M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Sins for which people must give an offering
5 A person may know about something that is wrong. He may not speak about it at a public meeting. That person is sinning.
2 God has said that some animals and insects are not clean. A person may touch a dead animal or an insect like that. If he does, he is doing something wrong. It is a sin even if he did not really want to touch it.
3 A person may touch something that another person has made bad. If he does, he is doing something wrong. He might not know that it is bad, but he is still doing a wrong thing.
4 A person is doing a wrong thing if he says any careless promise. The promise might be good or bad. People will tell him that he has not obeyed God's rules. Then he will know that he has sinned.
5 A person must tell the priest if he has done any of these things. 6 He must give a sheep or a goat for a sin offering. Then the Lord will not be angry with him. The priest will kill the animal as a sacrifice to atone for that sin.
What the people should do if they do not have much money
7 A person may not have money to buy a sheep or a goat. If he does not, he must buy two doves or two pigeons.[a] He must give them to the Lord. One bird will be a sin offering. The second bird will be a burnt offering.
8 The priest will bring one of the birds to the altar. It is the sin offering. He will break the neck of the bird, but he will not pull the head off. 9 He will shake some of the blood onto the side of the altar. He will pour the blood that he did not shake onto the floor. He must pour it in front of the altar. 10 The priest will burn the other bird. God will not be angry with the man when the priest does this.
11 A person may not have money to buy two doves or two pigeons. If he does not, he must give a tenth of an ephah (about two litres) of flour. He must not put oil or incense on the flour because it is a sin offering. 12 He must take it to the priest. The priest will burn some of the flour on the altar as a special part of the flour. It is a sin offering to the Lord. 13 He will forgive the person when the priest does this. The flour that he did not burn is like the grain offering. It belongs to the priests.” ’
The gift to the Lord when a person does wrong things
14 The Lord said to Moses, 15 ‘If a person does not obey the Lord's holy rules he is sinning. He must give a male sheep to the Lord. He must do this even if he did not know that he had sinned. It is a gift to the Lord to pay for his sins. It must be a perfect male animal. It must be worth the correct amount of money. 16 He must also give money worth one fifth more. The person must give the sheep and the money to the priest. The priest will sacrifice the sheep. It is an atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. God will forgive the person.
17 A person might do wrong things against the Lord. But the person might not know that they were wrong. He is sinning. 18 When he knows about it, he must bring a sheep to the priest. The animal must be a perfect male. The sheep must be worth the right amount of money. The priest will give the sheep to the Lord. It will be an atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. Then the Lord will forgive the person. 19 The sheep is an offering because the person did not obey the Lord.’
This is a song that David wrote when he ran away from his son, Absalom.[a]
A morning song
3 Lord, every day I have more enemies.
Many people fight against me.
2 They say about me,
‘God will not save him.’
Selah.
3 But Lord, you are like a shield for me.[b]
You are the one who gives me honour.
You lift my head up high.
4 I called aloud to the Lord.
He answered me from his holy mountain.
Selah.
5 I lie down and I sleep.
Then I wake up, because the Lord takes care of me.
6 Even if 10,000 enemies are all around me to attack me,
I will not be afraid of them.
7 Lord, stand up! My God, save me from my enemies!
Hit all my enemies in the face.
Break the teeth of those bad people.
8 Lord, it is you that saves us.
You bless your people.
Selah.
This is a song that David wrote.
Tell the music leader to use stringed instruments.
An evening song
4 God, please answer me when I call aloud for help.
You are the one who shows that I am right.
Help me in my trouble.
Show me that you are kind.
Listen to me when I pray.
2 Tell me this, you people:
How long will you refuse to respect me?
How long will you love stupid ideas?
How long will you agree with lies?
Selah.
3 The Lord is very kind to those who serve him.
He has chosen them to belong to himself.
So he listens when I pray to him.
4 Shake with fear and stop doing wrong things!
Lie on your bed and think quietly about your life.
Selah.
5 Offer the right sacrifices to the Lord.
Continue to trust in him.
6 Many people say, ‘Will anyone do a good thing for us?’
Lord, let your face smile on us.
7 You have made me very happy.
I am happier than anyone who has lots of food and wine.
8 I will lie down and I will sleep in peace.
You, Lord, are the one who takes care of me,
and you keep me safe.
20 If you drink too much wine or strong drink,
you do stupid things and you fight.
It is not wise to become drunk.
2 When the king is angry, he is as dangerous as a lion that roars.
If you make him angry, you will lose your life.
3 If you keep away from arguments, you will receive honour.
Only fools love to quarrel.
4 A lazy farmer does not plough his fields in winter.
As a result, he has nothing to eat when harvest time arrives.
5 A person's thoughts are like deep waters.
But a wise person can bring them into the open.
6 Many people say that you can trust them.
But it is difficult to find a truly faithful person.
7 Righteous people live in an honest way.
Their children will also be happy.
8 When a king sits on his throne as judge,
he sees what is evil and he removes it.
9 Nobody can say, ‘My thoughts are completely pure.
There is no sin in me.’
10 If people use false weights and measures,
the Lord hates anything like that.
11 Even children show what they are like by the things that they do.
You can see if they are honest and good.
12 The Lord has made us with ears to hear with and eyes to see with.
They are both his gift to us.
13 If you love to sleep too much, you will become poor.
Keep awake so that you have food on the table!
14 When somebody is buying something, he says, ‘It is worth nothing!’
But later he boasts about the cheap price!
15 Words that help you to learn things are very valuable.
They are more valuable than gold or jewels.
16 If someone promises to pay the debts of a stranger,
take his coat as a guarantee that he will pay.
17 If you cheat someone to get food to eat,
it may seem good when you taste it.
But soon it will be like sand in your mouth.
18 Things will go well if you receive good advice.
If you want to fight a war, ask wise people to be your advisors.
19 Keep away from people who talk too much.
They will tell everybody about your secrets.
20 If you insult your parents, your life will quickly finish,
like a lamp that suddenly goes out
and leaves you in complete darkness.
21 If you receive riches too early in life,
it will do you no good in the end.
22 Do not say, ‘I will pay you back for the evil thing you did to me.’
Trust the Lord to make it right for you.
23 The Lord hates traders who use false weights.
He hates scales that do not weigh things properly.
24 The Lord chooses the way that we take through life.
We cannot understand what will happen to us.
25 Do not be too quick to promise to give something to God.
If you want to change your mind, you have made a trap for yourself.
26 A wise king can pick out wicked people,
and he will punish them as they deserve.
27 The Lord makes our human spirit like his lamp inside us.
It shows us what we are really like.
28 A king should rule with faithful love and truth.
If he is honest and fair, he will continue to rule.
29 Young men boast about their strength.
Old men are proud of their beautiful grey hair.
30 Painful punishment stops you from doing evil things.
It makes you change to a better way of life.
The old life and the new life
3 God has raised you with Christ to a new life. So you should want more and more the things that belong to heaven. That is where Christ is now. He sits there at God's right side. 2 So think about the good things that are there in heaven above. Do not think only about things that are on the earth. 3 Remember that your old nature has died. God is keeping your new life safe with Christ. 4 You have that new life because you belong to Christ. One day, Christ will show himself clearly to everyone. Then everyone will see that you are with him. They will see that you also are great, like he is.
5 Your old nature likes to do bad things that belong to this earth. But your old nature is dead, so do not do these bad things any more. Do not have sex with someone that you are not married to. Do not think bad, disgusting thoughts. Do not want to have sex in a wrong way. Do not want to do any kinds of bad things. Do not want to have many things for yourselves. That shows that you worship those things as your idol. 6 God will certainly punish people who do those kinds of bad things.
7 At one time, you lived like that. You did those kinds of bad things. 8 But now you must refuse to do all kinds of things like that. Do not become angry with people or shout at them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. Do not speak any bad or disgusting words. 9 Do not deceive each other with lies. Remember that you have taken off your old nature, like an old coat. As a result, you can stop doing all the bad things that you liked to do before.
10 Now you have received a new nature. It is God who made it for you so that you can become more and more like him. You will learn to know him better and better. 11 People have this new nature only because they belong to Christ. That is the important thing. Jews are not different from Gentiles. It does not matter whether someone has circumcised you or not. It does not matter which country you come from or how clever you are. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. Christ is all that matters. He lives in every believer.
12 God has chosen you to be his own special people. You belong to him and he loves you very much. So this is how you should live: Be kind to other people and help them. Do not think that you are better than other people. Instead, respect them and be patient with them. 13 Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people. 14 And you must also love each other. That is the most important thing that you should do. Love holds all these good things completely together.
15 Christ has given you peace in your minds. So let that peace rule your thoughts. God has chosen you to be like one body, as his people. So he wants you to live together in peace. Thank God for everything that he gives to you. 16 Let Christ's message always be in your thoughts, with all the good things that it brings. Use that message to teach and to warn each other. Be very wise as you do that. And also sing all kinds of spiritual songs to praise God. Sing psalms and Christian songs. As you sing, thank God from inside yourselves. 17 Show that you belong to the Lord Jesus with everything that you do and with everything that you say. Always thank God the Father in the way that you serve Jesus.
Do what is right, at home and at work
18 Wives, obey your husbands. That is the right thing to do, because you belong to the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives. Do not bring trouble to them.
20 Children, always obey your parents. That pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not cause your children to be upset. If you do, they might think that they never do anything that is good.
22 Slaves, always obey your human masters. Do not do good work only when they can see you. Some people only work to make other people like them. Instead, serve your masters well because you want to. That will show that you respect the Lord as your master. 23 Whatever things you are doing, do them well. Remember that you are serving the Lord. You are not only serving people. 24 You know that you will receive the good things that the Lord has promised to his people. He will give you what is right for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the master that you serve. 25 Remember that God will punish anyone who does wrong things. He always judges people correctly, whoever they are.
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