Joe Barnett

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.                   —1 Chronicles 16:34 I enjoy this festive season. Thanksgiving is a reminder of how blessed we are, a remembrance that God is the Great Giver. And Christmas inspires us to be givers also. The season nudges us […]

Give thanks to the Lord.    —1 Chronicles 16:8 On September 6, 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers. “God sifted out a hundred and two seeds from the civilization of Europe to plant a new nation on these shores,” wrote Longfellow. A year later, forty-nine of the 102 were dead—victims

How great are your works, O Lord.                     —Psalm 92:5 Dear God, I thank you often for obvious blessings: family, friends, and food. But there are many favors I take for granted; I fail to thank because I fail to think. I rarely thank you for

Give thanks to God the Father for everything.                                   —Ephesians 5:20 Dr. Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis, and author of The Little Book of Gratitude: Create a Life of Happiness and Well-Being by

[God] has heard your grumbling.               —Exodus 16:8 It’s Thanksgiving week. Resolve to make it a week of thankfulness. Gratitude is a choice. So is grumbling. Numbers 13–14 shows us what God thinks about grumbling. It was a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of Israelites. The hike from

I will follow you, Lord; but first . . .                         —Luke 9:61 When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he is met with one of three responses: I will; I won’t; I will, but not yet. “Follow me,” Jesus said to Matthew. Matthew’s response was

When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out.     —1 Corinthians 10:13 The temptations of Adam and Jesus were vastly different. First, Adam was not deprived of food for even one day. Jesus, on the other hand, was denied food for forty days (Lk 4:2). Second, trees heavy with fruit permeated

The word of our God stands forever.                   —Isaiah 40:8 Before Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning: grant that we may in such wise hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of Thy

I have stored up your word in my heart.                           —Psalm 119:11 Before Merciful God, who hast given us the Bible to be the revelation of Thy great love, and of Thy power and will to save: grant that our study of it

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.                                    —James 1:22 Before Blessed Lord, by whose providence all holy scriptures were written and preserved for our instruction, give us grace to study them this and every day with