Joe Barnett

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.                          —Psalm 107:1 I enjoy the holiday season. Thanksgiving is a reminder of how blessed we are; a reminder that God is the great giver. And Christmas inspires us to be givers too. The season […]

I AM has sent me to you.       —Exodus 3:14 When Moses asked God his name, he said it was “I AM”: “This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exo. 3:15). Here is the way poet Helen Mallicoat saw it … I

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.      —Matthew 20:28 In a Peanuts comic strip, Linus says to Lucy, “I think there’s something you should know.” “What’s that?” “The world does not revolve around you!” Lucy, face frozen in disbelief, says, “You’re kidding!” Know anyone like that? Self-centered

Through Christ our comfort overflows.                   —2 Corinthians 1:5 You didn’t sign up for single parenting, nursing a terminally ill spouse, or caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s. But here you are, dealing with something you weren’t prepared for. You’ve had to master the course on the

From the beginning God chose you.      —2 Thessalonians 2:13 You are on God’s team. And you weren’t the last kid to be picked. He chose you before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4). When he started putting his team together he pointed at you and said this one is mine. You aren’t

In all things God works for the good of those who love him.        —Romans 8:28 You’re not happy about what’s going on are you? Me neither. Sickness. Suffering. Sorrow. Craziness. Crime. Corruption. Lots of bad things. But God is the peerless artist that takes drab colors, mixes them with brighter hues, and

Consider carefully how you listen.                    —Luke 8:18 Some listen to the Word thoughtlessly. Some skeptically. Some critically. Some cynically. And some don’t listen at all: “You’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening” (Heb. 4:11 MSG). Hebrews 4 zeros in on those that missed the

Not as I will, but as you will.            —Matthew 26:39 Jesus is King of an unending kingdom, but his earthly life was not unending. And its ending was brutal. Whips. Nails. Thorns. Spit. Scorn. The Cross. “He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him

Godliness with contentment is great gain.                       —1 Timothy 6:6 Sir Cecil Rhodes co-founded the De Beers Mining Company, which eventually controlled 90% of the world’s diamonds—making him one of the richest men in the world. In an interview shortly before his death in 1902,

The things revealed belong to us. —Deuteronomy 29:29 There are some things that we don’t know and some things that we will never know. Know-it-alls have a hard time admitting that. They know everything about everything—frequently wrong, but never in doubt. “Ignorance lies not in the things you don’t know” said Will Rogers, “but in