[From the version for families with children]

Daniel is given a vision of what is going to happen at the end of the world.  Matthew, Mark and Luke have similar stories offered by Jesus and his disciples as they stand before the great Temple. The book of Revelation has similar stories.  

It sounds like a scary time, yet Jesus our King is in charge and with us.  The picture of the man in linen white…Though Daniel lives centuries before Christ, he gets a glimpse of  Jesus in this man dressed in linen.  I’m reminded of Revelation 7 we read a few weeks back, how the suffering of the saints caused their clothes to become white when they were drenched in the blood of the lamb: Jesus.

So we come to the end of book of Daniel which has been with us for the past thirteen Mondays.  This young teenager went through adventures, saw visions—every moment if his life, he was touched by God because he was willing to be close to God and to do what God wants.  If you and I have that same desire, God will show us what we need to know about the deep, inner meaning of things.  This does not only mean at the end of the world, but at the end of each moment, when we pause and spend some time being quiet. God will give us the wisdom to understand what situations and events mean from God’s point of view.  Hey, now there’s a point of view I would like to have!

 Daniel 12  

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year, we read the Book of Daniel.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…

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.

[From the original version of the book]

With eyes of faith, gaze upon Jesus your King standing before Pilate, a puppet governor. Jesus is clothed in a purple robe, the color of kings. His blood turns the cloak yet into greater kingly crimson. Listen in on their somber conversation about truth and power. Though they speak on a level plane, face to face, Jesus’s word invites us to lofty heights of understanding and belief.

Pray to the Spirit that you comprehend the exalted nature of Jesus’s Kingdom. Though bloodied and beaten, Jesus is the only Lord of glory, power, and might. Through his love, surrender, and total dedication to the Father’s plan, Jesus finds his kingship. No other place but in Jesus will you fulfill the plan that the Father has for you.

John 18:33–37

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year B, we read from the Gospel of Mark

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.

[From the original version]

Do you know any mothers who died at childbirth? There is an extraordinary sadness when this occurs. Our reading begins with the death of Rachel when Benjamin was born. There is a church between Jerusalem and Bethlehem that prides itself as being the place where Rachel is buried. As quietly as Isaac breathes his last, so are the final verses in the Bible that recount his death.

Chapter 36 gives the history of Esau and his people—only a list of names as though printed in black and white. Colors are kept for the stories of Jacob and his descendants, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, prototype of the Twelve Apostles and the New Israel, the Church. Esau’s disobedience wrenches

Genesis 35:16—36:43

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…

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