Bible Trekking – Page 2 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

The Devil’s gonna try

November 30, 2025

This is what he did with me. When I graduated from high school, Immanuel Baptist Church forced Pastor Hamilton to resign. I quit going to church. I went to a couple of other churches with friends, but I saw the same things there. Hypocrisy and people who thought they were always correct.

Today I know the word for that. Dogmatism is “the tendency to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others.” To me, it means that their opinion is right no matter what.

The video I hope you just viewed says “the devil’s gonna try to get me outa that church, cause he can’t get the church outa me.” Anne Wilson, in her “Sunday Sermons” song, wants us to realize that Satan wants to separate us from Christ.

He uses whoever he can to do this. They may be church people. It might even be your parents or best friends. He will use anyone that he can to make you doubt that Jesus loves you and will keep His promises. Satan has come to kill and destroy us and the church.

Remember how he tempted Jesus after His baptism? Even Simon, who was called the Rock or Peter, told Jesus that the prophecy of His death would not happen. This was when the famous saying, “Get behind me Satan,” was first used. Try not to be like Peter in this regard.

I’ve been trying to think of any time that I might have been used to lead others away from what the Lord was calling them to do. If I have done that to you, I am sorry. If you can, let me know what it was that I said or did that discouraged you from following Christ.

Following Him is not always easy. It is the best thing that you can do. Not everyone will understand your decisions. Often, I cannot explain things I do except by saying, “God told me to do that.” I know that many use this excuse to try to keep from accepting the consequences of their actions.

That is not what I want to do. If my words or opinions offend you, I would ask you to talk to God about it. You don’t believe there is a God and reject the idea of a man named Jesus being the Savior of all people. I can understand why what I write and say makes no sense to you.

If I did not believe in gravity, I would still wonder why things fall. If I did not believe in love, I would wonder how two different people can live together for fifty or more years. If I didn’t believe in electricity, I’d be typing this on a manual typewriter.

Without a belief in these things that most of us have proof that they exist, life would be more confusing and dangerous. We cannot provide you with proof that Jehovah exists and that Jesus rose from the dead and lives today. I can only ask you to do what I did. Ask Him to prove to you that He is real. He did it for me. But be ready. The proof is overwhelming.

Love potion no. 1

November 14, 2025

Do you recognize the song “Love Potion No. Nine?” It originated in 1959, recorded by The Clovers and returned in 1964 by The Searchers when it reached #2 and #3 on the charts. Many other groups have released it. A young man goes to a gypsy and asks for something to improve his love life.

The question I have is “What is Love?” Is it a feeling? Can you get someone to love you if they do not want to? Can you fall in and out of love? These are questions that a lot of people have asked over the years.

Just so you know, I am talking about the Biblical view of the word agape’ that is translated in the King James Version (KJV) of the scriptures. There are five words in the Greek language that are translated love. I like to transliterate, which means I will be substituting agape’ for love in the verses I relate to you.

I will try not to confuse you with this substitution. One of the most used definitions of agape is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, where it says that love is patient, love is kind.

My question when someone asks me if they are in love is, “Are you patient with them?” Patience is what few of us have with others. If we want patience, we want it right now. That is counterproductive. When you are loved with Godly love, they will wait on you to speak, to make decisions, and to meet them in places.

If they are impatient, it is not agape that they have toward you. I started to say, if they feel agape’ love, but agape’ is not an emotion. It is an action. The D.C. Talk song “Love is a Verb” talks about this kind of love. “I don’t care what you say. I don’t care what you’ve heard. Love, love, love is a verb.”

Saying something three times shows that your thought is complete. There is nothing else to say about that. Right, Forest? I often use the phrase, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” Three phrases complete the thought.

Another question I like to ask is, “Are you kind to them?” That usually generates a weird look and/or a “huh.” God’s type of love is the one where you want to be kind. Not the one where you use them or take advantage of them. They are not your possession. You love a friend with agape’ love. The love that most of us think of is the Greek word Eros. This is sex. I’ve talked about lust before. That is not love; it is physical desire.

