Bible – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Both sides

May 8, 2026

That’s what the newscaster said. They were going to give both sides of a political story. Why are there only two sides? One is true, or one is false, right? Not necessarily. Often, these reports include the truth from two sides and no others. It can be hard to sift the truth from the spins that we all like to give to what we say.

What other positions are there in politics other than Republicans and Democrats? When you go to your precinct to vote in your primary election this year, look at which parties you must choose from. You should have at least three, including an issues-only ballot. In Missouri, we must choose only one party’s candidate.

When I talk about what Jehovah says in the Bible, you may hear this as my spin on the truth. To me, it is the truth. This is just two sides of the story. There are many religions, and then there are those that do not accept any gods and believe that when life ends, everything is over.

Every opinion we have is probably opposed to someone else’s beliefs. I have friends who are Republicans, Democrats, or other political party supporters, and then there is me. I am one of those weirdoes who believe that you should vote for the person and not consider any party affiliation.

There are many other ways in which we put ourselves on different sides. There is a group that calls itself Black Lives Matter, and I agree with them. I just take their beliefs a little further. I belong to ALM, All Lives Matter. We are not in opposition to BLM or any of the organizations that stand for anyone’s rights.

We include all lives of all colors. There is another group whose initials are BLM. Their name is Blue Lives Matter, and they support the police. When I was a kid in Springfield, MO, our officers’ uniforms were brown, like many sheriffs’ offices use. That would really be confusing to have three different BLM organizations.

Having an opinion about things is necessary, but taking a side against others is not. I am a follower of Jesus. If you want to know what that means, I will tell you as much as you want to hear. Years ago, at a new job, I had a fellow employee come into my office and say, “I hear you are a Christian.” And I acknowledged that I was. Then he asked, “Are you going to try to make me one?” “Do you want me to?” No was his reply, and I simply asked him to let me know if he had questions about it. He never asked, even though he often came in to talk about a host of other things.

I hated it in school when we had to choose which team to be on in classes. I preferred speech and debate to sports, where you were assigned a side in debate and had to alternate. I often adopt this policy when discussing controversial issues. Just because I give reasons against what you say is correct does not mean I disagree. I may be voicing opposing ideas I have already heard.

Know your own mind, keep an open mind to show that you know you are not always correct, and be willing to have an open discussion without sounding like a person who is closed to any other opinion.

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.

Memories on mission

April 22, 2026

What brings back memories? The parents of a lady in our church on Sunday started me remembering. This couple from Texas was visiting their daughter’s family for the birthday of a grandchild. Texas to Springfield, Missouri, does not seem like a great distance, but for working people, it can be. Memories of a mission trip to Houston, Texas, came back.

I was serving as interim youth minister when a new pastor and his family came to our church. This was in the early spring, and the youth leadership had not made any plans for a mission trip that summer. As we discussed possible locations for ministry, we were presented with a plan to go to Houston.

They had taken other groups in previous years and made contacts for us. As we made the preparations, I began having dreams about being at a church and seeing a young girl crossing the street. I saw a car coming down the street, and I ran out and grabbed her and threw her to the side of the road.

My youngest daughter was one of the youths on the trip. And I saw her crouching by me and crying each night just as I awoke. This continued for about two weeks before we left. When we arrived at the church where we would work that week, I recognized it as the building from the dream.

All week, I was watching the street anytime we were outside, and I scanned the kids to try to find that girl. I did not see her, and nothing happened. My first night back home, I awoke from another dream in which I saw the church again and a voice that said, “You watched to prevent someone else’s death, what about your own?”

I am sure you are wondering what this could mean. I knew immediately where this was coming from. I had been having blood in my stool for these three weeks from time to time. I had not told anyone about this, not even my wife. That morning, I told my wife I needed to make an appointment with my doctor to talk about the bleeding.

He recommended that I have a colonoscopy to be sure there were no problems. A few nights after the procedure, I received a call from the doctor. He had told us they had removed two polyps, and he told me that one was clear and the other had a few cancer cells in the head. After hanging up the phone, I started crying when I told this to my wife.

I have been cancer-free for about thirty years now. I have not shared this dream and my message from God with anyone in all that time. I know what most of you who have not had this type of experience will be thinking. I made this up. That’s why I’ve never told anyone. That is the exact reason I withheld that information.

There may be someone out there who is experiencing warning signs of disease that you are ignoring. Let me remind you of the story about the man who was a flood victim. He had a warning before the flood hit and ignored it. He said God will take care of him.

A boat came by later to pick him up, and he said that God would save him. As he was on the roof of the house, a helicopter came to his rescue, and once again, he declared God would save him. In Heaven, he asked God why He did not save him. The reply was, “I warned you, sent a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?” Keep that in mind if you are ignoring warnings.

