Bread of the earth brings hunger again—but not Jesus, the Bread of Heaven. Receive in faith. For St. John, “to believe,” means, “to adhere to Jesus.” If you cling to Jesus on the cross, he will draw you up in resurrection.

For the Fourth Evangelist, “the last day” is Good Friday, the sixth day of the old creation. Then there is the Sabbath, followed by the first day of the week of the new creation, Resurrection Sunday.

Dwell on this immense fact: Christ calls you to live in a New Creation. All the “old stuff” that tends to stick like glue to your spirit, has really died and lost its power. Do not give any more power to what is already dead!

John 6:24–35

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Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year B, we read from the Gospel of Mark except for the last five weeks of the season of Pentecost
when we follow the 6th chapter in the Gospel of John.

The Firestarters are from the original version of this program. 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.

God’s people are on the verge of entering the land promised them by the Lord. Moses reminds them that this is not a reward for their good behavior, but rather is due to God’s goodness and the wickedness of the original inhabitants. The Lord is faithful to the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, even when the people have disobeyed and rebelled.

Moses tells the story of the breaking of the tablets of the Ten Commandments to the first generation after it happened, and to us, countless generations afterward. The message is still the same: our ancestors were rebels; we must not be. We are no different from our ancestors, but for the grace of God.

Deuteronomy 9:4—10:11

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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 the next several weeks, the Firestarters will be from the original version of this program. For these 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.

Miracles happen to strengthen faith, not substitute for it. The Pharisees do not want to have faith in Jesus. Without a yearning for faith, nothing will convince.

The deep sighing from Jesus at their lack of faith translates anastatoo, a Greek word used only twice in the New Testament, here and in Acts 17:6. The latter is in the context of unbelievers’ charges that Christians are “turning the world upside down.”

Jesus’stomach was “turned upside down” by the faithlessness of the Pharisees. How much it must have upset Jesus to see the lack of understanding of those closest to him!

How is your faith? Do you bargain with the Lord instead of believe and trust God’s providence over you?

Mark 8:1–21

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Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels. This year, we generally read
from the Gospel of Mark, this season, chapters 4 to 9.

For the next several weeks, the Firestarters will be from the original version of this program. For these 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.