JREnsey blog April 2024

The Word for today

I Peter 2:1-3: “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. ² Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, ³ now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness” (NLT).

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Trump and Biden offer Easter messages

It’s election season, of course, and candidates are appealing for every vote out there. They do so in strange ways at times.

Former President Donald Trump wished a “happy Easter” to all his political adversaries, RINOs, Democrats, and “Socialists, Marxists, & communists who are killing our nation.” In past Easter segments, he has touted the Bible and mentioned “the holy week and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” He has acknowledged his Christian background from his youth which has apparently lingered in his mind.

President Joe Biden also had an Easter message. He declared Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, as “Transgender Visibility Day.” He said, “Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans. You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back. …I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our nation.” It is reported that he further denied anyone at the White House to post any word about Christ, the resurrection, or display any Christian symbols on this day.

What a contrast.

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Isn’t it true…

…that if the economy was doing great you wouldn’t have to tell people every day? We would know. – PP

…that a lie is around the world before truth has its britches on?

…that the strength of a lie is in our inability to recognize it?

…that “you are the master of your unspoken words, but a slave to the words you have spoken”? – Winston Churchill

…that you can “forgive” debt when it is your money, but when forcing others to pay for it isn’t “forgiveness,” it’s theft? PP

…that tiny-brained folk would much rather hear and believe a negative rumor than the positive truth?

…that if you are doing better than you were three years ago, you are probably an illegal immigrant.

…“the most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will”? – J. Arthur Thomson

…that one of the basic differences between Catholicism and Apostolic Pentecostals is that the RCC formed their fundamental doctrines from the writings and discussions of their philosophizing “church fathers” (c. A.D. 200-450), while Pentecostals have formed their beliefs and practices from the Bible records of the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles?

…that we should never let anyone take away our freedoms because of “the greater good,” because freedom is the greater good? PP

…that the church can survive without America, but America cannot survive without the church? Our laws were made for a God-fearing people. When America no longer has a majority of God-fearing people, our laws will not fit this nation. Even now they are being changed to fit a godless minority.

…that if we do not learn from history we are bound to repeat it?

…that most of the oil is in Texas, but all of the dipsticks are in Washington?

…Stephen Hawkins said, “Religion is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” I said, “Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light.”  – John Lennox

…that we should pray that this scripture would never be fulfilled by our beloved Apostolic Movement: “Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road” (Isaiah 3:12 NLT)?

…that April 1 should  be officially declared “President Joe Biden Day” in America?

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Hold on to your hat!

Adam Clarke’s Bombshell Commentary on Luke 1:35

Adam Clarke was an astute exegete who said some things that let us know that he had grave concerns about the doctrine of the Trinity. Here he exposes a major factor of the doctrine as being heretical. His comments on Luke 1:35 express his position:

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee” – This conception shall take place suddenly, and the Holy Spirit himself shall be the grand operator. The power, δυναμις, the miracle-working power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, to accomplish this purpose, and to protect thee from danger. As there is a plain allusion to the Spirit of God brooding over the face of the waters, to render them prolific, Genesis 1:2, I am the more firmly established in the opinion advanced on Matthew 1:20, that the rudiments of the human nature of Christ was a real creation in the womb of the virgin, by the energy of the Spirit of God.

“Therefore also that holy thing (or person) – shall be called the Son of God” – We may plainly perceive here, that the angel does not give the appellation of Son of God to the Divine nature of Christ; but to that holy person or thing, το ἁγιον, which was to be born of the virgin, by the energy of the Holy Spirit. The Divine nature could not be born of the virgin; the human nature was born of her. The Divine nature had no beginning; it was God manifested in the flesh, 1 Timothy 3:16; it was that Word which being in the beginning (from eternity) with God, John 1:2, was afterwards made flesh, (became manifest in human nature), and

Luke 1:35-37.

tabernacled among us, John 1:14. Of this Divine nature the angel does not particularly speak here, but of the tabernacle or shrine which God was now preparing for it, viz. the holy thing that was to be born of the virgin. Two natures must ever be distinguished in Christ: the human nature, in reference to which he is the Son of God and inferior to him, Mark 13:32; John 5:19; John 14:28, and the Divine nature which was from eternity, and equal to God, John 1:1; John 10:30; Romans 9:5; Colossians 1:16-18. It is true, that to Jesus the Christ, as he appeared among men, every characteristic of the Divine nature is sometimes attributed, without appearing to make any distinction between the Divine and human natures; but is there any part of the Scriptures in which it is plainly said that the Divine nature of Jesus was the Son of God? Here, I trust, I may be permitted to say, with all due respect for those who differ from me, that the doctrine of the eternal Sonship of Christ is, in my opinion, anti-scriptural, and highly dangerous. This doctrine I reject for the following reasons: –

1st. I have not been able to find any express declaration in the Scriptures concerning it.

2dly. If Christ be the Son of God as to his Divine nature, then he cannot be eternal; for son implies a father; and father implies, in reference to son, precedency in time, if not in nature too. Father and son imply the idea of generation; and generation implies a time in which it was effected, and time also antecedent to such generation.

3dly. If Christ be the Son of God, as to his Divine nature, then the Father is of necessity prior, consequently superior to him.

4thly. Again, if this Divine nature were begotten of the Father, then it must be in time; i.e. there was a period in which it did not exist, and a period when it began to exist. This destroys the eternity of our blessed Lord, and robs him at once of his Godhead.

5thly. To say that he was begotten from all eternity, is, in my opinion, absurd; and the phrase eternal Son is a positive self-contradiction. Eternity is that which has had no beginning, nor stands in any reference to Time. Son supposes time, generation, and father; and time also antecedent to such generation. Therefore the conjunction of these two terms, Son and eternity is absolutely impossible, as they imply essentially different and opposite ideas.

The enemies of Christ’s Divinity have, in all ages, availed themselves of this incautious method of treating this subject, and on this ground, have ever had the advantage of the defenders of the Godhead of Christ. This doctrine of the eternal Sonship destroys the deity of Christ; now, if his deity be taken away, the whole Gospel scheme of redemption is ruined. On this ground, the atonement of Christ cannot have been of infinite merit, and consequently could not purchase pardon for the offenses of mankind, nor give any right to, or possession of, an eternal glory. The very use of this phrase is both absurd and dangerous; therefore let all those who value Jesus and their salvation abide by the Scriptures. This doctrine of the eternal Sonship, as it has been lately explained in many a pamphlet, and many a paper in magazines, I must and do consider as an awful heresy, and mere sheer Arianism; which, in many cases, has terminated in Socinianism, and that in Deism. From such heterodoxies, and their abetters, may God save his Church! Amen!

Source: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/clarke/luke/1.htm

Ol’ man Clarke was stirred up, wasn’t he? Do you agree or disagree with him? Comments are welcome. You can comment on the postings below.

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The current level of science knowledge of Harvard grads:

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Last Words

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’”—Isaac Asimov, Biochemistry professor and author

I wonder what would be the most common exclamation uttered when one finally sees the oneness of the Godhead in Scripture? Share your ideas!

Enjoy April…it is one of my favorite months.

JREnsey

JREnsey blog for March 2024

The Word for today

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).

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Book review

The Two Treatises of  Servetus on the Errors of the Trinity

Author: Michael Servetus (1511-1553)

Publisher: Harvard University, 1932; reprint: Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, 2013; 264 pages; paperback; 25.75 at Amazon

Michael Servetus could have changed the course of the Protestant Reformation—and religious faith in America in the process. And he might have if John Calvin had listened to him rather than burning him at the stake. And if King James in England had given two other non-Trinitarian ministers, Bartholomew Legate and  Edward Wightman, an honest hearing in 1612 instead of burning them alive, the Mayflower might have had a different crew in 1620 as it landed at Plymouth Rock.

Those three men gave their lives for truth about the Trinity doctrine. Like other reformers, Calvin was fearful of challenging the cardinal doctrine of the RCC. It was too ingrained in the Christian mind to tackle. They had to settle for smaller issues, like communion, the sale of indulgences, and priestly vestments. King James just wanted no challengers to his personal biases.

But Servetus, by the time he was twenty, had set his sights on the “big one”—the Trinity. It was the untouchable cornerstone of the church around which liturgy was constructed, but this artisan’s tools were not hammer and chisel but pen and paper. At age 21 his keen mind produced works exposing the cracks in that stony doctrine. He was a literary genius, a wordsmith par excellence. He could quote virtually every Bible writer, ECF, philosopher and classic author as though they were personal acquaintances. Perhaps no other man of his time could have produced these treatises. A subsequent and the last of his books was called Restoration of Christianity. In the past, l have reviewed a tome dubbed Out of the Flames, by Lawrence Goldstone, about Servetus’ book Restoration and the impact it had on his life and the Reformation. The original of that work lies deep in the bowels of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. While visiting there, I tried to see it but was unable to do so. It is listed as one of the rarest and most valuable books in the world.

Servetus’ images stand in several cities of Europe. He was a medical genius as well. He is renowned in this field for his work on the circulation of blood and his observations on pulmonary circulation.

But alas, those who are too far ahead of their time become a threat to the tiny-brained folk already seated in positions of power. He had to die, they said. But his written works have become immortal. Few men could have written Treatises, and perhaps none other at age 21.

His views on the Godhead are quite close to our own Apostolic position—how close each reader can decide for himself. But you will know by the time you read the first few pages that there is no three-person Godhead or an eternal Son. To read his approach, one will feel his passion for truth. He joined his quick wit with powerful word choices and theological insights that shook the religious establishment. Trinitarian word jugglers did not have a chance.

Worth your time and worth the price.

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Is the Bible just a “book of rules”?

