Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Leviticus 17:10-14.

Blood and sexuality are spoken about as holy. Blood is life; life is to be dedicated to God, and so blood was reserved for God alone. No blood was permitted to be consumed by anyone.

The New Testament Letter to the Hebrews develops this in an exalted way, speaking about the holiness of the Blood of Christ. His blood is sacramentally consumed by us, for in Christ, we already belong to him and are one with him. Communion is the expression of the blood of Christ given back in sacrifice to God.

The world tends to degrade sexuality and eclipse its holiness. The prescriptions in chapter 18 are to remind us of the goodness and joy of human sexuality. Care must be taken to protect and maintain its sacredness, for upon this depends whether God will be present in the sexual encounter or not. May the spirit of these ordinances become even clearer to you, for the greater glory of God.

Leviticus 17—18

This is the second and third of three parts of the Torah Portion Ahare Moth (After the Death) 
Conservative and Reform Jewish congregations read only this part this year,
as also in this Bible plan.
Here is the entire portion in all three parts.

Leviticus 16:1—18:32

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: My life’s blood offered to You. 17:11

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 day’s passage.

 The disciples huddle together, wrapped in choking bands of fear, doors shut and bolted from the anger outside. With no sense of moving through doors or walls, Jesus simply stands in the middle. May the first word from his mouth, designed to dissipate their fright, be the word that has all your fears vanish: “Peace be with you.” As unexpected, unhoped for, and undeserved as was Jesus’s appearance to them, so does he now come to you and those rejoicing with you in your meditation on this same passage.

Extraordinary shifts from grief to joy, from loss to gain, from fear to peace, from death to life, mark the resurrection appearances. For John, a pre-Pentecost fullness comes to the disciples this night of the resurrection in the giving of the Holy Spirit. Receive the Holy Spirit as you join your breath with God’s.

John 20:19–23

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Seeing the hands and the side v. 20

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 21:7-14.

St. Luke himself is in the picture; notice the use of the first person plural pronoun, continuing what began in 20.7. Luke weaves the places sited as so many stitches in the tapestry of the church expanding in the Mediterranean area.

You will see similarities in the trials and suffering of Paul and those of Jesus. Paul’s hour has not yet come. The affirmation to die for his Lord sounds similar to that of Peter’s at the Last Supper; however, Paul is totally grounded in the Lord; that would come for Peter only after the terrible anguish of denying his Master.

Cling to the faith and abandon of Paul in this chapter until your surrender to Jesus is as strong as Paul’s. The Holy Spirit is poised to give you this grace. Ask in faith and you will receive.

Acts 21

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Ready to die for Jesus v. 13

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.