Breath
Thinking a lot about breath and the word lately.
What did the Trinity do before they got into the creation business? I think they just abided, in perfect harmony. And the Word Was. The Breath of God was there.
The three in one does not need to create or be busy to be content. 2 Timothy 6:6 "Godly with contentment is great gain". They just were. Abiding. At peace.
To see God clearly, is to be transformed into His likeness (1 John 3:1-3, 2 Cor 3:18). To be in His presence (is fullness of joy).
2 Cor 6:14 What fellowship does light have with darkness?
John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
I'm reminded that the power for transformation is in the Word. In His breath is creation, healing, peace and joy.
I too often look to the wrong place to overcome the world, as if my efforts, determination, therapy and all that can hold back the darkness.
Psalm 94:11The Lord knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath.
In Psalms 94:11, God tells us that our thoughts are not much, a mere breath. Our breath is not like His. God's breath brings life or death.
Job 12:9-10 (NASB)“Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
With God's breath life is given.
God places great esteem on words.
Proverbs 25:11 (NASB)
Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a word spoken in right circumstances.
Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
God places great esteem on words.
Proverbs 25:11 (NASB)
Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a word spoken in right circumstances.
Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
James 3:8(NASB)
But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
Read these verses and see what you find:
Genesis 1 (NLT)
In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was
formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God
was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was
light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he
separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the
light “day” and the darkness “night.”
And evening passed
and morning came, marking the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there
be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the
waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God
made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the
heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”
And evening passed
and morning came, marking the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow
together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what
happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the
waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God
said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant,
and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds
of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The
land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with
seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And
God saw that it was good.
13 And evening passed and morning came, marking
the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate
the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.15 Let
these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what
happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern
the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God
set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to
govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God
saw that it was good.
19 And evening passed and morning came, marking
the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other
life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So
God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms
in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind.
And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them,
saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the
birds multiply on the earth.”
23 And evening passed and morning came, marking
the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of
animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that
scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25 God
made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to
produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our
image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in
the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small
animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings in his own
image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth
and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all
the animals that scurry along the ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing
plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And
I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in
the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has
life.” And that is what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he
saw that it was very good!
And evening passed
and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Matthew 8:31-32
So the demons begged
Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” “Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.
Mark 4:37-39 (NASB)
And there *arose a
fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the
boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the
cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we
are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the
sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it
became perfectly calm.
Mark 4:41 (NLT)
The disciples were
absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind
and waves obey him!”
Luke 4:32 (NLT)
There, too, the
people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with
authority.
Job 12:9-10 (NASB)
“Who among all these
does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
“The Spirit of God
has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Psalm 33:9 (NASB)
9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
He commanded, and it stood fast.
Hebrews 11:3 (NASB)
By faith we
understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that
what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Revelation 19:11-16 (NASB)
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who
sat on it is called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a
flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has
a name written on Him which no one knows except
Himself. 13 He is clothed with
a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And
the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
were following Him on white horses.15 From His mouth
comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and
He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine
press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And
on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND
LORD OF LORDS.”
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.
Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the
earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life,
from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.
So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in
which was the breath of life.
of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old
age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his
people.
These are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and
thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was
gathered to his people.
Isaac breathed his last and died and was
gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob
buried him.
When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into
the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
Only in the cities of these peoples that
the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not
leave alive anything that breathes.
Thus Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the
Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings. He left no survivor,
but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord,
the God of Israel, had commanded.
They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the
sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed.
And he burned Hazor with fire.
All the spoil of these cities and the cattle, the sons of
Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every man with the edge of the
sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one who breathed.
“Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of
the world were laid bare By the rebuke of the Lord, At the blast of
the breath of His nostrils.
[ Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son ] Now it
came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the
house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left
in him.
the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the
attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire,
and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she
was breathless.
“By the breath of God they perish, And by
the blast of His anger they come to an end.
“Remember that my life is but breath;
My eye will not again see good.
“I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for
my days are but a breath.
“He will not allow me to get my breath, But
saturates me with bitterness.
“But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no
escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.”
In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of
all mankind?
“He will not escape from darkness; The flame will wither his
shoots, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
“By His breath the heavens are cleared; His
hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
For as long as life is in me, And the breath of
God is in my nostrils,
“But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of
the Almighty gives them understanding.
“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of
the Almighty gives me life.
“If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to
Himself His spirit and His breath,
“From the breath of God ice is made, And
the expanse of the waters is frozen.
“His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes
forth from his mouth.
Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of
the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of
Your nostrils.
Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For
false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And
by the breath of His mouth all their host.
“Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a
mere breath. Selah.
“With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume
as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath.
Selah.
My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe
forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and
arrows And their tongue a sharp sword.
Men of low degree are only vanity and men of rank are a lie;
In the balances they go up; They are together lighter than breath.
The Lord knows the thoughts of man, That they are
a mere breath.
They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at
all in their mouths.
Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a
passing shadow.
Let everything that has breath praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord!
For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is
the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and
there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.
Who knows that the breath of man ascends
upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the
earth?
Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is
in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?
But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide
with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with
the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will
slay the wicked.
For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for
the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For
the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a
wall.
His breath is like an overflowing torrent,
Which reaches to the neck, To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, And
to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to
ruin.
For Topheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been
prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, A pyre of fire with
plenty of wood; The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of
brimstone, sets it afire.
“You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
My breath will consume you like a fire.
The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of
the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.
Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and
stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to
the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,
“When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver
you. But the wind will carry all of them up, And a breath
will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit
the land And will possess My holy mountain.”
“For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me, And the breath of
those whom I have made.
For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of
one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping
for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe
is me, for I faint before murderers.”
Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is
put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is
no breath in them.
“She who bore seven sons pines away;
Her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was yet day; She
has been shamed and humiliated. So I will give over their survivors to the
sword Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.
All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith
is put to shame by his idols, For his molten images are deceitful, And there is
no breath in them.
The breath of our nostrils,
the Lord’s anointed, Was captured in their pits, Of whom we had said,
“Under his shadow We shall live among the nations.”
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.’”
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.
but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven;
and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your
nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and
you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone,
which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and
all your ways, you have not glorified.
For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my
lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been
left in me.”
“Woe to him who says to a piece of wood,
‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at
all inside it.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His
last.
When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him,
saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the
Son of God!”
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into
Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
And when He had said this, He breathed on them
and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed
his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.
And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed
her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her
out and buried her beside her husband.
[ The Conversion of Saul ] Now Saul,
still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the
Lord, went to the high priest,
nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed
anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and
all things;
Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will
slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the
appearance of His coming;
But after the three and a half days, the breath of
life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell
upon those who were watching them.
And it was given to him to give breath to
the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and
cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Post A Comment
No comments