M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

God Calls Abram

12 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

⁴ So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him. And Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and everything they owned. They took all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan. In time they arrived there.

⁶ Abram traveled through that land. He went as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram. The Lord said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ Then Abram traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel. And he set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. There Abram built another altar to the Lord and worshiped him. ⁹ After this, he traveled on toward southern Canaan.

Abram Goes to Egypt

¹⁰ At this time there was not much food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live because there was so little food. ¹¹ Just before they arrived in Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a very beautiful woman. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but let you live. ¹³ Tell them you are my sister. Then things will go well with me. And I may be allowed to live because of you.”

¹⁴ So Abram went into Egypt. The people of Egypt saw that Sarai was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Some of the Egyptian officers saw her also. They told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was. They took her to the king’s palace. ¹⁶ The king was kind to Abram because he thought Abram was Sarai’s brother. He gave Abram sheep, cattle and male and female donkeys. Abram also was given male and female servants and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord sent terrible diseases on the king and all the people in his house. This was because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So the king sent for Abram. The king said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I made her my wife. But now here is your wife. Take her and leave!” ²⁰ Then the king commanded his men to make Abram leave Egypt. So Abram and his wife left with everything they owned.

Jesus and John the Baptist

11 Jesus finished telling these things to his 12 followers. Then he left there and went to the towns in Galilee to teach and preach.

² John the Baptist was in prison, but he heard about the things the Christ was doing. So John sent some of his followers to Jesus. ³ They asked Jesus, “Are you the man who John said was coming, or should we wait for another one?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Go back to John and tell him about the things you hear and see: ⁵ The blind can see. The crippled can walk. People with harmful skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear. The dead are raised to life. And the Good News is told to the poor. ⁶ The person who does not lose faith because of me is blessed.”

⁷ As John’s followers were leaving, Jesus began talking to the people about John. Jesus said, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed^[a] blown by the wind? No. ⁸ Really, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No. Those people who wear fine clothes live in kings’ palaces. ⁹ So what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This was written about John in the Scriptures:

¹¹ I tell you the truth: John the Baptist is greater than any other man who has ever lived. But even the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. ¹² Since the time John the Baptist came until now, the kingdom of heaven has been going forward in strength. People using force have been trying to take the kingdom. ¹³ All the prophets and the law of Moses spoke until the time John came. They told about the things that would happen. ¹⁴ And if you will believe the things the law and the prophets said, then you will believe that John is Elijah. The law and the prophets said he would come. ¹⁵ Let those with ears use them and listen!

¹⁶ “What can I say about the people who live today? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group calls to the other,

¹⁸ John came, and he did not eat like other people or drink wine. And people say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came, eating and drinking wine, and people say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much. He is a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved to be right by the things it does.”

Jesus Warns Unbelievers

²⁰ Then Jesus criticized the cities where he did most of his miracles. He criticized them because the people there did not change their lives and stop sinning. ²¹ Jesus said, “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon,^[b] then the people there would have changed their lives a long time ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they had changed. ²² But I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon. ²³ And you, Capernaum,^[c] will you be lifted up to heaven? No. You will be thrown down to the depths. I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Sodom,^[d] its people would have stopped sinning, and it would still be a city today. ²⁴ But I tell you it will be worse for you on the Judgment Day than for Sodom.”

Jesus Offers Rest to People

²⁵ Then Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. I praise you because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, this is what you really wanted.

²⁷ “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows the Son. And no one knows the Father—only the Son knows the Father. And the only people who will know about the Father are those whom the Son chooses to tell.

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. ²⁹ Accept my work and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ The work that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is not heavy.”

Nehemiah’s Prayer

1 These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

I, Nehemiah, was in the capital city of Susa. It was in the month of Kislev. This was in the twentieth year.^{[a] 2} One of my brothers named Hanani came from Judah. Some other men were with him. I asked them about the Jews who lived through the captivity. And I also asked about Jerusalem.

³ They answered, “Nehemiah, those who are left from the captivity are back in the area of Judah. But they are in much trouble and are full of shame. The wall around Jerusalem is broken down. And its gates have been burned.”

⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and cried for several days. I was sad and did not eat food. I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “Lord, God of heaven, you are the great God who is to be respected. You keep your agreement of love with those who love you and obey your commands. ⁶ Listen carefully. Look at me. Hear the prayer your servant is praying to you day and night. I am praying for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites have done against you. My father’s family and I have sinned against you. ⁷ We have been wicked toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, rules and laws you gave your servant Moses.

⁸ “Remember what you taught your servant Moses. You said, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. ⁹ But if you come back to me and obey my commands, I will gather your people. I will gather them from the far ends of the earth. And I will bring them from captivity to where I have chosen to be worshiped.’

¹⁰ “They are your servants and your people. You have saved them with your great strength and power. ¹¹ Lord, listen carefully to my prayer. I am your servant. And listen to the prayers of your servants who love to honor you. Give me, your servant, success today. Allow this king to show kindness to me.”

I was the one who served wine to the king.

Peter Returns to Jerusalem

11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. ² But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers argued with him. ³ They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised! You even ate with them!”

⁴ So Peter explained the whole story to them. ⁵ He said, “I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, I had a vision. In the vision, I saw something which looked like a big sheet coming down from heaven. It was being lowered to earth by its four corners. It came down very close to me, and ⁶ I looked inside it. I saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. ⁷ I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ ⁹ But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things clean. Don’t call them unholy!’ ¹⁰ This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back to heaven. ¹¹ Right then three men came to the house where I was staying. They were sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without doubting. These six believers here also went with me. We went to the house of Cornelius. ¹³ He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and invite Simon Peter to come. ¹⁴ He will speak to you. The things he will say will save you and all your family.’ ¹⁵ When I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit!’ ¹⁷ God gave to them the same gift that he gave to us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So could I stop the work of God? No!”

¹⁸ When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing the non-Jewish people also to turn to him and live.”

The Good News Comes to Antioch

¹⁹ Many of the believers were scattered by the terrible things that happened after Stephen was killed. Some of them went to places as far away as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They were telling the message to others, but only to Jews. ²⁰ Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to Greeks,^[a] telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord was helping the believers. And a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ^23-24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch. He told them, “Never lose your faith. Always obey the Lord with all your hearts.” Many people became followers of the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. ²⁶ When he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. And for a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church. They taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time.

²⁷ About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them was named Agabus. He stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, “A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food for people to eat.” (This happened when Claudius ruled.) ²⁹ The followers all decided to help their brothers who lived in Judea. Each one planned to send them as much as he could. ³⁰ They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea.