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The Word for today
Psalm 25:4-8 NLT: “Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.”
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Where is God when we hurt?
With the recent passing of some of my friends, the following words by Melissa Spoelstra struck a chord in my own heart. They may bring peace to your soul as well.
Finding Peace in the Pain
When my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I struggled to embrace the peace that Jesus promised. (See John 14:27.) My feelings were all over the map when I wondered what good could come out of such an upsetting situation.
Maybe you have encountered situations where it felt like God didn’t show up, or that He allowed something devastating to happen. Even in these times, God can receive glory and our faith can be strengthened as we trust His purposes over what makes sense to us.
Jesus knew the pain of loss. His friend Lazarus got sick and died. In John 11, we read that Jesus was “deeply moved in His spirit” (v. 33). 
He was not apathetic. He shared in the common feeling of grief with those He loved. Death angered Him, and its painful effects grieved. He expressed human emotions, including tears. (See v. 35.) He wasn’t the only one hurting. Martha asked questions ; Mary wept; the mourners cried; and Jesus entered into their pain.
Jesus knows the losses you’ve experienced and longs to enter into your pain as well. He understands your humanity because He put on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). I sometimes avoid strong emotions, stuffing them down or reasoning them away. This passage validates that feelings aren’t sinful or a measure of faith. Give yourself biblical permission to express feelings—whether they are celebratory or overflowing grief. Jesus didn’t lack faith. He just felt and expressed human emotions.
My dad only lived 29 days after his cancer diagnosis. He was a Christ follower, so I know he is more alive now than ever. Yet this season has been filled with all sorts of emotions. When we grieve, the pain can feel pointless. But God’s purposes are always good, even when our circumstances are not.
Through the raising of Lazarus, Jesus revealed Himself as the source of resurrection life. When we contemplate death—our own or those we love—we can feel all our feelings and yet hold onto our faith. We can savor peace from life to life if we belong to Jesus. – Mature Living 3/24
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Trinitarian Dysphoria
There is yet another pestilence abroad in the land. I call it Trinitarian Dysphoria. It is spreading rapidly across Christendom. Dysphoria is a condition of “unhappiness, uneasiness, and dissatisfaction” that feeds mental confusion. The cultural confusion abroad in our society has invaded the religious realm. This strain of dysphoria has nothing to do with transgenderism, but with the onerous Trinity doctrine.
Folks who think a couple of times a week are tiring of dealing with the nonsensical and unbelievable idea that God exists in three distinct persons, and that the three only constitute one God. Few layman, if any, can begin to satisfactorily explain the doctrine, particularly how a “Son” can be “eternal.” John Calvin couldn’t do it but he burned Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician and theologian, at the stake for not declaring it as truth.
In reviewing the works of the respected Bible commentator and author Millard Erickson, this was found: “At best, the [Trinity] doctrine is puzzling; at worst, it is an outright contradiction. Thus, it appears that while on biblical grounds we must believe it, on logical or rational grounds we cannot believe it. Must we choose between our Christian commitment and our rationality?”[1] Sorry, but biblical or rational grounds are virtually non-existent. If one holds to the Trinity doctrine, they are forced to adopt a measure of incredulity.
Confusion comes from the fact that the doctrine is derived from the deliberations of the post-apostolic “fathers” and church councils, not from the Scriptures, Jesus, or the. apostles. Men like Origin, Tertullian, and Athansius juggled the Greek homoosios and the Latin Personas to come up with a do-equal and co-eternal groping of three entities, but dropping the “three” and calling them “one.” One is a Father and one is the Son but they are co-eternal. One yields to the will of the other yet he cannot be said to be subordinate. The third “proceeds from” either one or both of the others. Eastern and Western Catholicism could never agree on just where the Holy Spirit proceeds from. Modern proponents are sick of trying to explain such a convoluted concept of deities. It is as though they are waiting on the pope or some someone in authority to pronounce it passé and return to what is presented in the Scriptures.
Erickson further stated, “This doctrine in many ways presents strange paradoxes. …It is a widely disputed doctrine, which has provoked discussion throughout all the centuries of the church’s existence. It is held by many with great vehemence and vigor. These [advocates] consider it crucial to the Christian faith. Yet many are unsure of the exact meaning of their belief. It was the very first doctrine dealt with systematically by the church, yet it is still one of the most misunderstood and disputed doctrines.”[2]
The two primary verses that are usually called on to support the doctrine are I John 5:7b-8a and Matthew 28:19. The first has already been declared an interpolation by a majority of textual analysts and scholars, with most modern Bibles removing it from the Bible for lack of manuscript support. The second, Matthew 28:19, is being seriously challenged as being the original words of Jesus. Thatt verse and its context do not delineate a doctrine of the Trinity but presents Jesus and His name as possessing “all power in heaven and earth” and being the sole means of salvation from sin.
