The purpose of this special edition is to convey some vital information about one of the most dangerous individuals in America. Please don’t delete without a quick read. The information has major implications for you, your family, and your church.

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The Gospel According to James Talarico

Big ideas never die. They just gradually slip into suspended animation to await resurrection with a new face, a new name, and a new voice. That trio has arrived in the person of James Talarico, and a full resurrection of the social gospel is now underway.

The facts:  Talarico is the Democrat party’s candidate for the U.S. Senate from Texas. That fairly new face carries a catchy new name and a smooth voice. He is smart, flashes a pleasant smile, and speaks with a glib tongue—a dangerous combination when it is dedicated to concepts that could shred the religious and social fabric of America. He is a ministerial trainee who preaches in a Presbyterian church. That may give him some street cred with a good many CINOs in Texas. He is not married and has no children. Some say he has a “friend,” Brianna Menard, a political lobbyist who previously served as his legislative director and chief of staff in the Texas House of Representatives. She now works as the director of TEXPAC, the political action committee of the Texas Medical Association, and reportedly likes to hang out at gay bars.

Talarico’s gospel:  A flood of news reports and interviews are giving Texans a clear view of who he is, what he is, and the shape of his message. He says upfront that “the religious right has convinced Americans that homosexuality and abortion are the two biggest issues, and neither of them are even mentioned in the Bible.” What a lie…or an expression of massive ignorance. Apparently, he is not acquainted with the Ten Commandments, and has never noticed Leviticus 18 or Romans 1. It is the political left who made them prominent political issues, not conservative Christians. He views history backwards—it is the politicians like him who put laws on the books about those matters in order to change the public mind. These have been Bible issues forever. Conservative Christians did not convince Americans of their veracity, the Bible did. The problem is not Christians thrusting those issues into the political realm, it is politicians encroaching on the sphere of religion with laws to lessen the influence of people of faith. Bottom line: He wants a return to the social gospel of the late 1800s early 1900s, and to the communist influence present during the 1930s.

A same-sex marriage advocate and scripture twister, he preaches that the Bible is “all over the place on marriage and sexuality” and that Paul was being “woke” in Galatians 3:28 when he said, “There is…neither male nor female…in Christ.” He reads the Bible through a feminist lens, apparently believing that all biological distinctions are erased in Christ, i.e., neutered by faith. We beg to differ on all counts. That is not the thrust of that verse. Grace and salvation do not erase gender.

He  confesses he is “struggling with his own masculinity,” perhaps affected in youth by feminists who crow, “Women need men like a submarine needs a screen door,” and “Paul was a patriarchal misogynist.” Most Texas men, however, struggle more with where to set up their deer stand next, or where to stop for a great steak when traveling and wanting more than Buc-ees has to offer, or whether his next pickup purchase will be gas or diesel powered. Most Texas men are not interested in a marital relationship with someone who looks like them. Masculinity just seems to come natural to guys down here.

On Bar-B-Que, he initially wanted to base one of his first political campaigns on a meatless diet to appeal to Texas vegans—both of them. When that ad surfaced and bombed, he began making videos of himself eating massive amounts of Bar-B-Que, trying to prove he’s not vegan. The hypocrite shoe fits his dainty left foot perfectly.

Six genders at least are a reality to Talarico, and “biological sex is a nuanced spectrum.” Seriously, he said those things in public testimony, but even geneticists say these merely arise from chromosomal irregularities or variations (XX, XY, X, XXY, XYY, XXXY, and X) and should not be considered separate “genders.”  Telarico later explained that he was referring to biological sex rather than genders. Hmmm…Well, that clears things up. We wonder: did God create and install those distinctions in the human family? Or did godless lifestyles, the ravages of weird sexual practices, drugs, and warped minds play an active role such “variations,” if indeed they exist? Laws governing a nation should not be made based on theoretical speculations or quirky exceptions. However, theoretical nonsense is the wisdom of the left.

As a far leftist, he redefines life, marriage, and human sexuality in atheistic terms. In fact, he suggests that “atheists are more Christ-like than Christians.” Such a brilliant deduction. Since he hasn’t read or doesn’t really believe the Bible, perhaps he is an atheist, but definitely a CINO. There seems to be no far left position to which he is not attracted.

Talarico says he hates Christianity. Fox News published the fact that he said that during an interview to “a self-identified transgender queer, “Latinx,” a podcast host. He confessed that “I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity.” He went on to say, “I always get drawn back into it because nowhere else, in no other political philosophy and no other economic theory, do I find anything nearly as truly radical or revolutionary as the teachings of that barefoot Rabbi.” In other words, he sees Christianity as a “political philosophy” or an “economic theory,” and Christ as an opportunistic revolutionary. That is the christ he wants to be like. Moments later, he told the podcast hosts that he believed the teachings of Christ are similar to “the teachings of the Buddha and other mystical traditions.” I personally believe he was sincere when he made all of those statements. The man (?) is thoroughly confused about Christ and His teachings. Talarico’s brand of religion is anti-Christian and was formed in the pits of Hell to deceive Christians and those who are considering becoming a Christian.

To Talarico, Christianity is bound up in Matthew 25:43,44: “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not…an hungred and ye fed me not.” If we do those “moral imperatives,” we qualify as a Christian nation. If we don’t, we qualify as infidels. But who is the “we” in those statements? Individual Christians should be compassionate with charitable giving, but that is not what he is talking about. He wants the government to do that with your tax dollars—not his money,  yours! He’s not talking about opening his private home to strangers, but opening the nation’s borders to nameless immigrants from God knows where, whom he calls “strangers.” He probably locks his own home at night, but he wants the nation’s door wide open 24/7. “Our borders should be welcome mats,” he passionately intones. What would happen if an armed “stranger” from Outer Mongolia came to his home and stepped in without knocking or waiting for an invitation, goes directly to the fridge and helped himself to drinks and a drumstick, then settles down for a comfy nap on his nice couch? Would he meekly respond with nice pleasantries and ask, “Is there anything else I can provide for you?” Or would he scream and call 911? You know the answer. Ah, yes…the other shoe, please.

He calls out “Christian greed” when conservatives don’t pour billions into every government agency that then hands it to projects like vacant “learing centers,” homeless initiatives that only enrich the bureaucrats but solve no homelessness, and “women’s health centers” where babies are literally ripped apart and sucked from their mother’s womb. If Christians are not comfortable with that approach, they are tagged as “greedy…compassionless…uncaring.” Politicians can be very liberal with your money but tight with their own. Talarico seems to be in lockstep with Senator Bernie Sanders and his tag-a-long, AOC. They are the loudest complainers about wealthy folks not wanting to use excessive, fraud-producing government money to fund huge welfare budgets. Welfare succeeds mostly in creating wealthy bureaucrats. It is said that when Sanders’ charitable giving was reported during his presidential campaign, it came to 1%. What would Talarico’s charitable giving record look like?

One of the biggest problems in America, says Talarico, is rich folks—millionaires and such. However, that is a small constituency in any Texas political district. If they are our biggest problem, we’re not doing bad. Maybe it was because I was born during the Great Depression, but it always seemed to that it was the have-nots who garnered most of the nation’s welfare attention. Since he loathes wealthy folks and wants everyone to be poor, I wonder who is going to hire all those folks needing jobs? One never sees a line of job applicants at a poor man’s door. Hard work, ingenuity, and self-sacrifice is what puts one ahead in a democratic republic like America. Under communism, all are virtual slaves except the ruling class.

Christianity is a simple religion,” Talarico says. “Jesus gave us two commandments: ‘Love God and love your neighbor.’” That sounds pretty simple. But cherry-picking Bible verses to make Christianity palatable for bubbleheads like himself is a hypocritical politician’s delight. Are we to suppose Jesus meant if one feels motivated by love that whatever is done otherwise will not count in the judgment? And, he suggests, there are other religious paths to God and saving truth besides Christianity. “All people are the bearers of the image of the divine.” I suppose we can merely act as our own god. In fact, he finally came to say, “We are God.” What deductive logic and wisdom. His seminary classes must have been held at a nearby “learing center.”

Touting the “politics of love,” he emphasizes that our nation’s borders should be open to all who wish to come. He insists on inviting the stranger, giving them jobs, letting them come build their homes, develop businesses, and help build our nation,” which is “the Christian and loving thing to do.” If we don’t, we are not a “Christian nation…We should make it easy for them to come here.” How is that kind of love working out for the hundreds of families whose kids have been brutally raped and robbed, assaulted and killed by illegal immigrants? Not all migrants are in that category, but multitudes were let out of foreign mental institutions and prisons to come here during the last few years. Why don’t interviewers ask if he locks his doors at night? No country on earth embraces such a policy that he wants to force upon America. And why don’t they call him out on homosexuality and abortion not being mentioned in the Bible? His main interviewers so far have been Jewish correspondents from the NY Times, or biblically illiterate podcasters.

“Masked men in unmarked vehicles kidnapping people off our streets, tearing parents from their children,” as he puts it, creates images of villains indiscriminately grabbing good innocent people off the street at will for no reason, “creating terror in our neighborhoods.” He says such things without explanation to generate a lie in the public mind. He fails to explain that many or most of those being arrested are criminals, having records of heinous crimes against women and children. He spits out the same rhetoric as the paid “protesters” in Minneapolis.

The resurrection of the social gospel by Talarico is underway in Texas. Some social gospelers whose names you may remember from your American History college course (back when they actually taught history) would be Washington Gladden, Walter Rauschenbusch, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Reinhold Niebuhr—all of whom spoke out in favor of what was truly a watered down Christianity, which had to be diluted in order to get the socialist/communist agenda in place.

Warning:  Do not underrate this man. He is a talented communicator and can sway voters, particularly youths and women. He has a smile and a charming personality that says, “Trust me.” Lies that flow over pearly white teeth and through a disarming smile are more easily and quickly believed. It was New Yorker Mamdani’s compelling speeches, captivating smile, and effusive personality, not just his socialist dreams, that got him and others like him elected in New York. Talarico is the kind of candidate the left was looking for in Texas. He could flip the U.S. Senate for the Democrats. There really is no Democrat party anymore. They are true socialists/communists. The news outlets and social media all across the country are jumping on the Talarico bandwagon.

