M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Burnt Gifts on the Altar

1 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the meeting tent, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘When any of you bring a gift in worship to the Lord, bring your gift of animals from the herd or the flock. ³ If his gift is a burnt gift from the cattle, he should bring a male that is perfect. He should give it at the door of the meeting tent, so he will be pleasing to the Lord. ⁴ He will lay his hand on the head of the burnt gift and it will be received to take away his sins. ⁵ He will kill the young bull before the Lord. Then Aaron’s sons, the religious leaders, will take the blood and put it around on the altar that is at the door of the meeting tent. ⁶ He will skin the burnt gift and cut it into pieces. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the religious leader will put fire on the altar and lay wood on the fire. ⁸ Then Aaron’s sons, the religious leaders, will lay the pieces, the head and the fat on the wood that is on the altar fire. ⁹ But he will wash its legs and inside parts with water. Then the religious leader will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt gift. It will be a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

¹⁰ ‘If his gift is a burnt gift from the sheep or the goats of the flock, he should give a male that is perfect. ¹¹ He should kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord. Aaron’s sons, the religious leaders, will put its blood around on the altar. ¹² Then he will cut it into pieces with its head and its fat. And the religious leader will lay them on the wood that is on the altar fire. ¹³ But he will wash the legs and inside parts with water. The religious leader will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt gift. It will be a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

¹⁴ ‘If his gift is a burnt gift of birds, he should bring his gift from the turtle-doves or young pigeons. ¹⁵ The religious leader will bring it to the altar and take off its head. Then he will burn it on the altar. Its blood will flow down on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He will take the part of its body where the food it eats is kept and with its feathers throw them on the ashes on the east side of the altar. ¹⁷ Then he will tear it by its wings, but not divide it. And the religious leader will burn it on the altar as a burnt gift. It will be a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

Jesus Is Raised from the Grave ^(A)

20 It was the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene came to the grave early in the morning while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been pushed away from the grave. ² She ran to Simon Peter and the other follower whom Jesus loved. She said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the grave. We do not know where they have put Him.”

³ Then Peter and the other follower went to the grave. ⁴ They ran but the other follower ran faster than Peter and came to the grave first. ⁵ He got down and looked in and saw the linen cloths but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came and went into the grave. He saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷ The white cloth that had been around the head of Jesus was not lying with the other linen cloths. It was rolled up and lying apart by itself. ⁸ Then the other follower, who had come first, went in also. He saw and believed. ⁹ They still did not understand what the Holy Writings meant when they said that He must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the followers went back again to their homes.

¹¹ Mary stood outside the grave crying. As she cried, she got down and looked inside the grave. ¹² She saw two angels dressed in white clothes. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. One angel was where His head had lain and one angel was where His feet had lain. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have put Him.”

¹⁴ After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She thought He was the man who cared for the garden. She said to Him, “Sir, if you have taken Jesus from here, tell me where you have put Him. I will take Him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned around and said to Him, “Teacher!” ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to Me. I have not yet gone up to My Father. But go to My brothers. Tell them that I will go up to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God!” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and told the followers that she had seen the Lord. She told them the things He had said to her.

Jesus Was Seen by His Followers—Thomas Was Not There

¹⁹ It was evening of the first day of the week. The followers had gathered together with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.

Jesus Sends His Followers to Preach ^(B)

²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, “May you have peace. As the Father has sent Me, I also am sending you.” ²² When Jesus had said this, He breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you say that people are free of sins, they are free of them. If you say that people are not free of sins, they still have them.”

Thomas Does Not Believe Jesus Is Raised from the Dead ^(C)

²⁴ Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. He was one of the twelve followers and was called the Twin. ²⁵ The other followers told him, “We have seen the Lord!” He said to them, “I will not believe until I see the marks made by the nails in His hands. I will not believe until I put my finger into the marks of the nails. I will not believe until I put my hand into His side.”

Jesus Was Seen Again by His Followers—Thomas Was There

²⁶ Eight days later the followers were again inside a house. Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace!” ²⁷ He said to Thomas, “Put your finger into My hands. Put your hand into My side. Do not doubt, believe!” ²⁸ Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you believe. Those are happy who have never seen Me and yet believe!” ³⁰ Jesus did many other powerful works in front of His followers. They are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When you put your trust in Him, you will have life that lasts forever through His name.

17 A dry piece of food with peace and quiet is better than a house full of food with fighting.

² A servant who is wise in what he does will rule over a son who acts in shame. He will share in what is given as one of the brothers.

