A New Vision

A New Vision

Bible Challenge Blog for 7/17/2013                                      

One of the things I like most about reading the whole bible is encountering concepts I had never read before, concepts that intrigue and challenge me, like this passage from Paul:  :  ‘ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view “ (2 Corinthians 5: 16, NIV).  This idea absolutely astounds me!  It means that we need to see ourselves and others differently, as part of God’s kingdom on earth. 

The new vision (and indeed it is an entirely new vision, a profoundly new way of seeing ourselves and the other people in the world) is truly a game changer.  It elevates our goals, our way of seeing other people, our daily interactions, raising everything to a whole new level, from the ordinary to the celestial.  It means we are no longer citizens of the world, but citizens of heaven living out our time here on earth.   

But now comes the hard part: this isn’t just about us; it’s about everyone.  We need to regard them also as children of God—yes, that includes the everyone, even people we have been led to dislike or distrust.

When we begin to think about other people from a heavenly point of view, we begin to realize much we must be all alike to God.  Understanding how deeply God loves not only us but all the other people in the world as well-- in spite of all our flaws and failures—motivates us to do the same.  It is the Good Samaritan story all over again, only ratcheted up a notch, because this vision is not just about loving our neighbors but acknowledging that they too are God’s beloved, for God holds us all in his heart, regardless of how unworthy we are.  The strange thing, though, is that most of us manage to forget exactly who we are in God’s sight.  All too often we simply get caught up in our own needs and personal agendas, caught up in the struggles of our daily lives but fail to see ourselves and others as God’s  beloved.  We actually forget who we are!  Unbelievable, isn’t it, our ability to forget how deeply God loves us?  No wonder the psychologists’ waiting rooms are full. 

Clearly we need to change, even if changing won’t be easy.  We may want to start by dismantling our prejudices and preconceptions and begin to try harder to see others the way that God sees them.  Yet responding to this challenge helps us fulfill our destiny, of becoming the people that God intended us to be from the start.  Responding will change the world.  What would have happened, for example,  if George Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin the way that God sees him, as one of the beloved? 

Judy Kuhns   

Blog Posting for June 25: Covenants in II Kings

God has asked that we give of our time, talent and treasure  to invest in and work on our relationships with each other and with God. Throughout 2 Kings, Israel and Judah do not live up to their covenant agreement; King after King does what is evil in the sight of the Lord, interspersed with Kings that do what is right in the sight of the Lord …. except the high places were not taken away.  The faithful Kings try to clean their spiritual house and in several cases set up building funds (sound familiar?) to repair God's house. The situation continues to spiral out of control as Israel is carted off to Assyria and Judah is besieged in Jerusalem.  Israel and Judah seem to be obsessed with Power, Prestige and Possessions to the point that they forget their covenant and in the end they lose all three. Josiah is made King at age 8 and finally he does what is right in the sight of the Lord and walks in all the ways of his father David. At age18, Jerusalem is on the verge of collapse when during a house cleaning to account for cash to pay for repairs to the house of the Lord, or possibly to buy their way out of trouble, they rediscover the Law.  Josiah reads the Law to all of the people and they rededicate themselves to their covenant with God. But  their efforts are too little too late and Jerusalem falls twice to the Chaldeans, the temple is burned and the people are carted off to Babylon. The great exile begins....

                                        2nd Samuel 10-24; 1st Kings 1-3     Acts 17-22

Hello again!   Hope you have been enjoying this Bible challenge.  

This week our readings are very interesting and intriguing as we finish the book of  2^nd  Samuel and begin the 1^st Book of Kings. David has been anointed king of Judah.  God makes a covenant with David that He will never remove his steadfast love from the house of David and it will last forever.  

David is faithful in his love of God and he follows the commandments – at least he tries to.  Our readings in 2^nd Samuel will cover how David sinned against God by committing adultery and murder – Bathsheba and Uriah.  God will not go against his covenant (he still loves David) but tells David his first born son will die.  Not only that, but “I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house.”

