Joe Barnett

Many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.           —John 6:66 Feel like giving up? Disappointed because things haven’t worked out the way you wanted them to and thought they would? Thinking of turning back to your old life, returning to your old haunts and habits? Jesus knows […]

Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish.             —John 6:9 What was the name of the kid who shared his lunch and with wide-eyed wonder saw it multiplied to feed a multitude? What was the name of the guy who loaned Jesus his donkey

Do you want to get well?             —John 5:6 Home ownership isn’t an unmixed blessing; there is always something that needs to be repaired or replaced. The sink backs up, the AC gives out, the roof springs a leak, the drier goes on the fritz. If you own a home

He told me everything I ever did.                       —John 4:39 There was nothing to indicate that this would be anything but another miserable day in her this-is-the-pits life. If you had told her that this was the day she would meet her Savior she would

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.                      —John 1:16 Having recently received CPA certification, he set out to enlighten his immigrant father. “Dad, your business is a mess,” he said. “You have no inventory procedure. Your accounts-receivable are

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.            —John 1:14 Here are two sentences the spell out what Jesus did for you. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Lk. 19:10). The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (Jno. 1:14). The key

The Lord needs it.   —Luke 19:31 En route to Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus told two of his disciples, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there … Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying

Receive your sight.   —Luke 18:42 The blind beggar shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see.” “Receive your sight,” Jesus said. Would he properly use the gift that Jesus gave? Every time Jesus helps someone he knows there is

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him.       —Luke 18:40 “Jesus,” shouted a blind beggar, “have mercy on me!” Jesus heard, stopped, and helped. By any human measurement, he had more pressing problems on his mind. He was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time, where he

What is impossible with men is possible with God.                                     —Luke 18:27 Over a half-century ago J.B. Phillips wrote a book titled Your God is too Small. In it he sketched common conceptions (or misconceptions) of God …