Joe Barnett

I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance.              —1 Timothy 1:13 Bill had avoided traffic for months by taking a back-alley shortcut. There was a no-trespassing notice posted, but he never saw it. He was ticketed and had to pay the fine, even though his infraction was unintentional. […]

Our only goal is to please God.            —2 Corinthians 5:9 In ancient Greek religion, Zeus was “the sky and thunder” god. Greek artists pictured him with a thunderbolt in his raised right hand. He was depicted as a terrorist god, using violence to get his way. When he got angry,

Be patient until the Lord returns.                       —James 5:7 We drum our fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change. We boot our computer and wait for the operating system to kick in: “Come on, come on!” We don’t like to wait.

Please pray for me.   —Ephesians 6:19 “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of,” wrote British poet Alfred Tennyson. Paul opened his letter to the Ephesians saying that he was praying for them (1:16) and closed it asking them to pray for him (6:19). Does it come as a shock that

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.                    —Mark 10:43 Martin Luther King Jr. preached one of his stem-winder sermons based on Jesus’ words, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” “Everybody can be great,” said King, “because everybody

The glory of the One and Only.                     —John 1:14 In 47 BC, Julius Caesar led his Roman troops to a five-day rout of the Pontic army. Caesar’s Latin declaration of victory was brief: “Veni, vidi, vici”—“I came, I saw, I conquered.” Eighty years later, those

The intelligent person restrains his words.                                —Proverbs 17:27 The late President Harry Truman had a temper but disciplined himself to exercise restraint. He had a rule that any letter he wrote in anger had to sit on his desk for

The Spirit himself intercedes for us.                      —Romans 8:26 On his way downtown to pick up his wife, John Banks—using voice-messaging—texted her: “Where would you like me to meet you, old gal?” His cell phone misunderstood and sent the words “old cow.” I revisit these daily

The tongue of the wise brings healing.                         —Proverbs 12:18 The Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was dedicated on November 19, 1863. Featured speaker, Edward Everett, a former congressman, governor, and president of Harvard, opened the ceremony with a two-hour speech. President Abraham

Pray in the Spirit . . . with all kinds of prayers.                                       —Ephesians 6:18 Three-part prayer includes prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. Prayer is approaching God with reverence, devotion, and praise, recognizing his omniscience and omnipotence—acknowledging that