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”
Author Archives: randylivingston
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”
Eating Meats Offered to Idols
The believers in Corinth questioned Paul in the matter of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Corinth was a city given to idolatry. Often the meat remaining from the temple sacrifices was sold in the temple district markets for consumption. There were different viewpoints among the believers as to whether or not theyContinue reading “Eating Meats Offered to Idols”
Do Right!
Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”Continue reading “Do Right!”
If the Foundations Be Destroyed…
Paul warned Timothy that “in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1). The Greek word for perilous is also translated fierce when describing the demon-possessed men that Christ healed of the country of the Gadarenes (Matthew 8:28). The fierceness of these two men was so great that “no one could pass thatContinue reading “If the Foundations Be Destroyed…”
From the Chaplain 