Breath to me is intimate. Sometimes I don't want it, like when I smell some really strong smoke breath in a convenience store, or when someone sneezes in a movie theater. But when I'm giving one of my family or friends a long hug, feeling their breath go in and out, hearing it, and even feeling it on my chest or cheek is a very different story. It's intimate. When Jesus came back from the dead, He breathed on (or in) his disciples, telling them "Receive Holy Breath."
Breathe
by Faith Hill
I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way
I watch the sunlight dance across your face
And i've never been this swept away
All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze
When I'm lying wrapped up in your arms
The whole world just fades away
The only thing I hear Is the beating of your heart
'Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
Suddenly I'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be?
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe
In a way I know my heart is waking up
As all the walls come tumbling down
I'm closer than I've ever felt before
And I know And you know
There's no need for words right now
'Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
Suddenly I'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be?
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be?
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe
I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way
The same word in the Bible (in ancient Greek) goes for breath, wind, and spirit. The ancients didn't see a difference, or at least all these things were so closely related that they didn't want a different word. And that's not the norm. Many times it's exactly the opposite. For example, there are at least 3 Greek words that get translated simply "love" in English.
Wind has always been a wonder to me. Jesus said in John 3,
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Wind is wind. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The Wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Wind.
Or did He say,
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The Spirit blows where He wishes, and you hear his voice, but cannot tell where He comes from and where He goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Or did He say,
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Breath is breath. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' Breath blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Breath.
Many people dream of flying. In my dreams I cannot fly unless there is wind. A gentle breeze or strong wind begins to blow, I face the headwind, and jump. The stronger the wind, the less jumps it takes me to actually start flying. Odd, I know. It probably says something about me. (Maybe I shouldn't offer as well that I'm always flying either at the football practice field of my high school or the playground of my Jr. High.) At any rate, wind in the Bible is an awesome way for God to illustrate how his church grows, people born of the wind, carried about by His Wind, coming from who knows where, and going to who knows where, but liberated from all that has before grounded us and kept us stale. We are now animated. When God created man, He "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." (Genesis 2:7)
Wind and Spirit
by Chris Rice
I hear a sound and turn to see
A new direction on that rusty weather vane
Suddenly the dead brown leaves are stirred
To scratch their circle dances down the lane
And now the sturdy oaks start clapping
With the last few stubborn leaves that won't let go
I can hear Old Glory snapping
And her tattered rope now clanging against the pole
And it takes my breath away
And a chill runs up my spine
Feels like somethin's on the way
So I look up to the sky
I look up to the sky and
From the corners of creation
Comes the Father's Holy Breath
Riding on a storm with tender fierceness
Stirring my soul to holiness
Stirring my soul to holiness
I see the lifeness dust now resurrected
Swirling up again my window pane
And carried 'cross the distance
Come the long awaited fragrances of earth and rain
And out across the amber field
The slender grasses bend and bow and kiss the ground
And in them I see the beauty
Of the souls who lets the Spirit lay them down.
And it takes my breath away
And a tear comes to my eye
Feels like somethin's on the way
So I look up to the sky
I look up to the sky and
From the corners of creation
Comes the Father's Holy Breath
Riding on a storm with tender fierceness
Stirring my soul to holiness
Stirring my soul to holiness
And like a mighty wind blows with a force I cannot see
I will open wide my wings
I will open wide my wings
I will open wide my wings
And let the Spirit carry me
Yeah yeah
From the corners of creation
Comes the Father's Holy Breath
Riding on a storm with tender fierceness
Stirring my soul to holiness
Stirring my soul to holiness
I hear a sound and turn to see
A new direction on that rusty weather vane
I would have loved to sit and share the Breath all day, but unfortunately, the Wind blew through our home carrying us to Stephenville where my mom was being operated on because of the cancer that wants to claim her body. But we are not afraid. The same Wind that gave us birth will open wide our wings and carry us to heights we can't even imagine when we shake the dust off this crummy decaying body of flesh and just breathe.
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