If sex is what you thought this column was about, you were wrong. I am sorry, you do not need my instruction in how to sex more often or with someone new. That is not who I am. I want you to have a better relationship with either a husband or a wife or people you have nonsexual relationships with.

That is the end of Love Potion no. 1. We will continue with what love is as no. 2. Those contain, “It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” I know I may have lost some of you with patience and kindness. You may not want to come back for the next dose of God’s love potion.

Fear

November 12, 2025

This is the second part of a trilogy and possibly even an entire book. The first column was entitled “Stupidity.” It was published on Duloigroup.org on October 25th this year. It was triggered by a quotation from the 1951 movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

God has been speaking to me about that article and convinced me I need to go further with these thoughts. There will be at least two others. They are fear and anger. I am beginning to understand that these three things are the cause of all the world’s and our personal problems.

Fear has been causing me a lot of difficulty lately. My wife, daughter, and two grandchildren have been involved in automobile accidents recently. I’m becoming more afraid of their safety on the road. The only one seriously injured was my oldest grandson.

The causes were inattention, substance abuse, or just plain stupidity. None of the wrecks was caused by my family. Two were simple rear-end collisions. One driver stayed, and the impaired driver fled and was later apprehended. The third involved the next most dangerous vehicular crime, running a red light.

This happens every day. That is why I am afraid. Our lawmakers and law enforcement need to do something. Either the courts tie their hands or they don’t care. That scares me. I make this opinion known at the poles, as you should next year.

The news terrifies me. We fight a war against crime, terror, and fear every day, and I have a difficult time watching that unfold several times each day. My fear is caused by stupidity and a lack of caring, both in myself and others. It isn’t just what may happen to my family that concerns me.

I know that you have fears, as well. They may be for the loss of a job and income, loss of a spouse through death or divorce. There are millions of things that we can be afraid of. The one I am most concerned about is not doing what Jesus asks of me. My desire is that this is one of the things on your mind. Let’s both attempt to keep it from becoming a fear.

Think about the problems in your life. There are concerns brought on by events happening around us. Someone at work may have worries that you pick up. People often complain about their bosses and other aspects of their jobs. As Christians, we need to pray about these things and ask Jesus to remove from us these fears brought by Satan. Getting rid of these fears should reduce our anger.

Do something

September 24, 2025

Someone’s name comes to my mind, and I talk to Jesus about them. It may be a friend or even someone like the President. I speak to my Lord about what this person needs. I do not ask about their desires. He may not tell me what the need is. Other times He gives me ideas of things they have said that triggers my thoughts

Since I am talking to the creator of the universe, I ask Him to give this to them or do it for them. This is what prayer is: communication with Holy Spirit. If you are not a believer and He is not your Lord, the only words He will receive from you are a request for forgiveness.

This does not appear to be much on my part. But I do something, I pray. If you are not someone who talks to God or Jesus frequently, it may sound strange. For those of you who know Him like I do, it is familiar.

When I see a person standing by the side of the road with a sign, I ask Him to give them what they need. I do not ask Him to give them money. They want money. This may be what they do for a living. Many of these are professional panhandlers. I’ve spoken of them before.

They need a desire to change the way they make their money. They need to do something constructive with their lives. And that isn’t to teach others how to beg. Many professional fundraisers do this for a living. They receive a portion of what they take in for charities as their pay.

In college, I worked for some of these people. One time I sold tickets by phone for a circus. We told the patrons that it was to help underprivileged children attend the event. I did very well at that. I stopped when I discovered that less than five percent of what they donated was used for these tickets.

When I say to do something for someone else, I want you to do it for them. If your motivation is merely for yourself, it isn’t for them, is it? We all do things for ourselves. I am talking about not thinking about what it will do for you.

