The Bible Challenge: Day 365

The scriptures read are Malachi 4, Psalms 149-150 and Luke 9.

Malachi 4. One last repetition that the Day of Judgment will be bad for the arrogant and evil and good for the good. An admonition to follow the law of Moses and a prediction that Elijah will precede the day of the Lord.

Psalm 149. Lots of good versions of this psalm, like this and this and this.

Psalm 150. Lots of version of this the final psalm as well. I'm torn between this more conventional classical version and this loose rap paraphrase with great dancing. But then here's an real exciting contemporary version which captures the whole praise aspect.

Luke 9. For my reflections on this chapter, click here.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE READ THE ENTIRE BIBLE! ONLY 20% OF CHRISTIANS HAVE DONE THAT!

But, of course, there is a lot more to learn about God's word. I suggest you go back and find books that you really want to understand in depth and get a good commentary and just take as long as you want to exploring them. I like The New Bible Commentary and IVP Bible Background Commentaries (there's an Old Testament volume and a New Testament volume.) You can access them through the free Logos Bible app. Another great commentary is the Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary which you can get for your Kindle. If you want a commentary done by a Bible scholar who can explain things to laymen, get the Daily Study Bible series by William Barclay (great for a better understanding of the cultural and theological background as well as the Greek words) or the [Bible Book Name] for Everyone series by N. T. Wright. These come in separate paperback volumes for each book (Wright's are available on Kindle) and only cover the New Testament, however. You also want a good Bible dictionary (Holman's is excellent). And there are tons of good dictionaries on that free Logos Bible app.Oh, and explore the resources on biblehub.com and biblegateway.com.

I appreciate all of you who have followed my blog during this yearlong venture. I apologize for the occasional irregular posting schedule. It especially got difficult during Advent and Christmas. Thanks for sticking with me.

I do have an idea for something along these lines for 2014. More on that later. Happy New Year!