Joe Barnett

Honor your father and your mother.                      —Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother … except or unless. There is no except or unless in the fifth commandment. It is honor your parents. Period. Honor them for having taken care of you before you could take […]

Knock and the door will be opened.                    —Luke 11:9 Rap, rap, rap! Rap, rap, rap!! Rap, rap, rap!!! “Who’s knocking on my door … it’s midnight for cryin’ out loud!” “Hey neighbor, it’s me. I need a little help here. I have an unexpected house guest

That we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.               —Hebrews 5:16 Grace isn’t earned. It’s a gift from God. God’s grace goes something like this … Here is the world I’m giving you. In your world beautiful things will happen; also

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done.              —John 13:15 When Jesus stated his reasons for coming to earth he reduced them to two: to serve and to give. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and

What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.   —Romans 7:15 They are strong enough to admit that addiction has played havoc with their lives. They come together because they’ve learned they can’t change on their own: they need each other; and they need God—or a Higher Power

Do not boast about tomorrow.               —Proverbs 27:1 We have been to the moon; built and manned an International Space Station; put a rover on Mars. We have sequenced the genes in the Human Genome. We have transplanted hearts, kidneys, and lungs. We have built skyscrapers, and a car

We all stumble in many ways.                     —James 3:2 First verse: God has never used anyone who hasn’t stumbled. Never will. Because as James wrote, “We all stumble.” Second verse: God has never used anyone who didn’t get up and give it another try after stumbling.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.            —1 John 4:10 You don’t have to be perfect for God to love you. Your Bible shows people as they are, warts and all—and God as he is, loving them as they are. All through scripture you

All these people were still living by faith when they died.         —Hebrews 11:13 Before Darwin—and later evolutionary proponents—most people believed that God created earth for the benefit of humans; that people were God’s main interest. God was seen as a Father who loved every person, no matter how insignificant their position

Live by the Spirit. —Galatians 5:16 Here is Paul’s formula for spiritual growth: “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” A paragraph later he offers this “Fruit of the Spirit” bouquet of nine qualities: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Here