Posts by Randy Livingston

For Part 1, see here: The Lord’s Prayer (Part 1) – Proclaim & Defend We come to the final two elements in Christ’s pattern of prayer for his disciples as recorded in Luke’s gospel. The first of these occurs following the petition for daily bread. Our Lord adds “And forgive us our sins, for we also…

Luke records that when Jesus “was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John [the Baptist] also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). Jesus responded by giving them a pattern in what we have come to know as “the Lord’s prayer” (see…

David, the king of Israel, penned these words under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit. “He that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the fear of God” (2 Samuel 23:3). Those who hold positions of authority do so at the prerogative and purpose of God. They serve at his prerogative because God is…

Virtually every state has what might be referred to as “Good Samaritan Laws.” Such laws are in place to protect citizens from civil liability when helping those in need during an emergency. These laws draw their name from a parable that Jesus taught. A certain lawyer “had tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do…

  Jesus provided us a very plain and practical summary of God’s standard of righteousness as expressed in the Old Testament when he was concluding his Sermon on the Mount. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the…

Chapter 21 of Second Chronicles records God’s dealing with Jehoram, a wicked king of Judah. The Scriptures record that he did not walk in the ways of Jehoshaphat, his father, or Asa, both godly kings of Judah. Rather, he “walked in the way of the [evil] kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the…

The Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, delivered a series of warnings from God to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem to turn from their sin and to keep the covenant they had with God from the time of their exodus out of Egypt. Jeremiah gave some of these messages to the kings in Judah throughout the…

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples the necessity of a godly or godlike love. The Jews were familiar with the Old Testament charge “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:17). But Jesus wanted to show that the true expectation of that commandment contemplated all people, even one’s enemies. In…

One of the earmarks of true Christianity is the love that believers have for one another. Shortly before his passion, the Lord instructed his disciples “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that…

Pride is a deceptive resident of every human heart. Paul admonished each of the believers in Rome regarding spiritual gifts “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). He reiterated that warning of self-deception to the churches of Galatia. “For if a man think himself to be something, when…