Listen to Nick read the Firestarter.

This is a challenging chapter on the supreme values of the Kingdom. Three aspects are uplifted: fidelity in marriage, living as children, and the danger of riches. Only when one is living in the Kingdom, with the Lord as center of all choices and ways of life, does Jesus’ teaching on these three subjects make sense.

The world does not see things this way. Marriage is by convenience, “children are to be seen and not heard,” and riches of money and fame are treasured as absolutes.

What happens to you as you listen to these words of Jesus? Take an inventory of the “things” that you treasure the most. How do they fit with Jesus’values in this chapter? If there is sin, repent now for the Lord forgives you. Remember: only God can give fidelity to marriage and indifference to riches. When you respond to graces that make the impossible possible, you will be ready for the Kingdom riches in the last two verses.

Matthew 19

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: The first last, and the last first v. 30

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the season of Pentecost this year we read Matthew 8 to 18.

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.

Thursdays in autumn this year find us rolling back the centuries to the birthing and growing of a first century church in a great metropolis. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians offers a powerful example of a church struggling with the momentum of a lifestyle prior to commitment to Christ—idolatry, sexual immorality, lawsuits, worldly philosophy, etc.

Corinth is situated on a narrow isthmus between the mainland part of Greece in the north and the Peloponnesian peninsula to the south. It is perfectly placed to meet the ships sailing from the east and moving westward after a brief portage across the isthmus. It was the center of world trade, much like New York City in the cosmopolitan nature of its population.

Paul founded this church about 50 A.D. Now he writes to give them “mid-course correction” on their way to salvation. Let Paul do the same for you.

1 Corinthians 1

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: What is weak shaming the strong v. 27

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the season of Pentecost this year we read Paul’s Letter to the Romans.

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.

Tap on the image for a video meditation on Psalm 35.

 In a dying fire, most is ash with only a few sparks left. Such an image might describe this psalm of David. The ashes of his suffering at the hands of evil enemies are described in verse upon verse. Yet sparks of a new fire kindle in his soul and in yours, if you cherish the sparks and let them light a new fire.

A fresh, new fire needs the ashes of the old to be removed. So it is that David’s very expression of mounting injustices against him are as the ashes being taken out of the hearth of his heart so that from the bottom of his being he can praise the Lord in new ways.

May this psalm do for you what it does for David—new praise, new awareness of God’s faithful dedication to defend and rescue the poor and the innocent. When mistreatment and even slander come your way, may this psalm bring you comfort in the company you keep—David and Jesus.

Psalm 35

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: All day long, my tongue in praise v. 28

We continue to follow 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