There are always things that you can do to benefit another that do little or nothing for you. Pick up the check at lunch. I have family and friends who do this for us. It is appreciated. We return the favor or instigate the act. I often purchased meals for customers when I was in sales. You know what they say, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

For me this was not true. My lunch was free as well. The company paid me to do this for them. They bought my meal. I did give up my lunch hour off the clock to enjoy a meal with them. When I was in purchasing, I accepted the pleasure of dining with my vendors. I used the time to get to know them better.

This was part of what I refer to as my ministry. I was a workplace minister for over forty years. If you do not know what this is, I will explain it. God called me to the gospel ministry as He does every born-again believer. He did not want me to be a pastor or evangelist, as some are called.

My service was to those that I encountered in the work-a-day world. I talked to coworkers, others I met during the workday, and even people I encountered off the clock and on weekends. I still do that. I am doing that now by writing these columns for you.

I am asking you to do the same. Do something for someone else. It can be family, friends, or people you don’t even know. When you are eating out, does the desire to overtip hit you? Do it. Have you heard of servers getting $100 tips? Sometimes they don’t know it until they take it off the table. Do something. Even if it is just $20 or talking to God about them.

MY BEST FRIEND

September 17, 2025

I’d like to talk to you about my best friend. In this case, I am not speaking of my wife. I will tell you about her first. Then I will explain why another best friend surpasses even her.

We have been together for over fifty years. That is a long time. We met while I was in college, and we were married two weeks after I graduated. Our marriage is not perfect. We have good days and bad. Most are the former. The latter have been fewer as time goes on. I am staying with her because I want to. She completes me.

While we are close and I have shared my life with her for fifty years, there is a friend I have known for longer. His name is Jesus. I’ve known Him for sixty years. He has known me since before I was born.

He is the creator God. You may have heard the names Jehovah or Yahweh. This is who He is. Those names literally mean, “I am that I am.” In the book of Exodus, He gave Moses that name after Moses saw the bush that burned but was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1-15) He did that to get the man’s attention.

Abraham is referred to as a friend of God. (James 2:23) He had a son, Isaac, who had two sons, Esau and Jacob. They were twins, but Esau was born first. Jehovah chose Jacob to have twelve sons, changed his name to Israel and made the children of Israel his descendants.

He wrestled with Jacob. Remember that? Jacob was running from his brother Esau because he took the birthright that Esau did not even want and sold it for some soup. When their father, Isaac, was going to die, the older brother wanted what was his. They were both as selfish as we were. Jacob ran for his life and fought God in a dream. He was physically injured from that spiritual contest. (Genesis 27:1-28:19)

Moses went onto the mountain and conversed for forty days. (Exodus 32:1) The Israelites became discouraged and rebelled against Jehovah. He was with them, but they were jealous because their leader would rather spend time with Him than do what they needed and wanted him to do for them. (Exodus 32:2-7)

My friend, Jesus, teaches these things to me from His books. He had other friends write them down for us. Other followers of His have saved them for thousands of years. We now have them collected in one volume that we call The Holy Bible.

Holy means separate. It means better than other things. What these people have written surpasses the knowledge and wisdom of men. Our friend, Jesus, came to this planet to die for us. Because He wanted us to eventually be with Him when we die, as we must. Our bodies are not eternal. They are temporal or temporary.

If you are His friend and have accepted Him as Savior, Lord, and friend, you are already with Him in a place outside of time and space. We do not know this until we leave our physical bodies. Many songs and writers have told us that loved ones are waiting for us to come where they have gone ahead of us.

This is not true. In our human thinking, we cannot see that Heaven, where Yahweh lives, is all around us. It is in a dimension that most of us do not see, hear, feel, touch, or even recognize until we leave our bodies. His followers experience His presence even now through Holy Spirit.

Our spirits died when the first humans sinned. They rebelled against Him, and if we continue to reject Him, we will be separated from the Holy One forever. That is a long time. (Genesis 3:1-6) Much longer than fifty years. Our friend told us that our spirit needed to be reborn. He said this to a man named Nicodemus, and it is recorded in some of the books I spoke of earlier. (John 3:1-7)

I urge you to look at these scriptures that I have given to you. Have you read them? Do you study them to know who He is and that He is your friend who is closer than any brother? Discover my best friend and yours. Do it today, if you have never met Him before.

