Joe Barnett

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.               —Romans 5:1 The verdict? Guilty! (Rom. 3:23). The sentence? Death! (Rom. 6:23). But Jesus came down, stepped up, and died in your place. You walked away … Justified.  You have been “justified freely by his grace” (Rom. 3:24). […]

I will be with him in trouble.             —Psalm 91:15 The Papago Freeway Tunnel is a half-mile slice of Interstate Highway 10 that snakes under downtown Phoenix. Motorists in trouble can contact the Papago controller by picking up one of the emergency phones in the tunnel. It’s a remarkable piece

The Father … has qualified you to share in the inheritance …       —Colossians 1:12 Your Last Will and Testament declares how you have decided to divvy up your possessions. Jesus’ Will did the same. The night before he died, he told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms … I

He has appeared once for all … to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.             —Hebrews 9:26 God is mad! “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men (Rom. 1:18). Don’t misunderstand. God isn’t mad at you, he’s

Carry each other’s burdens …          —Galatians 6:2 Here is a bouquet of verses that are waiting on you to complete them … Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but

I have learned to be content …        —Philippians 4:11 Contentment is a learned attitude. You don’t have to learn how to complain—you arrived on this planet with that aptitude. But you do have to learn how to be content. Some never do. Paul did … I have learned to be content whatever

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