M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rahab helps two men of Israel
2 Then Joshua sent two men to go out from Shittim. He sent them in secret to see what the land was like. He told them, ‘Go! Look at all the land. Look very carefully at Jericho city.’
When they came to Jericho city, they arrived at the house of a prostitute. Her name was Rahab. They stayed there.[a]
2 Some people told the king of Jericho, ‘Look! Some Israelite men have come here tonight to see what our land is like.’ 3 So the king of Jericho sent a message to Rahab. He said, ‘Bring out the men who are staying in your house. They have come secretly to see what all our land is like!’
4 But Rahab had hidden the two men. She replied, ‘Yes, some men did come to me. I did not know where they had come from. 5 When it was nearly time to close the gate of the city for the night, they left. I do not know where they went. If you chase after them quickly, you may catch them.’ 6 But she had taken the men up to the roof. She had hidden them under some straw that she had put there.
7 So the king's officers went out of the city to try to find the two Israelite men. They went along the road to the Jordan River, to the place where the road crosses the river. As soon as they had left, people shut the city gate.
8 Rahab went up to the roof of her house. She spoke to the men as they prepared to sleep. 9 She said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given this land to you. Everyone here is afraid of you Israelites. Everyone who lives in this land is very frightened. 10 We heard how the Lord caused the water of the Red Sea to become dry. In that way he brought you out of Egypt. We heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites. We heard how you destroyed them completely on the east side of the Jordan River. 11 When we heard what you had done, we were very frightened. We know that we are not strong enough to fight against you because the Lord, your God, is God. He rules everything in heaven and on earth.
12 Now, please use the Lord's name to make a strong promise. I have been kind to you. So promise me that you will be kind to my family. Show me that you will certainly do what you have promised. 13 When you attack this city, do not kill my family. Save the lives of my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.’
14 The men replied, ‘We promise to do that. If anyone kills you or your family, may we die too! Do not tell anyone about us. When the Lord gives us this land, we will be kind to you. We will save your lives.’
15 So Rahab put a rope out through the window of her house. (The house that she lived in was part of the city wall.) The men climbed down the rope. 16 Rahab told them, ‘Go to the hills. The men who are chasing you will not find you there. Hide there for three days until they return to this city. Then you can go back to your people.’
17 The men said to her, ‘If you do what we say, we will do what we have promised. 18 We will soon attack this land. So tie this red string in the window that we came through.[b] Bring your father, your mother, your brothers and sisters and all your family into your house. 19 If any of them leaves your house, they may die. If that happens, we will not be guilty. We will only be guilty if our soldiers hurt anyone who is in your house. 20 But if you tell anyone about us, we do not have to do what we have promised to you.’
21 Rahab said, ‘I agree with what you have said.’ She sent the men away. When they had gone, she tied the red string in her window.
22 The two Israelite men went into the hills and they hid there. The king's officers looked along the road for them for three days. They did not find them, so they returned to Jericho. 23 Then the two men came down from the hills and they crossed the Jordan River. They went back to Joshua. They told him everything that had happened. 24 They said to him, ‘We are sure that the Lord has given us the whole land. All the people there are very frightened of us.’
A song to sing as we climb.
Servants of the Lord
123 I look up to you, God,
as you rule from your throne in heaven.
2 Yes, our eyes look up to the Lord our God.
We want him to be kind to us, so we wait for his help.
We wait like servants who want help from their master.
3 Please be kind to us, Lord. Please forgive us.
People have insulted us more and more!
4 We have had too much!
Proud people laugh at us,
and they do not respect us.
Please stop them!
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.[a]
124 If the Lord was not fighting for us,
what would have happened?
Israel's people, now answer:
2 ‘If the Lord was not fighting for us when men attacked us,
3 our enemies would have eaten us alive![b]
They would have destroyed us,
because they were so angry against us.
4 They would have been too strong for us,
like rivers of waters that covered us,
5 They would have been like deep water over our heads
that drowned us.[c]
6 We should praise the Lord!
He did not let our enemies destroy us,
like wild animals that kill their food and eat it.
7 Now we have become free,
like a bird that got free out of a trap.
Our enemies lost their power, and we are free![d]
8 The one who helped us is the Lord.
He made the whole universe.’
A song to sing as we climb.
125 People who trust in the Lord are strong,
like Mount Zion.[e]
Nothing can shake it. It will always be there.
2 The Lord is always near to his people,
like the mountains round Jerusalem.
He keeps his people safe, now and for ever.[f]
3 Wicked people will not rule over God's own people.
They will not rule the land where righteous people live.
If they did, the righteous people might also do bad things.
4 Lord, please do good things to good, honest people.
Be kind to those who follow your good ways.
5 But as for people who follow their own bad ways,
Lord, please remove them!
Take them away, along with people who do evil things.
May Israel have peace!
Salvation will come to Zion
62 Because I love Zion,
I will not be quiet.
I cannot stay quiet,
because Jerusalem is in trouble.
I will continue to speak until she is safe again.
I want her righteousness to shine
like the sun at dawn.
I want her salvation to be a bright light in the dark.
2 Jerusalem, the nations will see your righteousness.
All their kings will see how great you are.
People will call you by a new name,
which the Lord himself will give to you.
3 The Lord your God will hold you in his hand,
and you will bring him honour.
You will be like his beautiful crown!
4 They will no longer call you by the name ‘Alone’.
They will not call your land ‘Empty place’.
Instead, they will call you ‘The one that makes God happy’.
The name of your land will be ‘Married’.
Yes, the Lord will be very happy with you.
Your land will be his bride.
5 As a young man marries a pure young woman,
so your sons will marry you, Jerusalem.[a]
Your God will be very happy that you belong to him,
as a bridegroom is happy with his new wife.
6 I have put guards on your walls, Jerusalem.
They should never be quiet,
during the day and during the night.
You people who cause the Lord to remember his promises,
never stop and rest!
7 Do not give the Lord a chance to rest,
until he has made Jerusalem strong again.
Continue to pray until he makes it a famous city
that the whole world will praise.
8 The Lord makes a strong promise,
and he has the power to make it happen.
He says:
‘I will never again take away your grain,
and give it to your enemies for food.
Foreign soldiers will not drink your wine
that you have worked very hard to make.
9 Instead, the people who pick the grain at harvest time
are the people who will eat it.
And they will praise the Lord for it.
The people who pick the grapes
will drink the wine.
They will drink it in the yards of my temple.’
10 Pass through the gates! Pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people to travel on.
Build up the road! Make it strong!
Remove the stones!
Lift up a flag,
so that the nations can see the way to go.
11 Look! The Lord has this message for the whole earth:
‘Say to the people of Zion,
“Look! Your Saviour is coming!
Look again! He is bringing his gifts with him.
He brings the prize that he has won.” ’[b]
12 Their name will be ‘God's holy People’,
and ‘The People that the Lord has redeemed’.
And Jerusalem's name will be ‘The City where people are happy’,
and ‘The City that is full of people’.
Jesus chooses 12 men to be his apostles[a]
10 One day, Jesus asked his 12 disciples to come to him. He gave them authority over bad spirits so that they could send the spirits out of people. They could also make sick people well again from every kind of illness.
2 These are the names of the 12 apostles:
The first apostle is Simon, who was also called Peter.
Then Simon's brother, who was called Andrew.
Also James and his brother John, who were Zebedee's sons.
3 There were Philip and Bartholomew.[b]
There were Thomas and Matthew.[c] (Matthew's job was to take taxes from people.)
And James who was the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.[d]
4 There was also Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who later gave Jesus to his enemies.[e]
Jesus sends out his 12 apostles
5 Jesus sent out these 12 disciples. Before they left, he said to them, ‘Do not go to any place where the people are Gentiles. And do not go to towns where only Samaritans live.[f] 6 Instead, you must go to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep with nobody to take care of them. 7 While you travel, you must tell people about the kingdom of heaven. You must tell them that it has now become near. 8 Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. If people have a bad disease of the skin, make them well again. Send bad spirits out of people to leave them. God has been very kind to you, so you should be kind to other people. When you help people, do not ask them for money. 9 Do not take any money in your purses. 10 Do not take a bag with you, or extra clothes. Do not take extra shoes or a stick. You are working to help people. So people should give you what you need to live.
11 When you arrive in a town or a village, look for a good person there. Continue to stay in that person's house until you leave there. 12 When you go into the house, say to the people there, “We pray that you will be well.” 13 If the people of that house accept you, then everyone in the house will be well. But if they do not accept you, then take back your kind words. 14 Sometimes you will go to some house or town and the people will not accept you there. They will not listen to your message. Then you should leave. Clean the dirt of that place off your feet. 15 I tell you this: One day God will punish people like that. God will punish them even more than the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah long ago.’[g]
16 Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.
17 Be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. 18 They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell all these important people and also the Gentiles the good news about me. 19 When they take you to stand in front of their leaders, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say or how you should say it. At that time, God will give you the right words to speak. 20 You will not be speaking your own words. The Holy Spirit of your Father God will give you his own words to say.
21 At that time, a man will let people kill his own brother. A father will let people kill his own child. Children will be against their parents. They will even ask people to kill their parents. 22 All people will hate you because you are my disciples. But God will save the person who remains strong until the end. 23 If people in any town hurt you because of me, you should leave that town immediately. Go to another town. I tell you this: You will not have enough time to speak your message in all the towns of Israel. I, the Son of Man, will return before that can happen.
24 A student is not more important than his teacher is. A servant is not more important than his master is. 25 A student should be happy if he becomes like his teacher. A servant should be happy if he becomes like his master. People have called me, the master of the house, Beelzebul. You are like those people who live in my house. So do not be surprised when people call you even worse names than they call me.
26 So do not be afraid of these people. They hide the things that they do. But there will be a time when other people will see those things. Everyone will know all their secrets. 27 I tell you things secretly, like people do in the dark. But you must tell people these things clearly in the light of day. I have said things very quietly into your ears. But now you must shout those things loudly from the tops of the houses.[h]
28 Do not be afraid of those people who can kill only your body. These people cannot kill your soul. No, it is God that you should be afraid of. He can kill your body, and then he can also destroy your soul in hell. 29 Think about this. People sell two birds for just one small coin. But God takes care of these little birds. Not one of them can fall to the ground unless God lets it happen. 30 God even knows how many hairs there are on your head. 31 So do not be afraid of those people who are against you. You are more valuable to God than many little birds.
32 You should say clearly to other people, “I believe in Jesus.” If you do that, I will say to my Father in heaven, “This is someone who is my disciple.” 33 But if you say to other people, “I do not believe in Jesus,” I will then say to my Father in heaven, “I do not know that person. He is not one of my disciples.”
34 I will tell you why I have come into the world. I did not come so that everyone would agree with each other. No, I came to put people against one another, to fight against each other.[i]
35 A man will fight against his father.
A daughter will fight against her mother.
A woman will fight against her husband's mother.
36 A man's own family will fight against him.[j]
37 Nobody should love his own father and mother more than he loves me. If he does, he cannot be my disciple. Nobody should love his own son or daughter more than he loves me. If he does, then he cannot be my disciple. 38 If you really want to be one of my disciples, you must be ready to die for me. Live like a person who carries his own cross to go and die. 39 Whoever wants to keep his life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life.’
Jesus teaches about God's gifts
40 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone accepts you in his home, then he is also accepting me. And anyone who accepts me, also accepts my Father God, who sent me. 41 Somebody may accept a prophet into his home because the visitor is a prophet of God. God will bless that person like he blesses a prophet. Or he may accept a good man who obeys God, because the man is good. God will bless that person like he blesses the good man. 42 People may think that my disciples are unimportant. But God will bless anyone who gives even a drink of cold water to one of them. I tell you, that person will never lose God's help.’
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