Joe Barnett

Do not be anxious about anything.                 —Philippians 4:6 How did Paul come up with that Pollyanna line? He was in the pokey when he wrote it, and had reason to be anxious about everything. He wasn’t delusional; didn’t deny that bad things happen. You’re going to have […]

Teach us to number our days.               —Psalm 90:12 Frederick Buechner said it takes about one-sixth as long to write Xmas as it does to write Christmas. “If you do your cards by hand,” he said, “it is possible to save as much as seventy-five or eighty minutes a

Even to your old age … I am he who will sustain you.         —Isaiah 46:4 Old age is sort of like living in an old house. The plumbing doesn’t work right; the windows are streaked and hard to see through; there may be a few bats in the attic; the exterior

Today salvation has come to this house.                         —Luke 19:9 Zacchaeus was a runt and a crook—a bagman for Rome’s IRS. He swindled tax payers; gave the government their take and pocketed the rest. When people saw him slithering down the street, they quickly

Whoever loses his life for me will find it.                    —Matthew 16:25 Legendary coach Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing!” That’s pretty much the way the world sees things. Jesus turned that view upside down. Winners aren’t the rich, famous, and powerful. Winners are

Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.                            —2 Timothy 1:6 Many voices jockey for your attention. Some angle for self-gratification, saying that you have the right to spend your time in idleness or personal pleasure. Others shriek that

I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.                  —Galatians 2:20  “The two most important days in your life,” said Mark Twain, “are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Be consumed with finding that “why”—absorbed with discovering his purpose for your

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.                                —Romans 5:8 Marine Corporal Jason Dunham’s squadron was manning a checkpoint near the Syrian border in western Iraq when a grenade was lobbed into their unit. Dunham dived on it, taking

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?        —Romans 8:33 Rom. 8:34 gives four reasons why we escape condemnation: 1) Christ died; 2) Christ was raised; 3) Christ ascended; 4) Christ is interceding. That pinpoints what Christ has done for us, and what he is doing for us. “He