You may already know Him. You might have made Him your Savior years ago. Have you given Him control of your life? This is done minute by minute and hour by hour every day from now until you realize you are in His presence. Join us.

Come home

September 7, 2025

I just listened to the song “The Cross” and I am thinking that we should go home to the empty tomb. The cross is a symbol of death. The tomb is a place of finality. The empty tomb is our reminder of eternity and life.

Come home to the risen Jesus. God incarnate, who wants you to rest in Him. Jesus’ words during His ministry on Earth were words of encouragement. He spoke of love not condemnation. He asked us to be better than we ever had been before. We are taught to be kind and considerate of others.

Judgement is reserved for the Father. (Matthew 7:1) Jesus’ ministry is forgiveness and service. He gave those instructions to us, His followers. Let’s walk in His light, (1 John 1:7) not sit on our fears and expect others to do the job for us. The empty tomb is a reminder of life.

Do not let anyone tell you that anything is beyond you. He has not asked you to be afraid. We are to be brave and courageous. (Joshua 1:9) I heard a saying about suicide. “It is a final solution to a temporary problem.” Our country is not going to hell in a handbasket.

You may be going to hell. Unless you have decided to come home to the empty tomb. Jehovah came to this Earth because we needed a Savior. (John 1:14) He was the ultimate sacrifice. Understand that the Hebrew system of sacrifices was created to show that it was a waste of time and resources.

When Jesus was being tried, convicted, and executed for being the King of the Jews, they were sacrificing lambs for Passover. (Matthew 26:2) That is why resurrection Sunday traditionally falls after this Jewish celebration. Joseph and Nicodemus placed the dead body in Joseph’s new tomb. (Matthew 27:57-60, John 19:38-42)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning are the three days that are the sign of Jonah. This is the only example that Jesus would give the Sanhedrin. (Matthew 12:38-40) Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and on the third day he was puked up on the shore. Why do you think the Ninevites repented?

A bleached white Hebrew wanders their streets screaming that Jehovah will destroy them. (Jonah 2:10-3:6) Of course they believed him. If he had not spent the last three days in the fish no one would have noticed another crazy Jew. If Jesus had not spent three days in the tomb and come out of it, you and I would be locked in ours for eternity.

Come home to the empty tomb. Leave your grave clothes behind and become a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17) This is what the Christ has done for you. It is not a new story. That is why I have given you the scripture references so that you can check my reasoning with the Bible. By the way, BIBLE is an acronym. Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Don’t leave here without it.

The rich, young ruler

September 3, 2025

I’ve written two previous columns about characters in the New Testament. These were about Barnabas whose name was Joseph, and the other Josephs that are mentioned. Today I want to discuss what we know about this young man and his questions for Jesus. (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23)

What I am going to tell you is not 100% affirmed in our scriptures. The three gospels that tell of Jesus’ encounter with the man give us a small amount of information. We are told he is young.

He asks Jesus what he must do to reach Heaven. Obeying the commandments is the answer. He tells us he is a committed Jew when he says he has kept these from his youth. He is told he has only one thing left to do. He should sell everything he owns and give it to the poor and follow the Savior. He left dejected because he was very wealthy.

I take this to mean that he is someone in authority. Hence, we refer to this man as the rich young ruler. We do not ever hear of him again in the gospels. Or do we? Remember Joseph of Arimathea? He is wealthy and a leader of the Jews with the clout to be given the body of the Messiah.

He is assisted in the burial by Nikodemus, another Jewish leader that became a follower of Jesus. This is a guess that these two men may be the same. The gospel writers may not have included this because it was well known in their day. They also knew that Bar-Nabas name was Joseph as well.

