I Will Remember Thursday, May 28 2026 

Biblical history and Doctrine and Family and Motivational and New Testament and Old Testament and Uncategorized kennethbow 4:52 pm

“I Will Remember”

Text: Psalm 77:10–11 (KJV)

“And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”

Introduction

Psalm 77 is not written from a mountain top.
It is written from a valley.

The writer is troubled.
His spirit is overwhelmed.
Sleep has left him.
Questions are filling his mind.

He begins by talking about his pain…
but then something changes.

He says:

“This is my infirmity: BUT I will remember…”

There comes a moment when a child of God must stop staring at the darkness and start remembering the faithfulness of God.

The devil loves spiritual amnesia.
He wants you to forget:

  • the prayers God answered,
  • the doors God opened,
  • the miracles God performed,
  • the times God carried you.

But Asaph said:
“I may be hurting… but I still remember.”

Suddenly the psalmist saw the years, all of them, even the years of tragedy and loss, as being at the right hand of the Most High Himself. The name Elyon itself is significant for it was the very name of God to which Melchiz-edek introduced Abraham—”the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth!”

The years of the right hand of the MOST HIGH.” Our thoughts go back to the Bethlehem road, to that dark spot in Jacob’s pilgrimage, near Bethlehem, about two miles south of Jerusalem and a mile north of Bethlehem. Jacob had been steadily moving south from Bethel—acting again in self-will, for God had told him to go to Bethel and dwell there. On the way, near Bethlehem, Rachel insisted on a halt. There was a birth and a death right there. Benjamin was born; Rachel died. The journey had been too great for her. Oh, that they had stayed at Bethel! There, by the wayside, Rachel brought that little boy to the birth, weeping in her birth pains and in her death throes. “Call him Benoni,” she gasped as her spirit fled. Brokenhearted, bereft of his very heart, Jacob took the little fellow in his arms. “Not Benoni,” he said, “but Benjamin.” “Not ’son of my sorrow,’ but ’son of my right hand.’” It was a glorious moment of faith triumphing over feeling.

The psalmist looks up into the face of the Most High. He thinks of the years—the years with their long tale of wickedness and woe, the years with their mysteries and miseries. “I will not write ’Benoni’ over those years,” he says. “I will write ’Benjamin’ over them.” They are the years of the right hand of God.

Dustin Bresina testimony

Tiffany Hettinga testimony

1. Remembering Is a Weapon Against Despair

The Psalmist said:

“This is my infirmity…”

“Infirmity” means weakness, affliction, limitation.

He admits:
“I’m struggling.”
“I’m weary.”
“My emotions are wounded.”

Even great people of faith have weak moments.

  • Elijah sat under a juniper tree.
  • Job cursed the day of his birth.
  • Jeremiah said he was weary with forbearing.
  • Peter wept bitterly.

But the turning point came when the Psalmist shifted his focus.

He stopped looking inward…
and started looking backward.

Sometimes the greatest thing you can do is revisit the victories God already gave you.

The devil says:
“God has abandoned you.”

But memory says:
“No He hasn’t.
He made a way before.”

Illustration

It is amazing how quickly fear can erase memory.

Israel walked through the Red Sea…
then a few days later said:
“Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?”

How could people who saw water stand up like walls suddenly doubt Him?

Because fear attacks memory.

That is why testimony matters.
That is why worship matters.
That is why we tell our children what God has done.

2. Remember “The Years of the Right Hand of the Most High”

The “right hand” in scripture speaks of:

  • power,
  • authority,
  • victory,
  • favor.

Asaph was saying:
“I remember the years when God’s hand was upon me.”

There are seasons in your life where you can clearly see:
“That was the hand of God.”

  • You should have lost your mind…
    but God kept you.
  • You should not have survived…
    but God brought you through.
  • You did not know how you would pay the bill/rent/car payment…
    but somehow provision came.
  • The doctor gave one report…but God gave another.

You are sitting here today because of the right hand of God.

