Joe Barnett

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.                                           —John 8:12 Many in Isaiah’s day, as in our own, were walking in darkness. But the prophet saw an approaching light: “The people walking in darkness […]

[God] determines the course of world events.    —Daniel 2:21 New Living Translation “Comfort my people,” God said to Isaiah. So, Isaiah reminds us of God’s power over the powerful. “God brings down rulers and turns them into nothing. They are like flowers freshly sprung up and starting to grow. But when God blows on

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.                   —Psalm 121:2 God told Isaiah to “Comfort my people.” So, Isaiah pointed to creation: “Look up to the skies, who created all these stars?” (Is 40:26) Psalm 104 declares that all creation is God’s

Before him all the nations are as nothing.                                 —Isaiah 40:17 God commissioned Isaiah: “Comfort my people.” So, Isaiah told them, “The nations are like a drop in a bucket; . . . Before God all the nations are as

The Sovereign Lord comes with power.                             —Isaiah 40:10 Current events in Judah were horrifying and depressing. “Comfort my people,” God said to Isaiah. “Lift up your voice with a shout,” he told the prophet. “Say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.                                —Isaiah 40:1 God’s people in Isaiah’s day were a lot like us—distressed and depressed about their nation. Their sins had caught up with them, and they were about to pay a high price

I thank my God every time I remember you.                                 —Philippians 1:3 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” We’re seeing things that trouble us: unblushing vulgarity, offensive speech, merciless treatment of fellow humans, class

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”       —Ecclesiastes 7:10 Are we living in the worst of times? In 64 AD, a fire broke out in Rome that lasted nine days and destroyed three-quarters of the city. It was widely believed that the Roman emperor, Nero, had set the

Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.     —Matthew 2:13 Are we living in the worst of times? Many think so—think our world is in worse shape now than it has ever been. It isn’t. In Old Testament days, parents sometimes murdered their own children, sacrificing them by fire to

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity.             —Ecclesiastes 3:1 The two cities in Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities were London and Paris. The time frame included the French Revolution, a time when some horrible things happened, but also some good things.