Joe Barnett

My peace I give you.       —John 14:27 The peace Jesus gives is not exemption from life’s storms, but serenity in navigating them—an inner peace that nothing the world throws at you can take from you. When the winds of tragedy blow, the sleet of disappointment stings, the waves of grief surge, and […]

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.                                 —Philippians 4:7 Two young men having lunch at the table next to mine were engaged in animated conversation. One turned to

What is impossible with men is possible with God.                                      —Luke 18:27 Over seventy years ago, J.B. Phillips wrote a book titled Your God Is Too Small. In it, he sketched common conceptions (or misconceptions) of God, one

People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.            —Hebrews 9:27 “All who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who done what is evil will rise to be condemned” (Jn

There is nothing new under the sun.                   —Ecclesiastes 1:9 Automobiles, airplanes, telephones, and personal computers bring to mind the names of Henry Ford, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Alexander Graham Bell, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Medical advances are stunning: vaccines, drugs, surgical procedures, gene sequencing—the list

The way of fools seems right to them.               —Proverbs 12:15 He was the Bible class nightmare. He interrupted, challenged, and pontificated. He knew everything about everything. A lady who’d had it up to here with his disruptions finally said to him, “I wish I was as certain about

Be strong and courageous.              —Joshua 1:9 We think of courage as the grit to stand our ground and say “Yes!” or “No!” in the face of external opposition. That’s a piece of it, for sure. But the greatest challenge to courage is oneself—standing strong at the testing point of

Do this in remembrance of me.      —1 Corinthians 11:24 On the night of his betrayal, Jesus hosted his final Passover meal with his disciples, at which time he inaugurated the Lord’s Supper: “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,” he said, “do it in remembrance of me.” Later, in Gethsemane, he

[He] bore our sins in his body on the cross.                              —1 Peter 2:24 In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress dream, he saw Christian at the slough of Despond: “Because of the burden on his back, Christian began to sink.” Later: “At the top

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you.          —Psalm 55:22 “There are some burdens we must bear alone,” goes the saying. It sure seems that way sometimes, doesn’t it? But at the deepest and most encouraging level, it isn’t true. The New International Version has Psalm 68:19 this