Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Luke 9:1-6.

Up to this point in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus alone demonstrates the power of the Kingdom over demons and diseases. Now this power passes into the hearts and hands of the Twelve Apostles. They have left all to follow Jesus. They have nothing, yet possess everything. These powerless ones by the world’s standards begin to share all the power of the creating and saving God present in their Master.

They move outward from the center, bringing the presence of the One whom they love. As the hands of a clock that radiate outward and fill the twelve hours of the day, so these twelve fill their world with the presence and power of Jesus.

This same presence and power is ready to move further into you. Are you ready for your gifts to multiply just as the loaves and fishes?

Luke 9:1–17

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Nothing but my trust in You.

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In Advent through Epiphany this year we read Luke chapters 1 to 8.
The extra week added this year comes from the First Week in Pentecost.

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 1 Timothy 1:12-19.

Beneath the issues this letter addresses to a church of a particular time and place, an atmosphere flows into our own day. The words breathe the air of that peace which comes when a person’s life is centered upon the Lord. All pursuits are trivial if they lack the energy that comes from total immersion into Jesus.

Catch the joy of Paul as he offers words of encouragement to Timothy and to us. Feel yourself released from the tense bonds of disputes that often go nowhere but into greater triviality.

Make an inventory of your pursuits, ranking them according to whether they are trivial or edifying. Place everything you do into the hands of the Lord, asking Jesus to give you back only those pursuits that build up Christ’s sacred body.

1 Timothy 1—2

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Love coming from a pure heart 1:5

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
For this week we have drawn from the First Week in Pentecost due to an Easter 
one week later than its mid-range dates, April 10 – 16.

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 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 Psalm 109:21-31.

Tap here for a meditation on Psalm 109.

Today is Ash Wednesday.

Take the psalmist as your model for prayer. Trust in God gives him space to express rage at injustice in words that even include cursing his enemies and wishing them destruction.

When we are angry with someone, we may feel like harming him or her. Begin to pray when anger surges. Give your thoughts and feelings to the Lord. Anger is best spent in the arena of prayer. You will come to that place of resting in the Spirit where you will move beyond anger at your enemies, to compassion for them, which ignites desires for their salvation.

We come to feel about others by the way in which we think about them. However, if we go further and pray for them, as Jesus teaches us, then our hearts will find peace, and joy will return.

Psalm 109

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: Be not silent, God of praise. v. 1

We follow a reading of the Psalms in numerical order.
For this week we have drawn from the First Week in Pentecost due to an Easter
one week later than its mid-range dates, April 10 – 16.

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