M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jethro visits Moses
18 The father of Moses' wife was called Jethro. He was the priest for the Midian people. He heard about all the things that God had done for Moses and for the Israelites. He also heard how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, back to her home. He also sent his two sons with her. Jethro took care of them. 3 Moses' older son was called Gershom.[a] Moses said about him, ‘I have become a stranger in a foreign country.’ 4 The other son was called Eliezer.[b] Moses said about him, ‘My ancestors' God gave me help. He saved me from Pharaoh, when Pharaoh wanted to kill me.’
5 Jethro came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought with him Moses' wife and two sons. The Israelites had put up their tents near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had already sent a message to Moses. He said, ‘I am coming with your wife and her two sons to see you.’
7 So Moses went out to meet his wife's father. He bent down and he kissed Jethro. They said ‘hello’ and they spoke together. Then they went into Moses' tent. 8 Moses told Jethro about all the things that the Lord had done to help the Israelites. He told him what the Lord had done against Pharaoh and against the Egyptians. He told Jethro about the troubles that had happened to the Israelites during their journey. And Moses told him how the Lord had saved his people.
9 When Jethro heard what Moses said, he was very happy. He realized that the Lord had saved the Israelites from the power of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, ‘Praise the Lord! He has saved you from the power of the Egyptians and their king, Pharaoh. Yes! He has saved the Israelites from the powerful Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods. He destroyed the proud Egyptians when they were cruel to his people.’
12 Then Jethro brought an animal to burn as a sacrifice to God. He also brought other sacrifices. Aaron came, with all the leaders of the Israelites. They ate a special meal together with Jethro, to worship God.
Moses chooses some judges
13 The next day, Moses sat down to judge people who had quarrels against each other. From morning until evening, people were coming to him with their quarrels.
14 Jethro saw all these things that Moses did to help the people. So he said, ‘You are trying to do too much! Why do you sit there alone to judge all these people during the whole day?’
15 Moses answered Jethro, ‘The people come to me to discover what God says. 16 When they quarrel, they come to me to decide who is right. I tell them what God's laws and commands teach.’
17 Jethro replied, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 You will become too tired. The people who come to you will also become tired. You cannot do all this work alone. 19 Now listen to me! I will tell you what I think will help you. God will take care of you. When people have quarrels, you must continue to speak to God on their behalf. 20 You are the person who must teach them God's laws and commands. You must show them how they should live and what they must do.
21 But you must also choose some other clever men to help you. They must be honest men who respect God. They must not want to take money from people. Choose these men to be officers with authority over groups of the people. They will be leaders of 1,000 people, or 100 people, or 50 people, or 10 people. 22 They will be able to work as judges for the people, every day. They can decide the small quarrels. But if there is a difficult problem, they must bring it to you. That will make your work easier, because they will help you with the work. 23 If you agree with my idea, and if God commands you to do it, it will help you. The work will not be too hard for you. And all these people will go home happily.’
24 Moses listened to Jethro and he did everything that Jethro had said.
25 Moses chose wise men from all the Israelites. He made them officers to lead 1,000 people, or 100 people, or 50 people, or 10 people. 26 They worked as judges for the people at all times. If there was a difficult problem, they took it to Moses for him to decide. But they themselves decided the small problems.
27 Then Moses said ‘goodbye’ to his wife's father, Jethro. Jethro returned to his own country.
Jesus talks about people who give things to God
21 Then Jesus looked up and saw something that was happening in the temple. There was a box for money there. Many rich people were putting their gifts of money into the box.
2 Then he saw a woman coming there. Her husband had died and she was very poor. She put two small coins that had only a little value into the box. 3 ‘Let me tell you this,’ Jesus said. ‘This poor woman has put a better gift into the box than all the other people have put in there. 4 All those rich people have plenty of money. They only gave a small part of that. But this woman has almost nothing. She put everything that she had into the box. That money was what she needed to live.’
Jesus talks about things that will happen
5 Some of Jesus' disciples were talking about the temple. They spoke about the many beautiful stones in the walls. They also spoke about the many gifts to God that people had put there. 6 Jesus said to them, ‘You can see all these beautiful things now. But a day is coming when enemies will completely destroy it all. Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
7 ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘When will all these things happen? What will show us that they will soon happen?’
