Joe Barnett

He sees every step I take.        —Job 31:4 When you came into the world, and for quite a few years after, you didn’t have a clue where life was taking you. You were on a journey with an unknown destination. As you moved through adolescence into adulthood, you began to target a […]

I call upon you, for you answer me.                    —Psalm 86:7 In 2015, twelve-year-old Cade Pope was trying to decide which NFL team deserved his loyalty. He mailed handwritten letters to each of the thirty-two owners of National Football League teams, explaining that he wanted to pick

A cheerful disposition is good for your health.   —Proverbs 17:22 I have no idea who Aunt Milda is, but someone forwarded me a copy of her blog where she said it takes twenty-six muscles to smile and sixty-two to frown. She also claimed researchers have proved that “when we smile it releases brain chemicals

We will tell the next generation.               —Psalm 78:4 Abilene Christian College’s track relay team—Bobby Morrow, Bill Woodhouse, James Segrest, and Waymond Griggs—set world records in 1957 and 1958. The moment the baton was passed from one runner to the next always had me on the edge of my

We will tell the next generation.               —Psalm 78:4 Abilene Christian College’s track relay team—Bobby Morrow, Bill Woodhouse, James Segrest, and Waymond Griggs—set world records in 1957 and 1958. The moment the baton was passed from one runner to the next always had me on the edge of my

Unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.                  —John 3:3 I presided at two funerals where several people smiled perceptively as they passed the caskets. The first was for a man whose job had sent him flying the friendly skies most days

Whoever eats this bread will live forever.                      —John 6:58 William Shakespeare, arguably the greatest English language playwright in history, has been dead over 400 years. One of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, Ben Jonson, wrote of him: “He was not of an age, but for all time.” I

Everything we have has come from you.                 —1 Chronicles 29:14 Elisabeth Elliot, in Passion and Purity, wrote: “If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used

We . . . are being transformed into his likeness.                      —2 Corinthians 3:18 My father was a master wood carver. When I view pieces of his elegant craftsmanship on my apartment shelves, I am reminded of his technique. He described it as choosing an appropriate

He has given each one of us a special gift.   —Ephesians 4:7 Thomas J. DeLong, a professor at Harvard Business School, notes a disturbing trend he sees in people in all walks of life. He calls it “comparison obsession”—being consumed with comparing our accomplishments with the achievements of others. The Bible warns that comparisons