Articles by Marty Kessler

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23 It’s all about light. How do you get to be full of light? Jesus says you have to have a good eye. What does that mean? Are folks who wear glas...

Obligatory? Yes, But for the Best Possible Reason  Are preachers obliged to talk about motherhood on Mother’s Day and fatherhood on Father’s Day? While these holidays are bound in the Bible, the fact is, we don’t hear enough about the importance about honoring Fathers and Mothers or about the sacred work they do. As I write this, mobs are rioting in Los Angeles, California. I am not overstati...

Jesus said that there were two ways, one narrow and one wide. Few, he said, would find the narrow one that lead to life. But why? Doesn’t God want all men to be saved like Peter said,  “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance”, - 2nd Peter 3:9 Oh, there it is in black and wh...

On May 10th of 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands. For the next four years the Dutch suffered under the weight of Nazi occupation. This occupation ended when allied troops liberated the nation in September of 1944. Pictured below is a 65-acre cemetery in the Netherlands where 8,301 U.S. servicemen are buried who died in the fighting there. The Dutch have given this land to the United States, but...

Young People in the Bible Who were some of them, and what did they do? Elihu – “I am young in years and you are old; therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think”, Job 32:6. We can read Elihu’s story in the book of Job in chapters 32-37. Elihu’s example? He waited out of respect for his seniorsHe listened to what they had to sayHe spoke only in his turnHis words were full of wisdom Then...

Like so many women in the Biblical narrative, Hannah was unable to bear children. Her longing for a child, however, compelled her to go to God with a vow. If he would give her a son, she would give him back in his service. God granted her longing, and she kept her word (I Samuel 1). What can we learn from Hannah? She did not give up her hope but continued pursuing motherhood relentlessly. Do we gi...

It is a hard word, “dead”. We tend to shy away from it, even though every day of life teaches us its reality. The Pope is dead, and you and I will die, but God has done something about it. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free thos...

Their testimony was so close in time to the event itself that any number of witnesses could have denied their veracity. How could they hope to fake accounts of events that would have taken place in the most well-known and observed places? So much of Jesus’ ministry was in Jerusalem, at the temple, the marketplaces, pools, fountains, highways & byways of the people. He was tried in Jerusalem & cruc...

Conservative? Liberal? Fundamentalist? Evangelical? Legalist? If I am as conservative as God’s word demand I be, wouldn’t that also make me as liberal as his word allows? I don’t want to be so conservative minded that I stop short of what God wants... but I don’t want to be as liberal as I can get away with either. I just want to be a Christian. I want to be a true disciple, like Jesus himself sai...

The third verse of Genesis introduces us to the word of God, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light”. The first words of John’s gospel in the same way introduces us to the word but now shows us that the word of God became flesh (John 1:1-3 & 14). You & I use words to communicate and are limited to little more than that. But what if you could make your words into a body, a living...

God enabled the apostles to speak in human languages that were previously unknown to them. Those who heard the apostles speak in tongues said that they heard them speak in their native tongues (Acts 2:1-11). This so amazed the hearers that they gave ear to the apostles, which was exactly Jesus’ intent for the miracle. Imagine that you had a pen-pal from Zambia who came to visit you. You take them ...

To all you Bible scholars out there, keep up the good work. Please keep on digging deep into the word of God and revealing the insights you find there. We need those to see God & his majesty ever more clearly. Always value scholarship! I am convinced, however, that God has not provided the written revelation of his word merely for those gifted with scholastic abilities. Jesus said, “I praise You, ...

In Romans 3, Jesus’ apostle Paul shows with devastating clarity the “fallenness” of man. A few excerpts are: “None are righteous, not even one There are none who understand There are none who seek for God Their throat is an open grave There is no fear of God before their eyes” You get the picture. In chapter 7 (14-19) he makes it personal. More excerpts….. “…..but I am of flesh, sold into bondage ...

What shape is the body in here at Choctaw?Folks train for years to specialize in caring for nearly every part of the human body. That’s because every part is important to the body’s health and efficiency. The Lord’s church is no different.If your vision gets blurry, you see an optometrist to get some glasses. The dreaded visit to the dentist is necessary when a tooth is the problem. Dermatologists...

What do you believe about Jesus? (Are you ready to meet him someday?) How are you and the Lord doing? Where do you “go to church”? Do you read the Bible? Do you believe what it says about the resurrection? Do you believe there is a day of judgment coming? Do you believe in life after death? Do you believe this life is all there is? Do you believe you will be with God when you die? What do you beli...

Simply put, it is when God provides. The fact of God’s provision is written into the first verse of the Bible when Genesis says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. He provided for our physical needs before he made the first man and woman. More importantly, the balance of the book is the story of how God provided his own Son for our spiritual needs. God’s providence is abund...

“I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth”, - Genesis 8:21 Just two things about this passage. #1) What it tells us about ourselvesThe intention of our hearts is evil, and this begins at a young age. Wowser. You know yourself. You know the constant mental corrections you must make to do what is right. Firstly, because we don’t...

We wanted to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for the incredible support you provided following the tornado. Your volunteer’s efforts to remove debris from property were truly a blessing. Not only did your team work tirelessly to clear the damage, but their compassion and willingness to step in during such a difficult time brought a sense of peace and hope. Your actions have made a l...

Early in Israel’s history was a period when God raised up men (and a woman) to deliver them from their enemies. They were called judges. Samson was the only judge announced to his parents by the angel of the Lord. In other cases, God chose an individual to do his will, but in this case, he gave a previously barren woman a child who would become a great deliverer of Israel (Judges 13:1-5) against t...

God gave man dominion over the creation in the beginning (see Genesis 1:26-28). This leads me to believe that God designed man with a good inclination to assume dominion over himself and his environment constructively and deliberately. Then came the fall, after which the fleshly part of man’s being caused man to focus on his own will, rather than God’s. We call it “ego”. So now from a very young a...