Joe Barnett

I press on toward to goal to win the prize.                   —Philippians 3:14 He attended every game that his hometown high school team played. He knew the stats of every player on his favorite college team. He could rattle off the scores of every game the pro […]

Forgetting what is behind.    —Philippians 3:13 Mopping up the debris left behind by a painful ordeal is heavy work. It may involve dumping an unpleasant memory. Or forgiving what seems unforgivable. There are things you have to forget if you plan on winning at living. Paul zeroed in on “forgetting the past and looking

I have lost all things.  —Philippians 3:8 The apostle Paul’s dad may have had deep pockets, for he provided a top-notch education for his son—a diploma from Tarsus and an advanced degree from Jerusalem under the teaching of the esteemed Rabbi Gamaliel. Some expositors believe that Paul was disowned by his family because of his

It is God who works in you to will and to act.                         —Philippians 2:13 Oswald Chambers said, “Every moral question or call comes with an ‘ought’ behind it.” Pesky word ought—you ought to do this; you ought to do that. One way to

Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.              —Philippians 2:4 Jesus stated his mission plainly: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve …” (Matt. 20:28). He wants you to mirror that mission. “Anyone wanting to be the

Pray also for me. —Ephesians 6:19 “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of,” wrote Tennyson Paul opened Ephesians telling his readers that he was praying for them (1:16), and closed it asking them to pray for him (6:19). Does it come as a shock that a person of Paul’s spiritual maturity

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.                 —Ephesians 6:18 Big picture prayer includes three things: prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). Prayer is approaching God with reverence,

Each one of you also must love his wife … and the wife must respect her husband.                —Ephesians 5:33 Two things torpedo happiness: 1) wanting something we can’t have; 2) having something we wanted and no longer wanting it. She was madly in love with him, but not

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.     —Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks to God is grace-focused—voicing gratitude for blessings received, though undeserved. When you verbalize your thanks to God worry dwindles, trouble shrinks, courage surfaces, and peace dawns. In Ephesians 5, Paul pegs giving thanks as an ingredient in being filled with

Making the most of every opportunity.                      —Ephesians 5:16 She has closets and cabinets full of stuff that has never been used—silverware, china, crystal, linens, candles, perfume. She’s saving them for some special occasion that never seems to arrive. Silver tarnishes when it isn’t used. Linens