Acts 17:28a - In Him We Live And Move And Have Our Being.
Acts 17:28a: In Him We Live And Move And Have Our Being.
Acts 17:28a (KJV) For in him we live, and move, and have our
being;
COMMENTARY PEARL
Last year I struggled through a long bout against double
pneumonia. While I was in the hospital, the doctors set an oxygen tank
beside my bed so I could breathe easier. Never did I appreciate oxygen
so! Up until my illness, I inhaled and exhaled the stuff with hardly
a thought. I took breathing for granted. But in the hospital, I
discovered afresh how life sustaining oxygen truly is. It's my body's life
and breath.
This is often the way we relate to Jesus, our true life and
breath. Because we live, move and have our being in him, it is easy to
take his life-sustaining grace for granted. We forget that apart from
him we can't do a thing (John 15:5). Putting your Christian life on
automatic pilot is the same thing as "walking in the flesh." When we
forget that we live, move and have our being in Christ, our prayers
become dull, witnessing becomes dry, our jobs become routine, and
relationships sag under the weight of selfishness. What's worse, our
relationship to the Lord turns into a chore. The Lord seems to lose vitality,
becoming a wooden icon in our hearts, and a mere measuring rod for our
behavior. It all happens when we forget to inhale his life-giving Spirit
on a moment-to-moment basis. It happens when we fail to see the God
of grace as our very life and breath. It happens when we take our
Savior for granted.
Nothing is more mechanical than when we attempt to live a
supernatural life apart from God. This is why the apostle tells us in Romans
6:11 to "Count yourselves... alive to God in Christ Jesus." To
"count" means to take a daily inventory, to consciously consider
yourself "alive to God in Christ Jesus." Pause often today, asking God
for moment-by-moment grace.
Jesus, you are the Breath of Life. I ask your Spirit to help
me lean on you moment-by-moment today. [Joni Eareckson Tada Daily
Devotional: http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
To infuse more Joy into your day, seek to increase your
awareness that I am with you. An easy way to do this is to say: "Thank
You, Jesus, for Your Presence." This is such a short, simple prayer
that you can pray it frequently; it beautifully connects you to Me,
expressing your gratitude. You don't have to feel My nearness in order to
pray this way. However, the more you thank Me for My Presence, the
more real I become to you. You align yourself - mind, heart, and
spirit - with the reality that in Me you live and move and have your
being.
You also increase your awareness by looking for signs of My
unseen Presence around you. The beauties of nature and the pleasures of
loved ones are reminders, pointing you to Me. You can also find Me in
My Word, for I am the living Word. Ask My Spirit to illuminate
Scripture to you - shining His Light in your heart, helping you see the
Glory of My Presence. (Acts 17:28; John 1:1, 2; 2Co. 4:6) [Jesus
Always by Sarah Young]
ILLUSTRATION
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) consists of - you guessed it - a
molecule of adenosine (A) connected to a tail of three inorganic
phosphates (P). We can picture it like this (A)-(P)-(P)-(P). ATP provides
energy for nearly every function of the cell. In delivering that
energy, the end phosphate of ATP gets snapped off, resulting in
adenosine diphosphate (A)-(P)-(P) plus the lone inorganic phosphate (P)
plus the energy available for use by the cell. To do what it does,
each living cell obtains energy from hundreds of millions of ATP per
second. In just sitting and reading this page, your body uses a gram or
two of ATP every 10 to 20 seconds, or roughly your body weight in
pure ATP every day. Your entire stock of ATP gets recycled three or
four times per minute. Which means that if your body stops making ATP
now, chances are you wouldn't live long enough to read to the end of
this paragraph. When you understand this concept, it gives new
meaning to the phrase "Savor every moment of life.
So how is ATP recycled? How does ADP reconnect to the
inorganic phosphate (P)? Every living cell makes its own ATP, using
thousands of mitochondrial enzymes aptly named ATP synthase. The job of
these protein machines is relatively simple. They use the energy from
the food we eat to reconnect ADP and (P). Consisting of nearly
40,000 atoms, each ATP synthase is a big protein. Each ATP synthase
makes about 100 ATP per second and operates at nearly 100 percent
efficiency, an unbelievable level when compared to manmade machines. A
well-tuned automotive engine does good to get about 30 percent efficiency.
Data in just the last few years from hundreds of research projects
show what an amazing protein machine ATP synthase really is. The
protein has a stationary component locked in the inner mitochondrial
membrane and a rotating part that spins inside the stationary one. Energy
to drive the rotating inner core comes from a proton gradient
generated by cellular respiration. To see animated models of ATP synthase
with the inner core spinning, causing conformational changes in the
stationary parts which cram the ADP and (P) back together again, is a thing
of beauty. That it does work faithfully and efficiently every
second of our lives is truly a blessing. To me, it is God's signature
card gracefully tied to His gift of life.
Lord, to see Your nanomachines in action gives me a small
glimpse of Your creative genius. To understand how crucial they are to
every second of life lets me know how much You love me. [God of
Wonders by David Steen]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2015/20150627-1530.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2007/20071029-0022.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/
ABible.com: http://www.aBible.com
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Restoring The Power by John Bradshaw:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRogO1SxoZN15Boa7BMon4BouVMdteVaq
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