The Bible isn’t merely “a book of rules,” an oft-stated accusation by those ignorant of the Scriptures, but some rules are included there. We all understand rules. They form our lives from its earlies stages. Every nation has rules, called “laws.” Every home and parent has particular rules that must be obeyed, which may include admonitions like…

…Don’t eat with your fingers

…Sit up straight

…Don’t leave your clothes on the floor

…Don’t run through the house with scissors in your hand

…Don’t stay out past 9:00 p.m.

…Don’t talk back to your parents

• Schools have rules by the score. Libraries have rules. Nations have rules called laws. Municipalities and government have particular rules and ordinances.
• Churches have to have guidelines, else some would not be distinguishable from a homeless enclave or a cookout on the Malibu beach. If members had no encouragement from Paul or Peter, they might look and live like anyone else…sporting mini skirts, shorts, or beachwear or whatever. Visitors can show up in some trashy or ungodly attire and likely won’t be asked to leave, but members know better and they will never be used in any capacity to teach or represent the church in any way without a lifestyle that reflects a compliant and willing spirit. No one “forces” anyone to wear or do anything they don’t want to wear or do. Just if they wish to participate at this level of involvement, there are requirements. Most every place of employment where workers meet the public there are guidelines and expectations. Why not churches too?
• The Bible has some guidelines and “rules,” called commands, to guide believers in right living. Just a quick glance over a few pages can be found several rules: I Timothy 2:9-12; 5:1; 5: 21-22; 6:17; II Timothy 1:13,14; 2:16; Titus 3:1-2; James 2:1; I Peter 1:16; 3:1,8; I Peter 5:5,8; I John 2:15; 3:24. Committed Christians do not disdain rules that are biblically based. Only persons who wish to conduct their lives according to their selfish desires despise rules. See Ephesians 2:1-3; I Peter 4:3.

Rules serve like the metal railings on highway curves and places where a car might plunge off into a ditch or off of a mountain road. They are placed there for our safety. The very word obedience indicates that there are principles and specific commands that we are to honor. Low expectations do not motivate one to obedience. Jesus said, “ And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36 NLT).

You would not want to live in a nation without laws. You would not want your child to attend a school without rules. You would not want to attend a church that had no guidelines for members. They are, in part, what gives the church definition, shape, and meaning—and a respected, authoritative voice. That makes sense.

In fact, real Christianity is loaded with common sense.

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If it’s not a baby…

She has all the human chromosomes in place from day one, and is a genetically unique one-of-a-kind human being; she has a beating heart and her own blood type; she has eyes, legs, hands, fingernails, fingerprints, all her internal organs, bones, teeth, and independent brain waves, and she can kick, swim, turn her head back and forth, make facial gestures, grasp objects and even have dreams. …Doesn’t that sound an awful lot like a human being? If she’s not a child, then what is she?

         The scientific data has removed any legitimate doubt about what is growing inside the woman. The baby is not just a “blob,” “a mass of tissue,” “uterine contents,” “birth matter,” or “the products of conception”—these are deceptive euphemisms designed to disguise the truth that is now clearly known: she or he, but not “it”—is a real human child.” – Mark Mittelberg, The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (Carol Stream, IL; Tyndale House, 2010); p. 165.

Well spoken, Mark.

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The Intercession of Christ For Sinners

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

The Tabernacle in the Wilderness provided the type and setting for the amazing truth that would later be conveyed in this verse by the writer of Hebrews. The earthly Tabernacle in the Wilderness was patterned after the Tabernacle in Heaven (Hebrews 8:5), having the same instruments, items, spaces and purpose. It featured a Holy Place, the Most Holy Place, and a Mercy Seat upon which the atoning blood of the sacrifice was to be sprinkled.

The role played by the earthly Tabernacle was that a sacrifice (a bullock) without blemish was to be brought and slain upon the altar on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest would enter the Holy Place, the first room inside the Tabernacle, where the table of shewbread, the golden menorah, and the altar of incense were situated. He would offer the incense, then return to the outer court to get the bowl of blood from the brazen altar. He would reenter the Holy Place but proceed past the thick veil into the Most Holy Place where stood the Ark of the Covenant, containing the stones upon which the ten commandments were inscribed, the rod of Aaron which had miraculously budded, and a container of manna, the food that sustained the Israelites on their wilderness journey. The lid of the Ark was overshadowed by two golden cherubim. Underneath their wings, which touched over the middle of the Ark, was the Mercy Seat, toward and beyond which the High Priest would sprinkle the atoning blood (Leviticus 16:14). When this was done, the sins of the Hebrew people were rolled ahead one year (Leviticus 16:34) until the day of atonement the following year.

This earthly process would be displaced by Christ’s intercessory sacrifice on Calvary. His mediation and interposition for sinners came into sharp focus during the days just prior to His death. His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane expressed an extraordinary passion for the lost. As He prayed, sweat like great drops of blood fell from His brow. Shortly afterward, when Christ, the literal Son of God, died on Calvary, His sacrifice would be honored in Heaven as….. [to continue reading this article, CLICK HERE.]

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How the Switch to “Fossil Fuels” Saved the Forests of New England

Throughout the thousands of years of human history that preceded the 20^th century, the primary fuel—in fact, almost the only fuel–for heating, cooking, smelting metallic ores, producing glass, blacksmithing and all other such uses was wood, cut in immense quantities from the forests of the six inhabited continents.  Even to the present day, in not a few places, particularly in Central and South America, and rural parts of Asia and Africa, wood is still the primary fuel for most of these activities.

When Europeans first began to settle on the eastern coast of North America, particularly what became known as “New England” shortly after 1600, the

region was heavily timbered with vast virgin forests of almost unimaginable extent and diversity, certainly far beyond anything known to the settlers in their European homelands.  An estimated 90% of the land was forest, the other 10% being mostly land the native populace had previously cleared for their gardens and farms of corn, pumpkins, sunflowers and other native crops.  The colonists would also clear land for farms and gardens, and do so to a much greater extent than the Indians had.

These extravagant forests were soon utilized for every imaginable use—houses, barns, fencing, ship-building, wagon-making, and fuel for blacksmithing, glass making, ore smelting, and especially cooking and heating.  Early colonial homes with their large hearth fireplaces would require 10 or 20 cords annually, which consumed an ever-increasing quantity of the forest’s production as the population rapidly grew.

As these forests were cut, overcut and depleted, the great piney woods of the Great Lake states began to provide the bulk of the construction timber in the mid- to late-19^th century.  But exploitation of the remaining New England forests for fuel wood continued, until by 1900, only about 10% of the land remained in forest, and the annual cut exceeded the annual growth.  But then, so-called “fossil fuels”—coal, petroleum, natural gas—began to be utilized for fuel, replacing much of the wood cut for this purpose.  As a result, the annual growth of New England’s forests began to exceed the annual cut, and the forest areas expanded, until a century later, a full 40% of New England was in permanent stands of trees.  Fossil fuels had saved the forests of New England, as petroleum (particularly kerosene) had saved the whales in the mid-19^th century.

—Doug Kutilek AISI v20n5

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How to get “hell” moving

A Harvard professor said that “all hell broke loose” and he was forced to go out in public with armed security after he published a study that found no evidence of racial bias in police shootings.

During a sit-down conversation with Bari Weiss of The Free Press, Harvard Economics Professor Roland Fryer discussed the fallout from a 2016 study he published on racial bias in Houston policing. Read the story here: Harvard professor says ‘all hell broke loose’ when his study found no racial bias in police shootings (msn.com)

Now we know how to get hell moving…dare to tell the truth.

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Will it ever stop getting better?

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Last Words

A little b0y was heard talking to himself as he strode through his backyard, baseball cap in place and toting a ball and bat. “I’m the greatest baseball player in the world,” he said proudly. Then he tossed the ball into the air, swung and missed. Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said, “I’m the greatest baseball player ever,” and again swung and missed. He paused a moment to examine the ball and bat carefully. Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said, “I’m the greatest baseball player who ever lived. “He swung the bat hard, but again missed the ball. “Wow,” he exclaimed. “What a pitcher!”‘ – Robert Schuller, God’s Vitimin C for the Spirit.

Sometimes a change of viewpoint is wise, even for preachers.

JREnsey

JREnsey blog for February 2024

The Word for today

II Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition.”

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Wonderful words

A dear friend sent me the words of a song, the chorus of which I will share below:

Hope has hands, freedom has feet;

Truth will stand, the Word will speak;

The holy and lowly will finally embrace,

For love has a heartbeat, and grace has a face.

[The chorus of “Grace Has A Face” by Phil Cross]

Wow! The work of a wordsmith!

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Prayer

“Prayer is not something that you DO; prayer is something that you ARE. Prayer flows automatically out of living sacrifices. Prayer is simply the verbal expressions of the meditations of your heart. So NOT praying is the result of dead sacrifice. God replaced dead sacrifices because they had limited value. They were to easy to forget. You gave, then just walked away. A living sacrifice is different. It requires daily maintenance and daily conversation. You’re decaying if you’re not praying!’  –  Steve Willoughby

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Where have all the aliens gone?

Has anyone noticed? Since the whistleblower who testified before the Congress last year, spilling the beans on the government and the space aliens, the silence on the topic is deafening. Virtually no one has reported seeing a UFO/UAP or has been abducted by aliens. No USAF pilot has reported an encounter unless I missed it on the news. Do you think the space travelers heard that their jig was up? Have they decided to pass us and head on over to Mars? Perhaps they saw that it was too crowded here and they needed more room to land and do whatever aliens do.

But suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, the social media was set ablaze with a new video of one flying over a military bases in Iraq. The bizarre clip was posted by artist and filmmaker Jeremy Corbell. Hmmmmm….an artist and filmmaker. How convenient. The “video” shows something like a balloon with legs, and trailing some wires or something. It was dubbed “the Jellyfish.” It appears to be transparent…at times. Honestly, it looked like an escapee from a very dated and pixelated video game. It could only be seen in the “thermal spectrum,” they said. Reading on, Mr. Corbell insists it was real and corroborated by unnamed witnesses, supposedly wearing special thermal glasses at the moment the UAP appeared. One can only wonder: Who flew alongside of this “thing” to video it?

Mr. Corbell was recently interviewed at his desk which was beside a classic model of a flying saucer. (see photo). Obviously a serious devotee. You can watch this Jellyfish video and others here:  https://www.foxnews.com/us/ufo-revolution-docuseries-shows-uap-flying-over-military-base-blows-up-decades-conspiracies-expert

He said the alien craft fell into a nearby lake and stayed submerged for 17 minutes, after which it came up and zoomed off into the wild blue yonder at a 45 degree angle. Supposedly the unnamed witnesses with a stopwatch said nothing to the base personnel to come take a look in the lake to see if the craft could be retrieved. They were too busy timing the submersion. Now we are being told that this actually occurred back in 2017-18, over five years ago. I guess the process of film editing takes a long time.

So…we are back to expectantly watching. Keep your camera handy. You never know when a UAP will fly over. You may want to purchase some thermal vision glasses so you won’t miss it.

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“No cause for alarm!”

Popular researcher and author, Doug Kutilek, shares the thoughts of noted Baptist leader, educator and pastor John Broadus regarding textual criticism:

“The solicitude, and even alarm, which some persons feel in regard to the encroachments of text-criticism, must be regarded as without cause.  Instead of shaking faith in Scripture, these researches will ultimately strengthen faith.  When the shock of abandoning a familiar expression has passed, one almost invariably begins to see that the true text is best.  The general teachings of the New Testament as to doctrine and duty are now known to be established independently of all passages that contain doubtful readings.  And why should we wonder if it is sometimes difficult to determine the true text?  There is known to be a similar uncertainty as to the translation and interpretation of some passages.  This excites no alarm or anxiety, nor should we feel disturbed about occasional uncertainty of text.  And the danger of subjective bias in judging as to the text, is no greater than in regard to interpretation and translation.”

John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, ix (Valley Forge: the Judson Press, 1886)

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For those who are still concerned…

…about the “sixteen verses” that are in the KJV but not in most contemporary versions, we recommended they check out the following article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Testament_verses_not_included_in_modern_English_translations#cite_note-standard-5

In it will be found the listed verses and why they differ from the KJV reading. It is heavily footnoted and presented in an objective style. One will find the article very interesting and helpful.

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Manuscripts support Oneness

As reported last month, the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNSTM) recently released a series of newly digitized manuscripts. The more MSS they find, the more the words themselves are studied, the more they point to the man Jesus Christ being the personal manifestation of the Lord God Himself in the flesh. The message of one God in Christ is gaining adherents while more and more ministers and exegetes across the spectrum of the Christian faith are seeing the fallacies and weakness of the doctrine of the Trinity. The more manuscripts of the New Testament come to light the more it has become evident that the doctrine is on a downward path. It is unintelligible, unbiblical, and indefensible. May God continue to open the eyes of those whose hearts are already open to truth to see the light of the glorious fact that God is one, not a trinity of persons. Let us pray together for a revival of Apostolic doctrine around the world. Breaking with what has been the most fundamental doctrine of the Roman Catholic Churches, as well as those who are Protestant, is a difficult matter for them. Pray for courage for all of them who are struggling with that doctrine.

If you are interested in more information about the manuscripts and the biblical text itself, Dr. Wallace has a set of videos called The Basics of New Testament Textual Criticism. It is fabulously informative. They are FREE! Download them and watch them at your convenience. It is eye-opening by a master communicator and skilled conservative Greek grammarian. Worth your time.  Here is the LINK:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/basics-new-testament-textual/id446655163?mt=10

You’re welcome.

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The way it WAS…

The way it IS…

We grew these beards to prove we were mature:

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Harvard’s new curriculum additions

Now, can anyone wonder why I and others have pleaded with parents and pastors for years to avoid the pitfalls of Ivy League and State colleges for their education. It all depends on what one wishes the student to turn out to be—someone dedicated to “Queering the World” and “Defeating Capitalism Through Marxism,” (courses at Harvard) or learning how to make an honest living while keeping one’s Christian faith. And no university’s curriculum would be complete without a course on Shakespearean poetry featuring the lines that suggest “queer desire,” or a course on ideologies such as “Black Radical Tradition” and “Black Religion and Sexuality.” Undermining the character of both the individual and the nation seems to be the goal.  What would a diploma featuring a passing score on those classes be worth to any entity but the current government in DC?

Check out the full story HERE:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/welcome-harvard-spend-317800-learn-queering-world-threesome-dating-apps

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Last Word

• Charles Spurgeon said, “The world doesn’t read the Bible. The world reads Christians.” He was sounding like Paul in II Corinthians 3:2.
• Your own version: “You are writing a Gospel, a chapter each day, by deeds that you do and words that you say. Men read what you write, whether faithless or true; Say, what is the Gospel, according to you?”

Stay warm, keep The Book close at hand. May its marginal notes made by your pen be an inspiration to you in your later years.

JREnsey

JREnsey blog January 2024

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first 2024 blog!

The Word for today

 “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us” (I John 3:23 NLT).

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The Serenity Prayer

Some time ago I read a prayer prayed by Reinhold Niebuhr that really seemed to make sense. I like things that make sense, even prayers, so I wrote it down. You may have read it, too.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things

I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

That prayer, authored by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, can quieten the disturbed spirit within us when we don’t know how to take the next step. It may interrupt our charging ahead into family matters and life situations that are actually too tough and beyond our ability to manage or control.

I recently read of an interesting way others think about difficult life challenges. It was in a “can’t lay it down” book called The Change Agent by Damon West, a young Texas man who spent time in prison learning about life—not just prison life but life as it is lived by all. While incarcerated, he learned there are two lines in life:

The line on the top is God’s line. It represents all the things He can touch and do. If we try to touch them, problems arise. We have to leave them to Him. Our over-involvement quickly becomes a source of frustration and sometimes disillusionment.

The bottom line is our line—the things we can change. Many situations will demand courage, humility, and self-discipline. Those virtues are admittedly in short supply today. That is why the things we can change are on the short line.

So we pray for those things that will help us address the changes that we can effect.

There are four things WE —you and me—can change and perhaps control:

1) What we think.

2) What we say.

3) What we feel.

4) What we do.

That’s basically our limit. Give everything else to God was Niebuhr’s point, I think. Knowing the difference is the wisdom we must pray for and develop. It will tell us when to say, “That’s not on my line!”

So when you are all balled up in a tight situation and trouble is staring you in the face, take a moment and pray this prayer. Let God soothe your nerves when He says, “Let me handle it.”

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New Bible manuscripts being found and digitized

CSNTM, the Center for the Studies of New Testament Manuscripts, was founded by Dr. Daniel Wallace, who serves as it Executive Director as well as Senior Research Professor of NT Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Wallace, is committed to following in the footsteps of the countless scribes who copied the New Testament for later generations. He leads his team to travel the world digitizing ancient manuscripts

CSNTM is committed to following in the footsteps of the countless scribes who copied the New Testament for later generations. As one scribe wrote at the end of his manuscript (pictured here, the colophon outlined in red and printed at right) more than one thousand years ago: “The hand that wrote this is rotting in the grave, but the letters remain until the fullness of the times.”

Dr. Wallace often posts a brief video about the manuscripts that ultimately brought the Word of God down to us. A recent post was dedicated to answering the question: “How many manuscripts did Erasmus use when he published the first critical edition of the Greek New Testament? It is only six minutes in length. It would be well worth a few minutes of your time to listen to this noted expert tell about the manuscripts that were available to Erasmus when he merged them to create the Greek New Testament. Over a hundred years and many editions later, that work would become known as the Textus Receptus, or Received Text. It would form the basis for Luther’s German NT and most of the early English Bibles, including the KJV. You will find it an interesting and helpful six minutes. Here is the link: https://www.csntm.org/2023/05/03/ask-the-prof-how-many-manuscripts-did-erasmus-use-when-he-published-the-first-critical-edition-of-the-greek-new-testament/

At right is a sample page from the Revelation manuscript used by Erasmus in creating the Greek New Testament in 1516.

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A visit with Kelsey Griffin

My wife and I enjoyed a recent visit with Bro. Griffin at his home in China Spring, TX, near Waco. We started our active ministry at the same time and are just a few months apart in age. His tenure as Instructor at Texas Bible College paralleled and overlapped mine. He was an amazing teacher and beloved by the students. His unique style lodged memories in the minds of all who heard him. After leaving TBC shortly after I retired in 1996, he traveled extensively at home and abroad teaching and sharing his wealth of Bible knowledge. He settled down in St. Paul, MN for several years to teach at Apostolic Bible Institute before retiring to Texas a few years ago.

Before returning to TBC as president in 1982, I was pastoring in Wichita Falls, TX. In 1979 we baptized twenty-three airmen from nearby Shepherd AFB. At least three of them became Apostolic ministers. One of them was James Fitts. After I returned to TBC, he and his wife came three years later after his tenure in the military. He then went to Anchorage, AK  and planted a church. He pastored for 32 years before turning it over to his son due to ill health. He visited us recently at Living Way Church in Conroe, TX. We had a wonderful time together turning the pages of our memories. Before he boarded a plane back to Alaska, he gave me a gift to pass on to Bro. Griffin.

A few days later, we drove to Bro. Griffin’s home and delivered it. What a great reunion. It had been several years since we had an opportunity to visit with him. Although he is wheelchair-bound, having broken both hips, he still communicates by phone text daily with scores of ministers who enjoy his scriptures and comments.

