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M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The classic M'Cheyne plan--read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels every day.
Duration: 365 days
New Century Version (NCV)
Version
1 Samuel 11

Nahash Troubles Jabesh Gilead

11 About a month later Nahash the Ammonite and his army surrounded the city of Jabesh in Gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

But he answered, “I will make a treaty with you only if I’m allowed to poke out the right eye of each of you. Then all Israel will be ashamed!”

The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Give us seven days to send messengers through all Israel. If no one comes to help us, we will give ourselves up to you.”

When the messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived and told the people the news, they cried loudly. Saul was coming home from plowing the fields with his oxen when he heard the people crying. He asked, “What’s wrong with the people that they are crying?” Then they told Saul what the messengers from Jabesh had said. When Saul heard their words, God’s Spirit rushed upon him with power, and he became very angry. So he took a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. Then he gave the pieces of the oxen to messengers and ordered them to carry them through all the land of Israel.

The messengers said, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” So the people became very afraid of the Lord. They all came together as if they were one person. Saul gathered the people together at Bezek. There were three hundred thousand men from Israel and thirty thousand men from Judah.

They said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the people at Jabesh Gilead this: ‘Before the day warms up tomorrow, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and reported this to the people at Jabesh, and they were very happy. 10 The people said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will come out to meet you. Then you can do anything you want to us.”

11 The next morning Saul divided his soldiers into three groups. At dawn they entered the Ammonite camp and defeated them before the heat of the day. The Ammonites who escaped were scattered; no two of them were still together.

12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who didn’t want Saul as king? Bring them here and we will kill them!”

13 But Saul said, “No! No one will be put to death today. Today the Lord has saved Israel!”

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. There we will again promise to obey the king.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there, before the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered fellowship offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites had a great celebration.

Romans 9

God and the Jewish People

I am in Christ, and I am telling you the truth; I do not lie. My conscience is ruled by the Holy Spirit, and it tells me I am not lying. I have great sorrow and always feel much sadness. I wish I could help my Jewish brothers and sisters, my people. I would even wish that I were cursed and cut off from Christ if that would help them. They are the people of Israel, God’s chosen children. They have seen the glory of God, and they have the agreements that God made between himself and his people. God gave them the law of Moses and the right way of worship and his promises. They are the descendants of our great ancestors, and they are the earthly family into which Christ was born, who is God over all. Praise him forever![a] Amen.

It is not that God failed to keep his promise to them. But only some of the people of Israel are truly God’s people,[b] and only some of Abraham’s[c] descendants are true children of Abraham. But God said to Abraham: “The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac.”[d] This means that not all of Abraham’s descendants are God’s true children. Abraham’s true children are those who become God’s children because of the promise God made to Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham was this: “At the right time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[e] 10 And that is not all. Rebekah’s sons had the same father, our father Isaac. 11-12 But before the two boys were born, God told Rebekah, “The older will serve the younger.”[f] This was before the boys had done anything good or bad. God said this so that the one chosen would be chosen because of God’s own plan. He was chosen because he was the one God wanted to call, not because of anything he did. 13 As the Scripture says, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”[g]

14 So what should we say about this? Is God unfair? In no way. 15 God said to Moses, “I will show kindness to anyone to whom I want to show kindness, and I will show mercy to anyone to whom I want to show mercy.”[h] 16 So God will choose the one to whom he decides to show mercy; his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do. 17 The Scripture says to the king of Egypt: “I made you king for this reason: to show my power in you so that my name will be talked about in all the earth.”[i] 18 So God shows mercy where he wants to show mercy, and he makes stubborn the people he wants to make stubborn.

19 So one of you will ask me: “Then why does God blame us for our sins? Who can fight his will?” 20 You are only human, and human beings have no right to question God. An object should not ask the person who made it, “Why did you make me like this?” 21 The potter can make anything he wants to make. He can use the same clay to make one thing for special use and another thing for daily use.

