BECAUSE OF THE LORD GOD WE LIVE MOVE AND EXIST

Proclamation:

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.  As some of your poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’”  Acts 17:28 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that Paul and Silas had to leave Thessalonica because after they preached that Jesus was the Messiah, the non-believing Jews had formed a mob there and were looking for them. (Acts 17:1-10)  They went to Berea but the non-believing Jews from Thessalonica heard that they were preaching there and came to Berea and stirred up the crowd against them. (Acts 17:10-15)  Paul then went to Athens and noticed that the city was full of idols and was disturbed. (Acts 17:16-18)  While there he found an altar with the inscription, “To The Unknown God”, and he preached to them about Him. (Acts 17:22-23)  While he was speaking to them he said that it was because of The Lord God that we live, move, and have our very being.

Application:

There are a lot of intelligent and well educated people who believe in scientific things but do not believe in Jesus, The Christ, or His death, burial, and resurrection.  They do not believe that God created the earth and all things therein. (Revelation 10:6)  They do not believe that man was made from the dust of the earth and God breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)  It is because of The Lord God that we live, move, and have our being.  When we die, our soul will return to The Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) and our bodies will return to the dust from which it came. (Genesis 3:19, Psalm 104:29, and Ecclesiastes 12:7)  Our souls will not die but will spend eternity somewhere. (Matthew 25:46)  Where will you spend eternity?

THE BREATH OF LIFE

Proclamation:

"The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These Holy Spirit inspired words of God were thought to have been written by Moses even though he was clearly not present when the events occurred.  The title of the first book of The Old Testament, Genesis, in Greek means “origins” while the Hebrew translation means “in the beginning.”  After creating the heavens and the earth by speaking them into existence, (Genesis 1:1-8) God then created man. (Genesis 1:26-27)  God created man from the dust of the earth but man did not become a living being until God breathed into him the breath of life. (Genesis 2:7)

Application:

God gave us our most precious gift, the breath of life.  One day each of us will have to give it back to Him.  The dust of the earth and the minerals that make up our physical bodies will one day return to the dust of the earth. (Job 34:15 and Psalm 104:29)  The breath of life, which is the spirit within our bodies, will return to The Lord God who gave it to us. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)  This life is short and it will soon be over. (James 4:14)  We should live our lives, our temporary existence here on earth as living souls, as if we value and appreciate God for giving us the opportunity to exist.  We should thank God for all that we have and for every blessing that we have received, and we should live our lives like we are grateful to Him for being alive and having the breath of life.  Our spiritual soul will live forever, but not our physical bodies.  Just how and where our soul will spend eternity will depend upon our relationship with Jesus, The Christ. (John 3:16 and Revelation 20:10 and 15)  The choice is ours, please choose wisely.

The Resurrection And The Life

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies;"  John 11:25 (NIV)

The Apostle John captured the words of Jesus, The Christ, as He spoke to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus.  This is the fifth of the seven great "I AM" statements which Jesus spoke.  He said "I AM the resurrection and the life".  Jesus basically said that He is life, He is the giver of life, and He has the power of life over death.  He said that all who have faith in Him will have eternal life after the physical death.

Like Martha and her sister Mary, most Christians today believe in spiritual life after physical death on judgement day.  However, what we do not recognize is that The Lord God is the power of life.  The breath of life is His, it came from Him (Genesis 2:7), it belongs to Him, and it will return to Him.  Many have died for short periods of time and come back to life, none were dead as long as Lazarus, but they were miracles of God none the less.  It was not modern medicine, if it were, then no one who could afford health care would die.  Each night we sleep in the very image of death, and it is God that wakes us up each day.  But, the power of the resurrection is unique unto Christ.  Lazarus did not get up from the dead on his own, it was the power of God that raised him from the dead. (John 11:42-44)  When Jesus died, He laid down His life and He picked it back up again as He said that He would. (John 10:17)  Jesus said "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18)  That included the power of life and the power over death.  All who believe in Him, although we may die, we will live again.

We Should Praise The Lord

"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 ... Let everything that has breath praise The Lord. Praise The Lord." Psalms 150:1-2 & 6 (NIV)

God is great. He has done great things. He deserves our praise. Everyone who is alive and breathing should praise The Lord for each breath and heart beat.

One thing that we do not do enough of is praise The Lord. We should praise The Lord daily, in fact, we should praise Him multiple times each day. We should quit complaining about what it is that we don't have and praise Him for what we have. "Let everything that has breath praise The Lord."

The Breath Of Life

"The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 (NIV) God gave us our most precious gift, the breath of life. One day we will have to give it back to Him. The dust of the earth and the minerals that make up our physical bodies will one day return to the dust of the earth.

We should live our lives, our temporary existence here on earth as living souls, as if we value and appreciate God for giving us this opportunity to exist. We should thank God for all that we have and for every blessing that we have received, and live like we are grateful to Him for being alive. Our spiritual soul will live forever, but not our physical bodies. Just how and where our soul will spend eternity will depend upon our relationship with Jesus The Christ. The choice is ours, choose wisely.