M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon’s Prayer
12 Then Solomon stood facing the Lord’s altar, and all the Israelites were standing behind him. He spread out his hands. 13 He had made a bronze platform seven and one-half feet long, seven and one-half feet wide, and seven and one-half feet high, and he had placed it in the middle of the outer courtyard. Solomon stood on the platform. Then he kneeled in front of all the people of Israel gathered there, and he spread out his hands toward the sky. 14 He said, “Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth. You keep your agreement of love with your servants who truly follow you. 15 You have kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father. You spoke it with your own mouth and finished it with your hands today.
16 “Now, Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant David, my father. You said, ‘If your sons are careful to obey my teachings as you have obeyed, there will always be someone from your family ruling Israel.’ 17 Now, Lord, God of Israel, please continue to keep that promise you made to your servant.
18 “But, God, can you really live here on the earth with people? The sky and the highest place in heaven cannot contain you. Surely this house which I have built cannot contain you. 19 But please listen to my prayer and my request, because I am your servant. Lord my God, hear this prayer your servant prays to you. 20 Day and night please watch over this Temple where you have said you would be worshiped. Hear the prayer I pray facing this Temple. 21 Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when we pray facing this place. Hear from your home in heaven, and when you hear, forgive us.
22 “If someone wrongs another person, he will be brought to the altar in this Temple. If he swears an oath that he is not guilty, 23 then hear in heaven. Judge the case, punish the guilty, but declare that the innocent person is not guilty.
24 “When your people, the Israelites, sin against you, their enemies will defeat them. But if they come back to you and praise you and pray to you in this Temple, 25 then listen from heaven. Forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.
26 “When they sin against you, you will stop the rain from falling on their land. Then they will pray, facing this place and praising you; they will stop sinning when you make them suffer. 27 When this happens, hear their prayer in heaven, and forgive the sins of your servants, the Israelites. Teach them to do what is right. Then please send rain to this land you have given particularly to them.
28 “At times the land will get so dry that no food will grow, or a great sickness will spread among the people. Sometimes the crops will be destroyed by locusts or grasshoppers. Your people will be attacked in their cities by their enemies, or will become sick. 29 When any of these things happens, the people will become truly sorry. If your people spread their hands in prayer toward this Temple, 30 then hear their prayers from your home in heaven. Forgive and treat each person as he should be treated because you know what is in a person’s heart. Only you know what is in people’s hearts. 31 Then the people will respect and obey you as long as they live in this land you gave our ancestors.
32 “People who are not Israelites, foreigners from other lands, will hear about your greatness and power. They will come from far away to pray at this Temple. 33 Then hear from your home in heaven, and do whatever they ask you. Then people everywhere will know you and respect you, just as your people Israel do. Then everyone will know that I built this Temple as a place to worship you.
34 “When your people go out to fight their enemies along some road on which you send them, your people will pray to you, facing this city which you have chosen and the Temple I have built for you. 35 Then hear in heaven their prayers, and do what is right.
36 “Everyone sins, so your people will also sin against you. You will become angry with them and will hand them over to their enemies. Their enemies will capture them and take them away to a country far or near. 37 Your people will be sorry for their sins when they are held as prisoners in another country. They will be sorry and pray to you in the land where they are held as prisoners, saying, ‘We have sinned. We have done wrong and acted wickedly.’ 38 They will truly turn back to you in the land where they are captives. They will pray, facing this land you gave their ancestors, this city you have chosen, and the Temple I have built for you. 39 Then hear their prayers from your home in heaven and do what is right. Forgive your people who have sinned against you.
40 “Now, my God, look at us. Listen to the prayers we pray in this place.
41 Now, rise, Lord God, and come to your resting place.
Come with the Ark of the Agreement that shows your strength.
Let your priests receive your salvation, Lord God,
and may your holy people be happy because of your goodness.
42 Lord God, do not reject your appointed one.
Remember your love for your servant David.”
Faith in the Son of God
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child, and whoever loves the Father also loves the Father’s children. 2 This is how we know we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. 3 Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, 4 because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. 5 So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 Jesus Christ is the One who came by water[a] and blood.[b] He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit says that this is true, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 So there are three witnesses:[c] 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three witnesses agree. 9 We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important, and he has told us the truth about his own Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar, because that person does not believe what God told us about his Son. 11 This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
We Have Eternal Life Now
13 I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. 14 And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what he wants, he hears us. 15 If we know he hears us every time we ask him, we know we have what we ask from him.
16 If anyone sees a brother or sister sinning (sin that does not lead to eternal death), that person should pray, and God will give the sinner life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to eternal death. There is sin that leads to death. I do not mean that a person should pray about that sin. 17 Doing wrong is always sin, but there is sin that does not lead to eternal death.
18 We know that those who are God’s children do not continue to sin. The Son of God keeps them safe, and the Evil One cannot touch them. 19 We know that we belong to God, but the Evil One controls the whole world. 20 We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we can know the True One. And our lives are in the True One and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the eternal life.
