M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel Refuses to Follow Rehoboam
10 Rehoboam went to the city of Shechem. All the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 Jeroboam heard about it. He was the son of Nebat. Jeroboam was in Egypt at that time. He had gone there for safety. He wanted to get away from King Solomon. But now he returned from Egypt. 3 So the people sent for Jeroboam. He and all the people went to Rehoboam. They said to him, 4 “Your father put a heavy load on our shoulders. But now make our hard work easier. Make the heavy load on us lighter. Then we’ll serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam asked the elders for advice. They had served his father Solomon while he was still living. Rehoboam asked them, “What advice can you give me? How should I answer these people?”
7 They replied, “Be kind to them. Please them. Give them what they are asking for. Then they’ll always serve you.”
8 But Rehoboam didn’t accept the advice the elders gave him. He asked for advice from the young men who had grown up with him and were now serving him. 9 He asked them, “What’s your advice? How should I answer these people? They said to me, ‘Make the load your father put on our shoulders lighter.’ ”
10 The young men who had grown up with him gave their answer. They replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy load on our shoulders. Make it lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is stronger than my father’s legs. 11 My father put a heavy load on your shoulders. But I’ll make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips. But I’ll beat you with bigger whips.’ ”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam. That’s because the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered them in a mean way. He didn’t accept the advice of the elders. 14 Instead, he followed the advice of the young men. He said, “My father put a heavy load on your shoulders. But I’ll make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips. But I’ll beat you with bigger whips.” 15 So the king didn’t listen to the people. That’s because God had planned it that way. What the Lord had said through Ahijah came true. Ahijah had spoken the Lord’s message to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Ahijah was from Shiloh.
16 All the Israelites saw that the king refused to listen to them. So they answered the king. They said,
“We don’t have any share in David’s royal family.
We don’t have any share in Jesse’s son.
People of Israel, let’s go back to our homes.
David’s royal family, take care of your own kingdom!”
So all the Israelites went home. 17 But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah.
18 Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work hard for King Rehoboam. The king sent him out among the Israelites. But they killed Adoniram by throwing stones at him. Rehoboam was able to get away in his chariot. He escaped to Jerusalem. 19 Israel has refused to follow the royal family of David to this day.
The Revelation Is Given
1 This is the revelation from Jesus Christ. God gave it to him to show those who serve God what will happen soon. God made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. 2 John is a witness to everything he saw. What he saw is God’s word and what Jesus Christ has said. 3 Blessed is the one who reads out loud the words of this prophecy. Blessed are those who hear it and think everything it says is important. The time when these things will come true is near.
Greetings and Praise to God
4 I, John, am writing this letter.
I am sending it to the seven churches in Asia Minor.
May grace and peace come to you from God. He is the one who is, and who was, and who will come. May grace and peace come to you from the seven spirits. These spirits are in front of God’s throne. 5 May grace and peace come to you from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness, so what he has shown can be trusted. He was the first to rise from the dead. He rules over the kings of the earth.
Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ who loves us! He has set us free from our sins by pouring out his blood for us. 6 He has made us members of his royal family. He has made us priests who serve his God and Father. Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look! He is coming with the clouds!” (Daniel 7:13)
“Every eye will see him.
Even those who pierced him will see him.”
All the nations of the earth “will mourn because of him.” (Zechariah 12:10)
This will really happen! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord God. “I am the God who is, and who was, and who will come. I am the Mighty One.”
John’s Vision of Christ
9 I, John, am a believer like you. I am a friend who suffers like you. As members of Jesus’ royal family, we can put up with anything that happens to us. I was on the island of Patmos because I taught God’s word and what Jesus said. 10 The Holy Spirit gave me a vision on the Lord’s Day. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet. 11 The voice said, “Write on a scroll what you see. Send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
12 I turned around to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. 13 In the middle of them was someone who looked “like a son of man.” (Daniel 7:13) He was dressed in a long robe with a gold strip of cloth around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze metal glowing in a furnace. His voice sounded like rushing waters. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand. Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with two edges. His face was like the sun shining in all its brightness.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. Then he put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One. I was dead. But now look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Hell.
19 “So write down what you have seen. Write about what is happening now and what will happen later. 20 Here is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand. They are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven golden lampstands you saw stand for the seven churches.
The Lord Will Judge Judah and Jerusalem Along With the Nations
God Calls Judah to Turn Away From Their Sins
2 Gather together,
you shameful nation of Judah!
Gather yourselves together!
2 Come together before the Lord’s judgment arrives.
The day of the Lord’s judgment will sweep in
like straw blown by the wind.
Soon the Lord’s great anger will come against you.
The day of his wrath will come against you.
3 So look to him, all you people in the land
who worship him faithfully.
You always do what he commands you to do.
Continue to do what is right.
Don’t be proud.
Then perhaps the Lord will keep you safe
on the day he pours out his anger on the world.
A Message About Philistia
4 Gaza will be deserted.
Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be emptied out at noon.
Ekron will be pulled up by its roots.
