Paul had written to the Corinthian believers in response to their questions concerning spiritual gifts. The church in Corinth was characterized by much division (I Corinthians 3:3) and contributing to this division was their misuse of these spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:28-31). Paul had explained to them that the gifts were to be used forContinue reading “Members Should Care”
Author Archives: randylivingston
Love…Not Easily Provoked, Thinketh No Evil
The Bible describes love primarily in how it behaves or acts. In doing so, it necessarily addresses how love does not behave as well. The Scriptures tell us love “is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” (I Corinthians 13:5). At the risk of oversimplifying, if I am easily provoked or given to thinking evil, myContinue reading “Love…Not Easily Provoked, Thinketh No Evil”
Love Hopes All Things, Endures All Things
In his letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul describes a love that is supernatural in origin and character. It is a love that is beyond the reach of human experience but for the grace of God. He tells them (and us) that among other qualities this Christ-like love “hopes all things, endures all things” (IContinue reading “Love Hopes All Things, Endures All Things”
Living for the Glory of God
Paul reminded the believers in Corinth that they had been delivered from sin, i.e. they were “washed…sanctified…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11). It was immediately after this that he offered some clear guidelines to help them navigate through this new life now theirsContinue reading “Living for the Glory of God”
Life Without God
James has a very emphatic admonition for his audience in first century Christianity. He warned them to not live their lives without God. Listen to him speak. “Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Continue reading “Life Without God”
Judgment, Mercy, and Faith
In his earthly ministry, Jesus was bold in his condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders in his time. On one occasion, he pronounced “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, andContinue reading “Judgment, Mercy, and Faith”
I Fell on My Face
The Apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9). It was there that the Spirit of God gave him a vision of the glorified Savior. “I saw…one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to theContinue reading “I Fell on My Face”
Golden Calves
John Newton, author of that well known hymn “Amazing Grace”, once made this statement, “Lord, save us from our golden calves.” Knowing the background to the “golden calves” will help us understand his plea. After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, he brought them to Mount Sinai where God delivered unto themContinue reading “Golden Calves”
God’s Dwelling Within Us
The Apostle Paul uses a question to teach a two-pronged truth to the Corinthian believers. He asks, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (I Corinthians 3:16)? In this passage he is speaking to the church as a body of believers. Collectively, theyContinue reading “God’s Dwelling Within Us”
God Uses the Least Likely
God called Jeremiah to be his prophet to the kingdom of Judah in the days of Josiah their king. His ministry continued for about 40 years, even unto the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews into Babylon. Scholars believe that based on the internal evidence of his prophecy that Jeremiah was aContinue reading “God Uses the Least Likely”
From the Chaplain 