February 7, 2017

Breath

It is more than air, this breath we breathe.
There is something in us, the breath of life, that was imparted to us at the moment of the creation of Adam, that is different from the breath of animals. With this transfer from the being of God to the lifeless form of Adam, freshly fashioned from earth, Adam became a living being, a living soul, as the Old King James Version says. This was a separate act of creation; God spoke everything else into existence but Adam and Eve were handcrafted by Him. One of the definitions of “breathed into” is “inflated.” Spiritually, Adam was like a deflated balloon, flat, useless, full of nothing. But the breath of God changed all that. This is so personal, this personal inflation of a created being with the breath of its Creator.

Why? Why a separate creative process? Why so personal an impartation of life from God to mankind?

“The One Most Beloved”
There is a biblical term that has found its way into common use meaning for “the one most beloved;” “the apple of my eye.” God calls Israel this and expects us to consider His Word to be the apple of our eye.” “Most beloved” status in the heart of God is the result of this moment in the Garden of Eden when Adam came to life. This breath of life has been passed down to each of us, the children of Adam and Eve. We are designed to thrive on the breath of God, the Holy Spirit. One of Hebrew words for spirit is ruach, meaning the breath of God—His very life!

ruach OT:7307, “breath; air; strength; wind; breeze; spirit; courage; temper; Spirit.” (Vine’s Dictionary)

The breath in us is God’s living Spirit!

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” the Psalmist says. Praise is our purpose, the reason we have breath to breathe. We praise Him with:

• Our songs of praise and worship,
• Our witness to His story and His grace in our lives,
• The integrity of our hearts,
• The work of our hands, and
• The obedience of our walk with Him.

So, when the music starts and you are given a song to sing with the Saints—go for it! Give it all you’ve got.

This is the reason you have breath within you!

Scriptures:
Genesis 2:7 NKJV
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Psalm 150 NIV
Praise the LORD.Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Mark 12:29-31 NIV
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I will praise You today! I will praise You whether I like or even know the songs we are asked to sing. My praise shall be as authentic in me as my breath. At Your holy inflation, my life was filled with Your life. When sin had caught me and left me struggling for air, You rescued me and returned me to Your Holy Presence, where I can breathe the clear air of heaven. I will not waste my breath on curses, or vile words, or empty musings that do not smell of Your sweetness. I will use the breath of life within me to sing of Your virtues, to proclaim Your excellence, to shout Your praise and to tell Your story! All for You, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Song:
Let Everything That Has Breath
Words and Music: Rich Gomez
(from Ron Kenoly’s album  “Lift Him Up”)

Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord
And let the living proclaim
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord

Let every instrument Sound His praise
As all His people adore
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord

I will open up my mouth And He will fill it with praise
I will magnify His name The name that stands
Above all names is Jesus

High sounding cymbals and trumpets of brass
The sound of one accord
Let everything that has breath
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord

My Lord has put a new song in my heart
It’s a song of praise to my God
And everyone who hears it will rejoice
Let everything that has breath
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved