Elvis is Alive! Saturday, Apr 3 2010 

Uncategorized kennethbow 8:28 am

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!

 

Some Days Live Forever! Friday, Apr 2 2010 

Family and Motivational kennethbow 9:14 am

It was a Friday afternoon, in July, 1975.

I was working for UPS. I had a little break time left so I stopped at the coffee shop. (A coffee shop is what there was before Starbucks). Most of the drivers from UPS stopped there in the afternoons.  The waitress came to my table and told me I had a phone call.

When I answered the phone, my world was forever changed.

My supervisor told me to bring my truck in immediately.  I asked what was up.  He said there had been an accident with my family and he would tell me when I got in the center.  I demanded he tell me if it involved my wife or daughter, he said no it was about my mother.  There had been an accident and she could not be located.

My mother had been murdered.

As I write this so many years later, the pain and shock is still so vivid.  Some things do not dim with time.  They remain ever fresh, pungent, alive, and painful.

The next few days were terrible. It took three days to locate her body.  Then there was the funeral, and days and days of just a blur.

Just a week before this tragedy, my mother had stood across the hospital bed of the man who murdered her and asked me to teach her a bible study.

I was so excited that she wanted to know more about God.  My mother had a rough life.  She and my father divorced when I was three.  Mom went on to marry 5 more times before her tragic murder when she was only 42 years old.  Her last husband was the man who murdered her.

He was a brute and a beast.  He was a large powerful man.  He beat my brother with a rubber hose until I did not recognize my own brother.

The night my mother asked me for a bible study, this husband of hers was in the hospital with a heart attack.  I went to the hospital. Little did I know that my mother had  a little over a week to live.

If I had known my 42 year old mother would be dead in 9 days I would have dropped everything and prayed with her.  She was a backslider with two brief sojourns in church.  Both times she had prayed through she had stayed in church just a few days or weeks at best.

But I did not know.  Neither do you.  Today is all we have.

How will you use this day?

Will you wallow in self pity?

Will you throw away a wonderful 24 hour gift locked in a mind loop of things you cannot change?

Will you allow anger to take the microphone and filibuster?

Who needs you today?  Who can you show love and approval to today?  Where can you distribute happiness today?

Today is all you have!  It is yours to spend as you choose.

My hope is you take today by the throat and demand full payment for all the zest and joy it can bring!  I pray you shake off any element that would rob you of the abundant life Jesus Christ promised us.

Honestly, I am simply amazed that you would take a few moments of your day to read this blog.  From my heart I thank you.  I do not take that lightly or take it for granted.

In a terrible way, the day my mother was murdered is a day that has lived forever in my mind.

I am glad there are other days that also live forever.  The day I received the Holy Ghost.  The day my daughter sang her first special in church.  The day my grandson won a trophy in Bible quizzing.

Sand never flows upward in the hourglass of time.  Tomorrow’s sand cannot flow through before today’s sand. I cannot place tomorrow’s gold in my purse today. Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday.  Today is all I have.

If for any reason today should be my last, then let me drink each minute to the full.  Let me savor it and give thanks.

Thanks for reading today!

 

The reason I cannot post today….. Thursday, Apr 1 2010 

Uncategorized kennethbow 8:18 am

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!!!

 

Why does the sun rise in the east? Wednesday, Mar 31 2010 

Doctrine and Motivational and Uncategorized kennethbow 7:13 am

Why does the sun rise in the east?

There is this something about the east!  The sun rises in the east.  Jesus is returning from the east.  Many if not most great philosophers are from the east.  So what is the significance of these things being from the east?

The Apostle Paul while in his early 40’s set out on his first missionary journey.  He arrived at the island of Cyprus.  There he converts Sergius Paulus, his first gentile convert, and jettisons his Hebrew name forever.  Saul of Tarsus is no more.  The Apostle Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles, steps forward to his life work.