If elected, James Talarico would be an advocate for a radical reduction of the Christian influence in Texas and beyond. He will be in lockstep with the new communists. He would help change the face of America and make it a third world nation. Should common sense Christians, Republicans, and Independents fail to rally to the polls on November 3, both in Texas and elsewhere, we will wake up on November 4 to the birth of an entirely different America. And remember—we ministers and Christian laity have a right to speak publicly on issues like those mentioned in this article.

NOTICE:  The thoughts posted above are the author’s and are not intended to represent those of any other person, group, or entity.

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Memes say it better than words alone:

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The Last Word

I am a patriotic American…by choice. It is my privilege. This country made room for the endtime Apostolic revival that reached me over seven decades ago. Truth has been embraced by millions here and abroad because these United States made room for God. America has been the primary source of world evangelism. I want it to continue serving that purpose until Jesus returns.

HAPPY 250th BIRTHDAY, AMERICA…and many happy returns!

 First, the Word

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

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The Wonder of the World

“Jesus, the baby at Bethlehem, grew to become the greatest man in history. He had no servants, yet they called Him Master. He had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. He prescribed no medicines, yet they called Him the Healer. He had no army, yet they were awed by His power. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. He was and still is…the Wonder of the World!

On December 25 we will celebrate His birthday. So…It’s time to pull out that all-time best Christmas Bible Study and give it a little polish:

FIVE WONDERS OF THE FRIST CHRISTMAS

“Great is the mystery” of our faith, Paul intoned in I Timothy 3:16. The Incarnation of God in Christ is the mystery that unfolded in Bethlehem long ago. Here are five of the wonders of that holy night when Christ was born:

1. So Young and Yet So Old

…Just a newborn baby with Mary and Joseph in the stable, but our Lord’s existence didn’t begin there; in fact, He didn’t really have a beginning, He always was (John 1:1; John 8:58; Col. :1:17)…As Charles Wesley sang:

…O wonder of wonders

         Which none can unfold;

         The Ancient of Days

         Is an hour or two old.

2. So Small and Yet So Great

      …The God of a million galaxies, filling all in all became the size of a pinhead at conception, and only 7 pounds at Bethlehem…smaller that a period at the end of sentence…

…I know not whether the Infinite is greater in the cradle or among the stars, but I know that “in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”…

3. So Poor and Yet So Rich

      …The NT does not conceal the fact that Jesus was poor…He alone could choose His parents and His ancestors…Yet “He made himself of no reputation… “Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich…Having nothing, yet He owned the cattle on a thousand hills…So poor he couldn’t pay His taxes, but He could tell Peter where to drop a line to catch a fish that had the exact amount of money to pay their taxes…

4. So Mute and Yet So Vocal

      …The stable scene was so incredible…There was the infinite Word who was unable to utter a single syllable…Him who framed the organs of speech was incapable of saying, “Mama”…

…Him who spoke the worlds into existence, could form no word…Yet it would be said of Him, “Never man spake like this man”…No words came from this mute mite in Bethlehem, and yet His words would be translate into over 2500 languages and heard by every generation since…

5. So Earthly and Yet So Heavenly

       …Every baby is a blend of earthliness and heavenliness…absolutely physical; a bundle of biological needs…of the earth, earthly…Yet this earthly babe at Bethlehem was “the Lord from Heaven”…Very human and yet very God…

…Wonder of wonders…God didn’t send a committee to save the world, He came Himself…“God was manifest in the flesh”…

…Those tiny hands, so cute, so lovable…Yet someday spikes would be driven through them, and there, less than 10 miles from where he was born, He would die to pay for our sins…

…Those hand reached up that night, for his mother, but now, today, they are reaching down for us, to lift us from our sinful life into His love…Wonder of wonders…we can take them right now…

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Christmas is all about giving

Give someone in your neighborhood a witness and an invitation to join you for whatever special service is planned at your church this Christmas season.

Give your pastor or an evangelist friend, or a missionary a copy of your favorite book.

Give your wife a break. After all the Christmas activities you had planned with family and friends, take her to a nice restaurant the next day (or as soon as possible) for a relaxing meal together away from the hustle and bustle of the home.

Give yourself some memories to enjoy in your later years—funny pix, unposed moments with family and friends that you will enjoy for a lifetime.

After all the hullaballoo has settled down, give the Lord some face time to make the week complete. Give Him some thanks for family, for love, for all the elements that make Christmastime special.

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You knew this

• Light travels faster than sound. That is why some folks seem bright until you hear them speak.
• The recent government shutdown hurt a lot of people. But the one before that lasted four years and hurt everybody.
• “If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” – Thomas Jefferson—3rd US President
• An honest man shapes his ideas to fit the truth; a dishonest man shapes the truth to fit his ideas.
• It is good to have a faith; better yet to have a faith that possesses us.
• Success is often the result of a dozen failures. Sometimes we succeed because we have learned from our failures.

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Don’t deny everything that appears impossible

Achieving the impossible has seemingly become the probable. When we consider some who did it, our minds immediately go to folks like Neil Armstrong, Roger Bannister, the Wright brothers, or Helen Keller. Someone reading this may be about to add to the list.

“Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.” – Dr. Lee DeForest, Father of the Radio, Grandfather of Television.

“The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” – Western Union internal memo; 1876.

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.” – Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859

No one can go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive, they said. Bobby Leach did in 1911. Later, he slipped on a peach peeling on the sidewalk, hurt himself badly and died as a result.

When God gives His divine direction, but the task looks impossible, remember that the word “impossible” is used only by those who don’t operate in the realm of faith. With God, all things are possible” ( Matthew 19:26 ).

[Now don’t go jump off the Empire State Building to prove it is possible to survive the fall. Only fools tempt God with idiocy!]

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Stop the radicalization of our youth

Allowing our kids access to the kind of information that got into head of Charlie Kirk’s assassin begs for a similar senseless response from other radicals in the chain. Our kids 14-18 years old are filling their eyes and ears and minds with radical anti-American and anti-Christian images and ideologies. They can then take those images and thoughts into college classrooms and have the radical professors provide impetus and justification for those concepts. That is why kids are coming out of college thinking they would enjoy being another gender, or some furry animal, or worse, a full-blown assassin to take down some corporate icon or politician, along with any religious folk that get in the way. How can we stem the tide flowing into anarchy and socialism, or even civil war? Think about it. Develop a plan of action and get started.

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Glancing back

An enlightening perspective is shared by historian Adam Nicolson as we draw nearer to the 250th birthday of our beloved Republic:

“As the early American settlements widened and deepened, and their political processes matured, the need for a Separatist gospel ebbed. The relationship of Puritan church and Puritan state in early America soon became, strangely enough, as close as any relationship between the Jacobean Crown and the Church of England. In early Massachusetts, heresy, witchcraft, profanity, blasphemy, idolatry and breaking the Sabbath were all civil offences, to be dealt with by civil courts. The new Americans may have dispensed with archbishops, surplices, and the Book of Common Prayer, but they had not replaced them with a utopia of religious freedom. Seventeenth century America was a country of a strictly enforced form of state religion. As such, they needed a Bible much more attuned to the necessities of nation building than anything the Separatists’ Geneva Bible could offer. It is one of the strangest of historical paradoxes that the King James Bible, whose whole purpose had been nation-building in the service of a ceremonial and episcopal state church, should become the guiding text of Puritan America.”[1]  

[1] God’s Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible (New York: Harper Collins, 2003), pp. 229,230.

PS: A strange thought occurred to me recently as I was writing about the text of our beloved Bible. It went something like this: What if the NIV, the ESV, the NASB, or even the NLT had been produced in the early seventeenth century and became the primary Bible of the English speaking world—then the KJV came along early in the twentieth century. Would the reaction have been similar to what we have seen in our own time? Would we have an ESVOnlyism movement complaining about the way the KJV has rendered verses like Romans 9:5, Acts 3:15, Titus 2:13, II Peter 1:1, I John 5:7-8, et al? Would we be publishing articles and books, and airing podcasts claiming that the KJV is attacking the deity of Jesus and the Oneness of God?

An interesting thought, but I had to let it go. It was giving me a headache.

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A word too late

The vast majority of American Christians point to Ephesians 2:8,9 as God’s plan of salvation for this age: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.” Salvation by faith alone has been the cornerstone of Protestantism for 500 years. But isn’t it strange that about five years before Paul wrote those words in c. AD 61, he had sent a letter to the church in Rome saying, “Ye are saved by hope” (Romans 8:24). Was he confused? It would be unlikely. In neither of those passages was Paul indicating that his words were the fullness of his soteriology for this or any age. If he was, it came too late for all those who lived and died during the 25-30 thirty years between Calvary and the writing of those passages. They never knew of that plan. If repentance and baptism are considered “works,” current theologians will deny their role in salvation. But does one have real, saving faith if he rejects obedience to the commands given in the context of the salvation experience (John 3:36 NLT; John 3:3-5; Acts 10:48)? The actions involved in obedience gives life to the entire process. James said, “Thou believest in one God, thou doest well; the devils also believe and tremble, But wilt thou know O vain man, that faith without works is dead” (James 2:19,20)? In other words, if you believe something, so what? The devil can do that and it doesn’t save him. Faith is dead without works. That which is dead is powerless and worthless. Active obedience give life to faith: “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by faith was works made perfect” (v. 22)? Faith and works flow together to achieve a desire end.

Peter did not mention “saved by grace through faith alone” on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 at the opening of the church age. Philip ignored it during his revival in Samaria in Acts 8. Peter was sent to Cornelius’ home to open the kingdom to Gentiles but he failed to mention salvation by faith alone. He repeated his Pentecostal message…and it worked! Paul said nothing that resembled Ephesians 2:8 when he preached salvation to the converts of John the Baptist in Acts 19. In all places the only salvation formula mentioned was one that included faith, repentance, water baptism in the name of the Lord, and the subsequent infilling of the Holy Spirit. Kneeling in the dust and debris of a collapsing jail in Philippi, the jailer asked what he must do to be saved. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…and your house.” Paul couldn’t have meant that faith could save both him and his household at at the same time, they being blocks away. He couldn’t speak for them. Could his faith save them? If so why did he go to the jailer’s home? Standing there in the midst of catastrophe wasn’tk the time for a full message as at Pentecost. Paul said something like, “Take us to your house and we will tell you more.” Acts 16:32 reads, “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.” He gave them the full message of how to get right with God. Then, “he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.” No faith alone gibberish. If that had been the case, there would have been no need to go home with him and say any more. He’s saved. Case closed.