22 It is the same way with God. He wanted to show his anger and to let people see his power. But he patiently stayed with those people he was angry with—people who were made ready to be destroyed. 23 He waited with patience so that he could make known his rich glory to the people who receive his mercy. He has prepared these people to have his glory, 24 and we are those people whom God called. He called us not from the Jews only but also from those who are not Jews. 25 As the Scripture says in Hosea:

“I will say, ‘You are my people’
    to those I had called ‘not my people.’
And I will show my love
    to those people I did not love.” Hosea 2:1, 23
26 “They were called,
    ‘You are not my people,’
but later they will be called
    ‘children of the living God.’” Hosea 1:10

27 And Isaiah cries out about Israel:

“The people of Israel are many,
    like the grains of sand by the sea.
But only a few of them will be saved,
28 because the Lord will quickly and completely punish the people on the earth.” Isaiah 10:22–23

29 It is as Isaiah said:

“The Lord All-Powerful
    allowed a few of our descendants to live.
Otherwise we would have been completely destroyed
    like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.”[j] Isaiah 1:9

30 So what does all this mean? Those who are not Jews were not trying to make themselves right with God, but they were made right with God because of their faith. 31 The people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed, 32 because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did instead of trusting in God to make them right. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble. 33 As it is written in the Scripture:

“I will put in Jerusalem a stone that causes people to stumble,
    a rock that makes them fall.
Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” Isaiah 8:14; 28:16

Jeremiah 48

A Message to Moab

48 This message is to the country of Moab.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:

“How terrible it will be for the city of Nebo,
    because it will be ruined.
The town of Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
    the strong city will be disgraced and shattered.
Moab will not be praised again.
    Men in the town of Heshbon plan Moab’s defeat.
    They say, ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation!’
Town of Madmen,[a] you will also be silenced.
    The sword will chase you.
Listen to the cries from the town of Horonaim,
    cries of much confusion and destruction.
Moab will be broken up.
    Her little children will cry for help.
Moab’s people go up the path to the town of Luhith,
    crying loudly as they go.
On the road down to Horonaim,
    cries of pain and suffering can be heard.
Run! Run for your lives!
    Go like a bush being blown through the desert.
You trust in the things you do and in your wealth,
    so you also will be captured.
The god Chemosh will go into captivity
    and his priests and officers with him.
The destroyer will come against every town;
    not one town will escape.
The valley will be ruined,
    and the high plain will be destroyed,
    as the Lord has said.
Give wings to Moab,
    because she will surely leave her land.
Moab’s towns will become empty,
    with no one to live in them.
10 A curse will be on anyone who doesn’t do what the Lord says,
    and a curse will be on anyone who holds back his sword from killing.

11 “The people of Moab have never known trouble.
    They are like wine left to settle;
they have never been poured from one jar to another.
    They have not been taken into captivity.
So they taste as they did before,
    and their smell has not changed.
12 A time is coming,” says the Lord,
    “When I will send people to pour you from your jars.
They will empty Moab’s jars
    and smash her jugs.
13 The people of Israel trusted that god in the town of Bethel,
    and they were ashamed when there was no help.
    In the same way Moab will be ashamed of their god Chemosh.

14 “You cannot say, ‘We are warriors!
    We are brave men in battle!’
15 The destroyer of Moab and her towns has arrived.
    Her best young men will be killed!” says the King,
    whose name is the Lord All-Powerful.
16 “The end of Moab is near,
    and she will soon be destroyed.
17 All you who live around Moab,
    all you who know her, cry for her.
Say, ‘The ruler’s power is broken;
    Moab’s power and glory are gone.’

18 “You people living in the town of Dibon, come down from your place of honor
    and sit on the dry ground,
because the destroyer of Moab has come against you.
    And he has destroyed your strong, walled cities.
19 You people living in the town of Aroer,
    stand next to the road and watch.
See the man running away and the woman escaping.
    Ask them, ‘What happened?’
20 Moab is filled with shame, because she is ruined.
    Cry, Moab, cry out!
Announce at the Arnon River
    that Moab is destroyed.
21 People on the high plain have been punished.
    Judgment has come to these towns:
    Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath;
22 Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim;
23 Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon;
24 Kerioth and Bozrah.
    Judgment has come to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s strength has been cut off,
    and its arm broken!” says the Lord.

26 “The people of Moab thought they were greater than the Lord,
    so punish them until they act as if they are drunk.
Moab will fall and roll around in its own vomit,
    and people will even make fun of it.
27 Moab, you made fun of Israel.
    Israel was caught in the middle of a gang of thieves.
When you spoke about Israel,
    you shook your head and acted as if you were better than it.
28 People in Moab, leave your towns empty
    and go live among the rocks.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
    at the entrance of a cave.