Many have commented on the choice of Paul over other Apostles for this world task.  Why Paul?  It is my opinion it was for his philosophy.  His doctrine was the same, his heritage was the same if not better, so it seems to me it was his philosophy that tipped the scale in his favor.

Paul was able to be eclectic when he was before high-ranking Romans, or even Governors and Caesars.  It was his Hellenistic learning and background that made him the candidate to reach the population of Asia, Achaia, Macedonia, and Galatia.

I would like to be able to witness to all people about Jesus Christ.  As I have traveled this country for the last 35 years of preaching, I have seen very few Asian people in our churches.  It is a rare occurrence.

Why has the sun not risen in the east like it has in the west?

Could it be that we have not trained ourselves to reach the eastern mind set?  Do we understand how to reach out to them? The Buddhist? The Hindu? The Muslim?  How many of us strive to understand these eastern thinkers?

Are we as exclusionary as the Jews of the New Testament? Is heaven reserved just for the American, or English and Latin-speaking peoples?  I thought I read that in that celestial city there were people there from every tribe and nation.

Are the eastern people of your area being reached with this gospel?

Let me challenge you.  Have you ever read the Tao de Ching?  It is the second most read book in the history of the world!  It is the basis of all thought and doctrine for 3/5 of the world we live in.  Many of you who read this will never have heard of it.  When I have been with many pastors, and even bought it for them, they have smiled indulgently and said people here don’t read that.

How many Apostolics could effectively witness to a Buddhist?  How about a Muslim? How about a Hindu?

I do not expect this blog to start a stampede on the bookstore, but if there are any who are interested in being the most effective witness you can I am going to recommend some reading.

The “The World’s Religions” by Huston Smith is the standard textbook used on many campuses in America.  It is a distilled overview of the major religions of the world.  It at least explains the Bagadavita, (The religious book of the Hindu faith). It explains the Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui Neng (Buddist books). It explains the Koran, (Muslim book).

I also recommend the  Tao de Ching.  The version I favor is by Stephen Mitchell.  There are many versions available. The Tao is a small volume that can be read in less than an hour.  The principals in it are similar to the principals in our Bible.

For many who read this blog today, this is nonsense.  I understand that, but Paul was the best-prepared man on planet earth to reach people of diverse views.  He stood toe to toe with the intellects of Greece on Mars Hill.  He could confidently say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is the power of God”.

Maybe it is time to consider why the sun has risen in the east every day for millenniums in our natural world, but has never risen in the east in the spiritual world!

Thanks for reading today.

 

I Have Met A Giant! Tuesday, Mar 30 2010 

Biblical history and Motivational kennethbow 10:50 am

Genesis 6.4  There were giants in the earth in those days

Archaeology has proven Genesis correct many times.  As you can see from the photo, there certainly were giants on the earth as the Bible says there were.

Yes, David really did fight a giant named Goliath.  David’s great grandmother was a lady named Ruth.  Goliath’s great grandmother was a lady named Orpah. Both David and Goliath had great grandmothers from Moab. When Naomi returned to Israel after the sojourn in Moab, Ruth came also.  Orpah returned to Moab and her great grandson eventually challenged Israel and Saul’s armies to a contest.  David defeated Goliath in the famous battle, and was crowned the giant slayer by the minstrels of Israel.

Today I want to introduce you to a giant I have personally met, and know quite well.  He lives among us.  Many of you will know him and be acquainted with him.  I wanted to point out his stature today.

His has been an amazing life.  His father was also a member of the giants.  Men of stature, height, expanse in multiply ways.  Men that affect and change an entire generation by their presence and exploits.  Men who have been undefeated in spiritual combat.  Champions without peer.  Acknowledged, acclaimed, and revered by their peers and their future generations.  Men who leave behind a trail that others may follow and find bliss.

This giant I know has….

