Bible Trekking – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Where Are You Hiding Your Valuables?

September 3, 2026

Matthew 6:19 tells us not to store our treasures here, but to put them in Heaven. How much do you have in your 401 (k)? Did I just say that? My treasures are not to be bankable. As that famous philosopher, The Gambler, said, “Never count your money when you’re sitting at the table. There’ll be time enough for counting when the dealing’s done.”

We need to ask, “What is valuable to you?” I am not thinking of what is usually thought of as valuable. As I answer this question for myself, I encourage you to make your own list. First on my list is my family, and I believe the best way to protect them is by leading them in their faith in Jesus.

The same idea goes for my friends, and most of them are in the group that is in the third place: people I love. The problem is that Jesus said that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Then He went on to tell a story that most of us have heard of that explains who our neighbor should be. (Luke 10:25-37)

Have you heard of the Good Samaritan? Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They were half-breeds. They were from different countries and nationalities. Do any of these descriptions fit those that you do not like? As Christians, we are told to love as Jesus did. For many of us, we do not even know what love is.

It is not liking someone a lot or something that the other person must earn or deserve. Love is what nailed God to a cross to save us from our rebellion. Love is giving yourself for others. It is what the Samaritan did for the injured Jew. He did what was needed despite who they were.

We should value all our relationships whether they are personal, business, or family. Jehovah created this universe so that He could create us to be in relationship with Him. Many wonder why a perfect deity would want to create such an imperfect world with sinful creatures such as humanity.

After we fouled this planet up, Jesus came to die for us. He took three years as an itinerant teacher, re-educating all who would listen about how the Hebrews had corrupted the meaning of the law and prophets. This teaching is one of the valuables that are stored inside believers.

Another thing that is valuable to me is you. You are not just a reader. You are a human being that Jehovah loves. You are important to me because you are special to Him. We like to quote John 3:16: “For God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son so that anyone could be brought to repentance.”

This is how the apostle John interpreted what Jesus did. He did not understand that Jesus was the I Am and not another entity. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” Don’t ask me to explain that statement because all I know is that they are two parts of Yahweh, who is a triune being just as we are.

We are to hide these things that we cherish in the place where Yahweh resides outside of time and space. We call this place Heaven, and Jesus tells us that if we are one of His disciples and a follower, when our bodies fail us, he will come and get us so that we will reside with Him. I hope to see you there.

The Sinner

August 1, 2026

This word describes all of us who have missed the mark. One of the words translated as “sin” literally means “to miss the mark,” as in an archer not hitting the center of the target. We need to understand this concept as related to the law of Jehovah that is written in the Bible.

When we talk about failing to follow His instructions, we often want to give ourselves some slack and want others to be dead on. When He says, “honor your father and mother,” we wonder what the word honor means. Am I missing the mark if I disobey or talk back to them?

We know that saying we hate them is not honoring them. It is like when you drive five miles over the speed limit. You know that you have broken man’s law. There are no lasting consequences if you aren’t stopped, and if five miles is all you are going over, the police might not even bother to pull you over.

The title of this column is taken from an episode of The Waltons. In season one, episode seven, this is the one that introduces John Ritter as the Baptist preacher in their mountain church. Matthew Fordwick is a minister fresh out of seminary who comes to give his first sermon before going onto the mission field.

After a night with Grandpa Walton at the Baldwin home, he has a falling-out with the woman who brought him to Virginia. This uppity missionary is disappointed because the young preacher is exposed to the Baldwin sister’s recipe, which is moonshine or white lightning.

This sheltered Christian man did not recognize the taste of this herbal elixir as bootleg whiskey. I might have made the same error and become intoxicated as well if I were given a beverage with alcohol without my knowledge. We all need others to help us with advice and knowledge to avoid being sinners.

Part of my ministry has been working with young people and trying to help them navigate the road leading to adulthood. I advise them not to begin drinking alcohol at all, but discourage any early use because statistics show that the earlier you start consuming alcohol, the more likely you are to become an alcoholic. The same is true of guiding them through making many other life decisions such as when and with whom to have sex, choosing a career, and a mate.

Condemning others for the choices they make is not our job. If your opinion of someone’s decisions is voiced in a way that does not show compassion, they are more likely to reject any advice or information that you give them. Calling anyone a sinner may not be the best way to help them correct life choices that are causing problems.

Jesus told a story about a young man who left home with his inheritance, wasted it, and finally returned home repentant for the errors he made. His father did not condemn him but rejoiced in his presence. His brother felt slighted about the party that is being held. The father is God, and the brother represents some of us. Is it you?

