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[Music] Heat [Music] up here. [Music] Welcome to Daily Devotion with Ken Gurley. Devotions designed to inspire you on your daily walk with God. Here's your host, Ken [Music] Gurley.
Hey, good Memorial Day to each and every one of you. This is Monday, Monday, May 26. And I'm I'm overjoyed to have the freedom to share with you um what I get to to talk about the Lord, to talk about faith over a public broadcast, and to not speak in pared terms, not concerned that some algorithm is going to grab me and silence and deplatform, but to celebrate the liberties that we have and we celebrate those liberties because of the day that we acknowledge and honor today and memorialize and remember Memorial Day. It's the day that we honor those men and women, those airmen, those seammen, those sailors, those soldiers, the people who gave their last full measure of devotion to make certain that you and I have the freedom to do what we're doing.
So, this Memorial Day in for those of you that are not in the US, this is a holiday. uh in the United States, banks are closed, a lot of businesses are closed, and uh our military cemeteries and cemeteries indeed of all types are filled with people revisiting um the graves and the remains of those who gave us the privilege to breathe free. I I'm thankful. I'm just very very thankful. So today on Memorial Day, I just wanted to tag in with you our great devotion family and just say hello. Hello. I hope I hope you are with your family and I hope you're celebrating the freedom that we so undeservedly have received. Thank God. Thank God for each and every one of you and for this daily devotion family.
For those of you that have stumbled, you're always at work at this time of the day or going to work and you've joined us. Welcome. Uh we meet Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. Central. Al although I our state legislature here just passed Texas time. I don't know what that means. No, I don't. I think they're trying to repeal the going back and forth every year. But anyway, whatever time it is, 7:00 a.m. Central, 700 a.m. Texas time. We may start something new there. But I'm happy that you are a part of this.
Breathing is something we take for granted. We began breathing before we can remember. We took our first breath on our birthday and we've not stopped yet. On occasion, you read of people who, for one reason or another, had to be trained to breathe again. Yet, by and large, breathing is simply the result of being alive and the cause for being alive. It's the same in the spirit. We entered no classes to learn to breathe. When we were born once, we breathe natural air. When we are born again, we breathed in the spirit. We were born once into the natural and a second time into the supernatural. We live in this world, but we're citizens of another world. And Jesus on crucifixion eve went to the garden to pray. In Mark 14, it said he went forward a little, fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, "Aba, Father, all things are possible to thee. Take away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt."
Later, Paul said something significant. And because you are sons, Galatians 4:6, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying. And here we go again, Aba, Father. that you have the spirit of the son, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Just as when Jesus cried, "Aba, Father," in the midst of his trial, now the spirit of Christ cries from within you, "Aba, Father." That the spirit makes intercession for you and that spirit will see you through. Don't you doubt it. Don't you ever doubt it. Take a breath. Take a breath. Aba, father.
Let's go back to the beginning of breath in scripture. Not so much, not so much the beginning of the world, but the beginning of man. Genesis 2:7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. God breathed. Man lived. Man does not leave live by bread alone. Man lives by breath alone. The breath of God. God breathed. Scripture lived. Man doesn't live by word alone. The letter kleth. But the spirit giveth life. God's breath. Adam breathed physically. He lived. Adam breathed spiritually. He communed with God. But what happened? You know the story. Adam sinned. He ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had said, "The soul that eateth that shall surely die." The first time the word die is found in scripture. It's related to man's disobedience. Yes.
So, Adam sinned and he died. How did he die? He died physically? No, not immediately. In the Septuagant, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures said that that Jesus and his gospel use it said, "Thou shalt die the death." The Hebrew rendering is in dying thou shalt die. In other words, when Adam disobeyed God, his physical deterioration and demise began. He began to die physically. Spiritually though he died immediately. He was separated from God. The God who had been his friend and companion now became an object of fear. His sin had separated him from God. The prophet Isaiah gave the terms of having spiritual life. Isaiah 1, if you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Adam wasn't willing and obedient. He could no longer eat the fruit of the land. Adam refused and rebelled. And he was to perish by the word of God. He shall surely die. He shall die the death. His disobedience brought spiritual death, separation from God. And he passed this to every man. What does the Bible say? In Adam all die. We know this. This is milk, not meat in the word of God. This is basic 101 understanding of why we so desperately need God and we need the breath of life as children of Adam.
Take a moment. Take a moment and let's look again. I'm concerned about those who have never experienced the life of the spirit. I'm equally concerned about those who choose to not live in the spirit and for whatever reason they lose their spiritual way. These people must learn to breathe again to take a breath. Let let's set the stage here. Sin chokes. It chokes the life the breath the spiritual life from man. This is the cause of losing our breath spiritually. Adam will die the death, the spiritual disobedience. Do you remember? Do you remember the emblem that God gave to this earth when man sinned? Do you remember that? Thorns. The earth that richly bore fruit now would bear thorns. Jesus bore the sins of the world with an emblem of a crown of thorns. This stuff's not in the Bible by accident. No. Jesus told a story about thorns in the parable of the sewer and the four types of soil. Jesus said that some of the seed fell among thorns. And he interpreted this to his disciple in Mark 4. He said, "And these are they." I love that expression. These are they. These are they. Go ahead and say it. These are they. Yeah. These are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Sin chokes the cares of this world. Choke the deceitfulness of riches. Chokes the lust of other things. Chokes it. Chokes the life. It takes the breath away.
