"With Every Breath"
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
August 3, 2025 8:30 am
Prayer
Most gracious and merciful Father, You are the Breath of Life. We thank You for Your goodness as we face trials and temptations. Forgive us for the times we struggle and complain when life gets complicated. Too often we blame You instead of turning to You for guidance and direction. Because You breathe once again into our lives, give us life eternal through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
MEDITATION
Ecclesiastes 1 and 2
During the days of creation, after God had prepared everything needful, He created Adam by scooping up the dust of the earth and breathing life into it. Without breath there is no life. As we look into the pages of scripture we hear the wise words of King Solomon who has seen just about everything there is to see. He declares that there is nothing new under the sun. Joy and sorrow, sickness and health, pain and suffering, triumph and struggle, riches and poverty, the breath of new life and the stench of death have always been a part of life on this side of heaven. The “Teacher” declares that it’s all meaningless like a vapor or a breath…here one minute and gone the next. At first glance life sounds pretty pointless and without hope. But not all is lost since God breathes into our lives the breath of new life in Christ! Just like there is no life without breath, there is no Life without Jesus. By the death and resurrection of God’s only Son, Jesus, we are granted new life in Him. With every breath we give our lives to the One who gives life.