As you turn to the Word of the Lord today, are there worries buzzing around in your head right now? Perhaps they are variations of the plea someone blurted out from the crowd in the first verse of the reading: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” The response of the Lord is not for him only, but for you as well, as you find yourself hemmed in by the crowd of your own thoughts.

Perhaps your problem is the opposite of the foolish man in the parable—not having enough funds to pay into the large barn of debt that you may have. Whether you feel secure because you have plenty, or scared because you do not, the Lord invites you to be disposed to receive the greatest of riches, the grace of God. Are you preparing the barn of your soul for this?

Luke 12:13–21

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: My only treasure is You. v. 21

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year C, we generally read from the Gospel of St. Luke.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information.

We make distinctions between civil and religious laws; there were no such differences for God’s people. All law came from God. The Lord ordained six cities of refuge for the Israelites, places where a murderer might find protection. There is care about the various kinds of death dealing and justice.

How good it is to know that there is some place where we can be safe from the consequences of wrongdoing—a place where the anger, hatred, and revenge of enemies cannot enter! This refuge is in Jesus. Many have found the image of the open side of Jesus as the place to find this protection. This gaping wound, fashioned by our sin, becomes the place of protection against sin. Look how God turns evil into good!

Chapter 36 is a plan to insure that ones inheritance stays within the tribe of one’s family. You have received all the inheritance of the very Son of God. Stay with his body.

Numbers 35:8—36–13

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: My refuge in Your body

The Saturday passages follow the reading list that Jewish people use in their synagogue worship
throughout the world. They are taken from
“The Torah,” the first five books of the Bible from Genesis to Deuteronomy
that are read each year beginning with autumn.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information

Many years ago while on a thirty-day retreat of renewal, the Lord ministered to me in a special way while meditating on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I was sitting beside the exquisite Carrousel in Spokane, Washington, listening to old time favorites from the band organ. All of a sudden, I heard “Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon.” This had been our “family song” when I was a boy. Tears began to well up in my eyes in this instant connection to my past. I experienced the love of the Lord that was always with me, even when I had sometimes grabbed at the inheritance of grace in my life and squandered it.

The merry-go-round became a symbol for the party that the Father was throwing for me, as I, his prodigal son, returned. The music distracted me from the pitfall of guilt and I wept in healing. May the Parable do something similar for you.

Luke 15

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Joy when a sinner repents v. 10

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the season of Pentecost this year we read Luke 9—19:27.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information.