When does life truly begin? Explore the fascinating intersection of science and scripture as we uncover the importance of our first breath, guided by Genesis 2:7. You'll discover how the breath of life is not just a physical act but a profound spiritual moment, linking the birth and the essence of life to the Holy Spirit. We'll also discuss the poignant moment of death, where the cessation of breath marks the end of our earthly journey, intertwining physical and spiritual realities in a meaningful exploration.
Moreover, we offer insights into living a truly abundant life with Jesus, inspired by John 10:10 and Colossians 1:27. Learn how recognizing God's presence within us can shape our choices, leading to a life brimming with love, joy, and purpose. Through practical examples and scriptural wisdom, we shed light on how to make the most of the "dash" on your tombstone—the time between birth and death. Finally, for those seeking deeper spiritual connections, we extend an invitation to visit kelli-brown.com for prayer and spiritual counseling. Make sure to rate, comment, and share the podcast to spread the love and blessings.
When does life truly begin? Explore the fascinating intersection of science and scripture as we uncover the importance of our first breath, guided by Genesis 2:7. You'll discover how the breath of life is not just a physical act but a profound spiritual moment, linking the birth and the essence of life to the Holy Spirit. We'll also discuss the poignant moment of death, where the cessation of breath marks the end of our earthly journey, intertwining physical and spiritual realities in a meaningful exploration.
Moreover, we offer insights into living a truly abundant life with Jesus, inspired by John 10:10 and Colossians 1:27. Learn how recognizing God's presence within us can shape our choices, leading to a life brimming with love, joy, and purpose. Through practical examples and scriptural wisdom, we shed light on how to make the most of the "dash" on your tombstone—the time between birth and death. Finally, for those seeking deeper spiritual connections, we extend an invitation to visit kelli-brown.com for prayer and spiritual counseling. Make sure to rate, comment, and share the podcast to spread the love and blessings.
Speaker 1:
Welcome and greetings to you. Today's episode I'm summarizing using the phrase living in the dash. I'll get to what I mean by that shortly. I know this episode might seem a bit macabre at first, but I promise it has an uplifting message. Before we get into all that, let me ask you some questions. When does a person become a living being? Now, before we go too far, this is not a discussion about the pro-life platform or agenda. It's not about the abortion debate. I'm just simply asking, biblically speaking, when does a person become a living being?
Speaker 1:
Here's what Genesis, chapter 2, verse 7, says. Then the Lord, god, formed man of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Isn't this why doctors, when they are delivering a baby, wait anxiously for that first breath and the crying that comes right after? Without breath, we don't live. Breath we don't live. That first breath is like the key turning a car on All of the parts of the engine roar to life when the key is turned or the button is pressed, as it is these days. This is one of the reasons why we don't say that the lungs are functioning in a fetus. That's still in the womb. What we or what doctors say is that the lungs have been developed but they don't start functioning until that very first breath.
Speaker 1:
Throughout the whole Bible, breath and spirit have been intricately linked. So if we know and believe that when a baby is born and they take their first breath, they are taking in the literal breath of life. In the Old Testament the word for breath is ruach and it's pneuma in the Greek. In the New Testament, it's where we get the word pneumonia from. In the New Testament, it's where we get the word pneumonia from. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17 says Now the Lord is the Spirit, and John 6, 33 states For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. Therefore, if you put these two verses together, you have the Lord is the Spirit, and the Spirit comes down out of heaven and gives life.
Speaker 1:
Leviticus, chapter 17, verse 11, says For the life of the flesh is in the blood. Among other things, the primary thing that is resident in the bloodstream is oxygen, is it not? Oxygen is required for all cells within the body to work and function. So therefore, when a baby is delivered and that first breath is taken, that is the point at which I believe that the Trinity are right there, as close as that baby's lips, and the Trinity enter into that child as that first breath is taken to give that baby the breath of life. All the cells in the baby's body start functioning upon that first breath because the blood is carrying the very essence of life oxygen to every cell. Therefore, every muscle, every nerve, everything that is inside the human body, including the skin itself, all start functioning together as one whole unit when that baby takes that first breath. And this is not some theoretical statement, it's science. Not only do I believe that this is the breath of life that is given to an infant in that moment, causing the whole body to live, but I also believe that it is the time when the Holy Spirit enters into that infant as well, thereby granting that baby the gift of eternal life by being born again.
