How God Gave Us Life
“Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
The Scriptures tell us that, when God created man, He formed man’s body of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.
While few would question today that our bodies are made of dust — the very elements found in the ground — there are many who are unwilling to believe the second part of this passage: namely, that life — both physical and spiritual — was given to man’s earthly body by the breath of God and that, as a result, man became a living soul.
The naturalists and evolutionists of our day have come up with explanations (though unfeasible to the sensible) for the physical formation of organisms, but they have no answer as to the source of life or its complexity. How is it that the physical elements became complex living beings?
Those who believe the
Bible know that the physical elements which make up our bodies are God’s creation and that the formation of our bodies is God’s design. But we also know that life was given by none other than God Himself! “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
When the Prophet Daniel was brought in before King Belshazzar to interpret the writing of the fingers upon the wall (Daniel 5), he told the foolish king that he had lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven and not glorified “the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways” (Dan. 5:23).
Not only did the LORD God breathe into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, He formed each of us in our mother’s womb and gave us life, and He holds that very life in His hand (cf. Psalm 139:13-16).
What a great difference there is between the teaching of the Bible and the doctrines of evolution and meaningless fate! The LORD God who created the heavens and the earth specifically formed and created our bodies and breathed into us the breath of life. He holds our very lives in His hand. When He gives the breath of life, we live. When He takes the breath of life from us, we die and our bodies return to dust (cf. Eccl. 3:18-22).
Were it not for man’s sin and disobedience to the LORD God, the breath of life would not be taken from us; but, because of the sin which corrupts our hearts and minds and keeps us from wholly loving, honoring and walking in harmony with the God who made us, He takes His breath from us and our bodies return to dust.
Yet, in His love and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus, He has provided a way for us to live together with Him in righteousness and true holiness forever. He sent His only begotten Son into the world a true man (with a body made of dust like ours).
Jesus Christ, God the Son in human flesh, fulfilled with perfect obedience the righteous demands of God’s holy commandments; and He took the guilt and punishment of our sins upon Himself, suffering and dying upon the cross, and being condemned and forsaken of God the Father in heaven because of our sin and the sins of all. And Jesus, though He yielded up His breath and spirit unto God upon the cross, was raised to life again on the third day that He might give us life — everlasting life with Him in heaven!
Though the day will soon come — unless Christ first returns — when God removes from us the breath of life and your body and my body return to the dust from which they were taken, Jesus Christ paid for your sins and mine — indeed for the sins of the whole world — and God offers and extends to you, to me and to all people, through faith in Christ Jesus, a full and complete pardon and forgiveness, and a life which will never end.
“Jesus Christ the Righteous One … is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). “For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life“(John 3:16).
Through faith in Christ Jesus, we live. And, though we may die, our bodies will be raised up again on the Last Day from the dust of the ground, and God will again give us life — life without end!
Dear Father in heaven, thank You for forming me of the dust and giving me the breath of life that I might learn of You and the glorious salvation You have provided for me through the innocent sufferings and death of Your Son, Christ Jesus, my Savior. Create and sustain in my heart faith in You and Your mercy, and grant me the gift of life eternal in Christ Jesus. In His name, I pray. Amen.
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Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture Quotations are from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
BELLA VISTA — More than 1,300 individuals included in the 1B phase of the state’s vaccination plan were administered the first dose of the covid-19 vaccine on Thursday, during the Bella Vista Fire Department’s second vaccine clinic event.
The clinic was held at Riordan Hall, in cooperation with Northwest Health and the Bella Vista Property Owners Association. Though Bella Vista residents were primarily targeted to receive the vaccine, the clinic was open to anyone who qualified.
Organizers worked to streamline this event, following the first clinic event in January, which resulted in more than 800 vaccines administered over three days.
The department is able to offer vaccination clinics because they operate the only municipal-based community paramedic program in the state. This operates under special state licensure that allows medics to focus on expanded care within the community to better serve their patients and to prevent them from being readmitted to the hospital following accidents or illness.
Community Paramedics provide assistance beyond emergency care, such as helping administer medication, facilitating telehealth appointments with doctors, and educating patients on life-saving issues, such as appropriate diets and fall risk mitigation.
Chief Steve Sims, who is one of the department’s staff who holds the CP license, joined the ranks Thursday to draw up shots and administer vaccines.
As chief of the department, Sims doesn’t often get the opportunity to provide one-on-one care to patients, and these clinics are a refreshing chance to go back to his roots of public service, he said.
“This is about getting shots in arms and getting our people protected,” he said. “We are doing what we can to help vaccinate as many people as possible, and to provide our residents with a sense of relief and security.”
Mayor Peter Christie, who was also working at both events, said he is proud of this department for stepping up and helping get the vaccine to as many of his community members as possible.
“I was contacted in January by Northwest for help administering vaccine doses, and my staff quickly went to work on the first clinic,” Christie said. “I was contacted on a Friday and that afternoon they had a location reserved and a plan in place for the following week.”
Battalion Chief Ronnie Crupper said he knew the department could up the game and increase the number of vaccines it provides in just one day.
The weather impacted the second dose clinic of the January event, causing the first of three days to be canceled. Over the following two days, the department easily absorbed the increased numbers, while still providing top-notch service. The department’s personnel also participated in the area’s first mass vaccination clinic held Feb. 26 at JB Hunt in Lowell, which resulted in 3,000 doses provided in one day.
“The difference in a clinic run by emergency medical staff as opposed to a physician’s office or pharmacy,” Crupper said, “is that we are specially trained to work with patients in a fast-paced environment, often when the patients are in scary or even life-threatening situations. We used those skills to get as many people in and out today as we could, while still providing excellent care.”
Crupper hopes to continue being able to offer these clinics through the state’s vaccine process, and as more individuals are able to obtain the vaccine.
Residents can sign up to receive text alerts from the city, which include helpful information such as road closures and trash pickup delays but will also be used to provide vaccination clinic information. Residents can sign up by texting the word BELLAVISTA (one word, all caps) to 888-9241255 or registering online atbellavistaar.gov/i_want_to/textsignup.php.
Department personnel asks that if you know of a friend or neighbor who lives in Bella Vista and does not regularly use the internet or even have a computer, contact the department and someone will reach out to that person to be sure he or she is provided the opportunity to receive the vaccine. Call the department at 479-855-4454 or email information to info@ bellavistaar.gov.