The Air I Choose to Breathe

With deliberate intention, I have chosen for my heart to live in the kingdom of God
1
rather than the
world. The spirit of the air I choose to breathe belongs not to satan,
2
but to Christ my king.
The spirit I breathe numerous times a minute is a spirit of life, not death;
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of grace, not legalism or
greed;
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forgiveness rather than condemnation;
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and abundance, not scarcity.
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I live in hope rather than
hopelessness;
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optimism instead of pessimism;
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and just as faith is replacing my doubts, so is power
taking the place of my weaknesses;
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even my instability is being displaced by loyalty
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and sanity.
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My debt is disappearing
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because more than enough
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is Gods way. Yes, where there used to be
anxiety
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and despair,
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there are now joy
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and peace,
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fruits of Gods spirit,
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which permeate His
kingdom.
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As well, day by day I find myself living more in forgiveness, and less in condemnation, and
my wounds (both physical and emotional) are healing
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too.
The air I breathe is healthy, not poisonous and dynamic rather than stagnant. The dominant spirit of the
air in which I have chosen to live is love, not fear.
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Moreover, Ive chosen the incorruptible Lamb of
God who redeemed me to be my ruler
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because, unlike human leaders, He is not only perfect in his
love, wisdom, and power
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, but is also immortal.
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I can depend on His always being there for us, the
governed.
It was because his disciples had chosen him as their king that Jesus prayed that our heavenly Father not
take them out of the world, but protect them while they were in it.
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That way they could carry on His
work of proclaiming to that world that was still breathing the devils energy-sapping, and ultimately fatal
spiritual smog, proclaiming to them the gospel of peace, freedom, and reconciliation.
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Because Jesus had cleansed them of much of the worlds spirit by means of his words,
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he knew the
world would persecute them as it had and would persecute him.
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They were no longer of the world
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and it would reject them. But with faith and courage, His sheep would endure as they followed His
voice.
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And you, too, can learn to respond with a gracious blessing instead of a curse, to every
inconvenience from petty annoyance through fatal persecution.
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If thats something you want, choose
to live in Gods kingdom, breathing His holy spirit.
Once we hear the gospel of peace and choose to accept Jesus Christ as our redeemer we become co-
heirs with Him
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of his divine nature/his spirit,
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and He writes our name His book of life
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as a citizen of
the Kingdom of God.
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Moreover, as we breathe more and more of His clean air, we experience a life
increasingly cleansed by His forgiveness, enriched by His grace, imbued with His peace, and empowered
with hope.
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However, to do so, we must deliberately choose to accept his death as the model we are to follow with
respect to our old man/old self,
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and his resurrection as the model for our own resurrection as a
born-again saint.
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We must choose to move out of this worlds spiritually poisonous smog into Gods
fresh air.
The Air I Choose to Breathe
And, when we do choose to make Jesus love the cornerstone of our lives, we become the temple in
which God lives,
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because we are breathing His clean, empowering, and life-imparting air, His Holy
Spirit!



1
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
2
Eph 2:1 And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience;
3
Rom 8:2 But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death.
4
Rom 6:14 ISV For sin will not have mastery over you, because you are not under Law but under
grace.
2Ti 1:9 GW God saved us and called us to be holy, not because of what we had done, but because of his
own plan and kindness. Before the world began, God planned that Christ Jesus would show us God's
kindness.
Eph 4:7 ESV But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Zec 12:10 ISV I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace
and of supplications, and they will look to methe one whom they pierced."
5
Eph 1:7a CEV Christ sacrificed his life's blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now
forgiven.
Act 26:18 I want you to open their eyes, so that they will turn from the power of Satan to God. Then
their sins will be forgiven, and by faith in me they will become part of God's holy people."
Col 2:13 ESV And you, who were dead in your trespasses , God made alive together with him, having
forgiven us all our trespasses,
2Pe 1:9 CEV For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he
was cleansed from his former sins
6
2Co 9:8 ISV Besides, God is able to make every blessing of yours overflow for you, so that in every
situation you will always have all you need for any good work.
7
Rom_15:13 EMTV Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1Pe 1:21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
Heb 6:19 which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and secure
Tit 1:2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time itself,
8
Php 4:8 GW Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise:
things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable.
Gal 5:22 But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
2Th 2:16 ISV May our Lord Jesus, the Messiah himself, and may God our Father, who loved us
and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
2Th 2:17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good action and word.
Heb 6:18 so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove
false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.
Heb 6:19 That hope, firm and secure like an anchor for our souls,
9
2 Ti 1:7 for God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control
The Air I Choose to Breathe

10
2Co 9:13 GNB And because of the proof which this service of yours brings, many will give glory to
God for your loyalty to the gospel of Christ, which you profess, and for your generosity in sharing with
them and everyone else.
11
1Pe 4:7 ISV Because everything will soon come to an end, be sensible and clear-headed, so you can
pray.
12
Rom 13:8 CEV Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands.
Deu 28:12 Jehovah shall open to you His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain to your land in its
season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall loan to many nations, and you shall not
borrow.
13
2Co 9:8 GNB And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you
need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause.
14
Mat 6:31 ISV "So don't ever worry by saying, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we
going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?'
Mat 6:34 So never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day
has enough trouble of its own."
Mat 10:19 When they hand you over, don't worry about how you are to speak or what you are
to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you.
Php 4:6 Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to
God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving.
15
2Co 2:7 CEV When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in
despair.
2Co 4:16 EMTV Therefore we do not despair, but even if our outward man is being destroyed,
yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
2Co 4:8 GNB We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in
despair;
16
Joh 15:11 GNB "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Rom 14:17 GNB For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness,
peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.
Rom 15:13 GNB May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in
him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
17
Joh 14:27 CEV I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn't like the peace that this
world can give. So don't be worried or afraid.
Joh 16:33 ERV "I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will
have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!"
Rom 8:6 GNB To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results
in life and peace.
18
Gal 5:22 But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
19
Rom 14:17 For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace,
and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.
20
Luk 9:11 EMTV But when the crowds found out, they followed Him; and He welcomed them, and was
speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and He cured those who needed healing.
Act 5:16 And also the multitude from the surrounding cities were coming together into Jerusalem,
bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, who were all being healed.
1Pe 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, in order that having died to sins, we might
live unto righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.
21
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment,
and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
22
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to
springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
23
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God.
The Air I Choose to Breathe

24
1 Ti 6:15-16 the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality,
25
Joh 17:15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
26
Mat 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
27
Joh 15:3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
28
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they
persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
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Joh 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
30
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Mat 10:38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
31
Mat 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
32
Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer
with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
33
2Pe 1:4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you
may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world
because of sinful desire.
34
Rev 21:27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but
only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
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Php 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
36
1 Pe 1:2-3 May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
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Gal 2:20 KJV I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.
38
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection:
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1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?