Speaker 1:
Again, combining 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17 and John 6, verse 33 together, you basically have scripture stating that the Lord is the Spirit. The Spirit comes out of heaven and gives life to all the world. Is every infant part of the world? Yes, they are. In John, chapter 3, verses 1 through 5, jesus said to Nicodemus, in the dark of the night that one cannot see the kingdom of God unless he be born again. And the conversation continues and Jesus says in verse five truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. My personal belief is that when a baby is born post Jesus's death, resurrection and ascension, they are born both through water from the womb and through the Spirit, being given the breath of life and the Spirit at the first breath. Scripture doesn't say that being born of water and Spirit are necessarily separate events. I know that. It also doesn't say that it is either. This is one of those places where we have to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. Either way, this is my personal belief and the basis for the rest of this episode.
Speaker 1:
Okay, next question when does a person actually die? The National Institutes of Health defines death as an individual who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory function or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain. Functions of the entire brain. For our purposes today, we will not consider brain dead to be fully and biologically dead, because someone can live on life support and still be considered alive even though the brain is no longer functioning? In fact, what is life support if it's not a machine that keeps the body breathing?
Speaker 1:
Okay, what if a person has a heart attack? Good question when a person has a heart attack, isn't it a series of events that happened? The heart seizes up and stops pumping blood. Blood doesn't get into the brain, causing the brain to stop functioning, and blood doesn't flow through the lungs, nor does the brain signal to the lungs to keep working. So when a heart attack happens, isn't it really the stopping of the breathing that causes a person to be considered dead? Long before medicine and medical equipment were so advanced, what was the signifying event that told a family that someone had passed? It was the phrase taking one's last breath, was it not? So the short of it is this Breath is key to life and death. Now remember what I said earlier about breath and spirit. We'll talk about that shortly Now.
Speaker 1:
Scripture, as far as I know, does not actually state when a person dies, or if it does, it's not very clear. I personally think that it's because we don't die and therefore scripture doesn't have a need to define it. And when I say that, I'm not saying that Scripture never mentions the word death or die or dying. I'm simply stating that, in terms of our eternity, once our bodies have been vacated by our spirit and by God's, it's our spirit that never dies, and therefore Scripture doesn't speak to death in this manner. Scripture does talk about our bodies dying, though speak to death in this manner. Scripture does talk about our bodies dying, though.
Speaker 1:
So what does all this have to do with living in the dash, as I stated at the beginning? Well, what do I mean by living in the dash anyway? Living in the dash is my way of saying living life to the fullest between birth and death. Isn't that how your life is represented on a headstone? January 1st 1945, dash October 21st 2013. Those are fictitious dates, by the way, but that's how your life is summarized on a tombstone, is it not so what does it mean to live life to the fullest? John, chapter 10, verse 10, says the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and might have it abundantly. What is this life that Jesus is talking about? That word life is the Greek word zoe, zoe.
Speaker 1:
Life has been described as the very life or existence of God themselves, but I think it's even more than that. When you come to the realization that you have God's very existence living in you and that your life would be nothing, literal non-existence without it, wouldn't you live your life differently? That is not to say that you're living your life badly although for some that might be true but it can mean that you would make different choices if you knew that you have the very life of God in you, that life being closer than your very own breath. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote this. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote this Closer is he than breathing and nearer than hands and feet. One of my favorite verses is Colossians 1, verse 27. What is the riches of the glory, of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory? Yes, you have the very life of God living in you, christian or not, as I have mentioned in a previous episode, if you did not have God's life in you, you would cease to exist at all. The very definition of life is God. God is life.
Speaker 1:
Let's talk about that next word in John 10.10. After Jesus said that he came, that they might have life, he goes on to say that they might have life abundantly. Abundantly is the Greek word parisos, and it means going beyond, super, abundant in quantity or superior in quality, and by implication, it means excessive beyond measure, more than enough. Luke, chapter 6, verse 38, says Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap, for by the standard of measure excuse me, by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return. Those are the words of Jesus. So the idea here is that we are to have a life where the supply that is given to us is to be abundantly given.
Speaker 1:
One of the definitions of this Zoe life that I love is that it's a blessed life, a life that satisfies. It means overflowing, full and satisfying not only for ourselves, but to be shared and given to others. Practically speaking, what does this actually mean? What does it look like? Remember, this isn't just our lifestyle being whatever we want it to be in excessiveness. This is not about our lifestyle having the overflowing abundance of God's very life flowing into us, through us and being poured out from us. Living life to the fullest, yes, can certainly mean living our lives doing all the things that we want to do that bring happiness and joy. For some that's adventurous living skydiving or rock climbing or hiking mount everest. For others, it may be crocheting, stocking caps for the homeless in their communities. And yes, I do believe that life includes all of that, but it's so much more than that.
