KennethBow's Blog

The reason “Reason” is the reason!

There are so many questions today.  Where is America headed?  What is our future? What is the cause of America’s current direction?

Then there is the church.  Where is the church headed? What is the future of the Apostolic movement? What is the cause of the church’s current direction?

Will Durant wrote a series of books over a period of fifty years.  He wrote a volume every five years.  The set is called the Story of Civilization.  The series begins with “Our Oriental Heritage”, and continues through “The Age Of Napoleon.”

This series is what put the publishing house Simon and Schuster on the playing field as one of the major publishing houses in America.  One of the volumes of this series of books is “The Age OF Reason Begins.”  It is the story of the struggle of faith verses reason.

In the big picture of the last three hundred years this seems to me the root cause of this world’s drift and problems, as well as the church’s drift and problems.

It seems to me we deal with a closer view and say things like television, or worldliness, or carnality is the cause of the current drift of the church.  I readily admit these are the visible manifestations of the problem, but I am suggesting the cause is deeper and more long standing.  I am suggesting it has been the undercurrent of the Prince of this world for hundreds of years.

One of the proponents of Reason was the philosopher Descartes.  It was his writings and contributions that played a monumental role in Reason attacking faith.  He began to put forth the idea that free will was mans destiny, not blind faith.  “It is Descartes….who gave us a new method of reasoning, much more admirable than his philosophy” (Will Durant), The Age Of Reason Begins, page 645.

Reason stood up, introduced itself, and stepped to the center of the stage.  It is my opinion it has never sat down.

Reason has produced its many children.  Children like evolution, and abortion are easily identified.  Reason has also had some children that have been bene vixit qui bene latuit, (he has lived well who has hidden well).

These are the children that are hard to see and identify.  Hence these children are not removed for our lives, but remain and consequently grow stronger every generation.

These children of reason hide and hence they live well.  For the last three hundred years men have began to question everything.  They have questioned the universe, this world, laws, but most all authority!  These hidden children of reason gave birth to many movements that continued to have children, then grandchildren, to the present day.

Some of this reason was justified because of the excess of the Catholic Church.  Things were done in the name of God like the selling of indulgences, or the worship of Mary.  The advocates of reason seized these and held them up for the world to see and placed all faith in the same light.  So reason claimed superiority.

The battle of reason against faith continues today bene vixit qui bene latuit.  Yes we see the obvious.  We see the destruction that Hollywood brings, the emergent preachers and their liberal views.  Satan loves his hidden long-range plans of reaching the day where everything is questioned.

Satan longs for the day when every single child of God will question every thing possible.  Satan wants all of us born again believers to question every standard, every value preached across the pulpit.  It is the long-range plan of Satan to cause reason to triumph.

Faith and reason cannot co-exist!  There are simply things God expects us to accept by faith.  God created this world.  That is what faith says.  Reason says evolution is an option.

Faith says there are absolutes in life.  Reason says question homosexuality as right for some people.

Faith says give God ten percent.  Reason says share the wealth with those who do not work.

Faith says ye must be born again.  Reason says all good intentioned people will go to heaven.

Faith says there is a heaven and a hell.  Reason says that went out with the dark ages.

Faith says your gender is how you were born.  Reason says your sex is determined by your choice.

All of these are reasons why “reason” is the reason!

Reason is the reason that the world is out of control and the church is headed for apostacy!

“But without faith it is impossible to please God”

Thanks for reading today!

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Today I just update you on all the gossip! Howbeit, it is good gossip! Is that an oxymoron? A conudrum? You judge!

I am in Beebe Arkansas at Dr. Scheel and Pastor Jason Scheel meeting.  Absolutely beautiful day here.  80 degrees and sunny.  I stopped at a motorcycle shop and asked if they rented, and they don’t! bummer.

Last night Janice Alvear, missionary to Brazil spoke on “The journey of a handmaiden of the Lord”.  It was her personal story of going to Brazil and her 40 plus years there. She and her husband can now celebrate over 10,000 converts to this wonderful Jesus name message.

Today we will hear from Greg Riggen, and Tim Bourn.  Tonight is Brother Bill Davis from Macon, Georgia.

