Solomon in the evening of his life offers a sobering sense of the theme of the end of all things. While he fell short of the revelation about eternal life, still the perspectives he offers are valuable for personal detachment, setting priorities in life and realizing that the end of earthly life will come for everyone. God’s judgment will be the next event after our death as we all gaze alone with God upon the open pages of each one’s Book of Life.

Read slowly as though you are sipping hot cider on a cold autumn evening. Take the verse of the day, linking it with the encounter of the Good Thief upon the cross. The Lord will remember you in his Kingdom in heaven if you remember your Redeemer in his Kingdom upon earth.

Ecclesiastes 9—12

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: Breath returning to my God 12:7

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read Proverbs 30—32
and 2 Chronicles and Ecclesiastes 9—12.

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

God’s love, like circles and cycles, has no beginning or end. While we mark the conclusion of the three-year cycle of Bible readings and its beginning next week in Advent, the movement of God’s Word is all of one piece. These final chapters of the Old Testament are sutured to the New. The “coming messenger” is John the Baptist. There is unity of ends and beginnings, even as Advent begins the story of God’s grace, yet points to the end, in the Second Coming of Christ.

Verses 8–10 are among the principle texts in the Bible about tithing and giving the first fruits to the Lord. Make connections with economic systems of injustice that exploit the Third World. Linger on the blessed promises of the concluding verses of the Old Testament, and the curse upon those whose hearts are hardened.

Malachi 3—4

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the season of Kingdomtide we read Habakkuk to Malachi.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: You are like refiner’s fire. 3.2

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.

The death of Sarah has a special poignancy about it. We have come to know Abraham and Sarah in a way no other human being from Adam and Eve to the family of Noah has even been known. We see their humanness, frailty, and sinfulness—including the cynical laughter of Sarah when she heard that she would conceive Isaac in her old age.

Familiarity with Abraham and Sarah permits you to enter into the mourning of Abraham for his beloved wife. Abraham is so very human in negotiating with neighbors after the funeral about, “Where do we go from here?”

The story of God’s unique intervention in history with Abraham and Sarah continues in the next couple to intrigue us, Isaac and Rebecca. Sense the shift in the story, even as the death of Jesus opens up new possibilities in resurrection.

Genesis 23:1—24:9

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Blessed are those who die in You 23:2ff

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