Ephesians 2:8 was not given as a complete plan of salvation. Paul was merely saying to the church in Ephesus that their abiding faith was keeping them through the troublesome vicissitudes of life in a pagan culture. A consistent faith helps Christians maintain their walk with God. Any salvation message that does not include the steps in Acts 2:38 is shortchanging those who need to be saved. If someone is wanting to find salvation truth, don’t look only in the Gospels, it wasn’t fully operational for our dispensation then (John 7:37-39). Don’t look in the Epistles—those folks are already saved and have been living by faith and hope. The Book of Acts is the place to look. The full message is there.

Yet another major religious denomination splits

Joining the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Southern Baptists, and some other denominations of lesser size, the worldwide Anglican Communion has fractured down the middle.

What has caused the rift, the weakness, and finally the complete breakup of the centuries old Communion? Several internal moves by the Anglican leadership over the last two or three decades had shaken the priesthood. Cultural inroads, a woke ideology, the abandonment of scriptural authority and conformity—those adjustments pushed them toward the political left. Finally, the weight of a last straw broke the camel’s back. Dame Sarah Mullally, became another famous “first” as she was given the Archbishopric of Canterbury. She becomes the spiritual leader of millions of Anglicans worldwide, holding the zenith of spiritual authority. The previously mentioned factors weakened them drastically, and the communion could not endure this action. Perhaps the Bible seemed too clear, or the record of other denominations was not encouraging. Whatever issues may be involved, “We can’t go there,” said one-half of the world’s Anglican Communion.

Are others on the path to that fate? Are they watching…listening…learning?

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The Last Word

Enjoy the greatest Christmas season ever with family and friends!…AND…

JRE/Roffie

First, the Word

Jude 1-4 (NLT): “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

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AI on the TRINITY

AI is two-faced—did you have any doubt? Answers from that source are probably dependent on how a question is phrased, how many relevant books and academic papers have been stuffed onto its drives, and who provided the most or last input on that topic. I am more sure than ever AI has power to deceive. I recently texted it about the Trinity with this question: “When did God the Father actually become the father of His Son Jesus?”

Here is the answer I received followed by my response:

In Christian theology, the relationship between God the Father and Jesus is not one of temporal beginning, but rather an eternal, inseparable relationship within the Trinity. The idea of Jesus becoming the Son of God is not tied to a specific point in time like his birth or baptism, but rather, he is eternally the Son, existing with the Father before all ages.

Here’s a more detailed explanation:

Eternality of the Father-Son Relationshi

The Nicene Creed, a foundational Christian statement of faith, states that Jesus was “begotten of his Father before all worlds”. This emphasizes that the Father-Son relationship is not a creation within time but an eternal reality within the Godhead.

Distinct Persons, One God

While the Father and Son are distinct persons within the Trinity, they are also one God, sharing the same divine nature. The Father eternally generates the Son, and they together eternally spirate the Holy Spirit.

Incarnation and Earthly Relationship

The concept of Jesus being the Son of God is also expressed through his incarnation, his taking on human flesh. In the gospels, Jesus often refers to God as his Father and invites believers to share in that relationship. However, the incarnation is a manifestation of the eternal relationship, not its beginning, according to some theologians.

Not a Biological Father-Son Relationship

The Christian understanding of God as Father to Jesus is not based on biological reproduction, which is seen as a created, finite process. Instead, it’s a relationship of origin within the Godhead, where the Father is the source of the Son’s being. [End of AI comments.]

My response:

Putting words together does not automatically built a truth. AI’s word salad sounds like it was tossed by Kamala Harris. “Source” precedes “result.” Fathers are older than sons. If Jesus is the “only begotten Son” of God (John 3:16), there was a time when He was not. One is not a “begetter” until someone is begotten. Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the Almighty God acting in the position of mankind’s Savior, which His very name indicates. Therefore, He could truthfully say, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” In the OT, Christ was basically a promise, a plan, ink on a drawing board, both a present design and a future reality.

A “relationship of origin” is incomprehensible, words with no meaning.¹ If the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son,” doesn’t that suggest secondary origin? Trinitarian theory is only a combination of contradictory terms, an oxymoronic medley of words that deny each other—similar to the living dead, an exact estimate, or original copy.

AI should be informed by pollster George Barna that only 16% of Americans now profess belief in the Trinity. So he/it/she/they/them/y’all, alias AI, should refrain from saying that such words and phrases accurately describe the Godhead or that they represent “the Christians’ understanding of God,” certainly not the Apostolic Christians in the Bible. It evolved to become a theory held by certain Christians in the fourth century and beyond. Technically, it is not the Christian understanding today because virtually no one truly understands it—even some of the brainiest of theologians admit that it makes no sense.¹ Institutional Christianity is losing its  most fundamental pillar. Trinitarianism is a dying concept. Let’s perform the coup de grâce and bury it.

And AI should check in for reprogramming. [More on AI in the Oct-Nov blog.]

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Notes:

¹ Dr. A. W. Tozer, noted theologian and prolific author, states that the Trinity is an “incomprehensible mystery” and efforts to understand it “remain forever futile.” A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961), p. 17. Millard Erickson adds this observation: “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?” Millard Erickson, Making Sense of the Trinity  (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), p. 43. No, Dr. Erickson, there are no bibilical grounds on which you must believe in the Trinity!

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About face

The news: “The IRS says pastors who endorse political candidates from the pulpit shouldn’t have to risk their churches losing their tax-exempt status.

“The move effectively calls for a carve-out for religious organizations from the rarely used IRS rule called the Johnson Amendment, put in place in 1954 and named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson.

“In a joint court filing intended to end an ongoing case against the IRS, the tax collection agency and the National Religious Broadcasters Association — an Evangelical media consortium — and other plaintiffs have asked a federal court in Texas to stop the government from enforcing the Johnson Amendment against the plaintiffs.

“The Johnson Amendment to the U.S. tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

“The Christian media group and others sued the IRS last August, saying the amendment violates their First Amendment rights to the freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, among other legal protections. On Monday, the IRS and plaintiffs wrote that the Johnson Amendment should be interpreted “so that it does not reach communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith.”

That’s good news…I think. We all recognize potential problems when we see them. Wisdom must be exercised in the freedom we have been given in this action.

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What is Critical Race Theory?

One of the issues that divides much of Evangelical Christianity in America right now is a new approach to achieving racial harmony and/or equality called Critical Race Theory (CRT). Both religious entities and government agencies are being divided and fiercely challenged by this theory. How is it being integrated into our culture, including the religious communities? Is it a plan that will bring about racial harmony?

What is this philosophy that is putting pressure on educational institutions, religious movements, and the nation’s courts?

Critical Race Theory is an academic framework that examines how race, racism, and power have shaped laws and institutions in the United States. It originated in the 1970s and 1980s among legal scholars like Derrick Bell and Kimberlé Crenshaw, according to the Colorado Virtual Library. CRT challenges the idea of a “colorblind” society and argues that racism is deeply embedded in US laws and institutions, continuing to impact marginalized groups.

Here are some of the key ideas within Critical Race Theory:

• Race as a Social Construct: CRT posits that race is not a biological reality but rather a social construct created to justify oppression and hierarchy.
• Systemic Racism: CRT emphasizes that racism is not just about individual prejudices but also about how institutions and systems (like the legal system, education, or housing) perpetuate racial inequality through laws, policies, and practices.
• Interest Convergence: This concept suggests that racial progress for marginalized groups often occurs only when it aligns with or benefits the interests of dominant white groups.
• Differential Racialization: CRT highlights how different racial groups have been stereotyped and treated differently throughout history to serve the interests of those in power.
• Intersectionality: Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, this term acknowledges that people have multiple, intersecting identities (like race, gender, class) that combine to create unique experiences of discrimination and privilege.
• Centering Voices of Color: CRT values the lived experiences and narratives of people of color as crucial to understanding and addressing racism.

CRT is a complex, academic theory often explored in higher education, particularly in law schools and fields like ethnic studies, notes the Colorado Virtual Library. Its critics argue that it is divisive, portrays the US as fundamentally racist, and can create resentment among racial groups. However, supporters counter that CRT helps to expose the historical and ongoing impact of racism, fostering a deeper understanding of societal inequality and promoting social justice. – Compliments of AI

That is the scrubbed and sanctified version, the face of the legislation that is presented to decision makers in and out of Congress. A far more eye-opening and objective view is the relevant and insightful article written by Dr. Kody W. Cooper titled “DEI and CRT’s False Political Religion” available at  https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/crt-deis-false-political-religion/. It is a must read for leaders of every stripe who feel responsible for the safe-guarding the foundational principles that made America the greatest nation in the world.

Words have meaning beyond what appears on the printed page. Codifying CRT would be tantamout to an admission of personal and corporate guilt for past wrongs or events done someone—apparently white Europeans—in the past. I believe the idea was that CRT and intersectionality is based in a twisted religious idea—an unpardonable sin for which one must endlessly pay. That sin is the color of his skin—a permanent transgression for which there is virtually no forgiveness, no absolute atonement. You can only do penance but never be restored. The sword of Damocles swings ominously ever closer.

Cooper says, “According to the teaching of the Bible, Adam’s transgression stained the entire human race, and man’s redemption could only be brought about by the sacrifice of the Innocent One. According to the CRT-DEI teaching, whiteness is forever tainted by the ‘original sins’ committed by white Europeans of slavery and colonialism. But there is no grace, no forgiveness for the white transgressors, because they owe a debt that can never be repaid. Nothing less than a full innocents-led scapegoating and laying-low of white transgressors and the inheritance associated with whiteness—the whole Western cultural and political tradition—will suffice for atonement.”