Scripture

“Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power…” — Exodus 15:6

God’s hand is still mighty.

The same hand that:

  • parted seas,
  • shut lions’ mouths,
  • raised the dead,
  • filled the upper room—

is still working today.

3. Remember the Works of the Lord

David said:

“I will remember the works of the LORD…”

Not coincidence.
Not luck.
Not accident.

The WORKS of the Lord.

When you look back over your life, you can see fingerprints of God everywhere.

There were moments:

  • you didn’t even know He was protecting you,
  • you didn’t know why a door closed,
  • you didn’t know why a delay happened—

but later you realized:
“God was working all along.”

Sometimes We Forget Too Quickly… can I get an amen

We pray for miracles…
then once the storm passes, we move on as if it was ordinary.

But the Psalmist said:
“I will remember.”

Remember:

  • where He found you,
  • what He delivered you from,
  • how He filled you with the Holy Ghost,
  • the prayers He answered,
  • the revivals He sent,
  • the times His presence swept through the church.

4. Remember the Wonders of Old

“Surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”

“Wonders” speaks of miraculous acts that leave people amazed.

The church must never lose its memory of the supernatural.

We are serving:

  • the God of Pentecost,
  • the God of miracles,
  • the God who still heals,
  • the God who still delivers,
  • the God who still fills people with the Holy Ghost.

If He did it before…
He can do it again.

Illustration

David faced Goliath with old memories.

He said:
“The God who delivered me from the lion and the bear…”

Yesterday’s victories became fuel for today’s battle.

Some of you need to walk into your next battle carrying remembrance.

Tell the devil:

  • “God healed me before.”
  • “God made a way before.”
  • “God touched my family before.”
  • “God brought revival before.”

And if He did it then—
He can do it now.

5. Memory Produces Faith

Remembering is not living in the past.
Remembering builds faith for the future.

When you remember what God HAS done…
you gain confidence in what God WILL do.

The God of yesterday is still the God of today.

Scripture

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” — Hebrews 13:8

God has never failed.
Not once.

Kings have failed.
Governments have failed.
Economies have failed.
People have failed.

But God has never failed His people.

Conclusion

The Psalm began in sorrow…
but remembrance shifted the atmosphere.

Sometimes the answer is not a new revelation.
Sometimes the answer is remembering old ones.

Asaph essentially said:
“I refuse to let pain erase my testimony.”

Closing Exhortation

Remember:

  • the altar where God changed you,
  • the night He filled you with His Spirit,
  • the sermon that broke your heart,
  • the miracle that saved your family,
  • the times He protected you,
  • the prayers He answered.

You didn’t get here by yourself.

It was the goodness of God.
It was the mercy of God.
It was the mighty hand of God.

Altar Call

Before you ask God for the next miracle…
take a moment and remember the last one.

Before you pray about what you lack…
thank Him for what He has already done.

Somebody ought to lift their hands and say:
“Lord, I remember.”

“I remember Your mercy.”
“I remember Your power.”
“I remember Your faithfulness.”
“I remember the wonders of old.”

A mature believer learns to talk back to present trouble with past testimony:

  • “God brought me through before.”
  • “He healed before.”
  • “He provided before.”
  • “He made a way before.”
  • “The same God who opened the sea is still with me now.”

Current trouble is real, but it is not the whole story. The memory of God’s faithfulness becomes an anchor for the next storm.

And the same God who worked then…
is about to work again.

 

Which study Bible in 2026? Thursday, Dec 18 2025 

Biblical history and Biographical and Church news and Doctrine and Family and Motivational and New Testament and Old Testament and Uncategorized , , , , kennethbow 11:06 am

 Which study Bible for 2026?

One of the most common questions I have been asked over the last 50 years in my travels is simply which is the best study Bible?

I think all of us know there is no singular answer that encompasses everything.

