M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
13 As Jeroboam approached the altar to burn incense to the golden calf idol, a prophet of the Lord from Judah walked up to him. 2 Then, at the Lord’s command, the prophet shouted, “O altar, the Lord says that a child named Josiah shall be born into the family line of David, and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests from the shrines on the hills who come here to burn incense; and men’s bones shall be burned upon you.”
3 Then he gave this proof that his message was from the Lord: “This altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill to the ground.”
4 The king was very angry with the prophet for saying this. He shouted to his guards, “Arrest that man!” and shook his fist at him. Instantly the king’s arm became paralyzed in that position; he couldn’t pull it back again! 5 At the same moment a wide crack appeared in the altar and the ashes poured out, just as the prophet had said would happen. For this was the prophet’s proof that God had been speaking through him.
6 “Oh, please, please,” the king cried out to the prophet, “beg the Lord your God to restore my arm again.”
So he prayed to the Lord, and the king’s arm became normal again.
7 Then the king said to the prophet, “Come to the palace with me and rest awhile and have some food; and I’ll give you a reward because you healed my arm.”
8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you gave me half your palace, I wouldn’t go into it; nor would I eat or drink even water in this place! 9 For the Lord has given me strict orders not to eat anything or drink any water while I’m here, and not to return to Judah by the road I came on.”
10 So he went back another way.
11 As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons went home and told him what the prophet from Judah had done and what he had said to the king.
12 “Which way did he go?” the old prophet asked. So they told him.
13 “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. And when they had saddled the donkey for him, 14 he rode after the prophet and found him sitting under an oak tree.
“Are you the prophet who came from Judah?” he asked him.
“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”
15 Then the old man said to the prophet, “Come home with me and eat.”
16-17 “No,” he replied, “I can’t; for I am not allowed to eat anything or to drink any water at Bethel. The Lord strictly warned me against it; and he also told me not to return home by the same road I came on.”
18 But the old man said, “I am a prophet too, just as you are; and an angel gave me a message from the Lord. I am to take you home with me and give you food and water.”
But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the prophet ate some food and drank some water at the old man’s home.
20 Then, suddenly, while they were sitting at the table, a message from the Lord came to the old man, 21-22 and he shouted at the prophet from Judah, “The Lord says that because you have been disobedient to his clear command and have come here, and have eaten and drunk water in the place he told you not to, therefore your body shall not be buried in the grave of your fathers.”
23 After finishing the meal, the old man saddled the prophet’s donkey, 24-25 and the prophet started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. Those who came by and saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing quietly beside it, reported it in Bethel where the old prophet lived.
26 When he heard what had happened he exclaimed, “It is the prophet who disobeyed the Lord’s command; the Lord fulfilled his warning by causing the lion to kill him.”
27 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey!” And they did.
28 He found the prophet’s body lying in the road; and the donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. 29 So the prophet laid the body upon the donkey and took it back to the city to mourn over it and bury it.
30 He laid the body in his own grave, exclaiming, “Alas, my brother!”
31 Afterwards he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the prophet is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the Lord told him to shout against the altar in Bethel, and his curse against the shrines in the cities of Samaria shall surely be fulfilled.”
33 Despite the prophet’s warning, Jeroboam did not turn away from his evil ways; instead, he made more priests than ever from the common people, to offer sacrifices to idols in the shrines on the hills. Anyone who wanted to could be a priest. 34 This was a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam’s kingdom and the death of all of his family.
4 Dear brother Christians, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and my reward for my work. My beloved friends, stay true to the Lord.
2 And now I want to plead with those two dear women, Euodias and Syntyche. Please, please, with the Lord’s help, quarrel no more—be friends again. 3 And I ask you, my true teammate, to help these women, for they worked side by side with me in telling the Good News to others; and they worked with Clement, too, and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are written in the Book of Life.
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, brothers, as I close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 How grateful I am and how I praise the Lord that you are helping me again. I know you have always been anxious to send what you could, but for a while you didn’t have the chance. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; 13 for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. 14 But even so, you have done right in helping me in my present difficulty.
15 As you well know, when I first brought the Gospel to you and then went on my way, leaving Macedonia, only you Philippians became my partners in giving and receiving. No other church did this. 16 Even when I was over in Thessalonica you sent help twice. 17 But though I appreciate your gifts, what makes me happiest is the well-earned reward you will have because of your kindness.
