Articles by Marty Kessler
When is the last time you made a proclamation? Don’t be fooled by the official sound of the word. It simply means to announce something publicly.Everything we do proclaims something about what we believe. This fact makes it possible for every Christian to proclaim their faith in Jesus and their love for His bride, the church, to the whole world without saying a wor...
I’m talking about the distance between sinners and God’s judgment. The phrase “stand in the gap” is taken from one of God’s messages to Ezekiel: I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 It is a use of military imagery. The idea is that the wall of a city is breached at ...
Paul wrote a clear and detailed denunciation of the practices of homo- sexuality and lesbianism in Romans 1:18-32. In verse 32 he also wrote: ...and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (emphasis mine) Paul, the author of the above through the inspiratio...
Two of the definitions the Merriam-Webster dictionary offers for entropy are: The degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity A process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder Entropy is the second law in the science of thermodynamics. It is not the kind of law you can choose to disobey. You and I are completely and totally subject to...
I'm not a sports junkie, but being from West Virginia it does my heart good to see the Mountaineers having a good year in football. The game they played against Baylor on September 29th, 2012 is now an important part of their history. It was not just a good game for West Virginia, however. Yes, they won it 70-63 (whew!), but starting quarterbacks for both teams broke school records for passing yar...
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”- Jesus, Luke 12:48Never before in human history has there been such an opportunity to read, study and understand God’s word than there is right now in the United States of America. Never!There is more literacy in the English language and more freedom and re...
He said His word, that is His teachings, are the rock upon which we must build our lives if we want them to withstand the storms of life: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” - Matthew 7:24 After Hurricane Andrew blew through Florida in 1992 a film crew was surveying the da...
Every precious, innocent child deserves a good childhood. This includes you. You should have been born to two loving, caring parents who worked together to make a happy home. If you did not have that advantage, you got cheated, and that’s not fair. It is not fair if you were born into dysfunctional circumstances. It was not your fault if your parents divorced, or ...
#1 Pray for your child and their future spouse - use the passion you have for them as James says that the prayer of a righteous man does much good (5:16). Remember that they are God’s children too, and He wants to be a major player in their upbringing. Invite Him often and passionately. Cast all of your (parenting) cares on Him, because He cares for you,...
Solomon has written in the Psalms (127:3-5) that children are a gift of the Lord. They are gifts, however, that come as do-it-yourself kits. It takes a child to make a father. Yes, I know we usually think of it the other way around, but it is true. It is true biologically, and it is especially true relationally. A man is not truly a father unless he be...
God looks on the heart. No one can see our hearts but Him. Regardless of the strength of my faith, it does no one any good whatsoever if all I do is “have” it. So God has sent His Son to teach us, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven”, Matthew 5:16. People ca...
Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came to see him and the Israelites after they had been delivered from Egypt (Exodus 18:1-27). Seeing Moses serve as a judge over all of the issues that arose among the people from morning until evening, he counseled him to make a change. Jethro told Moses to choose able men who feared God, were honest and who hated dishonest gain. &nb...
One of the saddest, most tragic events recorded in scripture is the death of Uriah the Hittite due to David’s attempt to cover his own sin. The account is given in 2nd Samuel chapter eleven. Below are seven observations about Uriah based on Samuel’s account. I believe every member of God’s kingdom would do well to emulate him. 1. Though he was a foreigner ...
You may notice if you read the Revelation that there are at least five seeming counterfeits to God’s originals. First there is the figure of God’s servants pictured as being “sealed on their foreheads”, 7:3. Contrast this holy sealing with the “mark of the beast” on those who worship the beast that rises up from the earth, 13:16. &nb...
1. Be sexually pure because it is right. God even used the image of sexual purity to express righteousness in Revelation 14:1-5. Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:18-25 make it clear that marriage is a pure relationship (so do many other Biblical passages). Defilement comes from sexual relationships outside of marriage. 2. Be sexually pure to maintain your dignity and s...
In an environment where sin rules, anyone who attempts to introduce God’s teachings will almost instantly be vilified. This is how the world responded to Jesus. If we do things His way today, we should expect the same. Isaiah said there were those who in his day called evil good and good evil. They substituted darkness for light and light for darkness, bit...
The word god is not God’s name. That is not to say that using the term flippantly is a virtuous practice. All references, even allusions to the creator of the universe should be of utmost respect. But “God” is not God’s name. So what is His name? When Moses asked this question, God told him that he was to refer to Him as I Am Wh...
The above word is the name that was given to the place where Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried. It means “oak of weeping”. Genesis 35:8 is nearly the only passage telling us anything at all about her life. There is one other reference in 24:59 simply reporting that when Rebekah left home to become the wife of Isaac that “her nurse&rdq...
Christmas is over. Homes and businesses previously decorated with bright and cheery holiday lighting are all taking those lights down again. What about you and me? Jesus was speaking to people just like us when he said to them, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16). He defined their “light” as good works that they could do...
God did not design us for violence. Sin, however, changed everything and it became the responsibility of righteous people to take violent situations in hand. As soon as Noah stepped off of the ark God instructed him that any man or beast who took the life of another man was to be put to death, Genesis 9:5-6. God had noted for us in Genesis 6:5 & 11 & 13 that mankind ha...