Joe Barnett

[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 […]

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him.                             —Psalm 37:5 Behavioral scientists assert that we see things that we’ve conditioned ourselves to see. If you’ve disciplined yourself to see God in control, that’s what you will see—and you’ll be pleasant

Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?                           —Genesis 18:25 Do you believe God is in charge: all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful? That’s a “yes” or “no” question, not a question with conditions attached: not, “Well, yes I believe that . .

Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid. —Matthew 14:27 To Abram, God said, “Do not be afraid . . . I am your shield” (Gn 15:1). To Joshua, God said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”

This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?                               —John 6:60 A rich young man. A passel of early disciples. Judas Iscariot. What did they have in common? They came to Jesus, but they didn’t stay. Discipleship isn’t for sissies.

Ask and it will be given to you.               Matthew 7:7 Matthew 6: 9–13 records history’s best-known prayer: The Lord’s Prayer. The first half exalts God: “[H]allowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done.” His name; his kingdom; his will. The second half requests blessings: “Give

I will . . . not deal with you according to your folly.          —Job 42:8 Job’s three friends heard about his troubles and came to console him. When they saw the intensity of his suffering, they wept and sat with him for a week without saying a word. Their concern was

[N]ot as I will, but as you will.             —Matthew 26:39 Minister/author Dr. David Langford says the world needs more people like German cleric Benjamin Schmolcke. Langford tells about Schmolcke’s church and home burning to the ground one evening while he and his wife had gone to pray with a

Stop judging by mere appearances.                    —John 7:24 My father was the unofficial greeter at his church: arrived early, assumed his post, gave a handshake, a happy face, and a howdy to everyone who came through the door. As the years passed so did his hearing; old

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.                          —Luke 14:35 Scripture puts a priority on hearing. The “Shema”— the centerpiece of Jewish prayers—began: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Dt 6:4). “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”