Bible Trekking – Page 4 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

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.

Faith

April 23, 2025

This sounds like a good topic to talk about after Resurrection Weekend. What do I mean by this term? The secular world knows it as Easter. Most Christians do not know the origin of this holiday. When the early church was accepted by the Roman government, they changed the established holidays to be accepted by the followers of Christ.

The spring festival that honored the renewal of life during this season was changed to fall on resurrection day. The name remained the same. It recognized the Roman God responsible for life. It was thought to be appropriate because Jesus’ death and resurrection gives us new life when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

The problem I have is that my God does not want me to worship anyone except Him. That is why I refer to the holiday as Resurrection Day. The U.S. government recognizes our separation of church and state and records it as Easter which is considered a secular holiday. It is my faith that requires that I acknowledge it as a Christian celebration.

The book of Hebrews tells us in chapter eleven; verse one what faith is. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” My faith allows me to flip on a light switch to turn on lights in my house. When my grandparents were children, they could not do this. Their homes did not have electricity in them.

Today your faith lets you turn on your lights, television, phone, computer, car, and many other things they did not know about. You believe these devices will work and that is a substance that you use daily. That faith is your proof that those things will start when you need them. We were all disappointed when they failed to work.

Jehovah God has never failed me. I hope you can say the same. Life is frustrating enough without those we depend on failing us. But that is life. Jesus is also life. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) You can accept this on faith as I have.

Let’s talk more about this book in the Bible called Hebrews. Bible scholars have asked who the author was for years. In college, it was dealt with in a separate class. When I took the class on Paul’s letters the instructor added Hebrews as another class, he taught that was also probably written by the apostle Paul. Some theologians do not agree with this.

I am not a scholar. I am merely a student of Jesus and God’s word to us. I ask Him a lot of questions. Eventually He gives me those answers. Recently I learned that some believe Barnabas, the son of encouragement that was one of Paul’s early Christian friends may have been the author of this letter.

It sounds a lot like what Paul said in his other books. He did not use the style we are used to reading because he did not say that it was from him. This writer does not tell us who this letter is for. It does not read like a letter as others in the New Testament do. It is more expository in nature and begins by pointing out that Jesus was how God chose to speak to us at this time.

These are some of the reasons I believe Joseph called the son of encouragement or Barnabas wrote it. We will continue with more about him and who he was in the church. I think that you will find it interesting and you may learn some things that God has not shared with you before. See you next time.

God Said it. I Believe it. That Settles it.

March 18, 2025

On the dashboard of my 1966 Chevy Impala Super Sport, there was a magnet that said, “God Said it. I Believe it. That Settles it.” I put that magnet there in 1974 when the Lord called me to full-time Gospel Ministry. I still believe it.

As I began to start studying the Bible at Southwest Baptist College, I made some decisions about what my world view was. At the time I did not know what a “world view” was. I formed in my head what I believed about God. Then I tried to put it into words. I literally found it in His Word.

I decided that He was the creator of everything. I decided that He and Jesus were the same being and they shared a spirit. I later learned they are a triune being. My grammar check wants me to change that to read triune beings. Grammarly is wrong. There is only one being.

Triune literally means three in one. It is different from a trinity. Trinity is three that become one. Many of the religions of the world that worship multiple gods have a trinity that makes three of their gods into a godhead. This is a syndicate. Kind of like a tribunal of gods. Jehovah God is one entity. The deceiver wants you to believe otherwise.

Jehovah is the only creator of the universe. The concept of multiple universes and different realities is as old as time. That is another lie that we can fall for. The creator of all things made chronological time as well. That is what He said in Genesis. “In the beginning God.”

He designed and executed the existence of everything around us. In that book of beginnings, you see that He said, “Let us make mankind in our own image.” And He did. We are also a triune being. We have a soul, a body, and a spirit like He does.