Is God Crying?

Hi again.  This is Judy Kuhns, posting responses to this week’s readings for Judges 7-Ruth 4, Psalms 75-79, and Luke 21-Acts 2, focusing primarily on the way that God is sometimes presented in the OT and the NT.

Remember reading in Deuteronomy, how God repeatedly warned the Israelites what would happen to them if they ever forgot His covenant?  Well, here in Judges that is exactly what they do, living as if God is not their king, doing whatever they liked. Again and again, as soon as they feel safe in the promised land, they revert to all kinds of decadence, not only making idols, but intermarrying with the Canaanites and living extremely wicked, wanton lives.  From Gideon with his golden idol to Samson (a Nazarite, no less, who violates his vows) to the sexually depraved men of Gibeah who remind us of the Sodomites, we have the accounts of a people guilty not only of apostasy but who had strayed as far from God as possible.  The Book of Judges presents God’s chosen living in the abyss of degeneracy. If you, like me, think that God sometimes cries, this must have been one of those times.

Yet no matter how evil we become, God never gives up on us.  The cycles of sin and punishment are always followed by redemption.  This is the undeniable pattern throughout all of the Old Testament: God is always true to his covenant, even if we are not.   

The ultimate redemption comes of course at the end of Luke, which gives us not only the painful story of the crucifixion with all its betrayals but goes on to include the account of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, one of my favorite passages. I like to imagine being there with the disciples, watching them begin to overcome their trepidation and confusion and finally understand all that has happened, moving from outright fear to revelation and recognition.  What a day that must have been for them, after all that they had been through.  It must have changed them forever, so much so that after Pentecost and the Ascension, what do the early Christians do next?  In Acts 2 Luke depicts them living the way we all should live, with love and joy and abundance in every sense, sharing all that they had, and praising God, who must have been dancing. What do you think?  What is God doing now, here in 2013?

Bible Challenge Week XIII

At the end of his life, Moses said “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your god, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them , I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.”

The Israelites crossed the Jordan and struggled to establish their place in the land they were promised. They attacked in many cases with shock and awe. I am troubled by their utter destruction of the people who were in the land, some of them possibly their ancestors from Abraham’s line who settled there and never left for Egypt. I am also amazed by their confusion on how to deal with their neighbor nations that held different beliefs and how we are dealing with the same issues today.

Joshua said at the end of his life “Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back, and join the survivors of these nations left here among you, and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours, know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you.”  For me this could be a turning point and an opportunity for Israel to further God’s kingdom with their God as the God of all nations. Instead, paranoia takes over and Joshua continues “but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord you God has given you.”

Joshua continues “put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve….but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Even the Judges do not always trust God completely as evidenced by Gideon’s testing of God. The paranoia and suspicion of their stranger neighbors and of their own trust in God continues throughout Judges. The authors of this book justify the presence of the other nations as necessary to test all those in Israel who had no experience of war!  Why is the knowledge and experience of war necessary to avoid war? There is blood on the hands of both the men and women of Israel and sometimes the innocent, like Jephthah’s daughter, get caught up in the drama.

The adventure continues and is beginning to look very familiar to me.

Dan Ries

Joshua 4 – 6, Psalm 66, Luke 12

How many parallels do you see between the story of Moses in the Exodus from Egypt and the story Joshua in the Israelites entry into the promise land?  God told Joshua to have one man from each tribe take a stone from the middle of the Jordan and bring them to the other side.  It was a sign, so when future children saw it they would ask what these stone represented.  What type of “stones” do we leave to encourage our children to ask questions so that we have the opportunity to share our personal stories of God’s love for us with them?

Did you know that Rehab is listed in the genealogy of Jesus?  Do you know what other women are listed in the genealogy?

