M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God’s Command to Joshua
1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, died, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. 2 The Lord said, “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people go across the Jordan River into the land I am giving to the Israelites. 3 I promised Moses I would give you this land, so I will give you every place you go in the land. 4 All the land from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north will be yours. All the land from the great river, the Euphrates, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west will be yours, too, including the land of the Hittites. 5 No one will be able to defeat you all your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forget you.
6 “Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. 7 Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. 9 Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”
Joshua’s Orders to the People
10 Then Joshua gave orders to the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.’”
12 Then Joshua said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you. He said the Lord your God would give you rest and would give you this land. 14 Now the Lord has given you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, children, and animals may stay here, but your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers to help them. 15 The Lord has given you a place to rest and will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River, the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you.”
16 Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. We ask only that the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever refuses to obey your commands or turns against you will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!”
A Prayer of Someone Far from Home
A psalm for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Lord, save me from liars
and from those who plan evil.
3 You who plan evil, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the land of Meshech,
to live among the people of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace.
7 When I talk peace,
they want war.
The Lord Guards His People
A song for going up to worship.
121 I look up to the hills,
but where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you be defeated.
He who guards you never sleeps.
4 He who guards Israel
never rests or sleeps.
5 The Lord guards you.
The Lord is the shade that protects you from the sun.
6 The sun cannot hurt you during the day,
and the moon cannot hurt you at night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all dangers;
he will guard your life.
8 The Lord will guard you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Happy People in Jerusalem
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
122 I was happy when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the Temple of the Lord.”
2 Jerusalem, we are standing
at your gates.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city
with the buildings close together.
4 The tribes go up there,
the tribes who belong to the Lord.
It is the rule in Israel
to praise the Lord at Jerusalem.
5 There the descendants of David
set their thrones to judge the people.
6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem:
“May those who love her be safe.
7 May there be peace within her walls
and safety within her strong towers.”
8 To help my relatives and friends,
I say, “Let Jerusalem have peace.”
9 For the sake of the Temple of the Lord our God,
I wish good for her.
The Lord’s Message of Freedom
61 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me,
because the Lord has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken,
to tell the captives they are free,
and to tell the prisoners they are released.
2 He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness
and the time when our God will punish evil people.
He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad
3 and to help the sorrowing people of Jerusalem.
I will give them a crown to replace their ashes,
and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow,
and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness.
Then they will be called Trees of Goodness,
trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness.
4 They will rebuild the old ruins
and restore the places destroyed long ago.
They will repair the ruined cities
that were destroyed for so long.
5 My people, foreigners will come to tend your sheep.
People from other countries will tend your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called priests of the Lord;
you will be named the servants of our God.
You will have riches from all the nations on earth,
and you will take pride in them.
7 Instead of being ashamed, my people will receive twice as much wealth.
Instead of being disgraced, they will be happy because of what they receive.
They will receive a double share of the land,
so their happiness will continue forever.
8 “I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate stealing and everything that is wrong.
I will be fair and give my people what they should have,
and I will make an agreement with them that will continue forever.
9 Everyone in all nations will know the children of my people,
and their children will be known among the nations.
Anyone who sees them will know
that they are people the Lord has blessed.”
10 The Lord makes me very happy;
all that I am rejoices in my God.
He has covered me with clothes of salvation
and wrapped me with a coat of goodness,
like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding,
like a bride dressed in jewels.
11 The earth causes plants to grow,
and a garden causes the seeds planted in it to grow.
In the same way the Lord God will make goodness and praise
come from all the nations.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
9 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed and lying on a mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up, take your mat, and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 When the people saw this, they were amazed and praised God for giving power like this to human beings.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.
10 As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’[b] I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
14 Then the followers of John[c] came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast[d] for a certain time, but your followers don’t?”
15 Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth over a hole in an old coat. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat, making the hole worse. 17 Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the bags will break, the wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then both will continue to be good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
18 While Jesus was saying these things, a leader of the synagogue came to him. He bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live again.” 19 So Jesus and his followers stood up and went with the leader.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. 21 She was thinking, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, “Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed from that moment on.
23 Jesus continued along with the leader and went into his house. There he saw the funeral musicians and many people crying. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead, only asleep.” But the people laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she stood up. 26 The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 After Jesus went inside, the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him. 33 After Jesus forced the demon to leave the man, he was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The prince of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were hurting and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest but only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 Pray to the Lord, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to gather his harvest.”[e]
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.