We can complain about what others have done and condemn them, especially when they have missed the mark. When we miss the mark, we need to ask forgiveness and keep trying to hit the bullseye. Pointing out the other guy’s errors does not get us any closer.

How old are you?

July 20, 2026

Do you ask people this question? I try to be very careful with this inquiry. Especially with older women. After more than seven decades of life, I have several ways to respond.

You are as old as you feel. If I used that today, I would have to set the chronology in the range of the eighties. After bypass surgery, it requires many weeks to recover. Pain, inability to do simple tasks, and having to be careful not to rip out stiches, it ages one.

You are as old as you act. Want to feel younger? Join some younger folks in their activities. Simply be sure not to participate in anything too strenuous for you. Working as a sponsor for youth activities keeps me young.

You are as old as you want to be. When we were kids, we wanted to be older. Fourteen-year-olds want to be sixteen. Seventeen-year-olds wish they were eighteen. Shortly after you turn twenty-one, it all reverses. Every ten years we want to erase that decade.

Pick the age you liked the best and proceed to consider that is where you will be the rest of your life. Don’t complain when the birthday gifts stop. You asked for it. A friend of mine began celebrating the anniversary of her thirty-ninth birthday. Which one do you want to substitute?

You are as old as you think you are. Refer to the last paragraph. You may want to rethink this one. It is best to embrace where you are. I have outlived my oldest brother and Father. I have some more years to go before I surpass Mom. I hope I will be like her and live every minute to its fullest, but not fear the next chapter of my life.

Is there something that you wanted to do and have not accomplished yet? As I was approaching my sixtieth birthday, I began publishing these columns. I noticed how many were about my family, experiences, and life as a workplace minister. In college, I began studying Greek and Hebrew.

I learned that Doulos meant servant and was sometimes translated as slave. One of the significant scriptures where it appears is Romans 1:1. Paul describes himself as a slave to Christ. As I examined what I had been writing and publishing, I decided to write a memoir and named it “Doulos.”

That was over ten years ago, and I have yet to publish another book. This year, I have set a goal of publishing at least two more books. They are “The Inedible Credible Egg” and “Cosmic Flatulence.” Keep reading and see where we go with these books. I believe you will like what you read.

God is with you

May 4, 2026

Whether you want Him to be or not on May the fourth. Star Wars fans have adopted today as their unofficial holiday because they like to say, “May the Force be with you.” If you did not know it, the creator of this franchise, George Lucas, is not a believer in a personal God like Jehovah or Jesus.

This is why his characters believe in a Force or do not. These opponents have a disagreement about this force as well. Some say there is a good one and a bad one, while others believe there is only one and they follow the true force. In my opinion, it is not a force but a farce.

So, in view of that, let me say, “May the farce be with you today.” I am working on a book entitled “Cosmic Flatulence” to deal with this kind of thinking. Most have heard of the Big Bang theory, not the TV show, but the theory that explains the origin of our universe.

If it were not created by a supreme being, it would have to be an accident. The problem is that if nothing existed, how could nothing cause a bang? I have decided that whatever exploded must have come from somewhere or someone. As a seventh and eighth-grade boys’ Sunday School teacher, we had a similar problem.

I was in a small room with several young men, and a cloud of gas became evident because of the fragrance we could all smell. There were times one would say, “Me bad” or something to that effect, while the others laughed. More frequently, there were no claims of ownership.

This is why this book will bear the name “Cosmic Flatulence.” It is the Big Bang theory, but giving credit to the one who produced what caused the explosion. If you do not want to admit that there was someone here before us, then I will identify the source of the gas, and you can argue that you came from a fart that exploded and just accidentally became our universe and life as we know it.

I do not have that much faith. I must believe it, someone or something. George Lucas put his faith in something that he called “The Force.” I cannot accept this concept either. Both seem absurd to me. Why would an unexplained force create our world and universe? What is it or their motivation?

Yahweh, the I am of the Bible, is not some inanimate, uncaring idea. He is made up of the Father, the physical embodiment we call the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which makes us just like our creator, who said they would create mankind in their image. That is why we have a soul, body, and spirit.

Two-Hundred-Fifty, One-Hundred, Fifty

May 2, 2026

In twenty-twenty-six, we are celebrating three major anniversaries. The first is on July fourth. It is not the first in the year, but without the Declaration of Independence, this country would not exist, and probably neither of the other two.

