Joe Barnett

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.                                        —Romans 12:2 Viktor Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of […]

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.          —Proverbs 16:3 If you go for spiritual growth with your New Year’s resolutions, you’ll score big dividends. Paul put it this way: “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Gal 5:16).

His mercies begin afresh each day.                  —Lamentations 3:23 Cheers to a New Year and another chance to get it right. It’s too late to change your past but not your future. At the beginning of this New Year, you have 365 blank pages—each to be scripted with

My help comes from the Lord.              —Psalm 121:2 As we say goodbye to the old year and hello to the new, here’s a little bouquet of verses for the days ahead. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1). “Cast your cares on the

Examine yourselves . . . test yourselves.                     —2 Corinthians 13:5 How did you do on your New Year’s resolutions? If you didn’t make any—or don’t remember what they were—maybe you can use some of Regina Brett’s to measure your progress. Regina made ten resolutions, printed

A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.                            —Proverbs 20:4 A good thing can turn into a bad thing for the person who is unprepared. Wealth is a good thing. But the person who

Our spirit inside us is made new every day.                         —2 Corinthians 4:16 Barring an early exit, you’re going to grow old. The demands for repairs on the house you live in increase: no sooner do you get one body part fixed than another

Be strong and courageous.                —Joshua 1:6 Joshua was eighty-five years old when God drafted him to lead a cantankerous crowd into the Promised Land. The assignment was daunting: Canaan was occupied by seven nations, all stronger than Joshua’s ragtag flock. So, three times, recorded in the early verses

Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?            —Matthew 2:2 Jerusalem scribes knew where the Christ was to be born: in Bethlehem, they said, for that’s what the prophet Micah had announced 700 years ago. Bethlehem—only six miles from Jerusalem. The Wise Men had spent two

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.                           —Psalm 107:1 If you’re old enough to remember Roman Holiday, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or My Fair Lady, you were enchanted by Audrey Hepburn. Audrey’s backstory was painfully different than her on-screen