Prayer of the "elders" in Revelation

Following the letters to the seven churches, the book of Revelation turns to a vision of a throne set in heaven. God sits on throne, surrounded by four beasts and 24 elders. The beasts are similar to creatures seen in visions in the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel. Meanwhile, the 24 elders seem to represent all of Judaism (12 tribes) and non-Judaism (12 apostles).

All symbolism aside -- which, admittedly, is tough! -- the end of chapter 4 has the 24 elders praying to God, in a powerfully-simple display of praise. The prayer is short, and, therefore, easy to memorize. It reads (Revelation 4:11, KJV),

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. 

"One Year Bible" reading plan

The start of the calendar year seems like an opportune time to begin a daily bible reading plan. One of my favorites is the One Year Bible. The plan takes you through the entire bible, with each day including a reading from (1) the Old Testament, (2) the New Testament, (3) Proverbs, and (4) Psalms. (The plan actually cycles through Psalms twice over the course of the calendar year.)

Each of those four segments proceeds through the bible "in order," meaning from beginning to end in the bible's modern format. Although that might seem a bit mechanical, I find that, by simultaneously emphasizing both the Old and New Testaments, the plan does a remarkable job of bringing the entire bible into harmony.

Publishers have release printed and e-book versions of the One Year Bible, but it is not necessary to purchase those. Rather, one can use the website itself as a guide of what to read, and when to read it.

(The being the 8th of January, I meant to post this a few days ago, but it's not too late to get started!)