M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

2 Now a man of the family of Levi married a daughter of Levi. ² She was going to have a baby, and she gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. ³ But the time came when she could hide him no longer. So she took a basket made from grass, and covered it with tar and put the child in it. And she set it in the grass by the side of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stayed to watch and find out what would happen to him.

⁵ Then the daughter of Pharaoh came to wash herself in the Nile. Her young women walked beside the Nile. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent the woman who served her to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the child. The boy was crying. She had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me. And I will pay you.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter. And he became her son. She gave him the name Moses, saying, “Because I took him out of the water.”

¹¹ One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers and saw how hard they worked. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people, ¹² so he looked this way and that way. He did not see anyone, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He said to the man who did the wrong, “Why are you hitting your neighbor?” ¹⁴ But the man said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge among us? Do you plan to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid. He thought, “For sure the thing I have done is known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard what had happened, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. He sat down there by a well. ¹⁶ Now the religious leader of Midian had seven daughters. They came to get water, and filled the barrels used to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ The shepherds came and tried to make them go away. But Moses stood up and helped them. He gave water to their flock. ¹⁸ When they came to their father Reuel, he said, “Why have you returned so soon today?” ¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds. He even got the water for us and gave water to the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man? Ask him to have something to eat with us.” ²¹ Moses was willing to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. ²² She gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Gershom. For he said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land.”

²³ Now after a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel were sad in their spirit because of being servants. They cried for help. And because of their hard work their cry went up to God. ²⁴ God heard their crying and remembered His agreement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ²⁵ God saw the people of Israel and He cared about them.

Jesus Calls Simon and James and John ^(A)

5 While Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, many people pushed to get near Him. They wanted to hear the Word of God. ² Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen were not there because they were washing their nets. ³ Jesus got into a boat which belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to push it out a little way from land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.” ⁵ Simon said to Him, “Teacher, we have worked all night and we have caught nothing. But because You told me to, I will let the net down.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught so many fish, their net started to break. ⁷ They called to their friends working in the other boat to come and help them. They came and both boats were so full of fish they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he got down at the feet of Jesus. He said, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.” ⁹ He and all those with him were surprised and wondered about the many fish. ¹⁰ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised also. They were working together with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will fish for men.” ¹¹ When they came to land with their boats, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Bad Skin Disease ^(B)

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to Him with a bad skin disease over all his body. When he saw Jesus, he got down on his face before Him. He begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can heal me.” ¹³ Jesus put His hand on him and said, “I will, be healed.” At once the disease went away from him. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told him to tell no one. He said, “Go and let the religious leader of the Jews see you. Give the gift on the altar in worship that Moses told you to give when a man is healed of a disease. This will show the leaders you have been healed.” ¹⁵ The news about Jesus went out all the more. Many people came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. ¹⁶ Then He went away by Himself to pray in a desert.

Jesus Heals a Man Let Down through the Roof of a House ^(C)

¹⁷ On one of the days while Jesus was teaching, some proud religious law-keepers and teachers of the Law were sitting by Him. They had come from every town in the countries of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was there to heal them. ¹⁸ Some men took a man who was not able to move his body to Jesus. He was carried on a bed. They looked for a way to take the man into the house where Jesus was. ¹⁹ But they could not find a way to take him in because of so many people. They made a hole in the roof over where Jesus stood. Then they let the bed with the sick man on it down before Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers thought to themselves, “Who is this Man Who speaks as if He is God? Who can forgive sins but God only?” ²² Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to them, “Why do you think this way in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’?

²⁴ “So that you may know the Son of Man has the right and the power on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the man who could not move his body, “I say to you, get up. Take your bed and go to your home.” ²⁵ At once the sick man got up in front of them. He took his bed and went to his home thanking God. ²⁶ All those who were there were surprised and gave thanks to God, saying, “We have seen very special things today.”

Jesus Calls Matthew ^(D)

²⁷ After this Jesus went out and saw a man who gathered taxes. His name was Levi (Matthew). Levi was sitting at his work. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ Levi got up, left everything and followed Jesus. ²⁹ Levi made a big supper for Jesus in his house. Many men who gathered taxes and other people sat down with them. ³⁰ The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers talked against the followers of Jesus. They said, “Why do You eat and drink with men who gather taxes and with sinners?” ³¹ Jesus said to them, “People who are well do not need a doctor. Only those who are sick need a doctor. ³² I have not come to call good people. I have come to call sinners to be sorry for their sins and to turn from them.”

Jesus Teaches about Going without Food So You Can Pray Better ^(E)

³³ They asked Jesus, “Why do the followers of John and of the proud religious law-keepers go without food so they can pray better, but Your followers keep on eating and drinking?” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Can the friends at a wedding be sorry when the man just married is with them? ³⁵ The days will come when the man just married will be taken from them. Then they will not eat food so they can pray better in those days.”

