Joe Barnett

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.             —Psalm 118:24 The first half of today’s text belongs to God. He did the heavy lifting; birthed this brand-new day, gift-wrapped it, and delivered it to your door. The second half of the

These are written that you may believe.                               —John 20:31 John records seven of Jesus’ miracles (signs): Turning water into wine (2:1–11) Healing a nobleman’s son (4:46–54) Healing a paralytic (5:1–15) Feeding the 5,000 (6:5–14) Walking on water (6:16–21) Healing a

God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.          —Psalm 66:19 It was a Saturday afternoon. I was chatting with a neighbor who was out for a walk with her daughter. She said something to the child, who put her hands over her ears. The lady said, “That’s what she does

Rid yourselves of all malice.               —1 Peter 2:1 “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander” (1 Pt 2:1). If you want a good starting place for removing the garbage from your life, take malice to the dumpster. Malice indicates a desire to hurt

Be holy, for I am holy.         —1 Peter 1:16 Justin Martyr’s First Apology (his defense of Christianity) was addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius, challenging the emperor to examine the exemplary purity of Christians. “As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is

Set a guard over my mouth.             —Psalm 141:3 Gossip insinuates that we are a cut above the person we’re trashing. It may make us feel superior, but it doesn’t make us superior. Jesus charged us to remove the two-by-four from our own eye before presumptuously reaching to flick a

You do not know what will happen tomorrow.                                      —James 4:14 When blind Bartimaeus rolled out of bed that morning, he had no idea that this would be the day that changed his life. It was just another

Put yourselves to the test. —2 Corinthians 13:5 TEV “God, change me!” is too generic. If you need to change, be specific. Tell God what you want to change. Nothing becomes transformative until it becomes specific. You can’t solve a problem until you identify it. Where do you need a reset? Where do you want

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. —Philippians 1:6 Peter denied knowing Jesus. Suddenly, as guards herded Jesus through the courtyard, he “turned and looked straight at Peter” (Lk 22:61). Devastating! As he did for Peter, Jesus does two things for you when you fail. He prays for

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.       —Psalm 27:14 Asked if he had ever been lost in the wilderness, Daniel Boone replied, “I can’t say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.” Are you bewildered about unanswered prayer? You’ve prayed and received no answer.