M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Song of Deborah and Barak

5 ^(A)Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

And the land was undisturbed for forty years.

The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(A)Now ^[a]Saul, still ^(B)breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for ^(C)letters from him to ^(D)the synagogues at ^(E)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^(F)the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and ^(G)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴ and ^(H)he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶ but get up and enter the city, and ^(I)it will be told you what you must do.” ⁷ The men who traveled with him ^(J)stood speechless, ^(K)hearing the ^[c]voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and ^(L)though his eyes were open, he ^[d]could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^(M)Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at ^(N)Damascus named ^(O)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in ^(P)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(Q)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, ¹² and he has seen ^[e]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(R)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(S)how much harm he did to ^(T)Your ^[f]saints at Jerusalem; ¹⁴ and here he ^(U)has authority from the chief priests to bind all who ^(V)call on Your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen ^[g]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(X)the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for ^(Z)I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after ^(AA)laying his hands on him said, “^(AB)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be ^(AC)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(AD)for several days he was with ^(AE)the disciples who were at Damascus, ²⁰ and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^(AF)in the synagogues, ^[h]saying, “He is ^(AG)the Son of God.” ²¹ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem ^(AH)destroyed those who ^(AI)called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the ^[i]Christ.

²³ When ^(AJ)many days had elapsed, ^(AK)the Jews plotted together to do away with him, ²⁴ but ^(AL)their plot became known to Saul. ^(AM)They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; ²⁵ but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

^26 (AN)When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; ^[j]but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But ^(AO)Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had ^(AP)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how ^(AQ)at Damascus he had ^(AR)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ And he was with them, ^[k]moving about freely in Jerusalem, ^(AS)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ And he was talking and arguing with the ^[l](AT)Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. ³⁰ But when ^(AU)the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to ^(AV)Caesarea and ^(AW)sent him away to ^(AX)Tarsus.

³¹ So ^(AY)the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria ^[m]enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

Peter’s Ministry

³² Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to ^(AZ)the ^[n]saints who lived at ^[o](BA)Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up. ³⁵ And all who lived at ^[p](BB)Lydda and ^(BC)Sharon saw him, and they ^(BD)turned to the Lord.

³⁶ Now in ^(BE)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called ^[q]Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. ³⁷ And it happened ^[r]at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an ^(BF)upper room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near ^(BG)Joppa, ^(BH)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” ³⁹ So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the ^(BI)upper room; and all the ^(BJ)widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the ^[s]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter ^(BK)sent them all out and ^(BL)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “^(BM)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling ^(BN)the ^[t]saints and ^(BO)widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² It became known all over ^(BP)Joppa, and ^(BQ)many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And Peter stayed many days in ^(BR)Joppa with ^(BS)a tanner named Simon.

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, ² “Arise and ^(A)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” ³ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the ^[a]wheel. ⁴ But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁶ “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the ^(B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. ⁷ At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to ^(C)uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; ^8 (D)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will ^[b](E)relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. ⁹ Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to ^(F)build up or to plant it; ¹⁰ if it does ^(G)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will ^[c](H)think better of the good with which I had promised to ^[d]bless it. ¹¹ So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am ^(I)fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh ^(J)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and ^[e]reform your ways and your deeds.”’ ¹² But ^(K)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the ^(L)stubbornness of his evil heart.’

¹⁸ Then they said, “Come and let us ^(AA)devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the ^(AB)law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor ^(AC)counsel to the sage, nor the divine ^(AD)word to the prophet! Come on and let us ^(AE)strike at him with our tongue, and let us ^(AF)give no heed to any of his words.”

Parable of the Sower and Soils

4 ^(A)He began to teach again ^(B)by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that ^(C)He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. ² And He was teaching them many things in ^(D)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, ³ “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. ⁸ Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” ⁹ And He was saying, “^(E)He who has ears to hear, ^[a]let him hear.”

¹⁰ As soon as He was alone, ^[b]His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. ¹¹ And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but ^(F)those who are outside get everything ^(G)in parables, ¹² so that ^(H)while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”

Explanation

^13 (I)And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^(J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. ¹⁶ In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; ¹⁷ and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they ^[c]fall away. ¹⁸ And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of ^(K)the ^[d]world, and the ^(L)deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(M)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

²¹ And He was saying to them, “^(N)A lamp is not brought to be put under a ^[e]basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? ^22 (O)For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. ^23 (P)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. ^[f](Q)By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. ^25 (R)For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

Parable of the Seed

²⁶ And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; ²⁷ and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. ²⁸ The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the crop permits, he immediately ^[g](S)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30 (T)And He said, “How shall we ^[h](U)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, ³² yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that ^(V)the birds of the ^[i]air can nest under its shade.”

³³ With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; ³⁴ and He did not speak to them ^(W)without a parable; but He was ^(X)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Jesus Stills the Sea

^35 (Y)On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” ^36 [j]Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them ^(Z)in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. ³⁸ Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and ^(AA)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and ^[k]it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you ^[l]afraid? ^(AB)Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”