M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Man’s Wickedness
6 When men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair and took as wives any they chose. 3 The Lord said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man, for he is flesh; yet his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was continually only evil. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the birds of the sky, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah and the Flood
9 These are the generations of Noah.
Noah was a just man and blameless among his contemporaries. Noah walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth and saw it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 So God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make an ark of cypress wood for yourself. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 And this is how you must make it: The length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, the width of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.[a] 16 Make an opening[b] one cubit[c] below the top of the ark all around; and you must set the door of the ark on the side. Make it with a lower, a second, and a third story. 17 I will bring a flood of waters on the earth to destroy all flesh, wherever there is the breath of life under heaven, and everything that is on the earth will die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; you must go into the ark—you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 Bring every living thing of all flesh, two of every kind, into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of creeping thing of the earth will come to you to be kept alive. 21 Also, take with you of every kind of food that is eaten and gather it to yourself, and it will be for food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Teaching About Charitable Giving
6 “Be sure that you not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Therefore, when you do your charitable deeds, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do your charitable deeds, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deeds may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
The Lord’s Prayer(A)
5 “When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, enter your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him.
9 “Therefore pray in this manner:
Our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come;
Your will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 For if you forgive men for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men for their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
Teaching About Fasting
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you will not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Treasures in Heaven(B)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in nor steal, 21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The Light of the Body(C)
22 “The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is unclear, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
God and Money
24 “No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Care and Anxiety(D)
25 “Therefore, I say to you, take no thought about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? 27 Who among you by taking thought can add a cubit[a] to his stature?
28 “Why take thought about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: They neither work, nor do they spin. 29 Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30 Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is here and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore, take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 (For the Gentiles seek after all these things.) For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. 34 Therefore, take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof.
The Decree of Darius
6 Then Darius the king issued a decree and a search was made in the house of records, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 At Ecbatana, in the provincial palace of the Medes, a scroll was found, and in it the following record was written:
3 “In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God at Jerusalem:
“Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be strongly laid, to a height of sixty cubits,[a] and a width of sixty cubits. 4 Let it consist of three rows of great stones and a row of new timber, and let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also, let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to their places in the temple in Jerusalem. Put them in the house of God.
6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-Bozenai, along with your colleagues, the officials who are in the province Beyond the River, stay far away from there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.
8 “Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you shall do for the elders of these Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God:
“The cost is to be paid to these men, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. 9 Whatever they need—whether young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings to the God of heaven, or wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests in Jerusalem—let it be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven, as well as pray for the life of the king and of his sons.
11 “Also, I have issued a decree that whoever shall violate this word, the timber will be pulled down from his house and arranged so that he may be hanged on it. Thus shall his house be made a dunghill for this. 12 May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow all kings and people who stretch forth their hand to violate or destroy this house of God in Jerusalem.
“I, Darius, have issued the decree; so let it be done diligently.”
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
13 In compliance, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-Bozenai, and their companions speedily accomplished what Darius the king had decreed. 14 The rebuilding by the elders of the Jews prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built, and finished it, according to the decree of the God of Israel and according to the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 This temple was finished on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
16 The children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the descendants of the captivity kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 At the dedication of this house of God, they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and as a sin offering for all Israel, they offered twelve goats (according to the number of the tribes of Israel). 18 They appointed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it had been written in the Book of Moses.
The Passover
19 The children of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 Because the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together, all of them were pure. So, they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 Then they ate together, both the children of Israel who had come out of captivity and all those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land, in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. 22 With joy they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days because the Lord had made them joyful. He had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthened their hands in the work on the house of God, who is the God of Israel.
The Seven Helpers
6 Now in those days, as the disciples were multiplied, there was murmuring among the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily distribution. 2 So the twelve called the multitude of disciples together and said, “It is not reasonable for us to leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Brothers, look among yourselves for seven men who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this duty. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5 And what was said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, who was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Procorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they presented before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they placed their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples grew rapidly in Jerusalem, and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.
The Arrest of Stephen
8 Now Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. 9 Then some men rose up from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and of Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 But they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and came upon him and seized him and led him to the Sanhedrin, 13 and set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”
15 All who sat in the Sanhedrin, gazing at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.