  • Preached for 50 years
  • Been married to the same wife for 45 years
  • Pastored for 30 years
  • Has preached 910 revivals
  • Has preached 329 conferences
  • Has preached 61 camp meetings
  • Has 5 children, all serve the Lord
  • Has 12 grandchildren, all filled with the Holy Ghost (except those under 4)
  • Has one son who pastors a church of about 1000
  • Has another son who started a church that now has about 500
  • Has a son-in-law who pastors a growing church

11 years ago tomorrow, this giant resigned his church and started traveling across America preaching the Gospel.

Personally I do not know of any living man who has achieved more for the kingdom of God than this giant of a man among us!

50 years ago he preached his first sermon outside his home church in Shelbyville Indiana, for Elder Cavenous.

The trail he has blazed is well marked and easily followed.

Today, I stop and salute a true Giant of Pentecost!

Martyn Ballestero Sr

Thank you for an unbelievable life Elder!

 

There Were Giants In The Earth…Some Of Them Belonged To God! Monday, Mar 29 2010 

Biblical history and Doctrine and Motivational and Old Testament and Uncategorized kennethbow 7:23 am

Isaiah

In the eighth century BC while Homer was writing the Iliad and the Odyssey, and Lao Tse was writing the Tao de Ching, Isaiah wrote the book that bears his name.

The prophet Isaiah was a giant of Jewish history.

He is considered the Shakespeare of Hebrew literature. The New Testament quotes him more than all the other prophets added together.  No author in the Bible can match his eloquence and mastery of style and imagery.

He lived midway through the founding of the nation and it’s final destruction. He lived on the border between the Northern and Southern kingdom.  He was one of the prophets who observed first hand the fall and captivity of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

The Rabbis say that he was first cousin to King Uzziah.  Isaiah’s father, and Uzziah’s father, were brothers.  This would mean he was of royal lineage, and familiar with the palace and court life.  He certainly was the confidant and advisor to at least 5 kings.

Isaiah was not a “yes” man to these kings.  He stood against the popular tide of optimism.  His name meant “The Lord saves”.  He warned Kings repeatedly that to depend on military power or wealth or alliances or anything but God would bring disaster.

Isaiah outlived four of the kings he advised, but finally offended one King beyond the King’s tolerance. Manasseh is said to have placed Isaiah between two planks and had him sawed in half.  Thus ending the life of one of Israel’s greatest heroes.

Isaiah’s writings are about the nature of God.  It is a collection of many messages on many subjects.

His writings break down like this:

  • Chapters 1-12 warnings to Judah during their prosperous days
  • Chapters 13-23 messages to surrounding nations
  • Chapters 24-35 earth’s future and the imminent invasion of Assyria
  • Chapters 36-39 an interlude telling of crisis Judah faced
  • Chapters 40-48 prophesies 200 years into the future  (Babylon)
  • Chapters 49-55 The nation’s final deliverance through the suffering servant
  • Chapters 56-66 warnings to Judah and a view of the future

These are quick bullet references to Isaiah:

  • Began preaching before he was 20 years old
  • A contemporary of Amos and Hosea
  • Born during Uzziah’s reign
  • Called in the year Uzziah died
  • Saw the Glory of Jeroboam II (Israel)
  • Observed the fall of Israel in 721 BC
  • Influenced Hezekiah
  • Foretold the rise of Babylon
  • Killed by Manasseh
  • His book a mini Bible (66 chapter, 39,27)
  • Proclaims the coming Messiah
  • Quoted more in New Testament than all other prophets combined
  • Shakespeare of Hebrew literature
  • First cousin to Uzziah
  • Giant of Jewish history
  • Lived exactly in the middle of the founding of the nation and it’s destruction
  • His name means “the Lord saves”
  • Prophesied during 5 kings
  • Wrote same time as Iliad, Odyssey and Tao de Ching
  • Looks into the nature of God
  • He was Hezekiah’s “song in the night”

His supreme contribution was his fore telling Messiah is coming!  The nation hung onto this thread of hope until Jesus arrived.  It helped keep them through the 400 silent years of despair.  When the New Testament opens they are on point looking for Messiah.