Do not build your brand

April 21, 2026

As a writer, I am often encouraged to do things that will make me more popular and profitable. As a born-again believer, I am not in this for fame or money. My brand is not to be built by me. I should strive to glorify my Savior, Jesus.

In Acts 4:23-31, Peter and John have just been released by the Sanhedrin, who were the ones who took their teacher to Pontius Pilate and forced him to crucify Christ. It had to be done for all of humanity to be redeemed from our sin. That does not mean that these Jews are forgiven for their hate.

You and I do things often for our own benefit or because we want things to go our way. This never makes it correct. God knows that we will do what we will do. That is part of who He is. Omniscient is the word that we use to describe that He knows everything.

The question is often asked, “If there is a God and He loves us. Why do all these bad things happen to good people?” President Bill Clinton said that it depends on your definition of ‘is’. What does that mean? The I Am is the name of the Hebrew God. Some say Jehovah and others Yahweh. Either way, it means “I am that I am” or is He?

Is He God or not? Did He create the world or not? Is Jesus His son or not? Why does He not come down here and show Himself so that we have no doubts that He is who He said He was? He did that.

A man named Jesus was born around two thousand years ago. Like all humans, He lived a life, did His chosen profession, and died. He was nothing special. The gospels and other New Testament books were created by some demented men who just wanted to give churches a way to take money from the ignorant and unsuspecting masses.

Do you believe that? I don’t. I do not have enough faith to believe that this universe was an accident. To me, it takes more belief than I can conjure up to believe that nothing existed, then it exploded, and our planet’s existence was a fluke. The order we see around us, the laws of physics that we have ascertained, are all coincidental, and this can be proven by these same scientific principles, which were violated by the beginning of all that we experience.

I wonder who the ones are that are really confused. If matter and energy cannot be destroyed, where did they come from in the first place? My book, “Cosmic Flatulence,” is my attempt to explain the Big Bang Theory and how science can be understood.

No cloud of gas appeared from nothingness. The I Am has always existed. Jehovah was not created by man; that is what makes Him the creator. He has always been here, and if you believe that a cloud of gas came from nothing and exploded to form our universe, I guess Yahweh let a fart.

I am here to tell His story, to proclaim the day of the Lord so that you will understand. I am not here to build myself or my brand. I’m just telling you the truth and letting you decide for yourself whether Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, as He said He was.

Do not try to persuade others to agree with you, buy your line, and support your brand. Follow The Way, believe The Truth, and enjoy The Life which is as eternal as He is. I do not know how to explain it any better than He did. If God never existed until we made Him up, how did all of this get here?

Ministry is not a side hustle

April 20, 2026

In the spring of 1974, I was asked to be the preacher for youth week at Immanuel Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. If you have never heard of youth week, it is what churches do to give their young people a taste of ministry. Our youth minister made the plans and chose the members to perform tasks that adults did every week.

Clyde, our pastor, met with me and walked me through what I needed to do. I would preach both Sunday morning and evening, and I went with him to the hospital and on other visits that he made each week. I had never given any thought to being anything but a journalist until that March.

I had speech in high school and started feeling ready to pass out when I gave my first speech in class. That was only five minutes of introducing myself to the other students. After three years of class and the last two competing around the area at other schools, I had never made the quarter finals in any of the events.

Extemporaneous Speaking was one of my favorite types of competition. We were given a topic fifteen minutes before our time to present, and we were judged on topicality, structure, preparation, and presentation. I thought that my experience would make it easy for me to deliver these sermons.

I was right about that because I had heard so many sermons and been in Sunday School my entire life. Preparation and presentation were easy. I enjoyed the time with our pastor and noticed how easy the speaking came to me. The problem was the way everyone looked at me.

I noticed that something was different. I did not understand it. I was a journalist, not a preacher; all I did was give two speeches at church. I started to feel something new as well. I had doubts about my chosen occupation. God could not want me to do this as a profession, could he?

A few weeks later, I received my acceptance letter from the University of Missouri in Columbia, School of Journalism. I should have been ecstatic, and I was not. I was contemplating that this might not be what I should do. If Jesus wanted me to be a full-time minister, would I do that? I finally accepted His call to ministry, and I assumed that would be as a pastor. I have never been a singer.

I told my parents that I did not think I should transfer to MU. We went to look at Southwest Baptist College and talked to them. I enrolled there as an English major and changed to a Religion major, which was what most ministerial students did. I spent two years studying the Bible and ministry.

After graduation, I could not get clear guidance about what seminary to attend, and I continued with a company I started as a part-time employee. We planned our wedding, and the company offered me the opportunity to join their management trainee program, and my career as a workplace minister began.

A side hustle is something that you do to make ends meet. If your avocation does not provide the funds to live on, then you find something else to make money. My side hustle has been many and varied over the years. My life’s work has been ministry, as yours should be. Try it, you’ll like it.

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.

Good Friday?

