The City of Corinth was permeated with the practice of pagan idolatry. Paul had warned his audience against eating of the sacrificial offerings made in these temples in the temple district itself. To do so in such close proximity to these pagan temples would suggest the believers were sharing in the idol worship therein. HeContinue reading “Do All to the Glory of God!”
Author Archives: randylivingston
Dealing with Sexual Sin
One of the reasons that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth was to address sexual sin that was tolerated by the fellowship. He wrote “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. AndContinue reading “Dealing with Sexual Sin”
Count It All Joy!
James, the Lord’s half-brother, wrote a letter to Jewish believers that were scattered beyond Jerusalem in an effort to encourage them and instruct them in their faith. The epistle that bears his name in our Bibles is that letter. He opened that letter with “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diversContinue reading “Count It All Joy!”
Building with My Life
The book of Ecclesiastes teaches us among other things that life is challenging, frustrating, often disappointing, but never meaningless! Indeed, nothing is meaningless. The Psalmist both encouraged and warned “Verily, there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalm 58:11). Everything that a man or womanContinue reading “Building with My Life”
Believing All Things
Paul makes some remarkable statements in his description of love that is born from above. One of them is “love…believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Corinthians 13:7). When he says that love “believes all things” he is not saying that we believe everything we hear and, consequently, that we exercise noContinue reading “Believing All Things”
Begotten of God
James noted in his epistle that “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). Conversely, he declares in that same passage “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). It is from this background that James (under theContinue reading “Begotten of God”
Ask God!
In his Epistle, James’ (the Lord’s half-brother) admonished his readers to “count it all joy” when they encounter trials and difficulties. He understood these trying times fall to all of us from a loving heavenly Father whose purpose is to use them to produce the image of His Son in each of us. Hence, weContinue reading “Ask God!”
And Now Abideth…
Paul makes a remarkable statement in his concluding remarks about love to the believers in Corinth, “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13). First, he sets these three spiritual gems – faith, hope, love – in surpassing beauty to the brevity of prophecies, tonguesContinue reading “And Now Abideth…”
An Unruly Evil
James, the Lord’s half-brother, speaks clearly in his epistle of the relationship between faith and works. It is true that we are saved through faith alone, but James goes on to point out that faith that saves is never alone. In fact, he concludes that “faith without works is dead” (James 1:26) and by implicationContinue reading “An Unruly Evil”
Adulterers and Adulteresses
James made a comparison of earthly wisdom to wisdom that is from above (James 3:17). It is understandable that James spoke of a wisdom that is “from above” when he described how Christians should live. After all, believers are in the world but are not to be of the world. Yet his audience was characterizedContinue reading “Adulterers and Adulteresses”
From the Chaplain 