Some Bibles excel in readability like large print. Some Bibles appeal because of their size and ease of carry. I am of the opinion some Bibles are carried in our modern world because they are currently a fad. You know it’s the groovy Bible to carry. It is the latest… Have you got one yet? There are even some Bibles that would carry a certain status with some people. Maybe it’s a collectible. Maybe it’s a new bind in an exotic leather of some type. I really do understand all that, and that is not even my subject today. My subject today is totally trying to focus on the content and what it would add to your knowledge in the next 365 days of 2026.

Every year at this time I spend a little time deciding which study Bible I’m going to use for the next 12 months. This is a simple process that I have used for the last 30 years or so. I have used many study Bibles. Here are a few that I have used. I began with the Thompson Chain Bible. I have also used the Schofield Bible, the Dake Bible, the Companion Bible, the Spirit Application Bible, the Ryrie Study Bible, the Chronological Bible, the Student Bible, the Hebrew Bible, the Apostolic Study Bible, and of course, the Premier Study Bible. There have been others that I have used, but I think you get the picture.

I have read the Bible every year cover to cover since I was 14 years old. The majority of those years has been a different study Bible. I do my best to read not only the Bible text, but the footnotes, the introductions, and all the added information.

When Young ministers ask me what I would recommend them to read I always recommend use a different study Bible every year and read everything. That includes the dates, the notes, the references, all of it. It is my personal opinion this is one way a young preacher can “round out” a lot of his thinking on doctrinal issues and also biblical history.

I would like to tell the young impatient ministers there are no shortcuts to really understanding the Bible. It is a long, lifetime process. There is no one study Bible that’s going to make you brilliant and smart by itself alone. I believe most older advanced ministers would tell you that the more they’ve studied the more they realize what they don’t know.

I would like to add a personal recommendation. If you only read or study so that you can preach a message you’re going to miss the greatest moments in your spiritual life. I believe your study should be because you love Jesus Christ. 

I believe your study should be daily. If you truly study daily, you will never be without a message to preach. You will always have more subjects than you can deliver in public services. Learn to be consistent, learn to put the word of God first, and God will give you sermons and revelations.

Having said that let’s begin. I am not going to include the Premier Study Bible (PSB) in this blog. My reason is, I have spent a number of years participating writing commentary and in the development of this Bible. I am still on the publishing board and the financial board of the PBS. It is impossible for me to be impartial and to not prefer it above the others —so please know that what I’m about to write does not include the PSB. Every young beginning minister should start his ministry by reading the PSB cover to cover.

I realize this next comment will cross swords with a number of preachers, and I am fine if you disagree. I have never read any translation, except the King James version of the Bible. It is my preferred reading and study. I have used other translations to see if there is a meaning in a particular passage that I am overlooking, however, to be honest I’m 99% always using the KJV. I believe in the majority text and I believe it is the correct text to study. This whole subject is maybe for another blog. Suffice it to say that I am not a believer in the minority text and the Bibles that are printed from that textus. This also applies to even the interlinear. It is impossible to remove 60,000 words from the text without affecting what you’re studying.

So today the question I am discussing is: if you could only have one study Bible, which one would it be?

My answer (that excludes the PSB) is if I could only have one Bible, I would want to use the Thompson Chain. It is possible that some of my bias is because it was the first Bible I began to use when I started preaching full-time at 23 years old. I still have it, and it literally has been written on every single page of the Bible. I believe in writing and making notes in my Bible -that is just a personal preference.

The original Thompson Chain-Reference Bible company was purchased in the last few years by Zondervan. They have produced it in a new binding and a new block text. This is a very good Bible. It is a Bible that if you did not own any other reference material, you would still be able to get a very well-rounded picture of doctrine and Bible history. It is literally the Bible on itself -meaning what does the Bible say about the Bible, and it leads you through chains of scriptures to do that.There is no one “Bible wonder” that does everything, but I do think this particular Bible comes closer than the others.