The Scheel family are incredible hosts and their church just does everything to make you feel special! It is truly old time pentecost.  it is so refreshing and contrasting to some of the plastic pentecostal meeting I have attended.

On another note….

We just finished our Anniversary services.  The speakers were “In a Zone” this year.  That is the term when a sports person plays at a level they have never reached before.

Friday night Garry Streeval from Noblesville, Indiana spoke on “Have I done enough?” He challenged us to introspect and face that question.  It was deeply moving.

Saturday night the one and only, inimitable Jerry Rowell preached about “Aware”.  For me to tell you how good it was would be a travesty to that sermon.  Simply Incredible!

Sunday morning, the prince of preachers, Martyn Ballestero, spoke on “God Deviseth Means”.  It was classic Ballestero. Beautifully delivered, annointed, and unforgettable.

Sunday night the cleanup batter was Glen Burgess, and Brother did he ever hit a grand slam!  I still get chills thinking about it. He preached “Keep walking”.  Whatever you do, do not let the title lull you to think it was ordinary.  He made us laugh, then cry, then stand on spiritual tiptoe and say, I will keep walking.  He told heart wrenching stories of tragic failure by people he tried to save. Honestly, I recommend every child of God to hear this message.

FPC was so generous to me this year.  They have been the most giving church I have ever known, but this year was off the charts.  They bought me a trailer for my Harley and Goldwing.

New Trailer FPC gave me to pull behind my motorhome 🙂

I told my friends, because I do not have a wife, I will put a sign on the back of it that says “This trailer has my wife’s clothes and shoes in it, so we can travel in this motorhome”.  We had a laugh about that!

Thank you FPC, You have been am amazing group of people to pastor and share my life journey with.

Lastly my blog….

I have been doing this for a little over a month now and over 7,000 times someone has clicked on to read the blog.  I am stunned, amazed, and so thankful.  I wanted to share some of the information with you of who read, and which blogs were the most read.

The biographical blogs have had the most interest.  The blog about Brother Terry and Brother Ballestero have the most reads.

After that the story of my mother’s murder was read the most.  The blog on Athiests also was right there.

The Bible blogs were well read, and I appreciate every one of you who have joined me.

Special thanks to all the men on CAF who have read and commented.  They have been friends and supporters.

From my heart thank you! Get some coffee in the mornings, and let’s blog.

Thanks for reading today!

11 Responses »

Now is your time!

“I am too old.”

“I’m too young.”

Tiger Woods was three years old when he shot 48 for nine holes on his hometown golf course in Cypress, California.

Julie Andrews was eight years old when she mastered an astounding four-octave singing range.

Mozart was eight years old when he wrote his first symphony.

Charles Dickens was twelve years old when he quit school to work in a factory, pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish, because his father had been imprisoned for debt.

Anne Frank was thirteen years old when she began her diary.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was fourteen years old when he enrolled at Harvard.

Jeremiah was 14, Isaiah was 18, Ezekiel was 17, Daniel was 18 when they began their ministry.

Paul McCartney was fifteen years old when John Lennon invited him to join a band.

Bill Gates was nineteen years old when he co-founded Microsoft.

Plato was twenty years old when he became a student of Socrates.

Joe DiMaggio was twenty-six years old when he hit safely in fifty-six consecutive games.

Henry David Thoreau was twenty-seven years old when he moved to the shore of Walden Pond, built a house, planted a garden, and began a two-year experiment in simplicity and self-reliance.

Ralph Lauren was twenty-nine years old when he created Polo.

William Shakespeare was thirty-one years old when he wrote Romeo and Juliet.

Bill Gates was thirty-one years old when he became a billionaire.

Thomas Jefferson was thirty-three years old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Coco Chanel was thirty-eight years old when she introduced her perfume Chanel No. 5.

Mother Teresa was forty years old when she founded the Missionaries of Charity.

Jack Nicklaus was forty-six years old when he shot 65 in the final round, and 30 on the back nine, to win the Masters.

Henry Ford was fifty years old when he started his first manufacturing assembly line.

Ray Kroc was a fifty-two-year-old milkshake machine salesman when he bought out Mac and Dick McDonald and officially started McDonald’s.

