Joe Barnett

What joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven.         —Romans 4:7 In Billy Buckner’s twenty-two season major league baseball career, he put up impressive stats: 174 home runs, career batting average of .289, and near-perfect .991 fielding percentage. But the one thing Buckner is remembered for is letting a grounder roll between […]

If we have food and clothes, that should be enough.        —1 Timothy 6:8 Authors Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five) and Joseph Heller (Catch-22) were guests at a high-dollar party at the palatial New York home of a billionaire host. Vonnegut began to needle Heller. “Joe, how does it make you feel to know that

Your prayer has been heard.                   —Luke 1:13 “Your prayer has been heard,” said the angel. What prayer? Zechariah had to be reminded: “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.” He hadn’t prayed for a son since he and Elizabeth were newlyweds. Now they were old.

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