Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and 2 Chronicles 36:15-23.

Goodness and evil oscillate, along with celebration and disaster, as the final four of the twenty kings of Judah are accounted. The reign of the worst of these, Manasseh, is described in a few horrific verses; yet even he repents and is restored.

The pendulum swings to Josiah, great king of reform for God’s people. Feel the joy in the restoration of the Temple, the discovery of God’s Word and the especially memorable celebration of the Passover. Then disaster takes place again in the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the captivity in Babylon. However, good will triumph. God uses Cyrus, the pagan King of Persia, to be the means of restoring God’s people to their homeland.

Do not fail to see the many meanings contained in the final verse of this book of the Bible, as another year of grace begins to draw to a close.

2 Chronicles 33—36

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: Turning not to right or left. 34:2

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

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the reading.

Malachi decries corruption on the part of the priests and infidelity in marriage in God’s people. He rejects expression of emotion as a substitute for true offering in worship. In the midst of the very refuse of false worship and other abuses that Malachi would smear in the faces of the unfaithful, there are verses that warrant profound reflection. Take vv. 5–7, reading them not as applied only to the Levitic priesthood, but to yourself; you are called to be a priest in Christ Jesus. The qualities described in those verses are for you to live.

Do not pull apart from the yoke of the Lord, but tie these words to you, as a link between you and Jesus. Let the words be as a kind of spiritual lubricant for your way—peace, reverence, trust, justice, equity, knowledge.

Malachi 2

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: I am messenger of God. v. 7

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 Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the Gospel.

The harsh, pointed tip of the plow would have preferred to be silently stuck, jutting from the untilled soil. If it were thus, there would be no harvest to celebrate at Thanksgiving. If you have been tilling your soul with the seedword of God each day, there will be fruit in your life. You are yoked with your Christ who is “pulling for you.”

This is the point behind Jesus’ prediction of the harsh events to come. The “end” is not something in the indefinite future, as many find themselves distracted by calendar-makers about what is to come; it is rather a quality of the present moment. Jesus invites you to continue to be in movement before the forces of darkness. There is no need to hide in an underground shelter, away from it all. With Jesus, you can plow your way into the very heart of evil itself and be victorious. Be yoked with Christ.

Luke 21:5–19

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Words of wisdom in my mouth v. 14

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year C, we generally read from the Gospel of St. Luke.

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.