Pablo Picasso was fifty-five years old when he painted Guernica.

Dom Pe`rignon was sixty years old when he first produced champagne.

Oscar Hammerstein II was sixty-four years old when he wrote the lyrics for The Sound of Music.

Winston Churchill was sixty-five years old when he became Britain’s prime minister.

Nelson Mandela was seventy-one years old when he was released from a South African prison.  Four years later he was elected president of South Africa.

Michelangelo was seventy-two years old when he designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Auguste Rodin was seventy-six years old when he finally married Rose Beuret, whom he met when he was twenty-three.

Benjamin Franklin was seventy-nine years old when he invented bifocal eyeglasses.

Frank Lloyd Wright was ninety-one years old when he completed his work on the Guggenheim Museum.

Dimitrion Yordanidis was ninety-eight years old when he ran a marathon in seven hours and thirty-three minutes, in Athens, Greece.

Ichijirou Araya was one hundred years old when he climbed Mount Fuji, 12,388 ft. tall.

Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you.  You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future.

Now is your time.

Thanks for reading today!

5 Responses »

I will greet this day with love in my heart

Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men.

My reasoning they may counter, my speech they may distrust, my apparel they may disapprove, my face they may reject, yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun.

I will love the sun for it warms my bones, yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.

I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart, yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.

Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I search for excuses to gossip.  When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue, when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs.

It will lift me in moments of despair, yet it will calm me in time of exultation.

And how will I confront each whom I meet?

In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You.

Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and his heart will be opened.

Most of all I will love myself.  For when I do, I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul, my heart.

Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh; rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation.

Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter.

From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate.

If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone.  Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

Thanks for reading today!

One Response »

It was about 5 in the morning.  I was flying out of the Houston airport.  I had just turned the rental car in. It was like a graveyard.  No one anywhere, walking or driving.  I was sleepy and tired and on my way home to Seattle.  I got on the shuttle, went to the back seat to avoid conversation with the driver who looked a bit weird through my unfocused bleary eyes.

He got in and we started toward the airport.  I was the only passenger. That is when it happened.

He looked at me in the rear view mirror steadily until I acknowledged his stare. I thought he wanted to know what airline I was using.  As I tried to focus on his small image in the mirror, he said it.

He meant it.

It was not a joke.

Shivers ran down my spine.

I thought, uh oh, I am in this van with a nut!  Very loud and with absolute conviction, almost like a challenge, he said…

“ELVIS IS ALIVE”!

I froze! If I laughed he might shoot me.  If I ignored him, he might go crazy.

I will tell you one thing, I was no longer sleepy!  I was wide awake.  In a millisecond I decided the safest way to navigate these dangerous waters.  I decided to act like he was perfectly normal and everyone knew good old Elvis was alive.

I said, “How do you know?”

When he spoke there were now shivers on my shivers.

His piercing stare looked at me and he said, “Because I have seen him”.

Well, about this time, I am desperate.  Can I jump out of a moving shuttle before he tackles me?  Is there an emergency cord I can pull?  Should I fake a heart attack? Maybe tell him Elvis is my first cousin to win him over?

So wanting to laugh at this incredibly absurd situation I am in with this nutcase, half scared, I replied, “How does he look”?

I am not sure what happened in his mind, or what was left of his mind, but he stared straight ahead without any more utterances or sounds.

When we got to my terminal, he placed my suitcase on the ground and stepped back.

It was then the “Martyn Ballestero Syndrome” kicked in my devious brain toward this lunatic who had robbed me of some valued sleep and scared me pretty bad.

I looked into his glazed eyes and said, “Elvis is my cousin.  Tell him you met his cousin Ken, and say hello for me”.

I turned and walked off.  After about 30 steps or so, I looked back.  He was frozen in stupefied awe and adoration to know he had met Elvis’ cousin.  That is the last I ever saw him.

I try not to rent cars in Houston.

I hate to disappoint the Elvis fans out there, but honestly, Elvis died and was buried.  Just like every other mortal man who has ever lived.  Just like Budda and Confucius and Mohammed.  Just like every politician, leader, guru, shaman, and great man.

But there is one….one who died, but didn’t stay dead!

He got up!

