A One Year Trip through the Bible--Daily Readings and Reflections

Helpful Features of This Daily Bible Guide Read The Bible With Commentary In A Year By Spending Only a Few Minutes Every Day-- The book aims at readers of any denomination who want the full Bible experience, with daily reflectionsGenesis through Malachi in the Old Testament and Matthew through Revelation in the New Testamentin one year. (The Apocrypha is also included.) The theme is a layman's journey through scripture, so the comments are those of a visitor, not an experienced traveler, but expert Bible commentators are always nearby. Each day's reading requires 10-20 minutes, more or less, including scripture and ommentary.. All the Great Stories, Prayers, Incidents and Memorable Characters Are Included -- A reader will find the famous and not-so-famous narratives from the Old and New Testament: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and his coat of many colors, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath (there were really two Goliath stories, one not involving David at all), David and Bathsheba, Jezebel and Ahab, Daniel in the lion's den, the forty rulers (including one queen) of Israel/Judah, Elijah and Elisha, plus hundreds more from the Hebrew Bibleand Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Peter and Paul, James and John, Herod, Pilate, Mary Magdalene, centurions, priests and all the heroes, villains and common people of the New Testament. Many Christians who haven't met the major and minor prophets before will discover that prophecy was a terribly difficult job. Many of these men were reluctant when God's call camebut they performed their duties admirably, contributing some of the world's great literature and poetry in the process. We'll encounter all the famous prophetic quotations, too, from swords into plowshares in Isaiah (Isaiah 2:4) and Micah (Micah 4:3) to plowshares into swords in Joel (Joel 3:10), Amos's great vision of justice flowing like water, immortalized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Amos 5:24), and hundreds more. The major character is Jesus, and since he knew the Hebrew Bible very well, there are countless times when he quotes the Psalms, prophets and Torah. For example, in Luke Chapter 4 where Jesus opens up the heaviest scroll of all, Isaiah, and goes almost to the end of it to find the words that he chose to announce his mission in the world: "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn" (Isaiah 61:1-2, NRSV). And as that same Luke 4 story continues, Jesus uses examples from the lives of Elijah and Elisha, Hebrew Bible heroes, to shame his detractors. It's that continuing link between the Old and the New Testaments that is at the center of the book's perspective. Many Special Features But Never a Compromise with the Basic Text -- The approach in these daily readings is a combination of reverence and frankness. . Nearly every reading offers parallels in the author's experience and linkages to literature other than religious. For example, Samuel, David and Solomon were great men but they had some bad sons who complicated their livessomething that happens to great leaders even today. King Saul reminds a reader of King Learit didn't have to turn out that waybut that's why his story is considered tragic. Israel and Judah each had forty different kings before the Captivity but most of them were average or worse. Aren't many of today's leaders average or worse? Pilate was an appointed governor who probably allowed Jesus to be crucified because he didn't want Rome to think that he was being unreasonable to the influential leaders in Jerusalem. Do today's leaders ever temporize in tough situations? The author's spin on all the stories, hymns, miracles, wars and great personalities is like that of Abraham and Moses early in their journeys--

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