M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Israelites do not obey God
2 The angel of the Lord went from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, ‘I have brought you out from Egypt. I brought you here to this land that I promised to give to your ancestors. I said that I would always do for you what I promised in my Covenant. 2 I told you not to make any agreement with the people who live in this land. I told you to destroy the altars where they worship their gods. But you have not done as I told you. Why have you not obeyed me? 3 So now I tell you, I will not chase the Canaanites away so that you can take their land. Instead, they will cause trouble for you. Their false gods will cause you to turn away from me.’
4 When the Lord's angel had said this, the Israelites began to weep loudly. 5 They called that place Bokim.[a] They offered sacrifices to the Lord there.
Joshua dies
6 Joshua sent the people away. Each Israelite tribe went to take the part of the land that would belong to them.[b] 7 The Israelites continued to serve the Lord while Joshua and the old men were still alive. Joshua and those men had seen the great things that the Lord had done to help Israel.
8 Then the Lord's servant Joshua, the son of Nun, died at 110 years old. 9 The people buried him in the land that had been given to his family. That was at Timnath Heres, in Ephraim's hill country, on the north side of Gaash mountain.
A new generation turns away from the Lord
10 All the people of Joshua's generation died. The younger people no longer served the Lord. They themselves had not seen the great things that he had done to help Israel. 11 The Israelites did things that the Lord saw were evil. They worshipped the idols of Baal. 12 They turned away from the Lord God that their ancestors had worshipped. He was the one who had brought them safely out of Egypt. Instead, they served the false gods of the people who lived near them. They worshipped those gods and the Lord became very angry. 13 They turned away from the Lord and they worshipped the idols of Baal and Ashtoreth instead.
14 The Lord was very angry with the Israelites and he punished them. He sent robbers to attack them and take their animals and their food. He put them under the power of their enemies who lived around them. They were not strong enough to fight against their enemies. 15 When the Israelites went to fight against their enemies, the Lord turned against them. He punished them, as he said he would do. So the Israelites were in great trouble.
God chooses leaders for his people
16 After that, the Lord chose judges to lead his people. These leaders rescued the Israelites from their enemies who were robbing them. 17 But the people did not obey their leaders. They refused to serve the Lord faithfully. Instead, they worshipped false gods. They did not live in the way that their ancestors had lived. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they refused to obey him.
18 Every time that the Lord chose a judge to lead them, the Lord helped the leader to rescue them from their enemies. While the leader was still alive, the Lord was kind to them. When the Israelites called out to the Lord for help, he was sorry for them. He saw the cruel things that their enemies were doing to give them pain.
19 But when the leader died, the people would stop serving the Lord. They would do even more wicked things than their fathers had done. They would serve false gods and they would worship them. They refused to stop doing the wicked things that they wanted to do.
20 Because of this, the Lord became very angry with the Israelites. He said, ‘This nation of my people has not obeyed the covenant that I made with their ancestors. 21 So I will not chase out the nations that are still living in the land. They are the people who were still there when Joshua died. 22 I will use those nations to test the Israelites. I will see if my people will live carefully, in the way that I have shown them. That is the way that their ancestors lived.’
23 So the Lord let some of the Canaanite nations continue to live in the land. He did not chase them all away. He did not put them all under Joshua's power.
The believers choose seven men
6 At that time, more and more people became disciples of Jesus. Among the believers, some were Jews who spoke the Greek language. Others were Jews who spoke the Aramaic language. The Jews who spoke Greek had a problem with the other Jews. They said, ‘The widows in our group do not receive the right help. Each day, when you give out the food and money, our widows receive less than they should get.’[a]
2 The 12 apostles heard about the problem. They told all the believers to meet together with them. The apostles said, ‘Our work is to teach people God's message about Jesus. We do not have time to give out the food and money to people as well. 3 So, friends, please choose seven men from among you. You must know that each of them is full of the Holy Spirit. They must also be very wise. We will ask these seven men to do this work for us. 4 Then we will have more time to pray. We will also have more time to teach people God's message.’
5 The whole group of believers was happy with the apostles' words. So first they chose a man called Stephen. Stephen believed strongly in God and he was full of the Holy Spirit. The believers also chose six other men: Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. Nicolas was from Antioch. He was not born as a Jew, but he had joined the Jews later. 6 The group of believers put these seven men in front of the apostles. The apostles prayed for each man and they put their hands on them. They gave them authority to do this special work.
