Joe Barnett

Today it will be stormy.      —Matthew 16:3 One of the first things I do when my feet hit the floor each morning is check the weather. And when I make a phone call, one of the first things after “Hello” is, “How’s the weather there?” When the bigwigs asked Jesus to show them […]

[H]e always lives to intercede.             —Hebrews 7:25 Jesus was—and is—a praying man. He got up early in the morning and sought a solitary place to pray (Mk 1:35). He prayed all night before choosing his apostles (Lk 6:12–13). After a hard day’s work, he retreated to a mountainside to

[B]y the grace of God I am what I am.                —1 Corinthians 15:10 “God’s grace has made me what I am,” wrote Paul, “and his grace to me was not wasted” (1 Cor 15:10 NCV). “I worked harder than all the other apostles,” he said. It wasn’t a

If you love me, you will obey what I command.     —John 14:15 Our Lord doesn’t demand obedience. He tells us what he wants us to do, but doesn’t force us to do it. The cost of discipleship is prefaced with “If”—meaning we don’t have to buy it if we don’t want to: “If

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.       —1 John 5:11 You share the victory of resurrection and eternal life on one condition, precisely stated in 1 John 5:11–12: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son

I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever.     —Revelation 1:18 Jesus came into the world quietly . . . so quietly that the residents of Bethlehem had no notion that anything important was happening the night he was born in their little town. But his resurrection was anything but

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.        —Philippians 3:10 It was a devastating day when death dropped by the Bethany home where Jesus had often enjoyed the company of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Looking into the eyes of a grieving sister, Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again

Your faith has healed you. —Mark 10:52 Leonard Burford was born with retinitis pigmentosa. He was reading Braille at fourteen and was totally blind at twenty-eight. Even so, he graduated college with honors, studied at the renowned Juilliard School, received his doctorate from Columbia University, and chaired the Music Department at Abilene Christian University for

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.                    —Psalm 118:1 The kid was throwing a supermarket fit. He didn’t look or sound like he’d often been denied. But mom said “No” to candy. Kinda reminds you of mother Eve, doesn’t it? Eat all you want.

Five Days of Hymn Stories 5 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross [T]he message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.                         —1 Corinthians 1:18 Isaac Watts is