Joe Barnett

A great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.                     —Acts 11:21 Scattered. That’s the word that described the disciples following Stephen’s martyrdom. They fled Jerusalem and were scattered as far “as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews” (Acts 8:1; […]

This man is my chosen instrument.                         —Acts 9:15 Paul is our hero. But we wouldn’t have Paul without the words and works of others. We owe Paul to the prayer of Stephen. “When the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood

Look to the rock from which you were cut.                                 —Isaiah 51:1 Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) often closed his live-audience presentations by asking everyone to spend one minute silently reflecting on specific individuals who had helped them become who

Encourage one another and build each other up.                              —1 Thessalonians 5:11 In the shortest-ever Walk in the Word post, here are two questions to answer at the end of your day. Did I lift someone up today? Did I let someone

We have different gifts.        —Romans 12:6 There may be people who are better speakers than you. There may be people who are better leaders than you. There may be lots of people who can do lots of things better than you. But no one is as good at being you as you.

The Lord your God is with you.              —Zephaniah 3:17 Zephaniah’s little four-chapter book begins with sadness but ends with singing. Its opening salvos trumpet Judah’s looming defeat and captivity. But its closing words promise that one happy day, God will bring the captives back home. Your life journey will

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.    —Ecclesiastes 9:10 George Bernard Shaw wrote: “Liberty means responsibility.” Charles Swindoll said: “It’s one thing to sing and dance to liberty’s tunes, but it’s something else entirely to bear the responsibility for paying the band.” Meaningful achievements get done by doers, not

I have finished the work which you have given me to do.                   —John 17:4 I have this advantage over most of my readers: I have officiated at several hundred funerals. “That’s an advantage?” you ask. Well, yes, it is. It’s far from pleasant—draining, in fact—but it

A trustworthy person keeps a secret.|                   —Proverbs 11:13 A segment of the physician’s Hippocratic Oath runs this way: “Whatever, in the course of my practice, I may see or hear, whatever I may happen to obtain knowledge of, if it be not proper to repeat it,

Rejoice in the Lord always.        —Philippians 4:4 Judah was in chaos. Their economy was in the tank, and a battle with Babylon that they couldn’t win was headed their way. The prophet Habakkuk was terrified. His heart was pounding, his lips were quivering, and his legs were trembling (Hb 3:16). But even