Because he looks into the nature of God, He is our “One God” preacher! Verses like, 9.6, 7.14, 43.10-11, 44.6, 44.8, 45.15, as well as chapters 12, 35, and 53, are favorite one God passages.

When an Apostolic preacher preaches on Oneness, he invariably visits the book of Isaiah!

When Assyria threatened the nation, after conquering 200 walled cities and leading away 200,000 captives from the northern nation, it was Isaiah who stayed calm while Hezekiah panicked.  Isaiah was the song in the night with a word from the Lord.  The next morning 185,000 Assyrians lay dead, Judah was saved, and Isaiah was right!

Isaiah had heard from God and the Angel of the Lord went through the camp of Assyria and slew 185,000 men while Israel slept and never lifted a finger!

The Devil was not alone in using Giants to do great exploits!

God answered with some Giants of his own!

Of these, none stands taller than Isaiah.

Thanks for reading today!

 

Who signed the document to rebuild the temple? Friday, Mar 26 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical and Doctrine and Old Testament kennethbow 10:18 pm

Daniel

Daniel is considered a major prophet, even though his book is not that lengthy. In my notes about the Major Prophets I explain that it is more than length that determines a major prophet.

Daniel was carried away captive into Babylon in the first wave of captivity.  There were three waves of captivity.  In the first wave Nebuchadnezzar carried away the finest young men and minds of Jerusalem.  He then carried away 10,000 and placed them in a captives settlement on the River Chebar. Ezekiel was in this group.   Then the final gleaning carried all the rest into Babylon in 586 BC (2 Kings 24).

Daniel probably would have had a great career in Jerusalem, but he was never given the chance.  At 18 years old he is ripped from his prominent family and carried away into a far away country.  The Babylonians did not care about his dreams or plans.  He was a refugee to them, a captive.

The Babylonians saw his potential and trained him in their schools.  After his graduation Daniel was put to work for the King.  This same king Daniel worked for, continued to war against Daniel’s people for another 20 years.

I find no record of any family members around Daniel.  It appears he was alone except for some other young men also carried captive.

Daniel rose to the position of Prime Minister.  For an outsider to achieve this high position speaks volumes about Daniel.  He kept this position for many years, even when Kings were dethroned.  Daniel’s career at the top lasted at least 66 years.  When he was thrown into the Lion’s den he was over 80 years old. There is no finer example in the Bible about how to live and excel with people who do not serve your God or share your beliefs.

Later in His life, God gave Daniel a series of visions about the future of planet earth.  In grapic terms God showed Daniel the future. Daniel’s people would duplicate his personal experience on a world scale.  God used Daniel to show the Hebrew people what to do when the Diaspora unfolded.

The Hebrew people thought they had exclusive rights to God.  The book of Daniel shows God’s intent was to save the world, not just the Jew.

To me one of the most magnificent things the book of Daniel offers, is the proclamations by heathen kings. These proclamations brought more honor to God than anything a Jewish King had done in decades!  Daniel’s book teaches how God’s people can live caught in the jaws of brutal world politics.

Daniel continues his career at least until the 3rd year of Cyrus.  Cyrus was a despot.  When Cyrus was killed, the queen cast his head into a vat of blood and said, “Thy thirst was blood, now drink thy fill”.  Somehow this incredible man Daniel was able to navigate all these treacherous waters of politics, and remain unscathed.

The first 6 chapters of his book are stories about the life in Babylon.  The rest of his book is a series of visions about the world’s future.

An interesting note is that before the captivity is final, Daniel refers to God as “Lord of hosts”.  After the captivity happens, he refers to God as “The God of heaven”.  I wonder if he felt God had moved out of planet earth because of the captivity?

When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, he carried away 2499 vessels.  These were kept in storage until Cyrus gave the permission to return and rebuild the Temple.  Then these vessels were used in the rebuilt temple.

I am of the opinion that it was Daniel that signed the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

That decree was issued in the first year of Cyrus, and Daniel continued at least until the third year of Cyrus.  What an honor to live your life in such a manner to be the one to attach your signature to the rebuilding of the temple.

I am also of the opinion that Daniel is the author of Psalm 119.  This great Psalm sings of the word of God.  That was all Daniel had.  Whoever wrote Psalm 119 had no temple to attend.  The author had enemies in high places, and was persecuted for his love of God.  These parameters seem to fit Daniel perfectly.  If this is true, how it must have thrilled him to be able to sign the document to rebuild the temple for all future Jews!

Daniel was forced to live for over 80 years without the house of God, but future generations would be blessed again with a temple.  His exemplary life allowed him to see this come to pass.

In addition to his long and fruitful career in foreign palaces, he also had a personal audience with the archangel Gabriel.

He also took up Jeremiah’s theme of 70 years and gave us the 70 weeks of years.

How much more magnificent could one life be?

Finally let me offer this about Daniel.

Daniel speaks about how a young person can do great things for God.  He was a contemporary of Ezekiel.  It is simply amazing to me how Daniel receives honor from his peers.  In Ezekiel 14.14, Ezekiel says though Noah, Job and Daniel stood before me, they would deliver but their own souls.  Again in chapter 28 and verse 3, Ezekiel speaks of the wisdom of Daniel.

For future generations to venerate you and speak of your greatness is not that uncommon. Here is a young man while in his prime that is seen by his peers as one of the greatest of all time.  Ezekiel looked at Daniel and placed him with Noah and Job, then used Daniel as the ultimate measure of wisdom.

Show me another example in the Bible of a young man who gathered that kind of honor while still young.  Show me another young man in the Bible who received such honor from his peers, and from God himself.

Daniel was a giant of his day and one of the truly great men of the Bible.

The shadow he casts reaches across thousands of years.

Thanks for reading today!

 

Kings, Harlots, Wars, Famine, and the Siren Song Of Victory! Thursday, Mar 25 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical and Doctrine and Old Testament kennethbow 7:46 am

Minor Prophets

All of the issues that produced the Major Prophets are the same for the coming of the Minor Prophets.  They are called “minor” for several reasons in my opinion.

First of all they are generally very brief in length.  Next, they are generally narrow in their application and audience.  For example, the Major Prophets spoke to the nations around them as well as to Israel.  Minor prophets focus on one area or nation as a rule.

Next their subject material is focused on a limited time era.  They generally are not dealing with a broad period of time.  And lastly, it is my opinion many of them played a supporting role to the Major Prophets.  Many of them were contemporaries with the Major Prophets.

They also, like the Major Prophets are diverse in background and ministry.  One thing is startlingly clear; God dealt with a world, not just Israel.  What an amazing revelation to all the Bible scholars who insist God was exclusively interested in the nation of Israel.  Some of these men of God spoke solely to Gentile nations.  There is the example of Jonah and Nahum to Nineveh, and Obadiah to Edom.

A poor analogy is, these men were short stories compared to the novels the Major Prophets wrote.  They are short, concise diatribes to very particular audiences.  They played an important role in the moment of their existence, but did not have the distilled major contribution that the Major Prophets had.

The Minor Prophets are God speaking a brief conversation with Israel, while the Major Prophets were a long involved discourse for many years.

However, do not let yourself think for even a moment they are less in importance.  To take that opinion would strip from you their magnificent contribution to God’s overall plan.  The Bible was written by Holy Men of God, and the spirit of God included each of these “minor” books for a reason that God saw need for.

The pageantry and principals in these books span from the Assyrian empire to the end of the Old Testament under the Persian Empire.

