Today’s Walk in the Word

Freedom

By Joe Barnett / August 17, 2018 / Comments Off on Freedom

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.     —John 8:32 Jorge scaled the fence, eluded border guards, slipped into the rail yard, dodged a 200-ton locomotive, and made a perilous dash for the one thing he craved above all else. Freedom! It’s impossible for those of us who have lived […]

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Grow Up

By Joe Barnett / August 16, 2018 / Comments Off on Grow Up

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.     —2 Peter 3:18 A line from the apostle Peter’s first letter runs: “Get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. . . . Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing” (1 Pt 2:1). He must have been writing to some bad dudes. Not […]

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Broken and Repaired

By Joe Barnett / August 15, 2018 / Comments Off on Broken and Repaired

Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would . . . make it into something else.                —Jeremiah 18:4 Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. Shattered pieces are glued back together with a secret lacquer mixed with powdered gold, creating a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, […]

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A Good Investment of Time

By Joe Barnett / August 14, 2018 / Comments Off on A Good Investment of Time

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.    —Psalm 119:105 Dr. Charles Eliot, Harvard University president (1869–1909), once said a five-foot shelf of books could provide “a good substitute for a liberal education” to anyone who would devote fifteen minutes a day to reading them. Editors from Collier […]

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Profit and Loss

By Joe Barnett / August 13, 2018 / Comments Off on Profit and Loss

What profit is there if you gain the whole world—and lose eternal life?       —Matthew 16:26 I remember when I first saw an IBM Selectric typewriter: “That’s the ultimate,” I thought—“they’ll never improve on that.” If you’re looking for a Selectric today, your best bet is a museum. Alistair Cooke, host of Masterpiece […]

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We Are Family

By Joe Barnett / August 10, 2018 / Comments Off on We Are Family

Love each other as brothers and sisters.                 —Romans 12:10 You didn’t choose me. I didn’t choose you. But God chose us both, so we are family. Do we have differences? Sure. Differences can lead to divisiveness—but don’t have to. There are some to the “right” and some […]

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Bless You

By Joe Barnett / August 9, 2018 / Comments Off on Bless You

The Lord bless you and keep you.               —Numbers 6:24 Some churches close their services reciting the benediction of Numbers 6:24-26. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and […]

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Don’t Give Up

By Joe Barnett / August 8, 2018 / Comments Off on Don’t Give Up

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.    —Jeremiah 29:11 “Your prayer has been heard,” angel Gabriel told Zechariah—“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son” (Lk 1:13). The old couple had given up that dream long ago—hadn’t prayed that prayer in years. But it had been heard back then and […]

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Forgiven and Used

By Joe Barnett / August 7, 2018 / Comments Off on Forgiven and Used

This man is my chosen instrument. —Acts 9:15 Deceiver Cheater Adulterer Denier Persecuter Match these names with the word above that describes them: David, Paul, Jacob, Abraham, Peter. These single-word epitaphs could have been chiseled on their gravestones, but weren’t, because each was forgiven and used. Jacob was on the lam, running away from the […]

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You’ll Win This One

By Joe Barnett / August 6, 2018 / Comments Off on You’ll Win This One

Go with the strength you have. —Judges 6:14 The greeting to Gideon was laughable: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Jgs 6:12). Mighty warrior? “My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe,” Gideon protested, “and I am the least in my entire family.” “Go with the strength you have,” the Lord said, “I […]

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