M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.

² Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. ³ Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord.

⁵ Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. ^6-7 At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.

⁸ Abram said to Lot, “We are close relatives. We shouldn't argue, and our men shouldn't be fighting one another. ⁹ There is plenty of land for you to choose from. Let's separate. If you go north, I'll go south; if you go south, I'll go north.”

^10 (A) This happened before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt. ¹¹ So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself, and as he started out toward the east, he and Abram separated. ¹² Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. But Lot settled near the cities of the valley and put up his tents not far from Sodom, ¹³ where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the Lord.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the Lord said to Abram:

Look around to the north, south, east, and west. ^15 (B) I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! ¹⁶ I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count those specks of dust than to count your descendants. ¹⁷ Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am going to give it to you.

¹⁸ Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord.

A Question about the Sabbath

(Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.1-5)

12 ^(A) One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields.^[a] His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat. ² Some Pharisees noticed this and said to Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do this!”

^3 (B) Jesus answered:

You surely must have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. ^4 (C) He went into the house of God, and then they ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are supposed to eat. ^5 (D) Haven't you read in the Law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work in the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath. ⁶ I tell you there is something here greater than the temple. ^7 (E) Don't you know what the Scriptures mean when they say, “Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others?” If you knew what this means, you would not condemn these innocent disciples of mine. ⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.

A Man with a Paralyzed Hand

(Mark 3.1-6; Luke 6.6-11)

⁹ Jesus left and went into one of their synagogues, ¹⁰ where there was a man whose hand was paralyzed. Some Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong, so they asked him, “Is it right to heal someone on the Sabbath?”

^11 (F) Jesus answered, “If one of your sheep fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't you lift it out? ¹² People are worth much more than sheep, and so it is right to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then Jesus told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did, and it became as healthy as the other one.

¹⁴ The Pharisees left and started making plans to kill Jesus.

God's Chosen Servant

¹⁵ When Jesus found out what was happening, he left there and large crowds followed him. He healed all of their sick, ¹⁶ but warned them not to tell anyone about him. ¹⁷ So God's promise came true, just as Isaiah the prophet had said,

Jesus and the Ruler of the Demons

(Mark 3.20-30; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)

²² Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. ²³ The crowds were so amazed they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”^[b]

^24 (H) When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”

²⁵ Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them:

Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. ²⁶ So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? ²⁷ If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. ²⁸ But when I force out demons by the power of God's Spirit, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you. ^29 (I) How can anyone break into a strong man's house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

^30 (J) If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. ^31-32 (K) I tell you any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.

A Tree and Its Fruit

(Luke 6.43-45)

^33 (L) A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. ^34 (M) You are a bunch of evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts. ³⁵ Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. ³⁶ I promise you on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷ On that day they will be told they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.

A Sign from Heaven

(Mark 8.11,12; Luke 11.29-32)

^38 (N) Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a sign from heaven.”

^39 (O) But Jesus replied:

You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ^40 (P) He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights. ^41 (Q) On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh^[c] will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah. ^42 (R) The Queen of the South^[d] will also stand there with you and condemn you. She traveled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet here is something much greater than Solomon.

Return of an Evil Spirit

(Luke 11.24-26)

⁴³ When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when the demon doesn't find a place, ⁴⁴ it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” When it gets there and finds the place empty, clean, and neat, ⁴⁵ it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and the person ends up in worse shape than before. That's how it will be with you evil people of today.

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

(Mark 3.31-35; Luke 8.19-21)

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside because they wanted to talk with him. ⁴⁷ Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to talk with you.”^[e]

⁴⁸ Jesus answered, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “These are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother or sister or mother.”

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

2 During the month of Nisan^[a] in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king, I served him his wine, as I had done before. But this was the first time I had ever looked depressed. ² So the king said, “Why do you look so sad? You're not sick. Something must be bothering you.”

Even though I was frightened, ^3 (A) I answered, “Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! I feel sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burned down.”

⁴ The king asked, “What do you want me to do?”

I prayed to the God who rules from heaven. ⁵ Then I told the king, “Sir, if it's all right with you, please send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

⁶ The queen was sitting beside the king when he asked me, “How long will it take, and when will you be back?” The king agreed to let me go, and I told him when I would return.

⁷ Then I asked, “Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah? ⁸ I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest.” God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked.

⁹ The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I traveled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors. ¹⁰ But when Sanballat from Horon^[b] and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.

Nehemiah Inspects the Wall of Jerusalem

¹¹ Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, ¹² I got up during the night and left my house. I took some men with me, without telling anyone what I thought God wanted me to do for the city. The only animal I took was the donkey I rode on. ¹³ I went through Valley Gate on the west, then south past Dragon Spring, before coming to Garbage Gate. As I rode along, I took a good look at the crumbled walls of the city and the gates that had been torn down and burned. ¹⁴ On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the trail became too narrow for my donkey. ¹⁵ So I went down to Kidron Valley and looked at the wall from there. Then before daylight I returned to the city through Valley Gate.

¹⁶ None of the city officials knew what I had in mind. And I had not even told any of the Jews—not the priests, the leaders, the officials, or any other Jews who would be helping in the work. ¹⁷ But when I got back, I said to them, “Jerusalem is truly in a mess! The gates have been torn down and burned, and everything is in ruins. We must rebuild the city wall so that we can again take pride in our city.”

¹⁸ Then I told them how kind God had been and what the king had said.

Immediately, they replied, “Let's start building now!” So they got everything ready.

¹⁹ When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about our plans, they started insulting us and saying, “Just look at you! Do you plan to rebuild the walls of the city and rebel against the king?”

²⁰ I answered, “We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history.”

Herod Causes Trouble for the Church

12 At that time King Herod^[a] caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. ² He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. ^3 (A) When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested during the Festival of Thin Bread. ⁴ He put Peter in jail and ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after the festival.

⁵ While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him.

Peter Is Rescued

⁶ The night before Peter was to be put on trial, he was asleep and bound by two chains. A soldier was guarding him on each side, and two other soldiers were guarding the entrance to the jail. ⁷ Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared, and light flashed around in the cell. The angel poked Peter in the side and woke him up. Then he said, “Quick! Get up!”

The chains fell off his hands, ⁸ and the angel said, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” Peter did what he was told. Then the angel said, “Now put on your coat and follow me.” ⁹ Peter left with the angel, but he thought everything was only a dream. ¹⁰ They went past the two groups of soldiers, and when they came to the iron gate to the city, it opened by itself. They went out and were going along the street, when all at once the angel disappeared.

¹¹ Peter now realized what had happened, and he said, “I am certain that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod and from everything the Jewish leaders planned to do to me.” ¹² Then Peter went to the house of Mary the mother of John whose other name was Mark. Many of the Lord's followers had come together there and were praying.

¹³ Peter knocked on the gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she heard Peter's voice, she was too excited to open the gate. She ran back into the house and said Peter was standing there.

¹⁵ “You are crazy!” everyone told her. But she kept saying it was Peter. Then they said, “It must be his angel.”^{[b] 16} But Peter kept on knocking, until finally they opened the gate. They saw him and were completely amazed.

¹⁷ Peter motioned for them to keep quiet. Then he told how the Lord had led him out of jail. He also said, “Tell James^[c] and the others what has happened.” After that, he left and went somewhere else.

¹⁸ The next morning the soldiers who had been on guard were terribly worried and wondered what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ Herod ordered his own soldiers to search for him, but they could not find him. Then he questioned the guards and had them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

Herod Dies

^20 (B) Herod and the people of Tyre and Sidon were very angry with each other. But their country got its food supply from the region that he ruled. So a group of them went to see Blastus, who was one of Herod's high officials. They convinced Blastus that they wanted to make peace between their cities and Herod, ²¹ and a day was set for them to meet with him.

Herod came dressed in his royal robes. He sat down on his throne and made a speech. ²² The people shouted, “You speak more like a god than a man!” ²³ At once an angel from the Lord struck him down because he took the honor that belonged to God. Later, Herod was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ God's message kept spreading. ²⁵ And after Barnabas and Saul had done the work they were sent to do, they went back to Jerusalem^[d] with John, whose other name was Mark.