M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abraham and Abimelek(A)
20 Abraham journeyed from there toward the Negev, settled between Kadesh and Shur, and then he sojourned in Gerar. 2 Then Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelek, king of Gerar, sent for her and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream by night and said to him, “You are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
4 Abimelek had not gone near her, and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and did not even she herself say, ‘He is my brother’? In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore, I did not let you touch her. 7 Therefore return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet and he will pray for you. Moreover, you will live. However, if you do not return her, know that you will surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelek rose early in the morning, and called all his servants and told them all these things, and the men were very afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you that you would bring on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that should not have been done.” 10 Then Abimelek said to Abraham, “What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?”
11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will slay me because of my wife. 12 Still, indeed, she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. She became my wife. 13 When God caused me to travel from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is your kindness which you must show me: Every place where we go, say concerning me, He is my brother.’ ”
14 Then Abimelek took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelek said, “My land is before you; settle wherever it pleases you.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I have given your brother a thousand shekels of silver.[a] It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”
17 So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelek because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Teaching About Divorce(A)
19 Now when Jesus finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, tempting Him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
4 He answered, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”
7 They said to Him, “Then why did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to send her away?”[c]
8 He said to them, “Moses, for the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is not good to marry.”
11 But He said to them, “Not all men can receive this precept, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are some eunuchs who have been so from birth, there are some eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are some eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”
Little Children Blessed(B)
13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them. For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
The Rich Young Man(C)
16 Now one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good deed shall I do to have eternal life?”
17 He replied to him, “Why do you call Me good? There is One who is good. But if you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,[d] 19 Honor your father and your mother,[e] and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[f]”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful. For he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you that it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard this, they were greatly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My name’s sake shall receive a hundred times as much and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
The Israelites Confess Their Sins
9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and sackcloth, and there was dirt on them. 2 The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners and then stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 They stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day. And for another fourth, they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God. 4 Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani stood up on the stairs of the Levites and cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever! Let them bless Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all. And the host of heaven worships You.
7 “You are the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans. You gave him the name Abraham 8 and found his heart faithful before You. And You made a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites—to give it to his seed. Indeed, You have fulfilled Your words because You are righteous.
9 “When You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry by the Red Sea, 10 You enacted signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land because You knew how arrogantly they had acted against them. Thus, You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day. 11 You divided the sea before them, so they might pass through the midst of the sea on dry ground, and cast their pursuers into the deep like a stone into stormy waters. 12 By day You led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to light the way for them to go.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them just requirements, true laws, good statutes and commandments. 14 You also revealed to them Your Holy Sabbath and, by the hand of Moses Your servant, set in place for them the precepts, statutes, and laws. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly and hardened their necks and did not obey Your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of Your wonders that You performed among them. But they hardened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness, and did not forsake them.
18 “Even when they had made themselves a molded calf and said, ‘This is your god that brought you out of Egypt,’ and committed terrible provocations, 19 yet You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness: The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go. 20 You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing—their clothing did not wear out nor did their feet swell.
22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations, and You divided them as boundaries. They possessed the land of Sihon, which was the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan. 23 Their descendants You increased like the stars of heaven, and You brought them into the land, which You had promised to their fathers that they would enter and possess it. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and You subdued for them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands—with their kings and the peoples of the land—to do with them as they would. 25 They captured unassailable cities and a fertile land. They possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance, so they ate, were filled, and became fat, and they indulged themselves in Your great goodness.
26 “Nevertheless they became disobedient, and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs, and killed Your prophets who had warned them to turn back to You. But they committed terrible provocations. 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who afflicted them. When they cried to You in the time of their affliction, You heard from heaven, and, according to Your abundant mercy, You gave them deliverers who delivered them out of the hand of their enemies.
28 “But after they had rest, they again did evil before You. Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to You, You heard from heaven, and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies.
29 “You warned them in order to restore them again to Your law, but they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances (which would enable a man to live, if he would do them), stubbornly turning away and becoming belligerent so that they would not hear. 30 For many years You endured them and warned them by Your Spirit in Your prophets, yet they would not listen. Therefore, You gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, for the sake of Your abundant mercy, You did not completely destroy them or forsake them. Indeed, You are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the hardship, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day, that has come on us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Your people seem insignificant to You. 33 You are righteous for everything that has come upon us! You have acted faithfully while we have done wickedly. 34 For our kings, princes, priests, and fathers have failed to keep Your law and did not obey Your commandments and Your warnings even when You confronted them. 35 For whether in their kingdom or in Your abundant goodness (that You gave them) or in the spacious and fertile land (that You set before them), they have neither served You nor turned away from their wicked deeds.
36 “Here we are, slaves today. The land that You gave to our fathers was for eating its fruit and its goodness. Behold, we have become slaves on account of it, 37 because its abundant produce belongs to the kings whom You have set over us due to our sins. They have control over our bodies and over our livestock, as they please. We are in great distress.”
Signatories to the Agreement
38 So on the basis of all this, we are executing a written agreement that is being sealed by our princes, Levites, and priests.
Ephesians Receive the Holy Spirit
19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples 2 and said to them, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”
They said to him, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 He said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 He went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, lecturing and persuading concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the crowd, he withdrew from them and took the disciples, lecturing daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
The Sons of Sceva
11 God worked powerful miracles by the hands of Paul. 12 So handkerchiefs or aprons he had touched were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists invoked the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We command you to come out in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 There were seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was jumped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known to all Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus. And fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 Many who believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Many who practiced magic brought their books together and burned them before everyone. They calculated their value, which equaled fifty thousand drachmas.[a] 20 So the word of the Lord powerfully grew and spread.
The Riot in Ephesus
21 After these things happened, Paul determined in his spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 He sent two who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, but he delayed in Asia for a time.
23 About that time great trouble arose about the Way. 24 For a silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines for Artemis, brought much business to the craftsmen. 25 He gathered them together with the workmen of similar trades and said, “Men, you know that by this trade we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear, not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, that this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that these things made by hands are not gods. 27 Now not only is our trade in danger of coming into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis, whom all Asia and the world worship, may be discredited and her magnificence destroyed.”
28 When they heard this, they were full of anger and cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with confusion. And in unison they seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed into the theater. 30 When Paul intended to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the rulers of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was confused. Therefore some cried out one thing and some another, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front as the crowd prompted him. Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make his defense to the mob. 34 But when they learned that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all with one voice cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell from heaven? 36 Seeing then that these things are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of your goddess. 38 So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another. 39 If you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the legal assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no reason we may give to account for this uproar.” 41 When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.