It is the application of the words that provides the context for the grave division and disharmony we are witnessing as a result of this theory. In the application of CRT on the cultural grid, inequality is not eliminated but in some ways promoted. Instead of celebrating social actions and positive programs opposing the remains of racial injustice, the implementation of CRT perpetuates discrimination while penalizing much of the population who have never been personally guilty of racial injustice. It points to possible underlying motives when none are in evidence. Rather than bringing healing and unity into the culture, it is producing a backlash that is creating strife where none is justified. There becomes no right position or safe place to stand. No racial healing is evident as a result of CRT/DEI. A divisive narrative evolving within its application is setting back racial progress and a measure of increasing religious harmony that has marked the last half century.

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Vulgarians are soiling the language

Is anyone else tired of the filthy communication that is pouring out of social media, and more recently, out of the traditional media?

C’mon, President Trump and your cabinet. Set an example of decency for the youth of America. Most folks have exasperating moments when we are tempted to say something less than is appropriate. Committed Christians resist the temptation and try to keep any disrespectful words from innocent ears. Habits formed early are hard to break, so we try to example moderation and decency.

Let’s do our part to keep social media clear of the trash talk. Filthy verbiage marks one as lacking language skills, as well as self-control. Let’s encourage each other to express this sentiment to those who write and speak online. Admonish politicians and those who share information publicly by writing or speaking to keep it clean.

         “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29). “I approve of this message.” – God

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The tongue reaches around the world

“The boneless tongue, so small and weak,

Can crush and kill,” declared the Greek.

“The tongue destroys a greater horde,”

The Turk asserts, “than does the sword.”

A Persian proverb wisely saith,

“A lengthy tongue—an early death.”

Or sometimes takes this form instead,

“Don’t let your tongue cut off your head.”

“The tongue can speak a word whose speed,”

Says the Chinese, “outstrips the steed”;

While Arab sages this impart,

“The tongue’s great storehouse is the heart.”

From Hebrew with the maxim sprung,

“Though feet should slip, ne’er let the tongue.”

The sacred writer crown the whole:

“Who keeps the tongue doth keep his soul.”

– Phillips B. Strong

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Think on these things, one of them will speak to you

My good friend and mentor, Brother E. L. Holley, was known to often say, “I quote others to better express myself.” So here are some quotes worth the investment of a few moments of reading time.

Nothing alienates the mind more from God than the indulgence of the flesh – Matthew Henry

Behold the turtle: He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out. – James B. Conant

The poor person is not the one without a cent, but the one who is without a dream. – Harry Kemp

Wisdom is like gold ore, mixed with stones and dust. – Moses ibn Ezra

We can climb the highest summit, but we cannot remain there long. – George Bernard Shaw

It isn’t wise  to be wiser than necessary. – Philippe Quinault

A problem is a goal that has manifested itself in your life, except you don’t remember asking for it; a handicap is an asset you haven’t figured out how to use yet. – Roberta Jean Bryant

Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can. – Elsa Maxwell

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. – Theodore Roosevelt

It was on my fifth birthday when Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one on the end of your arm.” – Sam Levinson

Forgiveness is a way of healing the past and altering the future. – David Bella

What is allowed without objection or redirection speaks louder than what is carefully insinuated from the pulpit. – JRE

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Change—positive and negative

Cultural and religious practices can change over time. Some are positive and others can be quite negative. Different people see change through different lenses. Brother David Dodge shared this interesting quote by John McArthur:

“Prior to the 1960’s no one expected a church service to be entertaining. No one wanted to be told to touch their neighbor and repeat a trite phrase suggested by the preacher. No one thought of worship as a physical stimulation. [It often is in Apostolic services! – JRE]  No one dreamed of using flashing lights and smoke to set the atmosphere in a worship service. No one demanded to be told that God accepts them just the way they are. When you went to church you expected to be thoughtful and quiet— prayerful, sober, reflective The service was ordered so that the Word of God was central. It was read and proclaimed with the aim of leading you to understanding, conviction, transformation, and elevation. The structure was deliberate, and the objective was for people to have an encounter with God through an understanding of His truth, with an opportunity to express it in corporate worship.”

What we are seeing today is that many of those who are quick to champion avant-garde innovations in the church services are often finding themselves in personal and corporate difficulties that can embarrass themselves, their families, and their congregations. While “right” and “wrong” judgments on worship practices are often too harsh and too rigid, we are seeing those who move too far too quickly often have troubles they can’t manage, and worse—they can’t easily find their way back without losing face.

A wise man once counseled, be not the first to adopt change, nor the last to acknowledge its advantages, should they appear.

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Brief review of the Modern English Version

I am often asked about Bible translations from those wanting recommendations. I hesitate to recommend because it is not a “one size fits all” situation—at least not yet. I have reviewed a couple of translations in the past and today I will add one more. We will briefly look at the Modern English Version (MEV). It is created in the King James tradition with modernization of some words and phrases, which aids in comprehension. It uses the background of the Textus Receptus (TR) Byzantine text for the NT and the Jacob ben Hayyim edition of the Masoretic Text for the OT.

It claims to be a word-for-word translation but misses that mark, as all others have who make that claim have. That is not a reachable goal. A word-for-word rendering would be virtually unreadable and not understandable at all. Syntactical issues would be enormous. But let’s give the translators a kudo for setting a high bar for themselves.

Let’s examine some MEV renderings:

1) The MEV left in “expansive” words like “infallible” in Acts 1:3 without Greek manuscript support.

2) Left “and shall be” in Revelation 16:5 rather than “holy one” as all Greek manuscripts show. This verse was changed in the Textus Receptus by Theodore Beza, ostensibly because it sounded more appropriate to him.

3) Included Acts 8:37, which appeared in no Greek manuscript of Acts dated before the sixth century. Scholars speculate that a scribe, assuming that a confession of faith before baptism was an early church standard, inserted it in manuscript E, and from there found its way into copies of late Greek minuscules. One of Erasmus’ MSS of Acts contained it while another he used did not. He assumed an inattentive monk had left it out by mistake, so he inserted it into the TR.

4) The MEV still has “book of life” in Revelation22:19 rather than the Greek supported “tree of life.”

5) It has “raise the dead” in Matthew 10:8 when it is not in the majority of the Byzantine MSS from which the TR was developed.

6) Includes Acts 9:5,6 (missing in early Greek MSS) which was expanded by Erasmus to match Paul’s Acts 22 testimony. No Greek manuscript has the words at this place. They were taken from Acts 26:14 and 22:10 by Erasmus and inserted here in chapter 9.

7) The MEV retains the KJV reading at John 3:36 which uses “believe” twice in the verse, although the second Greek word rendered “believe” should be obey. Other translations (ESV, NLT, LSB, RSV, etc.) follow the Greek with “obey,” emphasizing that one must not only believe but also obey or he will find himself under the judgment of God.

8) The Lord’s Prayer is also expanded with a doxology in Matthew 6:13 which is absent in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. The ascription “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” was apparently a liturgical phrase interpolated into a Greek manuscript which was then copied over and over. It was likely adapted from I Chronicles 29:11-13. Three late Byzantine MSS (157, 225, 418) from c. 12th century, added “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” to the prayer. Fortunately, the phrase got bumped before the English Bibles began to be published. Some MSS added “Amen.”

Other variants could be pointed out, but on the positive side for the MEV, they did get it right in I Samuel 27:10 by saying “made a raid” rather than “made a road.” They also correctly changed “Easter” to “Passover” in Acts 12:4. All in all, the MEV is not bad if one is comfortable with the strong KJV influence and expansive way of rendering the Greek terms.

For a more literal feel of the Scriptures, many lean toward the ESV. For a more readable version the NLT is a good choice.

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 The way it was

What’s wrong with this picture?

Should they sue AI?

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The Last Word

• “In every declining civilization there is a small remnant of people who adhere to the right against the wrong, who recognize the difference between good and evil and who will take an active stand for the former against the latter, who can still think and discern and who will courageously take a stand against the political, social, moral, and spiritual rot and decay of their day. – Donald S. McAlvaney

• It looks like God is giving America one last chance to do the right thing. If so, let’s don’t blow it.

• Those who are rioting for things to be as they are were back home, including those who are pushing for Sharia Law, should go back home.

• God calls. We send. Jesus saves. Keep the pattern…and the FAITH.

JREnsey

First, the Word

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Is faith alone sufficient for salvation?

Most of our friends in other denominations believe that a single expression of faith in Jesus Christ guarantees eternal salvation. That position is drawn from Ephesians 2:8,9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” In that view, baptism is only a non-essential expression of that faith. Further, the infilling of the Holy Spirit is said to be an automatic event when one believes on Jesus as their Savior. How one serves or lives subsequent to a confession of faith does not determine nor affect one’s qualification for eternal life. Such statements form the fundamental dogma of the majority of Protestants in America. Millions of our neighbors think they are safely in God’s kingdom who have done no more than make a simple expression of their faith in the historicity of Jesus—basically, His death and resurrection.

 Are they right? Is there no need to “bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8; Acts 2:38)? Does baptism no longer play a role in the “washing away of sin” (Acts 22:16; Mark 16:16). Have we been misleading the public to insist that there is more to inheriting eternal life than faith alone (John 3:3-5)? What does the Bible say is required to be considered saved at the return of the Lord Jesus?

First, let’s look closely at the Ephesians text itself: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). This passage was written about thirty years after the death of Christ. If basic faith is considered to be the basic and only plan of salvation, no one knew it for thirty years after Calvary and the founding of the church. If we are going to cherry-pick verses to learn how to be saved, what of Paul’s statement, “For we are saved by hope” (Romans 8:24). So which is it that saves us…faith or hope? Serious Bible readers know that neither faith nor hope alone is God’s plan of salvation for this dispensation.

In the faith alone view, the apostles had been falsely claiming that people needed to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, etc). What a ridiculous and inauspicious beginning of the grace and truth age (Romans 1:14) that would have been. Paul was not finally, after thirty years, providing a “plan of salvation.” That was Peter’s task thirty years ago on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

The apostle is merely telling the Ephesian Christians that abiding faith in Christ had preserved them and brought them to where they were now. Their faith was a faith that was not alone but accompanied by sincere obedience. Faith motivated those who possessed it to do those things that would maintain a right standing with the Lord.

But we are not “saved by works,” are we? No, not by works alone and not by the “works of the law” at all. Essential works of obedience relating to this grace era are activated by faith. The apostle James wrote the following to help us with these issues: ^“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ But I say, ‘How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.’ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” (James2:17-20 NLT). That is what the first Christians believed and preached.

