M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jethro Visits Moses
18 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel. Jethro heard how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to his father-in-law. So Jethro welcomed her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom. That’s because Moses had said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.” 4 The other was named Eliezer. That’s because Moses had said, “My father’s God helped me. He saved me from Pharaoh’s sword.”
5 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro came to Moses in the desert. Moses’ sons and wife came with Jethro. Moses was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent a message to him. It said, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you. I’m bringing your wife and her two sons.”
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other. Then they went into the tent. 8 Moses told Jethro everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The Lord did all of this because of how much he loved Israel. Moses told Jethro about all their hard times along the way. He told him about how the Lord had saved them.
9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel. He heard about how God had saved them from the power of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “I praise the Lord. He saved you and your people from the power of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods. See what he did to those who looked down on Israel.” 12 Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all the elders of Israel. They ate a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the sight of God.
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve the people as their judge. They stood around him from morning until evening. 14 His father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people. So he said, “Aren’t you trying to do too much for the people? You are the only judge. And all these people are standing around you from morning until evening.”
15 Moses answered, “The people come to me to find out what God wants them to do. 16 Anytime they don’t agree with one another, they come to me. I decide between them. I tell them about God’s rules and instructions.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing isn’t good. 18 You will just get worn out. And so will these people who come to you. There’s too much work for you. You can’t possibly handle it by yourself. 19 Listen to me. I’ll give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must speak to God for the people. Take their problems to him. 20 Teach them his rules and instructions. Show them how to live and what to do. 21 But choose men of ability from all the people. They must have respect for God. You must be able to trust them. They must not try to get money by cheating others. Appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Let them serve the people as judges. But have them bring every hard case to you. They can decide the easy ones themselves. That will make your load lighter. They will share it with you. 23 If this is what God wants and if you do it, then you will be able to carry the load. And all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law. He did everything Jethro said. 25 He chose men of ability from the whole community of Israel. He made them leaders of the people. They became officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses. But they decided the easy ones themselves.
27 Moses sent his father-in-law on his way. So Jethro returned to his own country.
The Widow’s Offering
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their gifts into the temple offering boxes. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus said. “That poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these other people gave a lot because they are rich. But even though she is poor, she put in everything. She had nothing left to live on.”
When the Temple Will Be Destroyed and the Signs of the End
5 Some of Jesus’ disciples were talking about the temple. They spoke about how it was decorated with beautiful stones and with gifts that honored God. But Jesus asked, 6 “Do you see all this? The time will come when not one stone will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8 Jesus replied, “Keep watch! Be careful that you are not fooled. Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am he!’ And they will say, ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. 9 Do not be afraid when you hear about wars and about fighting against rulers. Those things must happen first. But the end will not come right away.”
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. 11 In many places there will be powerful earthquakes. People will go hungry. There will be terrible sicknesses. Things will happen that will make people afraid. There will be great and miraculous signs from heaven.
12 “But before all this, people will arrest you and treat you badly. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison. You will be brought to kings and governors. All this will happen to you because of my name. 13 And so you will be witnesses about me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry ahead of time about how to stand up for yourselves. 15 I will give you words of wisdom. None of your enemies will be able to withstand them or prove them wrong. 16 Even your parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends will hand you over to the authorities. The authorities will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair on your head will be harmed. 19 Remain strong in the faith, and you will receive eternal life.
20 “A time is coming when you will see armies surround Jerusalem. Then you will know that it will soon be destroyed. 21 Those who are in Judea should then escape to the mountains. Those in the city should get out. Those in the country should not enter the city. 22 This is the time when God will punish Jerusalem. Everything will come true, just as it has been written. 23 How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! There will be terrible suffering in the land. There will be great anger against those people. 24 Some will be killed by the sword. Others will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be taken over by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles come to an end.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be in terrible pain. They will be puzzled by the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Terror will make people faint. They will be worried about what is happening in the world. The sun, moon and stars will be shaken from their places. 27 At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud. He will come with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up. Hold your head up with joy and hope. The time when you will be set free will be very close.”
29 Jesus told them a story. “Look at the fig tree and all the trees,” he said. 30 “When you see leaves appear on the branches, you know that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is near.
32 “What I’m about to tell you is true. The people living now will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away.
34 “Be careful. If you aren’t, your hearts will be loaded down with wasteful living, drunkenness and the worries of life. Then the day the Son of Man returns will close on you like a trap. It will happen suddenly. 35 That day will come on every person who lives on the whole earth. 36 Always keep watching. Pray that you will be able to escape all that is about to happen. Also, pray that you will not be judged guilty when the Son of Man comes.”