We all know that in July of 1776, the founding document of this nation was first signed. My wife and I have been counting the years since the bicentennial in 1976. We are that old. Those of you who are twenty years younger than us do not recall that nationwide celebration.

That was before laptop computers, flying cars, and cell phones. Oh, that’s right, we still do not have flying cars, even if they were predicted by 2015. The Cubs have won the World Series; we have had three children; our parents have gone to Jesus; our girls and their husbands have given us twelve grandchildren.

Jesus still has not returned for all His children. As I said before, He has come back for some of our family and friends. This great country of ours is still great, even though some thought we needed to be made great again. Gas and other prices have continued to increase, as have our wages, but not at the same rates.

We have driven sections of the US highway for over half of the time they have existed. That is the one hundred years in the title. Many of our travels have been along routes 60, 65, 13, 160, and many more. Maybe in another twenty years, we will celebrate the Interstate system.

You’ve heard of those first two, but I want to tell you about one that will arrive at the end of May. You can attend these celebrations at little or no cost in many locations around our country. The fifty-year event I am talking about is by invitation only.

Cindy and I will have been married for half a century this year. I told you that we have been around long enough to remember the bicentennial at that time. What this means for us is that, unlike some of our contemporaries, we are still alive. That may not seem like an accomplishment to you. I heard a man who had reached his one-hundredth birthday a few years ago tell a reporter that the key to living that long was not to die.

We can give you a few other tips about staying together this long. The main one is to love each other. For those of you who follow me, you know that love is not something you fall into or an emotion; it is a commitment to a lifelong relationship that you are willing to work to keep alive.

The chief attribute you need to succeed is a willingness to cooperate and compromise with your spouse. Love and tolerance are needed to reach the fiftieth anniversary as Cindy and I will this year. Stay tuned for more about our lives and love together.

The Trinity’s Teamwork

April 27, 2026

I have borrowed this title from Os Hillman’s column on his website Today God is First. I’ve been an avid follower of him for years. He is also a workplace minister, as I have been. If you have not read his columns, I recommend them.

I am going to take this opportunity to appropriate this title and not his article. This is legal according to copyright law. You cannot copyright a title. You can trademark them, and that is much more difficult. None of my titles is trademarked; grab one when you want to, Os.

I want to talk about the word trinity. Originally, it meant three gods who became one godhead. Almost all the god legends from other cultures include a trinity. That is why some refer to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit in Christianity as the Holy Trinity. The term should be triune being.

Let me explain. You are a triune being. In Genesis 1:26, Jehovah said that they were going to make mankind in their image. I am sure that you have wondered what this means. There are a thousand explanations for this. The simplest is that Yahweh is soul (Father), body (Son), and spirit (Holy Spirit). So are we.

Our soul was created, unlike God, who has always existed. God created humanity and, therefore, our bodies, which are connected to our everlasting existence. Do you understand? This part of you will not die, ever. That leaves the third part of us, our spirit. Yours may be dead right now.

I’m sorry if that comes as a shock to you. Some people have spirit guides because they cannot connect with the spirit world without one. As a born-again believer in Jesus, my spirit has been reborn. This is what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus that he must receive a new birth.

Those who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior have no spiritual connection of their own. If you claim to be a Christian and have never heard from Holy Spirit or felt that Jesus or God is with you, you might want to rethink your salvation experience.

When Holy Spirit speaks to me through thoughts, ideas, visions, or dreams, I attribute those concepts to Jesus. He is my Lord and Savior, and it is not unusual for me to ask for His advice and assistance. I am sure that you will do this as well if you are a believer.

Each side of the triune being has a specific responsibility. The Father is the protector, among other jobs. The Son is the Life and the Savior of all who accept His free gift. Holy Spirit is the comforter and liaison between Father and Son and us through our rebirthed spirit. Now you know.

WEDDINGS

April 23, 2026

Do you like weddings? I do. That is why I have married several different women. No, it isn’t what you think. Cindy is my first and only wife, but I have officiated at many wedding ceremonies for friends and, in some cases, people I did not know until I was asked to celebrate their marriage with them.

The first was Eldon, who was the store manager at the Wendy’s restaurant in Joplin, MO. Cindy and I moved there two weeks after our wedding. I worked at that restaurant from May of that year until September, when I left the Wendy’s of Southwest Missouri family.

Eldon and one of our employees had decided to get married. They were going to have the wedding at her church, but for some reason, her pastor was unable to officiate at the ceremony. Eldon asked if I was legal to perform weddings. At that time, Missouri laws were much stricter about who could officiate a wedding. I checked and found that you did not have to be ordained but only licensed to the ministry, which I was.

