M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Abijah King of Judah

13 Abijah became king of Judah. It was in the 18th year of Jeroboam’s rule over Israel. ² Abijah ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother’s name was Maakah. She was a daughter of Uriel. Uriel was from Gibeah.

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 capable fighting men. Jeroboam lined up his soldiers against them. He had 800,000 able troops.

⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim. It’s in the hill country of Ephraim. Abijah said, “Jeroboam and all you Israelites, listen to me! ⁵ The Lord is the God of Israel. Don’t you know that he has placed David and his sons after him on Israel’s throne forever? The Lord made a covenant of salt with David. The salt means the covenant will last for all time to come. ⁶ Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was an official of David’s son Solomon. But he refused to obey his master. ⁷ Some worthless and evil men gathered around him. They opposed Solomon’s son Rehoboam. At that time Rehoboam was young. He couldn’t make up his mind. He wasn’t strong enough to stand up against those men.

⁸ “Now you plan to stand up against the kingdom of the Lord. His kingdom is in the hands of men in David’s family line. It’s true that you have a huge army. You have the statues of the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. ⁹ But you drove out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron. You also drove out the Levites. You appointed your own priests. That’s what the people of other nations do. Anyone can come and set himself apart. All he has to do is sacrifice a young bull and seven rams. Then he becomes a priest of gods that aren’t really gods at all!

¹⁰ “But the Lord is our God. We haven’t deserted him. The priests who serve the Lord belong to the family line of Aaron. The Levites help them. ¹¹ Every morning and evening the priests bring burnt offerings and sweet-smelling incense to the Lord. They set out the holy bread on the table. That table is ‘clean.’ They light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We always do what the Lord our God requires in his law. But you have deserted him. ¹² God is with us. He’s our leader. His priests will blow their trumpets. They will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, don’t fight against the Lord. He’s the God of your people who lived long ago. You can’t possibly succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent some troops behind Judah’s battle lines. He told them to hide and wait there. He and his men stayed in front of Judah’s lines. ¹⁴ Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked from the front and from the back. Then they cried out to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets. ¹⁵ The men of Judah shouted the battle cry. When they did, God drove Jeroboam and all the Israelites away from Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites ran away from them. God handed Israel over to Judah. ¹⁷ Abijah and his troops wounded and killed large numbers of them. In fact, 500,000 of Israel’s capable men lay dead or wounded. ¹⁸ So at that time the Israelites were brought under Judah’s control. The people of Judah won the battle over them. That’s because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their people.

¹⁹ Abijah chased Jeroboam. He captured from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron. He also captured the villages around them. ²⁰ Jeroboam didn’t get his power back during the time of Abijah. In fact, the Lord struck Jeroboam down, and he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew stronger. He married 14 wives. He had 22 sons and 16 daughters.

²² The other events of Abijah’s rule are written down. The things he did and said are written in the notes of Iddo the prophet.

The Letter to the Church in Sardis

3 “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Sardis.

Here are the words of Jesus, who holds the seven spirits of God. He has the seven stars in his hand. He says,

‘I know what you are doing. People think you are alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what is left, or it will die. You have not done all that my God wants you to do. ³ So remember what you have been taught and have heard. Hold firmly to it. Turn away from your sins. If you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief. You won’t know when I will come to you.

⁴ ‘But you have a few people in Sardis who are pure. They aren’t covered with evil like dirty clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, because they are worthy. ⁵ Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will dress that person in white like those worthy people. I will never erase their names from the book of life. I will speak of them by name to my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’

The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Philadelphia.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is holy and true. He holds the key of David. No one can shut what he opens. And no one can open what he shuts. He says,

⁸ ‘I know what you are doing. Look! I have put an open door in front of you. No one can shut it. I know that you don’t have much strength. But you have obeyed my word. You have not said no to me. ⁹ Some people claim they are Jews but are not. They are liars. Their worship comes from Satan. I will make them come and fall down at your feet. I will make them say in public that I have loved you. ¹⁰ You have kept my command to remain strong in the faith no matter what happens. So I will keep you from the time of suffering. That time is going to come to the whole world. It will test those who live on the earth.

