January 1

Our journey begins where it should: at the beginning. The beginning of four -- count 'em -- 4 books! Here's a quick breakdown of each...

Genesis

The first book of the Bible is attributed to Moses, who wrote approximately 2600-2700 years after the arrival of humans on the planet (based on the timing listed in the Bible). Why is Moses the one who wrote it down? Early civilization didn't have written communication so history was passed down verbally from one generation to the next. For whatever reason -- probably because he believed that God wanted him to -- Moses preserved that history in written form.

Today's Genesis passage is the original story of creation in Chapter 1 followed by a more extensive retelling of a portion of it in Chapter 2.

Matthew

Matthew was a Tax Collector who started following Jesus during His earthly ministry. Even though Mark, the next Gospel in your New Testament, was written earlier, Matthew is found first. Why? The entire Old Testament exclaimed, in different ways, "Messiah is coming!" Matthew, from a Jewish point of view, declared, "He's here!"

Psalms

Remember that Psalms was the hymnbook for God's people for hundreds of years. I encourage you to read it aloud as praise and prayer unto God.

Proverbs

Today's passage is, I think, the clearest explanation of the reason for Proverbs. Read it slowly. Soak it in.

That's about it. At least until you start making comments and asking questions. Come back often and follow the discussion.