The spiritual practices... exercises... that God calls us to... that seem like nothing to many... are essential to our walk of faith... our walk with the Spirit...
It is through these exercises of meditating on God's Word... eating it... praying it... listening with expectation... submitting... that we grow... in relationship with our Savior... and become forces for God... in a broken world...
As I read over lunch yesterday... wondering what God was telling me about breath... a heading caught my attention... Spiritual Breathing...
The teaching of Bill Bright helped me learn to become a follower who is filled with the Spirit. He teaches a spiritual exercise called "Spiritual Breathing." The basic idea is that you live with a moment by moment awareness of the Spirit until walking in the Spirit becomes as natural --- as habitual --- as breathing. It's just part of who you are. Here's how it works: the moment you become aware of sin in your life you exhale. When you exhale, you breathe out and repent of your sin. Repentance becomes a natural response and clears out space in our hearts for the Spirit to fill us. So the moment you are prideful, jealous, lustful, harsh, selfish, impatient, you exhale and repent of your sin. ... And then you inhale. When you inhale you breathe in and pray to be filled with the Spirit and you surrender control over to him. As you practice this spiritual breathing it teaches you to keep in step with the Spirit. Followers live with a continual awareness of the Spirit's presence and a constant prayer to be filled with his power.
---Kyle Idleman, not a fan.
When we surrender to God's Sovereignty... we no longer just have our breath to attest to His rule over us... we receive His Spirit... the Holy Spirit... who empowers us to do all He calls us to... things we are incapable of on our own... through Him we bear real fruit...
...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
The only way to live a godly life... is by the power of the Spirit...
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25
ESV
Keep in step with the Spirit... one breath at a time... breathe in... breathe out...
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