James continues by providing an additional illustration ^“Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete” (see vs. 21,22). What could be more plain? Abraham’s faith and obedience is what justified him. Old Uncle Jeb would advise us in his own vernacular: “We gotta do like he done!”

Speaking of doing, “do” is an action verb. It denotes and expresses activity beyond a mere mental ascent to the existence of Jesus as mankind’s Savior. Believe, repent, be baptized—all are commandments and express action—actually doing something. If we do not obey the relevant commandments that are required of us, the Scriptures explain that we will not inherit eternal life (II Thessalonians 1:7,8).

James informed us early in his epistle that we must be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves” (1:22) . The “faith only” folks are practicing self-deception. Obedience is not an option, and obedience is an action or “work” performed because of faith—not a “work” of the law of Moses.

The Outworking of Faith

The only proper way to respond to God’s gift of grace is by a “working faith.”  True faith is verified in obedience. The fruit of a tree announces and affirms the kind of tree it is. Works of faith are the fruit of the tree of Christianity. Take another look at how true faith motivates action and obedience in Hebrews 11:

• By faith Abel offered (11:4).
• By faith Noah prepared (11:7).
• By faith Abraham obeyed and he went out (11:8).
• By faith Abraham looked for a city (11:10).
• By faith Abraham offered up Isaac (11:17).
• By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (11:24).
• By faith Moses chose to suffer affliction (11:25).
• By faith Moses forsook Egypt (11:27).
• By faith Moses kept the Passover (11:28).

Jesus said, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21 NLT). There’s that “do” word again. That means works have to follow faith to make them effectual. And we must remember that “works” connected to salvation in a negative way are in the context of the works of the law, not the obedience expressed by sinners coming to Christ.

And what of these verses:

“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9,10 NLT). Further, having once been baptized and Spirit-filled does not negate these facts.

^“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: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (II Corinthians 1:7-9 KJV).

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). “No man” means no man, regardless of his faith or works.

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval” (II Timothy 2 15 NLT). A long ago profession of faith that “sealed the deal” does little in providing motivation to live a dedicated and active life for Christ. The lifestyle of the majority of professing Christians underscore this fact.

The Sscriptures give no assurance of salvation to those who fail to obey the full gospel and subsequently live a life of consistent obedience and submission to the will of God. That is not “earning salvation” by works of the law; rather, it is acknowledging God’s sovereignty over our life.

Revisiting John 3:36 helps us see the true function of obedience as a vital part of our salvation: “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” (NLT).

Many other verses convey the same truths. The Word is clear as to what the plan is for dealing with the sin problem in our lives: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). That gets one into the kingdom, and the remainder of the New Testament after that verse shows us how to remain there.

Paul warned us against self-deception: “Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless, indeed, you fail the test!” (II Corinthians 13:5 NET). The “faith alone” adherents are deceiving themselves and will not “pass the test.” Even Martin Luther, one of the major sixteenth century reformers, said this: “We are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone.” Sincere faith, followed by obedience to Christ and the Word He inspired, will keep us in a right standing with God until He returns.

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The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day;

Just go to a mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that man has to say

For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass;

The person whose judgment counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people might think you are a straight-shootin’ chum,

And call you a wonderful guy;

But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum

If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,

For he’s with you clear up to the end;

And you’ve pass your most dangerous and difficult test,

If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass;

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

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The Righteousness of Nations

When Germany started unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 and made an attempt to enlist Mexico as an ally, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, led America into World War I against the Central Powers. In his declaration of war speech he stated that unless America threw its weight into the war, Western civilization itself could be destroyed. This excerpt from a speech given in 1911 is his view of the Word of God in society:

There are great problems before the American people. There are problems which will need purity of spirit and an integrity of purpose such as has never been called for before in the history of this country.

I should be afraid to go forward if I did not believe that there lies at the foundation of all our schooling and of all our thought this incomparable and unimpeachable Word of God. If we cannot derive our strength thence, there is no source from which we can derive it, and so I would bid you go from this place, if I may, inspired once more with the feeling that the providence of God is the foundation of affairs, and that only those can guide, and only those can follow, who take this providence of God from the sources where it is authentically interpreted.For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

Every Sunday school should be a place where this great book is not only opened, is not only studied, is not only revered, but is drunk of as if it were a fountain of life, is used as if it were the only source of inspiration and of guidance. No great nation can ever survive its own temptations and its own follies that does not indoctrinate its children in the Word of God; so that as schoolmaster and as Governor I know that my feet must rest with the feet of my fellowmen upon this foundation, and upon this foundation only; for the righteousness of nations, like the righteousness of men, must take its source from these foundations of inspiration.

Patrick Henry once said, “Righteousness alone can exalt America as a nation. Whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere, practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.”

It is still true: “Righteousness exalteth a nation” (Proverbs 14:34).

Excerpted from The Patriots Bible

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Do the dead know anything?

Is the statement true that flowed from Solomon’s pen in Ecclesiastes 9:5: “…the dead know not anything”? We preachers have often prognosticated about what the dead will know one minute after they draw their last breath—“They will know that they were wrong about God’s existence, or about salvation, and about eternity in Hell, etc.” The rich man in the story of Lazarus seemed to know some things but could not fully grasp or understand the breadth of the circumstances: “Let Lazarus dip his finger in water and touch my tongue.” He had to be told that such a request was impossible. Lazarus was aware of comfort and peace. Paul indicated that it was “far better” to be in the state of the saved after death than to be here alive on the earth (Philippians 1:23).

The statements of both Solomon and Paul were/are drawn from limited knowledge and not intended to be used as the final word on theology or eschatology.

We who often dare assume too much about the immediate afterlife may be right, but Solomon was right too, in context. In a pessimistic era of his life he was apparently holding forth about the advantages of life over death. He was making a comparison of the present life and what he knew about the dead. Those who have passed on no longer know or experience the joys and pleasures of life, no light is present to illuminate possibilities, no laughter of children, no touch to convey hope. Of what were they aware? Solomon did not know of “anything.”

The phrase may not be the most enlightening one in Scripture on which to construct an immutable doctrine or philosophy, nor one to be used to downplay the views of others. Someday, perhaps all things will be clear to all the saved, but until then “we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (I Corinthians 13:12).

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How’s that again?

Headline writers are always rushed

Newspaper headline writers, usually copy editors, are often a separate staff from the original author of a story. They are sometimes pushed to get it on the presses quickly.

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Really?

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
That may be taking things a bit too far!

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
What a guy!

Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Union members, no doubt!

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
See if that works any better than a fair trial!

War Dims Hope for Peace
Reckon?

If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
What insight!

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Al Gore and Greta Thunberg strike again!

Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Britons are great sleuths!

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
And we thought it was the cables!

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Weren’t they fat enough?

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Do they taste like chicken?

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Texas chainsaw massacre?

Hospitals are Sued by Seven Foot Doctors
Boy, are they tall!

And the winner is….
Tornado Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Reckon some will lose their SS payments and not get to vote in upcoming mid-terms?

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Could we at least agree on these things?

“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

“Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

“God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself” (Colossians 2:9).

And maybe these things too:

With only 16% of Americans saying they believe in the Trinity, that 1700-year old dogma is dying. (See the George Barna-sponsored report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University)  Shouldn’t we administer the coup de grâce?

If you cut off everyone who is willing and brave enough to tell you the truth, you can’t complain when you are surrounded by liars. – Dash Hudson

Never has a political party worked so hard to remove a successful president, but then go to great lengths to keep illegal immigrants who are MS-13 gang members, wife beaters, and human traffickers here and free on the streets.

The people terrified of DOGE audits are the same ones who wanted to hire 87,000 new IRS employees to audit YOU! – PP

Where lies go to grow: the News Media. Where they hang around when they get old: the Internet’s social media. Where they go to die: the Trump White House Press Room.

Democrats say we are losing our democracy, so they want to control all guns, medicine, food, finances, and education. – PP

Doesn’t the rest of America deserve the same deportation policy as Martha’s Vineyard? – PP

Dems say that behind closed doors, Pope Francis is still focused, sharp, and energetic. – BB

Fact checkers weren’t around until the ugly truth started to get out. – PP

New USAID $25 million study reveals that illegals commit fewer crimes once they are committed to prison in El Salvador. – TIC

Why Earth Day was inaugurated: the faux Media needed one more platform from which to issue reports that the sky is falling, the ice is melting, the sea is rising, or the atmosphere is warming…whatever it takes to keep married folks from having babies and American industries to keep shutting down.

Have you noticed that suddenly people who can’t pay their student loans back are experts on tariffs and the stock market?

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This just in…

Joe Biden voted 6th best US President ever!

Somewhere I read of a recent poll of legal voters to rate all 44 US Presidents. Joe Biden came in as 6th best president ever. – PP

The poll ran something like this:

• Reagan, Lincoln, and 8 others tied for first,
• 15 presidents tied for second,
• 17 other presidents tied for third,
• Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton tied for 4th,
• Barack Obama came in fifth.
• Joe Biden was sixth.
• The real  question surfacing now: Was he ever really the president or was it his family and staff?

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As I See It

A new bird species has been found in Greenland, Ukraine, and Panama.

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The Last Word

What a breath of fresh air our groggy nation is experiencing during the first five months of a new governing team. Stumbling out of a corrupt administration, finally free again, we shout the quicker and farther away we can move from that maddening crowd the better America will be. “When the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2).

The new team now in control in D.C. is not perfect, but in many ways it is the best we have had in a long time. Our initial hopes are being challenged by the enemies of truth and righteousness. Violence and hatred are weapons of carnal men and the spiritual underworld.  The  reason some time and space for matters affecting our nation is justified is because America is currently the seat of Christianity…not Rome. What happens in America affects biblical Christianity worldwide. This nation is now being tested as never before. We are at a crossroads. Every decision is momentous. The voice of Apostolics is crucial in such a time. We must not fail.

Keep the faith. We shall overcome.

JREnsey

JREnsey blog for April 2025

First, the Word

“As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!” (Psalm 119:7 NLT).

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Is the Bible making a comeback?

