The Breath of God

• Genesis 1:2 (ASV)

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Inspire. What's that mean...literally? It means "to breathe into..." If I give you CPR, I inspire you in a very concrete way.

A friend of mine who is an orthodox rabbi tells me that God's speech in creating is God breathing, for there can be no speech without breath. He continues to explain that the Hebrew text lacks vowels because it isn't the word of the LORD until spoken... breathed... in community.

Oh...and the "Spirit of God" is literally the "Breath of God"... The transliterated Hebrew is Ruach HaKodesh, IIRC.

Application:
1) How & Where is God giving you CPR ... that is, breathing LIFE into you?

2) How & where are you exhaling God's breath? Who benefits? (Remember...exhaling is a subtle thing... not necessarily breaking your favorite guitar over someone's head! ) Are you giving away what you've been given?

3) Part of the principle that the text is just a dusty old book until read in community leads us to the fact that the Bible is a Community story. It should be discussed, understood, and lived in a community that includes you, God, and others. (It doesn't have to be a church, btw...) How are you including the Bible in your community (family, friends, etc)? How are you at trusting God to breathe into your community an understanding of how he interacted with others and will interact with you?

Blessings.
/jmt

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