M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

¹ From the leader of the church people. I send greetings to the lady whom God has chosen, and to her children. I love you all because you have the truth about Christ. I am not the only one who loves you. All those who know the truth, love you also.

² We love you because of the truth we share which is in our hearts and will be with us for ever.

³ God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Father's son, will bless us. They will be kind to us. They will give us peace. They will do these things because they are true, and they love us.

⁴ I was very glad to find that some of your children are living in the right way. They are living the way the Father told us to live.

⁵ And now I want to ask you to do something. I am not telling you to do something new. It is the same law we had from the beginning. It is this, `We must love one another.'

⁶ We love God when we live the way God has told us. This is the law you heard from the beginning. You must live by it.

⁷ Many men who fool people have gone out into the world. They believe that Jesus Christ did not come to live as a man with a body. These men belong to the one who fools people. He is against Christ.

⁸ Watch out for yourselves! Do not lose what you have worked for, but receive all the reward that you should have.

⁹ Everyone who goes too far, and does not believe what Christ taught, does not believe God. Anyone who believes what Christ taught, believes both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you who does not teach what Christ taught, do not take him into your house. Do not even greet him.

¹¹ Anyone who greets him helps him in the wrong things he does.

¹² I have much to write to you. But I do not want to write it on paper. I hope to come to visit you and talk with you. Then we will be very happy.

¹³ The children of your sister whom God has chosen send their greetings.

21 Jesus looked around in the temple. He saw the place where the people put in their money. Rich people were putting in their money.

² And he saw a poor woman whose husband was dead. She put in two small pieces of money.

³ Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. This poor woman has given more than all the other people.

⁴ All these people had plenty of money and they gave only a part of it. She was poor and she gave everything she had. She has nothing left to live on.'

⁵ Some people were talking about how nice the temple looked. They talked about the fine stones and the things people gave to make the temple.

⁶ Jesus said, `You see these things. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. They will all be thrown down!'

⁷ They asked him, `Teacher, when will this happen? What will be the sign when these things are going to be done?

⁸ He said, `Take care. Do not let anyone fool you. Many men will come in my name. They will say, "I am Christ." And they will say, "The time is now." Do not go after them.

⁹ When you hear about wars and fighting, do not fear. These things must happen first, but it is not the end right away.'

¹⁰ Then he said, `One tribe will fight against another tribe. And one country will fight against another country.

¹¹ In some places the earth will shake very much. In many places the people will have no food to eat. And many people will be sick. There will be things to make people fear. There will be big signs in the sky.

¹² `But before all these things happen, people will catch you and trouble you. They will take you to the meeting houses to be judged. They will put you in prison. They will take you to kings and rulers because you are true to me.

¹³ This will be a chance for you to talk about me.

¹⁴ So do not trouble your minds about what you will say.

¹⁵ I will give you words and sense. All those who are against you will not be able to answer your words or say they are not true.

¹⁶ Even your parents, brothers, family people, and friends will give you over to trouble. They will kill some of you.

¹⁷ All people will hate you because you are true to me.

¹⁸ But you will not lose one hair from your heads.

¹⁹ If you keep on being true to me, you will live for ever.'

²⁰ `When you see soldiers all around Jerusalem, then you will know that it will soon be broken down.

²¹ Then the people in Judea must go quickly to the hills. Those who are in the city must leave it. Those who are in the country must not come into the city.

²² Those will be days of punishment. All that has been written in the holy writings must happen.

²³ In those days it will be very hard for women who are to have a child. It will be very hard for mothers who have babies. There will be big trouble on the earth. God will show his anger to these people.

²⁴ They will be killed by swords or long knives. They will be taken away as prisoners to every country. Jerusalem will be broken down by people who are not Jews. They will walk over it until the end of their allowed time.'

²⁵ `There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And there will be much trouble for the people on earth. They will not know what to do. It will be like the sound of big waves of the sea.

²⁶ Men will be weak with fear. They will be afraid of the things that will be happening to the world. The powers in the sky will be shaken.

²⁷ Then people will see the sign of the Son of Man in a cloud. He will have much power and will be very great.

²⁸ When these things begin to happen, look up. Lift up your heads. You will soon be free.'

²⁹ Jesus told them a story. He said, `Look at a fig tree. Look at all the trees.

³⁰ As soon as you see the leaves coming, you know that it will soon be the warm time of the year.

³¹ It is the same way when you see all these things happening. You will know that the kingdom of God is near.

³² I tell you the truth. People who are living then will not die before all these things happen.

³³ The sky and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.'

³⁴ `But take care. Do not think too much about eating, drinking, and things in this life. If you do, that day will come and catch you like a trap.

³⁵ That day will come to all people who are living on the whole earth.

³⁶ Watch all the time. Ask God to make you strong to do right so that you will not go through all these things that are going to happen. Ask him to make you able to stand in front of the Son of Man.'

³⁷ Jesus taught in the temple every day. But at night he went out and stayed on the hill called the Mount of Olives.

³⁸ Early in the morning all the people came to hear him in the temple.