Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and John 16:16-28.

Verses of great promise are here that we need to commit to memory. “Whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.”

This will happen because ironically, Jesus is going away. He plays on the notion of a “little while.” He is going to be taken away in the coming crucifixion, but soon after, he is coming again in the Holy Spirit, bringing a joy that no one can take away.

Think of it: no one can take away the joy that Jesus longs to give you in the Holy Spirit! You and I will go through various mood swings from those sinful tendencies of selfishness and fear that still lurk about, but they need not last very long. “In a little while” joy can return. Joy is to be the continual state of our lives as Christians.

John 16:16–33

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: None can take my joy away. v. 22

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the Seasons of Lent and Easter we read the Gospel of John.

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 Acts 17:16-34.

I draw your attention to a Greek word that occurs only two times in the New Testament. In verse 6, the word anastenazo is used for the accusation that Paul and Silas are “stirring up” the people. The only other time this word is used is in Mark 8:12 where Jesus “sighs deeply” at the demand of the Pharisees for a sign from Jesus. The word connotes a welling up of intense emotion. May the Spirit do the same to you, loosening, and freeing you to be wholly dedicated to God.

The journeys of Paul and Silas continue. They reach Athens, center of pagan religion in the Roman Empire. You will read the sermon that Paul delivered on the Areopagus located on the famous Parthenon. However, no faith comes from Athens. Its pride in being the center of philosophical thought in the ancient world prevents it from being stirred up to faith. There would be no subsequent “Letter of Paul to the Athenians!”

Acts 17

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Rising amid suffering v. 3

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the Easter Season this year we read Acts 10:1 to 18:22.

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 Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the Psalm.

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

The psalms are such a central part of the life of the Church because they gather up everyone in the human family and pray in an intercessory way. This is especially the case in today’s psalm. The prayer is a global one for all the nations. We intercede for the rest of the nations, which are so often about everything else but prayer.

It is a fitting psalm for the day before the Ascension of Jesus, King of all the earth. The symmetry of this seven-verse psalm with v. 4 at the center is perfectly applied to Christ the Lord, center of the universe.

Take a map of the world or a globe. Pray over it. Are there any special countries where the Lord wants the Holy Spirit in you to brood upon, with inner groans of prayer?

Psalm 67

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: May Your face shine upon us. v. 1

We continue to read 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