M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Moses: I’m now 120 years old. I’m not physically able to lead you anymore, and the Eternal has told me, “You’re not going to cross the Jordan River.” ³ Instead, it will be the Eternal your God who leads you across the Jordan. He’ll clear out the nations who live there, and you’ll take their place. As my successor and the Eternal’s representative, Joshua will lead you across, just as He has said. ⁴ The Eternal will do to those nations just what He did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and their land when He destroyed them. ⁵ He will defeat them for you. Then you must do to them exactly what I’ve commanded you to do. ⁶ Be strong and brave, and don’t tremble in fear of them, because the Eternal your God is going with you. He’ll never fail you or abandon you!

Moses: Be strong and brave! You’re going to lead these people into the land the Eternal promised their ancestors He’d give them. You’ll give it to them, and they’ll give it to their descendants. ⁸ And He will be leading you. He’ll be with you, and He’ll never fail you or abandon you. So don’t be afraid!

Moses: At the end of every seven years, as I’ve already told you, you’re going to cancel all debts. In that same year, during the Feast of Shelters, ¹¹ when all the people of Israel come into the presence of the Eternal your God, at the place He’ll choose, read this law aloud to them. ¹² Assemble everyone—men, women, children, and any foreigners who are living in the cities with you—so they can listen and learn and fear Him and carefully obey every word of this law. ¹³ If you do this every seven years, their descendants, who otherwise wouldn’t know these things, will hear the law and learn to fear Him, and the nation will be faithful to Him for as long as you live in the land you’re going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River.

Eternal One (to Moses): ¹⁴ It’s almost time for you to die. Call Joshua and stand with him by the congregation tent, where I’ll formally install him and give him his instructions.

Eternal One (to Moses): ¹⁶ You’re about to leave this world to lie down with your ancestors in death. After you’re gone, these people are going to be unfaithful to Me. They’re going to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land they’re going into. They’re going to abandon Me and break the covenant I made with them. ¹⁷ When they do, I’ll be furious with them and abandon them. I won’t look on them when they pray. I won’t protect them, and they’ll be eaten alive. They’ll be in so much trouble and distress then that they’ll say, “We must be in all this trouble because our God isn’t with us anymore!” ¹⁸ And they’ll be right. In those days, I won’t look at them when they pray because they’ll have done such an evil thing by turning to other gods. ¹⁹ So I want you to write down this song and teach it to the children of Israel. Teach them to sing it, so it can be a witness for Me against them. ^20-21 I know what they’re already inclined to do before I’ve even brought them into the land I promised them. I know that when I’ve brought them into the land I promised to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, when they have had more than enough to eat and they’ve grown fat, they’ll turn to other gods and worship them. They’ll reject Me and break My covenant. Then, when they’re in so much trouble and distress, this song will testify against them since their descendants will still be singing it.

Eternal One: Be strong and brave, because you’re going to lead the children of Israel into the land I promised them. I am going with you!

Moses: ²⁶ Take this book of the law, and put it next to the covenant chest of the Eternal your God, so it will be there as a witness against you. ²⁷ I know how stubborn and rebellious you are. Even now, while I’m still alive and here with you, you’ve been rebelling against the Eternal. I can only imagine what you’ll do when I’m dead! ²⁸ Bring all the tribes’ elders and representatives here so they can listen to everything I must say, and so I can call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against them. ²⁹ I know that after I’m dead you’ll become corrupt and stop doing what I’ve commanded. You’ll have all kinds of trouble there because you’ll have done what the Eternal sees as wrong. You’ll make Him furious by your deeds, crafting idols and worshiping them!

6 Jesus: But when you do these righteous acts, do not do them in front of spectators. Don’t do them where you can be seen, let alone lauded, by others. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² When you give to the poor, do not boast about it, announcing your donations with blaring trumpets as the play actors do. Do not brazenly give your charity in the synagogues and on the streets; indeed, do not give at all if you are giving because you want to be praised by your neighbors. Those people who give in order to reap praise have already received their reward. ^3-4 When you give to the needy, do it in secret—even your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing. Then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

⁵ Likewise, when you pray, do not be as hypocrites who love to pray loudly at synagogue or on street corners—their concern is to be seen by men. They have already earned their reward. ⁶ When you pray, go into a private room, close the door, and pray unseen to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not go on and on, excessively and strangely like the outsiders; they think their verbosity will let them be heard by their deities. ⁸ Do not be like them. Your prayers need not be labored or lengthy or grandiose—for your Father knows what you need before you ever ask Him.

⁹ Your prayers, rather, should be simple, like this:

¹⁴ If you forgive people when they sin against you, then your Father will forgive you when you sin against Him and when you sin against your neighbor. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive your neighbors’ sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

¹⁶ And when you fast, do not look miserable as the actors and hypocrites do when they are fasting—they walk around town putting on airs about their suffering and weakness, complaining about how hungry they are. So everyone will know they are fasting, they don’t wash or anoint themselves with oil, pink their cheeks, or wear comfortable shoes. Those who show off their piety, they have already received their reward. ¹⁷ When you fast, wash your face and beautify yourself with oil, ¹⁸ so no one who looks at you will know about your discipline. Only your Father, who is unseen, will see your fast. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

¹⁹ Some people store up treasures in their homes here on earth. This is a shortsighted practice—don’t undertake it. Moths and rust will eat up any treasure you may store here. Thieves may break into your homes and steal your precious trinkets. ²⁰ Instead, put up your treasures in heaven where moths do not attack, where rust does not corrode, and where thieves are barred at the door. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² The eye is the lamp of the body. You draw light into your body through your eyes, and light shines out to the world through your eyes. So if your eye is well and shows you what is true, then your whole body will be filled with light. ²³ But if your eye is clouded or evil, then your body will be filled with evil and dark clouds. And the darkness that takes over the body of a child of God who has gone astray—that is the deepest, darkest darkness there is.

Jesus: ²⁴ No one can serve two masters. If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa. People try to serve both God and money—but you can’t. You must choose one or the other.

²⁵ Here is the bottom line: do not worry about your life. Don’t worry about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about how you clothe your body. Living is about more than merely eating, and the body is about more than dressing up. ²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They do not store food for winter. They don’t plant gardens. They do not sow or reap—and yet, they are always fed because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you. ²⁷ Worrying does not do any good; who here can claim to add even an hour to his life by worrying?

²⁸ Nor should you worry about clothes. Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow. They do not work or weave or sew, and yet their garments are stunning. ²⁹ Even King Solomon, dressed in his most regal garb, was not as lovely as these lilies. ³⁰ And think about grassy fields—the grasses are here now, but they will be dead by winter. And yet God adorns them so radiantly. How much more will He clothe you, you of little faith, you who have no trust?

³¹ So do not consume yourselves with questions: What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? ³² Outsiders make themselves frantic over such questions; they don’t realize that your heavenly Father knows exactly what you need. ³³ Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things will be given to you too. ³⁴ So do not worry about tomorrow. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.