Breathe in the Word, Breathe out Prayer-praise

UV 445/10,000 Breathe in the Word and breathe out prayers 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness Some versions of the Bible translate this uni-verse as “ all scripture is God-breathed.” Indeed, Scripture is the breath of God. It is the spiritual equivalent of pure and unadulterated oxygen. When we read, reflect on, remember, meditate, analyse, imbibe, apply and obey it, we are truly inspiring the life- giving breath of God that first brought man to life. It is a different matter that much of the world today needs to be put on ventilator support. The fact remains that there is no substitute for scripture as there is no substitute for oxygen. The word, “ all” implies that every part of the canonized scripture is inspired by God and is both useful and essential. Once we recognize that scripture is the breath of God, then we will also realize that we need to continually breathe in scripture. We can intake portions of scripture and breathe out prayers and praises continually. This process is co-terminous with our own physical breath. When we stop breathing, then we can stop imbibing scripture and breathing out prayers and praise. Scripture is useful for discerning the truth, to discover what is correct doctrine, for admonition, for training in righteousness. In life every thing that happens to us leads to unconscious conditioning. When we learn and apply scripture, it leads to conscious training. It corrects the distortions in our perceptions of the essential truths of life and the lop-sided priorities of our lives are set right. Since scripture is eternal and unchanging, it is dependable in all generations and all circumstances. Divine inspiration is not the power of a few power- filled lives but it is the right, privilege and daily necessity of every child of God. The purpose of Scripture is to know who God really is and to make us like Him, perfect. It will equip us for every type of good work. Scripture establishes different types of balance in us: the God-man balance, the family balance, the work-life balance, the balance between the past, present and the future. It gives us an insight into every deep thing: the mind of God, the mind of Christ, the mind of man. It also gives us a realistic picture of the faults and failings of saints of the past and encourages us that if they could make it with their failings, we too can make it. Scripture is a perfect blend of knowledge, wisdom and practical application. It has many functions and real life applications and that is why so many metaphors are used to describe scripture: it is law, food, milk, breath, sword and shield,fire and hammer, dwelling, lamp and light and treasure. It is the spiritual corollary of all our physical necessities of life. In other words, it is necessary for our spiritual birth, growth,health and healing, strength, productivity, effectiveness, guidance,security, power, success and victory. Prateep V Philip