Joe Barnett

When you call to me, I will answer you.                         —Psalm 91:15 God is wired into us with a system that would fry the brain of the brightest engineer: “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he […]

Praise the Lord, O my soul.             —Psalm 103:1 The preacher ended his sermon and extended the invitation. Three people responded—the third being the parson’s four-year-old daughter. The child had slipped past her distracted mom and walked to the front of the church. She stood quietly while daddy talked with

I wait for the Lord . . . and in his word I put my hope.               —Psalm 130:5 “Are we there yet?” “How long till Christmas?” Childhood impatience often spills over into adult life. The gap between beginning and end is too wide, the space between want and

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.                                   —1 Peter 1:2 The night before he died, Jesus told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.                                          —Isaiah 5:20 John Wayne would never have been mistaken for a cleric, but here’s something he said that’s spot-on: “There’s right and there’s wrong. You

I’ve called your name. You’re mine.                         —Isaiah 43:1 I have a feeling that you underestimate your worth. Measure your value by these two things: rarity and ownership. Rarity. God chose you before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4). Then, at a point

Hear my voice in accordance with your love.                                  —Psalm 119:149 “How was your day?” her husband asked as he zipped through the door. So, she told him about the dead battery, the backed-up toilet, and their daughter’s broken glasses.

I have learned to be content.             —Philippians 4:11 There is no such thing as a “minor inconvenience” to a baby. Babies arrive knowing how to complain: they spend most of their awake hours crying. A crying baby is sometimes cute. A complaining adult never is. Contentment is a learned

Build each other up. —1 Thessalonians 5:11 Some scriptures are incomplete until you breathe life into them. Here is a basket of four: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is

But God raised him from the dead.                                 —Acts 2:24 The resurrection of Jesus was a “But God” event. Peter on Pentecost: “You, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But