Bro. Griffin attends Bro. Steve Daywitt’s church in China Spring. He is given a few minutes each Sunday to share one of his scriptural nuggets with the congregation. The church, with financial and construction aid from former students and friends, built him a three room apartment not far from the church. We thank all  of you who helped make “a room for the prophet” possible, especially Steve and Leticia Daywitt.

Kelsey Griffin is a true soldier of the cross. Remember him when you pray.

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How intelligent are you?

According to some experts (definition: anyone fifty miles from home carrying a briefcase), there are four types of intelligence:

1) Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

2) Emotional Quotient (EQ)

3) Social Quotient (SQ)

4) Adversity Quotient (AQ)

1. Intelligence Quotient (IQ): this is the measure of your level of comprehension. You need IQ to reason, solve math, memorize things, and recall lessons.
2. Emotional Quotient (EQ): this is the measure of your ability to maintain peace with others, keep to time, be responsible, be honest, respect boundaries, be humble, genuine and considerate.
3. Social Quotient (SQ): this is the measure of your ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time.

People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go further in life than those with a high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalize on improving IQ levels while EQ and SQ are played down.

A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ.

Your EQ represents your Character, while your SQ represents your Charisma. Give in to habits that will improve these three Qs, especially your EQ and SQ.

Now there is a 4th one, a new paradigm:

4. The Adversity Quotient (AQ): The measure of your ability to go through a rough patch in life, and come out of it without losing your mind.

When faced with troubles, AQ determines who might give up, who might abandon their family, and who would possibly consider suicide.

Parents please expose your children to other areas of life than just Academics. They should embrace manual labor (never use work as a form of punishment), sports and arts to some degree.

Develop their IQ, as well as their EQ, SQ and AQ. They should become multifaceted human beings able to do things independently of their parents.

Finally, do not prepare the road for your children. Prepare your children for the road.

(I will let our readers evaluate the wisdom and benefit of this article. It was excerpted from: https://cambrilearn.com/blog)

PS: You might ask yourself, which quotient do I personally need upgraded? Or, you may want to grade yourself on a 1-5 scale on each of the quotients.

You can also subscribe to Quora or join the Quaint Quibblers Quorum.

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Vaccine, anyone?

I recently spent a couple of days, not consecutively, in the hospital’s ER. They asked me twice about getting my vaccines—the Covid and the flu. I had to explain to them that I don’t volunteer for innoculations, unless it is required to go overseas to some country that is known for certain diseases and it is a requirement for a visa.

Florida Surgeon General has alerted us to the discovery of DNA fragments within Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines. And who knows what else? Has anyone noticed we’re running out of unproven conspiracy theories?

See attached letter and link below.

OSF Preprints | DNA fragments detected in monovalent and bivalent Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna modRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Ontario, Canada: Exploratory dose response relationship with serious adverse events.

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How the “evil” petroleum industry single-handedly saved the whales

Did you realize that THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY SAVED THE WHALES? This is absolutely true. In the first half of the 19th century, the primary fuel for night time illumination was whale oil burned in lamps. Whales were hunted down and slaughtered by the thousands to provide this fuel. But in 1859, Colonel Drake drilled the first oil well in western Pennsylvania and the primary commercial product refined from crude oil at that time by refiners (including John D. Rockefeller in Cleveland) was kerosene, which was far more abundant, far cheaper and far easier to produce than whale oil. As a result, people stopped burning whale oil for light, the hunting of whales nearly stopped, and the populations were able to recover. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the petroleum industry saved the whales. Next time, we’ll talk about how fossil fuels saved the forests of New England.

—Doug Kutilek, in “As I See It,” v20/4/23

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Views from the playpen

 Since the new year is often represented by babies, we decided to fall into line.

“I’m scheduled to speak at the Ladies’ Conference in a few years!”

“That was a very relaxing sermon! I will meditate on it for awhile.”

“Either shave that prickly beard or forget about a hug from me. Understood?”

Why some policemen retire early:

We used to call it a Snowman, but evidently not this one.

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Last Words

• Today, I am marked safe from attending Harvard, and Columbia, and Cornell, and Yale, and…well, any university that has “Ivy” in its description or “State” in its name. How about you?

• “Regarding the current pool of women heading Ivy League universities, there are very smart women in the academic marketplace, but apparently they have to dumb down the pool when the selection process comports with the leftist DEI narrative.” – Mark Alexander

• For those seeking a copy of William Penn’s booklet on Oneness titled The Sandy Foundation Shaken, it can be bought on Amazon or read free at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sandy_Foundation_Shaken/MsEItVQQUOoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR6&printsec=frontcover

F. F. Bruce had a way with words:

“Steadfast adherence to the apostles’ teaching, and not the production of an impressive pedigree, is the best evidence of being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.”

“It is a vain thing for Christian individuals or groups to imagine that they can better attain to the fullness of spiritual maturity if they isolate themselves from their fellow-believers.” – The Epistle to the Ephesians (London: Pickering & Inglis, Ltd. 1961);  pp. 57,68.

* HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our subscribers and contacts. If you know of someone who may like to be on our notification list, please share this post with them and encourage them to subscribe.

Let’s all go to Heaven and have a good time on the way!

JREnsey

JREnsey blog December 2023

The Word for today

“The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 NLT).

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Bringing the skies down to us

Bro. Clinton Willis is co-pastor of the Word of Life UPCI church in Lamar, MO. He is also an astrophotographer who loves panning the heavens and enjoying the beauty that God has displayed there. He sent me some pictures he had made with his far-reaching telescope, two of which I have included below. We thank him for sharing them with us.

The cratered moon. You can almost see the American flag still standing there. Thank God our atmosphere consumes most space rocks before they strike the earth!

This is the Orion constellation, a prominent set of stars in the winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is said to outline a hunter.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

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What about that “private interpretation” verse?

I was recently discussing the Bible with a non-Apostolic minister. When the subject touched on the lifestyle of Christians and the verses that address that topic, he brought up that old standby verse that many call on to say that their interpretation of Scripture is as good as anyone else’s: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (II Peter 1:20 KJV). The way that verse was rendered gave rise to both Protestant and Catholic position in the late Middle Ages.

A basic element of the Protestant Reformation was the principle of “private interpretation.” Both Catholics and Protestants called upon this verse to support their view of Scripture interpretation. However, this was not aimed, as the Catholics suggested, at individual church members making personal application of the passage and its principles. They wanted the priestly class alone to make interpretation of Scripture and its application, not laymen—“We will tell you what it means…and you can depend on us.” This helped solidify their power and authority. Neither is it a proof-text against the denial of individual church members reading and interpreting the Word for themselves without clerical direction—a popular Protestant position.

However, the passage was not levelled at the private judgment of the readers as to how any particular Bible admonition or verse should be lived out. Peter is saying that the prophets were not bringing forth information for the present and the future from their own body of knowledge and understanding. That is what is meant here by “private”—their personal knowledge. Their message was not run through the colander of their personal understanding or experience. They were providing the words—the Lord provided the inspiration and would unfold the meaning and application in the right time and place.

The NET Bible renders the verse thusly: “Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination.”

Perhaps the NLT version expresses it best in context: “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding or from human initiative [invention]. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (brackets mine].

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Words wrapped in wisdom

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.” – Winston Churchill

“You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too.” – Denzel Washington

“The two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain

[Certainly, Mark, you always gave us food for thought. Let’s add that the two most important decisions one makes in life is 1) the decision to be saved and live for God, and 2) the person you decide to marry and spend the rest of your life with.]

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.” – Dalai Lama

“Fear is the most contagious disease you can imagine. It makes the virus look like a piker.”  – Warren Buffett

“A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good just because it is accepted by a majority.” – Booker T. Washington

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Foiled again

I recently ran across Sir John Cheke’s 1550 translation of the Book of Matthew and part of Mark. Cheke (1514-1557) was the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, playing a great part in the revival of Greek learning in England.

The English language of that day was fascinating, and perhaps a mite frustrating. He used many unusual abbreviations that evoke a little stutter step in the reading. If you are interested, check out the archived copy here: https://archive.org/details/MN40275ucmf_7/page/n114/mode/1up

One of the most engaging aspects of the translation was that it lacked the last few verses of Matthew 28. Surprise, surprise. He explained that his exemplar didn’t have those verses. I was excited about finding the translation in hopes it might lead to an early manuscript source. As you know, mysteriously, all pre-A.D. 325 Greek MSS of Matthew are missing 28:19, either purposely torn away or damaged in some way that removed it.

So we are still looking for the original biblical source of the phrase in v. 19 that says, “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” If anyone out there runs across a pre-325 Greek manuscript of Matthew with 28:19 in it, please inform me.

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The new religion of “climate crisis”

The new high priests of climate change, now including pope Francis, and self-proclaimed “scientists” are positioned at the same rank as those who declared that wearing from one to three face masks would curb the spread of Covid-19. What curbed the spread of that virus was uncovering the truth about it and telling the faux scientists and sold-out doctors to take a long walk off of a short pier. Isn’t it amazing how the flu during the last season was hardly mentioned and anyone who came to the ER or visited a doctor about “not feeling too well” was diagnosed with Covid so they could tap the government purse for that particular “pandemic”? Sure, people got sick of what they dubbed Covid and many died. But when the proper medicines and treatments are denied to those with flu-like symptoms, that can happen. Millions worldwide discovered the hard way that is exactly what happened. Big pharma got fat and sinecure during the virus era.

