M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

22 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for Me. So they will not sin against My holy name. I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘If any one of all your children comes near the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for the Lord, while he is unclean, he will be cut off from My holy place. I am the Lord. ⁴ None of the children of Aaron who has a bad skin disease or something flowing from his body may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. If one touches anything that is unclean because of a dead body, or has had his seed come from his sex part, ⁵ or touches anything that is unclean that moves on the ground, or touches any man who makes him unclean, for whatever reason, ⁶ the man who touches any such thing will be unclean until evening. He must not eat of the holy gifts unless he has washed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun has gone down, he will be clean. After that he may eat of the holy gifts, for they are his food. ⁸ He should not eat an animal that dies of itself or is killed by wild animals. He will be unclean if he does. I am the Lord. ⁹ The religious leaders must obey My Law, so they will not be sinful because of it and die because they sin against My Law. I am the Lord Who makes them holy.

¹⁰ ‘But no one who is not a religious leader may eat the holy gift. One who is visiting the religious leader or working for him must not eat of the holy gift. ¹¹ But a person whom the religious leader buys to work for him with his own money may eat of it. And those who are born in his house may eat of his food. ¹² If a religious leader’s daughter is married to a man who is not a religious leader, she must not eat of the holy gifts. ¹³ But if a religious leader’s daughter loses her husband by death or divorce, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as when she was young, she may eat of her father’s food. But no stranger may eat of it. ¹⁴ If a man eats a holy gift by mistake, he must add a fifth of its worth to it and give the holy gift to the religious leader. ¹⁵ The religious leaders must not make the holy gifts unclean that the people of Israel give to the Lord. ¹⁶ This would bring sin upon them when they eat their holy gifts. For I am the Lord Who makes them holy.’”

Gifts That Are Not Good Enough

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Say to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel, ‘When any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel gives his gift for a burnt gift to the Lord, to pay a promise or as a free-will gift ¹⁹ to please the Lord, it must be a male that is perfect from the cattle, sheep or goats. ²⁰ Do not give anything that is not perfect, for you will not please the Lord. ²¹ When a man gives a peace gift to the Lord to keep a special promise or for a free-will gift from the cattle or the flock, it must be perfect to be received. It must have nothing wrong with it. ²² You must not give to the Lord or make a gift by fire on the altar to the Lord any animals that are blind or broken or hurt or have a flowing sore or a skin disease. ²³ You may give for a free-will gift a bull or lamb which has some part too long or too short. But it will not be received if it is to pay a promise. ²⁴ Do not give to the Lord any animal with its sex parts hurt or crushed or torn or cut. Do not give such animals on the altar in your land. ²⁵ And do not receive such animals from a man from another land to give as the food of your God. For they are unclean. They are not perfect. They will not be received from you.’”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. After that it will be received as a gift by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ But do not kill a cow or female sheep and her young on the same day. ²⁹ When you give thanks to the Lord by giving a gift in worship, give it the right way so you will be received. ³⁰ It must be eaten on the same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “So keep My Laws and obey them. I am the Lord. ³² Do not sin against My holy name. I will be honored among the people of Israel. I am the Lord Who makes you holy. ³³ I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

Prayer for Help—Praise for the Answer

28 O Lord, to You I call. O my Rock, listen to me. If You will not hear me, I will be like those who have gone down to the grave. ² Hear my cry for loving-kindness as I call to You for help, and when I lift up my hands to Your holy place. ³ Do not drag me away with the sinful and with those who do bad things. They speak peace with their neighbors, while sin is in their hearts. ⁴ Pay them for their work and for the sins they do. Pay them for the works of their hands. Give them what they have earned. ⁵ They do not think about the works of the Lord and what His hands have done. So He will pull them down and not build them up again.

⁶ May honor and thanks be given to the Lord, because He has heard my prayer. ⁷ The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song. ⁸ The Lord is the strength of His people. He is a safe place for His chosen one. ⁹ Save Your people and bring good to what is Yours. Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm

29 Give to the Lord, O sons of the powerful. Give to the Lord shining-greatness and strength. ² Give to the Lord the honor that belongs to Him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holy living.

³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of shining-greatness thunders. The Lord is over many waters. ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is great. ⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the tall cedars of Lebanon. ⁶ He makes Lebanon jump like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild bull. ⁷ The voice of the Lord sends out lightning. ⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. ⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and tears away the leaves of the trees. And in His holy house everything says, “Honor to God!”