Just for fun I’m going to list some Bibles and what I prefer about these particular Bibles:

For reading: Schuyler (I like the chapter divisions)

For carry to church: Allan ( I like red letter and Allan does not make any)

For size/convience: Cambridge (my first Bible bought with my own money at 16)

For article/cool notes/introductions: The Student Bible (Zondervan-out of print)

For new preppie cool factor: Humble Lamb

For being a collectible: Thomas Nelson Signature Series (out of print)

Whatever Bible you choose to use in 2026 may I highly recommend reading your Bible cover to cover in 2026.

Blessings

 

The Key: Submission Friday, Dec 6 2024 

Biblical history and Church news and Doctrine and Family and Marriage and Motivational and New Testament and Uncategorized , , , , kennethbow 11:36 am

Napoleon Hill said: You are searching for the magic key that will unlock the door to the source of power; and yet you have the key in your own hands, and you may use it the moment you learn to control your thoughts.

A key that opens many locks is worth buying. A lock that can be opened with many keys isn’t. 

If there truly was one single key that could open all of the blessings and benefits of God, what would it be? Would it be faith? Would it be prayer? Would it be giving? Would it be fasting?

I don’t know that one simple answer is the right key. But I do want to talk about at least one key that I think unlocks many things and possibly all things.

  • This key I am going to speak about unlocks your relationship with God. 
  • It unlocks your relationship with your pastor. 
  • It unlocks your relationship with your spouse. 
  • It unlocks your relationship with your parents and or with your kids. 
  • It unlocks your relationship with other people in the church 
  • It even unlocks your relationship with your boss and coworkers on the job and even neighbors.

I don’t remember ever hearing an entire sermon on the subject of submission. I’ve heard it alluded to and mentioned hundreds of times. But today I want to speak on this subject of submission. The key that unlocks every door. I hope the Lord will help me present it to you in all of its beauty and power. Too often it is seen as confining, or as an impediment to our will. Sometimes people see it limiting them or holding them back, which is not true.

What is the purpose of submission? Have we fallen into the thought processes that I am to submit to God but I don’t have to submit to my pastor, or I don’t have to submit to my spouse or I don’t have to submit to my parents.

By submitting we allow God complete control of our lives. As he works in us and through us, we will  see Him working around us. And where God works there is healing, life, and restoration. You see, our submission is to God so that He can use our lives to touch the lives of others.

Next blog:

Is there a difference between submitting and obeying?

 

An Apostolic Man In An Apostate World Friday, Mar 3 2023 

Biblical history and Doctrine and Family and Marriage and Motivational and New Testament and Old Testament kennethbow 9:28 am

An Apostolic Man In An Apostate World

What is an Apostolic man? Very simply he is a follower of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. The current fads and social ideas swirling around him do not faze him. He is Apostolic in his thinking.

He is Apostolic in his doctrine. He is not confused by false teaching or fake Pentecost or plastic Christians. He has read his Bible, studied the doctrine, listened to his Pastor, and there is no doubt in his heart that he is an Apostolic man. 

He is proud to be an Apostolic. Not a sinful pride that would contaminate his Holy Ghost. But a pride born of thankfulness and gratitude, that in a world full of false religion, God has singled him out to be a bearer of the torch of truth. 

Apostolic men are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

  • They will stand in the defiant face of an atheist and proclaim that God is. 
  • They will openly laugh at  an agnostic when he says he is confused whether or not there is a God. In fact a true Apostolic man will lift his voice and tell anyone, I know there is a God for I felt him. I know him and He is personal to me.

The Apostolic man of 2023 does not hide behind the walls of his local church fearful and afraid. He rises each morning to put on the armor of God, and walks into a dark world as the bearer of light of the one true God Jesus Christ.

He looks like an Apostolic man. No punk hairdos or crazy life styles because he represents Jesus Christ. He refuses to disfigure Jesus Christ to the world. He does not get tattoos or earrings or foolish trivial things that contaminate his tabernacle. His appearance is clean, clean shaven, no beards or mustaches or goatees, simple, and godly. When the legions who live in darkness see him, they see a clean wholesome man that represents true manhood. There is no trans gender confusion in the way an Apostolic man dresses and walks through his world.