In the Hebrew writings these twelve books were one book called the book of the twelve.  There were actually twenty-one segments broken at different places without stopping at the books beginnings.

If read as one continuous book like the Hebrews do, it is quite a journey!  You will visit palaces and market places.  You will go from world capitals to country dells and villages.

You will read of Kings and harlots, siege and famine, plagues and songs of victory.  You will read of war and envy, of conquest and human endurance.

Above the din of this cacophony of human existence, you will hear the voice of a loving God, desperately in love with His people.  It is the voice of God weeping, wooing, and willing His people to return to Him.

The key to your automobile may seem small and easily replaced, but without it you aren’t going anywhere.  God saw they were needed and served a purpose, and we would be incomplete without them.

When studying one of these small brief conversations with God, I suggest you remember that the Creator saw the need for this to complete the Book of the ages.  Words from God called men, brief and pointed, that are forever settled in Heaven!

Could not all of us take encouragement from this, knowing that God included us in His master plan?

No matter how large or small our part on the grand stage of time, we are still important.

Without our part, the whole would be lacking.  While it is true that taking Obadiah out of the Bible would not have the same effect as removing Isaiah, it was God who decided Obadiah needed to be in the book that is forever settled in heaven.

It is apparent that God placed value on each man who contributed to the Bible.  What a lesson!  Will any of us refuse to do our part because it seems small and less important than that of others?

Here are my thoughts on the Minor Prophets as to who they spoke to and when:

  • Hosea, Wrote to Israel the northern kingdom, about 700 BC
  • Joel, wrote to northern kingdom about 800 BC
  • Amos, spoke to northern kingdom during Jeroboam II reign, 700 BC
  • Obadiah, spoke to Edom (Esau’s decendants), His date is very controversial
  • Jonah, spoke to Nineveh (world empire), 200 years before Nahum
  • Micah, spoke to northern kingdom, same time as Isaiah
  • Nahum, second voice to Nineveh
  • Habakkuk, spoke only to God, his book is a Theodicy, after the captivity
  • Zephaniah, spoke to the repatriated nation, after the captivity
  • Haggai, same as Zephaniah, spoke to the nation after the captivity
  • Zechariah, spoke to the nation after captivity and rebuilding of the temple
  • Malachi, spoke to the repatriates at the close of the Old Testament

One of my most helpful thoughts has been to think of about ten ministers you know.  Think of how they preach.  Think of how they approach a subject.  Think about their vocabulary, their illustrations, and their message.  That will give you a good appreciation of the Minor Prophets and their diversity.

They were  courageous men who devoted their life to delivering God’s message.  It was almost universal that their message was unwanted and unheard.  Yet, they obeyed their call and completed their message.

I look forward to the day when I can sit and talk with them and learn the rest of their story.

They were a magnificent breed indeed!

Thanks for reading today.

 

I. H. Terry and the Rose Wednesday, Mar 24 2010 

Biographical and Doctrine and Motivational kennethbow 7:31 am

My pastor was a great man!  He loved the doctrine, he loved preachers, and he loved poetry!  Brother Terry would read poetry to me when I would go to his house.  For seven years his wife was bed ridden, and I would go as often as I could to sit with him.  Most of the time it was one to two times a week.

When I got there he would reach over and take up one of the two books he used the most, we would settle in for the evening and he would read.  He had this cute look that he used, he would look up to see if you were getting the meaning.  He wanted to make sure you “caught” it.

There are many poems he would read, like “Maud Muller” by John Greenleaf Whitier.  It is an incredible story of a judge riding down a country lane who stops to get a drink of water at the hand of a young maiden.  He rides on but always remembers that moment.  Both of them go through life wondering what might have been if they had married.  It is from this poem the famous line is often quoted,

“the saddest words of tongue or pen, are simply these, it might have been”.

There were other poems he loved like “Curfew shall not ring tonight”, “The face on the barroom floor”, “The hell bound train”, “Casey at the bat” and the two sequels to “Casey”.

