Joe Barnett

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father.                        —Matthew 10:32 Do you remember your graduation? There was the thrill of hearing your name called, the affirmation of your successful completion of the prescribed course of study, and the recommendation […]

[D]o not worry about tomorrow.                —Matthew 6:34 Bible scholar R.C.H. Lenski translated today’s text this way: “Do not worry into the morrow.” He explained that the Greek word (eis) means “into,” not “about”—thus, the text should read, “do not worry into tomorrow,” not, “do not worry about tomorrow.”

[T]ake the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.    —Matthew 2:13 While Joseph and Mary were on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the wise men were on the road from Babylon to Bethlehem. There they met, and the newborn Christ child was worshiped. Conniving King Herod, with murder on his mind, asked

[E]ven the very hairs of your head are all numbered.       —Matthew 10:30 God is interested in the smallest details of your life. You don’t have a clue how many hairs are pushing through your scalp, do you? (The average is about 140,000.) Your Father knows your exact number. Not only does he

[S]tore up for yourselves treasures in heaven. —Matthew 6:20 Is it wrong to accumulate treasures on earth to provide for personal and family security, help those in need, and support good works? No. God led Joseph to advise Pharaoh to store up grain for future survival (Gn 41:33-36). And Paul said if a person doesn’t

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.                     —Matthew 1:1 In the first seventeen verses of the Gospel of Matthew, we’re introduced to representatives of more than forty generations of Jesus’ ancestors, spanning roughly 2,000 years. Some were heroes and well-known: Abraham, Ruth, David. Some

He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.                      —Jeremiah 10:13 Opened in 1965, Houston’s Astrodome was the world’s first domed sports stadium. Dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” it brought climate-controlled 72-degree comfort to sports fans who had

[L]et your light shine.    —Matthew 5:16 Melissa O’Connor was giving her grade schoolers in Sunrise, Florida, instructions for a writing assignment: “write about a person you admire, someone who is important to you—like moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas.” As they began writing, the kid who was Melissa’s biggest challenge, raised his hand. She

An anxious heart weighs a man down.                  —Proverbs 12:25 For years Gregg Teears saw his dad touch a branch of the bush near their front door every day when he came home from work. One day he asked him why he did it. “I try to hang

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.                           —Matthew 7:1 Ninety-year-old Mama Marshall never uttered an unkind word about anyone. When someone was harshly judgmental of another, she always gently said, “Maybe she’s going through a hard period of hurt.” After