Around the Bible in 90 Days

In his classic, Around the World in 80 Days, Jules Verne tells the story of stuffy, Phileas Fogg, who on a bet decides to go around the world in 80 days. On the way there is much suspense, adventure, and discovery. There are also surprises, change of plans, and new relationships.

In the late summer and early fall of 2009 I joined a group of men who committed to read the bible in 90 days, pray for each other daily, and be accountable to each other through a Facebook group. The experience was transformative and as it turns out the hardest part was not the reading (although reading 16 or so chapters a day is a lot of reading) but the daily accountability.

I decided in November that I would begin 2011 by reading the entire bible in 90 days. I will be reading between 11 & 16 chapters a day beginning with Genesis and moving through the entire bible in order. The last time I read through it I used the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). This time I will be reading the Old Testament from the TANAKH by the Jewish Publication Society, and the New Testament from the Common English Bible.

So far it has been an adventure. Blogging through it has been an important part of the exercise because it gives me room to reflect on what I have read. Here is the passage that caught my attention on the first day, a response from God to Noah's burnt offering after coming out of the ark:

So long as the earth endures,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Summer and winter,

Day and night

Shall not cease.

Genesis 8:22

I am excited to share this experience with the Day 1 audience. I'll be posting two of my reflections every week here on the Key Voices blog. You can read previous entries & the daily entries on my blog http://spiritstirrer.org.

Like Phileas Fogg I am taking the challenge . . . I wonder what kind of surprises, change of plans, and new relationships will be forged along the way?