Joe Barnett

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.                  —Romans 12:6 Moses had a staff. Rahab had a rope. David had a sling. Dorcas had a needle. And then there was the guy who had a donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and into the hearts […]

Find satisfaction in all [your] toil— this is the gift of God.   —Ecclesiastes 3:13 A Cockney gardener was proudly showing a clergyman his magnificent flowers. Becoming irritated with the cleric’s giving God all the praise and the hard-working gardener no credit, he said, “You should ’ave seen this ’ere garden when Gawd ’ad it

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.        —Genesis 1:31 Scientists continue to advance theories about the origin and development of the universe. Theologically, it is enough for us to know that God created all things, as expressed in the first verse in your Bible: “In the beginning

I know your works.   —Revelation 2:2 In the second and third chapters of Revelation, the Lord addresses seven letters to seven first-century churches. To each he says, “I know your works” (2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15 NKJV). The accounts are historical: written to real churches, in real places, composed of real people.

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.                 —Romans 7:25 You’ve been disappointed with yourself, haven’t you? Why did I do that? Why did I say that? Why did I think that? The apostle Paul, too, was disappointed in his failure to live

Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.                 —Philippians 2:4 Her grocery cart was packed with enough junk food to clog the arteries of the population of a small town. Seeing the shopper behind her eyeballing her heart-attack-waiting-to-happen grub, she laughed

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere.                      —Proverbs 15:3 As Jacob was about to die, he called a family meeting, summoning his twelve sons to his room. “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come,” he said

You forgave the guilt of my sin.                   —Psalm 32:5 If you wrote a biography of David, how much space would you devote to his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah? Probably a lot, like the writer of 2 Samuel, who exposed the whole sordid

The Philistine cursed David by his gods.                       —1 Samuel 17:43 Talking tash predates our day by centuries. Goliath started talking smack when confronted by David, a mere boy: “I’ll give your flesh to the birds.” And he “cursed David by his gods. It wasn’t

Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.                            —John 3:16 John 3:16 may be the best-known verse in the Bible: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall