M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abram and Lot Separate
13 So Abram, his wife and Lot left Egypt. They took everything they owned and traveled to southern Canaan. 2 Abram was very rich in cattle, silver and gold.
3 He left southern Canaan and went back to Bethel. He went where he had camped before, between Bethel and Ai. 4 It was the place where Abram had built an altar before. So he worshiped the Lord there.
5 During this time Lot was traveling with Abram. Lot also had many sheep, cattle and tents. 6 Abram and Lot had so many animals that the land could not support both of them together. 7 Abram’s herders and Lot’s herders began to argue. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at this time.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “There should be no arguing between you and me. Your herders and mine should not argue either. We are brothers. 9 We should separate. The whole land is there in front of you. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
10 Lot looked all around and saw the whole Jordan Valley. He saw that there was much water there. It was like the Lord’s garden, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose to move east and live in the Jordan Valley. In this way Abram and Lot separated. 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan. But Lot lived among the cities in the Jordan Valley. He moved very near to Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were very evil. They were always sinning against the Lord.
14 After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look all around you. Look north and south and east and west. 15 All this land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as many as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust on the earth, he could count your people. 17 Get up! Walk through all this land. I am now giving it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tents. He went to live near the great trees of Mamre. This was at the city of Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
12 About that same time, Jesus was walking through some fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were with him, and they were hungry. So they began to pick the grain and eat it. 2 The Pharisees saw this, and they said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing something that is against the Jewish law to do on the Sabbath day.”
3 Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry? 4 David went into God’s house. He and those with him ate the bread that was made holy for God. It was against the law for them to eat that bread. Only the priests were allowed to eat it. 5 And have you not read in the law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break this law about the Sabbath day? But the priests are not wrong for doing that. 6 I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. 7 The Scripture says, ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’[a] You don’t really know what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.
8 “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
Jesus Heals a Man’s Crippled Hand
9 Jesus left there and went into their synagogue. 10 In the synagogue, there was a man with a crippled hand. Some Jews there were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong. So they asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?”[b]
11 Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep, and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, then you will take the sheep and help it out of the ditch. 12 Surely a man is more important than a sheep. So the law of Moses allows people to do good things on the Sabbath day.”
13 Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Let me see your hand.” The man put his hand out, and the hand became well again, the same as the other hand. 14 But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
Jesus Is God’s Chosen Servant
15 Jesus knew what the Pharisees were doing, so he left that place. Many people followed him, and he healed all who were sick. 16 But Jesus warned the people not to tell who he was. 17 He did these things to make come true what Isaiah the prophet had said:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen.
I love him, and I am pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit in him.
Then he will tell how I will judge all people fairly.
19 He will not argue or shout.
No one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a crushed blade of grass.
He will not put out even a weak flame.
He will continue until he makes fair judgment win the victory.
21 In him will the nations find hope.” Isaiah 42:1-4
Jesus’ Power Is from God
22 Then some people brought a man to Jesus. This man was blind and could not talk, because he had a demon. Jesus healed the man, and the man could talk and see. 23 All the people were amazed. They said, “Perhaps this man is the Son of David!”
24 The Pharisees heard the people saying this. The Pharisees said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul to force demons out of people. Beelzebul is the ruler of demons.”
25 Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that is fighting against itself will be destroyed. And every city that is divided will fall. And every family that is divided cannot succeed. 26 So if Satan forces out his own demons, then Satan is divided, and his kingdom will not continue. 27 You say that I use the power of Satan when I force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people prove that you are wrong. 28 But if I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, this shows that the kingdom of God has come to you.
29 “If anyone wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things, first he must tie up the strong man. Then he can steal the things from the strong man’s house.
30 “If anyone is not with me, then he is against me. He who does not work with me is working against me. 31 So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sin they do. And people can be forgiven for every bad thing they say. But if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, then he will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who says things against the Son of Man can be forgiven. But anyone who says things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. He will not be forgiven now or in the future.
People Know You by Your Words
33 “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, then it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. 34 You snakes! You are evil people! How can you say anything good? The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. 35 A good person has good things in his heart. And so he speaks the good things that come from his heart. But an evil person has evil in his heart. So he speaks the evil things that come from his heart. 36 And I tell you that people will have to explain about every careless thing they have said. This will happen on the Judgment Day. 37 The words you have said will be used to judge you. Some of your words will prove you right, but some of your words will prove you guilty.”
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law answered Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to see you work a miracle as a sign.”
39 Jesus answered, “Evil and sinful people are the ones who want to see a miracle for a sign. But no sign will be given to them. The only sign will be what happened to the prophet Jonah. 40 Jonah was in the stomach of the big fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will be in the grave three days and three nights. 41 And on the Judgment Day the men from Nineveh[c] will stand up with you people who live today. They will show that you are guilty because when Jonah preached to them, they were sorry and changed their lives. And I tell you that someone greater than Jonah is here! 42 On the Judgment Day, the Queen of the South[d] will stand up with you people who live today. She will show that you are guilty because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is here!