One story goes something like this: In the process of cleaning out the Department of Education facilities in D.C., they came upon a Bible, very old and very dusty. “What’s this?” one of the administrators asked. “It looks like an old Bible,” another observed. “What’s it doing here?” No one knew. That was why the housecleaning was ordered, the good stuff had been pushed aside, boxed and stored. Or perhaps it had been tossed into a round file years ago and no one had emptied the trash since the agency was founded back in 1980. Not many even worked in the building anymore since Covid sent everyone home.

“Dust it off and put it back on the shelf. The new administration may find a use for it.”

Time was when the Bible was a school textbook. Representative Fisher Ames (1758-1808), an American “founder,” member of the first U. S. Congress, and a formulator of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, said this about the role of the Bible in education: “We have a dangerous trend beginning to take place in our education. We are starting to put more and more textbooks into our schools. We’ve become accustomed of late of putting little books into the hand of children containing fables and moral lessons. We are spending less time in the classroom in the Bible, which should be the principle text of our schools. The Bible states these great moral lessons better that any man-made text.”

What if ol’ Fisher Ames had returned and visited a classroom a few months ago in 2024? What might he have seen? Drag queens prowling the halls, preparing for their show? Perhaps a male instructor in a dress or a female in brogans with a flattop. All punctuated with a rainbow flag above the bulletin board.  What a poor education our kids have been getting! They come out with a diploma but don’t know how to distinguish between a man and a woman, or how to balance a checkbook, or comb their hair. They were graduating with a piece of rolled up paper and not much else. The U.S.A. had slipped to around 40th among the nations of the world in the fundamentsls of education.

Give the bravest man in Washington—the one with the red cap—a hand.

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Were the founders right about education?

In 1836, NOAH WEBSTER, often referred to as the father of American education, expressed the purpose of schools was meant for the advancement of the Christian faith:

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which our children, under a free government ought to be instructed… No church is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.” Unfortunately, in time, a philosophical shift took place in America, and the biblical principles for education were slowly eroded and abandoned, with sad and tragic consequences that continue to unfold. John Dewey, known as “The Architect of Modern Education,” said, “There is no God, and there is no soul. Hence, there a no needs for the props of traditional religion.” Those props have been knocked away, and the loss of moral standards has opened the door to untold numbers of unwanted teen pregnancies, abortions, drug abuse, alcoholism, violence, and suicide.

If we believe that the Founders were correct in asserting that America would fail if it lost its religious foundation, it is primarily incumbent upon Christian believers to reaffirm and reclaim our Christian educational heritage with the same passion and commitment of the Founders. When the foundsers spoke of “religion” in this context, they were not motivated by DEI principles. They meant the Christian religion. God was the God of the Bible. Christ was savior, and the Jewish and Christian Scriptures were true, accurate, and trustworthy in educating America’s children. There are many ways and many levels at which to instigate change, but it begins with a willingness to become engaged in the battle.

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Artificial intelligence has made its dynamic debut onto the stage of our lives whether we were ready or not. Many tech-savvy ministers have found uses for it in researching information for lessons, sermons, and helpful ideas for use in various writing projects. Brother Ray Copeland, Assistant Pastor of nearby Caney Creek Apostolic Tabernacle, has had extensive interaction with AI, so I have asked him to provide some insight for us on the pros and cons in the use of this research tool. You will find his information helpful.

AI and BIBLICAL RESEARCH

Ray Copeland

In recent years artificial intelligence, or AI, has made quite a splash in the collective social consciousness. From recipes and meal plans to vacations and book reports AI seems to be taking the world by storm. Promising to relieve users of pesky, repetitive tasks and provide all the information that we need with just a few well worded queries. And this has extended into biblical research as well. And that is not, necessarily, a bad thing.

AI can be a great tool to assist a student or teacher in the preparation of materials for learning or to hone an argument or to find obscure references that would otherwise have gone unexplored. But there are some things that invite caution. As with any technology, it is a tool and not an answer. Used properly AI will prove to be a boon to those that are researching a particular topic. Used improperly it can lead to unsupported argumentation and false confidence about the weight of our own beliefs. Let’s take a look at the good and the bad side of AI when it comes to biblical studies. [Continue reading this important article by clicking HERE.]

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Is “mutual submission” in marriage mandated in Ephesians 5:21-25?

Cultural shifts have invited new ways of interpreting the Scriptures. These verses in Ephesians, particularly v. 21, are a focus of egalitarian writers today who have embraced the concept of gender equality at all levels of Christian life. Did the words of Paul really teach first century believers mutual submission of husband and wife, or is their meaning construed by a flawed hermeneutic?

If absolute mutual submission of husband and wife is truly a biblical principle being expressed in v. 21, how did it escape the vast majority of textual exegetes who have been examining the Scriptures since Paul penned them two millennia ago? Has new light been revealed to objective thinkers in the last fifty years, or have the subjective Evangelical feminists merely adopted the verse as a slot in which to drive a divisive wedge into  the Christian faith? After checking with many of the often quoted Protestant commentators[1] of the last two hundred years, almost none appear cognizant of the principle of mutual submission being advanced in these verses.

Contemporary egalitarian authors like Letha Scanzoni, Paul Jewett and Craig Keener are among those who get quoted by those leading the charge for female empowerment and cultural change. Keener focuses on Ephesians 5:21 to insist that it includes the relationship of husbands and wives in the general mutual submission principle. Is that what Paul is teaching in this verse or is it merely being put forth as part of a larger agenda?

Different levels of submission

The target of Paul’s words in verses 19-21 is the body of Christ as a whole. All Christians, male and female, parent and child, slave and master, defer to and submit to one another in appropriate ways that maintain unity and harmony in that general setting. More specific relationships are broken out in vv. 22-25. As Wiersbe points out, the submission Paul speaks of in v. 21 “has nothing to do with the order of authority, but rather governs the operation of authority. Jesus often taught His disciples not to throw their weight around, or seek to become great at someone else’s expense. Unfortunately, they failed to learn the lesson, and even at the Last Supper they were arguing over who was the greatest (Luke 22:24-26). When Jesus washed their feet, He taught them that the greatest is the person who uses his authority to build up people, and not, like the Pharisees, to build up his own authority and make himself important. We are to esteem others more important than ourselves (Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:1-4).”[2]

Verse 21 speaks of a general submission of all members of the body of Christ to each other to ensure harmony. It acts as an introductory sentence to the more specific areas mentioned in the next verse where submission is a factor in the relationships of husband and wife, children and parents, and slaves and masters. In those relationships, a submission is called for that emulates that of the church to its Head (authority), which is Christ: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” [sic – KJV] (vv. 22-24; Titus 2:5). There is no mutual submission suggested in these three areas or of Christ and the church. The order and line of authority descends from God through Christ to man to woman: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (I Corinthians 11:3).[3]

There is submission both in v. 21 and in v. 22, but within different circumstances and applications. One is reciprocated and the other is unrequited in kind. That in v. 21 is marked by reciprocity which does not appear in v. 22. In v. 21 both husband and wife submit to all believers as part of the body of Christ, but v. 22 speaks to a specific situation—the marital bond. There the wife’s specific submission is to her husband “in everything” (v. 24), and the husband’s submission is to the principle of selfless love of v. 25 (Colossians 3:18,19). In verses 22-25, the husband is not told to submit to his wife.[4] Parents are not instructed to submit to their children, nor are masters instructed to submit to their slaves. There is no correlative mutual submission in Paul’s four illustrations—husbands/wives, parents/children, slaves/masters, Christ/the church. Otherwise, confusion would ensue.

There is no clear command for the observance of mutual submission in either Testament that can be applied to the marital relationship.

Notes

[1] In the commentaries listed at Biblos.com, including Clarke, Poole, Pulpit, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Ellicott, Barnes, Expositors, etc., etc., I found no principle of mutual submission of husband and wife laid out from these verses in Ephesians 5. One would assume if the concept of mutual submission of husband and wife was clearly apparent in Paul’s admonitions, some of them would have caught it. Obviously, it is a recent and extra-biblical idea, concocted to support the new cultural perspectives regarding male and female relationships.

[2] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 1989), p. 50.

[3] One should not assume from this that every woman is to submit to every man, in every way and in everything. The principle is being applied here is to the marriage and family relationships.

[4] Common sense recognizes there is deferment and agreement along the way in any successful relationship. No one is absolutely perfect in judgment all the time and in all cases. However, this does not alter the basic principle of wives’ submission to their husbands, repeated in the other biblical settings. Some attempt to tie v. 22 to the submission command of v. 21 because the verb “submit” does not appear in the Greek in v. 22 but is “borrowed” by the presumption of Greek grammar from v. 21. This grammatical transfer changes nothing.

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Should Christians “command God”?

An email a few days ago a question regarding the meaning of the last three words of Isaiah 45:11: “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” Do those words invite us to “command” God to do certain things for us? Some have evidently interpreted them in that way.

It appears from the context that the Lord is inviting the readers to inquire of Him if they wish to know how God deals with the nation of Israel (“my sons”). Or is He reprimanding them for an attitude of questioning His ability and His purpose, which they had no right to do?

He may be saying, “Am I obligated to give you an accounting of My secret purposes? Am I subject to whatever your wishes may be? Am I, the Maker of all things, to be told what to do with the work of my hands? Am I subject to your criticism? You may ask and inquire of Me about the future, who alone knows it, but please recognize that I am your Master, not your servant.” Some commentators and translators also express the interpretation that God is giving them a rebuke for questioning His works in a sense of critiquing Him or giving Him orders. The ESV, NIV, NLT, NET, the Orthodox Jewish Bible and others tend in this direction.

The Hebrew word rendered as “command” is given an interrogatory tone and not as an order to be made of God. The previous verses add to this understanding when it points out that a clay jar being molded by a potter does not instruct its maker. As verses 9 and 10 point out: “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?”

It seems quite evident that what is NOT being suggested is that men are to give orders to God, commanding Him to do this or that. That approach likely originated among the Healing Revival evangelists during the first half of the last century.

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The Bible of the Revolution

Until the  beginning of the American Revolution, America’s Bibles had been shipped in from England. When that supply was cut off by the British and supplies dwindled in 1777, Congress resolved to import 20,000 copies of the Bible from other countries, based on a Congressional committee’s determination that “the use of the Bible is so universal and its importance so great.”

