Good Breath

I have a secret habit of writing devotionals. I also teach 10-12th grade Sunday school and those girls recently expressed interest in getting some weekly encouragment over facebook. I wrote something for them this morning and thought I'd post it here. It's based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The NIV translation of this first verse says that all Scripture is God-breathed. It is amazing to think of the God of the universe breathing His very words to us. Reading the phrase, "God-breathed" brings something else to mind, though. In the story of creation, we see many examples of God speaking things into existence. God said, "Let there be light" for example. But in Genesis 2:7, we see that we were not spoken into existence but created intimately by a loving Father. "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." Woah! God could have just said "Let there be Adam" and it would have happened, but get the mental picture...the God of Heaven and earth reached down into the dust and shaped and made man with His own hands and breathed his very breath into us. Pretty much blows my mind. But if you are looking for a reason to open up your Bible today, think about this---God breathed His breath into you and Scripture is God-breathed. This is deep, but not only is it God's word, it's His Holy breath! The same amazing breath that began life fills the pages of your Bible. When you open it, it's like you're taking a deep inhale of God, a deep inhale of life. Oh, girls. That is the energy and purpose and life our hearts are crying out for! Go grab your Bible and take a deep breath of the life God has planned for you. Love you!