Not really new though – just discovered. Or rediscovered, to put it more accurately. Maybe Solomon was onto something when he said there was nothing new under the sun. Imagine that.

We live in a constantly changing, ever evolving society. Technology marches on. New species are discovered, and old models of the iPhone become irrelevant. I find myself struggling to keep up. To stay current. To maintain relevancy.

I’m tired of trying. What’s more, there’s something inside me that tells me that at least in a spiritual sense, all that effort at being cutting edge is a bit misplaced. And I’m not alone.

There is a shift happening in the spiritual climate right now, and it’s one that not many of us ever saw coming. After years of church growth strategies, giving away cars on Easter Sunday, cute stories from the pulpit and entertaining graphics, there’s something new on the horizon: Rediscovery.

People are waking up all around us to the simple and yet profound idea that God can and does speak through the Bible. Not the Bible plus great rhetorical skills. Not the Bible plus clever illustrations. Not the Bible and a magnificent program.

No – the Bible. The Word of God. The Holy Scriptures.

Just take a look around the evangelical landscape and you’ll see the evidence. Pastors are setting aside one, two, or three years to walk their congregations verse by verse through the Book of Romans. Small groups are committing to memorize the book of Philippians together. Fathers are sitting down to read the great stories of the Old Testament with their children.

Oh, it’s true that it’s not happening everywhere, but it is happening. Funny thing, though – we treat such simplicity like it’s revolutionary. Like it’s the newest thing. Like we have unearthed some secret key to spiritual growth. But we haven’t. All we’ve done is kicked the dust off an old doll that we once loved and rediscovered the beautiful joy that comes along with it.

So what are you doing in the new year? Something new? Something revolutionary? Something cutting edge?

Or…

Or is there something inside of you that senses that what is new is going to become outdated as quickly as it was fresh? Is there something inside you that wants to commit yourself to something that’s stood the test of time, that has withstood centuries of onslaught and attack, that has born the brunt of malice and abuse and remained?

That’s the Bible. It’s real. It’s true. It’s simple. And it’s been there all along, waiting to be discovered in the same way it was discovered by Josiah. By the masses after the printing press. After Martin Luther nailed his parchment to the door. And now again.