Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Isaiah 37:23-38.

The Lord speaks through the mouth of Isaiah, responding as only God can do. The former blasphemies of the Assyrians, as well as the pride of God’s people and their lack of reliance upon God, are unmasked with strong assertions of what God is going to do.

There are verses that need to take deep root in your heart, saved from the scorched grass of verse 27. Meditate upon the following in verse 26: “Long ago I planned what I am now causing to happen …” You may think that your present situation is the result of what you have done. On another level, God is working with even your mistakes and sins to bring forth God’s plan in your life. Will you let God do this?

The three-year reference to eating the fruits of the land in verse 30, draws attention to the three-year cycle of praying through the Bible. Can you sense the growth in your spiritual life by defining each day by God’s Word?

Isaiah 37:21–38

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read Isaiah 28 – 39.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Sitting humbly before You v. 29

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.

If there is any outdoor game we all played as children, it is “Hide ‘n Seek,” with its ringing cry: “Ready or not: here I come!” Think of this shout coming from Jesus as we start the fire on the lamps of our hearts with “The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.” Ten are asked to meet the bridegroom; five are ready, five were not.

There is a difference between those playing Hide ‘n Seek and those lost and not yet found. For the latter, the bridegroom becomes the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep. Those already found need to stop playing Hide ‘n Seek with Jesus, and simply get ready, for he is coming!

About your heart: is it soaked in the oil of the Holy Spirit so that when he touches your heart with a tongue of fire, you will shine as a light to the world?

Matthew 25:1–13

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: My inner lamp filled with oil. v. 4

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
During the Seasons of Pentecost and Kingdomtide, we read the Gospel of Matthew.

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 Genesis 24:10-27.

This is the story of how God placed the beautiful Rebecca into a setting where she would eventually become Isaac’s wife. We are in Mesopotamia: “The Land between the Rivers” (the Tigris and the Euphrates) in modern Iraq.

The Lord uses the kindness of Rebecca as part of the plan to have her be a key ancestor in the life of God’s people. Her name means, “to captivate,” which is what her beauty did to men. Equally as captivating as her physical beauty, is the beauty of her kindness, which results in such a great change in her future life.

Never fail in being kind in all circumstances. In so doing, you make yourself more suitable for the Lord to use for increasing love in the Kingdom. Hebrews 13:2 expresses a similar truth: “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!”

Genesis 24: 10–52

This is the second of three parts of the Torah Portion Haye Sarah (The Lives of Sarah)
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.
Gen. 23:1—25:18

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Kindness in all that I do

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