M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Lord Takes Elijah Away
2 Not long before the Lord took Elijah up into heaven in a strong wind, Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “The Lord wants me to go to Bethel, but you must stay here.”
Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Bethel.
3 A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take away your master?”
“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don't remind me of it.”
4 Elijah then said, “Elisha, now the Lord wants me to go to Jericho, but you must stay here.”
Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life, that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Jericho.
5 A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take away your master?”
“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don't remind me of it.”
6 Elijah then said to Elisha, “Now the Lord wants me to go to the Jordan River, but you must stay here.”
Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I will never leave you!” So the two of them walked on together.
7 Fifty prophets followed Elijah and Elisha from Jericho, then stood at a distance and watched as the two men walked toward the river. 8 When they got there, Elijah took off his coat, then he rolled it up and struck the water with it. At once a path opened up through the river, and the two of them walked across on dry ground.
9 (A) After they had reached the other side, Elijah said, “Elisha, the Lord will soon take me away. What can I do for you before that happens?”
Elisha answered, “Please give me twice as much of your power as you give the other prophets, so I can be the one who takes your place as their leader.”
10 “It won't be easy,” Elijah answered. “It can happen only if you see me as I am being taken away.”
11 Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, when suddenly there appeared between them a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses. At once, a strong wind took Elijah up into heaven. 12 (B) Elisha saw this and shouted, “Israel's cavalry and chariots have taken my master away!”[a] After Elijah had gone, Elisha tore his clothes in sorrow.
13 Elijah's coat had fallen off, so Elisha picked it up and walked back to the Jordan River. 14 He struck the water with the coat and wondered, “Will the Lord perform miracles for me as he did for Elijah?” As soon as Elisha did this, a dry path opened up through the water, and he walked across.
15 When the prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they said to each other, “Elisha now has Elijah's power.”
They walked over to him, bowed down, 16 and said, “There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord carried him off to some mountain or valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “they won't find him.”
17 They kept begging until he was embarrassed to say no. He finally agreed, and the prophets sent the men out. They looked three days for Elijah but never found him. 18 They returned to Jericho, and Elisha said, “I told you that you wouldn't find him.”
Elisha Makes the Water Pure at Jericho
19 One day the people of Jericho said, “Elisha, you can see that our city is in a good spot. But the water from our spring is so bad that it even keeps our crops from growing.”
20 He replied, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”
They brought him the bowl of salt, 21 and he carried it to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord has made this water pure again. From now on you'll be able to grow crops, and no one will starve.”
22 The water has been fine ever since, just as Elisha said.
Some Boys Make Fun of Elisha
23 Elisha left and headed toward Bethel. Along the way some boys started making fun of him by shouting, “Go away, baldy! Get out of here!”
24 Elisha turned around and stared at the boys. Then he cursed them in the name of the Lord. At once two bears ran out of the woods and ripped to pieces 42 of the boys.
25 Elisha went up to Mount Carmel, then returned to Samaria.
The Lord's Return
2 (A) When our Lord Jesus returns, we will be gathered up to meet him. So I ask you, my friends, 2 not to be easily upset or disturbed by people who claim the Lord[a] has already come. They may say they heard this directly from the Holy Spirit, or from someone else, or even that they read it in one of our letters. 3 But don't be fooled! People will rebel against God. Then before the Lord returns, the wicked[b] one who is doomed to be destroyed will appear. 4 (B) He will brag and oppose everything holy or sacred. He will even sit in God's temple and claim to be God. 5 Don't you remember I told you this while I was still with you?
6 You already know what is holding this wicked one back until it is time for him to come. 7 His mysterious power is already at work, but someone is holding him back. And the wicked one won't appear until this someone is out of the way. 8 (C) Then he will appear, but the Lord Jesus will kill him simply by breathing on him. He will be completely destroyed by the Lord's glorious return.
9 (D) When the wicked one appears, Satan will pretend to work all kinds of miracles, wonders, and signs. 10 Lost people will be fooled by his evil deeds. They could be saved, but they will refuse to love the truth and accept it. 11 So God will make sure they are fooled into believing a lie. 12 All of them will be punished, because they would rather do evil than believe the truth.
Be Faithful
13 My friends, the Lord loves you, and it is only natural for us to thank God for you. God chose you to be the first ones to be saved.[c] His Spirit made you holy, and you put your faith in the truth. 14 God used our preaching as his way of inviting you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 My friends, this is why you must remain faithful and follow closely what we taught you in person and by our letters.
16 God our Father loves us. He treats us with undeserved grace and has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father 17 will encourage you and help you always to do and say the right thing.
