Archive for the ‘Regret’ Category
My Old Man Is Crazy!
My Old Man Is Crazy!
I’m not saying he’s bipolar.
I’m not saying he has schizophrenia.
I’m not saying he should be in an institution or that he’s stupid.
I’m just saying he’s crazy. He’s very smart, yet he’s really crazy.
My old man’s not right.
I hate him too.
He embarrasses me in front of my friends.
When you tell him how horrible he is, he agrees but doesn’t change.
He even makes me cry sometimes.
He has hurt me so bad that I was embarrassed to tell even my closest friends.
I hate to say this, but I really don’t even like him.
I’ve even told him that I don’t love him and I never will.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
He does stupid and random stuff that truly scares me.
I am ashamed for him to be around me.
He lives in denial and keeps justifying all his craziness.
He likes things he shouldn’t.
He really needs help, but no one can help him.
He’s read up on his condition and says he knows what he needs to do.
But, I don’t think he is making any progress.
He really needs to stop and consider his horrible actions.
My old man is not loved by anyone.
His craziness pushes everyone away.
They all roll their eyes when he shows up.
His so-called friends just shake their heads in dismay and disappointment.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
He does things he shouldn’t.
He says things he shouldn’t.
He is very good at rationalizing and justifying himself.
He’s crazy, I’m telling you.
Some would like to see him dead.
I know some would even come to his funeral just to make sure he was really dead.
He’s just that bad.
He is so bad that God doesn’t like him.
I hate everything about him.
He’s horrible.
I loathe him.
He’ll never change.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
No self-help book has a remedy for him.
No prescription can help.
Therapists can’t fix him
Warnings and threats don’t seem to work.
And it’s driving me crazy too.
I wish he was out of my life.
I can’t tell you how happy I would be just to know my old man is graveyard dead,
My old man is crazy.
I told him he is not welcome in my house.
I told him to leave my family alone.
I told him that I cannot allow his influences in my life.
I told him to go away, I never wanted to see him again.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
I told him I am sick and tired of putting up with his mess.
I want my old man to be forever gone.
Judge me if you must,
I want my old man dead.
My old man makes me cry.
His actions are corrupt.
His words are deceitful, and his life is a sham.
I hate everything he does.
He wants attention.
His life is all about him and no one else.
No one can tell him what to do.
He hates that.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
My old man was always there.
He was there when I was born.
He’s been there for every event of my life.
Good times or bad, he was there.
That’s not even a good thing.
He gets all up in my business.
He meddles in every area of my life.
He messes up some of the most wonderful moments of my life.
I got to the place I had to tell my old man he was going to have to die.
He resisted and argued loudly with me.
But I wouldn’t budge, or back down.
He said he wouldn’t die willingly.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
So, I told him to prepare to be buried alive.
I forced him to his knees and kept him there.
I reminded him of every horrible thing he had done to me and my family.
My old man said he felt so dirty and ashamed, but I wouldn’t stop.
He cried and asked for mercy and forgiveness.
That’s when my old man died.
I started smiling for the first time in years.
My old man was dead.
“What shall we do with him?” Someone asked.
“Bury him,” I said.
Several gathered around to help bury my old man.
The Preacher buried him in water in Jesus Name.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
I shouted all over the church when my old man died.
The heaviest weight of my life was lifted.
My friends and family rejoiced with me.
I even told my neighbors that my old man was dead, and I smiled a big smile.
My life became peaceful and serene when my old man died.
I put a marker on his grave.
For all the world to see.
“Here lies My Old Man… Flesh”
(You’re not going to believe this.)
Some days later, I got the shock of my life.
I wanted to scream in horror.
I almost died from fright.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
There standing at my door was my old man.
He just grinned and pushed his way in.
This can’t be happening!
This is unreal!
But there he stood anyway.
My family cringed in fear.
How could this be happening?
My old man was like some un-earthling who could come back alive.
My mother told about a man named Paul.
He had a similar problem with his old man,
And he had to make him die every day.
Every day? E-V-E-R-Y DAY? Oh, No!
My Old Man Is Crazy!
I took him to church.
I needed some help.
