Readers, welcome!

I came to believe in Jesus as Messiah and Lord through countless human agents of the Holy Spirit. My parents, Dave and Kathie, taught me goodness, discipline, and the value of frequent reception of the Lord's Supper. They also instilled a love of knowledge into me that has only strengthened with the passage of time. My one sibling, my younger brother Nathan, taught me that being an intellectual and being a generous person are distinct attributes. My girlfriend, Sally, a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Ukraine, taught me to cling to God's Word, to find solace and inspiration in it, to read it often and lovingly, and to let it sanctify me through the transformative power of the Spirit.

Within my family, I would be remiss to omit the example of my grandmothers: Elenore Lenart (who is with God) and Joanne Ardanowski (who retired today after fifteen years as Christian service director in her church).

The Gospels - the church's only authentic records of Jesus' life - are my point of entry into all the rest of Scripture. Together, they are divided into 89 chapters (28 in Matthew, 16 in Mark, 24 in Luke, 21 in John). There are 91 days from today to August 1, so I will blog a chapter per day, with two days left in reserve.

Tonight, the beginning: Matthew, chapter 1.