Daily Bible Readings

I woke up early this morning and had this thought about daily Bible reading plans (namely, that it would be good to have one on our website).

So I added it on the top left of the screen. Just wanted to draw your attention to it.

I figured it would be pretty easy to set one up using PHP and MySQL, but I didn’t want to have to do a ton of data entry. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I searched for an online tabulation of Bible readings. I found a good one at Bible-reading.com.

I copied the plan into Word and used the search and replace features to format all the readings into 364 SQL INSERT statements (the number of readings in this plan). I added two more (thereby insuring that the database always has the data that I query for even in a leap year. Side note: I picked these somewhat at random and they’re probably not great choices, especially the Matthew reading).

Then I created some quick PHP code to take the current day of the year and look up the corresponding reading. I took the output and made it compatible with Bible Gateway and voila–an easy online Bible reading plan!

The code was very straightforward:

[php]
$date=getdate();
$day=$date[‘yday’];

$link = mysql_connect(*put your own info here*);

mysql_select_db(*your database*);

$sql=sprintf(“SELECT * FROM bible_reading WHERE day=’%d’ ”,$day);

$result=mysql_query($sql);

$line = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC);

$passage=$line[“passage”];

mysql_free_result($result);

mysql_close($link);

$URL=sprintf(“http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&passage=%s&version=NIV”,urlencode($passage));

printf(“Bible Reading for %s”,date(‘l F jS’));

printf(“%s”,$URL,$passage);
[/php]

That’s pretty much it. It turned out to be a piece of cake!

The data entry would have been horrible–but I was able to avoid that hassle. If you need the SQL statements for any reason, you can use these:

[sql]
CREATE TABLE ‘bible_reading‘ (
‘day‘ int(11) NOT NULL default ‘0’,
‘passage‘ varchar(255) NOT NULL default ”,
PRIMARY KEY (‘day‘)
) TYPE=MyISAM;