People Today Are Full of Evil
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it travels through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it finds no place to rest. 44 So the spirit says, ‘I will go back to the home I left.’ When the spirit comes back to the man, the spirit finds the home still empty. The home is swept clean and made neat. 45 Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits even more evil than it is. Then all the spirits go into the man and live there. And that man has even more trouble than he had before. It is the same way with the evil people who live today.”
Jesus’ True Family
46 While Jesus was talking to the people, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to talk to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside. They want to talk to you.”[e]
48 He answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his followers and said, “See! These people are my mother and my brothers. 50 My true brothers and sisters and mother are those who do the things that my Father in heaven wants.”
Nehemiah Is Sent to Jerusalem
2 It was the month of Nisan. It was in the twentieth year King Artaxerxes was king. He wanted some wine. So I took some and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. 2 So the king said, “Why does your face look sad? You are not sick. Your heart must be sad.”
Then I was very afraid. 3 I said to the king, “May the king live forever! My face is sad because the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins. And its gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you want?”
First I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I answered the king, “Send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried. I will rebuild it. Do this if you are willing and if I have pleased you.”
6 The queen was sitting next to the king. He asked me, “How long will your trip take? When will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me. So I set a time.
7 I also said to him, “If you are willing, give me letters for the governors west of the Euphrates River. Tell them to let me pass safely through their lands on my way to Judah. 8 And may I have a letter for Asaph? He is the keeper of the king’s forest. Tell him to give me timber. I will need it to make boards for the gates of the palace. It is by the Temple. The wood is also for the city wall and the house I will live in.” So the king gave me the letters. This was because God was showing kindness to me. 9 So I went to the governors west of the Euphrates River. I gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and soldiers on horses with me.
10 Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite leader heard about this. They were upset that someone had come to help the Israelites.
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem
11 I went to Jerusalem and stayed there three days. 12 Then at night I started out with a few men. I had not told anyone what God had caused me to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me except the one I was riding.
13 It was night. I went out through the Valley Gate. I rode toward the Dragon Well and the Trash Gate. I was inspecting the walls of Jerusalem. They had been broken down. And the gates had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I rode on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool. But there was not enough room for the animal I was riding to get through. 15 So I went up the valley at night. I was inspecting the wall. Finally, I turned and went back in through the Valley Gate. 16 The officers did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. I had not yet said anything to the Jews, the priests, the important men or the officers. I had not said anything to any of the others who would do the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You can see the trouble we have here. Jerusalem is a pile of ruins. And its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. Then we won’t be full of shame any longer.” 18 I also told them how God had been kind to me. And I told them what the king had said to me.
Then they answered, “Let’s start rebuilding.” So they began to work hard.
19 But Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite leader and Geshem the Arab heard about it. They made fun of us and laughed at us. They said, “What are you doing? Are you turning against the king?”
20 But I answered them, “The God of heaven will give us success. We are God’s servants. We will start rebuilding. But you have no share in Jerusalem. You have no claim or past right to it.”
Herod Agrippa Hurts the Church
12 During that same time King Herod began to do terrible things to some who belonged to the church. 2 He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword. 3 Herod saw that the Jews liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter, too. (This happened during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)
4 After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by 16 soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast. 5 So Peter was kept in jail. But the church kept on praying to God for him.
Peter Leaves the Jail
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping. He was between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. 7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood there. A light shined in the room. The angel touched Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry! Get up!” And the chains fell off Peter’s hands. 8 The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And so Peter did this. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” 9 So the angel went out, and Peter followed him. Peter did not know if what the angel was doing was real. He thought he might be seeing a vision. 10 They went past the first and the second guard. They came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened itself for them. They went through the gate and walked down a street. And the angel suddenly left him.
11 Then Peter realized what had happened. He thought, “Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from all the things the Jewish people thought would happen.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary. She was the mother of John. (John was also called Mark.) Many people were gathered there, praying. 13 Peter knocked on the outside door. A servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and she was very happy. She even forgot to open the door. She ran inside and told the group, “Peter is at the door!”
15 They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she kept on saying that it was true. So they said, “It must be Peter’s angel.”
16 Peter continued to knock. When they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord led him out of the jail. And he said, “Tell James and the other believers what happened.” Then he left to go to another place.
18 The next day the soldiers were very upset. They wondered what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod looked everywhere for Peter but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed.
The Death of Herod Agrippa
Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed for a while. 20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But the people of those cities all came in a group to Herod. They were able to get Blastus, the king’s personal servant, on their side. They asked Herod for peace because their country got its food from his country.
21 On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes. He sat on his throne and made a speech to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” 23 Herod did not give the glory to God. So an angel of the Lord caused him to become sick. He was eaten by worms and died.
24 God’s message continued to spread and reach more and more people.
25 After Barnabas and Saul finished their task in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch. John, also called Mark, was with them.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.