Joe Barnett

From the beginning God chose you.      —2 Thessalonians 2:13 You are on God’s team. And you weren’t the last kid to be picked. He chose you before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4). When he started putting his team together he pointed at you and said this one is mine. You aren’t […]

In all things God works for the good of those who love him.        —Romans 8:28 You’re not happy about what’s going on are you? Me neither. Sickness. Suffering. Sorrow. Craziness. Crime. Corruption. Lots of bad things. But God is the peerless artist that takes drab colors, mixes them with brighter hues, and

Consider carefully how you listen.                    —Luke 8:18 Some listen to the Word thoughtlessly. Some skeptically. Some critically. Some cynically. And some don’t listen at all: “You’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening” (Heb. 4:11 MSG). Hebrews 4 zeros in on those that missed the

Not as I will, but as you will.            —Matthew 26:39 Jesus is King of an unending kingdom, but his earthly life was not unending. And its ending was brutal. Whips. Nails. Thorns. Spit. Scorn. The Cross. “He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him

Godliness with contentment is great gain.                       —1 Timothy 6:6 Sir Cecil Rhodes co-founded the De Beers Mining Company, which eventually controlled 90% of the world’s diamonds—making him one of the richest men in the world. In an interview shortly before his death in 1902,

The things revealed belong to us. —Deuteronomy 29:29 There are some things that we don’t know and some things that we will never know. Know-it-alls have a hard time admitting that. They know everything about everything—frequently wrong, but never in doubt. “Ignorance lies not in the things you don’t know” said Will Rogers, “but in

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.       —Isaiah 43:1 They had set the date, picked the preacher, reserved the church, and put down a deposit on an apartment. He would move to Texas and they would begin their happily-ever-after life together. She flew to California to help him pack. He

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.                  —1 John 3:8 “Jesus … died to destroy the devil” (Heb. 2:14 CEV). Satan still “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8), but because of Jesus’ coming

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.              —1 Chronicles 16:34 Does it make sense to own a watch so expensive that some thug will slit your throat to get it off your wrist? Or to lay down big bucks for a car so pricey that you have