Joe Barnett

Do not merely listen to the word … Do what it says.                                          —James 1:22 Voice-activation has arrived. Speak an address and your GPS will map your destination and talk you to it. Speak a name […]

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak.                                     —James 1:19 My wife says I never pay attention to what she says—or something like that. That’s what the bumper sticker said. You show that you value people

The testing of your faith develops perseverance.                                       —James 1:3 Have you noticed that those who complain the most are often those who have the least to complain about? People of position, power, and possessions can be

Consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials.                                        —James 1:2 On its face today’s text sounds loony. It’s a stretch to find anything joyful about trials. James doesn’t say that you should go looking for

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.              —James 1:1 James, a servant of God. If James had his preference those are the words that would have been chiseled on his gravestone. At least that’s how he opened his New Testament letter. Paul, Peter, and Jude

Do not forget to do good.       —Hebrews 13:16 If you were described in five words, what would those five words be? Here are the five that Peter used to define Jesus: “he went around doing good” (Acts 10:38). Declared beliefs are suspect unless verified by action. Knowing the playbook is worthless unless

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.      —Hebrews 13:5 “No one is concerned for me … no one cares” (Ps. 142.4). Many feel that way. Maybe you. But it isn’t true. God is concerned. God cares. The measure of God’s love is that he loves without measure. His love is

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.         —Hebrews 12:1 In the 1994 Summer Olympics Carl Lewis won four gold medals. He was confident that his first leap had been good enough to win the gold in the long jump. Odds were in his favor of setting a

They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.                   —Hebrews 11:37 Sometimes God gives us immediate victory. Sometimes he doesn’t. Heb. 11:32-35a mentions people of faith who were triumphant in this life—then in 11:35b-38 notes those of equal faith

They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.      —Hebrews 11:16 Early Christians collided with harsh circumstances—confiscation of property and possessions, even loss of life. They didn’t endure such treatment with “Why me?” bitterness, but accepted it joyfully (Heb. 10:34). How could they do that? Because they knew that even in this life