Author and theology professor Harold Brown writes: “It has proved impossible for Christians actually to understand the doctrine or to explain it in any comprehensive way. The doctrine of the Trinity…. surpasses our human ability to understand and thus it must be respected as a divine mystery.”[3]
Yet another outspoken theology professor, Louis Berkhof, states: “The Church confesses the Trinity to be a mystery beyond the comprehension of man. The Trinity is a mystery, not merely in the biblical sense of what is a truth, which was formerly hidden but is now revealed; but in the sense that man cannot comprehend it and make it intelligible”[4]
The one God whom came to earth as Jesus does not hide truth from those He wishes to save. He came to reveal truth. In fact, He said, “I am the truth.” The Oneness of God is far simpler than the Trinity to believe and explain. It expresses revealed biblical truth. Jesus spent His lifetime here revealing His true identity. Embrace it. Confess it. It cures Triinitarian Dysphoria.
[1] Millard Erickson, Makiing Sense of the Trinity (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), p. 43.
[2] Millard Erickson, God In Three Persons (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995); pp. 11-12.
[3] Harold Brown, Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers; 2003), p. 128.
[4] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Louisville, KY: GLH Publishing, 1996), p. 89.
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The Power of ONE
He was born on the banks of the Niobrara River in Nebraska in 1829, near where the Niobrara and the Missouri Rivers merge. He was given the name of Standing Bear. A sense of destiny was upon him that only time and history would reveal. His Native American family were of the Ponca tribe. He rose to be a chief and spokesman for the Poncas. In 1877, his people were forced by federal treaty to leave their tribal home in Nebraska to move to the Indian Nation/Territory in what is now Oklahoma.
The trail to Oklahoma was rugged and difficult. Conditions were harsh and provisions were few where they were forced to live. Over one hundred men, women and children soon perished, including Standing Bear’s 16-year old son, Bear Shield. His father was determined to fulfill his son’s wish to return him to their homeland in Nebraska for burial. He and about thirty others left the reservation in Oklahoma with the body of his son. When they reached the Omaha reservation in Nebraska they stopped for a rest. Chief Standing Bear and his people were arrested there by General George Crook for illegally leaving the reservation in Oklahoma. He was ultimately taken to court in 1879 in Omaha to stand trial. Until that time, Native Americans had little or no standing in court. The American Indians were technically not considered to be “persons” by the law. They were subject only to the Secretary of the Interior.
After all the legal proceedings were done and the lawyers had their say, the judge granted Standing Bear’s request to speak before closing the trial. Attendees—lawyers, reporters, government officials, including many women, were dressed to the nines. Even General Crook and his staff wore their dress blues. The Indians came in their colorful native costumes.
Dressed in his native official robes as chief of the Poncas, Standing Bear stood at the front of the courtroom for several minutes with his hand outstretched to the audience. A hush fell upon the proceedings. Finally, he turned toward the judge and began his famous speech, which some call one of the greatest and most moving speeches in American history. Certainly its effects were far reaching, since the decision resulted in a hundred thousand people being made citizens.
With his hand still extended, now toward Judge Dundy, Standing Bear began with these words: “This hand is not the same color as yours. If I pierce it, red blood will flow and I will feel pain. If you pierce your hand, blood of the same color will also flow and you will feel pain. God made both of us. I am a man.”
Still standing, half facing the audience, he looked past the judge, out of the window, as if gazing at something in the far distance, and 
continued: “I seem to be standing on the high bank of a great river, with my wife and my little girl at my side. I cannot cross the river and impassable cliffs are behind me. I hear the noise of great waters; I look and see a great flood coming. The waters rise to our feet and then to our knees.I hear my little girl cry, “Save me!” In despair, I look toward the cliffs behind me and I see a dim trail that may lead to a way of life. But no Indian ever passed over that trail. It looks impassable. I make the attempt.
“I take my child by the hand and my wife follows after me. Our feet are torn by the sharp rocks, and the trail is marked by our blood. At last I see a rift in the rocks. Beyond it are green prairies. The swift-running waters of the Niobrara pour down between the green hills. There are the graves of my fathers. There again we will pitch our teepee and build our fires. I see the light of life and liberty just ahead.”
