Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Psalm 80:1-7.

Tap here for a video meditation on Psalm 80.

Picture what would happen if a dearly loved person from your past were suddenly to stand before you right now, face lit in a broad, open smile. Taste the joy and the jolting change of your mood. The Lord at this very moment is smiling at you with the greatest love there is. When God smiles, nothing remains the same. The Holy Spirit engrafts you onto the vine, which is Jesus.

As corks holding up a net, so does the threefold repetition of this verse lift God’s people. “Restore” (in Hebrew: shuwb), means a plea for God to make things go back to the way they were when God’s presence and power were freshly felt by the people. May this psalm clear the space between you and the Lord, so you can see God’s smile.

Psalm 80

Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: Your face shining, I am saved. vv. 3, 7, 19

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

Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and 1 Kings 19:9-18.

Action ceases; the roller coaster stops. For Elijah, a time of quiet has come, setting for the strong experience of the presence of the Lord in the “still, small voice.” Sweetly and intimately, God communicates with the prophet. Then Elijah has a close companion who is anointed with prophecy as he—Elisha.

Action picks up again in the arrogance of a pagan king, Ben-Hadad, and the punishment of Ahab for letting Ben-Hadad get away. May you feel the disgust in your heart as you read about Ahab and Jezebel’s contempt for God’s ways. Let the Spirit stir you strongly to follow the Lord. Separate yourself from those people, places, and things that tempt you to put yourself in the center again.

1 Kings 19—20

Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: Hearing the sound of silence v. 12

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In this season, Proverbs 20-11; 1 Kings

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 Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Hosea 12:1-6.

What do you do that is vain and unfulfilling? Are there activities in your life that do not satisfy you, leaving the depth areas of your spirit without nourishment? Vanity is a form of idolatry. God will not remove its consequences. We often need pain to seek and find the Lord.

Ephraim was the last son of Joseph, the “youngest” tribe of Israel. The name stands for the whole of the Chosen People who have gone astray. By referring to the youngest son, Hosea wants us to feel the tenderness that God has for all the people. For God’s people and for you personally, the Lord does not want us to feed on the futility of the wind (v.1).

Hosea 12

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: My heart, an altar for You v. 11

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In this season we read Hosea; in the 9th week, we read Lamentations 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.