First, no comments from the peanut gallery about the title.    I know of some who would without question say, “You have to ask?”  Meanwhile, setting rumors aside, something happened to me the other night that has me thinking (and you should know that makes me dangerous).

This past Tuesday night I attended the Owen Valley High School girls basketball game.  I don’t know anyone on the team but the coach is one of our elders.  Steve is a teaching coach and has taken a team that was wracked by graduations last year of 4 of 5 starters.  He has his work cut out for him.  They were playing a 4A school and we are 3A (I think).  They stayed close for about the first quarter but by half time it was a 20 point deficit.  They gave a valiant try in the 2nd half and got the lead down to 14 at one point but the firepower of the bigger school finally prevailed.  One thing can be said about a Steve-coached team: they will never quit.  They played hard but it just wasn’t enough.

But the real reason for me writing this post actually took place before the game.  I saw someone who had been attending OVCF for several months and then because of some personal circumstances has bowed out.  He was kind enough to send me a note explaining why and I responded in kind-telling him he would be missed but that my office was always open. Pete (not his real name) was sitting by himself and so I went to visit with him.  In the course of the conversation he talked about reading my blog (thanks for that Pete) but that he was also reading the One Year Bible in ESV that the church will be going through in 2010.  He is already into June!  But what I was so thrilled to hear was that he is enjoying seeing the Bible come together, to make sense.  He attended my class on Esther and is now seeing a lot of what I talked about come to light.  Long story short: he was excited about reading the Bible.  And therein lies the rub, the question I have asked: Have I lost it?  Have I lost the excitement for God’s Word that I used to have?  Do I look forward to reading through the Bible in 2010 as more than an exercise in group learning or do I see it as a real chance to reconnect with God and His written Word?   Made me pause and think of where I was, where I am not, and where I want to be.

What about you?  Do you feel you have lost the wonder and excitement for God’s Word that you once had?  Or maybe you never had it.  Don’t you think it is time to find it?  I would like to challenge you to buy the One Year Bible in ESV and use it for 2010 and pray each day for God’s Spirit to change your life through/as you read His Word.  What sort of plan do you have for 2010 and becoming more familiar and/or changed by the Word?

Thanks Pete for the encouragement and the lesson.