18 At the moment I have all I need—more than I need! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me when Epaphroditus came. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that pleases God well. 19 And it is he who will supply all your needs from his riches in glory because of what Christ Jesus has done for us. 20 Now unto God our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Sincerely, Paul
P.S. 21 Say hello for me to all the Christians there; the brothers with me send their greetings, too. 22 And all the other Christians here want to be remembered to you, especially those who work in Caesar’s palace. 23 The blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon your spirits.
43 Afterward he brought me out again to the passageway through the outer wall leading to the east. 2 And suddenly the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape lighted up with his glory. 3 It was just as I had seen it in the other visions, first by the Chebar Canal, and then later at Jerusalem[a] when he came to destroy the city. And I fell down before him with my face in the dust. 4 And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the eastern passageway.
5 Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. 6 And I heard the Lord speaking to me from within the Temple (the man who had been measuring was still standing beside me).
7 And the Lord said to me:
“Son of dust, this is the place of my throne and my footstool, where I shall remain, living among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer through the adulterous worship of other gods or by worshiping the totem poles erected by their kings. 8 They built their idol temples beside mine, with only a wall between, and worshiped their idols. Because they sullied my holy name by such wickedness, I consumed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away their idols and the totem poles[b] erected by their kings, and I will live among them forever.
10 “Son of dust, describe the Temple I have shown you to the people of Israel. Tell them its appearance and its plan so they will be ashamed of all their sins. 11 And if they are truly ashamed of what they have done, then explain to them the details of its construction—its doors and entrances—and everything about it. Write out all the directions and the rules for them to keep. 12 And this is the basic law of the Temple: Holiness! The entire top of the hill where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the primary law concerning it.
13 “And these are the measurements of the altar: The base is 21 inches high, with a 9-inch rim around its edge, and it extends 21 inches beyond the altar on all sides. 14 The first stage of the altar is a stone platform 3-1/2 feet high. This platform is 21 inches narrower than the base block on all sides. Rising from this is a narrower platform, 21 inches narrower on all sides, and 7 feet high. 15 From it a still narrower platform rises 7 feet, and this is the top of the altar, with four horns projecting 21 inches up from the corners. 16 This top platform of the altar is 21 feet square. 17 The platform beneath it is 24-1/2 feet square with a 10-1/2-inch curb around the edges. The entire platform extends out from the top 21 inches on all sides. On the east side are steps to climb the altar.”
18 And he said to me:
“Son of dust, the Lord God says: These are the measurements of the altar to be made in the future, when it is erected for the burning of offerings and the sprinkling of blood upon it. 19 At that time the Zadok family of the Levite tribe, who are my ministers, are to be given a bullock for a sin offering. 20 You shall take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the top platform and in the curb around it. This will cleanse and make atonement for the altar. 21 Then take the bullock for the sin offering and burn it at the appointed place outside the Temple area.
22 “The second day, sacrifice a young male goat without any defects—without sickness, deformities, cuts, or scars—for a sin offering. Thus the altar shall be cleansed, as it was by the bullock. 23 When you have finished this cleansing ceremony, offer another perfect bullock and a perfect ram from the flock. 24 Present them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt upon them as a burnt offering.
25 “Every day for seven days a male goat, a bullock, and a ram from the flock shall be sacrificed as a sin offering. None are to have any defects or unhealthiness of any kind. 26 Do this each day for seven days to cleanse and make atonement for the altar, thus consecrating it. 27 On the eighth day, and on each day afterward, the priests will sacrifice on the altar the burnt offerings and thank offerings of the people, and I will accept you, says the Lord God.”
95 Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation!
2 Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. 3 For the Lord is a great God, the great King of[a] all gods. 4 He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. 5 He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. 6 Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, 7 for he is our God. We are his sheep, and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!
8 Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did in the wilderness[b] at Meribah and Massah. 9 For there your fathers doubted me, though they had seen so many of my miracles before. My patience was severely tried by their complaints. 10 “For forty years I watched them in disgust,” the Lord God says. “They were a nation whose thoughts and heart were far away from me. They refused to accept my laws. 11 Therefore, in mighty wrath I swore that they would never enter the Promised Land, the place of rest I planned for them.”
96 Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world! 2 Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves.
3 Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. 4 For the Lord is great beyond description and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods! 5 For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens! 6 Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty are in his Temple.
7 O nations of the world, confess that God alone is glorious and strong. 8 Give him the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him.[c] 9 Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives.[d] Let the earth tremble before him. 10 Tell the nations that Jehovah reigns! He rules the world. His power can never be overthrown. He will judge all nations fairly.
11 Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the vastness of the roaring seas demonstrate his glory. 12 Praise him for the growing fields, for they display his greatness. Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise. 13 For the Lord is coming to judge the earth; he will judge the nations fairly and with truth!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.