Ricky Bokovoy

"Throughout my childhood, youth, and early adulthood I have seen a lot. I've seen seemingly good things turn sour and seemingly bad things bring vigor and life. For most of my life I had known no Saviour. I lived for myself and felt the wide swings of highness and lowness of feelings. I had health problems and wondered why. Worrying about them only made them worse. My goal in life was to try to be the happiest I could possibly be at all times. I knew not that happiness can only be maintained from within, not from external activities. My soul was destitute of love and peace but I did not know it let alone what could cure it. Panic, anger, and anxiety prevailed while my lifetime goal was further and further from being met."

"The country I have always loved. People live artificial lives in this day and age, but this is climaxed in large cities. Numbers, papers, fumes and politics govern the lifestyle during the week, while pointless games and liquefied poisons take over the weekend. Cancer, disguised in attractive array, knocks at the door and without a thought the housekeeper opens the door. Yet, Jesus knocks at the door day upon day, year after year, and the door remains shut until the knocking becomes faint followed by just the sound of the winter wind. Needed rest and other natural health practices are forsaken for the sake of pleasure seeking. This was partially me until my golden birthday in the summer of 2005. Prior to then I had found refuge in a cabin, which is meant for three season usage, in Northern Minnesota where I commuted from to attend a community college. My career goal at that time was to make much money fast as to retire very early and live in the woods for the rest of my life (which I thought would fulfill my ultimate life goal of bliss). I looked into pharmacy and I looked into engineering. After I took some of the classes I knew it was not for me. By then the time was ripe for a major life change."

"I had always thought of myself as a Christian. The only theology that I held to was that since I believed Jesus existed some 2000 years ago I would be "saved." Here I was, following after lusts, allowing my senses to feast on whatever would gratify them, not paying people the debt of love I owed to them but rather hurting them, and I considered myself a saved man. After ordering several MRI checks of the brain and an electrical test of my brainwaves I knew that I did not have a brain tumor as I had suspected, but I knew something in me was not right. I blacked out several times and I was constantly tired and dizzy. Talking to people I did not know was a major chore. Then one night I was at a community gathering when a man with flyers came to me and asked if I was saved. He then went through some of the Ten Commandments with me and asked me if I was following them, not in the way they are written (by the letter which I thought I had been doing), but in a way that explained their full meaning. For example, he asked me if I had lusted after women or really wanted something that was in some other's possession. When back at my cabin, I read the pamphlet he gave me: it said to read the Bible and pray every day. So I did just that."

"I cannot pinpoint an exact moment when my heart was made new. Rather than everything happening in one instant, I see the start of my Christian experience as a succession. Notwithstanding, I truly believe I was born again that summer. Thoughts and feelings of earthly passion were replaced by yearnings for heavenly-induced development. Selfishness was replaced by love—true love—not the self-seeking kind widely portrayed in the popular arts."

"Later that summer, God gave me some more insight. I was at a county fair when I found myself at a booth containing literature about different doctrines. Though the doctrines contained in the literature are not exactly what I believe now, reading them up in Canada afterwards made me think and search the Scriptures. One tract examined the subject of being born again. I had never really understood what the term meant, though it had just happened to me, but after studying it my spiritual experience was enriched. The key text in the Bible is "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). I no longer wanted my old self. I remembered the horrific feelings I had had, feelings that there was no purpose in living. I remembered the confusion I had had and knew that God was not the Author of it. Through reading some of the other tracts I further realized the seriousness of sin. So, I started on the road to abstaining from sin; not because I would be at risk for hell, but because I want to do good to God and others so that Satan and hurt are defeated by love and peace."

"Fall came and a national tragedy was underway—Hurricane Katrina had taken out New Orleans. My talent of performing music I had known for only a half a year when an opportunity came to perform on a local radio station to dedicate to the cause of supporting hurricane victims. Bob Noah had volunteered to answer the calls that came in. He also coordinated with the station owner to get me on the airwaves late on that quiet night. It had been my first public performance. In the months, and now years, following the event we have become very good friends. Dozens of his poems I have put to music, and he has helped me further develop my musical talent through his expertise in critique. I attribute my strong faith to God alone, but He used this man to help me see great spiritual truths. Though we have always been separated by distance, we have fellowshipped together many a time. Every time we get together we help each other grow in our love for God by exchanging our experiences. He helped me see that we must use the talents that we have been given and that those, coupled with our prayerfully following of God's will, determines where our lives should go." - Ricky Bokovoy

The Great Kingdom Come All the original songs on Ricky Bokovoy's debut CD were selected to magnify the universal need for hope and healing through surrender and sacrifice. The collection calls listeners to a practical union with the Creator with a mellow, yet essential message. Its mellow sounds echo the great love of the Lord and His soon coming with a combination of acousticals, vocals, and harmonica pieces. CD Price: $12.97