09/02/2026
Perhaps you've heard the one about the blond woman who was wearing headphones and constantly repeating to herself, "this is life or death." When some one asked her what was so serious, she simply repeated, "this is life or death."
After several more attempts to get the woman to say something else, the frustrated onlooker tore the headphones off and then watched incredulously as the blond woman suddenly stopped breathing, and died. Stunned, he picked up the headphones from the ground and tried listening to what was being played. Over and over and over again, he heard the words, "breathe in, breathe out; breathe in, breathe out." She was right, those words are the difference between life and death.
Did you know the the same is true when it comes to our spiritual lives? We need to be reminded how to breathe spiritually. The writer of Hebrews alludes to this, when he urges Christ followers to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Pioneer of our faith, and to strip off everything that weighs us down or the sin that so easily trips us up (Heb.12:1-3).
In order to experience the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit, we must first exhale the toxic air that comes from our spiritual lungs - the things that corrupt body and soul. Inhale the good, exhale the bad. Take in God's incredible grace, and embrace His undeserved forgiveness, that clears the slate and renews the soul. Keep short accounts with God, breathing out confessions of where we have intentionally crossed God's moral boundaries, and where we failed to do what we should have done. Exhale the nasty stuff, and breathe in the life-empowering air that comes from the Ruach/Breath of holy God.
It's a matter of life & death. Don't stop; keep breathing. Take all of Christ into you, so that He might then pour out all His life through you, into the lives of others.
It's a matter of spiritual life or death. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat...