21 So, dear children, keep yourselves away from false gods.
1 This is the message Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk Complains
2 Lord, how long must I ask for help
and you ignore me?
I cry out to you about violence,
but you do not save us!
3 Why do you make me see wrong things
and make me look at trouble?
People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me;
they are arguing and fighting.
4 So the teachings are weak,
and justice never comes.
Evil people gain while good people lose;
the judges no longer make fair decisions.
The Lord Answers
5 “Look at the nations!
Watch them and be amazed and shocked.
I will do something in your lifetime
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it.
6 I will use the Babylonians,
those cruel and wild people
who march across the earth
and take lands that don’t belong to them.
7 They scare and frighten people.
They do what they want to do
and are good only to themselves.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and quicker than wolves at sunset.
Their horse soldiers attack quickly;
they come from places far away.
They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.
9 They all come to fight.
Nothing can stop them.
Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.
10 They laugh at kings
and make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all the strong, walled cities
and build dirt piles to the top of the walls to capture them.
11 Then they leave like the wind and move on.
They are guilty of worshiping their own strength.”
Habakkuk Complains Again
12 Lord, you live forever,
my God, my holy God.
We will not die.
Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians to punish people;
our Rock, you picked them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too good to look at evil;
you cannot stand to see those who do wrong.
So how can you put up with those evil people?
How can you be quiet when the wicked swallow up people who are better than they are?
14 You treat people like fish in the sea,
like sea animals without a leader.
15 The enemy brings them in with hooks.
He catches them in his net
and drags them in his fishnet.
So he rejoices and sings for joy.
16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to worship it,
because it lets him live like the rich
and enjoy the best food.
17 Will he keep on taking riches with his net?
Will he go on destroying people without showing mercy?
Jewish Leaders Question Jesus
20 One day Jesus was in the Temple, teaching the people and telling them the Good News. The leading priests, teachers of the law, and elders came up to talk with him, 2 saying, “Tell us what authority you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
3 Jesus answered, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 When John baptized people, was that authority from God or just from other people?”
5 They argued about this, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘It was from other people,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they believe John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they didn’t know where it came from.
8 Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.”
A Story About God’s Son
9 Then Jesus told the people this story: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to some farmers. Then he went away for a long time. 10 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a servant to the farmers to get some of the grapes. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Then he sent another servant. They beat this servant also, and showed no respect for him, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 So the man sent a third servant. The farmers wounded him and threw him out. 13 The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What will I do now? I will send my son whom I love. Maybe they will respect him.’ 14 But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours.’ 15 So the farmers threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What will the owner of this vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those farmers and will give the vineyard to other farmers.”
When the people heard this story, they said, “Let this never happen!”
17 But Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this verse mean:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone’? Psalm 118:22
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken, and the person on whom it falls, that person will be crushed!”
19 The teachers of the law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus at once, because they knew the story was about them. But they were afraid of what the people would do.
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?
20 So they watched Jesus and sent some spies who acted as if they were sincere. They wanted to trap Jesus in saying something wrong so they could hand him over to the authority and power of the governor. 21 So the spies asked Jesus, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is true. You pay no attention to who people are, and you always teach the truth about God’s way. 22 Tell us, is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 But Jesus, knowing they were trying to trick him, said, 24 “Show me a coin. Whose image and name are on it?”
They said, “Caesar’s.”
25 Jesus said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”
26 So they were not able to trap Jesus in anything he said in the presence of the people. And being amazed at his answer, they became silent.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
27 Some Sadducees, who believed people would not rise from the dead, came to Jesus. 28 They asked, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29 Once there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, but had no children. 30 Then the second brother married the widow, and he died. 31 And the third brother married the widow, and he died. The same thing happened with all seven brothers; they died and had no children. 32 Finally, the woman died also. 33 Since all seven brothers had married her, whose wife will she be when people rise from the dead?”
34 Jesus said to them, “On earth, people marry and are given to someone to marry. 35 But those who will be worthy to be raised from the dead and live again will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. 36 In that life they are like angels and cannot die. They are children of God, because they have been raised from the dead. 37 Even Moses clearly showed that the dead are raised to life. When he wrote about the burning bush,[a] he said that the Lord is ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[b] 38 God is the God of the living, not the dead, because all people are alive to him.”
39 Some of the teachers of the law said, “Teacher, your answer was good.” 40 No one was brave enough to ask him another question.
Is the Christ the Son of David?
41 Then Jesus said, “Why do people say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 In the book of Psalms, David himself says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right side,
43 until I put your enemies under your control.”’[c] Psalm 110:1
44 David calls the Christ ‘Lord,’ so how can the Christ be his son?”
Jesus Accuses Some Leaders
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his followers, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing fancy clothes, and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at feasts. 47 But they cheat widows and steal their houses and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. They will receive a greater punishment.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.