Joe Barnett

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.    —1 Thessalonians 5:16 Sometimes you get slammed by a train wreck over which you have no control: divorce, disease, death. But you have control over your thoughts. A flash of anger or lust may pop in, but you are able to flip the switch […]

This week we’re considering Five Life-Changing Questions (5) Is This Who I Want to Be? I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin. —Psalm 39:1 Blunt fact: you are what you say and do. Blunt truth: you’re not good if your words and actions are bad. Measure your stature by asking if

This week we’re considering Five Life-Changing Questions (4) Is This a Healthy Relationship? He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.               —Proverbs 13:20 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, widely considered Germany’s greatest literary figure, said, “Tell me who you spend time with,

This week we’re considering Five Life-Changing Questions (3) Is This the Most Important Thing to Me? Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.         —Proverbs 3:13 What’s the most important thing to you? If you don’t know the answer to this question, you have no way of

This week we’re considering Five Life-Changing Questions (2) Is This Worth Worrying About? Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.    —John 14:27 Worry saps stamina, triggers health problems, torpedoes optimism, impairs judgment, and smothers gratitude. Worry doubles your trouble: if what you’re worrying about doesn’t happen, you’ve lived through

This week let’s consider Five Life-Changing Questions (1) Is This In My Control? Search me, O God . . . and know my anxious thoughts.            —Psalm 139:23 You can save yourself a lot of agitation by sorting out what is in your control and what isn’t. Your actions, words, and

Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . For the battle is not yours, but God’s. —2 Chronicles 20:15 You’re strong. But the problems just keep coming until you have a backpack full. The load seems unbearable. Jehoshaphat, Judah’s fourth king, would understand. He was minding his own business when the Moabites decided to

Because I live, you also will live.                 —John 14:19 Grieving women trudged to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, only to find the tomb empty. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” an angel asked. “He is not here; he has risen!”

Death has been swallowed up in victory.               —1 Corinthians 15:54 A car crash on I-45 between The Woodlands and Conroe, Texas, left a victim with such severe injuries his chance of survival was slim. Thankfully, skillful surgeons saved his life. The downside is that he has brain damage

Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”    —John 11:43 Mary Magdalene—one of the last at the cross and first at the tomb—stood outside the sepulcher weeping. Angels appeared and asked why she was crying. Because “[t]hey have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”