Today’s reading in Luke has some familiar, some comforting and some challenging passages in it.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  What clues does your bank register tell you about what is important in your life?  Jesus tells us not to worry and uses the wonderful example of comparing God’s care of the flowers in the fields to how much more he cares for us, but then Jesus follows with saying he came to bring division instead of peace to the earth.  What do you hear as the overall theme of this chapter?  Why do you think the writer of Luke chose to put these stories together?

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!  Selah

Ann Butler

Joshua 1-3, Psalm 65, Luke 11

Happy May Day!  

Today we not only start a new month, but we also begin a new book in the Hebrew Scripture.  Congratulations to everyone for making it through the Book of Deuteronomy.  This week Joshua will get his commission from God, and the Israelites finally make it into the Promise Land, but not without some difficulties.  The first part of the Book of Joshua is all about espionage and battles.  God will commission Joshua, giving him the instruction, “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it.”  That is a tall order, how many of us have been able to make daily meditation on God’s word as part of our spiritual discipline?  (Notice, it doesn’t say daily reading, it takes us that next step.) 

How appropriate that on the first day of May we read Psalm 65, a song of thanksgiving for the bounty with which God has blessed our earth.  And aren’t we blessed with this wonderful rain we have been having?  It will help when I go out to pull some of the bounty of the weeds currently residing in our garden.

In Luke’s reading today Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray using the format of the Pater Noster.  Have your ever prayed the version from New Zealand Book of Common Prayer?

Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.

“No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don’t get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.” Luke 11:33-36 (The Message)

What has God commissioned you to do as Christ’s hands and feet in this world?  Are you letting your light shine, or hiding in a cellar?

May you look upon the bounty of God’s blessings in wide-eyed wonder, and your light be so bright you are Christ's beacon to all you meet this day.

 Ann Butler, EfM Mentor

ODEC Bible Challenge: Week XI

This week we conclude our journey through the wilderness with Moses and the Israelites.  God allows Moses to view the land of Caanan, but Moses dies before actually crossing over the Jordan to set foot in the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  

It’s a week of laws and rules.  So many rules.  Rules for the latrine, rules for constructing an altar, rules for weights and measures, rules for war and slaves and birds’ nests.   And the duty of a husband’s brother after the husband dies.   A week of both blessings and curses.  Moses reminds us over and over that it was God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, asking only for them to walk in his ways, keep his commandments and to obey him.   Blessings upon blessings will be theirs if they hold up their end of the covenant.  But woe to those who turn aside from the law and follow other gods.  The curses are horrific.  What kind of a loving God would punish his chosen people with such misery? 

In Luke, Jesus also speaks of blessings and curses this week.  We hear the familiar words of the Beatitudes, and the warnings about what will bring woe.  We witness the calling of the first disciples as well as the naming of the twelve apostles.  Jesus speaks in parables, restores people to life, heals the sick, and calms the storm.  Multitudes are fed.    Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop, joined by Moses and Elijah.  We finish the week with Mary and Martha and a little sibling rivalry. 

This week the psalmist offers prayers for deliverance from our enemies and cries for God’s protection.  In the midst of persecution there is also hope.  Songs of trust in God ring out even as our foes surround us.   More blessings and curses. 

Speaking to the thousands of Israelites who were assembled at the threshold of the promised land, Moses tells them, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Choose life.”   Peter answers the powerful question, “But who do you say that I am?”, and Jesus answers the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?”  I challenge you this week to answer these questions for yourself, and to choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him.  Amen and amen.

 

Nancy Ries

Bible Challenge Week X

This week we enter the book of Deuteronomy and pick back up with the story of Israel's journey from slavery in Egypt to its entrance into the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham in the twelfth chapter of Genesis.

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and is by tradition accredited to Moses. It is also the last book of the "Pentateuch," the first five books of the Bible. The Pentateuch is also commonly called  "Torah," which means "instruction" or "teaching."

The name "Deuteronomy" is fitting, because it means "second law."  It describes the law given by Moses in the plains of Moab just before Israel's crossing into the Promised Land. Or more accurately, it is a second giving of that law which had first been given on Mt Sinai as the terms of the covenant between the Lord and the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy remains an essential book, not just for scholars, but for everyday Christians as well. There are many allusions and citations from Deuteronomy found in the New Testament. Its frequent use makes it clear...

