Joe Barnett

You do not know what will happen tomorrow.                                      —James 4:14 When blind Bartimaeus rolled out of bed that morning, he had no idea that this would be the day that changed his life. It was just another

Put yourselves to the test. —2 Corinthians 13:5 TEV “God, change me!” is too generic. If you need to change, be specific. Tell God what you want to change. Nothing becomes transformative until it becomes specific. You can’t solve a problem until you identify it. Where do you need a reset? Where do you want

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. —Philippians 1:6 Peter denied knowing Jesus. Suddenly, as guards herded Jesus through the courtyard, he “turned and looked straight at Peter” (Lk 22:61). Devastating! As he did for Peter, Jesus does two things for you when you fail. He prays for

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.       —Psalm 27:14 Asked if he had ever been lost in the wilderness, Daniel Boone replied, “I can’t say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.” Are you bewildered about unanswered prayer? You’ve prayed and received no answer.

I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue.                     —Psalm 39:1 This week we have talked about tongue control. Let’s wrap it up by gathering a few points from Proverbs. “Don’t talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and

Lord, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say.                —Psalm 141:3 NCV In Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan introduces us to Talkative: “He was a saint abroad and a devil at home.” A saint on Sunday and a devil on Monday. A man who

A great forest is set on fire by a small spark.                                        —James 3:5 “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the

[The tongue] is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.      —James 3:8 Your words have eternal consequences. Jesus warned, “The words you say now reflect your fate then” (Mt 12:37 NLT). The average human tongue is 3.3 inches long. But its influence is disproportionate to its size. James 3 describes the tongue as

Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.              —James 1:19 You know someone who models the exact opposite of today’s text: someone who is slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to become angry—leaving in their wake a waste dump of disaster. To me,

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us.              —1 John 3:1 Infancy. Childhood. Adolescence. Through it all, your parents loved you. Not because you were good. Not because you were obedient. Not because you were beautiful. Not because you were brilliant. But because you were you—their