Joe Barnett

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas                          —Acts 4:36 You know him, but not by his real name. You know him by his nickname. His real name was Joseph. His nickname was Barnabas. That’s the name the apostles hung on […]

What does the Lord require of you?                      —Micah 6:8) A rigid clergy combed the Torah and came up with 613 commands. Then piled on thousands of additional interpretive rules. Micah reduced it to three: “act justly … love mercy … walk humbly with your God.”

… encourage one another and build each other up …                                    —1Thessalonians 5:11 Marathon. What a sport! Unlike football, baseball, or basketball, there are no catcalls, no boos. Only cheers. That is the way life should be lived—cheering for

You have forsaken your first love.                —Revelation 2:4 That was a fine church in Ephesus. In Paul’s letters to churches he usually pinpointed flaws in their fellowship that needed to be corrected. There’s not a single line about such a flaw in his letter to the church in

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault.                                       —Jude 1:24 You wonder if you are good enough to go to heaven. You aren’t. That’s

I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us.            —3 John 1:10 Diotrephes was a dictatorial church leader who insisted on being top dog. The Apostle John exposes three of his sins: he refused hospitality to missionaries; he drove those who opposed him out of the

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ.                         —2 John 1:3 Grace. Mercy. Peace. Awesome gifts. Grace is the undeserved favor of God. Mercy is the unmerited compassion of God. Peace is the unequaled gift of God—conferred when the

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.                                   —1 John 5:21 “You shall have no other gods before me,” was the first commandment, and the second was, “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Exo. 20:3, 4). God doesn’t

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!                                    —1 John 3:1 In the ancient world an adopted child had all the rights of a birth child. Natural-born

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.                  —1 John 1:9 You have to admire King David, for when he was confronted with his sin he immediately confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And you have to love God,