Thursday, December 8, 2011

Breath by Breath (Introduction)




Each and every breath is not only a gift from God...
it is a reminder...



There are 60 seconds in a minute just as there are 60 minutes in an hour.  There are 24 hours in a day.  Multiplied by 7 days, we discover there are then 168 hours in a week.  A standard month is comprised of 4 weeks or 720 hours or 43,200 minutes...


During the time that you have been reading this, did you realize that you have most likely taken around 5 to 6 breaths?  If we were to average out the standard 16 breaths per minute and apply this number to the information above, we would discover that throughout the course of a month, we breathe an average of 6 hundred 91 thousand, 2 hundred times - and this is without extra activity!  What's the point, then, you ask?

Speaking of the Living God of the Universe, Paul teaches that He "neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25).  Each and every breath that we take, without even recognizing it or thinking about it, is a gift of God.  Though He created our amazing bodies to automatically take care of this task for us, He gave mankind the initial breath of life (Gen. 2:7; Job 27:3, 33:4).  Furthermore, Scripture strongly indicates that God's life-giving force is to be a great reminder to us, constantly (12-20 times a minute in fact) of our need for Him, for dependency upon Him in all things that we may live His life. 

No matter the "movement" of our life -
at the coffee shop, the hallways of
school, in the car with the kids or in a
difficult board meeting, God desires
for us to live "in Him,"  
 Paul soon after His above statement declared, "for in Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28).  These words, in fact, are the very basis of this album you are about to enjoy (i.e. we breathe in Him, hence, Himspirations).  As you listen to the melodies and ponder the meaning and significance of the lyrics, it is my deepest prayer and hope that you may not only be strengthened, but also encouraged to seek Him in everything, at all times - day by day, moment by moment,  breath by breath! The challenge to slow the pace of our frantic , chaotic lives and saturate our world with Him applies to myself as much as it does to you, my friends.  May the life we live be only His life (Gal. 2:20).  


Until we meet again, sola gloria dei.  

In the love and fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Your brother, Justin