I couldn’t let him live in my house anymore.
He couldn’t move back in.
I told him to pray.
I told him to fast.
I told him to deny himself.
I told him I want him to die again.
He doesn’t make going to church a priority, he’s not faithful.
He won’t pray like he knows he needs to.
He doesn’t like the subject of tithes.
He doesn’t read his Bible.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
He’s a rebel.
He hates standards.
He hates preachers.
He makes fun of holiness
My Old Man Is Crazy!
He gets defensive when the preacher said corrective things to him.
Like a macabre nightmare, sometimes he seems dead, then comes right back alive again.
I wish he’d stay dead.
He’s so bad, even God even wants him dead.
The preacher is tired of him, too. He won’t stay dead.
Many preachers have tried to get him to change but without any success.
The church family has tried to tolerate him.
His whole family has about given up on him.
As long as my old man is alive, my life is spent in vain.
As long as my old man is alive, I’ll never be saved.
As long as my old man is alive, I’ll never please God.
As long as my old man is alive, my inheritance is at risk.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
So now it’s a daily routine.
When I wake up in the morning and start my day.
He’s sitting on the edge of my bed.
Very much alive.
My daily routine now includes the unimaginable.
I have to figure out a way to make my old man die every day.
It’s not always easy to do
But it must be done.
My crazy old man.
My flesh.
Must die.
Everyday.
My Old Man Is Crazy!
_______________________________________
Joseph asked his brethren this question about his earthly father.
He called him, “the old man.”
Gen. 43:27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
Today, I Ask This Question Of Your Flesh… Is Your Old Man Alive?
Eph. 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation* the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
*lifestyle
Paul Said That His Old Man Had To Die Every Day. 1 Co 15:31
Is Your Old Man Still Alive?
When One Part Of Your Brain Hijacks The Other!
When One Part Of Your Brain Hijacks The Other!
Quite a few years ago, I was told about a new book and curiosity made me want to read it. The problem was, I was a little short of cash and not sure I wanted to spend what I had on a book instead of eat lunch.
I stopped by our local Barnes & Nobles Bookstore and asked the lady if they had the book, Emotional 
Intelligence in stock. They did, so I looked at it a few minutes and then found a nice easy chair and began to scan the pages for a bit longer. I read about fourteen pages and then I laid the book down and began to ponder on what I had just learned. I’ve never forgotten.
The premise put forward was that we all have two brains. (I was glad to find that out. I have been told I didn’t even have one.)
The author said that we each have a brain that thinks and a brain that feels. Our life may be at peace and functioning well, but turmoil, pain and great consequences come to us when one of our brains hijacks the other.
He Explained It By Describing Murders And Murderers.
The Brain That Thinks
The brain that thinks can get out of balance and push all emotions and normal feelings aside. It will then ignore every soft and tender thought the person ever had.
- He feels his mind is superior and he won’t get caught.
- He refuses to think about regrets and the pain he will cause.
- He devises ways to lure, entrap, and murder his victims.
Society uses the term Cold Blooded, Premeditated Murder, with Malice Aforethought.
Serial Killers must plan, calculate and orchestrate their dastardly deeds while ignoring every emotion that would stop them. Their brain that thinks hijacks the brain that feels. Society is very happy to lock that person behind bars for the rest of their life. They experience no remorse.
The Brain That Feels
The brain that feels can become so overwrought with painful emotion that it takes matters into it’s own hands and goes into what it believes is an appropriate action.
A loving wife may find her husband in the arms of another and her brain that feels immediately hijacks the brain that thinks.
- She is not worried about consequences.
- She hasn’t got time, in her mind, to worry about the law.
- She can only think about the hurt she feels.
We call it a crime of passion. It was a spur of the moment action. Nothing was preplanned. Sometimes juries have been a bit understanding and even lenient in such cases.
____________________________________________________________
When A Husband Is Unfaithful To His Wife.
The part of his brain that thinks, has to ignore and hijack the brain that feels. Unfaithfulness is not a spur of the moment action.
