I did it...the Book has been cracked...

Ok...so actually my title is a little premature. i haven't actually opened it yet...but i'm about to. so here goes nothin'...

"and then God did something thoroughly amazing. totally unconventional. the Author who had woven a deep story of wonder, grace, love, justice, and relationship stepped into the middle of this story. of his)(story. entered into the story and became the hero."

these words from my friends the Sheppard brothers have gripped me ever since i first heard them. and this is what the NT is all about, right? God translating his strength into our weakness. His eternality into our finiteness. and in the joyful event of a seemingly inconvenient birth becoming the God-man, Christ, Immanuel, God-with-us.

so this is where i'm starting. in matthew. i've long wanted to read through the NT in the message. strange perhaps for a boy who's traveling to princeton in a few short weeks. but there's something untainted and enthusiastic about this vernacular retelling. and fresh. and fresh is something that this man could use some of right now. the stories i've heard since my birth reawakened.



"I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama--compared to him I'm a mere stagehand--will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out."

the author has entered his story...as the unknown hero. oh to see what he will do.