That resolution was not acted upon, however, and the need remained. Robert Aitken of Philadelphia published a New Testament in 1777 and followed it with three additional editions. In early 1781, he petitioned Congress and received the approval to print the entire Bible. Thus originated the first American printing of the English Bible in 1782, what has come to be called the “Bible of the Revolution.”

P. Strickland, an early American historian, said of this Bible publication: “Who, in view of this fact, will call in question the assertion that this is a Bible nation? Who will charge the government with indifference to religion when the first Congress of the States assumed all the rights and performed all the duties of a Bible society long before such an institution had an existence in the world?”

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

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It could happen again

How did so many leftists, Muslims, weirdos, and anti-Christian politicians get elected in 2018? Only readers and watchers know. If we turn our heads, it will happen again.

Leaked documents from 2016 show that George Soros had set his sights to enlarge the electorate by 10 million voters by 2018, mostly by illegals being enabled to vote, and by keeping certain criminal elements out of jail and free to vote. He would have succeeded if DJT had not entered the picture.

Soros bankrolled efforts with dark money to challenge voter ID laws, register minority voters, and get as many names on the rolls as possible. One wonders if the hundreds of thousands over age 125 now on the SS roles are also on the voting roles? Probably.

https://freebeacon.com/issues/soros-aims-to-enlarge-electorate-by-10-million/

The plan to grow the electorate by millions of voters was discussed during a May 2014 board meeting of the Open Society Foundations, a liberal grant-making group founded and funded by Soros. A 220-page guide detailing the plan was among more than 2,500 hacked Soros documents released by DC Leaks, which publishes documents from influential officials around the world. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a nonprofit law firm that litigates to defend election integrity, said that Soros is spending big to transform American elections. NGOs getting grants from government agencies like USAID have been bringing tens of thousands of foreign “oppressed” population segments (read LGBT+ and transgenders) secretly through the back door and given green cards and other perks. This was revealed in the recent Bishop Budde scandal. Did those tens of thousands vote in the last election? Probably.

“George Soros is involved in every aspect of manipulating the rules of American elections,” according to the Washington Free Beacon. “From funding Pew’s efforts to centralize election administration, to fueling litigation that attacks election integrity laws, to fanning the flames of racial agitation and polarization, Soros dollars are apparently buying politicians who want to fundamentally transform American elections.”

Upcoming mid-term elections will determine if the current administration can hold the line on what they are doing to transform our national political system. If heretofore lazy Christians will get out and vote, instead of saying “God is controlling everything, so why vote?” we might could continue to make the necessary changes that will save this republic. And in the process, let’s dump the electronic voting machines and get back to paper ballots as Trump suggests.

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Truth…embedded in stone

Perhaps the greatest single mistake in American history was allowing government to educate our children. – PP

Not knowing the truth is ignorance; not wanting to know the truth is called stupid. – PP

Listening to Joe Biden was like passing a kidney stone—slow, painful, unpredictable, and the only good part was when it was finally over. – PP

The light at the end of the tunnel was the oncoming Trump Train! The press couldn’t see it because they were all looking to the left.

The Dems, like Clinton and Obama and Schumer, called for cuts in wasteful spending, but it was just voter bait. When someone serious about it came along, they labeled them fascist dictators. Dems now seem to be calling for a restraining order against efficient government. – Soros is probably payng the legal fees.

You can easily identify a Democrat. They are the ones with cookie crumbs all over their hands.

Dems, standing amid total devastation of civilization: “At least we still have abortion.” – PP

Woke: (adj.) – A state of awareness only achieved by those dumb enough to find injustice in everything—except their own behavior. – PP

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 Couldn’t pass these up

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The Final Word

The Parents Bill of Rights passed. The vote: Republicans 213; Democrats 0. We must not forget such facts at the mid-terms in 2026. But in the meantime, let’s keep our heads in the Book, our feet on the ground, and our eyes on the sky!

Enjoy the gorgeous Spring!

JREnsey

First, the Word

“Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately” (II Timothy 2:15 NET).

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A personal word

In last month’s blog I explained that following this February 2025 edition we will be publishing it on a bi-monthly basis. Other matters are pressing, and since the political situation has made a right turn, I want to focus less on that topic and more on the Word of God itself. That has been a goal for some time. We may still address other topics, but to deal with passages our subscribing ministers and lay leaders ask about will be our primary objective. God’s Word is the most vital element of our faith, teaching us, warning us, guiding us, and in the end, judging us.

There are a number of new translations of the Bible floating out there, and many have questions about choosing the right one. We will try to assist in that effort. It is increasingly imperative to know not only what the Bible says, but what God was trying to convey to us through it. My own time of new convert days when I was struggling with the Scriptures are still fresh in my mind. With Philip, the evangelist, as my inspiration, I want to keep learning to read the Bible with enlightenment and understanding.

Even after 68 years of ministry, I am still far from knowing all I wish to know about the Scriptures and the people who wrote them. The more I study, the more I appreciate this astounding Book. To encourage others to believe it and trust it is our objective.

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I suppose…

…the framers of the Constitution, when drafting the Second Amendment, were not thinking about the specific types of firearms, but had in mind specific types of governments. – PP

…many of us thought January 20 would never get here. Patriots and Christians may now exhale.

…Thomas Jefferson and George Washington can stop spinning in their graves now. RIP, please.

…if something needs to be “normalized” it isn’t normal.

…since the Egyptians used slaves 3500 years ago, someone should go over and tear down those pyramids.

…it was time to fly only one flag over our government buildings—the one with the stars and stripes. May it forever wave.

…the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde will be in the running for Time’s “Woman of the Year.” The fact that she is willing to take to the pulpit and support  the ungodliness the Bible opposes is all the recommendation she needs.

..Bishop Budde’s text was clever, but…oh, wait. Did she even read a scripture? If she did, was it the one about “shedding innocent blood”? Or one about the lawless jerks taking advantage of the vulnerable and innocent folk? Or was it one about the immorality of those she mentioned and for whom she advocates? Nope, None of those. Couldn’t find them in the Bible, I suppose.

…if the federal government was put in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand. Or if they were given the Pacific Ocean as their private water source, the nation would soon experience a shortage of salt water. Whatever is worth doing, the private sector can beat government hands down. Get out of the way!

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Should we celebrate a Mothers-in-law Day?

Luke 12:53: “Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Wow! Sounds like a real pleasant household there, huh? Perhaps the context softens the situation somewhat by providing the larger picture.

Giving thought to Mothers-in-Law generally, I recently noticed that on our planning calendar there was no date for such a celebration. Are they being slighted?

Mothers-in-law are…are…precious, and vital to the church, the nation, and the world. They provide guidance, practical education, and serve as the fount of wisdom for SILs, most of whom are sadly lacking in those areas. Really, what would we have done without them? Hmmm…let me think….

Important things are learned from them, often in short lectures consisting of just a sentence or two. For instance, I once thought I would joke with my MIL, telling her of a bumper sticker I had seen recently that read: “Caution! In case of Rapture, car may swerve as mother-in-law takes wheel.” Grinning, I thought it was clever. SILs should never try to be clever. Her quick retort when something like this: “Let me tell you something, young man! Just remember, you were made out of dirt, but we were made out of prime rib!” SILs are slow-learners.

My MIL raised seven children of her own, plus many others to whom she provided substantial input. She was an avid Bible reader with a sharp memory. She could quote for you just about everything she ever read therein, particularly if it had to do with the deportment of SILs. She once provided some sound advice she had gleaned from the apostle Paul: “When Paul said, ‘Gird up the loins of your mind,’ he was referring to the reproductive system. If you are not careful, you might give birth to something you don’t want to raise.”

See? A veritable fount of wisdom. Let me look at that calendar again….

PS: All that was a clumsy attempt at providing something on the lighter side. Everyone who knows our family recognizes I was blessed with the best MIL any foolish SIL could possibly have. R.I.P., Irene Isabella Oliver.

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Healing the Lame:

An Exposition of  Hebrews 12:13

Greek – “καὶ τροχιὰς ὀρθὰς ποιεῖτε τοῖς ποσὶν ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ χωλὸν ἐκτραπῇ, ἰαθῇ δὲ μᾶλλον.”

KJV – “And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”

ESV – “and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”

NLT – “Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”

AMP – “Cut through and make smooth, straight paths for your feet [that are safe and go in the right direction], so that the leg which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather may be healed.”

Introduction:

This is likely a reference to Proverbs 4:26 in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. God had the original authors, whether writing in the OT or NT, to use language that was appropriate for the target audience but would also fit all generations and all language groups which would come along later. Quite a task. That could only happen if divine inspiration was involved. One only wishes that all those who made hand-written copies through the centuries were as inspired and careful as the autograph authors.

Those who still exclusively read the early English Bibles often find themselves reading right over verses like this that can make little sense at first reading. So they move on without absorbing the meaning that was being conveyed. Today’s Christians need to be able to read the Bible with as much understanding as possible and with complete trust. That has been my desire for my family, for those with whom I am in fellowship, and for those I am responsible to teach.

Word Study: 

ὀρθὰς τροχιὰς (orthas trochias) – “Straight paths,” meaning level, even, smooth, without uneven places that might cause one to stumble.

χωλὸν (cholon) – “lame” one with a physical impediment or handicap; one already with a physical disadvantage

ἐκτραπῇ (ektrape) – dislocated, put out of joint, made worse

μᾶλλον (mallon) – rather, instead, in place of

ἰαθῇ (lathe) – healed, cured; often used in either a spiritual or emotional sense

Context:

The author, likely Paul, is addressing this letter primarily to the Jewish Christians beyond Israel’s borders to many nations, a scattering sparked in part by an evangelistic missionary zeal. He focuses on the struggles and challenges that are peculiar to Christian converts from Judaism. It was easy to yield to the pressure to drift back into a Jewish mindset after giving the Christian life a try. Converting from one religion to another, even if both feature the same deity, always presents opportunities to return, or compromise one with the belief system of the other. In this case, one system, Judaism, focused on divine acceptance by works, but the other, Christianity, operated by faith.