Bible Challenge Week IX

Hi, my name is Vicki Dorsett and I will be exploring the coming week’s readings with you. 

We will be finishing the book of Numbers and on the way to completing Romans…one of my favorite books (but then most of them are!).  I kept up with the Bible Challenge during Lent by gathering, reading, and sending the Lenten Devotions into the office. 

Bible Challenge Week VIII

Hi-

  My name is Steven Kamperschroer and I will be your friendly neighborhood blog assistant for the upcoming week.    I have to admit I am behind in my readings, but with your help I will pick up the pace.  
    I am a graduate of EFM and I can easily say it was not only an icredible learning adventure, but also an eye opening and time for a little self examination also.    I am sure the bible challange is simialar in many ways.  

  You will fine the more you read the more find out what little you actually knew about the bible and this becomes the motivation to continue

ODEC Bible Challenge - Week VII

Hi, this is Judy Kuhns, bringing you some responses to week seven for the challenge. First let me say that I sure hope that you are getting as much out of these readings each week as I am, seeing where some of our liturgical phrases originate,  beginning to see how all three sections of our readings fit together, and beginning to understand God’s covenants with us, in spite of all our failures.  I encourage you to continue, even those of you who planned to read only as a lenten practice.  Don’t stop simply because this is the last week of Lent!  As Bob+ said in his sermon, God is doing a NEW THING, so don’t miss a single word.

This week I am intrigued by the Year of Jubilee, something that we don’t talk about much.  What would our modern world be like if we really forgave everyone we knew across the globe and began sharing all over again every fifty years?   What is it, exactly, that keeps us from doing that?   I am also intrigued by the story of Bartimaeus’ healing, and wonder not only how much his life changed, but our lives as well if only we believed enough.  Most of all, though, I am in awe of Mark’s account of the Ascension. 

ODEC Bible Challenge - Week Six

Hello, I’m Dan Ries and will be your Blog Guy for the next week. I hope you all are having a great adventure on your journey through the Bible.  During my 10 years as a student and then mentor for EfM at Old Donation, my understanding of my relationship with God has grown and been enriched by dialog with other sojourners. In EfM we shared insights, illuminations and issues as part of our study that were all helpful to me in understanding “where Dan is” in his relationship with God.  I will share several that stick in my mind from the recent readings:

1.       Why weren’t Ten Commandments enough? The ordinances and statutes that come after the ten in Exodus and Leviticus seem to focus on minutia and atonement and punishment.  Some seem ridiculous and irrelevant in today’s culture. Then again some of Virginia Beach’s city ordinances seem ridiculous and irrelevant. Are these ordinances and statutes required because we have stiff necks and hard hearts?

2.       Was the gold and silver given to the Israelites by the Egyptians extorted and given under duress? Was this the same gold and silver the golden calf was made from?  How about the Ark, was it made of this Egyptian gold?

3.       Why would Moses and the Levites murder 3,000 people as atonement for Aaron’s sin of making the idol? Idols appear to be the way the people at that time in history interpreted God. The Ark, tent of meeting and all the other stuff designated by God seems to be wasteful and excessive and possibly made from extorted wealth. Could this just be a different form of idolatry?

4.       Jesus seems to be saying to the Pharisees that they have lost sight of the true meaning of the purity of compassion by becoming obsessed with their laws on the purity of their compliance with the letter of the law. Can obsession with compliance become another form of idolatry?

I hope you are being challenged with questions as I am and I hope you will share some of your insights, illuminations and issues with the rest of us.

 

 

BIBLE CHALLENGE - WEEK FIVE

Welcome to Week Five of the Bible Challenge.  My name is Ann Butler.  I’m married to George Butler, who most of you know, though you may not know we are married because we are hardly ever together in the same Sunday service.  I am a graduate of EfM (Education for Ministry) and am very blessed to be co-mentoring the current group with Jane Kiefer.  After graduating from EfM in 2003 (with Nancy Ries) I felt called to spiritual direction and attended training to become a spiritual director at the Virginia Institute of Spiritual Direction located at The Well in Smithfield. 

