Joe Barnett

Do not fear, for I am with you … I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you.                               —Isaiah 41:10 Are you traveling into new territory? A move to a new town? A new school? A new job? […]

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.                 —Isaiah 40:29 Are you at the end of your rope? Slogging through a rough patch with no relief in sight? Is the journey so exhausting that you’re about ready to throw in the towel?

I will trust and not be afraid.                 —Isaiah 12:2 News outlets deliver a continuous stream of wild-eyed crazies massacring school children, shooting up theaters, planting bombs where people work and play; and nut-case leaders flexing their muscles and annihilating their enemies. This endless recital of horror feeds

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.                                       —Isaiah 5:20 “There’s right and there’s wrong” said John Wayne. “You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.   —Song of Songs 2:15 Foxes invade vineyards, eat the grapes, and trash the vines. The foxes must be destroyed or the foxes will destroy the vineyards. The little foxes of greed, deceit, and envy are more deceptive than the big foxes of

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”     —Ecclesiastes 7:10 If the biggest slice of your life is past tense, reliving your yesterdays may awaken pleasant memories. Life was exciting. Health was robust. Loved ones and friends were alive and as near as a phone call. Now those days are

When God gives any man wealth and possessions … this is a gift of God.              —Ecclesiastes 5:19 “God is bringing you into a good land,” Moses told the Israelites, “and you will lack nothing” (Deut. 8:9). Then he told them how they should deal with their wealth: 1) Praise

All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.                           —Ecclesiastes 5:17 Have you ever been mistreated by a spouse, a parent, a child, a teacher, an employer, a co-worker, or a friend? Of course you have. Has it

Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.            —Ecclesiastes 5:15 There are only two things you can worry about: the things you control, and the things you don’t. It’s senseless to worry about the things you control, because if you control them you

There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.                         —Ecclesiastes 4:8 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have” (Heb. 13:5). How do you pull that off? First,