29 “We have heard that the people of Moab are proud,
    very proud.
They are proud, very proud,
    and in their hearts they think they are important.”
30 The Lord says,
    “I know Moab’s great pride, but it is useless.
    Moab’s bragging accomplishes nothing.
31 So I cry sadly for Moab,
    for everyone in Moab.
    I moan for the people from the town of Kir Hareseth.
32 I cry with the people of the town of Jazer
    for you, the grapevines of the town of Sibmah.
In the past your vines spread all the way to the sea,
    as far as the sea of Jazer.
But the destroyer has taken over
    your fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and happiness are gone
    from the large, rich fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses.
    No one walks on the grapes with shouts of joy.
There are shouts,
    but not shouts of joy.

34 “Their crying can be heard from Moabite towns,
    from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz.
It can be heard from Zoar as far away as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.
    Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35 I will stop Moab
    from making burnt offerings at the places of worship
    and from burning incense to their gods,” says the Lord.

36 “My heart cries sadly for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song.
    It cries like a flute for the people from Kir Hareseth.
    The money they made has all been taken away.
37 Every head has been shaved
    and every beard cut off.
Everyone’s hands are cut,
    and everyone wears rough cloth around his waist.[b]
38 People are crying on every roof[c] in Moab
    and in every public square.
There is nothing but sadness,
    because I have broken Moab
    like a jar no one wants,” says the Lord.
39 “Moab is shattered! The people are crying!
    Moab turns away in shame!
People all around her make fun of her.
    The things that happened fill them with great fear.”

40 This is what the Lord says:

“Look! Someone is coming, like an eagle diving down from the sky
    and spreading its wings over Moab.
41 The towns of Moab will be captured,
    and the strong, walled cities will be defeated.
At that time Moab’s warriors will be frightened,
    like a woman who is having a baby.
42 The nation of Moab will be destroyed,
    because they thought they were greater than the Lord.
43 Fear, deep pits, and traps wait for you,
    people of Moab,” says the Lord.
44 “People will run from fear,
    but they will fall into the pits.
Anyone who climbs out of the pits
    will be caught in the traps.
I will bring the year of punishment to Moab,” says the Lord.

45 “People have run from the powerful enemy
    and have gone to Heshbon for safety.
But fire started in Heshbon;
    a blaze has spread from the hometown of Sihon king of Moab.
It burned up the leaders of Moab
    and destroyed those proud people.
46 How terrible it is for you, Moab!
    The people who worship Chemosh have been destroyed.
Your sons have been taken captive,
    and your daughters have been taken away.

47 “But in days to come,
    I will make good things happen again to Moab,” says the Lord.

This ends the judgment on Moab.

Psalm 25

A Prayer for God to Guide

Of David.

25 Lord, I give myself to you;
my God, I trust you.
Do not let me be disgraced;
    do not let my enemies laugh at me.
No one who trusts you will be disgraced,
    but those who sin without excuse will be disgraced.

Lord, tell me your ways.
    Show me how to live.
Guide me in your truth,
    and teach me, my God, my Savior.
    I trust you all day long.
Lord, remember your mercy and love
    that you have shown since long ago.
Do not remember the sins
    and wrong things I did when I was young.
But remember to love me always
    because you are good, Lord.

The Lord is good and right;
    he points sinners to the right way.
He shows those who are humble how to do right,
    and he teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and true
    for those who follow the demands of his agreement.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my many sins.
12 Are there those who respect the Lord?
    He will point them to the best way.
13 They will enjoy a good life,
    and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord tells his secrets to those who respect him;
    he tells them about his agreement.
15 My eyes are always looking to the Lord for help.
    He will keep me from any traps.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
    because I am lonely and hurting.
17 My troubles have grown larger;
    free me from my problems.
18 Look at my suffering and troubles,
    and take away all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
    See how much they hate me!
20 Protect me and save me.
    I trust you, so do not let me be disgraced.
21 My hope is in you,
    so may goodness and honesty guard me.
22 God, save Israel from all their troubles!

New Century Version (NCV)

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.