#
# Dumping data for table ‘bible_reading‘
#

INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (1, ‘Romans 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (2, ‘Genesis 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (3, ‘Joshua 1–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (4, ‘Psalms 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (5, ‘Job 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (6, ‘Isaiah 1–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (7, ‘Matthew 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (8, ‘Romans 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (9, ‘Genesis 4–7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (10, ‘Joshua 6–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (11, ‘Psalms 3–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (12, ‘Job 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (13, ‘Isaiah 7–11’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (14, ‘Matthew 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (15, ‘Romans 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (16, ‘Genesis 8–11’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (17, ‘Joshua 11–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (18, ‘Psalms 6–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (19, ‘Job 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (20, ‘Isaiah 12–17’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (21, ‘Matthew 5–7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (22, ‘Romans 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (23, ‘Genesis 12–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (24, ‘Joshua 16–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (25, ‘Psalms 9–11’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (26, ‘Job 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (27, ‘Isaiah 18–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (28, ‘Matthew 8–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (29, ‘Romans 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (30, ‘Genesis 16–19’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (31, ‘Joshua 21–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (32, ‘Psalms 12–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (33, ‘Job 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (34, ‘Isaiah 23–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (35, ‘Matthew 11–13’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (36, ‘Romans 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (37, ‘Genesis 20–23’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (38, ‘Judges 1–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (39, ‘Psalms 15–17’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (40, ‘Job 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (41, ‘Isaiah 29–33’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (42, ‘Matthew 14–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (43, ‘Romans 13–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (44, ‘Genesis 24–27’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (45, ‘Judges 7–11’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (46, ‘Psalms 18–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (47, ‘Job 13–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (48, ‘Isaiah 34–39’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (49, ‘Matthew 17–19’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (50, ‘Romans 15–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (51, ‘Genesis 28–31’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (52, ‘Judges 12–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (53, ‘Psalms 21–23’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (54, ‘Job 15–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (55, ‘Isaiah 40–44’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (56, ‘Matthew 20–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (57, ‘1 Corinthians 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (58, ‘Genesis 32–35’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (59, ‘Judges 17–21’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (60, ‘Psalms 24–26’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (61, ‘Job 17–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (62, ‘Isaiah 45–50’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (63, ‘Matthew 23–25’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (64, ‘1 Corinthians 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (65, ‘Genesis 36–39’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (66, ‘Ruth’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (67, ‘Psalms 27–29’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (68, ‘Job 19–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (69, ‘Isaiah 51–55’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (70, ‘Matthew 26–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (71, ‘1 Corinthians 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (72, ‘Genesis 40–43’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (73, ‘1 Samuel 1–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (74, ‘Psalms 30–32’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (75, ‘Job 21–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (76, ‘Isaiah 56–61’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (77, ‘Mark 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (78, ‘1 Corinthians 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (79, ‘Genesis 44–47’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (80, ‘1 Samuel 6–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (81, ‘Psalms 33–35’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (82, ‘Job 23–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (83, ‘Isaiah 62–66’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (84, ‘Mark 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (85, ‘1 Corinthians 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (86, ‘Genesis 48–50’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (87, ‘1 Samuel 11–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (88, ‘Psalms 36–38’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (89, ‘Job 25–26’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (90, ‘Jeremiah 1–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (91, ‘Mark 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (92, ‘1 Corinthians 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (93, ‘Exodus 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (94, ‘1 Samuel 16–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (95, ‘Psalms 39–41’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (96, ‘Job 27–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (97, ‘Jeremiah 7–11’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (98, ‘Mark 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (99, ‘1 Corinthians 13–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (100, ‘Exodus 5–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (101, ‘1 Samuel 21–25’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (102, ‘Psalms 42–44’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (103, ‘Job 29–30’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (104, ‘Jeremiah 12–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (105, ‘Mark 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (106, ‘1 Corinthians 15–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (107, ‘Exodus 9–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (108, ‘1 Samuel 26–31’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (109, ‘Psalms 45–47’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (110, ‘Job 31–32’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (111, ‘Jeremiah 17–21’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (112, ‘Mark 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (113, ‘2 Corinthians 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (114, ‘Exodus 13–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (115, ‘2 Samuel 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (116, ‘Psalms 48–50’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (117, ‘Job 33–34’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (118, ‘Jeremiah 22–26’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (119, ‘Mark 13–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (120, ‘2 Corinthians 4–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (121, ‘Exodus 17–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (122, ‘2 Samuel 5–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (123, ‘Psalms 51–53’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (124, ‘Job 35–36’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (125, ‘Jeremiah 27–31’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (126, ‘Mark 15–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (127, ‘2 Corinthians 6–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (128, ‘Exodus 21–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (129, ‘2 Samuel 10–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (130, ‘Psalms 54–56’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (131, ‘Job 37–38’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (132, ‘Jeremiah 32–36’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (133, ‘Luke 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (134, ‘2 Corinthians 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (135, ‘Exodus 25–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (136, ‘2 Samuel 15–19’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (137, ‘Psalms 57–59’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (138, ‘Job 39–40’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (139, ‘Jeremiah 37–41’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (140, ‘Luke 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (141, ‘2 Corinthians 11–13’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (142, ‘Exodus 29–32’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (143, ‘2 Samuel 20–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (144, ‘Psalms 60–62’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (145, ‘Job 41–42’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (146, ‘Jeremiah 42–46’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (147, ‘Luke 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (148, ‘Galatians 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (149, ‘Exodus 33–36’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (150, ‘1 Kings 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (151, ‘Psalms 63–65’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (152, ‘Proverbs 1’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (153, ‘Jeremiah 47–52’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (154, ‘Luke 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (155, ‘Galatians 4–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (156, ‘Exodus 37–40’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (157, ‘1 Kings 5–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (158, ‘Psalms 66–68’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (159, ‘Proverbs 2–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (160, ‘Lamentations’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (161, ‘Luke 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (162, ‘Ephesians 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (163, ‘Leviticus 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (164, ‘1 Kings 10–13’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (165, ‘Psalms 69–71’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (166, ‘Proverbs 4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (167, ‘Ezekiel 1–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (168, ‘Luke 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (169, ‘Ephesians 4–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (170, ‘Leviticus 4–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (171, ‘1 Kings 14–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (172, ‘Psalms 72–74’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (173, ‘Proverbs 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (174, ‘Ezekiel 7–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (175, ‘Luke 13–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (176, ‘Philippians 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (177, ‘Leviticus 7–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (178, ‘1 Kings 19–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (179, ‘Psalms 75–77’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (180, ‘Proverbs 7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (181, ‘Ezekiel 13–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (182, ‘Luke 15–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (183, ‘Philippians 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (184, ‘Leviticus 10–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (185, ‘2 