Thursday, April 26, 2012

Breath of Life

Not long ago, I was teaching the respiratory system of the human body in my AP Biology class. We discussed the difference between oxygen rich blood in our arteries and oxygen deficient blood in our veins. We talked about the process of blood picking up oxygen in the lungs and dumping off carbon dioxide for us to breathe out. One of my students asked the question about CPR. They questioned why do we breathe into their mouth, if what we breathe out has little oxygen. Why would that not do more damage than good. I explained that even when we breathe out, there is still oxygen, albeit a very small amount, but it is still there. And that is better than nothing at all. This got me to thinking about God's breathing. And I did a little research and this is what I found.

Genesis 2:7
"Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

God breathed life into Adam. God formed Adam from dust. He formed everything that would be needed to live, and then gave him the "breath of life." He caused air to move into his body, so that he could live. There are two main ways, I think, that you could teach this breath of life. One, you could talk about the physical. Without a good supply of oxygen, we would cease to exist. We would be nothing more than flesh and bone with no life. We can see this example in Ezekiel in the vision that was given to him from God.

Ezekiel 37:1-10
"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army."

The second way we could view this is in a spiritual since. You see, God does not only breathe a physical life into us, but He can also send a spiritual one as well. This is best seen on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:1-4
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."

On that day, God fulfilled a promise that He would send a Helper to the disciples. That helper was the Holy Spirit. It gave them power and utterance to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It provides us with that same power. When we are born again, God sends the Holy Spirit to us as well. It helps us. It guides us. It gives us power, courage, and strength. Without it, we are like Adam before life was breathed into him. Like the valley of dry bones, we are nothing without this breath of life. We walk this earth condemned, guilty, and dead.

John 3:16-18
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Have you received the breath of life? Or are you walking this earth in spiritual death? If that is so, I pray that you seek to know Jesus as your Savior. If you would like, you can click the Plan of Salvation tab at the top of this blog, and it will explain the need we have of Salvation and how to obtain it.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you! That was so timely!!! God bless!

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  2. The Breath of Life, so beautifully expressed! God bless your heart for Him, Derrick!

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