M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God Appears to Abram
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and announced, “I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I’m always with you,[a] and be blameless. 2 I’ll establish my covenant between me and you, and I’ll greatly increase your numbers.” 3 Then Abram fell to the ground[b] as God continued speaking to him. 4 “Look, I’ve made a covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5 Your name is no longer to be Abram.[c] Instead your name will be Abraham,[d] since I’ll make you the father of many nations. 6 I’m going to cause you to have many descendants, and I’ll bring nations from you. Kings will come from you. 7 I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants’ God after you. 8 I’ll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession. I will be their God.”
The Sign of the Covenant
9 God continued to speak to Abraham, “You and your descendants who are born in the future are to keep my covenant—that is, you and your descendants, generation after generation. 10 Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. 11 You are all to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this is to be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth,[e] including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring. 13 The servant born in your house or the one purchased with money is to be circumcised. My covenant is to remain in your flesh as an eternal covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised on the eighth day[f] after his birth[g] is to be eliminated from his people because he has broken my covenant.”
Sarah’s Pregnancy Foretold
15 God told Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer,[h] because her name is to be Sarah.[i] 16 I will bless her. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her. I will bless her, so that nations, kings, and people will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell to the ground,[j] laughed, and told himself, “Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?” 18 So Abraham responded to God, “If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that you’re always with him!”[k]
19 But God replied, “No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac.[l] I’ll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants. 20 And as for Ishmael, I’ve heard you. I’ll bless him, and he’ll have many descendants.[m] I will multiply him greatly, he’ll father twelve tribal leaders, and I’ll cause his descendants[n] to become a great nation. 21 Now as to Isaac, I’ll confirm my covenant with him, to whom Sarah will give birth as your son at this time next year.” 22 With that, God finished talking to Abraham, and ascended, leaving him.
23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the servants born in his house or purchased with his money—every male among the men of his household—and circumcised them[o] that very day, just as God had spoken to him. 24 Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised,[p] 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.[q] 26 Both Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day. 27 Every man born in his household—as well as those who had been purchased with money from a foreigner—was circumcised with him.
Interpreting the Time(A)
16 When the Pharisees and Sadducees arrived, in order to test Jesus[a] they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He replied to them, “You say,
‘Red sky at night,
what a delight!
3 Red sky in the morning,
cloudy and storming.’
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, yet you can’t interpret the signs of the times?[b] 4 An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees(B)
5 When his disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to take any bread along. 6 Jesus told them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
7 As they began to discuss this among themselves, they kept saying, “We didn’t bring along any bread.”
8 Knowing this, Jesus asked them, “You who have little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don’t have any bread? 9 Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you collected, 10 or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you collected? 11 How can you fail to understand that I wasn’t talking to you about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
12 Then they understood that he did not say to beware of the yeast used in bread,[c] but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter Declares His Faith in Jesus(C)
13 When Jesus had come to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They said, “Some say[d] John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[e] the Son of the living God!”
17 Then Jesus told him, “How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah,[f] since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has. 18 I tell you that you are Peter,[g] and it is on this rock[h] that I will build my congregation,[i] and the powers of hell[j] will not conquer it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom from[k] heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited[l] in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted[m] in heaven.”
20 Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.[n]
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection(D)
21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal because of the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God be merciful to you, Lord! This must never happen to you!”
23 But Jesus[o] turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense[p] to me, because you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts!”
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously. 25 Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, 26 because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to what he has done. 28 I tell all of you[q] with certainty, some people standing here will not experience[r] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
A Diversion is Attempted
6 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had completed the wall and that no break remained in it (even though by that time I hadn’t yet installed the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word[a] to me, saying “Come, let’s meet together at Kephirim on the Ono Plain.” But they were just trying to do me harm.
3 So I sent messengers to them, replying “I am involved in a great endeavor, so I can’t leave. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?” 4 They sent me this message four times, and I answered them the same way.
5 Then Sanballat sent his assistant to me the fifth time. But this time the letter was sent[b] unsealed, and 6 in it was written:
It is reported among the nations—and Gashmu confirms this—that you and the Jews are planning a revolt, and that you’re rebuilding the wall in order to declare yourself king. According to these reports, 7 you also have appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Jerusalem, “There is a king in Judah!” Since these words are being reported to the king, come and let’s meet together.
