Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Judges 17:1-13.

The call of the first disciples celebrated this past Sunday contrasts today with the whole tribe of Dan falling into idolatry. There is no leadership, leaving the people infected by the local pagan worship surrounding them. We find this expression here: “Doing your own thing.” Life deteriorates when the value of individualism presses against the values of a whole society, which the Lord intends to lead. When God is not at the center, God either becomes unimportant, or at best, a mascot on the sidelines of life. Competition, consumerism, intrigue, vanity— all the gods of this world will move into the sacred turf of your center, if you let them. Look at the dangers when you are not bound and accountable to the integrating, renewing, recreating Body of Christ. The Dans had no accountability to the rest of the Chosen People. There was no Moses to burn their idols … no Christ to overturn their tables. However, you have the Lord.

Judges 17—18

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: Walking humbly with my God. Micah 6:8

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In the Winter Season of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Judges, Proverbs 4 to 6.

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 Isaiah 48:17-22.

Fire can either destroy or purify. “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction,” says the Lord. God does not send pain our way; the sin of the world and the consequences of our personal sins result in our being afflicted. However, the Lord promises to be there to purify and transform suffering, with outcomes better than ever.

The action of the Lord teaches us how to grow from pain. The Hebrew word for teaching used in verse 17 is lamad. The root of the word is “to goad.” Likely, it comes from the way an animal learns by being prodded. Our sufferings goad us to learn from them, to be transformed by them. One way is to offer your suffering for others who are not doing so well in theirs. Teach others by the example of your enduring faith in the Lord’s fidelity and mercy to God’s people as Isaiah declares today.

Isaiah 48

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the Winder Season of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Isaiah 40 – 55.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example:

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 the reading.

Not only being with Jesus, but being Jesus to the world—this is the meaning of the call of the first disciples. As they clean up their nets and receive the invitation to cast them over a broken, hurting world, they are to become an extension of Jesus himself.

As you “clean up” after your day of work and prepare for rest, ask the Spirit to deal with you about your lifework. Is there something that needs to change for you? Are you willing to get in touch with the pain of the discomfort that may well up with the words: “I’m just not doing what I really want to do!” Respect those feelings of disquiet; they are the beginning of being open to what the Lord is inviting you to do with your life.

What do you want to be when you grow up … in the Lord?

Mark 1:14–20

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Leaving all to follow You v.  20

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
During the Winter Season of Advent to Epiphany this year, we read the Gospel of Mark, chapters 1-2.

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.