Listen to Nick read the Firestarter.

The final chapters of Paul’s letter shift from teaching to exhortation. Make a list of the imperatives that he uses to encourage his beloved Roman Christians to grow in their commitment to Christ.

The essence of Jewish worship was animal sacrifice. Paul takes this concept and urges his listeners to have their bodies become a “living sacrifice.”

Similar to his thought in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds his people that their oneness in the body of Christ means that they belong to one another. It is Paul’s way of stating a truth found in the very beginning of the Bible about Cain and Abel: you are your brother’s keeper. Spiritual gifts unique to each person are described just as Paul did in that same chapter of 1 Corinthians.

When you conclude the reading, rest … wait … write what further exhortations the Spirit may be expressing from deep within.

Romans 12—13

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Holding fast to what is good 12:9

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 31.

Ingredients of David’s pain flow out from him with abandon, mingling with verses that celebrate the comfort he finds in the Lord’s protection. Be aware of the intimacy that David has with God—the tenderness in his pleas that need to sweeten your own petitions in prayer.

The verse for the day was on the lips of Jesus and Stephen at the moment of their deaths (Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). From verse 9, there comes a series of statements that can be applied to the most abject of society through your intercessory prayer.

The Lord as a rock of safety is the first of the images of protection David uses. Find others with which your soul especially relates, writing them down on post-it notes to stick in places where you can see them in the course of the day. These will be places to rest on the rock of safety, which is the Lord.

Psalm 31

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: Lord, my times are in Your hand. v. 15

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

Listen to Nick read the Firestarter.

Saul’s jealousy mounts to blind fury as he recklessly seeks to kill David. How similar it would in for the blind pride and jealousy of the Pharisees seeking to kill Jesus, son of David, a thousand years later!

In David’s desperate need for food, he partakes of the Bread of the Presence. The three synoptic evangelists tell of Jesus’ reference to this incident as an example of how sacred regulations yield to human need (Mt 12:3,4; Mk 2:25,26; Lk 6:3,4). Though David flees from Saul, David is ever in the Lord’s presence.

Amid the tide of Saul’s hatred, which mounts to a massacre of priests, there flows the sweetness of profound friendship between Jonathan and David. Cherish such gifts of friendship in your life. Covenant with such a friend to share the daily scriptures—a spiritual accountability that will give energy for you to walk always in God’s presence.

1 Samuel 20—22

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: The Lord between you and me 20:42

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In the season of Pentecost this year we read Proverbs 13 and 14 and 1 Samuel.

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