Daniel in a Pit of Lions
6 Darius divided his kingdom into 120 states and placed a governor in charge of each one. 2 In order to make sure that his government was run properly, Darius put three other officials in charge of the governors. One of these officials was Daniel. 3 And he did his work so much better than the other governors and officials that the king decided to let him govern the whole kingdom.
4 The other men tried to find something wrong with the way Daniel did his work for the king. But they could not accuse him of anything wrong, because he was honest and faithful and did everything he was supposed to do. 5 Finally, they said to one another, “We will never be able to bring any charge against Daniel, unless it has to do with his religion.”
6 They all went to the king and said:
“Your Majesty, we hope you live forever! 7 (A) All of your officials, leaders, advisors, and governors agree that you should make a law forbidding anyone to pray to any god or human except you for the next 30 days. Everyone who disobeys this law must be thrown into a pit of lions. 8 Order this to be written and then sign it, so it cannot be changed, just as no written law of the Medes and Persians can be changed.”
9 So King Darius made the law and had it written down.
10 Daniel heard about the law, but when he returned home, he went upstairs and prayed in front of the window that faced Jerusalem. In the same way that he had always done, he knelt down in prayer three times a day, giving thanks to God.
11 The men who had spoken to the king watched Daniel and saw him praying to his God for help. 12 They went back to the king and said, “Didn't you make a law that forbids anyone to pray to any god or human except you for the next 30 days? And doesn't the law say that everyone who disobeys it will be thrown into a pit of lions?”
“Yes, that's the law I made,” the king agreed. “And just like all written laws of the Medes and Persians, it cannot be changed.”
13 The men then told the king, “That Jew named Daniel, who was brought here as a captive, refuses to obey you or the law that you ordered to be written. And he still prays to his god three times a day.” 14 The king was really upset to hear about this, and for the rest of the day he tried to think how he could save Daniel.
15 At sunset the men returned and said, “Your Majesty, remember that no written law of the Medes and Persians can be changed, not even by the king.”
16 (B) So Darius ordered Daniel to be brought out and thrown into a pit of lions. But he said to Daniel, “You have been faithful to your God, and I pray that he will rescue you.”
17 A stone was rolled over the pit, and it was sealed. Then Darius and his officials stamped the seal to show that no one should let Daniel out. 18 All night long the king could not sleep. He did not eat anything, and he would not let anyone come in to entertain him.
19 At daybreak the king got up and ran to the pit. 20 He was anxious and shouted, “Daniel, you were faithful and served your God. Was he able to save you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! 22 (C) My God knew that I was innocent, and he sent an angel to keep the lions from eating me. Your Majesty, I have never done anything to hurt you.”
23 The king was relieved to hear Daniel's voice, and he gave orders for him to be taken out of the pit. Daniel's faith in his God had kept him from being harmed. 24 And the king ordered the men who had brought charges against Daniel to be thrown into the pit, together with their wives and children. But before they even reached the bottom, the lions ripped them to pieces.
25 King Darius then sent this message to all people of every nation and race in the world:
“Greetings to all of you!
26 I command everyone
in my kingdom
to worship and honor
the God of Daniel.
He is the living God,
the one who lives forever.
His power and his kingdom
will never end.
27 He rescues people
and sets them free
by working great miracles.
Daniel's God has rescued him
from the power of the lions.”
28 All went well for Daniel while Darius was king, and even when Cyrus the Persian ruled.[a]
God Blesses His Worshipers
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
The Lord blesses everyone
who worships him and gladly
obeys his teachings.
2 Their descendants will have
great power in the land,
because the Lord blesses
all who do right.
3 They will get rich and prosper
and will always be remembered
for their fairness.
4 They will be so kind
and merciful and good,
that they will be a light
in the dark for others
who do the right thing.
5 Life will go well for those
who freely lend
and are honest in business.
6 They won't ever be troubled,
and the kind things they do
will never be forgotten.
7 Bad news won't bother them;
they have decided
to trust the Lord.
8 They are dependable
and not afraid,
and they will live to see
their enemies defeated.
9 (A) They will always be remembered
and greatly praised,
because they were kind
and freely gave to the poor.
10 When evil people see this,
they angrily bite their tongues
and disappear.
They will never get
what they really want.
The Lord Helps People in Need
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
Everyone who serves him,
come and praise his name.
2 Let the name of the Lord
be praised now and forever.
3 From dawn until sunset
the name of the Lord
deserves to be praised.
4 The Lord is far above
all of the nations;
he is more glorious
than the heavens.
5 No one can compare
with the Lord our God.
His throne is high above,
6 and he looks down to see
the heavens and the earth.
7 God lifts the poor and needy
from dust and ashes,
8 and he lets them take part
in ruling his people.
9 When a wife has no children,
he blesses her with some,
and she is happy.
Shout praises to the Lord!
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