Kings 1–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (186, ‘Psalms 78–80’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (187, ‘Proverbs 8–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (188, ‘Ezekiel 19–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (189, ‘Luke 17–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (190, ‘Colossians 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (191, ‘Leviticus 13–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (192, ‘2 Kings 6–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (193, ‘Psalms 81–83’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (194, ‘Proverbs 10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (195, ‘Ezekiel 25–30’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (196, ‘Luke 19–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (197, ‘Colossians 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (198, ‘Leviticus 16–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (199, ‘2 Kings 11–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (200, ‘Psalms 84–86’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (201, ‘Proverbs 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (202, ‘Ezekiel 31–36’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (203, ‘Luke 21–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (204, ‘1 Thessalonians 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (205, ‘Leviticus 19–21’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (206, ‘2 Kings 16–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (207, ‘Psalms 87–89’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (208, ‘Proverbs 13’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (209, ‘Ezekiel 37–42’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (210, ‘Luke 23–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (211, ‘1 Thessalonians 4–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (212, ‘Leviticus 22–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (213, ‘2 Kings 21–25’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (214, ‘Psalms 90–92’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (215, ‘Proverbs 14–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (216, ‘Ezekiel 43–48’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (217, ‘John 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (218, ‘2 Thessalonians’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (219, ‘Leviticus 25–27’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (220, ‘1 Chronicles 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (221, ‘Psalms 93–95’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (222, ‘Proverbs 16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (223, ‘Daniel 1–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (224, ‘John 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (225, ‘1 Timothy 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (226, ‘Numbers 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (227, ‘1 Chronicles 5–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (228, ‘Psalms 96–98’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (229, ‘Proverbs 17–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (230, ‘Daniel 7–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (231, ‘John 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (232, ‘1 Timothy 4–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (233, ‘Numbers 5–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (234, ‘1 Chronicles 10–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (235, ‘Psalms 99–101’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (236, ‘Proverbs 19’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (237, ‘Hosea 1–7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (238, ‘John 7–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (239, ‘2 Timothy 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (240, ‘Numbers 9–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (241, ‘1 Chronicles 15–19’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (242, ‘Psalms 102–104’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (243, ‘Proverbs 20–21’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (244, ‘Hosea 8–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (245, ‘John 10–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (246, ‘2 Timothy 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (247, ‘Numbers 13–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (248, ‘1 Chronicles 20–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (249, ‘Psalms 105–107’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (250, ‘Proverbs 22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (251, ‘Joel’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (252, ‘John 13–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (253, ‘Titus’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (254, ‘Numbers 17–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (255, ‘1 Chronicles 25–29’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (256, ‘Psalms 108–110’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (257, ‘Proverbs 23–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (258, ‘Amos 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (259, ‘John 16–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (260, ‘Philemon’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (261, ‘Numbers 21–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (262, ‘2 Chronicles 1–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (263, ‘Psalms 111–113’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (264, ‘Proverbs 25’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (265, ‘Amos 5–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (266, ‘John 19–21’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (267, ‘Hebrews 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (268, ‘Numbers 25–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (269, ‘2 Chronicles 6–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (270, ‘Psalms 114–116’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (271, ‘Proverbs 26–27’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (272, ‘Obadiah’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (273, ‘Acts 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (274, ‘Hebrews 5–7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (275, ‘Numbers 29–32’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (276, ‘2 Chronicles 11–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (277, ‘Psalms 117–118’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (278, ‘Proverbs 28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (279, ‘Jonah’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (280, ‘Acts 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (281, ‘Hebrews 8–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (282, ‘Numbers 33–36’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (283, ‘2 Chronicles 16–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (284, ‘Psalms 119’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (285, ‘Proverbs 29–30’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (286, ‘Micah’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (287, ‘Acts 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (288, ‘Hebrews 11–13’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (289, ‘Deuteronomy 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (290, ‘2 Chronicles 21–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (291, ‘Psalms 120–121’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (292, ‘Proverbs 31’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (293, ‘Nahum’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (294, ‘Acts 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (295, ‘James 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (296, ‘Deuteronomy 4–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (297, ‘2 Chronicles 25–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (298, ‘Psalms 122–124’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (299, ‘Ecclesiastes 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (300, ‘Habakkuk’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (301, ‘Acts 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (302, ‘James 4–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (303, ‘Deuteronomy 7–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (304, ‘2 Chronicles 29–32’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (305, ‘Psalms 125–127’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (306, ‘Ecclesiastes 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (307, ‘Zephaniah’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (308, ‘Acts 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (309, ‘1 Peter 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (310, ‘Deuteronomy 10–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (311, ‘2 Chronicles 33–36’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (312, ‘Psalms 128–130’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (313, ‘Ecclesiastes 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (314, ‘Haggai’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (315, ‘Acts 13–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (316, ‘1 Peter 4–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (317, ‘Deuteronomy 13–15’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (318, ‘Ezra 1–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (319, ‘Psalms 131–133’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (320, ‘Ecclesiastes 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (321, ‘Zechariah 1–7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (322, ‘Acts 15–16’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (323, ‘2 Peter’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (324, ‘Deuteronomy 16–19’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (325, ‘Ezra 6–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (326, ‘Psalms 134–136’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (327, ‘Ecclesiastes 9–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (328, ‘Zechariah 8–14’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (329, ‘Acts 17–18’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (330, ‘1 John 1–3’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (331, ‘Deuteronomy 20–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (332, ‘Nehemiah 1–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (333, ‘Psalms 137–139’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (334, ‘Ecclesiastes 11–12’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (335, ‘Malachi’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (336, ‘Acts 19–20’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (337, ‘1 John 4–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (338, ‘Deuteronomy 23–25’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (339, ‘Nehemiah 5–9’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (340, ‘Psalms 140–142’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (341, ‘Song of Solomon 1–2’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (342, ‘Revelation 1–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (343, ‘Acts 21–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (344, ‘2 John’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (345, ‘Deuteronomy 26–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (346, ‘Nehemiah 10–13’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (347, ‘Psalms 143–145’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (348, ‘Song of Solomon 3–4’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (349, ‘Revelation 7–11’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (350, ‘Acts 23–24’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (351, ‘3 John’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (352, ‘Deuteronomy 29–31’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (353, ‘Esther 1–5’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (354, ‘Psalms 146–148’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (355, ‘Song of Solomon 5–6’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (356, ‘Revelation 12–17’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (357, ‘Acts 25–26’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (358, ‘Jude’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (359, ‘Deuteronomy 32–34’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (360, ‘Esther 6–10’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (361, ‘Psalms 149–150’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (362, ‘Song of Solomon 7–8’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (363, ‘Revelation 18–22’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (364, ‘Acts 27–28’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (365, ‘Matthew 5–7’);
INSERT INTO ‘bible_reading‘ VALUES (366, ‘John 1’);
[/sql]