After three days He rose from the dead, made His bed, and left the door open so the whole world would know that He got up and left!

His name is Jesus, and I actually do know Him!

If you have never met Him, He would like me to introduce you to Him.

He told me to let you know that tomorrow somewhere near you will be a church.

He will be there and would like to meet you personally.

Thanks for reading today!

8 Responses »

Is it because I am depressed over the economy?

Am I heartbroken because of Americas freefall?

Nope…none of that…the real reason is…..

This is the real reason folks...see you tomorrow!!!

9 Responses »

Song of Solomon

Love stories have captured the hearts of men and women since the dawn of time. Lovers are forever linked together, even centuries after their lives are over. The names of Romeo and Juliet, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Dante and Beatrice, Hosea and Gomer, live on even now, eternally linked together.

The Song of Solomon is a love story. It may very well be the greatest love story ever told. Solomon was named by God Himself as the wisest man who ever lived! He knew as much about women as any man ever has. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. I think that qualifies him for nomination for a PhD in womanology.

Solomon wrote three books. He wrote the Song of Solomon as a young man. He then wrote Proverbs when in middle age. Later when he was elderly, he wrote Ecclesiastes.

He who wrote 1005 songs and 3000 proverbs, said this was the Song of Songs. Out of the 1005 songs he wrote, this was number 1. Is it feasible that he wrote a song for each of the women in his life? Possibly 1000 women and 1005 songs. We know this song was written to the Shunamite girl and we know she resisted his enticements. So, I suggest it is at least possible his modis operandi was a love song to each woman he courted.

Out of all the songs he wrote, he felt this was the Song of Songs. The question is why? I submit it was because he saw in this young girl the kind of love he wished Israel as a nation had for God. If somehow Israel would fall in love with her Shepard like the Shunamite girl loved her Shepard, then Israel would be blessed.

The story goes something like this. Solomon had a summer home. This we find in the Bible. While making the journey there one summer day he sees a young shepardess and a young Shepard under an apple tree.

That night Solomon sends for the young girl who is black by the sun and very poor. She has never had nice things or even shoes upon her feet. When she is brought to Solomon’s palace she is overwhelmed. When Solomon makes his intentions known, she is speechless and is given until tomorrow to make up her mind.

There are 140 women with Solomon at this time. While she lies upon her bed with her head spinning, she hears the young Shepard boy at her door. He has come looking for her. He is panicked at the thought of losing her to Solomon. He has braved the dangerous night to find her and take her home.

While lying on her bed, she hesitates and he moves on. Finally she rises and goes to the door, and can smell his lingering fragrance. She runs though the night city looking for him but he has gone.

The next day when she appears before Solomon, he makes his plea for her. She is torn between the pull of Solomon and all he can offer and her Shepard lover. Solomon makes a fatal mistake when he mentions the apple tree. When Solomon says that her mouth is like apples, she rises and flees. She runs from the summer palace and runs home.

The Shepard is disconsolate because he thinks she is lost to him. Then suddenly he sees her. She is running to him. Her garments are flying in the wind. Her hair is blowing free. The Shepard realizes she loves him more than all the allurements of money or fame. The time spent under the apple tree with him forged a bond between them that was as strong as death. She is reunited with her Shepard lover.

Back at the summer palace, the whole court of Solomon is aghast. The young girl just ran out. No one had ever done that before. They were stunned. They were stunned because the girl had the nerve to reject the King, but even more stunned by the King himself.

He just sat on his throne with a puzzled look on his face. For a long time he said nothing. Then he asked for a writing instrument and something to write on. They were amazed. Why, he was writing a song! A song of tribute to the woman who could not be bought. To the woman who was so in love with her Shepard, that nothing could influence her to give that love up for another love.

Slowly they began to see what the King saw. If only God’s people would love their Shepard that way. Solomon hummed the tune to The Lord is my Shepard. For the first time in his young life, Solomon understood true love. A love based on time spent together. A love that was not based on things, but rather on value of each other.

The wisest man of all the ages wrote a song about that and declared it to be the “Song of Songs”. A tribute to the love for a shepard that was forged under the Apple tree. A love so strong that even death itself could not sever it.

May God give us that kind of love for our Shepard!

7 Responses »