¹⁰ The Lord sat as King over the flood. The Lord sits as King forever. ¹¹ The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will give His people peace.

Do What You Promise

5 Watch your steps as you go to the house of God. Go near and listen but do not give the gift of fools. For they do not know they are sinning. ² Do not hurry to speak or be in a hurry as you think what to tell God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth. So let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much work, and the voice of a fool comes with many words. ⁴ When you make a promise to God, do not be late in paying it, for He is not pleased with fools. Pay what you promise to pay! ⁵ It is better not to make a promise, than to make a promise and not pay it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth cause you to sin. And do not say to the one sent from God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of what you said, and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For when there are many dreams, there are many empty words. Instead of this, honor God with fear.

Money and Honor Are of Little Worth

⁸ In one part of a land if you see a bad power held over the poor, and what is right and fair and good taken away, do not be surprised by what you see. For one leader watches over another leader, and more important leaders watch over them. ⁹ After all, a country does better with a king in power.

¹⁰ He who loves money will never have enough money to make him happy. It is the same for the one who loves to get many things. This also is for nothing. ¹¹ When there are more good things, there are also more people to eat them. So what does their owner get except to see them with his eyes? ¹² The sleep of the working man is pleasing, if he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich man does not let him sleep.

¹³ There is something very wrong which I have seen under the sun: Riches being kept by the owner and he is hurt by them. ¹⁴ When those riches are lost because he used them in a wrong way, and he had become the father of a son, there was nothing left for him. ¹⁵ A man comes from his mother without clothing, and he will go as he came. He will take nothing from his work that he can carry in his hand. ¹⁶ This also is very wrong: As a man is born, this is the way he will leave. So what does the man get who works for the wind? ¹⁷ All his life he eats in darkness with much sorrow, sickness and anger.

¹⁸ This is what I have seen to be good and right: to eat and to drink and be happy in all the work one does under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him. For this is his reward. ¹⁹ As for every man to whom God has given riches and many good things, He has also given him the power to eat from them, receive his reward and be happy in his work. This is the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not think much about the years of his life, because God keeps him happy in his heart.

1 This letter is from Paul, a missionary of Jesus Christ. God has sent me to tell that He has promised life that lasts forever through Christ Jesus. ² I am writing to you, Timothy. You are my much-loved son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you His loving-favor and loving-kindness and peace.

Timothy’s Special Gift

³ I thank God for you. I pray for you night and day. I am working for God the way my early fathers worked. My heart says I am free from sin. ⁴ When I remember your tears, it makes me want to see you. That would fill me with joy. ⁵ I remember your true faith. It is the same faith your grandmother Lois had and your mother Eunice had. I am sure you have that same faith also.

⁶ For this reason, I ask you to keep using the gift God gave you. It came to you when I laid my hands on you and prayed that God would use you. ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us a spirit of power and of love and of a good mind. ⁸ Do not be ashamed to tell others about what our Lord said, or of me here in prison. I am here because of Jesus Christ. Be ready to suffer for preaching the Good News and God will give you the strength you need. ⁹ He is the One Who saved us from the punishment of sin. He is the One Who chose us to do His work. It is not because of anything we have done. But it was His plan from the beginning that He would give us His loving-favor through Christ Jesus. ¹⁰ We know about it now because of the coming of Jesus Christ, the One Who saves. He put a stop to the power of death and brought life that never dies which is seen through the Good News. ¹¹ I have been chosen to be a missionary and a preacher and a teacher of this Good News. ¹² For this reason, I am suffering. But I am not ashamed. I know the One in Whom I have put my trust. I am sure He is able to keep safe that which I have trusted to Him until the day He comes again. ¹³ Keep all the things I taught you. They were given to you in the faith and love of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ Keep safe that which He has trusted you with by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

Onesiphorus Was Faithful

¹⁵ I am sure you have heard that all the Christians in the countries of Asia have turned away from me. Phygelus and Hermogenes turned away also. ¹⁶ Onesiphorus was not ashamed of me in prison. He came often to comfort me. May the Lord show loving-kindness to his family. ¹⁷ When he came to Rome, he looked everywhere until he found me. ¹⁸ You know what a help he was to me in Ephesus. When the Lord comes again, may He show loving-kindness to Onesiphorus.