Joe Barnett

The way of fools seems right to them.               —Proverbs 12:15 He was the Bible class nightmare. He interrupted, challenged, and pontificated. He knew everything about everything. A lady who’d had it up to here with his disruptions finally said to him, “I wish I was as certain about […]

Be strong and courageous.              —Joshua 1:9 We think of courage as the grit to stand our ground and say “Yes!” or “No!” in the face of external opposition. That’s a piece of it, for sure. But the greatest challenge to courage is oneself—standing strong at the testing point of

Do this in remembrance of me.      —1 Corinthians 11:24 On the night of his betrayal, Jesus hosted his final Passover meal with his disciples, at which time he inaugurated the Lord’s Supper: “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,” he said, “do it in remembrance of me.” Later, in Gethsemane, he

[He] bore our sins in his body on the cross.                              —1 Peter 2:24 In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress dream, he saw Christian at the slough of Despond: “Because of the burden on his back, Christian began to sink.” Later: “At the top

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you.          —Psalm 55:22 “There are some burdens we must bear alone,” goes the saying. It sure seems that way sometimes, doesn’t it? But at the deepest and most encouraging level, it isn’t true. The New International Version has Psalm 68:19 this

Let the little children come to me.                        —Luke 18:16 A fictional story pictures a famous architect gazing proudly at his magnificent, just-completed cathedral. Then, his eye is drawn to a scrawny waif at his elbow. Abused? Abandoned? Homeless? If he had to make a

Do nothing out of selfish ambition.                 —Philippians 2:3 Wanting to do what we do as well as it can be done is a healthy ambition. On the other hand, a desire to get top billing and snag the lion’s share of credit is a misguided ambition. “Do

Go and do likewise.     —Luke 10:37 “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” a lawyer asked Jesus. “What is written in the Law?” Jesus responded. “Love the Lord your God . . . and love your neighbor as yourself,” replied the counselor. “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “And who is my

I trust in your word.    —Psalm 119:42 At 5 a.m. on July 17, 1938, Douglas Corrigan lifted off in a beat-up plane in New York City, destined for Los Angeles on a nonstop solo flight across America. Twenty-eight hours later, he landed—in Dublin, Ireland. Crawling out of his cockpit, he said to curious bystanders,

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.       —Galatians 6:7 At Aristotle’s bidding, Alexander the Great took scientists with him on his Hellenistic crusade. They were to collect flora and fauna for Aristotle to analyze. “Why, if you plant an acorn in the ground, doesn’t it produce an elephant?” asked Aristotle.