We call Him Father because His bodily form referred to Him as His Father. We are called crazy when we talk to ourselves, but Jesus showed us it is acceptable to communicate with your soul. You must recognize that you have one. We also need to acknowledge our spirit. He told Nicodemus that he must be born again. That is very confusing. There is a physical birth, but Jesus introduced us to a spiritual birth. Satan was wrong when he told Adam and Eve they would not die. One-third of us is dead when we are born.

Accepting the son of God as our Lord and Savior brings us into His family as His children. We become like God in every sense except we cannot create something from nothing. He teaches us how to recreate ourselves into the image of Him that He wants us to show to the world.

Most of the time I mess that up. I keep trying with each new day that He gives to me. Do you? Are you more like Him than you were yesterday? If not, let’s work on it again tomorrow. Oh, by the way, Jehovah created tomorrows as well. The future, the present, and the past are all part of His creation. Isn’t it wonderful? Every morning you are able to begin again.

My dream

February 15, 2025

Unlike Martin Luther King whose dream is known to thousands, I also had a dream last night. My dream is literally one I had in my sleep. I was in church. Not Hamlin where I have attended with my wife for over forty years. It was at Immanuel where I was raised and called to the ministry.

Cindy’s name was in the bulletin to sing that Sunday. She was unable to sing. I went to the pulpit. I did not sing for her. I was not called to sing. That church knew that. I read to the church from First Corinthians chapter thirteen.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

This is not the human love that we celebrated yesterday on Valentine’s Day. It is not a feeling. It is not sex. It is action. It is the things we should do but do not. This is what I read to that church in my dream. Standing in their pulpit in my pajamas with no hint of embarrassment or fear.

I ended my song with the last verse of this chapter. ^“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I asked them to join me at the altar and I would introduce them to my Jesus who helps me to love this way.

A perfect love casts out fear we read. I had no fear in my dream as I do when I speak. I did not worry about what this church thought of me. I looked at them with the love of God and asked them to join me in pursuing Him and His love, I know I fail at that often. I keep trying, again, and again, and again.

Can you join me in this pursuit? To be patient and kind. We must put aside everything that makes us human and strive to be more like Jesus. To love the way, He loves and gave His life for us. It isn’t hard. Just ask Him to forgive you as I do, again, and again, and again. It is a daily pursuit. Join me.

What is in a name?

September 19, 2024

William Shakespeare wrote in “Romeo and Juliet”, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” We do not know where the name Rose came from. I do know where my mother took the name Charles for me. It came from a character in the soap opera “As The World Turns.”

That is what she told me all my life. While researching this column I discovered that this TV show appeared after I was born. Another myth is busted. Now I am wondering where my name came from. An old boyfriend? Charlie Tuna? 1961 was his debut. Charles De Gaulle? I hope not. One of his middle names is Marie. Prince Charles? That would be cool since he is now Charles III king of Great Britain. He was just a kid when I was born.

Names are very important. Mom called where I worked and asked for Charles. She was told that no one by that name worked there. The guy who said that was a new hire and did not know that Chuck is a nickname for Charles. She read him the riot act. She once told our pastor that my name was not Chuck. She had given me the name Charles.

I adopted the name Chuck in college. I thought Chuck Kensinger reporting from London would sound better. I use Chuck for all my friends and for my fiction. All my non-fiction is under my given name. When we meet, call me Chuck.

God had a problem with Moses when he first called him to lead the Israelites from Egypt. He asked who he should say sent him. Jehovah or Yahweh is translated as “I am that I am.” In Hebrew, it literally means “I am, I was, and I will always be.” Pretty specific, right.

He has other names given in the Bible as well. Jehovah Jirah, El Shaddai, Jesus Christ, and many others. Don’t worry, He will answer no matter what you call Him because He knows when you are talking to Him. I start my prayers with precious Jesus. It works for me.

The important thing is to talk to Him whenever you want to. I think He listens to everyone. That’s kind of His thing. Give Him a call. Don’t forget to listen with your spirit. That is how He communicates with us. If you’ve accepted His son Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will have a better connection. Try Him, you’ll like Him.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: Bible Trekking