Remember I said breathing is normal. Remember that we established that communing with God is normal to a born again child of God. But what happens when a Christian ceases to take spiritual breaths? When they stop communing with the Lord? when they cease to cry out, "Aba, Father." Choked the spiritual life. Have you ever been choked? Have you ever so panicked that you you you couldn't catch a breath? Maybe you something you swallowed went down the wrong way. Maybe you took a sip of water and you inhaled rather than swallowed. and and uh I I'm here to perform a spiritual Heimlick remover here today. I I I I want to see you take a deep breath because when a spiritual life is choken choked from a person, you lose that sense of breathing. You lose your spiritual insight. You lose the communion with God. It's God's will that man should live spiritually. He wants you to be alive in him. He wants you to call out to him aba father. He wants to commune with you.
Augustine is one of those larger than life character characters in the history of the orthodox church. Much of the present beliefs of orthodoxy were forged by that man. had a colorful past, brilliant mind, desire to synthesize platonic thought with religious thought. And he did. One of his sermons involved the three people who Jesus raised from the dead. And he used it as an allegory of Christ's desire to reach people that were dying spiritually. So, first was Jerus's daughter. She died in the house. Yeah. Jesus would go to the house and heal her. This is the type of people Augustine would theorize who have sinned within the confines of their own heart, their own house, the secret sin. And Jesus is able to visit them there and cause them to breathe again. The second was the son of the widow of Naine. He had been carried out of the house outside the gate in full vision of all. This is a type of people who have sinned publicly. Jesus is able to help them breathe again. And finally, there was Lazarus. He was dead, bound up. Everyone knew it. Augustine said this is the type of people who have sinned so habitually that they are in chronic danger of losing their soul to a devil's hell. And Jesus is able to help them breathe again spiritually. That Jesus raised all three to new life. He's able to raise the spiritually fallen as well. They can breathe again, hope again, pray again, try again, love again, ha, have faith again. They can commune again with father. They can say, "Aba, father."
In John 22, when he said this, he breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." Yeah. Now this may not in your mind be the raising of the dead but in a sense it was the agency of new life is Christ in you. The Holy Spirit the hope of glory he breathed on them. Now you remember that word breath in the Greek and the word breath and spirit in the Greek are all the same. Numa Jesus was saying when you receive the spirit you're receiving my life. When you were born once, you began to breathe. But you're born twice, you're communing with God. Take a breath. Take a breath.
How do we commune with God? I love what Annie Merchesen wrote. I almost put this in the book on prayer, but I didn't. Here, here's what she said. I have read many books on prayer, studied prayer, attended seminars on prayer. I have prayed tens of thousands of hours privately, met weekly with beloved friends over the years and years to pray. I've attended church prayer meetings, prayed at church railings. I've been community prayer meetings and while watching or listening to tragedies on the nightly news. I've prayed with thousands of people in large group and hundreds of individual friends and strangers in intimate settings and casual conversations face to face over telephone restaurants malls parking lots prisons foreign countries on planes through letters and email she said I've prayed walking standing sitting rocking babies kneeling and lying on my face I've journaled prayer spoke in prayer conversed in prayer sung prayer shout shouted prayer, whispered prayer, groan prayer, wept prayer. And in all of this prayer over so many years, I've learned one thing, one single thing. And this is that the power of prayer is not in the words we pray, the place we pray, the way we pray, how loud we pray, or how long we pray. The power of prayer is in the one to whom we pray. And therefore, prayer should be like breathing. That's it. Prayer is like breathing. Prayer is the breath of the soul. That's why Paul said, "Pray without ceasing." And as long as you're breathing, you should be praying. We say the words in the psalmist, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. There should be a parity between our breathing and our praising. Can I remind you that as long as Jesus could breathe on the cross, he was praying. Breathing and praying go together.
I love the words of Eliu, that young man that intervened on Job's behalf and stepped between Elephad and Zofar, those old friends. And he said, "But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." Inspiration. The God breathed impartation. There is a spirit ruach in the Hebrew word means breath. Permit me to call this exhaling. And there is an inspiration of the almighty a nama that gives understanding. This is the word vital breath a puff of breath. Permit me to call this inhaling. No wonder Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." He's exhaling nama and we must inhale ruach. Communing with God is like breathing. We inhale his vitality. We exhale our weakness. We inhale his love. We exhale our hate. We inhale his mercy. We exhale our unmerciful attitudes. We inhale his righteousness and exhale our worldliness. We linger in his presence. We rest in his word. We walk with him, talk with him, commune with him. If the life of the flesh is in the blood, the life of the blood is in the breath. For it's the breath that brings oxygen to the bloodstream and then to the flesh. Child of God, don't let the world choke out your breath. Saints of God, commune with God. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Take a breath.
Oh, how we need the presence of the Lord on this Memorial Day while we're commemorating the sacrifice made by so many to purchase what we do here. Breathe out a prayer of thanksgiving. Say thanks for what the Lord has done. For surely, surely it's available to you. Breathe in the spirit. Aba, Father, and watch what God can do. I'm so honored you're here today. Thank you for being a part of this. And thank you. Thank you for just sharing in this this amazing moment. If you have a chance, jump over to kengurly.com and check out the resources there. We thank you for your interest and your support. Like and follow on Facebook and subscribe on X and YouTube. Share this with others and I wish you a meaningful meaningful Memorial Day. God bless. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]
Thank you for sharing in daily devotion with Ken Gurley. We pray this ministry has been a source of encouragement and strength to you. Please be mindful that your financial support enables us to meet with you each day. To give a donation or connect with us, visit our website at kengurley.com. There you will also find the latest books, podcasts, and resources. Blessed 90 days to change your world is Pastor Gurley's latest book. You can get your copy of this life-changing book at kengurly.com. May God's favor rest on you in every way until we meet again. [Music]