Today I was all set to blog about the Outback Bowl. I have much to say about it since I have a perspective of having been there that I think is different from the one that came through on TV. (For those of you who don't know, that's the bowl where Tennessee lost to Penn State 20 - 10.) I still have plans to blog about this, because I know there are at least two of you who will care, but it's going to have to wait. I had an experience this morning that I feel I must share.

My parents got me a new Bible for Christmas. It was something I had asked them for, because I've been using Jeff's NIV study Bible for the last several months and had decided that I liked it better than mine. When my dad gave it to me, he told me that he had learned from a man that used to sell Bibles that the first thing you need to do when you get a new Bible is go through and flip a few pages and crease it down the middle, then skip a few more pages and crease, and so on until you've done it to the whole book. This is supposed to help prevent cracking of the spine or something like that.

I hadn't done it yet, so this morning before I opened up my Bible study book I decided to go through and crease. What happened then has stayed with me all day. As I flipped through the pages, going from Genesis to Revelation, I got this amazing picture of the word of God. Glancing at the headings, I saw so many of the familiar stories that I've known since childhood, mixed in with the law that was so important to the Israelites during their stay in the desert. I read David's amazing psalm of praise in 1 Chronicles and just had a moment with God there.

I flipped through the prophets and realized that so much of what they were talking about is incredibly relevant now. I've always just sort of skipped over those books, but as I was flipping through Ezekiel I was reminded of the prophecies dealing with Russia and Iran and Israel, which led me to a different kind of praying.

Then I got to Jesus, his birth, life, death and amazing love for me. I had to give thanks for this most amazing gift that has defined my life. For whether I am acting from my spirit or my flesh at whatever particular moment, I know that I am sealed by that grace and love. And it makes me want to share that love and grow to know Him more and more.

After that comes Peter and Paul and the works of the early Saints. How amazing that a church that began with just a handful of men and women spread all the way to Rome in just a matter of decades. And just glancing at the headings makes it obvious that the issues the earliest Christians dealt with haven't changed all that much today.

And finally I got to Revelation, and the promises that what we see here isn't all there is. I know that one day Jesus is coming back and it will be a glorious day. Hallelujia!

Anyway, I'm sharing this because what started out as an exercise in preservation of a physical book turned into a precious act of worship. I think it would be a cool thing for anyone to do, whether they have a new Bible or not. You may experience the same thing.

Can I just say that I love my God? Happy New Year, friends.