The brain that thinks hijacks the brain that feels and he convinces himself that he is no longer in love with his spouse. He says, he doesn’t love her anymore and hasn’t for some time. He tells her that to prepare her for what’s to come. He finds illogical fault with her to justify himself.
She is devastated and angry, and rightly so. The children quickly notice changes in daddy’s behavior and they become defensive of their mother and afraid of this man they loved.
Think about the all the emotional, logical, and spiritual Stop Signs and Road Blocks an unfaithful husband must pass before he arrives at where he thinks he wants to go.
- Permitting thoughts about another woman to have access into mind.
- Letting those thoughts become lustful and pleasurable.
- Creating a moment where the two of them can actually meet and talk.
- Making plans to meet again.
- Making plans to leave and divorce his wife.
- Ignoring the fact that he has no Bible right to leave his wife for another.
- The sending of Text Messages.
- The Emails back and forth.
- The secret Cell Phone calls.
- Then Deleting those Messages and Emails.
- The actual clandestine meeting.
- Touching her for the first time.
- The first kiss.
- The Motel.
Look how many stop sign he has to ignore. Look how many roadblocks he must step over. It’s pre-meditated. It’s planned. The brain that thinks has hijacked the brain that once felt love for his wife and family.
Nothing about unfaithfulness is accidental. It’s planned. It thought out. The brain that feels for God, family, and future has just been hijacked.
It makes no difference if the unfaithfulness is emotional or actual… it’s sin and it’s wrong.
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
When his brain that thinks hijacked his brain that feels… He had to ignore every hurt and pain in his wife’s eyes, words and heart. He had to ignore the consequences for his actions. He had to ignore the damage he was doing to his home and his children.
- He had to push aside the loss of his standing with God.
- He had to ignore the loss of his participation in God’s Kingdom.
- He had to be willing to place his eternal salvation in jeopardy.
He had to arrive at a place that made him not think about how much he was throwing away.
He now had a new infatuation and he could not think about anything else but her; not even her husband or her children.
He must be proud of the fact that he is a thinker and has a high IQ. In his own mind, he is smarter than the others who are crying. He refuses to let any emotional connection with his own wife and children stop him from achieving his goals. They have only become baggage and now he wants to be free from them.
Although He Knows These Passages In Proverbs, He Totally Ignores Them.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Proverbs 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Proverbs 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Proverbs 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Proverbs 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
Proverbs 6:29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
Proverbs 6:30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Proverbs 6:31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
Proverbs 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
Proverbs 6:33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
Proverbs 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Proverbs 6:35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Proverbs 7:27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
When a husband becomes unfaithful. He is not the only one now with a problem. His selfish thinking and actions have immobilized all those around him that love him. His marriage is paralyzed and may never be restored. His children will never respect him for the way he selfishly walked out on them and their mother.
Later in moments of reflection, he is prone to think he is the only one who needs counseling and help. That thinking is either being naïve, stupid or stubborn. AA and Al-Anon both include the addict and their family in the process. What one person did, now has become a problem for all those who once loved him.
Where Does One Turn To For Guidance And Help With Improper Thinking?
There Is Not Much Hope For Restoration To A Once Godly Marriage Or To Having A Sound Mind Again, If God And His Word Are Left Out Of The Equation. Restoration Is Of The Lord.
Psalms 16:7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
AMP: Psalm 16:7 I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.
If one of your brains has hijacked the other, God will bring release and restoration to your mind if you will turn to Him. He will deliver you. Refusing God’s intervention will only set you up for more devil’s play.
Sir: If There Is To Be ANY Hope Of Restoration In Your Marriage And In Your Walk With God, It’s Up To You To:
- Choose to repent to God, your wife, and pastor.
- Choose to let God’s Word and God’s man guide you into complete restoration.
- Choose to love your wife with all your heart.
- Choose to reassure her.
- Choose to be careful about your thoughts, feeling and interaction with the opposite sex.
- Choose to clear yourself from further suspicion.
- Choose to connect with your wife, family and God like you never have before.
- Choose to live for God and not throw your soul away.
May The Lord God guide your thoughts, your actions, and your motives every day and keep you from all evil and iniquity. May your heart tenderly guide you in all the night seasons.