8 I sent word back[c] to him, “Nothing has happened as you’ve claimed. You’re making up these charges[d] in your imagination.”[e] 9 For they all were trying to make us afraid by saying, “Their hands will become tired from laboring, so the work won’t be completed.”
“Therefore, Lord,[f] strengthen my hands!”
A Conspiracy Charge Emerges
10 Later I visited Delaiah’s son Shemaiah, a grandson of Mehetabel, who was confined at home. He kept urging me, “Let’s meet together at the house of God, within the Temple, and take refuge there,[g] because they’re coming to kill you. In fact, they’re coming at night to kill you!”
11 But I asked him, “Should a man like me run? Should someone like me run into the Temple to save his life? I won’t go there!” 12 I perceived that God had not sent him. Instead, Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to pronounce this prophecy against me. 13 He had been hired to make me afraid so I would sin by doing what he suggested.[h] Then they could create a slanderous report to use against me.
14 “Remember me, my God, and take note of what Tobiah and Sanballat are doing. Also take note of the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who intend to make me afraid.”
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul in 52 days.
Tobiah’s Continued Harassment
16 When all of our enemies—including the surrounding nations—heard this, they became very discouraged, since they saw that the work had been done by our God. 17 Meanwhile, at that time the nobles of Judah continued to send many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah kept sending letters[i] to them. 18 For many Judeans had sworn allegiance to him, since he was son-in-law to Arah’s son Shecaniah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Berechiah’s son Meshullam. 19 Furthermore, they kept reporting Tobiah’s[j] good deeds to me, and kept repeating what I told him. Tobiah kept sending letters to intimidate me.
Timothy Joins Paul in Lystra
16 Paul[a] also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek. 2 Timothy[b] was highly regarded by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him, so he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who lived in that region, since everyone knew that Timothy’s[c] father was a Greek. 4 As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for them to obey. 5 So the churches continued to be strengthened in the faith and to increase in numbers every day.
Paul Has a Vision
6 Because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, Paul and Timothy[d] went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 7 They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them, 8 so they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia, because we were convinced that God had called us to tell the people there[e] the good news.
Paul and Silas in Philippi
11 Sailing from Troas, we went straight to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, an important city of the district[f] of Macedonia and a Roman[g] colony. We were in this city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day, we went out the city gate and walked[h] along the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there. 14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple goods, was listening to us. She was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to listen carefully to what was being said by Paul. 15 When she and her family were baptized, she urged us, “If you are convinced that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she continued to insist that we do so.
The Fortune Teller
16 Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of fortune-telling and who had brought her owners a great deal of money by predicting the future. 17 She would follow Paul and us and shout, “These men are servants of the Most High God and are proclaiming to you[i] a way of salvation!”
18 She kept doing this for many days until Paul became annoyed, turned to her[j] and told the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus the Messiah[k] to come out of her!” And it came out that very moment.[l]
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square.[m] 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that we’re not allowed to accept or practice as Romans.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against them. Then the magistrates had Paul and Silas[n] stripped of their clothes and ordered them beaten with rods. 23 After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security. 24 Having received these orders, he put them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in leg irons.
25 Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly, there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken. All the doors immediately flew open, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Don’t hurt yourself, because we are all here!”
29 The jailer[o] asked for torches and rushed inside. Trembling as he knelt in front of Paul and Silas, 30 he took them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord[p] to him and everyone in his home.
33 At that hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and his entire family were baptized immediately. 34 He brought Paul and Silas[q] upstairs into his house and set food before them. He was thrilled, as was his household, to believe in God.
35 When day came, the magistrates sent guards, who commanded, “Release those men.”
36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, and added, “The magistrates have sent word to release you. So come out now and go in peace.”
37 But Paul told the guards,[r] “The magistrates[s] have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us into jail, even though we are Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Have them come and escort us out.”
38 The guards reported these words to the magistrates, and they became afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas[t] were Roman citizens. 39 So the magistrates[u] came, apologized to them, and escorted them out. Then they asked them to leave the city. 40 Leaving the jail, Paul and Silas[v] went to Lydia’s house. They saw the brothers, encouraged them, and then left.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.