Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13.

[From the original version]

St. Paul’s greatness may have us envision him as a wondrous “Lone Ranger.” Today’s reading will change that. “Now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord,” says Paul. Is he co-dependent to others’ faith? No, but he is intimately inter-dependent with them, with bonds of faith and love that are the sinews of the Body of Christ. We belong to each other in Christ.

Do not go it alone, gritting your teeth, faking a smile that everything is just fine when it is not. The Lord wants you to trust in him with bonds extending into a community of faith, hope, and love that is immensely real to you. What are you doing to be sure that you have friends in the Lord?

[Paragraph from the version for families with children]

…There are lots of young people and adults too, who are praying this same passage with you today.  That’s the power in this way of reading the Bible; you are not alone!  Read Paul’s words as though you are drinking in your favorite soda or juice and be refreshed by the energy of God that you’ll find all over this passage.

  1 Thessalonians 3

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: Heart strengthened in holiness v. 13

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In season of Kingdomtide this year,
we read 1 and 2 Thessalonians; Revelation 4—11.

For all the Firestarters in the original version 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 Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Psalm 84.

TAP HERE for a video meditation on Psalm 84.

[From the version for families with children.]

In your imagination, go to your favorite place in your life—the one you most love.  Close your eyes and picture it.  Imagine it with your eyes and ears and all your senses. Feel the silence that surrounds the memory, like a small boat gently rocking on the sea.

The sacred writer’s favorite place is the courts of the Lord, the lovely outer area of the Temple.  Once he enters into that space, he finds himself surrounded by everything that reminds him of God whom he loves so much.

This is one of the very beautiful psalms in the Bible.  It is full of wonderful feelings that you will feel yourself, if you enter into the heart and imagination of this writer.  Pause at verse 10 and sink even deeper into the thought of the writer.  Then from that deep place, read on till the final verses of the psalm.  Go to this psalm often—just as often as you would daydream about your favorite place on earth.

[From the original version]

Would that we loved the house of the Lord as much as the psalmist does! Though the church means much more than a physical building, still it does include those places in life where we especially find ourselves in the presence of God.

Are there such places in your life now? Do you long for time with the Lord in special settings? If not, pray that you desire this with the same passion as today’s prayer.

Can you feel the love of the Lord that the psalmist? Memorize verse 10 and repeat it often throughout the day. Be drawn to the inner court of the heart—God’s favorite place to dwell. With God inside you, wherever you are can become a cathedral.

Psalm 84

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: The inner court of the heart v. 4

We follow a reading of 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

Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and 2 Kings 2:1-13.

[From the version for young people]

The great prophets, Elijah and Elisha are like beams of light in the middle of very dark and evil days of wicked kings.  God always raises up persons like these prophets who will speak for God no matter what.  Like the passing of the torch at the run at the beginning of the Olympics, so does the power of Elijah pass to Elisha.  Elijah now goes off to heaven in a fiery chariot.
It’s a powerful, amazing story.  Picture yourself standing with Elisha who receives the power of Elijah coming upon him. Is there someone in your life who has been a source of influence for God in your life?  Spend some time thanking God for that person. Will there be persons in the next generation who will thank God for your positive influence in their lives?   Ask God to give you the grace and power of the greatest prophet of all—Jesus!

2 Kings 2:1-13

[From the original version]

God’s faithless people: this is theme threading its way through the Second Book of Kings. See what happens when the King consults an idol instead of turning to the Lord.

Reflect on your own life. What place do you give the Lord when you look for wisdom about important decisions in your life? In seeking the well-intended advice of others, we can be vulnerable to their bias, their prejudice—reactions from what is unhealed in their lives … hardly the wisdom we need!

Elijah “passes the torch” to Elisha. The Spirit came at Pentecost as tongues or torches of fire on each one. The same can happen to you right now. In Jesus, you are greater than the Old Testament prophets are. Do not resist, or much less rebel, as those in chapter 3. The power of God is with you.

2 Kings 1—3

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: Spirit like streams of water 3:20

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In this season, A few weeks with Proverbs, then 2 Kings.

 

For all the Firestarters in the original version, 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