One poem he loved very much and used to help many people is called “Let it unfold”.  He preached about it and so have others.  The man who has made this poem most recognizable is Vaughn Morton.  Vaughn Morton has preached a classic, unforgettable message using this poem entitled “Let it unfold”.

The poem speaks about just letting life unfold the way God unfolds a rose.  Brother Terry would take people, mostly young preachers, out in his back yard and hand them a rosebud.  He would insist you unfold the rosebud.  As you tried you destroyed any chance of the rose ever reaching beauty or completeness.

Then Brother Terry wisely handed you a  rose.  Asked you to smell its fragrance, look at its beauty.  And he would quote the poem.

I remember like it was yesterday the moment I stood in his backyard with broken pieces of a rose in one hand and a beautiful red rose in the other.  With a tear in his eye, that old, wise mentor said…

It is only a tiny rosebud,

A flower of God’s design,

But I cannot unfold the petals

with these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers

Is not known to such as I,

The flower that God opens so sweetly,

Would in my hands would fade and die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud

This flower of God’s design,

Then how can I think I have wisdom

To unfold this life of mine?

So I’ll trust in Him for His leading

Each moment of everyday

I’ll look to him for guidance

Each step of the Pilgrim way.

For the Pathway that lies before me,

My heavenly father knows:

I’ll trust him to unfold the moments,

Just as he unfolds the rose.

Thank you Brother Terry for one of my life’s greatest lessons.

Thanks for reading today!

 

God Moments! Tuesday, Mar 23 2010 

Biblical history and Doctrine and Family and Motivational and New Testament kennethbow 8:14 am

A God moment……

While the Apostle Paul was on his 2nd missionary journey around 51ad, a woman

named Phoebe came and told him she was going to Rome.

Paul asked her if she would carry a letter to the church there

for him.  She agreed.   Paul set down to write a letter and what

resulted was the book in your bible called Romans.

It is a great treatise on Christianity.  The broad expanse of

the role of the Jew, and the new role of the Gentile.

In his opening introduction Paul says some things about humanity

in general.  He was at Corinth at the time, where he spent 18 months.

As he walked the streets of the second largest city of the Roman

Empire with its new shiny architecture, he saw the population, of

700,000 people.  There were soldiers, Roman officials, merchants, beggars, in fact the

whole composite of  Corinth.

He concluded several things he put in the letter to the Romans.

He concluded that all have sinned and come short of the

glory of God.  He concluded that the gentile world needed

God, and the Jewish world needed God.

He covered an interesting concept by asking what if some did not hear

the Gospel?  His answer was they are without excuse! Why?

He went on to say because there are different ways God speaks to

mankind.  God speaks through conscience, God speaks through

creation. That lets me know that God never leaves man anywhere, anyplace

without some kind of “God Moment”.

Somewhere, somehow, God confronts man and introduces himself, so

that no one will ever stand at the final tribunal of God and say I had no

Witness.

During the 35 years I have preached the gospel I have heard and seen

some of these “God Moments”.  I saw one a few days ago in a nursing

home down in Puyallup, Washington.

I went to the room of a lady who had told her daughter she wanted to pray, she was afraid she was nearing the end of her life’s journey. I went and joined the daughter, son, and two other people.  We prayed for that woman to be assured God was with her.  When we laid our hands on her to pray, it was a “God Moment”.

It was as if we had placed the shock paddles that EMTs use on her chest. She raised up off that bed and the spirit of God fell on her.

It was a supernatural moment.  We were all amazed and aware that this moment was a God thing.

Thirteen days later, death walked in that same room and claimed that woman.

That Woman was Phyllis Crandall.


Death came to claim her only to acknowledge that God arrived first, letting everyone know, that she was His child.

Thank you God for that incredible, unforgettable moment when you showed yourself as

God.

Thanks for reading today!

 

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