He acts like an Apostolic man. A true apostolic man puts a bridle on his tongue so that he speaks a language that edifies Jesus Christ. He has put away lying, gossiping, critical words, curse words, and he uses his voice to lift up the name of Jesus Christ~ at home and at the workplace. His speech and his words do not betray his testimony.

He leads like an Apostolic man. He surrenders his self will so he can lead his family in the things of God. He loves his wife, and prefers his wife, for he has read the instructions in the Holy Book, husbands love your wives. He does not provoke his children to wrath for the same Holy Book teaches him he must be gentle unto all men. He does not drive his family, he leads them. He leads them in prayer,  he leads them in being consistent,  he leads them in submitting to authority, and he is an example to his wife and family.

The Apostolic man is not confused. The shifting winds of social change do not deter his course. He has set his sails and he is headed for the Celestial City. His mind is made up, his gait is steady, his direction unswerving. He knows who he is in an apostate world. 

The Apostolic man of 2023 accepts his role of following in the footsteps of the truly great Apostolic men of the past. It began with the Apostles, Peter, John, and Paul. It has continued now for 2000 years and the Apostolic man of 2023 is not about to drop the torch of truth on his leg of the race. 

He is not intimidated by the challenge for he is of a rare breed of men that has survived for over 2000 years, and is as strong today as it has ever been. He is a warrior in the model of Shamgar, Gideon, and David. The Apostolic man does not cower in the shadows, he steps out into the bright sunlight of his world and continues the destiny of Apostolic men for the last 2000 years.

You are an Apostolic man in 2023. Stand strong. Be brave. Walk with confidence in a changing world. 

Stand beside your Pastor and hold his hands up as we continue the march of great Apostolic men of the last two millennials. 

Our forbears all handed us a trail that they blazed as surely as Lewis and Clark made the Northwest Trek. 

Today we proclaim here to reaffirm our commitment to being an Apostolic man in 2023.

 

Modern Day Matriarch Monday, Dec 9 2013 

Biographical and Church news and Family kennethbow 8:34 am

In the long history of the Bible there is only one woman whose life is chronicled, and her age is given. Only one. Maybe that is why you should never ask a woman her age 🙂 It is a Bible thing!

It was not Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist. It was not even Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was Sarah. The only woman in the Bible whose age is given is Sarah. Why? I submit it is because she was a/the matriarch!

A matriarch is a venerable old woman. A woman of great age, impressive dignity, and worthy of reverence.

When a woman is a matriarch she rises above the average. She imprints her life on others. She instills her spirit in others.

When a woman is a matriarch, she leaves behind things ordinary women jettison at the grave.

In many ways matriarchs never die. They live in hearts, minds, and memories forever.

Saturday, December 7, 2013, I attended the home going service of a matriarch. Her name is Ruth Luke. She is the mother of my neighboring pastor Mike Luke.

As I sat in the service listening to the impact she left on so many, my mind went back over half a century.

I was about 5 or 6 years old. I was a very battered, mistreated child who was angry and mean. The people of the neighborhood where my grandmother lived asked her to not allow me to go to their houses. In those days kids played late in the neighborhood until after dark.

I was very mean. I poked the neighbor’s pets with sticks and threw rocks at passing cars.

I was a child pariah.

Across the street from my grandmother’s house on Mark street in Arvin, California, in the 1950’s lived a nice woman. In fact she was the only woman in the entire neighborhood who was ever nice to me.

While others watched to make sure I would not visit their property, she watched to see when I was standing out on the sidewalk looking at her house. She even gave cookies to that childish bundle of anger and hate.

55 years later I went down memory land and thought how crazy life is. The last 15 years of her life I was privileged to spend many times around her talking about “Mark street” many years ago.

Like her namesake in the Bible, Ruth Luke is an amazing woman. She is a modern day matriarch.

She being dead yet speaketh.

Thanks for reading today.