Now we are confronted daily with the news that the world is collapsing from “climate change.” Pul-eezzze! Who is buying this propaganda except those of us who live in the U.S. and Europe? The most populous nations of the world are largely ignoring Greta Thunberg and those of her ilk, continuing to be the major polluters of the world. India and China are paying little attention to the climate criers. China is building coal plants faster than Usain Bolt can run. They are spewing pollution in far greater amounts than the U.S. So why doesn’t Greta go to those countries and stop traffic there with her signs? Because that is not where she wants change…it’s here in the West! Remember, it’s really not climate change they are after, it is political change in the U.S. and the West.

Let’s help quell this fear-mongering that the world will end in the next puff of smoke or an unheard bit of flatulence from a cat’s behind. The world has been hit by huge meteors that blacked out the sun in many countries for long periods and still survived. God’s not through with earth yet. When He gets through managing “seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter” (Genesis 8:22), then march with signs and stop the traffic. Until then people have enough to worry about besides the leftist political narrative regarding climate change. Da nobis intermissum!

Want more info on the climate change hype? Check this out: Experts Speak: There is No “Climate Crisis” (substack).

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Idolatry in our schools

A former Christian student at a Chicago public school won a $150K lawsuit after she alleged that while on campus she was forced into participating in Hindu rituals.

“I’m a very strong Christian,” Mariyah Green said in an interview with Fox News Digital. She said a woman who was teaching meditation in mandated “Quiet Time” asked her to bow to an image of a foreign deity she did not recognize. The woman teaching the meditation said it would help her internalize the mantras and bring her to “Zen.” Green believes that she was being forced into idol worship.

Have you checked on the schools in your area that might be offering “meditation” classes? They might be teaching the kids in your community a mantra that involves false gods. Are  you aware of Yoga classes being offered to your students or church members? Staying informed is part of our parental responsibility.

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Views from the news:

Where men are on Christmas Eve:

Shop if you must, but don’t forget Christmas For Christ! Missionaries in N. America are depending on you!

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Last Words

• I wonder…if the attacks by the pro-Hamas protestors on the nation’s capitol a couple of weeks ago, injuring several police, will be called an “insurrection” by the media? Nah, they were just peacefully demonstrating for a good cause. Already we are seeing that they will not be accused as were conservatives on January 6. Truth, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder.

• I am limiting my visits to Fox News online. Inching left, Fox continues to put material on their news pages that feature near pornographic photos that they assume will serve as click bait. They advertise sleazy materials and pitiful personalities, publicizing sites, events, and places to indulge every sin and licentious desire. There is no cause for this other than to make money by publishing the pics and ads that appeal only to prurient interests. Does Fox really need that extra income, or would the space be better utilized to promote a more informed and patriotic generation of drug-free youth? When money means more than morality, it is time to reevaluate your time spent on their “news” site. I have switched to check the Newsmax pages and one or two others at times on my computer. While one cannot escape all of it, I tire of the promotion of new ways and places to sin publicized on a news site. Anyone else feel the way I do?

• How can leftist ideals and socialism be gaining so many adherents? Because they are not passive. They are active. They are not afraid of offending the sensibilities of anyone. Too many Christians are passive about their faith. Don’t call sin, sin. Don’t identify Islam as an idolatrous religion that propagates hate and violence. Say “God is in control” so why worry about it?” Stay home and don’t vote. Who will stand up and be counted for God and truth and America? Somebody say “ME!”

• Don’t let Christmas die in Walmart or the mall. Make sure it is alive in your heart and your home. Have a wonder-filled season! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

JREnsey

JREnsey Mid-month blog November 2023

Thanks for visiting our brief Mid-month blog!

 

The Word for today

“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2).

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Pope backslides, Tyler Bishop stands up

Pope Francis has removed Bishop Joseph Strickland, a strong advocate of traditional Catholic teachings, from his duties in the diocese of Tyler, Texas. Strickland had been speaking out on social and moral issues that Catholics had traditionally stood for.

No more.

He was booted for his lack of cooperation with Pope Francis’ recent moves and announcements regarding transgender and homosexual issues. The pope’s firing of Strickland comes this week as the Vatican announced transgender individuals could be baptized and serve as godparents. Critics say the move is not consistent with traditional Catholic teaching which sees transgender activities as a sin, making baptism allowable only after confession.

In 2022, Francis shocked Catholics by appointing a pro-abortion economist to the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life. Pope Francis has continually claimed he is open and welcomes dissent, but he has taken harsh steps against traditionalists in the hierarchy who have disagreed with him. The Pope’s synod, called the Synod on Synodality, appears to be moving to allow Catholic blessings for homosexual civil unions.

Strickland’s firing sparked an immediate outcry among conservatives and traditionalists. Michael J. Matt, editor of the traditionalist newspaper The Remnant, wrote with the firing, Francis was “actively trying to bury fidelity to the Church of Jesus Christ …This is total war,” Matt wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Francis is a clear and present danger not only to Catholics the world over but also to the whole world itself.” [End of report] –  Report excerpted from Sandy Fitzgerald | https://www.newsmax.com/billdonohue/pope-francis-church-teachings/2023/11/15/id/1142394/

To Matt and Strickland: Right on! Stand your ground. Be an example to others who need one right now!

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The demise of History?

With the government (public) schools and many colleges ripping the subject of History from their curricula, they are saying that it is no longer important to us today. They could not be more wrong.

God considered history so vital that it constitutes over one fourth of our Bibles. Several entire books and hundreds of chapters are nothing but history. He launched the written Word with this statement: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  Other parts, such as the Prophets, the Gospels, Acts, and even the Poetry books are laced with history. Why did God consider history so important?

Without history, how do we know who we really are? Where did we come from? How did we get here? What or who came before us? Where are we headed?

Why should we behave and conduct ourselves in a particular way? What should we believe and hold as a religious faith? Without history how could we relate to God, our world, and each other?

Without history we would not know what why the current crisis is erupting in the Mideast. Why did the Palestinians attack Israel? Why has Israel responded as they have? Is there no background for all of this? Ignorance of the past is the guarantee of mistakes in the present.

Many filling the streets in our great cities “protesting” against certain nations or political entities seem to have no sense of history. Who are the Israelis, really? The Palestinians? Why are they at each others’ throats? Only those who know history will have the answers.

Why are youth movements into “climate change”? Is it really to save the planet from imminent collapse or is there a political factor involved, making the cause more like “nation change” than “climate change”? It is likely because they are being denied true science and history by authorities and academia. The kooky kids and teenaged oldsters who are blocking streets and highways to protest oil or capitalism—do they really know what they are doing? Or are they merely pawns in a larger international chess game?

What mean our monuments? Those statues? These gravestones and markers? This art? Bury a nation’s history and you destroy that nation.

Likewise, to be ignorant of our religious faith, its history and background, puts our personal faith at a disadvantage. Knowledge is power. “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). Should there be no sense of history, or to be left to choose only the path that feels right to us at the moment, we would likely make shipwreck of our souls.

Covet history. Read it, appreciate it, observe it, glean its knowledge, make wise decisions from its lessons.

Know the past to better understand the present and secure your future.

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Get your sixth booster shot yet?

This report was published in the Epoch Times:

Nearly 1 in 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Suffered Neurological Side Effects: Study – Global ResearchGlobal Research – Centre for Research on Globalization

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The present distress

Nothing beats the autumn woods

Fall in the forest

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 Last Words

 Stop trying to sit at tables that Jesus would have flipped.  – Anon.

Please pass the sweet potatoes and cornbread dressing!

JREnsey

JREnsey blog November 2023

Thanks for visiting our November 2023 blog!

The Word for today

“And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. ¹⁴ Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ¹⁵ These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:13-15 NLT).

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Are we ready?

Will the waves of the widening war in the Middle East reach the shores of America? Already the white foam of promise is breaking at our feet. Threats could could become actions. Christians have a target on their backs. We could taste of the kind of persecution Christians and Jews on the other side of the world have known for years. When it comes, we will fight it with the sword of truth and the battle garments of Ephesians 6. With those, we cannot lose, whatever happens. Stephen, Paul, and Peter were not losers but winners—winning over hate. The testimony of the new Speaker of the House of Representative has invited slurs like “extremist.” Christianity could become a political enemy in the eyes of some, not just another religion. That might be sought as a “cover” for their angry actions. Tough times will produce tough decisions on how we respond to future challenges.

We don’t look forward to the pain, the potential loss of family and friends, the inconveniences that accompany hatred aimed at innocents, yet must we Americans insist on safety and pleasant years when others—beginning with Stephen in Acts 7—have given their lives standing for Christian truth and values.

I am reminded of the words of Amy Carmichael:

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?

No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And piercèd are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?

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Why…?

• Why when Israel’s enemies attack them with the stated intent of wiping them from the face of the earth, it is billed as “self-defense,” but if Israel fights back it is called “genocide” and “aggression”?
• During the last 40 years I have only had the flu once. Guess what happened in the only year I decided to accept a flu vaccine? How did you know? My doctor assures me there is no association between the two.
• It the Covid vaccine is free because it is “life-saving,” why isn’t insulin free, or chemo, or Epipens? – PatriotPost
• Why is it if we lie to the government, it’s a felony, but if they lie to us, it’s just politics? (WH Press Secretary: “This president has been so zeroed in, so laser-focused, on lowering costs for Americans—and we’ve done that…[and] the border is secure.”) – PP
• Why continue to hang on to an English Bible translation from the late middle ages and the early Renaissance period, with words and syntax that frustrate the understanding of millions of today’s Bible readers?
• Why do so many folks who visit our churches are just looking for one that preaches what they believe?
• Why are the LGBTQ+ folks joining the protestors favoring the Muslims? Perhaps they should visit one of those countries…and be sure to wear their nicest rainbow shirt.

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Book recommendation

Need a lift? Sometimes a true life story of someone who, against all odds, won a battle that would have destroyed a lesser person will provide the inspiration to win your own contest in life. I have a great suggestion for you. It’s the new book called Coffee With Anthony.

