Joe Barnett

You do not know on what day your Lord will come.     —Matthew 24:42 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. . . . So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when […]

Blessed are the merciful.           —Matthew 5:7 The king was calling an enormous debt. The debtor begged for mercy. Knowing that he would never be able to pay, the king canceled the debt. Encountering a man who owed him a pittance, the forgiven debtor grabbed him in a chokehold and demanded

See what great love the Father has lavished on us                                         —1 John 3:1 When your child is ostracized, hurt, or defeated, what do you do? Say grow up, stop being a wimp, get a grip?

I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.                                 —Psalm 32:5 L.A. just couldn’t do it. To save his life (soul?), he couldn’t admit a mistake, couldn’t confess that he was less than perfect. “If we claim to be without

These were all commended for their faith. —Hebrews 11:39 After eulogizing the faith of Noah, Abraham, and Moses, in the this-is-what-faith-looks-like chapter 11 of Hebrews, the writer turns to the names, but not the details, of some other worthies. “I do not have time,” he writes, “to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel

To one he gave five talents . . . to another two . . . to another one . . . each according to his ability.                                  —Matthew 25:15 Do you look at others, whose successes you see and whose

[I] will remember their sins no more.                       —Hebrews 8:12 Contrast these two statements: “Those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins” (Heb 10:3). “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Heb 10:17). Under the old law, there was an annual reminder

You will call, and the Lord will answer.                              —Isaiah 58:9 The advent of email blew me away. I was used to posting a letter with USPS and waiting weeks for delivery and response. Now, I could post from my keyboard instantly.

There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.                       —Luke 15:10 You may not know much about angels, but angels know a lot about you. Remember the day you decided that doing-it-my-way wasn’t working and decided to

His incomparably great power for us who believe.   —Ephesians 1:19 You don’t have to live in the dark. Power is available to light up your life. Paul writes of the awesome power you have, which may have escaped your attention. He prays “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that