 

The consequence of anger 500 years later Tuesday, Feb 22 2011 

Biblical history and Family kennethbow 7:53 am

I read Martyn Ballestero’s blogs as do hundreds of people every day. While reading the recent posts on anger I thought of a Bible incident that sheds light on anger.

It involved the tribe of Simeon. Simeon and Levi had committed and act that angered and disappointed their aged father.

In their mind they were defending their sister Dinah, but their method was cruel and hateful. It appears that their father thought they were angry when they acted.

In Genesis 49, Jacob, now Israel, passes the patriarchal blessing on to his twelve sons. When he gets to Simeon in verse 6, he says, “cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”

This was their judgment for their actions in killing the men of the Hivites.

This prophecy comes true over 500 years later when the tribes receive their inheritance. When Simeon is allocated his land it is a portion that is surrounded by Judah. It is the only tribe so done this way. It fulfilled the prophecy Simeon was to be divided in Jacob.

In Joshua chapter 19, the lot for Judah is too large, so it is subdivided so the smaller tribe of Simeon is given a portion of Judah.

The consequences of anger still lingered 500 years later. God surrounded it with praise to keep it from further damage and devastation to the other people of God.

Anger is destructive and it’s consequences last for a very long time.

Thanks for reading today!

 

Santa Claus is dead! Tuesday, Nov 30 2010 

Family kennethbow 3:04 pm

The Physics of Santa Claus

A Scientific Disproof of the Santa Theory.
Original source: sirius@wam.umd.edu (The Human Neutrino aka Linda Harden)
Original Title: IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS?
No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn’t (appear to) handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total – 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census)rate of 3.5 children per household, that’s 91.8 million homes. One presumes there’s at least one good child in each.

Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west(which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding etc.

This means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man- made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second – a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that “flying reindeer” (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal anoint, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload – not even counting the weight of the sleigh – to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison – this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance – this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake.The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim)would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

In conclusion — If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he’s dead now.

Thanks for reading today!

 

The secret of the Apostle Paul’s success Monday, Jul 19 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical and Family and Marriage and Motivational and New Testament kennethbow 9:05 am

Paul was about 51 years old.  He was slowly making his way from Athens to Corinth.  His mind and body were on overload.  The events and journeys were taking their toll and he was off balance and on the ropes.

On the first journey there had been the opposition in many cities.  It had been a  continual fight until he reached Derbe.  Included in this section of his life was the near death experience of the stoning at Lystra.

Now he was headed toward Corinth with Athens in his rear view mirror.  He reveals his thoughts in his writings.  He was in despair.  He was so low he actually despaired of life.

Paul was at his lowest point. Looming in front of him was his greatest challenge.  Greater than the cities of Asia minor, greater even than Athens, the intellectual capital of the world.

Recently, he accepted the failed completion of a church in Philippi, then Thessolinica, then again in Berea, and finally the collaspe in Athens!

Somewhere along the dusty travelled road in AD 51, Paul decided I will preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, and nothing else.  Beaten and discouraged, Paul was not ready for what would happen in Corinth.

Corinth was the second largest city in the empire, boasting a population of 700,000 people.  Only the capital, Rome was larger.  The city was new, as it had been destroyed only 100 years before by the Romans and then rebuilt.  It show cased modern architecture.

Corinth was only a few miles from a seaport so there were sailors who came to visit the temple that offered 1000 prostitutes as a form of worship to the Gods of Corinth.  There were Roman officials, a large Jewish population, soldiers, orientals, and every strata of life.

Into this morass walked Paul at his lowest point.  The greatest apostle at his worst, pitted against the greatest challenge of his day.  The result is history!

In eighteen months Paul built the largest church in the history of the world.  The lowest estimates are 40,000 and most historians say the number was more like 80,000 people.

The failures of Athens, Berea, Thessolinica, and Philippi, faded as Corinth unfolded.

At the end of his second missionary journey, Paul had fully recovered in every way.  What was his secret?