Bar-Nabas was the Son of Encouragement, and this led him to donate the proceeds from the sale of some property. That means he was wealthy enough to have something to earn money with. He was active enough with the Apostles to bring Saul to them and tell of the conversion on the road to Damascus.

Many scholars believe that Joseph or Bar-Nabas, was the writer of the book of Hebrews. This author spoke with authority and can be easily seen as one with a Hebrew background and a reputation in the community. He might have been described as a rich young ruler that the Jerusalem residents knew about. It is not hard for me to believe that these two Joseph’s are the same man and could have been the one who asked Jesus what he needed to do to reach heaven.

I’m not going to tell you that this must be accepted as truth, or you are not a Christian. Often, we accept other doctrines with little or no Biblical proof. One that some object to is the concept of the rapture of the saints at the second coming. There is also some that refuse to accept the concept of a future coming again of Christ.

In my opinion the scriptures tell us that we must accept that Jesus is Jehovah in human form or incarnate. Our belief in His life, death, and resurrection is also given as necessary in the New Testament. These are the requisite beliefs for salvation. Think, pray, and study about these three men and see what Jesus tells you.

Why we won’t laugh when Jesus tells a joke

June 27, 2025

When someone tells a joke, you have two choices. You can laugh at the joke or not. The or not is the one that can help or hinder a storyteller. If you at least smile, then they are encouraged to keep trying. If you frown, we know we missed your funny threshold. When you rudely escort us to the door, we know we really blew it.

Some people do not realize how often Jesus got a laugh from His disciples and others around Him when he spoke. One classic is the “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into Heaven.” What is funny about this statement, you may ask?

Imagine Jesus walking down the road surrounded by his followers, with many Pharisees and Sadducees with them. He is talking about who will go to see His Heavenly Father. “It is easier.” He says, holding His arms out. This is a sign of a word directly from God. “For a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” As He brings his arms together and the two fingers on His right hand are just separated. “Than for a rich man to enter Heaven.”

“But, Lord, who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus replies that what is impossible for man is not for God. You don’t get the joke either. His followers did, and they laughed at the rich Pharisees who were there. They thought being Jews would get them into Heaven. Being a Baptist won’t do it either. No wonder we won’t laugh.

Our Lord was not making fun of His opponents. As He was hung on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.” He was not just referring to the Roman soldiers. The Jewish Sanhedrin that condemned Him to death did not know what they were doing, either.

They wanted the conquering ruler to free their country. They did not know that the suffering servant had to die first. That sacrifice had to come back to life to conquer death, not just the Romans.

Israel is still in danger of being exterminated by those who have hated them for thousands of years because Jehovah loves them, and other nations do not. Iran, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria are a few examples.

The individuals needed salvation before the corporate group was set free to rule themselves again. Just as we Gentiles need to make a personal choice to accept the Messiah or the Christ and build a relationship with Him, the Jews are required to make a private decision. Have you done that yet?

What does “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics” teach us?

June 20, 2025

In his book Carlo Rovelli tells us about Loop Quantum Gravity and how this theory relates to our world including the universe around us. He also speculates on the theory of time. His is an attempt to join the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. These two ideas seem to be fitting on opposite sides of the hypothesis that all matter, energy, and time are a random accident. Both seek to eliminate the creator from the story.

Think about it for a minute. Matter, energy, and time were all created by Jehovah God. It does not depend on whether you believe me or not. God says He did it and if you want to argue it, you will have your chance. When the world ends, or your life does. Whichever comes first. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

It is your choice. No one else can make this decision for you. There is no hurry. You have until you die. Just do not wait one second too long. Then it will be too late.

Did you know that it does not matter how sincere you are, you may just be sincerely wrong. And I may be as well. If there is no God that created the universe(s) and when we die, we cease to exist, what have I lost? Nothing. I am happy and secure in my belief.

If I am correct and Jesus is not your savior and Lord, you have lost eternity. You will spend it in terrible agony away from God and everyone. Jesus described it in the story about Lazarus and the rich man. (Luke 16:19-31)

I know many of you have come to believe that it is the religious that are deceived. You’ve heard the saying that religion is the oppiate of the people. I agree with that statement. I am not talking to you about religion. There is a book entitled “Jesus is > (greater than) religion”.

