Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and the reading.

The first action of deliverance in Mark’s Gospel is the casting out of an unclean spirit. Jesus heals the person at a Sabbath service in the synagogue of Capernaum. Synagogues at that time shared the same, basic sequence of Torah readings that we follow on Saturdays.

Jesus’s presence in the synagogue is transforming. Persons who need healing, physically or emotionally, are present. Jesus brings fresh, divine power into the covenant of healing which we read around this time in Exodus 15:26. It is basic in Mark: Jesus wins victory over the power of Satan in the movement of his ministry, just as he overcame the devil in the desert. Where the Israelites were faithless, Jesus is faithful.

Be in the synagogue with Jesus and watch him make new what is old, with his love and power.

Mark 1:21–31

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: You touch me—I am in peace. v. 31

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the Winter Season of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Luke 1-2; Mark 1-3

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.

Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and the reading.

If you have any love in you at all, it is because God, who is Love, is present to you through the Holy Spirit. God does not indwell in us as a reward for our loving; rather God’s presence makes it possible to love.

Love is super-natural; it is beyond our nature and us. Yes, it’s easy to love those who love you, as Matthew 5:46 declares; but love goes beyond egoism and personal attraction and preference, giving a divine quality to our lives, not coming from ourselves, but from God. 

The theme of “abiding” or “indwelling” is a central one for John, both in the letters and in his Gospel. Take each verse and let their truths sink deep. Brood over this teaching: “Perfect love casts out fear.” The Lord of love dwells in you, burning away all fear until you are aglow with love.

1 John 4:13–21

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Born of God, I’m protected. v. 18

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the Winter Season of Advent to Epiphany this year we read the Letters of John and Jude.

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

Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and the Psalm vv. 1-17.

For a video meditation on today’s Psalm created three years ago, Tap here.

Do you ever feel like wanting to run away from it all? You are in good company; so does David in today’s psalm. He wishes he could just fly away like a dove to a wilderness somewhere. What makes things even worse for him is that his own friends are betraying him.

David expresses his anger fully, even imagining the destruction of his enemies. However, as though moved by how dangerous his thoughts are, David reaches out even more “dangerously” into pure trust and confidence in the Lord. As a seesaw tilting from one person shifting and the other suddenly bouncing high, so awareness of the power of God lifts David to the heights. The goodness and faithfulness of the Lord is greater than any wickedness. 

Pause at morning, noon and night and at other times of transition in the day. Immediately, cast your burdens before the Lord, lest they overwhelm you.

Psalm 55

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: I cast my burden on You. v. 22

We continue to follow the Psalms in numerical order.

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