Anthony Trimble was a 29-year old husband, father, recording artist, and pastor when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2015. On July 29, 2021 he won the battle and crossed the finish line to his reward. Cancer didn’t conquer him, he conquered cancer. He never let it control his life. It took his body but not his soul. He remained the man his closest friends wanted most to emulate. He won in so many ways that those who knew him best, who had coffee with him on a regular basis during those six tough years, wanted to celebrate his life and ultimate victory by sharing their memories of him with you.

The book containing his story will doubtless create other winners who are battling life’s challenges. Let Anthony’s friends share with you the secrets and insights they gleaned when having a cup of coffee with this outstanding young hero. It’s a rare insight that will steel your own soul to be the person God wants you to be in spite of the vicissitudes of life.

Compiled by Michael Ensey and written by various authors, contemporaries you probably know well. Here’s how to order your copy of the first printing:

Available for purchase via Amazon (paperback & eBook):

https://www.amazon.com/…/195328…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

For bulk orders visit www.MichaelEnsey.com.

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12 years ago

Just as those who graduated in May 2023 and entered college in September, were sitting in first grade classes twelve years ago, I posted the following prophecy.

The Radical Homosexuals…

…who are infiltrating the United States Congress have a plan:

Indoctrinate an entire generation of American children with propaganda and eliminate traditional values from American society.

Their ultimate dream is to create a new America based on sexual promiscuity in which the values you and I cherish are long forgotten.

I hate to admit it, but if they pass the deceptively named “Student Non-Discrimination Act,” (H.R. 998 & S. 555) that’s exactly what they’ll do.

Better named the “Homosexual Classrooms Act,” its chief advocate in Congress is Rep. Jared Polis, himself an open homosexual and radical activist.

And it’s dangerously close to becoming the law of the land. [End of former post.]

And it came to pass…. Look what yesterdays first graders are having to see and learn as Freshmen in colleges today.

Now our schools are glorifying the homosexual lifestyle and transgenderism. They invite weird drag queens to perform before the children in classrooms. Some colleges and even elementary schools actually fly the gay rainbow flag, and many children don’t know whether they are a boy or girl. Confusion reigns. Where will it all end? In a fiery judgment from above? Stand with and encourage conservative congressmen, local school board members, and others in positions of authority who still have the guts to speak out! 

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Regarding the gospel and the Christian life, how important is obedience?

• “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36 NLT).
• “And we are witnesses of these events, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32 NET).
• “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT)
• “But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29 ESV).
• “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” (Proverbs 13:13 NKJV).
• “If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth” (I John 2:4 NLT).
• “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 1:7,8 KJV).
  

We can rail against “works salvation” all day long, but in the evening, after all the verses are in, we have to conclude that without obedience there is no hope of eternal life. Works without faith is futile, but faith without works is dead. Salvation does not stand on one verse alone—the whole counsel of God must be considered (Acts 20:27; Hebrews 6:17).

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We believe, but….

How sad are those who say, “We believe the Bible, but not in those places that seem to contradict modern science, or…

…when it says we can’t be saved without being born again.

…where it tells new believers to change their lifestyle.

…when it promotes creation and denies the theory of evolution.

…where it declares that there is only one divine Person who is God.

…when it indicates that some “good people” may not go to heaven.

…where it mandates water baptism in the name of Jesus.

“God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3 NLT).

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This time of year, some trees just love to brag.

But some folks do it year round:

It’s that time of year….

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Last Words

• Misgendering is when you have convinced someone to refer to you as a gender you were not born with. – PP
• “The life of the nation is secure only when the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.” – Frederick Douglas
• Wisdom sez: “It’s best to let clear passages interpret those that are vague, rather than trying to make vague renderings override those that are clear.”

We have much to give thanks for. We trust November 23 will be your most memorable Thanksgiving ever!

JREnsey

JREnsey blog October 2023

Thanks for visiting our blog today! We welcome you…and the autumn season. It’s been a long hot summer.

 

 

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The Word for today

The Word for today, II Thessalonians 2:3, comes from some early English Bibles. The Textus Receptus was the Greek text upon which they wee based (dates are not necessarily the Bible’s first edition):

1534 William Tyndale Bible –

“Let no man deceave you by eny meanes for the lorde commeth not excepte ther come a departynge fyrst and that that synfull man be opened ye sonne of perdicion.”

1535 Coverdale Bible –

“Let no man disceaue you by eny meanes. For the LORDE commeth not, excepte the departynge come first, and that that Man of synne be opened, euen the sonne of perdicion,

Matthew’s Bible 1537 –

“Let no man deceyue you by any meanes, for the Lord commeth not, except there come a departyng first, and that, that sinful man be opened, the sonne of perdicyon.”

The Great Bible 1539 –

“Let no man deceaue you by eny meanes, for the Lorde shall not come excepte ther come a departynge fyrst, and that that synfull man be opened, the sonne of perdicyon,

1568 Bishop’s Bible –

“Let no man deceaue you by any meanes, for [the Lorde shall not come] excepte there come a fallyng away first, & that that man of sinne be reuealed, the sonne of perdition.”

1599 Geneva Bible –

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition.”

Did anyone notice that one had a different rendering of a key word?

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Faith vs. Miracles

Rev. Ron Mullings

The prophet tells us that the just shall live by faith. The apostle tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith, it would seem, is a fundamental ingredient in getting from here to glory. This being the case, it is certainly incumbent on us to understand faith.

One thing is that faith doesn’t involve my feelings about an issue. Faith comes by hearing the Word. Faith is simply acting out the revealed will of God in our lives. It really has little to do with what God does. It has everything to do with what we do.

The devil likes to confuse terms and principles. In so doing, he can frustrate faith. One example is the word “faith” and “miracles.” The devil would have us believe that these are synonymous terms. They are not. If “faith” and “miracles” are the same, it would mean that you have no faith if you don’t get a miracle. This is not the case. While faith at times produces miracles, there is a difference.

Daniel is a good example of this principle. A miracle would have killed the lions in the den. Faith took him into the den of lions not knowing the angel had gone before him.

Another illustration is the Hebrew children. A miracle would have blown out the fire. Faith led them into the fire not knowing the fourth man was waiting there. Faith cannot dictate what God will do; it only declares what I will do based on God’s Word. Even when I don’t get my miracle, my faith is revealed by my conduct (works) not on the back of the miracle. Miracles are great, but my salvation is not dependent on them. Faith, however, is indispensable.

Christianity is not a walk of miracles, signs, or wonders. It is a walk of faith. While I prefer not to, I can please God without miracles. I cannot, however, please God without faith. As the Hebrew boys said, “God is able, but we don’t know for sure what He will do. We do know what we will do.” This is faith.

– Excerpted from Bro. Ron Mullings’ book, People Are Pitiful—and we’re all people. This book is planned for reprinting. Watch for ordering information.

The above makes good common sense. Now for some nonsense:

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UFOs are REAL! We are definitely NOT ALONE!

News story headlines you might have missed:

Someone in Brazil saw “something in the sky.”

After psychiatrist’s hypnosis, a couple “remembers” being abducted by aliens, taken into a spacecraft and examined.

Elementary school children in Zimbabwe see crashed spacecraft in nearby field and surviving aliens, draw pictures that look quite similar to ET…(perhaps cousins of his; parenthesis mine).

Shocker! Alien bodies unveiled to Mexico’s Congress turn out to be human.

Another story featured aliens whose craft crashed in the backyard of a Las Vegas home and visited with residents for a while (possibly asking directions to the Golden Nugget?), but disappeared without a trace just before police arrive. They were later seen driving the tractor owned by the same residents. (Never too old to learn new skills!)

My questions:

Since they have been sleuthing us earthlings for eight decades or more, why aren’t they picking more exciting places to visit since coming so far? Did the UFO pilots miss a training class, causing them to crash in places like near playgrounds in Zimbabwe, the Roswell desert, or backyards in Nevada? Or did they just run out of Kryptonite over those particular sites? Or were they too old to maneuver sufficiently by the time they arrived on earth since their home star, Zeta Reticuli, is almost 50 light years from us?

         My eyes must be failing fast. The UFO photos keep looking increasingly fuzzy. Gotta get to the ophthalmologist. Or do the aliens have some type of on-board scramblers that blur the spacecraft for the cameras. And many of them, perhaps older models, evidently sport a single spotlight, ostensibly to hide the details of their crafts by blinding pilots and other viewers so they can see no definite details. Some may want to check out the “Top Twenty Alien Encounters” on YouTube. Or the “Top Ten” if their heart is in good shape (but not on Halloween!).

How were we able to send men to the moon and back in the 1960s with less technology than is contained in today’s smart watch, but can’t get better pictures of UFOs than the halftones of Wyatt Earp published in the October 1881 edition of the Tombstone, AZ Gazette? The photos of distant rock outcroppings on Mars coming from the Rover are much clearer. Beware! Any photos of UFOs that are sharp and show detail are likely generated in Hollywood or on someone’s computer. Anyone out there familiar with Photoshop?

Last February 16, President Biden announced that the government had “recently tracked three UFOs. …I gave the order to take them down. …We don’t know now what these three objects were. …[Details] will remain classified so we don’t give away [vital information] to our enemies.” He did not reveal whether they were manned by “non-humans” arriving from beyond Pluto. It seems strange that they can track and shoot down such alien spacecrafts that can travel at incredible unearthly speeds but can’t track down the person who had the cocaine in the White House? Where are the Hardy Boys when we need them?

Meanwhile, some may want to study what the Bible says about these alien crafts and their visits to earth in the past, as well as biblical predictions about them in the last days. Here are all the scriptural  references: ________________.

