M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules for the people's gifts
1 The Lord spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting.[a] He told him the rules that Israel's people must obey. 2 The Lord said, ‘Speak to Israel's people. Tell them this. When a person gives an animal to the Lord, it must be a cow or a sheep or a goat. 3 A person may want to give a gift to the Lord. That gift must be a male animal from his group of animals. It must be perfect. He must burn the whole animal as a gift to the Lord. The person must bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting. If he does, the Lord will accept his gift. 4 The person must put his hand on the animal's head. Then he must kill it. The animal's death will pay for the person's sins. 5 The person must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. The priests who are the sons of Aaron will take the blood. They will throw it onto the sides of the altar. That is the altar near to the door of the Tent of Meeting. 6 The person must take the skin from the dead animal and then he must cut up the meat. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will light a fire on the altar. Then they will put wood on it. 8 The priests will put the pieces of meat on the fire. They will put the head and the fat on the fire with the meat. 9 The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. Then the priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.[b]
10 A person may want to give a sheep or a goat as a gift to God. It must be a male animal. It must be perfect. 11 The person must kill it at the north side of the altar. The priests will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar in front of the Lord. 12 The person must cut the animal up. The priests will take the pieces of meat, the head and the fat. They will put them on the fire that is burning on the altar. 13 The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. The priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. It is a burnt offering. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.
Moses tells Israel's people what to do with gifts that are birds
14 If a person wants to give a bird to the Lord, it must be a dove or a pigeon. 15 The priest will bring the bird to the altar. He will tear off the head and he will burn it on the altar. The priest will pour the blood onto the side of the altar. 16 Then the priest will remove the part of the bird where the food is stored. He will throw it on the east side of the altar, with the ashes. 17 He will hold the parts that the bird uses to fly. And then he will tear open the body. But he must not tear it completely. He will burn all of it on the fire that is on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.
The hole in the rock is empty
20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary from Magdala went to the hole in the rock. It was still dark. She saw that someone had removed the big stone from the front of the hole. 2 So she ran to where Simon Peter was. He was with the other disciple, the one that Jesus loved. She said to them, ‘Somebody has taken the Lord's body out of the hole. We do not know where they have put him!’
3 So Peter and the other disciple started to go to the place where Jesus' body had been. 4 Both of them were running. But the other disciple ran faster than Peter ran. So he reached the hole first. 5 He bent himself down and he looked inside the hole. He saw the pieces of linen cloth that were lying there. But he did not go in. 6 Simon Peter had run behind the other disciple. When he arrived, he went into the hole. He saw the pieces of cloth that were lying there. 7 Also, he saw the piece of cloth that had been around Jesus' head. This was not in the same place as the long pieces of linen cloth. Someone had put it carefully in a separate place. 8 The other disciple had reached the place first, and now he also went inside. He saw and he believed. 9 They still did not understand what the Bible already said. It said that Jesus had to become alive again after he had died.[a]
Jesus appears to Mary from Magdala
10 Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying. 11 But Mary stood outside the hole in the rock. She was crying. While she cried, she bent herself down to look inside the hole. 12 She saw two angels there. They were wearing white clothes. They were sitting where Jesus' dead body had been. One angel was sitting where Jesus' head had been. The other angel was sitting where his feet had been.
13 They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ She replied, ‘They have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have put him.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned round. She saw a man who was standing there. It was Jesus, but she did not recognize him. 15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’ Mary thought that he was the gardener. So she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away somewhere, please tell me. Tell me where you have put him. Then I will go and I will take him away.’
16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and she said in the Jewish language, ‘Rabboni!’ (This means ‘Teacher’.) 17 Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me because I have not gone up to the Father yet. But go to my brothers, the disciples. Tell them, “Now I will go up to my Father. He is also your Father. He is my God, and he is your God.” ’ 18 Mary from Magdala took this message to the disciples. She went to them and she said, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ Then she told them the things that Jesus had said to her.
Jesus appears to his disciples
19 On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting together. They had locked the doors of the room because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Then Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very, very happy when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, in the same way I am now sending you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them. He said, ‘Receive God's Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive a person's sins, God will forgive them too. If you do not forgive them, God will not forgive them.’
Jesus shows himself to Thomas
24 One of the 12 disciples was called Thomas. (He was also called ‘the Twin’.) He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came to them. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But Thomas said to them, ‘I will never believe that he is alive again unless I myself see him. I want to see the marks of the nails in his hands. I want to touch where the nails were with my finger. I want to put my hand into his side where the spear went in. If I cannot do that, I will not believe.’
26 Eight days after that, the disciples were in the house again. This time Thomas was with them. They had locked the door. But Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger in here. Look at my hands. Put your hand here, in my side. Do not refuse to believe what is true. Now, believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord, and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Other people have not seen me, but they do believe in me. God is really happy with those people.’
The purpose of this book
30 Jesus did many other miracles while the disciples were with him. I have not written about all of them in this book. 31 But I have written about these things, so that you will be able to believe the truth. You will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Because you believe in him, you will have life with God.
17 It is better to eat a piece of dry bread in a quiet place,
than to eat a big feast in a house full of arguments.
2 A slave who is wise will have authority over a son who does stupid things.
When his master dies, that slave will receive some of his valuable things.
3 You need a hot fire to make silver and gold become pure.
It is the Lord who does that for people,
to show what they are really like.
4 People who do evil things listen to evil advice.
People who tell lies listen to other people's lies.
