Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Numbers 4:1-15.

Words such as order, holiness, and sacred tasks come to mind as we move through the lists of names and the duties assigned to each of the priestly families, the Levites and the Kohathites. Every action and object is meant to evoke a sense of God’s presence. Once again the use of colors evokes spiritual feelings.

There is beauty in the sacred task appointed to Eleazar, whose name means, “God is Helper.” He tends to the light and takes care that incense and anointing oil are in readiness. He is given the overall responsibility of the sanctuary.

Reflect upon your occupation in life as a call to bring the light of the Lord, the sweet aroma of God’s presence, and the oil of healing to those with whom you come in contact. You are the sanctuary of the Lord. How you do what you do, either draws others to the Lord or tends to push them away.

Numbers 3:14—4:20

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: All I do as sacred tasks

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

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the Gospel.

When someone greets us with, “How are you,” the usual response is, “Fine, thank you”—whether we are fine or not. Only with those we trust do we share how it really is with us. To reach that place, the question, “How are you” may need to be asked a few times, as so many steps that descend to the place of inner truth.

So it is with Peter. Each time that Jesus asks him if he loves Jesus, Peter moves beneath the levels of his reactive nature, to the place of beauty and total love that he has for his Lord. Jesus knows that Peter loves him; yet his sadness and shame eclipse his soul. The triple question of Jesus helps Peter pass below the upper spaces of anger and violence in the garden of arrest, beneath the fear in the courtyard of denial, to the place where Peter loves, by the lakeside in the morning with Jesus.

Only in accepting and returning Jesus’s love will you be able to nourish his lambs.

John 21:15–19

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Yes, Lord: you know I love you. v. 15

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the Easter Season this year we read the final third of John’s Gospel.

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 Acts 26:9-18.

For the third time, Paul rejoices to share the story of his conversion. Verses 16–18 contain promises of the Lord that Paul had not previously expressed in the first two accounts (9:1–19; 22:6–21). As Paul tells his story, his joy in the Lord expands, radiating outward, pushing back the pressing in of his persecutors. Paul verifies what John teaches in his first letter, 4:4: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

May this final listening to Paul’s conversion bring the same inner energy to you, as you gather the story of God’s gracious dealings with you into one place. Be centered in your story. It becomes alive again in your telling and humble retelling, for the glory of the name of Jesus.

Acts 25—26

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: My hope is in Your promise. 26:6

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 18:23—28:31.

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.