A Word From Joe Barnett
This site is about words.
First, about God’s authoritative, inspired Word.
Second, about my non-authoritative, non-inspired words—nevertheless, written in hope that they will encourage those who read them, and above all that they will point the reader to God’s Word.
Here are the regular features you will find here.
- Today’s Walk in the Word. A brief devotional that appears Monday through Friday. Each entry is based on a single verse of Scripture, followed by my comments related to it, and ending with a summary aphorism. To access the latest devotional click on "Today’s Walk in the Word" below. To access previous messages click on "Archives/A Walk in the Word" in the top menu.
- On My Mind. Messages on varied topics that appear on this site at least once a month. To access the latest entry click on "On My Mind" below. To access previous messages click on "Archives/On My Mind" in the top menu.
Each of these features can also be fed directly to your email box if you wish. Just click here to sign up.
And yes, you are permitted—in fact, encouraged—to pass along any of these messages to those you feel will benefit from them. Just click on the “Forward to a Friend” button. Your participation in this way makes this “our” ministry instead of “my” ministry.
If you find anything here that brings you, or those with whom you share these messages, into a closer relationship with the Lord, I praise God and thank him for permitting our paths to cross.
Thanks for dropping by. I hope you will do so often.
Today's Walk in the Word
Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
By Joe Barnett |
Be patient, bearing with one another in love. —Ephesians 4:2 Patience is a tough trait to cultivate. It calls for endurance, humility, restraint, tolerance, calmness, and resignation. It’s the staying power to endure hard knocks and obnoxious people—a refusal […]
Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
By Joe Barnett |
Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. —2 Corinthians 13:11 The legacy of our Lord is joy and its companion, peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). Paul groups joy, gentleness, and peace in a single paragraph: “Rejoice in the […]
Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
By Joe Barnett |
Rejoice in the Lord always. —Philippians 4:4 Oxymoron: pessimistic Christian. Christians don’t ignore or deny adversities. But they possess an inner joy that overrides outer circumstances. Believers experience comfort even in the thick of distressing circumstances (Rom 8:28). We share Paul’s exuberance: “In all our troubles my joy knows no […]
Fruit of the Spirit: Love
By Joe Barnett |
Walk in the way of love. —Ephesians 5:2 Love is the foundation for all the ingredients that follow, each describing a way in which love is expressed. As Paul says elsewhere, “Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Col 3:14). In our culture, we tend […]
Fruit of the Spirit
By Joe Barnett |
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. —Galatians 5:16 The flesh and the Spirit are in conflict, pulling in opposite directions. “There exists between the two an interminable, deadly feud” (Lightfoot). John Stott observed, “We shall still experience [lusts of the flesh], […]
Prescription for Forgiveness
By Joe Barnett |
[Forgive] each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32 General James Oglethorpe was infuriated by an abrasive comment by one of his comrades. When the offender apologized and asked forgiveness, Oglethorpe snapped, I never forgive!” “Then I hope,” mulled his aide, “that you never sin.” Where would we stand with […]