The old chief became silent again. After an appreciable pause, he turned toward the judge with such a look of pathos and suffering on his face, that none who saw it will ever forget, and said, “But in the center of the path there stands a man. I see soldiers behind him in number like the leaves of the trees. If that man gives me permission, I may pass on to life and liberty. If he refuses, I must go back and sink beneath the flood.” In a lower tone, facing the judge, he said, “You are that man.”
He then slowly turned and sat down.
A momentary silence fell upon the courtroom. Tears began coursing down the judge’s face. General Crook leaned forward and put his face in his hands. Women began to sob. Suddenly, as if by one common impulse, the audience rose to their feet and a shout went up. No 
one heard Judge Dundy say, “Court is dismissed.” There was a rush for Standing Bear. The General was shaking Standing Bear’s hand. Newsmen and ladies gathered around him. It was a high moment in the history of the American legal system. For an hour, Standing Bear had a reception.
A few days later, Judge Dundy issued his famous decision that an Indian was a “person” and was entitled to the protection of the law. Standing Bear and his followers were set free, and with his old wagon and the body of his dead child, he returned to the hunting grounds of his fathers to bury his son with tribal honors.
One man, one speech changed the course of history for all Native Americans. The power of one can truly be awesome.
Adapted from http.//library.timelesstruths.org/Standing_Bear’s_speech
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It’s going around…
A new variant called “Oh, I see!” is going around. I hope you catch it. It opens eyes so they can see what is really behind the Earth Day movement, and the Anti-Israel Movement. “Death to America!” the rioters shouted. Joining their hatred for Israel and America, they let 
us see their true colors. Death to America’s industries, western culture, and our constitutional government is what they really mean.
Some caught it as the leftist students rioted and charged into police lines on college campuses to vent their support for Hamas. College presidents seemed surprised and taken aback by the riots. Did they not know what was being taught in the classrooms? Did they not realize what the result would be when they ceased offering courses in western civilization and world history? While the current administration is focused on trying to shut down Christian colleges, like the Grand Canyon Christian University, the Ivy League schools are ablaze with ignorance as they rail against Israel and celebrate Earth Day, contemplating the brief life they expect because of climate change.
The “Oh, I see!” variant may be causing a new lockdown of the classrooms at Columbia and other left-wing universities as they switch to virtual classes. How about shutting down the entire Ivy League system? The money in their coffers turned over to the government could just about pay off our national debt! When we wake up some morning and learn that our currency is worthless, many will confess that they now see what the agenda was all along—not Israel vs. Hamas, not claimate change, not racism but the fall of America into totalitarianism.
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Why not?
• Electric vehicle owners should only be allowed to charge their cars using solar or wind power, otherwise it is just pretend. – Patriot 
Post
• Folks that believe no one should be treated differently based on their skin color are now being called “racist!” Should that be categorized as artificial intelligence?
• I’ve noticed that the same people doing the fact checking are controlled by the people doing the lying. Shouldn’t we call it what it is—propaganda?
• Someone suggested that Election Day should replace April 1 as “Fool’s Day.” If the next election is handled like the last one, who could not agree?
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Artificial Intelligence
• Does Ivermectin work? Google: NO! Can men get pregnant? Google: YES!
• The next day after proclaiming Easter Sunday “Transgender Visibility Day,” President Biden was asked about it. His response? “What? I didn’t do that.”
• Just like everything else, the Baltimore bridge collapse and the solar eclipse was due to climate change.
• Before we work on artificial intelligence, why don’t we do something about real stupidity?
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Sense and nonsense
“How much are daddy’s ministerial dues going up, momma?”
Eclipse for my flat earth friends. Compliments of Bro. Clinton Willis
This train should level the playing field.
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Last Words
“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” – Abraham Lincoln
Be open to change, but don’t let go of your values and convictions. Those who are guided by principle can change—or molt like our fowl friends, shedding that which holds them back from maturity—but we don’t 
evolve from one “kind” to another. Change doesn’t mean becoming something other than what God made us through conversion. Change should always be evaluated on the basis of will this make me/my church better Christians? Will it eventually take us toward a place where we do not want to go? – JRE
Enjoy the remainder of Spring!
JREnsey
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.
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.
1620 as it landed at Plymouth Rock.
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.
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).
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? 
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.
evidence of 
they needed more room to land and do whatever aliens do.
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.”
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?
virtues are admittedly in short supply today. That is why the things we can change are on the short line.
is the link: 
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.
responsible, be honest, respect boundaries, be humble, genuine and considerate.
to go overseas to some country that is known for certain diseases and it is a requirement for a visa.
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.
JREnsey Blog 