Paul had just provided many reasons why Christianity is a “better way,” a theme in Hebrews. In the preceding chapter, he praises their Jewish ancestors who were loyal to the principles and practices of their former faith, and even submits a long list of heroes who were faithful to God in tough times (Chapter 11). From this “great cloud of witnesses” some were translated directly to Heaven, others spared from serious tragedies. He also points out that others were not—yet remained steady and fervent until death. All, however, died in faith, holding to their trust in God when it wasn’t easy. He wanted his readers to know they were not alone in their struggles with doubt, or tragedy, or hate and misunderstanding directed toward them because of who they were. “Be true disciples and you will join them someday,” was his underlying message. Or as Uncle Jeb would say it, “Do like they done!” If they made it, you can too!

The writer continued, “Therefore, with such a cloud of witnesses surrounding you, let endurance be your goal” (Chap. 12:1). He continued to admonish them to keep their faith when it would not be easy to do so, for it would keep them in return. Never quit, never falter in your determination to be victorious. He presented Christ as the ultimate victor, the author and perfecter of this faith, and an example for them: Stiffen your resolve to be victorious. Strengthen your resistance to the Roman culture and to the Judaizers who tempt you to return to that way. If the Lord chastens you by allowing persecution to come your way, don’t be discouraged, for the Lord, as a father, loves those He chastens. Life eternal awaits you if you don’t become weak and give in to your adversaries. Such determination and resistance will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness (the essense of v. 2-11).

So now, knowing how your ancestors, and Christ Himself, smoothed the path for you into this glorious kingdom, here’s how you can be a blessing to those who are looking for examples to strengthen and inspire them, just as others have motivated you to remain strong in the faith (v. 13).

Exposition:

Here’s how Paul illustrated his suggestions: “Make straight paths for your feet.”  This is not a reference to a horizontally straight path without curves or corners. The word translated “straight” references a vertical direction. In other words, the thrust is that the path—literally, “wheel tracks”—needs to be made smooth and level, with as few bumps, dips, and rocky places as possible, aiding those  coming behind to avoid stumbling. Make the way level, even, flat by removing all obstacles to provide a safe journey for the travelers. Those with slackened hands and weakened knees will find the way more to be clearer and moe accommodating. The writer may have had Proverbs 4:25-27 in mind as he penned these words: “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil” (NKJV).

In fact, if you leave a rocky, uneven, and potentially dangerous path, those following who are weak in the faith, already struggling with lameness, as it were, their impediment will likely be worsened. Their lame leg or foot may now be “put out of joint, dislocated,” leaving them unable to continue on the journey. Your halting inconsistency—such as pitting church against synagogue—may persuade them to act as others did in the past who “halted between two opinions” (I Kings18:21). Our desire ought to be the healing of such lame ones, strengthening them in the faith, rather than exposing them to the risk of apostasy by our own “wavering” example.

The writer tells all believers then and since, Jew and Gentile, if we smooth out the path by our faithfulness and endurance, by an attitude of gratitude, by a spirit of commitment, by producing the fruit of righteousness, then those who come behind with some weakness can be “healed,” helped to overcome, kept from failure. Those subsequently coming to faith behind us will be lifted up, revived and “bettered.”

The writer will use this runway to take flight with counsel about the virtues of holiness and living in peace with others (v. 14). “Take care,” he admonishes, “to see that no one falls short of the grace of God,” becoming plagued with bitterness, disappointment, and even defilement (v.15), thereby becoming a “stone of stumbling.”

Straight paths lead to the “strait gate” (Matthew 7:13) through which we may enter in to enjoy eternal life on the other side.

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The President and the Bishop

A traditional “Inaugural Prayer Service” held at The Washington National Cathedral in Washington on January 20 turned into a national scandal. After President Donald Trump’s recent inauguration, he, his family, and close associates retired to the church for a time of spiritual reflection and inspiration. It has turned into something akin to a street fight. Whoever arranged it should have known it might, and if they did, perhaps it was all by design.

According to published news reports, during the service, feminist Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, “courageously confronted Trump, advocating for LGBTQ+ individuals and undocumented immigrants. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives,” Budde gushed.

Her sermon challenged the administration’s “culture of contempt” and demanded recognition of human dignity for all people. The Episcopal Church, which she represents, also officially supports free access to abortion. She later explained that “I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being, basic honesty and humility, and then I also realized that unity requires a certain degree of mercy—mercy and compassion and understanding. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.” Really?

The “honor and dignity of every human being” evidently extends to every degenerate who participates in ungodly public display of nudity and sexual perversion that fills the streets of our cities during “Pride Month” every year. The honor and dignity of all humans must include those who illegally break our laws in coming here, then rape and murder our citizens, often being turned loose to do it again. No one says all illegal migrants do that, but many do, and thousands of them are members of violent gangs and groups that threaten the lives of American citizens. Some were freed from prisons and mental institutions in other countries to come here. They are a primary source of lethal drugs entering this country, killing thousands of our youth every year.  Yet we are to extend “honor and dignity” to them “in the name of God”? From which Bible is she reading? What “god” was she referring to? Twisted minds create twisted words producing twisted lives.

America’s arms have been open to immigrants since our founding 250 years ago. The “huddled masses” from other nations have been welcomed by a compassionate citizenry, but no other nation on earth is expected to welcome and honor the likes of what has crossed our borders in the last few years. No other nation opens its borders to all who wish to come.

Who is Bishop Budde? In 2011, she became the first woman to serve as the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, which oversees the National Cathedral. She is also the chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which oversees the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and its schools. She is also known for her advocacy of political and social issues such as gun control, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals, and environmental protections. In other words, she embraces virtually all the extreme left’s political views. Budde is known for her criticism of Trump during his first term for using the Bible as a “prop” for certain comments made following a church burning demonstration. Mercy is commendable when it is justly chosen and applied. Virtually everything she advocated in her sermon opposed the spirit of Christianity and the actual words of the Bible, yet claimed she spoke “in the name of God.”  Now she is hailed in the leftist media as “a hero…a national treasure.” If the voting for Time’s Woman of the Year” was held today, she would probably get it hands down.

Trump’s Response on X

“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a radical hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!”

What else would be expected from a female Episcopal Bishop with a leftist feminist record? Give them an inch and they will take a mile. They should have known what her “sermon” might include.

This public scolding was not merely a personal attack on President Trump and his stand on lawbreakers and sexual aberrants. It was clearly an appeal to ignore the Bible on the social and religious issues now confronting all Americans. Are we ready to call the Bible writers like Paul “haters” (as so many pundits did following the service) because he condemned in Romans 1 those she pours honor and dignity upon? Should Jude be deposed for calling certain people “ungodly” (v. 15)? Should Peter have been removed from his apostleship because he wrote I Peter 4?

It was a message of “let’s discard the Bible and what it says about issues like lawlessness, morals, and sexual perversion, about gender differences, about commandments that oppose the current sordid vision for America held by feminists and political leftists? They accuse conservatives of “breaking up families” by their advocacy of scriptural commands. Yet they, like Bishop Budde, appeal for compassion for the “gay and lesbian and transgender” communities who are proving to be experts at dividing families, breaking up homes, abusing and corrupting children. They remind us of the street magicians who urge, “Watch my hand,” while they with the other hand take your watch, your money, and your innocence.

What issues are dividing Protestant denominations today and why? What groups are pressuring the Roman Catholics? Are our eyes wide open to issues that could possibly divide us as they are dissecting other religious bodies?

If Christians continue to give power and authority to those who can use it as a wedge, as does Bishop Budde, regret is inevitable. Such individuals weren’t so bold when they first sought to be robed with ministerial cloth. But as their numbers, presence, and power increase, so does their influence. They  tend to apply their authority in line with their natural instincts. Like Bishop Budde, they will view their basic role as caregiver and protector of the “marginalized and oppressed,” and as contenders for the youth who want to be something other than their birth identity. They will be the advocates of the bold and naked Pride marchers, the proponent for women who will freely take the life of the baby in their womb. They will show compassion for the disenfranchised who are suffering under the scourge of “Bible-thumping conservatives.”

Wake up, America! Arouse yourself, Apostolics! We are in the sights of those who prefer to soften the approach of the apostles of Christ who serve as the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). Everything than can be shaken will be shaken. If  the foundation is broken up by the sledgehammers of compromise and abdication, how long will our building stand?

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The president and the pope

The story (with TIC): The Pope and Joe Biden are on the same stage in Yankee Stadium in front of a huge crowd.

The Pope leans towards Biden and says, “Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, but will go deep into their hearts and they’ll forever speak of this day and rejoice!”

The president replied, “I seriously doubt that! With one little wave of your hand? Show me!”

So the Pope backhanded him and knocked him off the stage!

AND THE CROWD ROARED and CHEERED WILDLY, and there was joy and happiness throughout the land.

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Common Sense Christianity

Our new book, Common Sense Christianity, is now available in either digital or print format. It is designed for classes (youth up), new convert training, small groups, Bible studies, or just practical, inspirational reading. Questions at the end of each chapter make it ideal for small groups.

The Chapters:

It Makes Common Sense…

1) …To view life from a perspective of reality                                                                                    

2) …To know how to read the Bible

3) …To be omnivisual

4) …To know in whom we believe

5) …To believe in miracles

6) …To keep our feet on the ground even when our head is in the glory cloud

7) …To know what the Christian life looks like

8) …To understand how God exercises ultimate control of all things

9) …To know the source of our strength

10) …For new believers to quickly settle doctrinal and lifestyle issues

11) …To learn why early Christianity flourished

A full quarter of studies. For a limited time, the print version will be available @ $12.95!. To order, call 936-537-0250 or email raensey@gmail.com. Discount for 10 or more copies.

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Memes have a funny way of expressing truths

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The Last Word

Forgive the extraordinary length of this edition.  The keyboard, like a runaway freight train, got out of control and couldn’t stop at the station.

After all that, a smile is in order. Perhaps the following will produce one:

The minister selected a fifty-cent item at a Dollar store, but discovered he didn’t have any money with him.
“I could invite you to hear me preach in return,” he said jokingly to the clerk, “but I’m afraid I don’t have any fifty-cent sermons.”
“Perhaps,” suggested the clerk, “I could attend twice.” Ouch.

Here’s a tip of the hat to President Trump for not being afraid to mention God, and and for taking time to go to church during inauguration activities, even though he took both barrels from the pulpit. No worry…it was only a popgun this time.

Let’s have revival while there’s time!

JRE