While reading the books written to Corinth again recently I was struck by the big picture of chapter seven of the first letter.  So often I have seen the mechanics of this chapter, marriage, virgins, widows, servants, free men, etc.

I realized in all this discussion there rested the secret of Paul’s life and success like an un-mined diamond.

He addressed people that were unhappily married, he addressed virgins, he addressed servants, he addressed free men, he addressed widows, he addressed circumcision.

In all of it he stressed for people to be content!

That was Paul’s secret, to be content! He weaves this thread into many of his other writings.

To the Philippians…be content, 4.11

To Timothy…with food and clothes…be content, 6.8, 6.6

To the Hebrews….be content…13.5

It was the balm for every running issue of life.

Servants, be content!

Free men, be content!

Unhappy married people, be content!

Widows, be content!

Whatever your calling, be content!

Maybe, just maybe, if you could forget your Lystras, your Bereas, your Athens, you might reach your Corinth when you least expect it!

Maybe, just maybe, your greatest season of life is waiting for you when you become content.

When the servant seethes in resentment because they are not free, when the unhappy marriage poisons your daily life, when the past disappointments over whelm you, reach out and pick up Paul’s secret of success!

Find contentment in your life and maybe just maybe, there is a Corinth waiting for you!

Maybe at your lowest, and life’s challenge at it’s most formidable, contentment will bring you your greatest moment!

Godliness with contentment is great gain!

Thanks for reading today!

 

A Mother Gone Bad! Friday, May 7 2010 

Family kennethbow 10:47 pm

When Mothers Go Bad!

According to the article I read, she traded her baby for drugs

Much is written and said about mothers this time of year.  It is stated in the Bible to give honor to whom honor is due, and that qualifies mothers to be given honor.

While many argue over other holidays and their origin and godliness, I have yet to hear a dissenting voice raised against Mothers Day.

I add my vote of praise and adoration to every mother who has given of herself to raise children.  It is a great investment of time and tireless energy to see the job to the end.

As I thought of Mothers Day my mind drifted off into the murky areas of mothers who cater to their own selves.  Those mothers who do not care for their children.  Mothers who leave their children in motels, and rat infested hovels, while they party and use drugs.

These mothers are not concerned with nutrition, or grammar, or cleanliness.  These mothers offer no supervision or guide in life.  The child is left to find his own way.  The mother gives no thought to the child’s future.  Everything is about the mother and her wants and needs.

It is amazing how the children of these mothers still cling to their mother’s skirts!  These children are incapable of looking around and seeing that they themselves are malnourished, and dirty.  Their loyalty and love to this unfit, unworthy mother is remarkable!  Even though this mother is not a mother at all they still love her.

And then there is the mind set that these kids adopt.  They bond with a mother that is messed up in her mind and cannot teach or model right concepts.  So they go through life mirroring wrong morals and ideas.  They follow a godless, corrupt woman to tragedy and despair.

Their lives end up broken, miserable, and hopeless.  All this because of the influence and direction a mother provides.

The Bible teaches us the church is our mother, and God is our father.

Thank God for a godly mother that taught us to live right.  We honor the church of Jesus as His bride and our mother!

We are saved today because of the church.  We were taught.  We were corrected.  We were nourished. We were bathed.  We learned manners and respect.  Our mother taught us those things from Sunday School, to Youth Service,  to mid week Bible Study.

But what about the children of those churches that do not care about their children?  It does not bother these churches that their children are undernourished.  They are fed milk forever and never grow strong and mature.

These children are never taught that it is important to follow the Bible on every single point.  Children of these churches have no teaching, no supervision, and no cleanliness.  These children are left to themselves with no instruction or correction.  They are dirty, uncouth, and pitiful.

And you know what? They never look around and see how dirty they are.  They can never see how pitiful and sad they are.  These children of mothers gone bad are loyal to the woman who did not care for their soul.  They love a woman fiercely who did not feed them, cleanse them, or train them to face eternity.