As mentors for EfM we read the bible along with the first and second year participants.  Since EfM started in September we are further along in our reading than in the Bible Challenge.  It has been interesting to play chase with the readings as it has given me quite a few aha moments where something in Judges or Romans relates back to what I’ve just read in Genesis or Exodus, I’m making more of a connection than just reading the footnotes in my study bible. 

This week we continue in Exodus and actually finish the book.  More of the law will be introduced (yes, there is more than just the initial Ten Commandments).  We continue reading about God renewing his Covenant, not just with an individual, but with His Holy Nation and their acceptance of the covenant, which they immediately find hard to keep.  By the end of this week you will know more about making an Ark for the Covenant and a tent Tabernacle than you probably ever have before.  We will also read about the “mercy seat.”  (There is a connection between the mercy seat and the passion of Christ, you might do some research on this.)  The readings in Matthew will take us through the story of Holy Week; the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, and then we will start the story of Christ’s life and ministry all over again from Mark’s perspective.  Mark is a very energetic Gospel, everything is done with action and immediacy.

I hope as we have gotten more disciplined in setting time aside to the read the bible daily, that we have also made some time to reflect on the readings, not just check off the box that we’ve gotten it read.  (And to those of you who think watching the History Channel's series, The Bible, counts as reading cliff notes, sorry, you’re missing out on a lot; they never even mentioned Jacob and the 12 tribes last week.)  

I have a hard time setting aside enough time, but I find on those days that I read in the morning, I have time to reflect on the reading during the day when I’m walking the dog or doing dishes.  A friend at work told me one time, “I’ve read the bible through from beginning to end, twice, and it didn’t change.  I see no reason to read it again.”  One of the things I have learned over the years is to ask myself as I read the bible: 1) What was the story trying to say? 2) What did the story mean in the context of the culture at the time? and, 3) What does it say to me in this day and age?  When we take time to make connections between God’s word and our lives it comes alive and has meaning, otherwise it can just be a story that doesn’t change.  I hope your reflections on Christ’s passion this week, as we near the end of Lent, will deepen your awareness as you participate in the services of Holy Week next week. 

Bible Challenge Week Four

Hello fellow Challenge participants!  My name is Nancy Ries.  My husband Dan and I usually attend either the 9:15 service or the Gathering, although from time to time we can be found in the historic church at 10:30.  I finished four years of EFM in 2003, and co-mentored an EFM group for several years after that.   I’m excited about the Bible Challenge; it will give me an opportunity to revisit some familiar stories and become acquainted with others I forgot or missed.  And through it all, I get a glimpse of God’s hand at work in our lives, yearning for communion with us, the people of God. 

This week, we move further into Exodus.  Moses takes center stage, but when the great I AM reminds him that it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is in charge, we remember the promises God made to the courageous and faithful people of Genesis.   It’s going to be a busy week, with burning bushes, and plagues, the Passover,  pillars of cloud and fire, and manna from heaven.  We’ll finish up the week with the Ten Commandments.  Meanwhile, in Matthew, Jesus continues his journey through the countryside, teaching in parables and healing.  He makes his way to Jerusalem.  We see gentle Jesus with the children, but some of his parables and predictions might catch us up short.

These stories are OUR stories.  God loves us every bit as much as God loved the Israelites and later the Jews (and Gentiles).  Through these stories we can see the great lengths that God goes to in order to rescue and redeem God’s people.  As you read these stories this week, I invite you to reflect on your personal experiences of God’s redeeming power.    Share any thoughts, questions, or concerns that bubble up this week.  Let’s get a discussion started! 

Shalom,

Nancy

Bible Challenge: Week Three!