Now Go Do The Right Thing!
Young Person, Is That The Best Deal You Could Make?
Young Person, Is That The Best Deal You Could Make?
- Some People are just awful in Business.
- It’s just not their nature to bargain, barter, or make a good deal.
- They always seem to get cheated.
- They always lose money when they sell things.
- Others easily take advantage of them.
Imagine Then:
- Selling an heirloom at a yard sale for $1.00.
- Being happy to unload a treasure, at a give-a-way price, then get pressured to take $.50 and do.
- Later, you find out the real value and you are ashamed of your own stupidity!
- You realize you acted like you were an Idiot!
- You sold it too cheap!
- You’ll spend your life with that regret.
- You didn’t make the Best Deal You Could Make!
- Did you think you would never find another buyer? (Was it Seller’s Panic?)
- Basically, it looks like you were willing to give it away, or you didn’t care.
- To YOU it had no value, because you placed none upon it.
- Was it because you don’t know the value or worth of your possessions?
- How can you possess something for years and be clueless of its value?
- If you inherited something, you may or may not be sure of its value.
- That’s why you could always get an appraisal, or even a second opinion.
- You take what you have to a knowledgeable party and say:
- Tell me what it’s worth?
- Is this junk or real.
- An Heirloom or Trash?
- Then you believe what they said and never settle for less.
- Treat yourself the same way
What Am I Talking About? The Value Of You!!
- You.
- The Value Of You.
- The Business of You on the Open Market.
- And what worries me is that You may be settling for give-a-way price.
- If so, YOU must not have any respect for yourself.
- Or any hopes you have of ever doing much for God.
- Because you were willing to place an Heirloom in the same basket as the Trash.
- Too blinded by the flesh, to see the value of God’s gift (call) in your life.
I’m Always Amazed At Good Boys And Girls Settling For Spouses With:
- No spirituality.
- No personality.
- No signs of the Holy Ghost.
- No common ground but fleshly desire.
And I Say To Myself. “Was That The Best Deal You Could Make?”
- “Why didn’t you go to your Pastor and get an appraisal?”
- “ And then, believed him?”
- “Why didn’t you go to your Parents and get an appraisal?”
- “And then believed them?”
The Body’s Skin Is Only The Wrapping Of The Present.
- Only an idiot would so fall in love with the wrapping, that they never want to open the gift and see what is on the inside.
- It’s what’s on the inside that is of value.
- Shallow people fall in love with the wrapping and not what’s inside.
You Look In The Mirror, And…
- All you see of yourself is a nose you don’t like.
- Ears that somehow are all wrong to you.
- Zits that you just know will turn off the world.
- A Shape or Build that’s far from pleasing in your eyes.
- So you feel that because you are, for the moment unhappy with the wrapping, you think the inside must not be worth much either.
- So you De-value yourself.
- That’s the first step towards making a bad Business Deal in life.
- Settling for some Carnal Companion for a Marriage Partner.
- Settling for someone who is very wrong for you.
- I ask again, Was That The Best Deal You Could Make?
- I wish I could get you to believe that: “You are someone very special!”
Hey guys, if all you are interested in is a girls dress size, then that may be all you ever get. If you marry just for the wrapping, you might be disappointed with the present. But if you look deeper and marry what’s inside, you’ll not be sorry.
- What makes a person of Value & Worth settle for someone who is shallow and empty? (You are deceived if you think you will help them grow in God. Let them mature and grow in God first and then consider marriage.)
- What makes a person of Value marry some sorry outfit that won’t work and just sits at home plays his Sony Play Station or Xbox 360 all day and night?
- What makes a person of Value marry someone who is half Psycho? Was that the Best Deal they could make? Surely not.
- What makes a person of Value marry someone who would rather do drugs than live for God?
Maybe you’re in a small home missions church and you love God. But there are just not many boys in your church. You get desperate and feel like you are running out of chances to get married, so you grab the first person who smiles at you. Regardless if they are in church or out. Regardless if they are on fire for God or not. Don’t think you will marry them and then fix them or get them saved. The odds are against you.