I am working on a more serious presentation of UAPs (the new preferred handle) and alien visits for a future blog. Stay tuned. In the meantime, we fully recognize that UFOs are real. There have been multiple sightings of unidentified objects. I have seen them myself. That is not to say they are alien crafts from outer space—merely that they were/are yet “unidentified.” It is a fact that we are definitely not alone in the universe. There really IS Someone out there, or “in here,” as the case may be, and He loves us too much to be the author of tormenting fear in the hearts of His children. Refuse to be disturbed or distracted by dubious reports. Relax, God’s got this!

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Isn’t it also strange…

…that while it is the crazies and the criminals who are aggressive in gun violence, yet not one politician appeals to those societal elements to turn their guns in—only the ones with no criminal record? That’s like asking Chet Atkiins to trash his guitar to stop bad music.

…that leftists want no one without a uterus to have an opinion on abortion, yet it is those who say they have no guns who want to shout their opinion about gun laws through a bullhorn?

…that people are still listening to the prophets of doom regarding climate change? Twenty years ago they were saying that by now Britain would be “Siberian” and the threat to the world was greater than terrorism. Now our leaders are claiming that the threat it poses is greater than nuclear war. Will Greta and AOC, their girl prophets, still be crying, “The sky is falling,” when they are old ladies? No noticeable change yet, so why not put confidence in what God said 6000 years ago in Genesis 8:22?

…that suddenly so many want new identities? Outspoken Samantha posted this: “You don’t get just one chance for an identity. You get multiple. It transforms and shifts as you grow, as you live, and as you experience. It’s a lifetime journey. But you only get one body. Once you destroy it, you don’t get another one.” – OutspokenSamantha

…that the opinions of the real doctors about face masks are just now getting some press?

…that people tend to notice only those prophecies that come to pass and ignore those that do not?

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Will Rover be on your plate at supper?

Klaus Schwab and his World Economic Forum (WEC) is calling for all pet owners to step up against climate change. They are suggesting that owners of pets like dogs and cats should kill them in order to save the planet. Their diets and gases are a “huge” contributor to climate change. They even suggest eating them following euthanization. For those who need pets, they suggest snakes and other reptiles. Can you imagine what is behind such input? Turtles and reptiles can never show the love and warmth of a devoted pup or kitten.

CNN and other media outlets support this effort, claiming they “emit huge amounts of planet-warming gases.” Who’s measuring? This is the most ridiculous bit of political hash I have ever heard! Better lay off the cabbage…you might be in violation and have to be euthanized.

The super-rich at the WEC embrace policies that dehumanize, degrade and mock us. It is difficult to believe their interest lies in saving the world, or in anything other than demon-inspired totalitarianism.

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When the government uses the word “fair”…Christian colleges beware!

A hundred-year old Christian university in Missouri is pushing back against the pressure to conform to the current administration’s “Fair Housing Act.” That legislation is being interpreted as insisting that the university allow men to reside in the girls’ dorm, plus making the showers co-ed. The Christian Law Association has stepped in to assist the school in combating this pressure. Eventually every institution will feel the heavy hand of government upon their traditions and policies that respect the Word of God  as their standard.

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Another perspective:

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Last Words…about a bygone virtue

These flow from thought-maker E. C. McKenzie:

• Emotion is what makes the world go round, but common sense is what keeps it from going too fast.

• A little common sense would prevent many divorces, and perhaps a few marriages as well.

• The door to wisdom swings on the hinges of common sense and uncommon thoughts.

• Automobiles wouldn’t be so dangerous if the horsepower of the engine was proportioned to the horse sense of the driver.

Breaking: “A new more dangerous Covid variant has been detected. It’s called BS-24/7. It attacks common sense and destroys evidence-based medicine. It’s spread via mainstream media, Fauci, and CDC.” – This was said to have been posted by Dr. Eli David on X.

JREnsey

JREnsey blog for September 2023

Thanks for visiting! Your comments and questions are welcome.

 

 

 The Word for today

³⁴ Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land.
You will see the wicked destroyed.

³⁵ I have seen wicked and ruthless people
flourishing like a tree in its native soil.

³⁶ But when I looked again, they were gone!
Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

³⁷ Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.

(Psalm 37:34-37 NLT)

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“I can see!”

During the weekend of August 14, 2023, Pastor Stephen Trachsell, had the honor of performing the baptism of a local man who had been declared legally blind for most of his life. As Pastor Trachsell baptized him in the powerful name of Jesus Christ and brought him out of the water, his blinded eyes were opened and this man could see with perfect vision! God is still in the miracle working business! He is still reaching for the lost, restoring hope to the hopeless, and showing us all over again that he truly is the miracle working God! – Report submitted by Jeremy Allen

Good things happen in the waters of baptism!

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Kosher Regulations from the Bible

The word kosher comes from a Hebrew word meaning “fit” or “proper.” Jewish kosher food laws are an extension of the commandment, “You shall not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19), and the list of prohibited foods in Leviticus 11. These regulations are complex, and this is only a summary:

1. Only animals that chew their cud and have divided hooves may be eaten. (This rules out meat from pigs and many other animals.)
2. There are twenty-four specifically forbidden species of birds, but kosher observers usually limit fowl to chicken, turkey, duck, and goose.
3. Meat and poultry must be slaughtered in a particular way. Trained and certified slaughterers sever the trachea and esophagus with a special knife, then inspectors make sure the internal organs have no abnormalities.
4. No blood may be consumed, so before meat is eaten, the blood must be removed by salting or broiling.
5. Fish must have fins and scales that are easily removed, and they must be visible to the consumer when purchased. All shellfish are prohibited. Fish and meat must not be eaten together.
6. Meat and milk must never be cooked or eaten together, and as a safeguard they must not be prepared or served with the same equipment or dishes. A kosher kitchen must have two sets of utensils, one for meat and poultry and the other for dairy foods. Cheese must be certified to make sure it has been processed in a kosher manner.
7. Bread containing dairy ingredients cannot be eaten, since bread is served with most meals and one could accidentally eat dairy bread with a meat meal.
8. Food containing neither meat nor dairy products or processed with the same equipment is called pareve, and it may be eaten with either meat or dairy meals.

Source: T. J. McTavish, A Theological Miscellany

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Another step closer

Bill Gates is bringing the world another step closer to setting the stage for the Antichrist. He has unveiled his National Digital ID system. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Gates claimed that the open source digital ID platform developed in India could “dismantle barriers worldwide” and allow all people to “fully participate in the economy.”

Check it out here:  https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/what-is-digital-public-infrastructure

So if you want to “fully participate in the economy” of the future, sign up for the ID. We must never forget: what they give you, you will become dependent upon it. Then they can easily take it away if you do not cooperate. That’s how “the system” works.

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You knew it but were hesitant to say it

In your heart, you knew something was fishy. We were being lied to about about the source of the pandemic and its treatments. It had all been planned and scheduled. Here is an update from Senator Ron Johnson regarding the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/08/11/sen_ron_johnson_covid_was_preplanned_by_an_elite_group_of_people_planned_for_our_loss_of_freedom.html

Major health/scientific publications retract articles on Covid-19 treatments:

https://www.science.org/content/article/whos-blame-these-three-scientists-are-heartsurgisphere-covid-19-scandal

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10089824/

Since the Covid pandemic worked so well, shutting down the churches and the Trump economy, when do you think the next virus pandemic will be released? Actually it is already being hyped:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/next-pandemic-threat-pathogen-deadlier-than-covid-world-health-organization/

Perhaps we Christians should release our own pandemic of prayer against the forces of Hell that are trying to muzzle pastors through intimidation, effectively shutting down or severely limiting the endtime harvest. Fear is their weapon; prayer is ours. Let’s use it.

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Angst about aliens?

If any of you are anxious about UFOs and space aliens invading the earth, I sincerely urge you to take 18 minutes to hear scientist Donald Prothero on TED^x speaking about “UFOs and Aliens: What Science Says. His revelations may shock you!

See it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8bgRABGLFg

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Asking for a friend…

• When virtually no one trusts the current government to tell the truth, why should we believe some bureaucrat or four government paid pilots (who evidently hand-carry 1969 8mm cameras on board their super-teched F-18 jets) to state the facts about crashed UFOs/UAPs and the remains of their “non-human” flyers?

• Why did a couple of 10-feet tall space aliens hang out for two hours in someone’s backyard in Las Vegas recently after their craft crashed there? Waiting for the crowd to disperse around the slots? Or did they hear on their way to earth that Elvis was alive and still doing shows at the Golden Nugget? Somehow it never occurred to the owners of the backyard to use their phone and take a picture of the aliens.

• How much did the Lakota Sioux tribe pay the Crows, Cheyennes, and other tribes for the land when they ran them out of the Black Hills and took over the area in 1765? Did they get a bill of sale? A quitclaim deed? Who did the survey?

• Why are there no recipes for left-over bacon? (Best answer appears below in Last Words.) BTW, would space aliens eat bacon? If so, welcome them. It may solve our wild hog problems. If vegans, make them show passports.

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Don’t be in denial (of the following truths)

Good judgment comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgment. – Will Rogers

God will never consult your yesterday to determine your tomorrow. – T. B. Joshua

You can’t do much about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. – Even Esar

The things which hurt, instruct. – Ben Franklin

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. – Thomas Jefferson

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Views from the pews:

If your preacher’s pants look like

this, it’s gonna be a long service.

 

If the Worship Leader’s sleeves look like this, you know it gonna be a lit service!

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Last Words

Quiz: Because there is no such thing as left-over bacon.

One thing that helped Rip Van Winkle sleep so long was the fact that none of his neighbors had lawn mowers.

The value of the Bible doesn’t consist in knowing it but in obeying it.

Have you pastors with students in college discovered this? A survcy showed that college students prefer ties with dots, suits with stripes, and letters with checks.

