Joe Barnett

Examine yourselves . . . test yourselves.                    —2 Corinthians 13:5 At a White House banquet commemorating the 100th anniversary of Harry Truman’s birth, a man who had served in the Truman Administration asked the woman seated next to him, “Did I get your name right? Is […]

Always keep on praying.   —1 Thessalonians 5:17 He was a helpless paralytic. Someone had to bathe him, shave him, and feed him. Four compassionate friends heard that Jesus was in town. Word had it that he could heal. So they loaded their invalid friend on a stretcher and off they went. But a packed

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.            —Matthew 9:36 The picture of the terrorist’s decapitated captive was gruesome. The agony of family members being subjected to that photograph of their brutalized loved one is hard to imagine. The death of John the Baptist was a grizzly, heartless

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.                              —Matthew 7:1 There are at least two reasons we should take a pass on judging others. First, we don’t know enough to judge. Unless we have all the facts (which we never

Be strong, and let your heart take courage.                                 —Psalm 31:24 Charles Swindoll wrote these words about courage: “Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests

[Be careful] how you live— not as unwise but as wise.        —Ephesians 5:15 Augustine wrote: “Wisdom has two beautiful daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” You know the first daughter, because you’re angry

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.                               —Psalm 34:8 Are you in a chokehold by a problem that seems to have no remedy? I am unaware of the personal burdens of most of my readers, but am aware that most

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.         —Philippians 1:6 The day after my high school graduation, two pals and I took a 185-mile trip from Midland, Texas, to the McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains. As we drove up the mountain in my old thirdhand

Not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.             —Matthew 6:29 On July 25, 2010, the corpse flower (it emits the stench of rotting flesh) came into bloom at the Houston Museum of Natural Science—only the twenty-ninth time that had happened in the United States.

Mercy triumphs over judgment.                   —James 2:13 In the big leagues, a .350 batting average is a big deal. If a player can hit at that level for a few seasons, he’s a good bet for the Hall of Fame. But wait! That impressive statistic means that