What makes a person of Value meet some carnal Quail-head at a Conference or Camp, and fall for them. Then marry and leave a Great church to go to some dried up excuse for one. Their soul will not doubt dry up too, just because they thought this is the best they could do.
In my opinion, it’s better to be an old maid wishing you could get married, than to be a married woman wishing you were an old maid. It would be better to be a bachelor on fire for God, than to marry someone who will drag you out of church. Why would anyone want to spend the rest of his or her life saying, “Come on honey, go to church with me tonight. Pleeeeeze?”
God’s plan for your life involves great things for you and for His Kingdom. Don’t go hormonal stupid and mess up what Heaven has in store for you!
Let Me Talk About The Parents For A Minute!
Isaac and Rebecca set helplessly by as their son threw away his future and married women that brought grief to their hearts. Sadly, it still is happening today.
(Gen 26:34) And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
(Gen 26:3V) Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
They were grieved because they knew Esau could have made a better deal and didn’t. But then again, this is the same man who made a bad deal in trading his birthright for a bowl of beans. Some people never seem to catch on.
I just happen to be the proud father of the most beautiful daughter in the world who is just as beautiful on the inside. She is married to a great pastor that makes my heart proud as well. They are a wonderful couple that brings great joy to our family and me.
When my daughter Marisa was still single and living at home, it was not uncommon for young men to travel long distances just to come and see her. Pretty girls are worth seeing. They all hoped for a chance to win her affection. She did a good job filtering out the bad ones. (She got that gift and her good looks from her Mama.)
One time though, I didn’t give my daughter a chance to say no to a potential suitor. As the father, I became the filter and her personal defender.
She was about eighteen when a knock came on our front door one day. I opened the door and was very surprised. I did not know the young man, nor had I seen him before. Neither had I ever heard him mentioned.
It looked like someone had set a bowl on top of his head and mowed around it leaving a black thick thatch of hair on top. He had a pierced lip, nose and an earring. His tongue was pierced too. His clothes looked soiled.
I nodded and said hello.
He gamely smiled and said, “Is Marisa Home.”
I looked him up and down real slow letting the smile leave me face. Then I looked him in the eye and with my no-nonsense voice I said, “Not to you, she’s not.)
The look of shock was still on is face when I closed the door.
Don’t even think about telling me I was rude or impolite. I am a Father. A Father’s job is to protect his family.
You don’t raise a daughter up to the age of eighteen and then throw her away to the first pair of britches that comes by. Neither do you raise up a son and throw him to the first skirt that rustles in his direction. Furthermore, you don’t let them throw themselves away either.
If all they hear from mom and dad is criticism and negativity about themselves, they may not value themselves very much either. You may have just set up your own child to make a bad deal in life.
Be thankful to God if your child is a good son or daughter. Brag on them, encourage them, guide them without nagging or harshness. Love them into making the right choices. Validate their achievements and right choices with praise.
Young Person. God did something special when He made you. Believe it, and never settle for anyone that would keep you from being what God meant you to be. His hand is on your life. Don’t take it off.
Out Of Context, But Still The Truth
Out Of Context, But Still The Truth
With my Reader’s permission, I am attempting to take a scripture out of context to illustrate a point. Knowing that doing so is dangerous; I will try to be careful. The scripture phrase that caught my attention comes from Psalms ninety-one.
Psa. 91:6… the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
“The Destruction That Wasteth At Noon Day.”
The original meaning of the impending judgment in this verse gets obscured when I think of a secondary application.
The life of a man, I suppose could be loosely classified using three basic stages of life, Youth, Middle Age, and Old Age.
Adults understand that young people can make mistakes. With the maturing process sometimes come tears and maybe even a little heartache. Older folks sometimes look at a young person with problems and tell themselves, “They’ll grow out of it!” Most often, they do. It’s called maturity.
By the time a man is retired, and his hair has fallen out, he is expected to act like he has some sense. As Bill Cosby once quipped, “He’s an old man trying to get into heaven now.”
The middle-aged group, however, is my focus. Society has a term for a guy who ‘acts out’ or does something stupid when he is middle age. They call it a mid-life crisis. Pick up on the word crisis. To me, that crisis can be the ‘destruction that wasteth in the noonday’ of a man’s life.
