Joe Barnett

The integrity of the upright guides them.                         —Proverbs 11:3 Senator Richard Russell (1897–1971) said, “When the time comes for me to go out of this chamber, whether I go voluntarily, or my commission is revoked by the electorate of Georgia, or I am […]

Let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me.                 —Jeremiah 9:24 “It’s not whether you win or lose but how you play the game,” goes the saying. Really? I’ve never seen a losing team stay on the field screaming, “We’re number three! We’re

Repent and be baptized . . . “for the forgiveness of your sins.                 —Acts 2:38 Bible scholar R.C.H. Lenski wrote: “In the entire Bible no sweeter word meets the sinner’s eye,” than the Greek word for forgiveness (aphesin). The word means “sending away,” “remission,” “dismissal.” Lenski said

I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. —Revelation 3:20 Jesus and a quartet of his disciples were in the synagogue, where Jesus healed a man possessed by an impure spirit. “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon

Don’t be afraid, just believe.               —Mark 5:36 Two people in the large, curious crowd were especially eager to see Jesus: a man with a dying twelve-year-old daughter and a woman suffering from a twelve-year incurable disease. The man was a well-known synagogue officer. The woman was an anonymous

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.         —Mark 2:17 Four men brought a paralyzed friend to Jesus. It took some creative doing to get him into Jesus’ presence, but they got it done. Jesus was touched. Yes, he would heal the incapacitated man. But before healing

Rise, let us go! —Matthew 26:46 Crushed with anguish over his approaching crucifixion, Jesus stumbled deeper into Gethsemane to pray. “Stay here and keep watch with me,” he implored his three best friends. And three disappointing times, he came back to find them sleeping instead of watching. Feelings of sorrow and shame must have been

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.         —Matthew 6:21 Here is the shortest course on investment decisions ever presented: “No one can serve two masters . . . You cannot serve both God and Money” (Mt 6:24). This course isn’t one that we encourage our children to sign

He being dead still speaks.            —Hebrews 11:4 You know the game. Someone says a word, and you respond with the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that word. Try it. Hitler. Mother Teresa. The first probably elicited contempt; the second, admiration. American poet James Whitcomb Riley wrote

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.     —Psalm 139:1 Reese Kauffman’s mother had a bedtime dictum: every night during Reese’s formative years, she said, “Brush your teeth and read your Bible.” So, every night before lights out, he brushed his teeth and read a chapter in his Bible. In his adult