That was my first. I have done weddings for my brother Sam and his wife, my sister-in-law Sharon, my cousin Troy and his wife Coleen. I was even able to help another friend I worked with one Valentine’s Day. She had told me that they wanted to get married and had even gotten the marriage license.

On Valentine’s Day, she told me they were going to get married that day. Larry, her fiancé, was at the courthouse trying to find a judge to officiate at the ceremony. I told her to let me know if that did not work out. Later that day, she came back to my office and asked if I could help. We had the wedding that afternoon, and every year on Valentine’s Day, I wish them a happy anniversary.

Not every marriage that I have helped to begin has lasted this long. One may not have made it as long as celebrity weddings. The day after the ceremony, the bride called and asked if I could tear up the marriage license. The copy I left with had already been mailed to the county recorder. I always drop them in a mailbox when I go home after the wedding. I can be fined if it isn’t postmarked within a certain period. She asked what she could do, and I told her she would need to call a lawyer if they could not work it out.

I had only been able to have one counseling session with them because of the time crunch they were in. After that, I was skeptical about officiating at weddings for people I do not know. Since my second daughter was married and I performed their ceremony, I have not done a wedding. Their oldest daughter turns nineteen this year.

Marriage is not what it once was. Today, in Missouri, a twenty-one-year-old and a seventeen-year-old cannot be married even with parental consent. That apparently isn’t important to anyone but me. Cindy was seventeen, and I was the dirty old man of twenty-one when we were married in Springfield, MO, and her mother signed our marriage license.

This is the reason that my state representative will not have my vote this year. He voted for that bill. You may ask why I am so adamant about this. Laws were already in place that prevented parents from filing statutory rape charges for a child who was seventeen and had sex with someone of majority age. Now, the parents of this same person do not have the right to authorize a wedding. To me, that is sanctioning promiscuity.

Noah had a computer

April 19, 2026

I know you are going to argue with me about this one. Many of you believe that the story in the Bible about the flood and that eight people survived it with a lot of animals is a fable. I get that. We are taught that people thousands of years ago were ignorant savages.

That is not true. Prehistoric is not before history. It is before accepted history. The history that some scientists accept. Other scientists and ordinary people like me know better. We accept the historical information presented in the Hebraic scriptures.

These other scientists will accept nothing from these documents because they do not want to acknowledge the creation of our universe or the one deity that it describes. I deal with this in my book “The Cosmic Flatulence Theory.” You can follow me as I finish this manuscript by searching for that title in categories.

If you have ever read the story of Noah and the ark in Genesis, I am sure that you wondered how all those animals could travel in a ship built by a few simple ancients. What many believe is that technology has developed to a point where it is possible for four men to design and build such a craft.

We are not told many things about the ship by Moses, who wrote the book of beginnings many years later. Other prehistoric cultures were thrown into disarray after a worldwide flood. Almost every ancient culture has a flooding story.

These tales have minor differences, but all agree that a man and his family saved the land and air creatures on a large ship. This is not the main reason that we believe that the people who designed and built this device had technology beyond our own. Let me share some other reasons we accept this idea.

The book of Ecclesiastes has Solomon stating that there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Some of us believe that the Bible is the truth without error. If from the time of Solomon there has been nothing new developed, then at some point our technology was surpassed, and it has been forgotten.

If everything that had been developed up until the time of this flood was destroyed and civilization was sent back to the beginning, then Ecclesiastes may be correct. Keep in mind that Solomon did not indicate that he was speaking of the time in which he lived. His intention is that nothing new could be created that had not already existed.

The story of the Tower of Babel is another common ancient tale that many cultures have. (Genesis 11:1-9) Moses tells us that after the Earth was repopulated post-Noah and the Ark, the descendants developed a plan to build a city and a tower. The tower was to reach the heavens.

Keep in mind that if technology were as advanced as we believe it must have been, then they may have had aeronautical experience. The story of the Flood tells of a firmament or layer that is believed to have separated the sky from outer space. We do not know at what level this layer existed.

The tower is thought by some of us to have been the first attempt to leave our planet, which would not have been possible before God ruptured the firmament at the time of the flood. We have physical evidence of some areas being dry ground and then flooding. Biblical and other tales of a layer of water falling to earth would explain some geological questions.

