NRSV Daily Bible

Today's UPS delivery brought a copy of The NRSV Daily Bible: Read, Meditate, and Pray through the Entire Bible in 365 Days.  HarperCollins: 2012.  It's a paperback, and it's not cheap at $30.  But it is attractive and laid out very similarly to the guidelines given by The Center for Biblical Studies (thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org) as we begin our year-long journey during Lent.  It keeps the Bible in its traditional order--some other schemes for reading the Bible in a year don't do that--which is nice.  But it divides up the readings differently.  At the end of each day's readings--and there are 365 readings--there is a section with a verse on which to meditate; a small quotation from thoughtful writers on subjects treated in the passage just read; some questions to ask oneself; and a short prayer to offer.  These guides will not generally come at the end of the divisions that the Bible Challenge gives us.  The Bible Challenge offers a scheme with a reading from the Psalms and a reading from the Gospels each day, along with a larger reading from the Bible as we come to it in course.   The Bible Challenge expects that on Sundays readers will hear the Bible read in church, and so no readings are assigned.  It might also be a good day to catch up with the readings if we get behind. 

Each of us will find a way that works for us.  For some, it will be reading again from an old, familiar, well-used volume.  For others this will be a brand-new journey.  Some who love English literature may find that reading in the King James Version (also called the Authorized Version) will give them pleasure as they discover how influential this translation has been on poets and novelists in the English language.  Others will prefer a modern translation.