5 How terrible it will be for you Kerethites
who live by the Mediterranean Sea!
Philistia, the Lord has spoken against you.
What happened to Canaan will happen to you.
The Lord says, “I will destroy you.
No one will be left.”
6 The land by the sea will become grasslands.
It will have wells for shepherds and pens for flocks.
7 That land will belong to those who are still left alive
among the people of Judah.
They will find grasslands there.
They will take over
the houses in Ashkelon and live in them.
The Lord their God will take care of them.
He will bless them with great success again.
A Message About Moab and Ammon
8 The Lord says,
“I have heard Moab make fun of my people.
The Ammonites also laughed at them.
They told them that bad things
would happen to their land.
9 So Moab will become like Sodom,”
announces the Lord who rules over all.
“Ammon will be like Gomorrah.
Weeds and salt pits will cover those countries.
They will be dry and empty deserts forever.
Those who are still left alive among my people
will take all their valuable things.
So they will receive those lands as their own.
And that is just as sure as I am alive.”
The Lord is the God of Israel.
10 Moab and Ammon will be judged
because they are so proud.
They made fun of the Lord’s people.
They laughed at them.
11 The Lord who rules over all will terrify Moab and Ammon.
He will destroy all the gods on earth.
Then distant nations will bow down to him.
All of them will serve him in their own lands.
A Message About Cush
12 The Lord says, “People of Cush,
you too will die by my sword.”
A Message About Assyria
13 The Lord will reach out his powerful hand against the north.
He will destroy Assyria.
He’ll leave Nineveh totally empty.
It will be as dry as a desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there.
So will creatures of every kind.
Desert owls and screech owls
will rest on its pillars.
The sound of their hooting will echo through the windows.
The doorways will be full of trash.
The cedar beams will be showing.
15 Nineveh was a carefree city.
It lived in safety.
It said to itself,
“I am the one!
No one is greater than I am.”
But it has been destroyed.
Wild animals make their home there.
All those who pass by laugh
and shake their fists at it.
Jesus Rises From the Dead
24 It was very early in the morning on the first day of the week. The women took the spices they had prepared. Then they went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from it. 3 When they entered the tomb, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 They were wondering about this. Suddenly two men in clothes as bright as lightning stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified. They bowed down with their faces to the ground. Then the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 Jesus is not here! He has risen! Remember how he told you he would rise. It was while he was still with you in Galilee. 7 He said, ‘The Son of Man must be handed over to sinful people. He must be nailed to a cross. On the third day he will rise from the dead.’ ” 8 Then the women remembered Jesus’ words.
9 They came back from the tomb. They told all these things to the 11 apostles and to all the others. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them were the ones who told the apostles. 11 But the apostles did not believe the women. Their words didn’t make any sense to them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent over and saw the strips of linen lying by themselves. Then he went away, wondering what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village called Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked about those things, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.
17 Jesus asked them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?”
They stood still, and their faces were sad. 18 One of them was named Cleopas. He said to Jesus, “Are you the only person visiting Jerusalem who doesn’t know? Don’t you know about the things that have happened there in the last few days?”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet. He was powerful in what he said and did in the sight of God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed Jesus over to be sentenced to death. They nailed him to a cross. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to set Israel free. Also, it is the third day since all this happened. 22 Some of our women amazed us too. Early this morning they went to the tomb. 23 But they didn’t find his body. So they came and told us what they had seen. They saw angels, who said Jesus was alive. 24 Then some of our friends went to the tomb. They saw it was empty, just as the women had said. They didn’t see Jesus’ body there.”
25 Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! How long it takes you to believe all that the prophets said! 26 Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and then receive his glory?” 27 Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures. He began with Moses and all the Prophets.
28 They approached the village where they were going. Jesus kept walking as if he were going farther. 29 But they tried hard to keep him from leaving. They said, “Stay with us. It is nearly evening. The day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 He joined them at the table. Then he took bread and gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But then he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “He explained to us what the Scriptures meant. Weren’t we excited as he talked with us on the road?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 disciples and those with them. They were all gathered together. 34 They were saying, “It’s true! The Lord has risen! He has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two of them told what had happened to them on the way. They told how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 The disciples were still talking about this when Jesus himself suddenly stood among them. He said, “May you have peace!”
37 They were surprised and terrified. They thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do you have doubts in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see. A ghost does not have a body or bones. But you can see that I do.”
40 After he said that, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 But they still did not believe it. They were amazed and filled with joy. So Jesus asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of cooked fish. 43 He took it and ate it in front of them.
44 Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must come true.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written. The Messiah will suffer. He will rise from the dead on the third day. 47 His followers will preach in his name. They will tell others to turn away from their sins and be forgiven. People from every nation will hear it, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You have seen these things with your own eyes. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised. But for now, stay in the city. Stay there until you have received power from heaven.”
Jesus Is Taken Up Into Heaven
50 Jesus led his disciples out to the area near Bethany. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them. He was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him. With great joy, they returned to Jerusalem. 53 Every day they went to the temple, praising God.
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