Monthly Archives: February 2026

Life, Death, and Fruit Flies

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by Mike James

I read an interesting fruit fly study that got me thinking about how stress may impact humans. The study was conducted by Christi Gendron, a neurobiologist at the University of Michigan.

Gendron conducted a study on how living fruit flies respond to the sight of dead fruit flies. The research was published in the journal PLOS Biology. Apparently, neurons in the flies’ brains make them age faster after seeing dead flies. Scientists believe this relates to perceptions within the brains of animals causing physical reactions in their bodies.

Dr. Gendron and Scott Pletcher, who is a biologist at the University of Michigan, discovered how flies deal with death unintentionally. They were trying to see whether flies would show a behavioral or physiological response, like a heightened immune system, after being around other flies that had been made sick with a disease. “The only types of responses we saw happened after the flies that we infected died,” Dr. Pletcher said.

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Biblical Discrepancies – Esau’s Wives

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by Mike James

How many wives did Esau have? This is yet another seeming discrepancy in the Bible. A closer look and research will reveal the Bible is not creating a discrepancy.

First, let’s look at the scriptures that address the various wives of Esau.

Genesis 26:34: And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite (KJV).

Genesis 28:9: Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife (KJV).

Genesis 36:2-3: Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth (KJV).

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Feast of Tabernacles 2026

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Greetings! We have a new menu tab and web page FOT Branson. It’s that time of year to start thinking about the Feast of Tabernacles and reserving your hotel room. The first day of the Feast is Saturday, September 26th through Friday. October 2nd and the Last Great Day/Eighth Day is Saturday, October 3rd. All services will start at 11:00 AM CST. There will be a schedule posted of speakers and activities when it becomes available later this year.

Branson Hillside Hotel Entrance
Three Windows to left Meeting Room
Lobby
Market Store
Sofa King Room
Premium King Room
Standard King Room
Double Queen

The Church of God International has confirmed our Meeting Room which is called the Stage Door Meeting Room at the Branson Hillside Hotel Branson, Missouri located at 1984 Historic Hwy 165 A, Branson, MO 65616. Some of you may know the Resort as the old Lawrence Welk Resort. It has recently been purchased, and the people have been great to work with. This will be CGI’s first Feast here in 2026 and we are excited about the location and level parking in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

The information for the Branson Hillside Hotel is under the FOT Branson menu tab. We will be posting more information so you can look under the FOT Branson menu tab for Feast Updates.

You may want to follow our site to get updates just go to the Home Page and there’s a button “Follow CGI Springfield” and enter your email. You will be sent information each time a new post is posted. You can un-follow at any time. Or you can check-in periodically to see what’s new. All the information goes directly to the CGI Springfield webmaster which is also the Feast Coordinators Assistants. No information will be shared without your permission.

We look forward to having a great Feast. We can’t wait to see all our friends, family and making new friends this year.

Another Alleged Bible Discrepancy

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Did the Edomites refuse supplies to Israel when they passed through their land, or did they furnish them? This apparent discrepancy revolves around two scriptures provided below:

Numbers 20:19-20: “And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand” (KJV).

Deuteronomy 2:28-29: “You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot, just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which the Lord our God is giving to us” (KJV).

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ENOCH: IS IT SCRIPTURAL?

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By: Bill Watson

Church of God Independent Ministries

There is a lot of “chatter” on the Internet these days about the Book of Enoch. Many influencers, podcasters, authors, and commentators, as well as some religious authorities, reference the Book of Enoch as a credible source to support an eschatological narrative that discusses certain watchers [a.k.a. angels] God allegedly sent to help, guide, and advise mankind, but instead, corrupted them.

There is a lingering interest and credibility associated with this book for several reasons. First, in the book of Jude, we see this apostle referencing the writings of Enoch and claiming it mentions the return of Jesus Christ (Jude :14). We also have evidence from early church history that some of the early “orthodox” church fathers used the book as a reference. However, by the 5th century, its influence was marginalized because it wasn’t canonized.

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