¹¹ ‘I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have. Then no one will take away your crown. ¹² Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will make that person a pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave it again. I will write the name of my God on them. I will write the name of the city of my God on them. This is the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God. I will also write my new name on them. ¹³ Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’

The Letter to the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Laodicea.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is the Amen. What he speaks is faithful and true. He rules over what God has created. He says,

¹⁵ ‘I know what you are doing. I know you aren’t cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ But you are lukewarm. You aren’t hot or cold. So I am going to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, “I am rich. I’ve become wealthy and don’t need anything.” But you don’t realize how pitiful and miserable you have become. You are poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ So here’s my advice. Buy from me gold made pure by fire. Then you will become rich. Buy from me white clothes to wear. Then you will be able to cover the shame of your naked bodies. And buy from me healing lotion to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see.

¹⁹ ‘I warn and correct those I love. So be sincere, and turn away from your sins. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. I will eat with that person, and they will eat with me.

²¹ ‘Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will give that person the right to sit with me on my throne. In the same way, I had victory. Then I sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

Haggai Tells His People to Rebuild the Lord’s Temple

1 A message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet. Haggai gave it to Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel was governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Joshua was high priest and the son of Jozadak. The message came on the first day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Here is what Haggai said.

² Here is what the Lord who rules over all says. “The people of Judah say, ‘It’s not yet time to rebuild the Lord’s temple.’ ”

³ So the message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ⁴ “My temple is still destroyed. But you are living in your houses that have beautiful wooden walls.”

⁵ The Lord who rules over all says, “Think carefully about how you are living. ⁶ You have planted many seeds. But the crops you have gathered are small. So you eat. But you never have enough. You drink. But you are never full. You put on your clothes. But you are not warm. You earn your pay. But it will not buy everything you need.”

⁷ He continues, “Think carefully about how you are living. ⁸ Go up into the mountains. Bring logs down. Use them to rebuild the temple, my house. Then I will enjoy it. And you will honor me,” says the Lord. ⁹ “You expected a lot. But you can see what a small amount it turned out to be. I blew away what you brought home. I’ll tell you why,” announces the Lord who rules over all. “Because my temple is still destroyed. In spite of that, each one of you is busy with your own house. ¹⁰ So because of what you have done, the heavens have held back the dew. And the earth has not produced its crops. ¹¹ I ordered the rain not to fall on the fields and mountains. Then the ground did not produce any grain. There were not enough grapes to make fresh wine. The trees did not bear enough olives to make oil. People and cattle suffered. All your hard work failed.”

¹² Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Joshua the high priest was the son of Jozadak. They obeyed the Lord their God. So did all the Lord’s people who were still left alive. The Lord had given his message to them through me. He had sent me to speak to them. And the people had respect for him.

¹³ Haggai was the Lord’s messenger. So Haggai gave the Lord’s message to the people. He told them, “The Lord announces, ‘I am with you.’ ” ¹⁴ So the Lord stirred up the spirits of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua the high priest. The Lord also stirred up the rest of the people to help them. Then everyone began to work on the temple of the Lord who rules over all. He is their God. ¹⁵ It was the 24th day of the sixth month.

The New Temple Will Be Beautiful

In the second year of King Darius,

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

2 On the third day there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ “Dear woman, why are you telling me about this?” Jesus replied. “The time for me to show who I really am isn’t here yet.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do what he tells you.”

⁶ Six stone water jars stood nearby. The Jews used water from that kind of jar for special washings. They did that to make themselves pure and “clean.” Each jar could hold 20 to 30 gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the top.

⁸ Then he told them, “Now dip some out. Take it to the person in charge of the dinner.”

They did what he said. ⁹ The person in charge tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He didn’t realize where it had come from. But the servants who had brought the water knew. Then the person in charge called the groom to one side. ¹⁰ He said to him, “Everyone brings out the best wine first. They bring out the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best until now.”

¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana in Galilee was the first of his signs. Jesus showed his glory by doing this sign. And his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this, Jesus went down to Capernaum. His mother and brothers and disciples went with him. They all stayed there for a few days.

Jesus Clears Out the Temple Courtyard

¹³ It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courtyard he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple courtyard. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. ¹⁶ He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.” (Psalm 69:9)

¹⁸ Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do this?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “When you destroy this temple, I will raise it up again in three days.”

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body. ²² His disciples later remembered what he had said. That was after he had been raised from the dead. Then they believed the Scripture. They also believed the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³ Meanwhile, he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. Many people saw the signs he was doing. And they believed in his name. ²⁴ But Jesus did not fully trust them. He knew what people are like. ²⁵ He didn’t need anyone to tell him what people are like. He already knew why people do what they do.