As we continue our reading of Genesis, I am finding interesting new insights with our old friends the patriarchs and their families.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives and concubines and children are certainly not without sin, and often are anything but models of the faith.  The wonder of it all is that God continues to love and protect them, dispite their frailty and failures.  This week we will delve deeper into the story of Joseph and his brothers and Joseph's rise to power in Egypt.  There will be intrigue, betrayal, and ultimately restoration.  We will come to the end of Genesis and move into the book of Exodus and the story of Moses.  He too will face many challenges. If you haven't read his story in a while, get ready for episodes in Exodus!
I am enjoying reading the psalms as well, particularly those that begin with instructions to the musician or choir director.  I wonder if our choir master Paul Hudgins is prepared to sing one to us on an 8 stringed lyre! I'd like to read some of your comments on the content of these psalms - they can be pretty brutal!
Finally, as we deepen our journey with Matthew's gospel, I am reminded just how difficult Jesus' teachings are.  In our Thursday morning Bible Study last week, one of our participants said "I

Bible Challenge: Week Two: Days 6-13

Dear friends on this journey through the Bible,

I hope you too have enjoyed this first week of readings in the Bible Challenge 2013.  I hear lots of you reflecting on new discoveries, leading to new questions.  One asked me today about the contrast in the temptation accounts of Matthew vs. Luke, since we heard them both this weekend if you were doing the Bible Challenge AND here for Sunday morning on Lent 1.

This week it gets really interesting... especially in the Old Testament.  In church we talk a lot of "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." But this week we will see the full story - and it is NOT all pretty! Abraham is known as the "father of the faithful" but you will wonder how he claims that title with some of his shenanigans.  And he looks like an amateur compared to his son, Isaac or grandson Jacob, when it comes to underhanded tricks, deception, and outright stealing.  We will read about the famous "binding of Isaac" and wonder what kind of father (or God) is this. (One of these Wednesday nights I'll be teaching on that story.)  Jacob will meet his match in his future father-in-law, Laban.

Bible Challenge Day 1

And we're off!  Bible Challenge day 1 is finally here, I hope you're as excited and jazzed as I am!  I also hope that through this challenge you experience blessing upon blessing from the riches of Holy Scripture and the abundance of God's grace.

For the first few weeks of the Bible Challenge the clergy will be blog administrators and participators. We'll be here to post an encouraging word, read your thoughts and comments as you offer them, and put forth a discussion question or two to help you as you read and pray. After the second or third week lay leaders and EfM grads will jump in as blog administrators and participators on a rotating basis, each taking one week every 6 to 8 weeks. No matter when you post or what you post to this blog, someone will be here to read and receive it. And we think that's a pretty good thing!

Looking for resources?

Looking for resources?  Here is a great list to get you started...

www.biblegateway.com:  Site allows you to search various translations of the Bible by passage, keyword, or topic.  It contains an audio Bible in various translations, as well as devotionals and reading plans.

http://bible.com:  Site allows you to get the Bible (ad-free) on your phone, tablet, and computer for free.

www.biblestudytools.com:  Site allows you to search the Web's largest library of online Bible study resources, including 30+ translations, commentaries, encyclopedias, dictionaries, a parallel Bible, and an interlinear Bible

www.bible.oremus.org:  Site contains the NRSV and several versions of the psalms.

www.biblios.com:  Site contains many Bible study tools, original language tools, reference materials, and study resources.

www.bible.ca/maps/:  Contains free high resolution Bible study maps

http://www.ebook3000.com/dictionary/The-Oxford-Bible-Commentary_97604.html:  Free download of the Oxford Bible Commentary

What Bible version will you use?

So...which version of the Bible have you decided to use?  Post it here...

Welcome to the Bible Challenge!

Welcome, everyone!  This is the place where you can come, day or night, to share your reflections about your daily Bible challenge readings!  Please remember that this is a family-friendly blog site.  Any posts which do not appear family-friendly will be deleted.  Thank you for visiting, and now ... blog away!!