Jesus challenged the Jewish religious leaders of His day. They asked Him if he was their Messiah. They expected a conquering ruler. He was not that. He had not come to free them from the oppression of the Romans. He came to release them from the slavery to sin and false beliefs which they followed.

They thought their Judaism would save them. He informed them that they were wrong. Killing sheep, goats, and bulls was doing no good. A sinless sacrifice was needed and that was what He had come to do. Think about it. Who better than God himself to become a human being and live for thirty or so years and die despite the fact He had broken no laws. Not even the religious leaders’ laws.

I know that if you believe nothing blew up without any help and started a chain reaction that caused our world and all the universe(s) including energy, matter, and time to begin you can understand that a being existed before anything else and decided He wanted people to exist.

You say you have difficulty believing in Heaven and Hell. I cannot believe in what is called the big bang theory. Something came from nowhere and exploded. I call that the Cosmic Flatulence Theory. You just do not want to believe that the eternal creator passed gas. That is a very rude beginning, and I understand why you would not want to accept this kind of creation. I don’t like to explain it this way. However you want to describe the beginning of everything, God did it.

Barnabas

May 4, 2025

In a previous column I began a discussion of Joseph who was called Bar-Nabas which means the son of encouragement. I spoke of him as being my selection as the one who may have written the book we call Hebrews. It does not read like a letter and yet it sounds a great deal like the apostle Paul’s teachings. My question is why?

The simple answer seems to be that some of Paul’s theology came from those in the church who influenced him over the years. Barnabas was the one that first accepted this new convert to The Way and brought him to the apostles. (Acts 9:26-27) A risky move on his part.

Here we lose track of Barnabas and Saul is sent away because the Jewish leaders do not like the man that was so vehement about attacking these believers in the Messiah becoming one of them. The disciples heard that they were going to kill Saul and sent him home to Tarsus. (Acts 9:30)

The book of Acts, written by Dr. Luke, continues with the actions of Peter and others until they need someone to go to Antioch to find out what is happening there with the Gentiles or non-Jewish believers. (Acts 11:22-25) As you read here you see that Saul is brought to Antioch to help with this work.

You may ask why Barnabas went to Saul after all this time. When he first brought him to the other disciples in Jerusalem, I am sure that he first vetted his conversion experience. We call this giving your testimony. This included Jesus’ call for him to go to the Gentiles with the gospel. (Acts 9:15) There was no one else that Barnabas knew who was called to this ministry.

Now you see why Joseph is called the son of encouragement. (Acts 4:36-37) Joseph was a common name in Hebrew families. Jesus pronounced He-sus, which is common among Hispanics and other cultures. I am sure you can think of other Josephs from the Bible, both Old and New Testament.

Remember Jacob’s son that was sold s a slave by his brothers and sent to Egypt ahead of the family? A Joseph is mentioned in Nehemiah 12:14 as being one of the priests at that time. Another is mentioned in Ezra at that same time in chapter 10 verse 42. We all should know that Jesus’ earthly father was named Joseph.

In the New Testament Luke tells us that Jesus had two ancestors named Joseph in Luke 3:24 and 30, These were in Joseph of Nazareth’s lineage. We also have a Joseph in Matthew 27:56 that was the son of Mary, Jesus’ mother. (Also Mark 6:3, 15:40, 47) He is probably the next oldest brother and was named after his father.

Then we have Joseph from Arimathea that asked for Jesus’ body and put it in his own new tomb. (Matthew 27:57-59, Mark 15:43, 45-46, Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42). After the resurrection the eleven decided to allow God to select a twelfth Apostle to replace Judas. Two men were nominated. Joseph called Barsabbas and Mathias to decide who would be chosen by lots.

I have another thought about Barnabas that I will share with you in another column. Stay tuned.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: Bible Trekking