Daily Devotion

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Colors from Deep Within – Revised

Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and the Reading.

[From the original version -Revised]

Sealed inside each of us are energies both dark and bright. Danger comes when the darker side of us is repressed. Better to break open the seal and let in the light of the Lord pierce the darkness to give you appropriate and even creative expression; otherwise, the darkness could have its energies explode in rage, irritable reactions, unkindness, and gossip.

Accept the entire range of your feelings. Feelings are neither good nor bad: they just are. Recognize and accept them and they will tend to flow outward in ways similar to the images of today’s reading.

Inner energies: be aware of this as you read about the opening of six of the seven seals. Strong contrasting images explode in each one. Color vary from bright to grotesque. How do you identify with these vibrant images? Revelation: it is the book, as well as God showing you God’s face from deep within your being.

Revelation 6

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Darkness not speaking to me

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In season of Kingdomtide this year,
we read 1 and 2 Thessalonians; Revelation 4—11.

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.

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Absolute Trust

Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and the Psalm.

Tap here for a video-meditation on Psalm 91.

[From the original version]

Make this psalm more personal by changing the pronouns. If you are praying this on your behalf, place the first person personal pronoun in place of the second person. If you are praying with someone else, place his or her name into the psalm.

The loveliness of the psalm is found in savoring the secret place, the refuge, the dwelling place. All these words in Hebrew suggest the absolute safety of being in the presence of the Lord. There is protection from all outside attacks, the Lord being a place where you can run and hide, just as a little child runs to hide in the arms of a loving parent. The whole psalm breathes the air of trust, confidence, peace, and assurance. As you read the psalm, what other words come to your heart to describe what it is like to be one with the Lord?

Psalm 91

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: Your faithfulness is a shield. v. 4

We follow a reading of 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

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Your Case Spread before the Lord

Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and 2 Kings 19:8-19.

[From the original version]

Finally, a good king comes on the scene, Hezekiah. Yet even he waffles from total fidelity to the Lord. Take special note of verses 5 and 6 in chapter 18 and embrace the terms of greatness in the sight of the Lord.  5 He relied on the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah after him or among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following him but kept the commandments that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Adventure, excitement, and faith increase in chapter 19. Be moved by what King Hezekiah does when he gets that letter from King Sennacherib of Assyria, defying and blaspheming the God of the Hebrews. Hezekiah spreads the letter before the Lord in the Temple.

Hezekiah’s gesture is a sacrament of his faith in the Lord—a physical act whose meaning and energy are found in the world of the Spirit. Lay your case before the Lord, wide open, with nothing concealed. Abandon yourself to God. Divine power is released in a heart open to it.

2 Kings 17—19

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: No fear of words not from You 19:6

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read Proverbs 22—23; 2 Kings; Ecclesiastes 5—8.

 

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