Verse of the Day: Genesis 2:7 ►Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Memory of the Month: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Today's reading: LEVITICUS 14 MATTHEW 26:51-75
Breathing
Wherever there is breathable air-this is where the enemy of God's kingdom is.
Ephesians 2: 1&2: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
It is really cold and getting colder and is lasting for days. One friend has been without electricity and water for three days and the bad weather has not started yet. We usually do not know much of this weather at all in this part of Texas but people in the northern states live in much worse for months at a time.
Anywhere there is breathable air from here north is cold. Think about that. Anywhere.
Anywhere there is someone breathing, the enemy is the prince of that air. Evil is everywhere. It has been this way since the Garden of Eden was lost to us.
But, we belong to the king. The problem for the human is that we have to breathe to live this physical life. We must live and work and eat in this kingdom of the air. It is really too easy, then, to see how we get the two worlds so mixed up.
We see other people and judge them conditionally and, so, think God must do the same. We work to win the approval of others and, so, think we must do the same to win God's approval. There's something in the air.
We consider ourselves unworthy of God's love so it is hard for us to accept. Stop. None of us are worthy so we cannot use that excuse ever again. But, blessed be the name of the Lord, we do not come to Jesus based on our worth. We come to Jesus based on God's mercy and grace. This is not in the air-not in this earthly realm.
God's love for us does not exist in our cold air or in any other breathable air. God's love exists and moves with His Holy Spirit and touches and reaches the 'whoever' in John 3:16. God's love moves through us to all those who hate God and to all the rest-to all Jesus included in 'our neighbor' in John 22:37-39. This is God's air.
God breathed the breath of life into man at creation.
Genesis 2:7 ►Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
In Christ, we breathe God's air. We breathe God's truth in and of His word. God's word is hard for many to breathe because of our own sin. The lost choke on God's air because they are so chained by the air above the ground.
The Jews of Jesus day rejected God's divine air of truth and Jesus said, "43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."
1 Peter 2:8: " A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."
If someone falls and is injured badly enough to call EMS, what is one of the first things they do? They check oxygen levels and administer oxygen-pure oxygen-oxygen not yet contaminated by the world. Why? They must have it to live.
People fall all around us continually. What are we to do? We are called to administer God's air-His pure truth. How in touch with that pure truth are we? Can we deliver God's truth or are we still hung up on what the prince of the air has chained us with?
Galatians 5:1: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
The earth itself is not evil but has been contaminated by sin. The war for the souls of mankind is constant and it is time for us to take it seriously. Spiritual warfare is real and, if we belong to Jesus, we are in this war with a king that provides all we need for victory.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
You, we, have been given power, love and a sound mind by God Himself. The Holy Spirit breathes life, love, and power into our hearts, souls, and minds, continually.
How deeply do we breathe?
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me for feeling unworthy. In You, I am worthy because of Christ. Teach me to live this freedom.
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