My College Roomie & Books

One of the things that bound my college roomate Dave Rainey and I together was our mutual love of books–especially old books.

That’s why I’m so happy to announce David’s new website: Christian Book Finder.

It’s an annotated bibliography organized by subject–very useful! The only thing I don’t like about it is that he doesn’t link directly to online book vendors… that would make it easier to act on one of his recommendations!

By the way, Dave is well-qualified for this venture. In addition to being a lover of books, he has a Master of Library and Information Science. How cool is that?

California, California, California…

This is just a crazy state. The gubernatorial recall is in full swing, Jesse Jackson showed up on the Stanford campus today to denounce one of our ballot initiatives, and I just read an eye-opening article about the cost-of-living in the Bay Area.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this place.

It’s still crazy.

Interesting Thoughts on Evolution

I just ran across an engrossing article carried by U.S. News and World Report: Divining Nature’s Plan.

It’s about Conway Morris’ new book Life’s Solution : Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe, in which the renowned paleontologist evidently suggests that humans were pretty much the inevitable result of an evolutionary process and leaves open the possibility that God could have designed us as we are without needing to specifically create our species.

Wow.

What Good Is Christianity?

I just ran across a fascinating compiliation of the positive influence of religion (and Christianity in particular) on society: Good Faith.

The author gives extremely specific examples of how faith helps with issues such as substance abuse, marriage, parenting, altruism, sex, crime rates, health, happiness, and freedom.

It’s an impressive list.

So the next time a classmate (or professor) begins talking about all the evils that religion is responsible for, be sure to mention all the good that religion is responsible for as well.

College Rankings, Louie Giglio, and the Fall Launch

FYI: US News & World Report recently released its 2003 college rankings, and Stanford came in fifth overall. Pretty neat!

I was more impressed, however, by a brief chat I had with Louie Giglio (founder of Passion Ministries) today. No–I don’t know him personally. Yes, we actually did have a chat.

Anyway, he told me that Stanford was his favorite campus. He just loves this place! That made me happy.

Finally, Stanford starts school next week. That means it’s like we’re accountants during tax season. BUSY! If we fall behind on our emails or otherwise fail to be responsive please forgive us.

A Perspective On The Greek System

Relevant Magazine just ran an article on the social Greek system (as opposed to the honors Greek system) — Sororities and Fraternities: Take Em or Leave Em?.

The Greek system isn’t very popular here at Stanford, but if you’re considering it you might want to read the article. It comes at the Greeks from a fairly positive perspective: Fraternity and sorority life has a rather notorious reputation and history on many college campuses, some good, most bad. They are reputations driven by the horror of tragic headlines and the laughable pranks of John Belushi in Animal House. In fact, Greek life is often a tale of two lifestyles: one acceptable and one tragically degenerative.

P.S. Be sure to check out the readers’ comments at the bottom of the article–they’re really interesting!

I Almost Laughed Out Loud

So Paula and I were driving through Menlo Park today (the town just north of Stanford) when we saw a house for rent. We decided to call just to check on the price.

$9,500 a month.

It boggles my mind–whoever rents that house will wind up paying $114,000 a year ON RENT!

Back in Lousiana our ministry BOUGHT a house and a six-unit apartment complex for almost $25,000 less.

Somehow, I was able to refrain from laughing out loud on the phone.