8 Jesus replied. ‘Be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe them. Many people will say that they have come on my behalf. They will say, “I am the Messiah.” They will say, “Now is the time!” Do not agree with those people. 9 You will hear about wars and people fighting each other. Do not be afraid. Those things must happen first, but the end of everything will not happen immediately.’
10 Jesus then said to them, ‘People from one country will attack the people from another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. 11 The ground will shake, so that people will be afraid. In many different places, people will be hungry, with no food. Diseases will go from one person to another. Many people will die. Things will also happen in the sky that will frighten people.
12 But before all those things happen, people will take hold of you. They will do bad things to you and give you pain. They will take you to the leaders in their meeting places and they will keep you in prisons. They will make you stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. 13 This will be the time to tell them the good news about me. 14 So prepare your minds. You must decide not to think about how to answer the questions of kings and rulers. Wait until that time comes. 15 I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. The people who are against you will not be able to argue with you. They will just be quiet. 16 Even your parents and other people in your family will take hold of you. They will make you stand in front of kings and rulers. They will even kill some of you. 17 Everybody will hate you because you are my disciples. 18 But your life will be safe with me. You will not lose even one hair from your head. 19 Yes, you will have true life, if you remain strong.
20 One day you will see Jerusalem with armies all around it. Then you will know that enemies will soon destroy that city. 21 People in Judea must then run away to the hills to hide. People that are inside the city must leave it. People that are outside in the fields must not go back into the city. 22 This is when God will punish Israel's people. Then all the things will happen that his servants wrote about in the Bible. 23 That will be a very bad time for women who are soon to have a baby! It will also be a bad time for those women who have little babies! Yes, very bad things will happen to all the people of this country. God will be very angry with the people who live here. 24 At that time, enemies will fight God's people and kill many of them in war. They will take some of them away as prisoners to live in all the other countries. They will not be free to return home. People that are not Jews will destroy Jerusalem. They will rule here until it is time for them to stop.’[a]
25 ‘You will see strange things happen to the sun and to the moon and to the stars. Down on earth, things that happen will make people in many countries very afraid. The sea will move up and down and make a lot of noise. There will be great storms. 26 These things will frighten people because they do not understand them. The powerful things in the sky will shake. People will be very afraid about what will happen next in the world. They will become very weak and fall to the ground. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man. He will come in a cloud. He will have great power and bright glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up. And look up, because God will then save you very soon.’
29 Then Jesus told them a story to explain this future time. He said, ‘Think about fig trees and other trees as well. 30 When you see new leaves on a tree, you know that summer will come soon. Nobody needs to tell you that. 31 In the same way, you will see these strange things happening. Then you will know that God will soon begin to rule in his kingdom.
32 I tell you this: The people who are alive now will not all die until all these things happen. 33 One day, the earth and the sky will have an end. But my words will be there for ever.
34 But be careful, and watch how you live. Do not eat or drink too much. Do not waste your time like that. Do not waste time by having troubles in your mind about your life. If you do, that day will surprise you. It will come when you are not looking. 35 It will surprise everyone who lives on all the earth. 36 So watch all the time! Continue to pray that you will be strong. Then you will be safe through all these things! You will stand in front of the Son of Man and you will not be afraid.’
37 Every day Jesus was teaching people in the temple. Each night he went out of the city and he stayed on the hill that is called the Mount of Olives. 38 Each morning he returned to the temple. All the people were going there early in the morning to hear him.
Elihu continues to speak[a]
36 Elihu continued to speak to Job. This is what he said:
2 ‘Be patient a little bit longer,
so that I can teach you some more.
I still have more to say
to show you that God is right.
3 I will tell you the many different things that I know.
I will show you that God, my Maker, is completely fair.
4 Everything that I say to you is true.
I am speaking to you as someone who knows everything.
5 God is very powerful
but he does not turn anyone away.
When he decides to do something,
he surely does it.
6 He does not allow wicked people to continue to live.
But he is always fair to those who are poor and weak.
7 He takes care of righteous people.
He gives them authority to rule like kings.
He gives them honour for ever.
8 People who do wrong things may suffer in prison.
Chains may hold their legs so that they cannot move.
9 When that happens,
God shows them what they have done.
He shows them their sins.
They have done wrong things because they are proud.
10 He tells them this to warn them.
They must turn away from wicked things.
11 They must obey him and agree to serve him.
If they do that, they will have everything that they need.
They will enjoy all the days that they live.
12 But if they refuse to listen to God,
they will go to their graves.
