Articles by Marty Kessler

I received an e-mail from someone considering visiting one of our assemblies. They related how their past was not necessarily exemplary, and so were wondering if that would keep them from being welcomed among us. How would you answer such an e-mail? What would you say? No one among us has a stellar past either?Is your sin really worse than ours?Jesus' church is a hospital for sinners, not a countr...

The church in Choctaw can move forward if we are willing to work in these areas and PRAYING. There are already many areas of service to our Lord already in this place. Each and every work of service is really valuable. The purpose of this article is to focus on the three areas of previously discussed with the addition of praying for our Lord’s help for their success since they are what He wants fr...

Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit to the apostles to… Teach them all things (John 14:26) Enable them to remember what he had taught them Guide them into all truth (John 16:13) Glorify Jesus in doing so This means that when the apostles and New Testament prophets wrote down what the Holy Spirit gave them, they were recording all of the truth into which Jesus wanted them guided. When we read ...

The Proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On hearing that he was, he tried to persuade him to apostatize, saying, “Have respect for your old age, swear by the fortune of Caesar. Repent, and say, ‘Down with the Atheists!’” Polycarp looked grimly at the wicked heathen multitude in the stadium, and gesturing towards them, he said, “Down with the Atheists!” “Swear,” urged the Proconsul, “reproa...

To succeed, make God your closest ally and his people your best friends – Few things will benefit you as much in life as seeking out God and his people wherever the road ahead takes you. Hard work pays off, God promises – We reap as we sow. According to Galatians 6:6-10, God assures us that he will provide the harvest of what we have planted. Jesus said the laborer is worthy of his hire, and no on...

If Eve had not listened to the serpent, she would not have eaten the fruit. But she did listen to him and brought sin with all of its corruption into paradise (Genesis 3). If Aaron had not listened to the people, he would not have made that golden calf that they worshiped as a god. But he did listen to them, he did make the calf, which made him look pretty dumb brought a horrible judgment on God’s...

God made both Adam and Eve in his image (Genesis 1:26-27). Adam was given priority as the first one created. Eve was made from Adam, and her purpose was not to compete with him, but to help him. Equality with Adam was also not the focus. God’s purpose for both of them was unity, two people becoming one. Paul wrote a rare word of praise for the church in Corinth because of the ways in which they we...

Am I being the image of Jesus he calls me to be? Do I serve like he serves, knowing that some whom I serve will be ungrateful or apathetic? I am so glad he keeps on serving even though the ungrateful one is often me. Do I have compassion like him? I have tons of compassion. Well, okay, is mostly for myself, but isn’t that still compassion? No one throws as good a pity party. You may have even been...

My computer immediately put a blue line under the second “Encourage” above, meaning the system program questions the legitimacy of this word in that place. But there is no question in our minds about the value of encouragement, is there? I mean, when is it out of place to put some courage into someone to help them do well? If you could go back in time, whom would you like to think that you would h...

A man by the name of Derek Chauvin is presently on trial for the death of another man named George Floyd. It is feared that there may be reprisals if the outcome does not satisfy those whose minds are already made up regarding his guilt. Perhaps this fact, more so than the actual verdict, is what scares most folks the most. Regardless of how passionately some feel about this case, there is coming ...

Here are pictures and names of the Gonzalez family who were baptized by Gumer Gonzales (brother to the father of this family) who was converted through BibleTalk & our website. About time we had some good news, huh? — Marty The pictures of their baptism that took place at our home by our brother in Christ on 4/4/2021. My brother in law Yerik Gonzalez, his wife Ivette, son Yerik and daughter Julia ...

“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will drive it far from him”, Proverbs 22:15 Children are foolish unless we teach & train them to be otherwise. If you want to avoid having foolish children, you have to put forth some effort. Trust me, it is not easy, and you won’t get it right all the time, but God provides some guidance and authorizes you to enforce it. Eli ...

1. Give your sadness time – While pain resulting from an injury (either physical or emotional) is usually the greatest at first, the process of healing begins almost immediately. It is a process, however, and cannot be rushed. Give yourself permission to hurt for a while and allow the hurt to subside. Even Jobs three “friends” sat quietly with him for seven days , saying nothing (Job 2:11-13). 2. ...

Live streaming! Who would have thought 20+ years ago that the Lord’s people while physically separated could stay in touch with worship & Bible classes through the internet? I have thanked God many times for this technology. Circumstances have often dictated temporary interruptions. Snow, ice, hail storms, tornadoes, power-outages, etc. have all proven to be good reasons to cancel or postpone asse...

Well, of course we know what must be done to get a baby, right? This alone shows us that it is not by means of our genius that these little blessings come into being. The physical body of a baby is a miraculous sort of thing. You have a nearly microscopic egg that is fertilized by a single microscopic sperm and voila, you have all the makings of a tiny person, and in nine months or so, there he is...

As Israel was freed from Egyptian slavery, so all who have obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ have been freed from sin! But the Israelites were not happy campers. Regardless of God’s profound care for them, they seemed determined to find reasons to complain. Pharaoh’s gonna get us! Thirst is gonna get us! Hunger’s gonna get us! The giants are gonna get us! Something’s gonna get us! We’re all going ...

Solomon was the wise king of Israel who brought his nation to its zenith of power and prosperity. He did so, however, by overtaxing his people. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam took the throne. The new king was immediately approached by one of his father’s former servants as well as representatives of the entire nation. They promised faithful service to Rehoboam if he would only lighten the hea...

By now, you probably know that COVID-19 can give you headaches, upset stomach, difficulty breathing, body aches, fever, impact your ability to taste and smell and a variety of other such symptoms (including death) that seem to vary from one victim to another. As if the above were not bad enough, I have seen that this malady can now boast what I believe to be even more tragic secondary side-effects...

Nothing in the New Testament leads us to observe the Sabbath. What we see beginning in the gospels and continuing in the rest of the New Testament is a break from the Sabbath with a new emphasis on the first day of the week. Each gospel writer carefully points out that Jesus’ resurrection was on the first of the week, Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-2, Luke 24:1 & John 20:1. Why did the Holy Spirit inspir...

Judah’s citizens had practiced 57 years of apostasy and idolatry when Josiah became king… and he was just eight years old! But he would set his heart to follow God. When Josiah was 20, he began a purge of the idolatrous images and high places. Then at age 26, he sent workmen to repair the neglected temple in Jerusalem. Somehow during this project, a priest came across a copy of the Law of Moses. W...