Joe Barnett

I bring you good news of great joy.                      —Luke 2:10 The birth of Jesus was announced to a gaggle of slack-jawed shepherds as “good news of great joy.” “A Savior has been born,” the angel declared. Good news! Great joy! When Paul described the conversion […]

God is love. —1 John 4:8 You can whip up a long list of things that are badly wrong in our world. Instead, take a deep breath and think about God … To David he is a forgiving God, abounding in love (Ps. 86:5). To Micah he is a God who delights in showing mercy

As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.       —Romans 12:18 Paul prefaced today’s text with the phrase, “If it is possible” … “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” It’s not always possible, because you occasionally encounter someone who

The hour has come for you to wake up.                 —Romans 13:11 The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here (Rom. 13:11, 12).

The length of our days is seventy years —or eighty … they quickly pass …               —Psalm 90:10 “It’s a short walk from the womb to the tomb.” It didn’t seem short when we were young. When we finished school, landed our first job, got married (or not), there

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.           —1 Corinthians 10:31 You are what you eat. The body regenerates itself from inside out, not outside in. What you pig out on affects your weight; also your hair, skin, teeth, and

I will fear no evil, for you are with me.                                  —Psalm 23:4 You know from experience that you won’t get through life without pain. Agonizing ordeals bushwhack good people, not just bad ones. Those who stick to “paths of

I am going there to prepare a place for you.       —John 14:2 Jesus came down from his place to our place … A place where there’s not enough food to go around—where starving children go to bed crying until they become too weak to cry. A place where people do terrible things

Eutychus … was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on.                  —Acts 20:9 Critics in Corinth ridiculed Paul’s preaching: “you have never heard a worse preacher,” they squawked (2 Cor. 10:10 TLB). Over in Troas, Eutychus said “Amen” by nodding off and tumbling out

None of us lives to himself alone.              —Romans 14:7 Splash! A pebble thrown in a pond triggers ever-widening ripples. Every choice you make, every action you take, every word you speak, is your pebble in the pond … kindness or cruelty compassion or coldness gentleness or hostility patience or