Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Isaiah 40:1-11.

Beginning on a lofty note and dropping down four tones as on a doorbell or a clock in slow motion, the tenor in Handel’s Messiah rings out the cry: “COMFORT YE!” He lingers long on the “YE.” The first one to ring out this cry was the Lord through the prophet, Isaiah. Three times in two verses, “Comfort” is repeated. 

Do you have a need to be comforted this Advent and Christmas? Expose the pain in your life without hiding it. You will do this only if you know it is safe to do so, in the presence of someone who will accept the pain.

Believe by faith that you are in the presence right now of The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who longs to dwell deep within you and release healing rays of comfort and peace.

Isaiah 40

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the Winder Season of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Isaiah 40 – 55.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Clearing a way for the Lord v. 3

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 and the reading.

Jesus’s words that you will read sound more like something ending, rather than the beginning of a new church year. It appears to be the reversal of the first verses of Genesis when God created light, the sun, and the moon. Darkness comes again, as though chaos, first bound by God at the beginning of the Bible, is swallowing up God’s creation again. These are signs of the beginning of something gloriously new—the total reign of Jesus in creation. However, as often happens in our own personal lives, “Things have to get worse before they get better.” Present with you right now, the Lord seeks to turn the chaos of your life into one of order and light, even when you do not see it. Walk awakened in faith and not in fear.

Mark 13:24–37

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: You are near: door of my heart. v. 29

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
During the Winter Season of Advent to Epiphany this year, we read the Gospel of Mark, chapters 1-2.

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 and Genesis 34.

You will read about the evil act of revenge of Simeon, Levi and their men upon those who violated their sister, Dinah. Such evil will continue in them and the rest of the brothers when the story of Joseph is told.

The vengeance of his sons outrages Jacob. God comes to Jacob and tells him to go to Bethel, a place sacred in the memory of Jacob, where he met the Lord in a most special way (Gen 28:11–22). There his name is changed from Jacob to Israel. That place becomes a holy remembrance for Israel and his descendants.

Do you have a place or places in your life where you especially met the Lord? Such places bring back the sense of the original blessings the Lord has given you. Make a retreat to those places in your mind—even make plans to visit them sometime.

Memories are important. They keep us in touch with the Lord who is always with us, but which we might be forgetting in the haste and pace of life’s movement.

Genesis 34:1—35:15

This is the second of three parts of the Torah Portion Vayishlah (And He Sent) 
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.
Genesis 32:3—36:43

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: I’m standing on holy ground.

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