Breath in and breath out….or you will die.

My message today is going to be short and sweet, but yet powerful. Breath in and breath out…or you will die. You may be thinking, well duh! But I mean spiritually.

Breath in:

You have a responsibility to learn more about Christ, we need to be able to take a stand when it is our time. We need to learn more about Christ’s death on the cross. God’s word is living and breathing. This week God has shown me, even if I read something I have read since I was a little girl, I will always get something new out of it. I need to be a sponge for God, soaking up everything he is teaching me. Sometimes this breathing in can be painful, kind of like after a long hard race and you are breathing as if your life depended on it. You feel like you can not get enough, fast enough. But soon you calm down, and slow down. Breath in, take Him in, absorb his word. If you don’t know where to start, start reading John (especially if you are a new Christian). But don’t stop there, so many of us stop. Can you imagine breathing in without ever exhaling? I can’t.

Breath out:

How do you breath out? One word, service. Ok before you tune me out, hear me out.

So many times sins in our life keep us from breathing out. Have you ever been stressed about something, then you receive good news and you exhale not realizing you were holding your breath. That is what sin can do, it can rob you of some of your peace. So where do you begin? You might be surprised by my answer.

GET OUT OF DEBT. Yep, that is the first step. You are missing out on some of God’s greatest blessings if you are living beyond your means. Now I am not saying the guy with the big house is living in sin, living within your means is a blessings. Living beyond your means is a sin. (am I stomping on toes, I am sorry God placed this strongly on me). It may take years to get out of debt but get on a plan, God will bless you. This I promise from first hand experience.

Second way to serve is to get involved. If you are a stay at home mother, write cards to shut-ins, I know this is a difficult time in your life as far as getting out and doing something (and I am here to say with teenagers, it does not seem to slow down). That is fine and God sees that, but don’t say no until you have sought God’s will. The same is true if you deal with health issues or disabilities. Seek God and ask him where you can serve. Send your teen kids on mission trips. If you find yourself complaining they are ungrateful, let them see how over half of the world’s population lives. I promise you they will think twice about their blessings, and they will come back changed. It is all about perspective. I believe every Christian teen should go on at least one mission trip before they graduate from high school (but that is just my opinion). My teen goes every year, and they look forward to it just as much if not more as our yearly bass fishing trip.

Last but not least, find an organization that you trust like JosiahVenture or Compassion International (just to throw out a few) and become a sponsor. I say this with a reluctant heart because so many of us just want to send in a check and be done with it. “There now my conscience is free and clear, I am helping the homeless like Christ commanded.” (And let me state that support is important, very important to missionaries) But Jesus went where the people were, I encourage you if you are able (financially and time wise) go on a mission trip. Never have I talked to someone who came back from a mission trip and say, “yea, it was ok.” No I hear, “YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHAT GOD REVEALED TO ME!!!” And yes, they say it all in capitals also.

So breath in…but don’t forget to breath out…or you might die (spiritually).

Father even as I sit here with my mind reeling with what you have heavily laid on my heart. I pray as Christians we don’t forget to breath out. It is comfortable to be in bible study, to sit in that pew each day of the week, Father getting out there can be scary, but you COMMANDED us to. Father help us (help me) to get to a point of receiving all you have planned for me. It may take years, like getting out of debt, but Father I know I am a living example of how you bless that process. We still may be breathing your word in and still learning, but when it is our time I pray we learn to breath out and serve you. Fill me up Father, so I can pour out on others for your glory. Amen

PS- Ok, so it was not as short and sweet as I planned but the Lord was really speaking to me through this. Have a great weekend.

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