M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel’s Past, Present, and Future
29 [a]These are the terms of the promise [b] that the Lord commanded Moses to give to the Israelites in Moab. This was in addition to the promise the Lord gave them at Mount Horeb.
2 Moses summoned all the people of Israel and said to them:
You’ve seen with your own eyes everything that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country. 3 You also saw those terrible plagues, those miraculous signs, and those spectacular, amazing things. 4 But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands, eyes that see, or ears that hear. 5 For 40 years I led you through the desert. During that time your clothes and shoes never wore out. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or liquor. I did this so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.
7 When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight us, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh as their property. 9 Faithfully obey the terms of this promise. Then you will be successful in everything you do.
10 All of you are standing here today in the presence of the Lord your God. The heads of your tribes,[c] your leaders, your officers, and all the men of Israel are here. 11 Your children, your wives, and the foreigners who cut wood and carry water in your camp are also here. 12 You are ready to accept the terms and conditions of the promise that the Lord your God is giving you today. 13 With this promise the Lord will confirm today that you are his people and that he is your God. This is what he told you, and this is what he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath. 14 You aren’t the only people to receive this promise and its conditions. 15 It is for those of you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and also for those who are not here today.
16 You know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through other countries on our way here. 17 You saw their disgusting gods and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. 18 Make sure there is no man, woman, family, or tribe among you today who turns from the Lord our God to worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that no one among you is the source of this kind of bitter poison.
19 Someone may hear the conditions of this promise. He may think that he is so blessed that he can say, “I’ll be safe even if I go my own stubborn way. After all, ⌞the Lord would never⌟ sweep away well-watered ground along with dry ground.” 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive that person, because the Lord’s burning anger will smolder against him. All the curses described in this book will happen to him. The Lord will erase ⌞every memory of⌟ that person’s name from the earth. 21 And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster based on all the conditions of the promise written in this Book of the Teachings.
22 Then the next generation of your children and foreigners who come from distant countries will see the plagues that have happened in this land and the diseases the Lord sent here. 23 They will see all the soil poisoned with sulfur and salt. Nothing will be planted. Nothing will be growing. There will be no plants in sight. It will be as desolate as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, cities the Lord destroyed in fierce anger. 24 Then all the other nations in the world will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to their land? Why is he so angry?”
25 The answer will be, “Because they abandoned the promise of the Lord God of their ancestors. He made this promise to them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them. These were gods they never heard of, gods the Lord didn’t permit them to have. 27 So the Lord became angry with this land and brought on it all the curses described in this book. 28 In his fierce anger and fury the Lord uprooted these people from their land and deported them to another country, where they still are today.”
29 Some things are hidden. They belong to the Lord our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings.
49 Remember the word ⌞you gave⌟ me.
Through it you gave me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my misery:
Your promise gave me a new life.
51 Arrogant people have mocked me with cruelty,
yet I have not turned away from your teachings.
52 I remembered your regulations from long ago, O Lord,
and I found comfort ⌞in them⌟.
53 I am burning with anger because of wicked people,
who abandon your teachings.
54 Your laws have become like psalms to me
in this place where I am only a foreigner.
55 At night I remember your name, O Lord,
and I follow your teachings.
56 This has happened to me
because I have obeyed your guiding principles.
57 You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I promised to hold on to your words.
58 With all my heart I want to win your favor.
Be kind to me as you promised.
59 I have thought about my life,
and I have directed my feet back to your written instructions.
60 Without any hesitation I hurry to obey your commandments.
61 ⌞Though⌟ the ropes of wicked people are tied around me,
I never forget your teachings.
62 At midnight I wake up to give thanks to you
for the regulations, which are based on your righteousness.
63 I am a friend to everyone who fears you
and to everyone who follows your guiding principles.
64 Your mercy, O Lord, fills the earth.
Teach me your laws.
65 You have treated me well, O Lord,
as you promised.
66 Teach me ⌞to use⌟ good judgment and knowledge,
because I believe in your commandments.
67 Before you made me suffer, I used to wander off,
but now I hold on to your word.
68 You are good, and you do good things.
Teach me your laws.
69 Arrogant people have smeared me with lies,
⌞yet⌟ I obey your guiding principles with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are cold and insensitive,
⌞yet⌟ I am happy with your teachings.
71 It was good that I had to suffer
in order to learn your laws.
72 The teachings ⌞that come⌟ from your mouth are worth more to me
than thousands in gold or silver.
Salvation for All People
56 This is what the Lord says:
Preserve justice, and do what is right.
My salvation is about to come.
My righteousness is about to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the one who does these things
and the person who holds on to them.
Blessed is the one who keeps the day of rest—a holy day, from becoming unholy
and his hands from doing anything wrong.
3 Foreigners who have joined the Lord should not say, “The Lord will separate us from his people.” Castrated men should not say, “We’re only dead trees!” 4 This is what the Lord says: ⌞I will remember⌟ the castrated men who keep my days of rest as holy days, choose what pleases me, and faithfully observe the conditions of my promise.[a] 5 Inside my house and within my walls, I will give them something better than sons and daughters. I will give them a monument and a name. I will give them a permanent name that will not be forgotten. 6 And ⌞I will remember⌟ the foreigners who have joined the Lord to worship him, to love the Lord’s name, and to be his servants. All of them will keep the day of rest—a holy day, from becoming unholy and will faithfully observe the conditions of my promise. 7 Then I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them happy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, because my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
8 The Almighty Lord, who gathers the scattered people of Israel, declares, “I will gather still others besides those I have already gathered.”
The Sins of Israel Bring the Lord’s Anger
9 All you animals in the field,
all you animals in the forest,
come and eat.
10 ⌞Israel’s⌟ watchmen are blind.
None of them know anything.
All of them are like dogs that are unable to bark.
They lie around dreaming; they love to sleep.
11 These dogs have huge appetites.
They are never full.
They are the shepherds,
but they don’t understand.
All of them have turned to go their own ways.
Each one seeks his own gain.
12 ⌞Each one cries,⌟
“Let me get some wine,
and we’ll fill ourselves with liquor.
And tomorrow will be like today, only better.”
The Temptation of Jesus(A)
4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of that time, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. 6 He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump! Scripture says, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you. They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, Scripture says, ‘Never tempt the Lord your God.’ ” [a]
8 Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms in the world and their glory. 9 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came to take care of him.
A Light Has Risen
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
on the way to the sea,
across the Jordan River,
Galilee, where foreigners live!
16 The people who lived in darkness
have seen a bright light.
A light has risen
for those who live in a land overshadowed by death.”
17 From then on, Jesus began to tell people, “Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near!”
Calling of the First Disciples(B)
18 As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me! I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed him.
21 As Jesus went on, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee preparing their nets to go fishing. He called them, 22 and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Spreading the Good News in Galilee(C)
23 Jesus went all over Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and spread the Good News of the kingdom. He also cured every disease and sickness among the people.
24 The news about Jesus spread throughout Syria. People brought him everyone who was sick, those who suffered from any kind of disease or pain. They also brought epileptics, those who were paralyzed, and people possessed by demons, and he cured them all. 25 Large crowds followed him. They came from Galilee, the Ten Cities,[b] Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan River.
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