Joe Barnett

So that you may know that you have eternal life.       —1 John 5:13 General Motors worked for years to build a Safecar that would insure occupant-safety in a 100 mph crash. They never got there. In a final report, GM engineer William Larson said if the car crashed into a solid barrier […]

The Lord is near to all who call on him.                  —Psalm 145:18 When the gas gauge warns that you’re dangerously low on fuel, you stop and fill the tank . . . or pay the price. Sometimes we get spiritually stranded on the side of the road

Blessed are the peacemakers.          —Matthew 5:9 Rodney King’s name is etched in memory; his brutal beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 sparked one of the most violent race riots in US history. Rodney was awarded $3.8 million, but within a few years was broke. He couldn’t beat the demons of

For this I came into the world.                 —John 18:37 Scottish runner Eric Liddell withdrew from his favored-to-win 100 meter race in the 1924 Paris Olympics because it was scheduled for Sunday; his religious convictions prohibited him from running on Sunday. He switched to the Friday 400 meter

When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.        —Romans 5:6  “When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly . . . While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6, 8). This text has our names scribbled in the margin. Maybe we could make sense of

Righteousness and peace kiss each other.                        —Psalm 85:10 Inner peace sometimes seems elusive, and is often pursued by counterproductive conduct. Some seek peace in escape. The escape of choice may be drugs, alcohol, an affair; even a hobby or work. The pursuit of peace

The battle is the Lord’s.    —1 Samuel 17:27 Thumb over to 1 Samuel 17 and check out David’s view of the giant Goliath, contrasted with King Saul’s soldiers’ perception of the beast. David’s view was driven by fearless faith. He badgered the Israelite brass: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the

You were once darkness, but now you are light.    —Ephesians 5:8 Clyde Thompson was dubbed “The Meanest Man in Texas.” He was convicted of four murders—two that put him in prison and two while behind bars. At age nineteen Clyde was sentenced to die, the youngest person ever to receive the death penalty in

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.             —1 Corinthians 15:26 A head cold or sinus infection is a short-term enemy; we face it, fight it, and beat it. But fear of death is a lifelong enemy (Heb. 2:15). Death is the last foe left standing. We want to

He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame.        —Proverbs 18:13 “The first duty of love is to listen,” wrote theologian Paul Tillich. Think you have nothing to give? You do. Your undivided attention. In The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck wrote, “You cannot truly listen to anyone