Category: JOHN D. BARRY

  • REFRAME IT

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 26:1–27:12; 1 Peter 2:1–12; Psalm 128:1–129:8 “ ‘Too often they have attacked me from my youth.’ Let Israel say, ‘Too often they have attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me’ ” (Psa 129:1–2). As these verses show, sometimes problems can be solved by simply reframing the issue at…

  • UNITY IN ADVERSITY

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 22:1–23:29; 1 Peter 1:13–19; Psalm 123:1–124:8 Distress can unite people. In difficult moments, in shared pain, we discover our true friends. When David fled from King Saul, his divided family was suddenly supportive of him, as was every man in the region who was distressed or indebted (1 Sam 22:1–2; compare…

  • MOVING FORWARD

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 16:1-23; James 4:1-17; Psalm 119:137-152 Moving on after a person, a hope, or a dream has died can be one of the most difficult challenges of life. It certainly was for Samuel. The prophet Samuel believed that God had chosen Saul as king, but Saul failed God and His people (1…

  • RECASTING FAITH

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 14:1-52; James 3:1-12; Psalm 119:97-120 Faith is often cast as a type of intellectual pursuit: It’s something our minds rise up to, conform to, or simply agree with. But in the Bible, faith is often portrayed as rather mystical: Jonathan somehow knew that God would act on his behalf if his…

  • DISCERNMENT, KNOWLEDGE, AND ACTION

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; James 2:14-18; Psalm 119:65-80 We often wonder whether God hears our prayers. Even when we acknowledge that God deals with each petition we send His way, we experience doubt because we don’t understand how He has handled our plea. Yet instead of asking “Is God hearing me?” we should be…

  • GOD’S UNSEEN WORK

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 5:1-7:17; James 1:19-27; Psalm 119:33-48 We often fail to discern when and how it happens: God will work something out in our lives that seems virtually impossible. We get an unexpected insight into the workings of God in 1 Sam 5. After defeating Israel in battle, the Philistines stole the ark…

  • GOD MAKES GOOD OUT OF TROUBLE

    Connect The Testament1 Samuel 1:1-2:21; James 1:1-8; Psalm 119:1-16 God often shows His goodness to us through trials, making good out of human error. We see this principle in the lives of Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah was prone to make mistakes. His first mistake was to marry two wives (1 Sam 1:1–4); his second blunder…

  • BEHIND THE SCENES

    Connect The TestamentsEsther 3:1-7:10; 3 John 1:1-4; Psalm 117:1-118:16 Sometimes life can look so bleak that it seems as if all hope is gone. This was the situation for Esther and Mordecai: “Letters were sent by couriers to all the provinces of the king to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both…

  • THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 12:1-13:31; 2 John 1-6; Psalm 115:1-18 John the Evangelist’s letter to the “elect lady” presents a picture of joy and hope, as he “rejoiced greatly to find some of [her] children walking in truth, just as we were commanded by the father” (2 John 4). One word keeps reappearing in John’s letter,…

  • FROM CONCERN TO ACTION

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 9:1-10:27; 1 John 5:13-16; Psalm 111:1-112:10 When I approach God, I often try to persuade Him that I am worthy of something or that He should act on my behalf. But there is no reason God should act on our behalf—none is worthy of His intercession. When we pray, we often need…