy, and love.
You took a chance on me and made me the richest man in the world.
You went to death’s door five times to give us a family.
You are the most nurturing and loving wife, mother, and grandmother.
You are the wisest woman I know.
You are the most beautiful woman I know.
You are the sweetest woman I know.
You are the most loving woman I know.
You are the very essence of peace.
You make a house into a home.
You are a perfect example of a wife and a mother.
Your talents have flourished.
Your beauty never fades.
Your love is wonderful beyond description.
Thank you for taking a chance on me.
I still don’t have anything.
I’m still broke.
I still can’t preach.
I’m still not talented.
I don’t know how you’re able to look past all of that and see that my heart is smitten by you.
But, Thank You!
I am thrilled to say that I am still here 53 years later.
I am thrilled to say that I am still head-over-heels in love with you.
I am thrilled to say that I still can’t wait to see your face every day.
I am thrilled to say that your love is sweeter now than ever.
I am thrilled to say that you are the love of my life.
I love you.
I need you.
Oh, and thank you for taking a chance on me. I ain’t much, but I am still yours.
I pray God gives us both health and many more years for me to enjoy loving the girl who took a chance on me!
Baby, I Love You With All My Heart!
Marty
If God Ain’t Happy With You…
If God Ain’t Happy With You…
- You’re In Trouble! Big Trouble!
- You Will Never Be Happy Either!
You Won’t Be Happy Because He Will Make Sure There Are Consequences.
Your ONLY Escape From His Displeasure Is To Humble Yourself And Repentant.
- God wasn’t happy with Nineveh, but when they repented, and He showed them mercy.
- God wasn’t happy with David, but when he repented God showed him mercy too.
*His Unhappiness With You Is Caused By Something You Did Or Didn’t Do.
If God Ain’t Happy With You…
- There will be no blessings.
- There will be no peace.
- There will be no joy.
- There will be no forgiveness.
- There will be no answered prayer.
Just Ask:
- Adam
- Cain
- Esau
- Balaam
- Nabal
- Ananias and Sapphira
- The Unknown Prophet
- Lot’s Wife
Psa. 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
He’s Not Happy With You:
If You Love The World, He’s Not Happy With You.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
If You Are A Lover Of Pleasure, More Than A Lover Of God, He’s Not Happy With You.
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
If You Refuse To Forgive Others, He’s Not Happy With You.
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses
If You Rob Him Of Tithes And Offerings, He’s Not Happy With You.
Mal. 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal .3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
If You Prophesy Falsely In His Name And He Hasn’t Spoken Through You, He’s Not Happy With You.
Jer. 14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Jer. 14:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
If You Mistreat Your Wife, He’s Not Happy With You.
1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
If You Gossip And Are A Talebearer, He’s Not Happy With You.
Lev. 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
Lev. 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Lev. 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
If You Rebel Against The Pastor, He’s Not Happy With You.
Heb. 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
If You Refuse To Love Truth, He’s Not Happy With You!
2 Thess. 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2 Thess. 2:12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
If You’re Living In Sin, He’s Not Happy With You.
Isa 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear
Do We Think God Will Be Happy With Us If We:
- Get drunk
- Commit Fornication or Adultery
- Hate each other
- Are Addicted To Drugs
- Curse
- Dress immodestly
- Filled with Jealousy
- Become Bitter
- Question His Commandments
- Have a problem with Holiness.
- Lie
- Dress immodestly
- Create discord in His Church
- Rebel against the Pastor
- Cause Division among the brethren
- Change churches anytime we want
- Refuse to submit to authority
God Warns His People What He Will Do If He’s Not Happy With Them.
Lev 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev. 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev. 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Lev. 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Lev. 26:19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Lev. 26:20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
Lev. 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Lev. 26:22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
Lev. 26:23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Lev. 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Lev. 26:25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Lev. 26:26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Lev. 26:27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev. 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
But, When God Is Happy With You…
He Will Bless You.
Psa 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Psa 115:13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
Supply All Your Needs.
Psa 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He Will Bring Peace Into Your World.
Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He Will Protect You.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
He Will Direct Your Steps.
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
He Will Heal You.
Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
He Will Anoint You.
2Co 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
He Will Use You.
Dan 11:32: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
He Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You.
Heb 13:5… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Your Enemies Will Make Peace With You.
Prov. 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
He Will Bless Your Obedience.
Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
He Gets Happy When You Repent.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
If God Is Happy With You, He Can’t Do Enough for You.
Lev 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev. 26:4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Lev. 26:5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
Lev. 26:6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
Lev. 26:7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
Lev. 26:8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
Lev. 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
Lev. 26:10 And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.
Lev. 26:11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
Lev. 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
Lev. 26:13 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
Apostolic Expository Series
Christy Ballestero (My Beautiful DIL)
http://marciaballestero.com/
Pastor Anthony & Kim Ballestero, New Destiny Worship Center, Clearwater, FL (My Son)
Pastor Bryan & Christy Ballestero, Temple Of Pentecost, Raleigh, NC (My Son)
James Groce Blog – "Toward The Mark"
Kenneth Bow Blog
Kingdom Speak Podcast
Philip Harrelson – "The Barnabas Blog"
Verbal Bean Ministries
Holy Ghost Radio
The Ballestero Blog 