³ The melting-pot is for silver and the hot fire is for gold, but the Lord tests hearts.

⁴ A wrong-doer listens to sinful lips. A liar listens to a tongue that destroys.

⁵ He who laughs at the poor brings shame to his Maker. He who is glad at trouble will be punished.

⁶ Grandchildren are the pride and joy of old men and a son is proud of his father.

⁷ Fine speaking is not right for a fool. Even worse are lying lips to a ruler.

⁸ Being paid in secret for wrong-doing is like a stone of much worth to the one who has it. Wherever he turns, he does well.

⁹ He who covers a sin looks for love. He who tells of trouble separates good friends.

¹⁰ A man of understanding learns more from being told the right thing to do than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.

¹¹ A man who will not obey looks only for what is bad. So one who has no loving-pity will be sent against him.

¹² A man meeting a bear robbed of her little ones is better than meeting a fool in his foolish way.

¹³ If a man returns bad for good, trouble will not leave his house.

¹⁴ The beginning of trouble is like letting out water. So stop arguing before fighting breaks out.

¹⁵ He who says that the sinful are right, and he who says those who do right are wrong, both are hated by the Lord.

¹⁶ It does a fool no good to try to buy wisdom, when he has no understanding.

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times. A brother is born to share troubles.

¹⁸ A man without good thinking makes promises, and becomes a trust for what another man owes his neighbor.

¹⁹ He who loves sin loves making trouble. He who opens his door wide for trouble is looking for a way to be destroyed.

²⁰ He who has a sinful heart finds no good. He who has a sinful tongue falls into sin.

²¹ A foolish son is a sorrow to his father, and the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A glad heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³ A sinful man receives pay in secret to change the right way into wrong-doing.

²⁴ Wisdom is with the one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son is a sorrow to his father, and trouble to her who gave birth to him.

²⁶ It is not good to punish those who are right with God, and it is wrong to beat men of honor for being faithful.

²⁷ He who is careful in what he says has much learning, and he who has a quiet spirit is a man of understanding.

²⁸ Even a fool, when he keeps quiet, is thought to be wise. When he closes his lips, he is thought of as a man of understanding.

4 So, my dear Christian brothers, you are my joy and crown. I want to see you. Keep on staying true to the Lord, my dear friends.

² I ask Euodias and Syntyche to agree as Christians should. ³ My true helper, I ask you to help these women who have worked with me so much in preaching the Good News to others. Clement helped also. There are others who worked with me. Their names are in the book of life.

⁴ Be full of joy always because you belong to the Lord. Again I say, be full of joy! ⁵ Let all people see how gentle you are. The Lord is coming again soon. ⁶ Do not worry. Learn to pray about everything. Give thanks to God as you ask Him for what you need. ⁷ The peace of God is much greater than the human mind can understand. This peace will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

⁸ Christian brothers, keep your minds thinking about whatever is true, whatever is respected, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever can be loved, and whatever is well thought of. If there is anything good and worth giving thanks for, think about these things. ⁹ Keep on doing all the things you learned and received and heard from me. Do the things you saw me do. Then the God Who gives peace will be with you.

¹⁰ The Lord gives me a reason to be full of joy. It is because you are able to care for me again. I know you wanted to before but you did not have a way to help me. ¹¹ I am not saying I need anything. I have learned to be happy with whatever I have. ¹² I know how to get along with little and how to live when I have much. I have learned the secret of being happy at all times. If I am full of food and have all I need, I am happy. If I am hungry and need more, I am happy. ¹³ I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.

¹⁴ It was kind of you to help me when I was in trouble. ¹⁵ You Philippians also know that when I first preached the Good News, you were the only church that helped me. It was when I left for the country of Macedonia. ¹⁶ Even while I was in the city of Thessalonica you helped me more than once. ¹⁷ It is not that I want to receive the gift. I want you to get the pay that is coming to you later. ¹⁸ I have everything I need and more than enough. I am taken care of because Epaphroditus brought your gift. It is a sweet gift. It is a gift that cost you something. It is the kind of gift God is so pleased with. ¹⁹ And my God will give you everything you need because of His great riches in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now may our God and Father be honored forever. Let it be so.

²¹ Greet all those who belong to Christ Jesus. The Christian brothers here with me greet you. ²² All those who belong to Christ say hello, and most of all, those who live in Caesar’s house. ²³ May your spirit have the loving-favor of the Lord Jesus Christ.