Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Matthew 27:1-14.

Two grave sins were committed in Jesus’s Passion—betrayal and denial. Peter wept bitterly over the sin he committed; profound sorrow and the Lord’s forgiveness cleansed his soul and prepared the way for the greatness of the Peter to come. Judas’s sin of betrayal results in a tragic consequence. The killing emotion of guilt overwhelms Judas and he hangs himself. If only he had allowed himself to catch the pained, yet loving glance of Jesus, he might have clung to that glance, rather  than the rope that hung him!

There is sin all over this narrative. Consider the aimless gesture of Pilate washing his hands, as though that would free him from responsibility.

Keep yourself very close to Jesus as you pray the Passion. Distance from him makes you vulnerable to the Enemy. The Deliverer is delivered to be crucified.

Matthew 27:1–31

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Keeping silent when accused v. 14

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 13:1-13.

However familiar you may be with chapter 13, read it today as though for the first time. Though this chapter does not mention God, the traces of God who is love penetrate every verse, challenging the listener to go beyond the world’s mind about love, deep into divine understanding. Reflect upon the spiritual gifts outlined in chapter 14. Paul describes the gift of tongues, a spiritual language that many discover the Holy Spirit continuing to give. Ordinary language tends to keep one in the mind alone; a language of the Spirit allows the recipients to yield the heart to those communications from the Lord that transcend the limitations of the mind; they are one-on-one contacts with the Spirit.

Pray that the Lord give you understanding about these gifts—surely offered today as well as to the community of Corinth.

1 Corinthians 13—14

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Love is patient; love is kind. 13: 4

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read 1 Corinthians.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these Firestarters 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 Psalm.

For a video meditation on today’s Psalm created three years ago, Tap here.

The outpourings in this psalm become vehicles for all the ways in which God’s people suffer. Paul cites verse 22 in Romans 8:36–39 as he finds the words of this psalm expressing the suffering he experienced in his reborn life in Christ. Allow this psalm to carry you through your pain. Moving slowly through the psalm, painful memories, and other sorrows will attach themselves to this prayer and move outward into God’s presence. Your awareness will shift from pain to the presence of God who alone gives healing and meaning to the suffering.

You may find it helpful to note down specific concerns that come to mind. You blend in with millions of people today and over the centuries who found peace and the soothing comfort of God’s abiding presence through this and all the psalms.

Psalm 44

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: Redeemed by Your steadfast love v. 26

We continue to follow 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