The Picture-Story of the Cloth and the Bags

³⁶ Then Jesus told them a picture-story. He said, “No one sews a piece of cloth from a new coat on an old coat. If he does, the new coat will have a hole. The new piece and the old coat will not be the same. ³⁷ No man puts new wine into old skin bags. If they did, the skins would break and the wine would run out. The bags would be no good. ³⁸ New wine must be put into new bags and both are kept safe. ³⁹ No one wants new wine after drinking old wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better.’”

Job Talks

19 Then Job answered, ² “How long will you make me suffer and crush me with words? ³ Ten times you have put me to shame and are not ashamed to wrong me. ⁴ Even if it is true that I have done wrong, it stays with me. ⁵ You put yourselves up high against me, and try to prove my shame to me. ⁶ You will know then that God has wronged me, and has set a trap around me.

⁷ “See, I cry, ‘Someone is hurting me!’ but I get no answer. I call for help, but no one stands for what is right and fair. ⁸ He has built a wall in my way so that I cannot pass. And He has put darkness on my paths. ⁹ He has taken my honor from me, and taken the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone. He has pulled up my hope like a tree. ¹¹ He has made His anger burn against me, and thinks of me as one who fights against Him. ¹² His armies come together and build a path against me. They camp around my tent.

¹³ “He has taken my brothers far away from me and my friends have all left me. ¹⁴ My brothers have left me, and my close friends have forgotten me. ¹⁵ Those who live in my house and my women servants think of me as a stranger. I am like one from another country in their eyes. ¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he does not answer. I have to beg him. ¹⁷ My breath smells bad to my wife, and I am hated by my own brothers. ¹⁸ Even young children hate me. When I get up they speak against me. ¹⁹ All my friends hate me. Those I love have turned against me. ²⁰ I am only skin and flesh. And I have gotten away only by the skin of my teeth. ²¹ Have pity on me. Have pity on me, O you my friends. For the hand of God has hit me. ²² Why do you make it hard for me as God does? Have I not suffered enough to please you?

²³ “If only my words were written! If only they were written down in a book! ²⁴ If only they were cut forever into the rock with an iron cutter and lead! ²⁵ But as for me, I know that the One Who bought me and made me free from sin lives, and that He will stand upon the earth in the end. ²⁶ Even after my skin is destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. ²⁷ I myself will see Him. With my own eyes I will see Him and not another. My heart becomes weak within me. ²⁸ If you say, ‘How will we make it hard for him?’ and, ‘The root of the problem is in him,’ ²⁹ you should be afraid of the sword for yourselves. For anger is punished by the sword, that you may know there is punishment for wrong-doing.”

Going to Court Against Christians

6 Why do you go to court when you have something against another Christian? You are asking people who are not Christians to judge who is guilty. You should go to those who belong to Christ and ask them. ² Did you not know that those who belong to Christ will someday judge this world? If you judge the people of the world as guilty, are you not able to do this in small things? ³ Did you not know that we are to judge angels? So you should be able to take care of your problem here in this world without any trouble.

⁴ When you have things to decide about this life, why do you go to men in courts who are not even Christians? ⁵ You should be ashamed! Is it true that there is not one person wise enough in your church to decide who is right when people argue? ⁶ Instead, one Christian takes another Christian to court. And that court is made up of people who are not Christians! ⁷ This shows you are wrong when you have to go to court against each other. Would it not be better to let someone do something against you that is wrong? Would it not be better to let them rob you? ⁸ Instead, you rob and do wrong to other Christians.

The Body Is to Be Holy

⁹ Do you not know that sinful men will have no place in the holy nation of God? Do not be fooled. A person who does sex sins, or who worships false gods, or who is not faithful in marriage, or men who act like women, or people who do sex sins with their own sex, will have no place in the holy nation of God. ¹⁰ Also those who steal, or those who always want to get more of everything, or who get drunk, or who say bad things about others, or take things that are not theirs, will have no place in the holy nation of God. ¹¹ Some of you were like that. But now your sins are washed away. You were set apart for God-like living to do His work. You were made right with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.

¹² I am allowed to do all things, but not everything is good for me to do! Even if I am free to do all things, I will not do them if I think it would be hard for me to stop when I know I should. ¹³ Food was meant for the stomach. The stomach needs food, but God will bring to an end both food and the stomach. The body was not meant for sex sins. It was meant to work for the Lord. The Lord is for our body. ¹⁴ God raised the Lord from death. He will raise us from death by His power also.

The Body Belongs to the Lord

¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are a part of Christ Himself? Am I to take a part of Christ and make it a part of a woman who sells the use of her body? No! Never! ¹⁶ Do you not know that a man who joins himself to a woman who sells the use of her body becomes a part of her? The Holy Writings say, “The two will become one.” ¹⁷ But if you join yourself to the Lord, you are one with Him in spirit.

¹⁸ Have nothing to do with sex sins! Any other sin that a man does, does not hurt his own body. But the man who does a sex sin sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a house of God where the Holy Spirit lives? God gave you His Holy Spirit. Now you belong to God. You do not belong to yourselves. ²⁰ God bought you with a great price. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him.