Category: JOHN D. BARRY

  • CALLING DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN

    Reflections on 2 Chronicles I vividly remember an evening I spent worshiping with persecuted Christians. It was loud and full of words of truth and visions that were clearly from God. But it was also peaceful. For this group of Christians, I thought, worshiping God is the ultimate experience and desire. They went to God…

  • BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 14:1-15:63; 2 Corinthians 11:16-23; Psalm 54:1-7 Faith is not just about being faithful; it’s also about trusting in God’s faithfulness. For years God dealt with the confused and waning nature of His people while they were in the wilderness. They wondered, “Will God actually do what Moses has told us?” They had…

  • THE ART OF CONFESSION

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 10:16-11:23; 2 Corinthians 11:1-6; Psalm 51:1-19 Confession is a lost art. Most Christian communities today have little outlet for doing so, and the systems for confessing that we do have are often tainted by a lack of honesty and trust. This isn’t helped by the fact that none of us like to…

  • THE MISNOMER ABOUT GOD’S WILL

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 7:1-8:35; 2 Corinthians 10:1-8; Psalm 49:1-20 We often hear a great misnomer about following God’s will. It usually sounds something like this: “God has commanded me to do x, so I’m going to go into x blindly without fear.” A phrase like this has elements of great truth—faith should carry us. But…

  • HE’S DEAD, BUT YOU CAN BE ALIVE

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 1:1-3:17; 2 Corinthians 9:1-5; Psalm 47:1-9 “My servant Moses is dead” (Josh 1:2). Imagine the shock of this moment for Joshua, Moses’ right-hand man. He probably already knew about Moses’ death before God told him (Deut 34:1–8), but it’s in this moment that he really feels the tragedy. If you’ve experienced death,…

  • I’LL TAKE THE ARROW

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 29:1-29; 2 Corinthians 7:8-16; Psalm 42:1-43:5 “Better is an arrow from a friend than a kiss from an enemy.”When I first heard this saying, I was struck by what a truism it is. It wasn’t until years later, though, that I began surrounding myself with wise friends who would tell me the…

  • FINDING HELP

    Reflections on Numbers I say, “Help comes from God.” I tell people, “You’re not alone.” Both are empty phrases if I don’t live like I believe them. The book of Numbers shows us that as the Israelites traveled through the wilderness, they, too, struggled to live out these words. After 40 years of wandering, they…

  • THE CURIOUS THING ABOUT GOD’S WORK

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 26:1-27:26; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Psalm 40:1-17 Doing God’s work is a curious thing. It requires both mad rushes and patiently waiting. Christ followers are meant to think like the psalmist did: “I waited patiently for Yahweh, And he inclined to me and heard my cry for help” (Psa 40:1). Yet Jesus’ followers…

  • CURSES, THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND FREEDOM

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 21:1-22:30; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Psalm 38:1-22 “And if a man commits a sin punishable by death, and so he is put to and you hang him on a tree, his dead body shall not hang on the tree, but certainly you shall bury him on that day, for cursed by God is…

  • THE GLOBAL RESET BUTTON

    Connect The TestamentDeuteronomy 15:1-17:20; 2 Corinthians 4:7-18; Psalm 37:1-22 When I was a kid, I loved playing Super Nintendo—especially Donkey Kong. Despite my love for it, it would just make me angry at times. When I couldn’t handle the way the game was panning out, I would slam down the controller and hit the reset…