Speaker 1:
I shared with my friend Rick that I see our lives like being a bucket and we have a finite amount of space or time to fill that bucket. To fill that bucket, what are we going to fill that bucket with? Is what we fill it with going to enhance our own lives and the lives of others, or will we fill it with garbage? And notice? I'm referring to what we actively put in that bucket ourselves. I'm not talking about what life puts in it. As I am speaking this, I realize that truly what we should and need to fill our buckets with is God. If we are filling our buckets with God, then God will fill us in return and will fill us so full that we can't help but spill over into other people's buckets. So be careful what you're filling your bucket with. Are you filling it with positivity or negativity? What are you dwelling on? Because all of those things are going to eventually pour out of your bucket and affect others, going to eventually pour out of your bucket and affect others.
Speaker 1:
Jesus said to his disciples in John, chapter 15, 11 through 13, these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full. This is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that one lay down his life for his friends. So, basically, love and an abundant life go together. Let's fill our buckets and the buckets of others with love, but also joy. Joy and love also go together. Love and joy aren't those the holy grails that we're all after? Isn't that what living life to the fullest actually means? To live a life that, at the end, when we look back at all the dash periods of our lives and our countenance will be that of nothing but pure and unadulterated joy, not happiness, as that's fleeting. Joy is something entirely different Joy knowing that we have lived a life of love.
Speaker 1:
We've talked about love in past episodes. Let's focus on the word joy. Joy is the Greek word kara, which comes from the Greek word kairo. Greek word kairo meaning to be cheerful or gladness, well off, to be well. It means calm, delight, bliss, euphoria. It's a happy word, right, but here's the other thing that it exudes an airy lightness to it. It feels a little like easy breathing, doesn't it? Lightness in the sense of not being heavy or weighty.
Speaker 1:
Take a moment, take in a few deep breaths and ponder to yourself if you were living life to the fullest in the sense of all that I've shared in this episode so far, what would your life look like? What would you be doing? How would you be living? And as you're doing that, don't you feel a sense of lightness, of air, maybe even that breath of life flowing through you? Living is breathing and breathing is living. So let's live our lives in a way that brings exhilaration, breath, to our bodies. Breath is the breath of life, jesus and live in a way that you can say at the end that you were satisfied with how your time on this earth was spent. Breathe in that spirit, breathe in that life, breathe in Jesus.
Speaker 1:
As I end this message, I want to encourage you all with Jesus's own words Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. You shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my load is light. If you find yourselves today in a dark, heavy place, take a breath, the breath of life, and go inward, go to where Jesus is in you and talk to him. That word yoke means to join together or a coupling together, like two oxen are coupled together with a piece of wood so that they can share the load. Or like two people join in a marriage so that they can endure the challenges of life together and not one person carries the full load. Or maybe, for a better visual, much like the man, simon, who was forced to help Jesus carry his cross to Golgotha.
Speaker 1:
Join yourself with Jesus and he will help lift up your burdens, your weights and your heaviness and will help you carry it. In fact, jesus, if you will let him, will help remove that burden from you altogether. That could be anything from traumas you've experienced. It could be depression that you're currently experiencing, it could be anything at all that's weighing you down from experiencing the fullness of God in you and allowing you to live joyfully. Come to him, share with him, talk with him and then wait and let him answer you. You will not be disappointed. He wants to exchange what you have that you've been carrying, and give you his joyful life to overflow in you. That's what he means by take up my yoke and I'm going to give you my yoke, jesus says, because my burden is light, it's joyful, it's overflowing, it's peaceful, and this is not just for your sake, but this is to allow it to spill over from your life so that others may enjoy it too.
Speaker 1:
If you would like prayer or spiritual counseling, please visit my website at kelly-browncom, and that's K-E-L-L-I-brownlikethecolorcom, and schedule some sessions with me. I would be happy to assist you in any way that I can. I hope you've enjoyed this. Have a blessed day and if you like this podcast, please go rate the show, leave some comments and like it on the social media platforms that you use and, most importantly, share it with your friends and family. I adore you all. God bless and talk to you next time.