7 So more and more people heard the message from God. The number of people in Jerusalem who believed in Jesus grew more and more. Many of the Jewish priests also believed the message about Jesus.[b]
The important Jews take hold of Stephen
8 God helped Stephen in many special ways. God's power was with him. He did many miracles among the people which showed that God was with him. 9 But some men spoke against Stephen. They did not agree with what he taught people. These men were from one of the Jewish meeting places in Jerusalem. People called them, ‘The Group of Free Men’. These men were Jews from the cities called Cyrene and Alexandria. Some of them were from towns in Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen. 10 But the Holy Spirit helped Stephen to be very wise when he spoke. So these men could not say that he was wrong.
11 Then those men secretly gave money to some bad men. They told them to say to the Jewish leaders, ‘We heard this man, Stephen, say bad things against Moses and against God.’
12 This made the people become angry against Stephen. The important Jews and the teachers of God's Law also became very angry. So they took hold of Stephen. They took him to stand in front of the group of Jewish leaders. 13 Then they brought in some men to say bad things about Stephen. The things that these men said were not true. They said about Stephen, ‘This man is always saying bad things about the temple. He says bad things against God's Law. 14 We also heard him talk about Jesus, the man who comes from Nazareth. He said that Jesus will destroy this place. He also said that Jesus will change the way that Moses taught us to live.’
15 All the Jewish leaders who sat there in the meeting looked carefully at Stephen. They saw that his face was very bright, like the face of an angel.
Trouble will come to the people of Judah
15 The Lord said to me, ‘Even if Moses and Samuel asked me not to punish these people, I would not agree. I still would not help them. Send them away! I do not want to see them again! 2 They may ask you, “Where should we go?” Then tell them, “This is what the Lord says:
Those who should become ill and die will die.
Those who should die in war will die in war.
Those who should die from famine will die from famine.
Those who should go away as prisoners will go away as prisoners.”
3 I will send four kinds of punishments to hurt them. Soldiers will kill them in war. Dogs will carry away their dead bodies. Birds and wild animals will eat them and destroy them. 4 I will cause the people of all nations to think that the people of Judah are disgusting. That will be because of the evil things that the king of Judah, Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, did in Jerusalem.’
5 The Lord said,
‘People of Jerusalem, nobody will feel sorry for you.
Nobody will weep for you.
Nobody will stop to ask how you are.
6 I tell you this:
You have turned away from me.
You continue to go further away from me.
So I will prepare to use my power to destroy you.
I can no longer be kind to you.
7 I will punish the people of every town in the land.
I will blow them away,
like wind blows away straw.
My people have refused to change the way that they live.
So I will destroy them and their children too.
8 There will be more widows in Judah,
than there is sand on the shore of the sea.
At midday I will send an enemy to destroy the young men.
Their mothers will weep for them.
It will happen very suddenly.
Fear and terror will come!
9 A mother will feel very weak,
because all her seven children have died.
It is difficult for her even to breathe.
She has lost the children that made her happy,
while they were still young.
She will be ashamed and without honour.
I will send your enemies to kill
any of your people who are still alive.’
That is what the Lord says.
Jeremiah complains to the Lord
10 ‘This is terrible for me!
I am sorry, mother, that you gave birth to me.
I cause trouble and arguments
wherever I go in the land.
I never lend money to people,
and I do not ask them to lend money to me.
But everyone curses me anyway.’
11 The Lord said,[a]
‘I will take care of you
so that it brings something good for you.
I will cause your enemies to ask you for help.
They will come to you when they are in trouble.
12 Your enemy that comes from the north
is like a weapon made from iron and bronze.
You will never break it.
13 I will give all your valuable things to your enemies.
They will take them all away.
You will receive nothing in return.
That will pay for the sins that you have done
everywhere in your land.
14 Your enemies will make you their slaves
in a land that you do not know.
I will punish you as if in a hot fire,
because I am very angry with you.’
15 ‘Lord, you understand my problems.
Remember me and take care of me.
Please punish those people who hate me.
Do not be so patient with them that they kill me.
Remember that they have insulted me
because I am serving you.
16 As your words came to me,
I took them into me like sweet food.
I belong to you, Lord, God Almighty,
so your words made me very happy.
17 When people were enjoying wild parties,
I did not join with them.
I sat alone, because you held me.
You caused me to be angry with those people.
18 I am in pain which never ends.
People have hurt me and nothing makes it better.
Why are you not there to help me?
You are like a stream that becomes dry
and it has no water.’
19 So the Lord said this to me:
‘If you turn back to me,
I will help you to be strong.
Then you can continue to serve me.
Speak valuable words instead of useless words.
Then you can speak on my behalf.
These people must change to be like you have been.
You must not change to become like them.
20 When these people attack you,
I will make you like a strong wall.
You will be like a wall that is made of bronze.
The people will not be able to knock you down.
I will be with you to protect you.
I will keep you safe.’
