Joe Barnett

The word of God is living and active.                     —Hebrews 4:12 Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Martin Luther did. The thought of facing God on Judgment Day terrified him until this verse—that appears once in the Old Testament and three in the New—calmed, captivated, […]

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.         —Hebrews 4:7 “Strike three!” “Rats!” squawked Charlie Brown. “I’ll never be a big-league player. I just don’t have it. All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I know I’ll never make it.” “You’re thinking too

You remain the same, and your years will never end.       —Hebrews 1:12 No one has to tell you that we live in a changing world, because you’ve faced changes that are personal and painful—loss of health, fractured relationships, deaths of those you love. But there’s another verse to that song … some

After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.                                  —Hebrews 1:3 “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement.            —Philemon 7 This won’t take long and won’t require anything you don’t already have—a pen, a piece of paper, an envelope, a stamp, and a kind thought. Jot a note … A line of appreciation to someone who has blessed your

Eager to do what is good.           —Titus 2:14 “Good” is a big word in Titus … The church leader is to be “one who loves what is good” (1:8). Older women are “to teach what is good” (2:3). Titus is to set an example “by doing what is good” (2:7).

We wait for the blessed hope— the glorious appearing of … Jesus Christ.                            —Titus 2:13 The words crushed his disciples’ hearts—“I will be with you only a little longer” (Jn. 13:33). The only thing that made those unbearable words bearable was the

The Lord knows those who are his.                  —2 Timothy 2:19 Psalm 139 is breathtaking. “O Lord … you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar

The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also … teach others.                                                 —2 Timothy 2:2 “For the support of this

Christ Jesus … has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light.                                 —2 Timothy 1:10 Jesus doesn’t guarantee a trouble free life. But he does promise that however rough the road, you have “life in all its