Posts by Gil Martin

I remember many moons ago, a couple of friends and I went snow skiing at Sugar Mountain in North Carolina. The day after we arrived, we lounged around during the morning, so it was well into the afternoon before we got moving and headed for the slopes. We were driving along for what seemed like forever, looking for the turn to Sugar Mountain. This was a long time before…

Sometimes, reading the message of the prophets, the Major and the Minor Prophets, can become wearisome. It can sometimes seem oppressive. It can even leave us feeling a tad depressed. The book of Zephaniah is really no different. The message of judgment looms like a thick black cloud. But no matter how depressing the message of judgment may be, it is never the final word…

When we think of things that are firm and seemingly immovable, the ground upon which we stand seems to fit that bill. Nothing seems as solid and unshakeable as the ground under our feet… until that ground is moved. On October 27, 1989, as ABC television’s broadcast of Game 3 of the  World Series was beginning, pandemonium broke out as an earthquake measuring 6.9 on…

Psalm 99:9 declares “…the LORD our God is holy!” What is the holiness of God? This is a multifaceted subject that would require much more time and space than this blog post can provide. But the holiness of God is more than simply an attribute, though it is not incorrect to call it such. However, God’s holiness is more than an attribute. It is his very essence, and it is…

We all know the expression “to do something by the book.” To do something “by the book” means to do a task according to standard operating procedures. To follow the set rules and guidelines. When doing something “by the book,’ there is no leeway for variation of any kind. One of those times is when we enter the presence of the Living God. We come before the Living God on…

There are many things in life which can catch us by surprise. In 2016, the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States certainly caught most people by surprise. The devastation and tragic loss of life in the massive flooding that hit Texas several years ago caught everyone by surprise. Many things can take us by surprise, but Peter tells us of one thing…

I remember hearing a story about a pastor of a house church in China who was incarcerated on account of his faith. His name was Pastor Yun. I can’t remember exactly where he was imprisoned or some of the finer details of the story, but I cannot possibly forget the main points of the story. Pastor Yun was locked up and subjected to abuse and persecution for his faith in…

Suffering is a sad reality in life. Jesus said that in this world, we will face tribulation and suffering (John 16:33). It is one reality that we cannot avoid. It is inevitable. Suffering comes from a couple of causes. We face suffering as a result of living in this fallen world. Sometimes we face suffering as a result of our own disobedience. Sometimes, we can discern no…

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Human behavior can be a baffling mystery. Why do people act the way they do? Jeremiah gives us the answer: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. The Hebrew…

Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” When I was a kid, I was totally obsessed with body surfing. Bodysurfing is riding an ocean wave without the assistance of a float or something of that sort. It was an obsession I kept well into adulthood. Anytime I was at the beach – which was every chance I could…