That is what the Lord says.
21 ‘I will rescue you from the power of those wicked people.
I will keep you safe from those cruel people.’
The start of the good news
1 This is the start of the good news about Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. 2 The prophet Isaiah wrote this message from God in his book:[a]
‘Listen! I will send someone to prepare a way for you.
He will tell people my message.
3 His voice will shout in the wilderness:
“The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him.
Make the paths straight for him.” ’[b]
4 So John went to a place in the wilderness. He baptized people and he spoke a message from God.[c] He said to people, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Then God will forgive you and I will baptize you.’
5 Many people who lived in Jerusalem and in the country of Judea went to listen to John.[d] The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.
7 John said to the people, ‘Another person will come soon. He is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him. 8 I have baptized you with water. But this man will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
John baptizes Jesus
9 Soon after this, Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 While Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the skies open. The Holy Spirit came down like a dove and he stayed on Jesus. 11 A voice spoke from heaven: ‘You are my Son and I love you. You make me very happy.’
Satan tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things
12 Immediately, the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the wilderness. 13 Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. During this time, Satan tried to cause him to do wrong things. There were wild animals with Jesus in the wilderness. God's angels took care of him.
Jesus asks some men to be his disciples
14 Later, John was in prison. At that time, Jesus went to Galilee.[e] He told people the good news about God. 15 Jesus said, ‘Now is the time when the kingdom of God has come very near. You have done many wrong things. Turn away from them and change the way that you live. Believe God's good news.’
16 One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers called Simon and Andrew.[f] Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish. 17 Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’[g] 18 Simon and Andrew immediately put down their nets and they went with Jesus.[h]
19 Jesus continued to walk along the shore. Soon he saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat and they were mending their nets. 20 Immediately, Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father and his workers in the boat, and they went with Jesus to be his disciples.
Jesus causes a bad spirit to leave a man
21 Then Jesus and those disciples went into a town called Capernaum. On the next Jewish day of rest, Jesus went into the Jews' meeting place.[i] He began to teach the people there.
22 The people were very surprised at the things that Jesus taught them. When he taught them, he showed his authority. That was not like the way that the teachers of God's Law taught people. 23 In the meeting place, there was a man who had a bad spirit. The bad spirit caused the man to shout. 24 He said, ‘Jesus from Nazareth, leave us alone! Do not kill us! I know who you are. You are the Holy One and God has sent you.’
25 Jesus said to the bad spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ 26 The bad spirit caused the man to shake and to fall down. It shouted loudly and then it came out of the man.
27 All the people were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘This is very strange. This man Jesus is teaching us something new and he speaks with authority. He can tell bad spirits what they must do. Then they do it.’ 28 Immediately, people began to hear the news about Jesus. Everywhere in Galilee, people were talking about him.
Jesus makes many people well
29 Then Jesus left the meeting place. He took James and John with him to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 The mother of Simon's wife was ill in bed. Her body was very hot. Immediately, Simon and Andrew told Jesus about her. 31 So Jesus went to her and he held her hand. Then he helped her to sit up and she was well again. Immediately she prepared food for her visitors.
32-33 That evening, when the sun had gone down, people in the town came to Jesus.[j] They brought to him everyone who was ill. And they brought people with bad spirits in them. All these people were standing together near the door of the house. 34 Jesus caused many sick people to become well. They had many different kinds of illness. He also caused many bad spirits to leave people. The spirits knew who he was. So Jesus did not let them speak.
Jesus prays alone in a quiet place
35 Jesus got up very early the next morning, while it was still dark. He went to a place where he could be alone. He prayed there. 36 Simon and the other disciples went to look for him. 37 When they found him, they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’
38 Jesus replied, ‘We should go to other towns near here. Then I can teach the people there too. That is the reason why I came here.’ 39 So Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He caused bad spirits to come out of people.
A man with a disease in his skin
40 One day, a man who had a disease of the skin came to Jesus. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. The man said. ‘If you want, you can make me well. Please do it.’
41 Jesus felt very sorry for the man. He put out his hand towards the man and he touched him. ‘I do want to help you,’ Jesus said, ‘Be clean again!’ 42 Immediately, the disease left the man.
43 Jesus sent the man away immediately and he spoke to the man with strong words. 44 He said, ‘Listen to me. Do not tell anyone about this. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest. Take him a gift for God. Moses' law tells you what you should give when you are clean again after this kind of disease. This will show everyone that you are now well again.’ 45 But instead, the man went away and he talked to everybody. He told them what had happened to him. Because he did this, it became too difficult for Jesus to go into the towns. Everybody knew him. So Jesus stayed in places in the wilderness. People came from all the places around there to see him.
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