Just felt a compulsion, as I was getting ready to step onto the elliptical, to reread the Book of Hebrews. So I pulled out a paperback copy of the NIV, opened it to Hebrews 1, and set it on the reading stand. As I ellipticaled, I read, thought, and read and got almost to chapter 10 some 55 minutes later.

It did me good, for it got me back to my roots. Bible translator J.B. Phillips, as he translated the New Testament, felt rather doubtful. But as he translated, he later wrote, he heard "the ring of truth." His faith was restored.

Well, reading Hebrews just now felt a bit that way. I "heard" that little bell ringing. "Yes, this letter written two millenia ago is remarkable," I thought. "It is true, it speaks of unseen realities I can bank on, and I'd better pull up my socks. This is what it's all about and the best part is going to happen later on, after I die, and will go on forever."

Pretty basic Christian material, I know, but sometimes you need a fresh look at familiar scriptures: shaking off bad associations from the past while getting on with living the rest of your life to the hilt.