hi, friends

I've begun reading the Bible. And this Bible is like a SUPERBIBLE. It's got interpretations and translations of some key Hebrew phrases - man, this thing has got it all. Hands down, best present anyone ever gave me, save Christ dying on the cross for me and when God presented me with April - whoa, my wife just got outed on my blog!!! Yes, "A" is April. No shocker there since about 99.9% of the people reading this actually know who we are. However, we just found out we're having a boy - our 8th child - so that is kinda a nice big present as well. I guess, despite any money problems, health scares or worldly frustrations thrown our way, April and I have been blessed. I pray that God continues to bless us and our family...sevenfold!

Anyhoo, the Bible. I've skimmed through pages of one before. Even read the entire "Action Bible" front to back. If you remember, that Bible is a comic book version, with the "meat" of the Gospel accompanied by really cool drawings. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who's transferring into Christianity from some other worldly, decaying place. This particular Action Bible will give you more than enough to hold a normal conversation about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit - the Divine Trinity. Plus, it acts as an amazing aide into the love and compassion that Jesus Christ had, has and will have for all of those who believe in Him and act in His name for the good of all mankind.

From that Bible, I began to read the NIV New Testament Bible that I hand out for A Couple Bucks & a Bible. By the way, funds are low and we did receive our tax deductible 501(c)(3) status, so if you're feeling overtly Christian today, we need the funds.

I was able to read the New Testament while waiting for April at commercial shoots or here and there, but I never gave God the time he deserved. He gives me all this time I have, and I only - barely - gave Him Sunday mornings. Not a very balanced relationship.

So now, every morning I come downstairs to the office and read the Bible, starting with Genesis. This is the SUPERBIBLE I am talking about. And even though it has extensive notes, I am taking my own, of which I will, at some point, transfer to this blog.

My notes have wonders, amazement, historical details, and yes, even a few doubts. Not "it never happened" doubts, but more like "how could that happen?" Doubts are healthy because they then require further inquiry into God's Word, thus revealing more beauty and understanding. Doubts are normal.

God gave us a brain that doesn't stop. It continually looks for angles, reasons, understanding. And even though our brains are trying their hardest, God doesn't have to be inside the realm of what we consider logical or reasonable. God is outside of time, space, here, now, yesterday, today and tomorrow. We are limited by these things, God isn't.

I remarked to April the other day about people trying to "crack" the Bible. Figure out its meaning and all its secrets. I think that's impossible. If mankind was able to do that, then mankind, tied so firmly to the wickedness of the world, would try and somehow expose that meaning. Plus, if everything we are supposed to ascertain from the Bible was known, what use would the Bible be afterwards? A simple history book?

Nope. The Bible has endless life lessons for us because we are constantly messing up. The Bible is like no other book. To even call it a book is iffy. It is so much more. And the power is not contained in the thin paper and printed ink, but rather in the WORDS on the pages, and those Words are powerful. They tell you - personally! - what you need to hear at that certain time that you finally realized that the only One who can help you is Jesus Christ.

One last thing. I just read this and I can't get it out of my head, but I don't want to so that's okay. First off, a disclaimer. People tend to associate Jesus Christ with the New Testament only. He is often bypassed for names like Noah, Abraham, Adam, Eve and David in the Old Testament. Although Genesis has He, God and the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the earth with the mention of "Let us make human beings in our own image, to be like us." (Genesis 1:26) Jesus was there. He is part of the Holy Trinity. We, as humans, look like Jesus. But, that's not the part I just read, I knew that. This was just the disclaimer.

Melchizedek was the first priest/king mentioned in the Bible. Abraham (at the time still known as Abram)had just conquered the evil kings of the valley and was returning possessions to this priest/king. I won't get into all the details, but this priest/king was only recorded once in all of written history. Abram, nor anyone else, seemed to know him. He was a mystery. He wasn't known to be a godly man, yet credited God for all of Abram's victories, which was a shock to those who heard it. This man was only seen by the people one time. Scholars believe that this was Jesus Christ, long before Mary, long before the miracles, long before the cross. Read about it.(Genesis 14:17-24)

Jesus is all throughout the Old Testament. The rituals, the rules, the prophecies all point towards the Messiah. On top of that, He may have actually been there in the flesh as well.