I will generally either omit names or use pseudonyms unless I know for certain, or have contacted them to obtain their permission to use their real names.
This from a sister-in-Christ in Utah. July 2025
As a college student I stood after classes on a dark corner waiting for a bus home.
I had just changed my major and felt that I had made a mistake, and was very lost and hopeless.
I called out to God and said if He was there hearing me, “If You want me I give myself to you—maybe You can order my confusion and chaotic state.”
Immediately I felt relief and comfort. I returned home in a state of joy and trust. Next day I began reading the Bible. I changed my life—actually, I began life.
I’m 94 years—seventy three years later—and have had a life in communion with God, joy, peace, family of God friends, Christian children.
Thank God for His faithful love, /s/
This same sister had sent me this note a few years ago:
“Dear Dr. Bruggeman, Thanks to you and Dr. Stephen Jones, I have been blessed with Bible History and Truth. I hope you will continue to feed me. I am moving to my daughters as at 91 years I will need a little care, even though I still drive, garden, etc. God has given me good health… . .”
From a sister in Michigan
Dear James, I want you to know how much I am enjoying your Barley series, especially the segment about Ruth. (This is an aside: in my senior year at Bethel University (St. Paul), I did my thesis on Ruth. I certainly wish I could have had your Barley study as a resource…😊
Anyway, I feel prompted to send you a little “bonus” check to encourage you. God is so good and isn’t it fun when we get to participate in what He is up to? … /s/
James’ response: I certainly did not plan for this long of a hiatus, but stones intervened. We shall get back to finishing the Barley series of blogs soon.
This from a couple in Idaho:
James, Both [my husband] and I wish you HEALTH! We’re praying 🙏 that the Father of us all … gives you a clean bill of health and lays upon you insight to many great adventures that awaits all of us in HIS coming kingdom. Praise Jesus! And that you will be able to tell All of us His good news.
I get glimpses in my spirit every once in a while of how exciting it’s going to be … because all of a sudden I get this feeling of exhilaration and joy. Thank you for all you do and how faithful you stay to this beautiful message of the gospel. You are needed!!! Take care … and [my husband] and I (and our daughter) will continue to pray for you. In Jesus Christ, /s/
From a couple in Oklahoma:
Dear James, We continue to thank you for your mailings and your blog, which I look for nearly every day. Our country surely is at a crossroads. May God have mercy on us—we don’t deserve it, but lean on His promises. Best, /s/
From a brother in Ohio:
Query: Are we now experiencing the Fall of the Babylonian-Nimrodian system, expressed through the unparalleled actions of the Trump administration? It is fascinating to watch this unfold in real time!
James’ comment: I am wholly convinced we are witnessing the slow-motion (to us) fall of Mystery Babylon as prophesied in Revelation chapter 18. Indeed, it is exciting and encouraging!
From a sister in Idaho:
Hello James, We continue to watch the chess game. 😊The recent bombings in Israel and Iran are part of it. But I have to admit, it was a bit confusing and scary. There are many voices attempting to explain, so discernment is definitely needed!
I am very grateful for your voice. Your insights are so helpful and reassuring. Thank you for your study on Barley. Today I cried when I read about the field where Ruth gleaned was the same area the shepherds were at the wonderful announcement of Jesus’ birth. How amazing and beautiful!
I always have questions, James… I listened to a message on Esau the other day. Often it is quoted “God loved Jacob” and “God hated Esau” (even before he was born). Question—why does/did God create someone He hates? I guess it is the same as why did God create evil.
I have studied and feel I understand it is necessary for His plan to teach righteousness. Could “love Jacob” and “hate Esau” better be translated “selected” and “rejected”, or is “loved” and “hated” literally correct? /s/
James' Response: Your question is one that Christians have grappled with for centuries. I think you are on the right track when you suggest “why did God create evil. I have studied and feel I understand it is necessary for His plan to teach righteousness.” Exactly! God, in constructing the drama of the eons, chose to have conflict, opposing forces, so that He could show forth His glory. He also said in Isaiah 54:16 Behold, … I have created the waster to destroy.
God needs “bad guys” to create the conflict. The Greek word Paul used in Romans 9:13 for “hate” miseo {mis-eh'-o} and it is used 42 times in the NT. It would be hard to say it means anything but “hate.” The lexicon says: “1) to hate, pursue with hatred, detest 2) to be hated, detested”.
But perhaps there can be some degree of latitude in expressing something less than vitriolic, violent hatred. I have checked many English translations of this verse and even Young’s Literal renders it “hated.” The only translation which differs is Ferrar Fenton’s Version (which I consider more of a loose English, but not quite a paraphrase) and he translates it “as it is written, I HAVE CHOSEN JACOB, AND REJECTED ESAU.
So, dear sister, the FFV parallels your own thought on this verse. Furthermore, that hatred is set in opposition to “loved” Jacob, and the word for loved there is agapao, the unconditional and highest form of “love.”
In the OT, the Hebrew word equivalent to the Greek miseo is sane' {saw-nay'} and the lexicons give these meanings: 1) to hate, be hateful 1a) (Qal) to hate 1a1) of man 1a2) of God 1a3) hater, one hating, enemy (participle) (subst) 1b) (Niphal) to be hated 1c) (Piel) hater (participle) 1c1) of persons, nations, God, wisdom.
Yet, we find that Jacob “hated” Leah (Genesis 29:31), who bore him Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. I find it very difficult to comprehend that Jacob had “hatred” in his heart for Leah in the worst sense. He clearly preferred Rachel. In a comparative sense we could say that he rejected Leah (as his favorite).
Nonetheless, God’s detesting Esau (and his progeny) is His sovereign choice for them to play the part of the “wasters to destroy” and the “bad guys” in general.
This is a topic that could easily be a long lecture so I will stop here. For those who have not read my book, Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God, I cover this in much greater detail, specifically, in chapters 7 & 8. $27 postpaid from our offices.
~END~