Cool down…September is here. Have a great month of spiritual harvest!

JREnsey

JREnsey blog for August 2023

 

The Word for today

“[Christ, v. 15] existed before anything else,
    and he holds all creation together.
¹⁸ Christ is also the head of the church,
    which is his body.
He is the beginning,
    supreme over all who rise from the dead
    So he is first in everything.
¹⁹ For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
²⁰ and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Colossians 1:17-20).

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The Billy and Albert Story

When Billy Graham was 92 years old, he was struggling with Parkinson’s disease. In January, a month before his 93rd birthday, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son to a luncheon in his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, “We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.” So he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Billy stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd and said: “I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time Magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.

It wasn’t there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.” Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

The conductor rushed back and said, “Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are; no problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.”

Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man I too know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

Having said that Billy Graham continued, “See the suit I’m wearing? My children and my grandchildren are telling me I’ve gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I’ll be buried. But when you hear I’m dead, I don’t want you to immediately remember the suit I’m wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am I also know where I’m going. Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil—it has no point.”

Whether you personally concur with either of their expressions, it’s a good story. [Contributed by John Smelser]

A prayer for the reader: May each of us live our lives so that when our ticket is punched we don’t have to worry about where we are going.

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The “Other Sheep” Doctrine

To whom was Jesus referring when He spoke of His “other sheep”?

In John 10:15,16 Jesus said: “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

These verses are still being used by some to teach a doctrine that the Christian faith is not the only path to God during this age and that pagan unbelievers may also be on a different path to salvation.

Jesus was speaking prophetically to make His main point that the covenants which formed the foundation of the Jewish faith would not be limited to Jews but would also be open to “all men everywhere” (Acts 17:30), i.e., the Gentiles who would become a part of the body of Christ (Acts 10:9-28). He would embrace them in due time but He spoke of them as though they were (Romans 4:17). The Lord was also speaking prophetically in a similar fashion when He said to Paul, “I have much people in this city [Corinth]” (Acts 18:10) when the work in Corinth among the Gentiles was only just beginning to get its legs.

There are two groups that God presently continues to deal with and work through—the Hebrew nation and Christians. A Jewish believing remnant will surface after the Rapture and play an important role in the Tribulation after the true Christians have been removed from the earth. We are not supersecessionists who posit that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan.

Bottom line: John 10:16,17 in no way suggests that those in other faiths and/or serve other gods today have the promise of eternal life.

MacLaren’s additional exposition:

During His earthly life our Lord, as we know, confined His own personal ministry for the most part to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Not exclusively so, for He made at least one journey into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, teaching and healing; a Syro-Phoenician woman held His feet, and received her request; and one of His miracles, of feeding the multitude, was wrought for hungry Gentiles. But while His work was in Israel, it was for mankind; and while ‘this fold,’ generally speaking, circumscribed His toils, it did not confine His love nor His thoughts. More than once world-wide declarations and promises broke from His lips, even before the final universal commission, ‘Preach the Gospel to every creature.’ ‘I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.’ ‘I am the Light of the world.’ These and other similar sayings give us His lofty consciousness that He has received ‘the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.’”

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Tired of keeping records on computer?

Here’s an alternative idea from fourth century B.C. Idumea, an area south of Judea and the Dead Sea.

Today’s businesses increasingly relying on sophisticated computer software to document transactions and track fiscal performance. But in fourth-century B.C. Idumea, about 40 miles southwest of Jerusalem, business records were kept by writing in black ink on ostraca (broken pieces of pottery).

As archaeologist Ada Yardeni explains, “These inscribed ostraca provide us with a window into the agricultural, economic and social life in the Hebron hills.”

While the Aramaic ostraca mainly record the delivery of wheat, barley and straw, they also document the delivery of everything from olive oil to workers and even to mice. Yes, ladies, there was an order on the “books” for 30 mice! (Check out that next pot of Idumean gumbo before diving in!) Found on the ostraca were 600 personal names—one hundred were Edomite and a large group were Arabic. In the fourth century, the population of the Hebron hills was indeed diverse, with many engaged in agricultural practices.

Next time your bookkeeper or secretary complains about the work load, especially the digital filing system, suggest that you go back to the ostraca system and check the response.

Source: Bible History Daily 9/8

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Intelligence expressed

“Without justice being freely, fully, and impartially administered, neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property, can be protected. And if these, or either of them, are regulated by no certain laws, and are subject to no certain principles, and are held by no certain tenure, and are redressed, when violated, by no certain remedies, society fails of all its value; and men may as well return to a state of savage and barbarous independence.” — Joseph Story (1833)

Intelligence depressed

“The political left’s attempts to silence ideas they cannot, or will not, debate are a confession of intellectual bankruptcy.” – Thomas Sowell

Intelligence confessed

“AI is kind of a fancy thing. First of all, it’s two letters. It means Artificial Intelligence.” – Kamala Harris

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Ever wonder…?

…if Ben and Jerry, the Ice Cream Boys, are going to transfer their corporation to indigenous people from whom it was reportedly stolen? Or if they are the only ones still drinking Bud Light? [Perhaps the guys at Anheuser Busch are gobbling up B/J’s ice cream to help that company curb their economic free fall.] The chief of the Native American tribes in the area of Ben and Jerry’s HQ said he is still waiting for the corporation to move out and turn over their land and facilities to the tribe. They have heard nothing.

…what would have happened when God and the Bible were removed from public schools if all the children had followed?

…why or how we elected a president who just last week learned to count past six?

…where the Hardy Boys are when you need them to find the cocaine user in the White House?

…if your Beagle pup could have sniffed out the coke user in the White House within 15 minutes?

…why Dems are confused by parades where everyone wears clothes and don’t swing strange toys around?

…if America can handle this much common sense: “If you are able-bodied, you work. If you take out a loan, you pay it back. If you commit a violent crime, you go to jail. If you’re a man, you should play sports against men.” – Senator Tim Scott

…if the aliens some claim are among us (crashed crafts, biologic remains, all unseen by the public so far), what kind of evangelistic effort should be planned for their conversion to the Christian faith, or will they, through AI, seek to convert us to the “Kryptonic faith”?

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Speaking of personal pronouns: Is the Holy Spirit an “It” or a “He”?

I recently ran across an interesting take on anti-Trinitarianism and the KJV Bible. In Doug Kutilek’s monthly newsletter he pointed out that Dr. Emery Bancroft (1877-1944) in his book Christian Theology suggested the possibility the Socianism, a strongly anti-Trinitarian movement founded by Italians Laelius Socinus and his nephew Faustus Socinus during the Reformation, may have played a role in the text of the KJV. Laelius was definitely a reformer, yet his views seldom crystalized into solid doctrines that aligned totally with the major reformers. His nephew Faustus, however, constructed an anti-Trinitarian doctrine that came to be called “Unitarians,” or merely Socinians. They believed in one God, Jesus was not of divine origin, and that the Holy Spirit was more of an “influencer” or an expression of power of the one God. Socinianism became rooted in Poland among the Polish Brethren Movement and established a university near Kraków.

The movement was later the victim of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and Polish believers were forced into exile in other European countries, including England. There the Socinians influenced John Biddle, later called the father of English Unitarianism. He vehemently attacked the doctrine of the Trinity, elevating the Father and considering the other two as fulfilling the role of subordinates. He held that Christ was fully human, divine only by office and not by nature. The Holy Spirit is not a co-equal divine person with the Father. Biddle was belittled, imprisoned, fined, but through it all influenced many Englishmen who agreed, some of whom came to America aboard the earliest ships carrying Pilgrims and settlers.

When the KJV text was determined by the translators, among them may have been at least one whose mind was bent somewhat in the Unitarian direction. Bancroft seems convinced that Unitarian or Socinian influence was in play in perhaps four renderings. He says, “This circle of people had a well-defined doctrine to teach. The great mass of Christians refused to accept the doctrine, but nevertheless passed unconsciously under its chilling influence, and almost the whole church came to think of the Spirit of God as an influence, if not to speak of Him as such. In the Authorized Version, the personal pronoun which refers to the Holy Spirit is translated by the neuter ‘it’ [John 1:32; Romans 8:16, 26; I Peter 1:11] as an index of the trend of thought among Christians at that time. Men prayed of the Spirit as of ‘it,’ an energy, proving that the Socinian teaching had chilled the zeal and enthusiasm of Christian doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit.” (Emphasis his)

These references to the Holy Spirit as “it” present no cause for concern for Oneness believers since we firmly hold…[Continue reading this article by clicking HERE]

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Views from the crib:

“I’m a new believer…in static electricity.”

 

“As the new Marshall of Tombstone, I am coming for you, Hunter!” – Wyatt Slurp

 

“I’m off of Ben and Jerry’s for good since I discovered Blue Bell’s Homemade Vanilla.”

 

“Just look what those stupid liberals are doing to Austin!”

 

“I was conceived during the Twump administwation!”

 

“If she could be a boy for just one day, she’d wish she had never been born a girl!”

 

“Don’t feed me that socialist malarkey. I got two eyes and I can see what’s really going on!”

“Mom just decided to become a vegan. Yuck!”

 

“I pucker for Grandmas!”

 

“I hope you read this entire blog and share it with a friend. If you don’t, I’m coming your way with some brass knuckles!”

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Last Words

“If your religion doesn’t let Jesus be what the Bible says He is, you need to drop that religion and pick up a new one.” – Johnny James

“The name of Jesus is the superlative wonder of linguistics; it is the picture of the ugliness of sin and the beauty of holiness. Jesus’ name is a portrait of the love of God painted on a human canvas.” – Also Johnny James, known as The Walking Bible

“Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil—it has no point.” – Billy Graham

Stay cool in August…spend more time in an air conditioned church.

JREnsey