Ask them about their mother.  They will say how wonderful their mother is.  They will trumpet for all to hear how they can dress however they want and still shout, dance, and speak in tongues.  They adopt the mindset of the corrupt woman who gave them birth, but who tragically is a mother gone bad!

Someday they will walk a path straight to the judgment seat of Christ holding their mothers hand.  They will love her to the end.  They will be loyal to her all the way to the last moment.  They will be convinced their mother is good and right.

Confusion will reign when the Judge of the ages, Almighty God himself says, “Depart from me I never knew you, ye that work iniquity”.

It is really quite simple and quite tragic.

These are the children of a mother gone bad.

Thanks for reading today!

 

Are You Surviving or Thriving? Friday, Apr 23 2010 

Biblical history and Doctrine and Family and Marriage and Motivational kennethbow 1:15 pm

Are the tears you shed for your marriage happy tears or sad tears?

Surviving or Thriving?

Somewhere around 3000 years ago a giant named Goliath walked out on the battlefield and challenged the armies of Israel. The gauntlet was thrown down and the challenge was bellowed.  The terms of conflict were clear for everyone.

It was winner take all and no survivors!

I am convinced today there is another challenge, on yet another battlefield.  Satan struts out on the battlefield of America and throws his challenge.  The battle in 2010 is for our homes.  Satan attacks with technology, with Hollywood, with busyness and time constraints, and stress.

One of his most effective attacks is on marriages.  He has rolled out the big artillery the last few years.  He is after the family values in America.

In 2009 there were 2,162,000 marriages in America.  The marriage rate was 7.1 per 1000 people.  The divorce rate was 3.5 per 1000 people.

In the 1996 presidential election 50% of the electorate said moral values were one of the most important issues.  In the 2004 presidential election, that percentage stood at 34 %. In 8 years 16% of support had eroded.

From the 2000 election to the 2004 election, support for gay marriages increased 50% in America.

For the last 30 years moral values have been some of the most important factors in elections.

In 2005, 11 of 17 states amended their state constitutions to prohibit gay unions or gay marriages.  Satan is attacking the Biblical ideal of marriage between a man and a woman.

But he does not stop there.  Satan also attacks the marriages of Christians.

Some statistics say the divorce rate for conservative Christians is higher than the rate for atheists and agnostics.  Others say the opposite.  Tom Ellis, Chairman of the Southern Baptist convention’s council on the family says the true fact is 1 in 39,000 marriages, end among conservative Christians. That is 0.00256%.

The question in your marriage is, are you surviving or thriving?

Are you and your spouse meeting each others personal needs?

Here we are in mainstream America where prayer is illegal, and abortion is encouraged.

Where, if you resist the gay marriage deluge, you practice hate speech, and you are homophobic!

Where our kids walk through metal detectors to get on the school ground and are handed condoms.

Does anybody believe me when I scream….the battle is raging?

If anyone is naïve enough to think you can ignore your marriage, and it will thrive on it’s own, by simple church attendance, you are sadly mistaken!

On January 31, 1996, I ended a journey of 9048 days of marriage.  Over 25 years.  I dated in the church, I married in the church, and was finally divorced in the church.  On that January day in 1996, I started a journey that has now stretched to 5,192 days, over 14 years of living alone.

If I could help even one person to not go down that road, it would be worth it all.  But even more, what if I could I help those still in the marriage, to make that marriage all God intended it to be?

I was driving down the road with Martyn Ballestero a few weeks ago.  We were on main street in Sumner Washington, right in front of McDonalds, in the left turn lane.

God spoke to me.  God said “What did the children say of their mother in Proverbs chapter 31?” In my mind I answered, they called her blessed.  And God said, “What did her husband do?”. I answered he praised her.  God told me to look it up and see what kind of praise the man gave his wife.  I did, and Brother Ballestero wrote a wonderful blog on it.

I hope you will click on the link, go to his blog site and read the blog on how to have the best wife in the world!

http://martynballestero.com/

Thanks for reading today!

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