Spiritual Pneumonia 6-23-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I breathe in the breath of Your Spirit. ... As the lungs draw in the air to oxygenate the blood, let our human spirits draw in Your Holy Spirit to sanctify our souls. As the worship song says, "You are the air I breathe.... Your Holy Presence, living in me." "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breathe of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33.4). Your Spirit is the breath of life that quickens our human spirit to know You, to praise You, to live our lives for You, as long as we have breathe. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" (Psalm 150.6). You've been reminding me that the root word for "spirit" and "breath" in the New Testament is the Greek word "pneuma." This must be the same root word for pneumonia. You desire to fill our souls with the life-giving breath of Your Spirit, while the enemy of our souls desires to fill our lungs and our lives with infection and disease to steal away the breath of life. Pneumonia is a picture in the physical realm of the enemy's strategy in the spiritual realm. We are to be continually emptied of ourselves and continually filled with You -- to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5.18). By attacking our spiritual lungs to keep us sick and diseased, we cannot breathe in the breath of Your life. When we are filled up with the unholy things of the world, the flesh, and the devil, we cannot be filled with Your Holy Spirit. Create in us a clean heart, O God; and cleanse our souls with Your Presence. Restore unto us the joy of our salvation and renew a right spirit within us (Psalm 51.10-12). You came to Your first disciples and "breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20.22). Breathe on us today, Lord Jesus. Fill us afresh and continually with Your Holy Spirit. Cleanse us in Your life-giving blood, fill us with Your life-giving Spirit, and deliver us from spiritual pneumonia. Let Your Holy Presence live in us and through us to Your glory. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!