Eric von Daniken and other authors have suggested that there were ancient astronauts who designed Stone Henge and other architectural anomalies that seem to have been designed by aeronautically experienced people. “Chariots of the Gods” is his book that proposes a race that could fly and build structures that other ancients could not. Keep an open mind and research these theories.

Today is your day

April 1, 2026

That is correct. As a fool for Christ, today is my day. Many Christian people like to denigrate non-Christians on this first Day of April. They say this is national atheists’ Day. They quote Psalm 14:1 that the fool says there is no God. What about the verses that say that we should be fools for Christ? Since Springfield is home to many Christian organizations, don’t we know these texts?

Paul tells us that the message of the cross is considered foolish by those who are perishing in their sins. To followers of Christ, it is power. (1 Corinthians 1:18) If you do not understand what I mean by this, you need to rethink your relationship with Jesus. He told us we would do greater things than He did.

In the first letter to the Ecclesia at Corinth, he speaks to them as being rich and strong while he and other disciples are hungry and in prison. He says that he is a fool for Christ in I Corinthians 4:10-13. His reasoning is that his audience is wise, honored, strong, and wealthy, but not following their savior’s instructions.

This is because they are working for the Kingdom of God and starving themselves, and being dishonored and considered to be foolish. After all, they disagree with what the world says is important. Has anyone ever ridiculed you for being honest, faithful, and willing to sacrifice yourself to stay loyal to Christ?

I have been following Jesus as my Lord for over fifty years. For the first few years, I was a typical mediocre Christian who had accepted Christ and had my fire insurance. I would go to heaven instead of Hell when I die. I had little joy and did not pray or ask what God wanted me to do with my life.

When I accepted a call to ministry, my whole life changed. I started to make every decision a matter of prayer. This has been a growing process. We all must follow His instructions to become the new creations that He told us we would become after accepting Him.

Paul is accusing most of the Corinthian believers of not being fully committed to their Savior. This is typical of many of us. We believe in Christ as much as we want to. We sometimes ignore a deeper commitment to Him because we have not decided we want to become new creations. Does this mean we are lost? Probably, but not necessarily. We can always change our minds about following our Savior closer.

My story began when my church fired another pastor. I felt that this was not a good thing and began to question the church, God, and my salvation experience. This inquiry led me to decide I needed to mature as a Christian.

We all have our times when we reach a crisis of faith. We can be like Peter and deny Him and then repent of that, or we can be like Judas Iscariot and betray our Savior but refuse to grow from the experience. Don’t let Satan drive you to make an irrevocable choice.

Hosanna

March 29, 2026

I hope that you have heard of Palm Sunday. It is one week before Resurrection Sunday. It celebrates the day that Jesus and His disciples traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem. It was just before the Passover celebration began. Our Lord rode a donkey into the city.

In John 12:1-3, just before Palm Sunday, Jesus’ feet had been anointed by Mary Magdalene at her home, where He and His disciples were staying. This was in preparation for His burial and was the response to those who called it a waste.

As they were traveling to Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of the disciples to find a particular donkey. Read the story of this in Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-41, and Matthew 21:1-9.

The festival lasted for almost a week. The Temple grounds were more like a festival atmosphere. Jesus knew that this was where He would become the final, ultimate sacrifice. This is the time when all the problems with the Sanhedrin come to a head.

The people are celebrating the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem. This was not something that the Jewish leaders wanted to see. He was not the one that they wanted for their Messiah. I believe we often miss Barabbas as this deliverer. When they take Jesus to Pilate, they ask for him to be released.

Before they could make this exchange, they had to arrest Him without causing an uproar that would alert the Romans. This was a well-orchestrated arrest and a conspiracy against our Savior. Don’t worry, because this did not surprise Him in the least.

Let’s look at what else will happen before Good Friday. Jesus will overturn the tables in the courtyard of the Temple. Another conflict with the Jewish leaders. He will be questioned extensively while teaching all over Jerusalem. These attempts to discredit Him only serve to widen the distance between them and the Lord.

Every evening, they return to Bethany, where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are. We are also told that the leaders want a method to kill the man who was raised from the dead, along with the man who brought him back to life. We often miss that point.

Walking back and forth every day was better than taking a chance of being attacked in the dark in the city. Jerusalem, at this time, was not a city that did not sleep even during Passover.

Matthew tells us in chapter 24, verses 18-22, about Jesus cursing a fig tree. He spends this week teaching everything He needed to tell them before His trip to the cross. Each of the gospels reports these teaching opportunities one last time. Begin reading each of the accounts now to know the real story of the crucifixion.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: Bible Trekking