Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Genesis 27:1-29.

Families are like mobiles. Ideally, each of the parts of the mobile hangs freely in their proper place, all of them suspended by one string. Few families are like that; most are tangled together, resulting in the term, “dysfunctional family.”

The family of Isaac and Rebecca has seeds of dysfunction within it. Esau, selling his birthright for food—is he not also responsible for the loss of the blessing, which Isaac gave to the deceitful Jacob? Then there is the preferential treatment of Rebecca to Jacob, and the latter’s complicity with her plan. Even Isaac needed to trust his nose more than his hands when he “smelled” something not quite right when Jacob approached him as Esau.

We are responsible for the situations in which we find ourselves. This frees us from the language of blame, reserving the discovering of our guilt when we go and pray to the Father in secret.

Genesis 26:23—27:29

This is the second of three parts of the Torah Portion Tol’doth (Progeny) 
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 25:19—28:9

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Ever seeking your blessing

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

Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Matthew 27:45-54.

Ask Simon of Cyrene to let you carry the cross with Jesus for a while. Allow your senses to come alive in the scene, letting the Lord use your imagination to take you beyond the imaginable—God’s Son dying for you. Live the darkness of the sixth to the ninth hour (Noon to three PM). Hear Jesus’s cries against the harsh background of blasphemy. Die with Jesus as he dies for you. The presence of God becomes accessible as the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies is torn in two. Dead saints break loose from the grave. At the very moment of death, signs of Jesus coming to life are present!

May your contemplation of the death of Jesus have you ready to die with him. Let go of all that needs to die in you, so that you can rise with Jesus.

Matthew 27:32–66

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Carrying Your holy cross v. 32

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read Matthew 19 to 28.

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 1 Corinthians 15:50-57.

Chapter 15 teaches the intimate connection that exists between Christ’s resurrection and ours. One gets its meaning from the other. We are not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus as a reality for Jesus alone, apart from its impact upon the very nature of our own lives.

This chapter is a glorious new resumé about who you are in Christ Jesus. It expresses the very essence of your faith. The reading stands in contrast to any less worthy way that you see your life—worthiness not of your own doing, but rather of what Christ Jesus has recreated you to be in his own body.

As you prayerfully read this and the final chapter, the very familiar verses will take on a greater, inner illumination for your own nourishment. Give thanks to the Lord for this great letter … and for your new resumé!

1 Corinthians 15—16

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: All is good when done for You v. 58

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read Matthew 19 to 28.

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.