Joe Barnett

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.                                    —Romans 12:12 Here’s a Prayer Power Pack for you today: “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple […]

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.     —2 Kings 20:5 God sent Isaiah to the good king Hezekiah with this grim message: “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover” (2 Kgs 20:1). The thirty-nine-year-old king turned his face to the wall and prayed

[T]here is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.                       —Luke 15:10 Ralph Connor, in Sky Pilot, tells of a young man who took to the road from a good home in Scotland and sashayed into his far

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.               —Luke 15:18 Anna, Fyodor Dostoyevski’s wife, knew he was near death and called the children in. “[T]aking our hands in his,” wrote Dostoyevski’s daughter, Aimee, “he begged my mother to read the Parable of the Prodigal Son.” With faltering

[T]his son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.                  —Luke 15:24 Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevski was twenty-eight when he was sentenced to ten years of exile in Siberia. The prison camp was dreadfully depressing: “the prisoners stink like pigs,” he

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!                   —John 1:29 Abraham carried the fire. Isaac carried the wood. “Father,” said Isaac, “the fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb?” For centuries, the question that bewildered believers was, “Where

Look, the Lamb of God!        —John 1:36 William Cowper was haunted by the guilt of sin: “My sin! My sin! Oh, for some fountain open for my cleansing!” he cried. One morning he picked up his Bible, randomly opened it and read: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you.         —Isaiah 41:10 Margie Warrell, author of Stop Playing It Safe, writes: “Using the latest brain imaging technologies, researchers have been able to prove that we human beings are neurologically wired to over-estimate the size of risks, under-estimate our ability to

[I]n God I trust; I will not be afraid.                          —Psalm 56:4 God can change us, but won’t do it without our consent and cooperation. Clean out the garbage in the garage; take the negative junk to the dumpster. Purge the closets; get rid