KennethBow's Blog

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 »

How To Answer An Atheist.

Most of us have encountered someone in our life who just does not believe in God.  It is difficult to witness to them because we have no common ground.  You offer your practiced, rehearsed, standard line of communication and they reject it wholesale.  You are left frustrated and feeling inept. The Devil taunts you as a poor witness of the grace and glory of God!

This blog is an attempt to give you some beginning bullets to initiate conversation and draw them into your conversation.

First of all I believe it is always polite to inquire what they believe.  Value their opinion even if you disagree.  God Himself gives that individual the prerogative to form an opinion even if it is wrong.  Should we do any less?  Listen carefully to their explanation and see if there is logic and reason in it.  Sometimes you can begin on their “turf” and get them to open up, and a door will open to you.  Be patient, they have spent a lifetime forming that perspective and usually are reluctant to surrender it quickly.

I have found if you listen long enough and show genuine interest, they many times, will in turn say something like, “what is your opinion?” Take that opportunity to share your genuine, sincere feeling about God.  Be passionate! If you do not feel it strongly, they will intuitively know it is not exciting or captivating.

Most professing atheists I have encountered are strong on reason and rationale. I believe it would be to your advantage to learn some scientific facts that support the Bible as a legitimate document.  About 20 years ago I read Josh McDowell’s books on Evidence that demands a verdict.  His approach provided me with good solid information to approach the Bible from a scientific viewpoint.  I have used this at times in personal conversation as well as in college classrooms.

I strongly believe you can put the Bible on any battleground and it will be victorious.  The Bible is the mind of God.  What argument or approach can finite man use, that God cannot show man to be a fool?

I worked on an archaeological dig in the summer of 1994.  At night there were classes by world class, and world renowned, archaeologists.  Each one I met was either an agnostic or an atheist.  They would lecture and make preposterous statements.  The other people were not inclined to challenge these professors because of their education.  I had no such qualms.  I will site just one example.  One particular professor from Penn State University made the statement one night that the majority of the stories in the book of Genesis are just fairy tales.  From the front row, before I thought I blurted out “Excuse me?”  You can imagine the quiet that fell.  All eyes turned to me.  How dare I question such a noted, learned authority as this?

I had stopped off at London for a week of vacation with my family before going to Megiddo, Israel, for the archaeological dig.  I saw the Rosetta stone at the British Museum.  I had viewed other archaeological displays. Into that silence with everyone looking at me, I calmly said, “If Abraham is a fairy tale, does that mean the Rosetta stone, and the code of Hannurabi are not credible as archaeological evidence?”

He was trapped.  If he said the Rosetta stone and the code of Hannurabi are credible, then Genesis is validated.  Abraham is validated. The Ten Commandments are validated.  The law of Moses is validated.   If he said no, it is not credible, then archaeology is not valid as evidence.  That world-renowned professor with his PhD backed up.  He turned red in the face and just looked at me.  I quietly said, “Sir you can’t have it both ways”, and smiled.  He merely nodded and continued his lecture.  But he was careful from then on because someone stood up to him and made him make accurate statements.

My point is, do not be afraid, and do not surrender because they are more educated or show condescension toward you.  You are a child of God and you have every right to your opinion.

One more example before you leave me today.  It was a geology class in college.  The study was the beginning of our universe.  The big bang theory, hot and cold diffusion, heavy planets and their orbits in our universe.  It was the whole enchilada.  We covered fossils, and the ages of the so called past.  Finally I raised my hand and asked the professor if I might ask him a question.  He said of course (with a smile!)

I asked him if it was true that I had as much empirical evidence for creation by God as he had for the theories he was promoting. He looked at me (with a frown!) and slowly nodded his head and said, yes that is true.

The Truth is neither of us has empirical evidence to support our view.  I have faith and he has supposition and theory.  Touché it is a draw.

Lastly I believe the most powerful tool you possess is your personal testimony.  Sincerely and succinctly tell them what happened to you.  No one, not even an atheist can argue with that! God has provided you with the most conclusive evidence mankind can produce.  Look at me Mr. Atheist, I am evidentiary proof there is a God.

The Apostle Paul used his personal testimony before Governors and Caesars. If it works in that arena, it will work when an atheist scoffs and sneers.  Hold your head up high. You are a child of God, and you have no reason to be ashamed.

Thanks for reading today!

10 Responses »

Jesus…..there’s something about that Name!

In Genesis… He is the Creator…sun, moons, stars, worlds, man, animals, flora & fauna, cosmos, universes infinitive!

In Exodus… He is our Passover Lamb

In Leviticus… Our Law Giver

In Numbers…Our Brazen Serpent, high and lifted up

In Deuteronomy…Our “Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is One”

In Joshua…Captain of the Lords Host

In Judges…Our Faithful Judge

In Ruth…Our Heavenly Kinsman

I & II Samuel…Our King in the midst of Blessings

I & II Kings…Our King in the midst of Apostasy

I & II Chronicles…Our Restorer of a lost nation

Ezra…Our Faithful Scribe

Nehemiah…Our re-builder of broken down walls

Esther…Our Mordecai

Job…He’s the one who believes in us when our Friends flake out!

Psalms…Our song in every circumstance on life’s road

Proverbs…Our answer to life’s riddle

Ecclesiastes…Our wisdom

Song of Solomon…Our Shepard in the night!

Isaiah…The Son, Immanuel, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace

Jeremiah…Our weeping prophet

Lamentations…The Eulogy of a fallen nation

Ezekiel…The four faced man in life’s trial

Daniel…The fourth man in life’s fiery trial

Hosea…Our Rapah, our Husband, our Redeemer!

Joel…The Holy Ghost Giver!

Amos…The Shepard who gathers the broken pieces of our life and heals us.

Obadiah…The recompense to our enemies

Jonah…Our evangelist

Micah…Our light in the darkness

Nahum…Our judgment on unrighteousness

Habakkuk…Reviver of our work in the midst of our years

Zephaniah…The Re-gather of a lost nation

Haggai…Fruit Giver to a starving & barren nation

Zechariah…The Olive Tree and the Candlestick

Malachi…The echoing voice of God that reverberated for 400 years.

Matthew…Son of Abraham

Mark…Son of Man

Luke…Son of God

John…The Word which is; which was and which is to come.

Acts…The Holy Ghost

Romans…Our Justifier

I & II Corinthians…Our Sanctifier

Galatians…The breaker of the curse of the law

Ephesians…He who repairs our broken down wall of partition that kept us from God

Philippians…The Name at which every knee shall bow

Colossians…All the fullness of the Godhead bodily

I & II Thess…Our coming King

I & II Timothy…God manifest in the flesh

Titus…Our washing of regeneration

Philemon…Our deliverer from slavery

Hebrews…High Priest and our New Covenant

James…Our Faith that makes devils tremble

I & II Peter…He quiets the scoffers of all ages

I & II John…Our Love, or propitiation

Jude…Our contender for the faith that was once delivered to His saints

Revelation…Our Alpha, our Omega, our First and Last, our King, our Priest, our Lion our Lamb, our Savior, our coming King, our Judge, our redeemer, and The Almighty!

Jesus, there is something about that name!

2 Responses »