April 3, 2026

The day that your friend and leader is executed for no reason does not sound like a good day. The apostles and other disciples of the hoped-for Messiah have gone into hiding. They have forgotten about His prediction that He would be tried, convicted, executed, and rise on the third day.

They have forgotten that they should be ready to meet Him after He comes back to life. They were instructed to go to Galilee, where the base of operations had been. They did not do this because they do not believe He will do what He said.

Today started out badly. They were in the garden after a night of feasting and fellowship. Jesus had said some hard things. Then they sang a song as they walked to the garden, and He went to pray. The next thing they knew was when they were rudely awakened by a mob that arrested the teacher and took Him away.

Peter and John were the only ones who followed them. Without their testimonies, we would know nothing of the illegal trial early on Friday or Peter’s denial. A lot happens on this day. Jesus appears before Pilate after being sentenced to death in a mock ceremony where He is abused and tormented.

The governor is looking for a way out and sends him to King Herod, who passes the accused back when he can’t get Him to play their political games. Pilate is instructed by his wife not to have anything to do with this innocent man, and he must wash his hands of the whole mess.

The crowd yells for Bar-Abbas to be released and the King of the Jews to be crucified. This was not what this Roman official wanted, and yet it was what the Sanhedrin had paid for. Unbeknownst to these observers, Judas had tried to buy Jesus’ release by returning the money and failed. He hangs himself in grief.

Jesus is beaten and abused, stripped and mocked, undressed and paraded through the town to the execution field outside, where He and the two followers of the convicted insurrectionist are to die. They are cruelly nailed to three wooden crosses and raised in the sky, and left to die a slow agonizing death.

Isn’t that the way your pastor preaches it every Easter Sunday? It isn’t? What does he leave out? The pain, the ridicule, the suffering of these three men? I always told my seventh and eighth-grade boys how bad it really was. Only a few of them over those eighteen years had to leave in the middle.

I don’t know how many nightmares they had about this story in their subsequent lives. My bad dreams were from thoughts of them not understanding what Christ endured for them. Yes, He is Yahweh, otherwise the execution for others’ sins would have kept Him off that cross.

After God cries out to Himself about forsaking Him to prove that his prophecy was accurate and declaring that His task is finished, the guards are surprised that He is dead so soon. The bodies must come down, and they are breaking the legs of the other two men to speed up their expiration. Again, the prophet must be followed, and Jesus’ side must be punctured rather than His legs being broken.

A hasty burial by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea into the tomb that had been prepared for Joseph and his progeny. They have followed this ministry quietly for three years and now have stepped out of the shadows to follow the instructions Jehovah gave them for this time. It had to be an empty tomb. In two more days, you will find out why.

Easter week

April 2, 2026

The disciples have been trying to keep their teacher safe since last Sunday. They’ve made it through until Thursday morning and are looking forward to Passover dinner tonight. Jesus sent two of them to find a place for their meal and to prepare.

The conversation continues to focus on the threats posed by the Pharisees and Sadducees against the Lord and His followers. Even Lazarus is being threatened with death because He has been raised to life by God. That is one piece of evidence for Messianic teaching that they cannot refute.

Jesus accepted Peter’s proclamation that He was the Son of God. Then, He told the disciples that He would have to die and rise from the dead on the third day. Peter said that it would not happen. Jesus looked at him and said, “Get behind me, Satan.

At least three times, they have been reminded that they came to Jerusalem for the Passover East so that there would be a death and a resurrection, and they are to go to Galilee to meet their Savior at that time. Later, we will discover that they did not listen and believe, which is all we are asked to do.

When they were together on Thursday night, and Jesus said that He would be betrayed by one of them, Peter asked if he was the one. They all wanted to be sure they would not turn traitors. Earlier, Judas Iscariot had made an agreement with the Chief Priest and his cronies to lead them to Jesus at a time when there would be no crowds.

Simon Peter declares that he will die for Jesus even if everyone else deserts. The declaration that this disciple would deny Him three times before the morning is declared by the rooster’s crow, which surprises and destroys him. He would never dream of not fighting and dying for this man he has followed for three years.

They move to the upper room where the feast has been set out for them. The prescribed menu of roasted lamb, matza, and herbs was on the table. Jesus takes a towel and a basin and goes around washing their feet. Peter objects and is instructed that if this is not allowed, he will have no part in the Kingdom. This servant ritual is performed, and the master takes His place at the head of the group.

Jesus breaks the bread and presents it to them. The comment about it being His body is apparently unnoticed currently, as is the presentation of the wine as being blood. They are to eat this meal and drink this wine in the future and remember these words. This makes no sense either.

As they are leaving after the meal, no one notices that Judas does not follow them. As soon as he is sure of where the group is going, he disappears. They walk to the garden that we all know about. Jesus leaves the first group, then the second bunch, and prays.

