Tag: JOHN D. BARRY

  • TONGUES, PROPHECY, AND THE THING WE CALL LOVE

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 31:1-54; 1 Corinthians 14:1-25; Pslam 26:1-12 Nearly anything good can become unproductive if it’s abused or misused. Paul is all about embracing the side of spirituality that can seem a bit wacky to us today—gifts of tongues and prophecy, to name a few. But he is fully aware of the problems that…

  • GREEN PASTURES: THEY REQUIRE ACTION

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 28:1-31; 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:16; Psalm 23 Love and complete reliance on God are interrelated concepts. When we discover what love really means, we want to praise God for it. When we learn to rely on God for all our needs, we see just how loving He is as He takes care of…

  • REASON: NOT THE ULTIMATE POWER

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 27:1-23; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Psalm 22:14-31 Reason is a gift from God, but that doesn’t make it a substitute for seeking God’s will through prayer. Moses appears to have been an intelligent man. He figured out how to flee Egypt after killing an Egyptian, how to survive in the wilderness, and how…

  • FORSAKEN TO DELIGHT

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 26:1-64; 1 Corinthians 8:1-9:27; Psalm 22:1-13 “My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you far from helping me, far from the words of my groaning?” (Psa 22:1). These are some of the darkest words in Scripture. It’s almost painful to speak them, to imagine a feeling of complete…

  • SINS OF OMISSION

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 24-25; 1 Corinthians 1:17-40; Psalm 21:1-13 There’s that moment when you’re asked to do something you know is wrong, but you feel like you should respond. It’s almost as fleeting as the decision to not stand up for what is right, even when no one asks for your opinion. Many wrongdoings occur…

  • WE DON’T (REALLY) MEAN IT

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 23:1-30; 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:16; Psalm 20:1-9 “I’ll pray for you.” We say it often, but how many times do we actually remember to do it? Our biggest downfall might not be a lack of compassion—it’s probably just not taking time to write down the request and not having a model of praying…

  • IS THIS “BAD” FROM GOD?

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 20-21; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4:21; Psalm 18:31-50 God has granted us incredible grace in the salvation that Jesus’ death and resurrection offers, but that very grace is often used as a theological excuse. It’s dangerous to say that bad things come from God, but there are times when they actually do. What makes…

  • LETTING EVIL BURN

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 19:1-20:13; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; Psalm 18:13-30 “And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying … ‘let them take to you a red heifer without a physical defect …. And you will give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will … be slaughtered in his presence. Then Eleazar the priest will take…

  • IT WILL SEEM SIMPLE IN RETROSPECT

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 17:1-18:32, 1 Corinthians 1:1-31, Psalm 18:1-12 We’re all faced with difficult tasks. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was forced to confront their spiritual problems, which were slowly destroying God’s work among them. Paul was thankful for them (1 Cor 1:4–8), but he was also called to a high purpose as…

  • THE POWER STRUGGLE

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 16:1-50; John 21:1-25; Psalm 17:1-15 Every leader faces power struggles—from those who follow the leader and from those the leader follows. If there isn’t some sort of struggle, the leader probably isn’t doing his or her job well. It’s simple: those who make everyone happy probably aren’t pushing people to be better,…