M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land that I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give that land to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel to lead you, and I will force these people out of the land: the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3 Go up to a fertile land. But I will not go with you, because I might destroy you on the way, since you are such a stubborn people.”
4 When the people heard this bad news, they became very sad, and none of them put on jewelry. 5 This was because the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would destroy you. So take off all your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6 So the people of Israel took off their jewelry at Mount Sinai.
The Meeting Tent
7 Moses used to take a tent and set it up a long way outside the camp; he called it the “Meeting Tent.” Anyone who wanted to ask the Lord about something would go to the Meeting Tent outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances of their tents, watching him until he entered the Meeting Tent. 9 When Moses went into the Tent, the pillar of cloud would always come down and stay at the entrance of the Tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent, they stood and worshiped, each person at the entrance of his own tent.
11 The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but Moses’ young helper, Joshua son of Nun, did not leave the Tent.
12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have told me to lead these people, but you did not say whom you would send with me. You have said to me, ‘I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.’ 13 If I have truly pleased you, show me your plans so that I may know you and continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you, and I will give you victory.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If you yourself don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. 16 If you don’t go with us, no one will know that you are pleased with me and with your people. These people and I will be no different from any other people on earth.”
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask, because I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.”
Moses Sees God’s Glory
18 Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your glory.”
19 The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show kindness to anyone to whom I want to show kindness, and I will show mercy to anyone to whom I want to show mercy. 20 But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live.
21 “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes that place, I will put you in a large crack in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”
Jesus with Friends in Bethany
12 Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. (Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead.) 2 There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. 3 Mary brought in a pint of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.
4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers who would later turn against him, was there. Judas said, 5 “This perfume was worth an entire year’s wages. Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” 6 But Judas did not really care about the poor; he said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money box, and he often stole from it.
7 Jesus answered, “Leave her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today, the day for me to be prepared for burial. 8 You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”
The Plot Against Lazarus
9 A large crowd of people heard that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there to see not only Jesus but Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. 10 So the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus, too. 11 Because of Lazarus many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
12 The next day a great crowd who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast heard that Jesus was coming there. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Jesus, shouting,
“Praise[a] God!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
God bless the King of Israel!” Psalm 118:25–26
14 Jesus found a colt and sat on it. This was as the Scripture says,
15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem!
Your king is coming,
sitting on the colt of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9
16 The followers of Jesus did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was raised to glory, they remembered that this had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
People Tell About Jesus
17 There had been many people with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from the dead and told him to come out of the tomb. Now they were telling others about what Jesus did. 18 Many people went out to meet Jesus, because they had heard about this miracle. 19 So the Pharisees said to each other, “You can see that nothing is going right for us. Look! The whole world is following him.”
Jesus Talks About His Death
20 There were some Greek people, too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast. 21 They went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 Jesus said to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive his glory. 24 I tell you the truth, a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed. 25 Those who love their lives will lose them, but those who hate their lives in this world will keep true life forever. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.
27 “Now I am very troubled. Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, I came to this time so I could suffer. 28 Father, bring glory to your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do it again.”
29 The crowd standing there, who heard the voice, said it was thunder.
But others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus said, “That voice was for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the time for the world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be thrown down. 32 If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward me.” 33 Jesus said this to show how he would die.
34 The crowd said, “We have heard from the law that the Christ will live forever. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus said, “The light will be with you for a little longer, so walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not catch you. If you walk in the darkness, you will not know where you are going. 36 Believe in the light while you still have it so that you will become children of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.
Some People Won’t Believe in Jesus
37 Though Jesus had done many miracles in front of the people, they still did not believe in him. 38 This was to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said:
“Lord, who believed what we told them?
Who saw the Lord’s power in this?” Isaiah 53:1
39 This is why the people could not believe: Isaiah also had said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes,
and he has closed their minds.
Otherwise they would see with their eyes
and understand in their minds
and come back to me and be healed.” Isaiah 6:10
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 But many believed in Jesus, even many of the leaders. But because of the Pharisees, they did not say they believed in him for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 They loved praise from people more than praise from God.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me is really believing in the One who sent me. 45 Whoever sees me sees the One who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world so that whoever believes in me would not stay in darkness.
47 “Anyone who hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge, because I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for those who refuse to believe in me and do not accept my words. The word I have taught will be their judge on the last day. 49 The things I taught were not from myself. The Father who sent me told me what to say and what to teach. 50 And I know that eternal life comes from what the Father commands. So whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”
Being Wise or Foolish
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has made its seven columns.
2 She has prepared her food and wine;
she has set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant girls,
and she calls out from the highest place in the city.
4 She says to those who are uneducated,
“Come in here, you foolish people!
5 Come and eat my food
and drink the wine I have prepared.
6 Stop your foolish ways, and you will live;
take the road of understanding.
7 “If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will be insulted.
If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt.
8 Do not correct those who make fun of wisdom, or they will hate you.
But correct the wise, and they will love you.
9 Teach the wise, and they will become even wiser;
teach good people, and they will learn even more.
10 “Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord,
and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One.
11 If you live wisely, you will live a long time;
wisdom will add years to your life.
12 The wise person is rewarded by wisdom,
but whoever makes fun of wisdom will suffer for it.”
13 Foolishness is like a loud woman;
she does not have wisdom or knowledge.
14 She sits at the door of her house
at the highest place in the city.
15 She calls out to those who are passing by,
who are going along, minding their own business.
16 She says to those who are uneducated,
“Come in here, you foolish people!
17 Stolen water is sweeter,
and food eaten in secret tastes better.”
18 But these people don’t know that everyone who goes there dies,
that her guests end up deep in the grave.
We Now Have Life
2 In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God. 2 Yes, in the past you lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. 3 In the past all of us lived like them, trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.
4 But God’s mercy is great, and he loved us very much. 5 Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. 6 And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus 7 so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.
One in Christ
11 You were not born Jewish. You are the people the Jews call “uncircumcised.”[a] Those who call you “uncircumcised” call themselves “circumcised.” (Their circumcision is only something they themselves do on their bodies.) 12 Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel, and you had no part in the agreements[b] with the promise that God made to his people. You had no hope, and you did not know God. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death. 14 Christ himself is our peace. He made both Jewish people and those who are not Jews one people. They were separated as if there were a wall between them, but Christ broke down that wall of hate by giving his own body. 15 The Jewish law had many commands and rules, but Christ ended that law. His purpose was to make the two groups of people become one new people in him and in this way make peace. 16 It was also Christ’s purpose to end the hatred between the two groups, to make them into one body, and to bring them back to God. Christ did all this with his death on the cross. 17 Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away from God, and to those who were near to God. 18 Yes, it is through Christ we all have the right to come to the Father in one Spirit.
19 Now you who are not Jewish are not foreigners or strangers any longer, but are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. 20 You are like a building that was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone[c] in that building, 21 and that whole building is joined together in Christ. He makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in Christ you, too, are being built together with the Jews into a place where God lives through the Spirit.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.