The prayer is long and in two parts. We know that the request is made to prevent a sacrifice that is intolerable for any human to make. And yet our Lord says that it is not His will that must be done, but the Father’s. Tomorrow is upon them.

“It just doesn’t happen twice.”

March 27, 2026

This is a line from the movie “Sleepless in Seattle” that is uttered by Tom Hanks, whose character has lost his wife to cancer. He is talking about love that results in a once-in-a-lifetime marriage. Some refer to this as your soulmate. I do not find this concept ever presented in scripture.

Many of the Bible characters that I admire have had multiple relationships that worked. Abrahm and Sarai are an epic. He’s not the perfect husband. She sticks with him even when he wimps out, and not just once. By the time Jehovah renames them to Abraham and Sarah, his faith has grown, and she has learned to trust her husband and God.

After the birth of Isaac and the death of Sarah, Abraham finds other wives and has more children. Those relationships are also important. Their children are the ancestors of many of the Arab nations that hate the Jews.

David’s first wife is the daughter of Saul, who was rewarded for killing Goliath. Read the stories of Abigail and Bethsheba and others. Then there is the last woman in his life. Her one purpose is to keep him warm at night. There is no sexual desire. There is no marriage. She’s a bed warmer. A companion.

As our lives progress, we have many types of love. There are flaming romances. We all experience friendships with others, in both genders. Love can be for both men and women for both men and women because sex is not love. One is physical, and the other is not.

There is brotherly love, which can also be called sisterly love. This is a friendship that is cultivated by those who have it. We need more people who treat others like family. That is the essence of this type of love.

Next, we should talk about the love of parents for children and vice versa. Some believe that this is normal for everyone. It is not. Some children are given up by their birth parents because they do not want them. There are also cases where one parent will leave. Often, this is a problem between the couple. Sometimes it is just selfishness that overrides love.

Jesus tells us that the one attribute we Christians should have is love. Jehovah told the Hebrews to love their neighbor as they love themselves. One man asked Jesus who his neighbor was. Do you remember the answer? He did not say it was the people next door or across the street.

He told a story that many people have heard, even if they have never read the Bible. It is called the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were hated by the Israelites. They lived in what had been the ten northern tribes that rebelled against Solomon’s son.

The kicker of this is that the Samaritan rescued a Jew who had been attacked and left for dead. Jesus also mentioned that a Priest and a Levite saw the injured man and crossed the road to go around him. When our savior spoke of love, it was agape, not any of the human loves. This type of love must happen more than just once.

Spiritual fruit

March 10, 2026

Can I tell you that I do not mind being called fruity, if you are referring to the fruit of the spirit? These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As a Christian, this is how we should measure ourselves. Don’t fall into the trap of being judgmental. It is easy to do.

Galatians 5:22 begins with love. It is interesting that Paul also includes patience as the first attribute of love in First Corinthians 13 when he defines Agape’ for us. Kindness is also included in that list. I think he is trying to tell me something. Patience and kindness are important. We should not ignore the other parts of love. No envying, rudeness, selfishness, irritability, or resentment are also part of how God loves us.

Joy and peace are two words to look at more closely. Happiness is fleeting. Joy is also temporary if we let it be. Fruitful joy is hard to accomplish without Holy Spirit. Joy does not mean that you never have a bad day. When things are not going your way, joy lets you realize that things will become better. We let our minds betray us into thinking that our life is bad when it is just life.

Peace also can elude those who work without Him. It is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of love and joy. Do you accept what the Lord has given you? Paul tells us to give thanks in all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) He also states in Philippians 4:11 that he has learned to be content. Notice the use of the word learned. Contentment is something we must also train ourselves to have.

Patience is the most difficult thing for me. “Lord, give me patience and give it to me now, it is what I usually pray. That prayer may miss the mark. Be careful about asking for it. His answer will continually test you. Patience is hard because we live in an instant society. We have our phones with us and can call, text, or check the internet thousands of times a day. I grew up at a time when we did not even have a home phone.

We all know how to be kind, good, and gentle. These may need to be tweaked by the Spirit. Follow His guidance, and you will arrive quicker. Again, these need to be intentional. We know what to do; we just need to be reminded to do it all day long. Practice it, and it will become as automatic as breathing or your heartbeat.

Self-control is another tough one. Notice that the word control follows self, indicating who should be in control. For Christians, we can hand this job over to Holy Spirit, if we will let Him take leadership of our lives. That becomes easier the more you do it.

I desire that you all become fruitier as I try to do the same. I mentioned judgment earlier. Let’s avoid that and try for discernment. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) This is one of the gifts of the Spirit. You cannot have these gifts if your spirit is still dead. A relationship with Jesus is needed for the rebirth of your spirit. (John 3:1-21) After you start that relationship, the fruits will appear if you cultivate them.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Tag: Bible