Articles by Marty Kessler

1. Be sexually pure because it is right. Sexual purity is used in Revelation 14:1-5 to express righteousness. Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:18-25 make it clear that marriage is the only relationship designed for the expression of intimate sexuality (so do many other Bible passages). Defilement comes from sexual relationships outside of marriage. 2. Be sexually pure to maintain your dignity, self-respect a...

Since the beginnings of Christianity, the sign of the fish has been used as a symbol of the faith. Although there is no mention of its use in Jesus’ teachings, or that of His apostles or prophets, in many ways it seems an apt symbol to use, assuming any symbol at all should be employed as it has been. But why use the fish? Perhaps the best place to begin answering this question is in the spe...

We humans form habits. The Bible tells of some who were a part of the church, but had developed the habit of forsaking the assembling of the church. The writer warns that that is a bad habit that can lead to a “terrifying expectation of judgment”, Hebrews 10:26-27. The best counter to that bad habit would be to develop the good habit of attending the assemblies of the church on a faith...

(from Genesis 3:1-24)   Life gets tougher when you don’t do what is right Adam and Even had it made in the garden. Every need was fulfilled and they were together with God, the source of all good things. They crossed an obvious line into disobedience against what they knew to be right and their whole lives changed. Don’t listen to a liar, especially one who doesn’t have your...

While there is no passage outlining the exact order of that final day, we can read of each of the following events and know that they will be included:  First of all, that day will come at a time when we are not expecting it:  For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Matthew 24:44  …you yourselves know full...

I have known a lot of people through the years who made it a practice to avoid the issue of their need for Jesus. They do so in the vain hope that their own morality will be their salvation. Actually, what they are counting on is that their lack of gross immorality is their ticket to not being punished. You can see this idea in popular movies such as “Ghost” (1990... man, has it really...

On July fourth, 1776, the Continental Congress of the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. A new nation was born taking upon itself the responsibility for self-government. But the founding fathers, and indeed other national leaders who followed them, understood that without the dependence of individual citizens on Almighty God, our form of government would be ...

  Just wondering if the average “Joe” is at all familiar with modern abortion techniques? I thought that since, among other reasons, this is a hot political issue, you should be aware of just how some of them work. You may want to sit down before you read these.  First there is the “suction aspiration method” which utilizes a very powerful vacuum. The vacuum hose ...

I have observed that there is sometimes confusion over what place pride should play in our lives. As I see it, there are two kinds of pride. One I would refer to as “virtuous pride” and the other, “arrogant pride”. I believe that all pride, both virtuous and arrogant, is based in our individual concepts of rightness. What I mean is that each of us has a concept of something...

The title is taken from the book of Nehemiah chapter four and verse six. Here is described the progress of the Israelites as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem after returning from exile in Babylon. It was a huge undertaking, and they had many detractors, but nothing stopped them simply because they were committed. Each one of them knew why they had come back and each one must certainly have had ...

The Differences Between Holy Spirit Baptism and Great Commission Baptism (part #2)   Below is a continuation of last week’s article highlighting some of the differences between Holy Spirit baptism and the baptism of the great commission.   HSB is not required for all believers, whereas GCB is required               Nowhere...

Last week we noted the news report about President Jimmy Carter  leaving the Southern Baptists because of their views on the role of  women in the home and church. The singular question I believe we should ask is, "What does Jesus teach us about the role of women in the church?" After all, if we   claim to be His followers, we should follow Him in this regard as well as in...

As reported in the news of late, President Jimmy Carter has left the Southern Baptist church because they supposedly teach that women are to be subservient to their husbands and also refuse to ordain women as ministers.  Was he right?   What does the Bible say?   To begin with, God made woman (Eve), because He knew that the man (Adam) He had created, needed help (and that hasn&lsquo...

  As noted in last week’s article, Jesus made it clear that the miracles, wonders, and signs that He did were for the purpose of affirming His identity as the Son of God (Matthew 11:4-5 & John 10:25).   It should not surprise us then, that on Pentecost, Luke tells us that the first thing that the apostle Peter said as he began preaching about Jesus was this:   Men of Israe...

  Somewhere around 900BC, the prophet Elijah raised a poor widow’s son from the dead.  When she saw what he had done, she said:                “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”             ...

  I recently had an opportunity to do a little fishing.  I began with my fly rod.  Of course every fisherman knows the sensation of being filled with anticipation at the first cast.  But this time, nothing happened.  I changed my aim and dropped my fly in another spot.  Still nothing.   This continued for a while until I was convinced that I needed to switch to s...

  We live in a complicated world, where even when you make the best decisions possible politically, financially, socially, physically, emotionally and morally, the bottom can still drop out without notice and you can find your life totally out of control.  The illusion is that we have any control over anything or anyone in the first place.  All we can ever hope to control is ourselv...

It was a different time when I was a kid.  Lots of dads like mine were veterans of either World War II or Korea and had stories they didn‘t tell very often.  I remember hearing about some of the things my dad went through, but I didn’t hear them from him.  Maybe he told Mom and she told us kids so we’d have some appreciation for what was done for us in the war.&nbs...

  Sunday, June 14th 1777, was the day that the Second Continental Congress of the United States of America officially adopted the basic design of our nation’s flag.   The original resolution called for a flag with thirteen alternating red and white stripes with a union of thirteen white stars on a field of blue.  Nearly every aspect of our flag communicates sentiments of our f...

  The above phrase is taken from the second letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, where he explained his “thorn in the flesh”, 12:7.   A great deal of study and speculation has centered around the question of just exactly what Paul’s thorn was.  Some believe it was an eye problem, and there appears to be some evidence for that.  The apostle a...