Joe Barnett

(He) is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.            —Ephesians 3:20 God shapes us in various ways … Sometimes he tweaks, making minor revisions. Sometimes he skips minor revisions and goes for major makeovers. Sometimes he adds or deletes a chapter here and there. Sometimes he […]

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near.                     —Ephesians 2:13 Before Christ came we Gentiles were a hopeless bunch: “… separate from Christ … excluded from citizenship … foreigners to the covenants … without hope and without God”

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.               —Ephesians 2:10 In 2010 a Stradivarius violin, hand-crafted by Antonio Stradivari in 1697, sucked the breath out of an auction crowd with a top-bid of $3,600,000. Antonio allegedly said that God could not make Stradivari violins

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.       —Ephesians 1:18 Do you find your time and attention consumed with material possessions? Paul didn’t pray for the growth of his friends’ financial resources; he prayed that the eyes of their heart (their understanding, KJV) would be enlightened. He was

He chose us in him before the creation of the world.                                            —Ephesians 1:4 Ephesians chapter one is filled with thrill. It tells you that God has chosen you, adopted you, redeemed you, forgiven you,

At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.           —Galatians 6:9 Patience. Yawn … ZZzzz. Halford Luccock called patience the “ho-hum” virtue. John Chrysostom, on the other hand, called it “the queen of virtues.” Failure can more often be chalked up to lack of

A man reaps what he sows.          —Galatians 6:7 You harvest what you plant. It is that simple. And that certain. Some people limp through life feeling mistreated—by spouse, parent, child, teacher, employer, co-worker, friend. And maybe they are. You may have been dealt a sorry hand and have a long list

Carry each other’s burdens.          —Galatians 6:2 Some scriptures wait on us for their fulfillment. For instance, the words “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thess. 5:11) just sit on the page until we act on them and make them come alive. Here’s a way to breathe life into

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.                —Galatians 5:25 Murder, hatred, adultery, idolatry, envy, drunkenness, gossip, selfishness. Run your eye over that list and divide it into “Big Sins” and “Little Sins.” Murder and idolatry probably made your “Big Sins” list.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.                               —Galatians 5:24 Michael Gay received third-degree burns pulling Jodi Oakes from her burning car. “It’s only because of him that I’m alive today,” she