Joe Barnett

By grace you have been saved, through faith.                                —Ephesians 2:8 Dear God of grace, The expanse between what I receive and what I deserve is wider than the ocean. I receive eternal life, but that is not what I deserve. […]

By the grace of God I am what I am.                    —1 Corinthians 15:10 Lord God, You have made me all that I am and given me all that I have. I have no worthiness or compensating works to offer in exchange for your grace. All I

When I surveyed all . . . I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless.                     —Ecclesiastes 2:11 Ecclesiastes 6 profiles two men who have wealth but don’t have God. The first is super successful: “[He] lacks nothing his heart desires”—at least nothing that money can

Do you see this woman?            —Luke 7:44 As Jesus reclined at the table in the house of Simon the Pharisee, the tears of a woman of soiled reputation fell on his feet. She dried them with her hair and anointed his feet from a flask of perfume. The host viewed

You are the light of the world.               —Matthew 5:14 When Ernest Hemingway was asked if he could write a compelling story in six words, he said he could. He wrote: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” Haunting. It’s painful to imagine the details. I began looking for six-word

I will be with you.   —Judges 6:16 God chose Gideon to save Israel in a lopsided fight with Midianite invaders. Gideon objected that his family was the weakest of their tribe, and that he was the least important member of the family. God countered: “I will be with you.” Gideon put lots of boots

Let your speech always be gracious.                    —Colossians 4:6 A “Pause Point” is where you deliberately call a time out to think about what you are going to say before you say it. Easier said than done. All of us have spouted off when we shouldn’t have.

Give me neither poverty nor riches.                  —Proverbs 30:8 Agur prayed that he would have neither too many shekels, nor too few—afraid that if he had too many, he might tune God out, and if he had too few, he might steal (Prv 30:8–9). The Bible doesn’t condemn

  Look not only to your own interests, But also to the interests of others.             —Philippians 2:4 The first time I met Joe McKissick he was on furlough from missionary work in South Africa. He talked very little about himself and his ministry; he wanted to talk about me

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” —John 20:19 On Sunday evening, following the crucifixion of Jesus, his disciples retreated to a designated room. They were terrified, probably fearful that they might be next in line for a death sentence. John says they “were together, with the doors locked for