They will die
and they still will not understand what is right.
13 People who turn away from God are always angry.
Even when God punishes them,
they do not pray for help.
14 They die while they are still young.
Their lives finish in shame.
They live among the male prostitutes who serve false gods.
15 But God rescues people who suffer.
He uses their troubles to teach them about himself.
16 God has called you out of your troubles, Job.
He wants you to live in a safe place
where you have no problems.
He wants you to have a comfortable life
with plenty of good food to eat.
17 But now you have a lot of trouble,
because God is punishing you as wicked people deserve.
God is right and fair to judge you like that.
18 Be very careful!
Do not let anyone use their riches to deceive you.
Do not let them pay you a lot of money
to do something that is wrong.
19 Even if you become rich,
that would not keep you safe.
Even if you were strong and powerful,
that would not keep trouble away from you.
20 Do not wait for the night to hide what you want to do.
That is the time when people disappear from their homes.
21 Be careful! Do not try to do wicked things.
God has sent these troubles to test you.
He wants to stop you doing evil things.
22 Yes, God is very powerful.
There is no teacher as good as he is.
23 Nobody can tell him what he should do.
No one can say to him, “You have done things that are wrong.”
24 People sing songs to praise God
for the things that he has done.
You also should remember to praise him.
25 People everywhere have seen the things that God has done.
But we look at them from far away.
26 Yes, God is very great!
We cannot know him completely.
Nobody can count the number of his years!
27 It is God who pulls up water from the earth
to make the clouds.
Then he causes it to become rain.
28 The rain pours down from the clouds.
There is plenty for the people on the earth.
29 Who understands how the clouds move across the sky?
How does the noise of thunder come from God's home?
30 Look at the lightning that God sends all over the sky!
But he causes the bottom of the sea to remain dark.
31 This is the way that God rules the people of the world.
He sends the rain to give them plenty of food.
32 He sends his lightning like an arrow.
He commands it to hit the right place.
33 He sends thunder to show that a storm is coming.
Even the cows know what is happening.’
6 So, as we work together with God, we tell you to be careful. Remember that God has been very kind and he has forgiven you. Do not waste that! 2 In the Bible God says:
‘I listened to your prayer at the right time for me to help you.
I helped you on the right day for me to save you.’[a]
Listen! The right time is now! The day for God to save you is now!
3 We do not want anyone to think bad things about our work. So we do nothing that might cause trouble for anyone. 4 Instead, in everything that we do, we want to show that we are God's servants. When people want to hurt us, we are patient and brave. We have many troubles. We become sad and upset. 5 Sometimes people hit us. They put us in prison. They attack us. But we work hard. We cannot always sleep at night. We are often hungry. 6 We serve God honestly and with clean thoughts. We know what is true. We are patient and kind. God's Holy Spirit helps us. We love people in an honest way. 7 We speak a true message. God's power gives us strength. We do what is right, so we fight like soldiers on God's behalf. It is like we have God's weapons in both hands! 8 Sometimes people respect us as important. Sometimes they think that we are worth nothing. People may insult us, or they may praise us. We only say true things, but some people still think that we deceive others. 9 Some people do not want to know us. Other people accept us as God's servants. It seems like we are dying, but look! We are still alive! People punish us, but they do not kill us. 10 We seem to be sad, but really we are always happy. We seem to be poor, but we make many people rich. We seem to have nothing, but really we have everything.
11 Our friends at Corinth, we have spoken to you very honestly. We have shown you how much we love you. 12 We have done nothing to stop you from being our friends. But you have not really wanted to become our friends. 13 I am speaking to you as I would speak to my own children. Be fair to us! Accept us as your friends, just as we have accepted you.
Believers belong to God
14 Do not become united with people who do not believe in Christ. God has made you right with himself. Right and wrong cannot work together. Light and dark cannot join together. 15 Christ will never agree with the Devil. People who believe in Christ are completely different from people who do not believe. 16 Idols do not belong in God's house. Remember that we believers are the house of the God who lives for ever. This is what God has said:
‘I will make my home with them and I will live among them.
I will be their God and they will be my people.’[b]
17 And so, the Lord says:
‘Come out from among them and be separate.
Do not touch anything that is disgusting.
Then I will accept you.’[c]
18 He also says:
‘I will be a Father to you.
You will be my sons and my daughters.
That is what the Almighty Lord God says.’[d]
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