Articles by Marty Kessler
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith”,Romans 1:16-17 Paul defined the gospel in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 when he writes that it is the death, burial and resurrection ...
We read about the first worship offered to God, as well as the first murder in Genesis 4:1-8. Coincidence? I don’t believe so. Abel honored God with an acceptable sacrifice. Not Cain. Cain had plenty of opportunity to make a proper offering and even had encouragement from God himself to do so. He deliberately refused. Instead of listening to God’s personal appeal to correct his behavior, Cain...
Your body, or flesh, is made from the stuff of this earth, so it wants the stuff of this earth. Your spirit, however, which makes you a sentient being, is from God and longs for him. Your flesh constantly compels you to satisfy its appetites which, incidentally, neither you nor I get to decide. The worst desires of your flesh are in conflict with the best desires of your spirit. That will nev...
The dictionary defines sanctity as “The state of being sanctified; holiness, sacredness”. What is sacred to those of us whom the rest of the world calls “Americans”? Is human life sacred? How can we claim that we believe life is sacred to us when we sanction the killing of children by their mothers? What place should we hold more sacred than a mother’s womb? The womb is the seat of ...
You are very likely someone who wants to influence others for God. What is one of your best opportunities to do that? How about Sunday?Every Sunday we have visitors to our worship assemblies. I want to encourage you to plan to make a positive impact on them. What can you do?1) Speak to them! Let them know with certainty that you are glad they are here.2) Introduce yourself and they will probably r...
Nutritional deficiencies often have negative symptoms.Not enough vitamin D and you might suffer weakness or aching in your bones. Insufficient vitamin E can lead to dry hair, leg cramps and slow healing. A lack of magnesium can result in irritability, anxiety and even impaired memory.So, if you’re grumpy or can’t remember stuff, eat some spinach.Is the same thing true spiritually? How much anxiety...
What good does it do to decry the state humanity if I don’t point people to the only perfect hope there is?We live in a world where marriage is dishonored through pornography, promiscuity, and adultery. Drug cartels flood our country with poison because our fellow-citizens buy it. Immigrants who despise our nation are doing great harm and Europe reels from violence being perpetrated there by thous...
A gunman kills 49 people in a nightclub. The gunman was Islamic and acted in the name of ISIS, an Islamic terror organization.The victims of this tragedy were at a bar known as a hangout for those who practice homosexuality. Likely all of the victims either embraced, practiced, or at least approved of this behavior.What are we to make of this horrible event? In the first 4,000 years, the devil lie...
All too often I hear of someone tragically taking their own life. I want to encourage any who may be considering suicide to reconsider.I haven’t been where you are, so I don’t pretend to understand all you are going through. I would like to hear your side. Until then, here are a few things I believe you need to know:#1 The rest of us want you to keep going, to live. Even if it doesn’t show, we car...
Why are mobs allowed to vandalize businesses and destroy property with very little punitive response? Why are law-breakers defended while lawenforcement is defamed and demeaned? Why is drunkenness excused as a “disease”? Why are some politicians allowed to get away with crimes that would quickly get the rest of us thrown in the slammer? God clearly holds us all responsible, “For we mus...
#1 Anyone can pray – Jesus’ apostle made it clear in Acts 17:24-28 that God made each of us so that we would seek him out and that he is not far from any of us. God heard a Roman centurion named Cornelius in Acts 10:1-4 before he became a Christian. Surely God will hear you as well. #2 You don’t have to know what to say – In the letter to the Romans (8:26-27) we are taught that God’s Spirit interc...
Friday, April 1st, 2016. This is the day that we begin…. as a congregation….. to read through Jesus’ New Testament together.What do you imagine will be the result for you?Will you learn things you did not previously know?Will you be surprised at how little you really know of the New Testament?Will you be reminded of great truths you had forgotten?Will you gain insights that will help you understan...
Is anything in this life, as good as it could be?Everything we enjoy has a culminating point, and we live for these culminating points.You buy groceries to prepare and serve a meal, but the culminating point is when you eat it together with loved ones. No matter how great the meal or the pleasure of the occasion, however, you always know that things could somehow be better.You live for that rare m...
“Quit trying to tell people about Jesus. You don’t have a Bible degree, you are not good with words and you are obviously judgmental if you think someone else’s life needs improving or fixing in any way.”“You should keep quiet about abortion. What business is it of yours if fornication has resulted in a pregnancy? You don’t understand the expense of having a child when you’re not ready. If they wa...
I am not against New Year’s resolutions. Any effort we make to do better is worthy of praise in my book.It strikes me, however, that Jesus pointed us to today, and only today. He also said not to worry about things that we consider absolute necessities in life such as food and clothing, but rather to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness. Jesus encouraged us with the idea that if we put God fir...
2400 years ago, an oath attributed to the Greek Physician Hippocrates was put in writing. I find it interesting that in ancient Greece, a culture famous for its Pagan idolatry, a man would be so committed to such high moral ideals as are included in the oath.Do you realize that the original Hippocratic oath prohibited both abortion and euthanasia?“I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who a...
1. Never belittle your spouse, even in jest; and especially never in public. Just don’t.2. Always lavish legitimate praise for any and all of your spouse’s qualities or accomplishments, especially in public.3. Almost all marriages that end badly do so because of selfishness. If your immediate inclination is to look for selfish behavior in your spouse instead of yourself, it is a good sign that you...
Perhaps you’ve seen videos on the internet of people who do themselves great harm by doing terribly foolish things. They dive off houses into swimming pools and miss, mess around with explosives and discover that they work as advertised, or misjudge the amount of bungee cord they needed to maintain an intact cranium.We look at them and wonder, “What were they thinking?”We seem to have some of the ...
The above is not simply the title of this brief article; it is the last question a number of people were asked just before being shot dead on Thursday October 1st, 2015.On Monday October 5th, a stone monument bearing inscriptions of the ten commandments was removed from the grounds of the Oklahoma state capitol. The monument bearing such subversive thoughts as “Thou shalt not kill”, “Thou shalt no...
Are you struggling or have you struggled with any of “life’s issues”? Financial troubles, divorce, straying children, chronic illness or pain, addiction to alcohol, nicotine, drugs, pornography, sex; do you struggle with anxiety, depression, doubt, fear, frustration, faithfulness, anger, disappointment, abandonment, abuse, a sense of shame or guilt, loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship, tryi...