Of late, I’ve heard way too many stories of such destruction. I understand that all of us go through hormonal changes before we die. It’s no secret. We know about it. We all know about it even before it happens. Even with all the warning signs, some men (occasionally a woman, but mostly men) surrender to their primal urges. They no longer think of family, church or God. All they can focus on is their own desire. They selfishly trade all their family’s future peace and joy for what they imagine is the ultimate pleasure. The forbidden.
Why do some Spirit filled men ignore all the warnings and throw moral caution to the wind. I know some that made it through their youth and remained pure. Then, they messed up when they got older. That’s pure stupidity. Right when you have the most to lose, you throw it away for a fling.
Look again at the faithful bride you were once were head over heals in love with. The one God gave you. You can’t afford to let her walk away! And your children! Man, are you crazy? How do you face your babies when they know you’ve just destroyed their home? What’s going to happen to them? You’ve just brought your own house down on top of yourself. It’s not worth it… ever!
Esau threw away a birthright for just one meal. Heb. 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Don’t do anything stupid. Keep your flesh under subjection. It’s possible or God would not have required it. It’s what normal people do. It’s certainly what Spirit-filled people do. Die out to your carnal lusts. The Apostle Paul told us he did. He said he died daily. If Paul had too, we don’t have an excuse.
Every one has to keep their flesh under subjection and in control. Quit thinking that you are an exception. You’re not. Everyone’s flesh is weak. We all need God’s help. We also need to purpose in our own hearts to be faithful.
I can’t make you be faithful to your wife, sir. Ma’am, I can’t make you be faithful to your husband either. I sure can’t make you love each other. Actually, no one can make you do anything. The price you will pay for your personal pleasure will be greater than you could ever imagine. It will end in disillusion and shame.
There are three scripture verses encouraging men to love their wives.
- The first one explains that she should be loved with all your heart.
- The second scripture admonishes the husband to let go of the past problems in the relationship, and in spite of those hurts, love her!
- The third one commands husbands to love their wife like they love themselves. If you don’t love your wife, then you don’t even love yourself.
Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Col. 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Eph. 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Purpose in your heart to protect yourself and protect your family from the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Be the man your wife needs you to be.
Be the man your children believe you to be.
Be the man God has called you to be.
Be a Man!
A Moment Of Weakness And A Lifetime Of Regret
A Moment Of Weakness And A Lifetime Of Regret
All it will take to give you pain the rest of your life, is for you to mess up just one time. From then on, your life will never be the same.
Can you image a successful middle-age person who has been in church all his life, never done drugs, yet going out on a Friday night to a bad part of town to try some drugs? I know such a man.
It is sad enough that he did it, but he didn’t expect to get hooked his first time. He lost his job, he lost his marriage, and the respect of his children.
He has been through the drug rehabilitation and counseling Knoxville department multiple times and no longer can be trusted with a ten-dollar bill. He might go spend it on drugs.
When he came to church, he’d just sit and cry during my sermons. For years he would come to the altar, desperately battling the power of his addiction.
Today, the dear brother declares he has deliverance. Thank the Lord. But he has moved to another city in the same state so no one will know his past. He can’t hold his head up anymore and face his old friends. It wasn’t that God couldn’t forgive him; it’s just that he now has nothing but regrets.
Some of us have lived long enough to hear about a moment of weakness that someone had. We know too that they will have a life-time of regret. It’s so horrible. Your heart even hurts for them. It doesn’t matter what the weakness was, regret is quick to cast it’s long shadow over them until they die.
This generation is living so, reckless. Heed the warning, if you will of my Father, a man of God who has gone on home to be with the Lord. He died in 1994 but his message is still relevant.
In the 1950’s, I remember him (Bro. Carl Ballestero) preaching a message that always seemed to fill up the altars. He called it “A Moment Of Weakness And A Lifetime Of Regret.” I found his sermon notes a few years ago. The message was needed then, it’s really needed now.
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Here is a copy of my Dad’s sermon notes.
I never want to let his messages die.
Sermon Preached by Rev. Carl Ballestero
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 