5 If you laugh at poor people,
you are insulting God, who made them.
If you are happy when trouble happens to other people,
you will receive the punishment that you deserve.
6 Old people should be proud of their grandchildren.
In the same way, children should be proud of their parents.
7 It does not seem right when a fool says clever things.
It is certainly not right when a ruler tells lies.
8 Somebody who offers a bribe thinks that it will work like magic.
It will help him to do whatever he wants to do.
9 If you forgive people when they hurt you,
they will still love you.
But if you continue to talk about what they have done,
they will no longer be your friends.
10 You can warn a wise person once and he will learn what is right.
But a fool never learns, even if you hit him a hundred times.
11 An evil person never obeys authority,
so a cruel messenger will come to punish him.
12 Do not go near a fool who is doing stupid things.
It would be safer to meet a mother bear who has lost her babies.
13 If people are kind to you, do not do evil things in return.
Anyone who does that will always have trouble in his home.
14 It is difficult to stop a quarrel once it has started.
It is like water that pours out of a broken pot. Stop it quickly!
15 If a judge says that a guilty person is not guilty,
the Lord hates it.
If a judge punishes someone who is not guilty,
the Lord hates that too.
16 Money does not help a foolish person,
because he does not want to become wise.
17 A friend will always show that he loves you.
Relatives are there to help you when you are in trouble.
18 Only a stupid person promises to pay someone else's debts,
even if he is a friend or a neighbour.
19 Someone who loves to argue loves sin.
Someone who boasts causes trouble for himself.
20 Anyone who thinks about bad things will not do well in life.
Anyone who deceives people with lies will have a lot of trouble.
21 To have a foolish son makes parents sad.
The father of a fool is never happy.
22 If you are happy in life, you will be healthy.
But if you are sad and upset, your body will be weak.
23 Wicked judges secretly accept bribes.
Then they are not fair when they judge.
24 A person who knows what is right can easily find wisdom.
But a foolish person looks everywhere and never finds it.
25 To have a foolish son makes his father sad.
It makes his mother very upset.
26 It is not right to punish a person who has done nothing wrong.
It is wrong to beat honest people with sticks.
27 A wise person does not talk too much.
Anyone who keeps quiet shows that he understands things.
28 Even a fool seems to be wise if he keeps quiet.
If he keeps his mouth shut, people will think that he is clever.
How Christians should live
4 My dear Christian friends, I love you very much. I want very much to see you again. You make me very happy. You show that my work among you had good results. Please continue to live in a way that pleases the Lord. This is what I have taught you to do.
2 I say this to Euodia and to Syntyche: ‘You belong to the Lord, so please agree with each other. Stop arguing.’ 3 I ask you too, my true friend, please help these two women to agree together.[a] They have worked with me to tell people the good news. They have worked very hard to help me. They worked together with Clement, and with the other people who helped me in the work. All those workers' names are written in God's book of life.[b]
4 Always be happy because you belong to the Lord. I will say that again, ‘Be happy!’ 5 Be kind and patient in a way that everyone can see. Remember that the Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything. Instead, pray to God about everything. Ask him to help you with the things that you need. And thank him for his help. 7 If you do that, God will give you peace in your minds. That peace is so great that nobody can completely understand it. You will not worry or be afraid, because you belong to Christ Jesus.
8 Now my friends, I want to say this to you. Fill your minds with thoughts about good things. Think about things that are true, clean, right and lovely. Always think about things which people know are very good. 9 Remember what I have taught you. Remember the message that you heard from me. Remember what you saw when I lived among you. You also must do those same things. God is the one who gives us peace in our minds. He will be with you.
Paul thanks the believers at Philippi
10 I am very happy that you want to help me again. I praise the Lord for that. I know that you wanted to help me before. But you have not had a chance to do anything until now. 11 When I say that, it is not because I need anything. I have learned to be happy, whatever things may happen to me. 12 I know what it is like to need things. I also know what it is like to have more than enough. I have learned this secret. I know how to be happy whatever happens. I can be happy when I have enough food to eat, and also when I am hungry. I can be happy when I have plenty of things, and also when I have nothing. 13 I can do all these things because Christ makes me strong.
14 But certainly, you have been very kind to me. You have helped me now, when I am in trouble. 15 Also, you Christians in Philippi know that you already helped me earlier. That was the time when I started to tell people God's good news. When I left Macedonia, you were the only group of Christians who helped me. We were able to help one another, and no other group of Christians did that for me.[c] 16 Even when I was at Thessalonica, you helped me. More than once, you sent gifts to me because I needed things.[d]
17 It is not your gifts themselves that I want. But I want you to do good things so that God will bless you in return. 18 Epaphroditus has brought the gifts that you sent to me. I have received those gifts, so that I no longer need anything. You have sent me more than enough. Your gifts are like a sacrifice with a nice smell that you have offered to God. God accepts that kind of sacrifice. It makes him very happy. 19 My Lord God in heaven has plenty of good and valuable things. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will give to you everything that you need.
20 Our Father God is very great! It is right that everyone should praise him always and for ever! Amen. This is true.
Paul finishes his letter
21 Say ‘hello’ on my behalf to all of God's people there who belong to Christ Jesus. The believers who are here with me say ‘hello’ to you. 22 All God's people here say ‘hello’ to you. The Christians who live in the king's house say a special ‘hello’ to you.
23 We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be kind to you, so that your spirits are strong.
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