37 Each day Jesus taught at the temple. And each evening he went to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives. 38 All the people came to the temple early in the morning. They wanted to hear Jesus speak.
36 Elihu continued,
2 “Put up with me a little longer.
I’ll show you I can speak up for God even more.
3 I get my knowledge from far away.
I’ll announce that the God who made me is fair.
4 You can be sure that my words are true.
One who has perfect knowledge is talking to you.
5 “God is mighty, but he doesn’t hate people.
He’s mighty, and he knows exactly what he’s going to do.
6 He doesn’t keep alive those who are evil.
Instead, he gives suffering people their rights.
7 He watches over those who do what is right.
He puts them on thrones as if they were kings.
He honors them forever.
8 But some people are held by chains.
Their pain ties them up like ropes.
9 God tells them what they’ve done.
He tells them they’ve become proud and sinned against him.
10 He makes them listen when he corrects them.
He commands them to turn away
from the evil things they’ve done.
11 If they obey him and serve him,
they’ll enjoy a long and happy life.
Things will go well with them.
12 But if they don’t listen to him,
they’ll be killed by swords.
They’ll die because they didn’t want to know anything about him.
13 “Those whose hearts are ungodly are always angry.
Even when God puts them in chains,
they don’t cry out for help.
14 They die while they are still young.
They die among the male prostitutes at the temples.
15 But God saves suffering people while they suffer.
He speaks to them while they are hurting.
16 “Job, he wants to take you out of the jaws of trouble.
He wants to bring you to a wide and safe place.
He’d like to seat you at a table that is loaded with the best food.
17 But now you are loaded down
with the punishment sinners will receive.
You have been judged fairly.
18 Be careful that no one tempts you with riches.
Don’t take money from people who want special favors,
no matter how much it is.
19 Can your wealth keep you out of trouble?
Can all your mighty efforts keep you going?
20 Don’t wish for the night to come
so you can drag people away from their homes.
21 Be careful not to do what is evil.
You seem to like evil better than suffering!
22 “God is honored because he is so powerful.
There is no teacher equal to him.
23 Who has told him what he can do?
Who has said to him, ‘You have done what is wrong’?
24 Remember to thank him for what he’s done.
People have praised him with their songs.
25 Every human being has seen his work.
People can see it from far away.
26 How great God is! We’ll never completely understand him.
We’ll never find out how long he has lived.
27 “He makes mist rise from the water.
Then it falls as rain into the streams.
28 The clouds pour down their moisture.
Rain showers fall on people everywhere.
29 Who can understand how God spreads out the clouds?
Who can explain how he thunders from his home in heaven?
30 See how he scatters his lightning around him!
He lights up the deepest parts of the ocean.
31 The rain he sends makes things grow for the nations.
He provides them with plenty of food.
32 He holds lightning bolts in his hands.
He commands them to strike their marks.
33 His thunder announces that a storm is coming.
Even the cattle let us know it’s approaching.
6 We work together with God. So we are asking you not to receive God’s grace and then do nothing with it. 2 He says,
“When I had mercy on you, I heard you.
On the day I saved you, I helped you.” (Isaiah 49:8)
I tell you, now is the time God has mercy. Now is the day he saves.
Paul’s Sufferings
3 We don’t put anything in anyone’s way. So no one can find fault with our work for God. 4 Instead, we make it clear that we serve God in every way. We serve him by standing firm in troubles, hard times and suffering. 5 We don’t give up when we are beaten or put in prison. When people stir up trouble in the streets, we continue to serve God. We work hard for him. We go without sleep and food. 6 We remain pure. We understand completely what it means to serve God. We are patient and kind. We serve him in the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve him with true love. 7 We speak the truth. We serve in the power of God. We hold the weapons of godliness in the right hand and in the left. 8 We serve God in times of glory and shame. We serve him whether the news about us is bad or good. We are true to our calling. But people treat us as if we were pretenders. 9 We are known, but people treat us as if we were unknown. We are dying, but we continue to live. We are beaten, but we are not killed. 10 We are sad, but we are always full of joy. We are poor, but we make many people rich. We have nothing, but we own everything.
11 Believers at Corinth, we have spoken freely to you. We have opened our hearts wide to you. 12 We are not holding back our love from you. But you are holding back your love from us. 13 I speak to you as if you were my children. It is only fair that you open your hearts wide to us also.
Paul Warns Against Worshiping False Gods
14 Do not be joined to unbelievers. What do right and wrong have in common? Can light and darkness be friends? 15 How can Christ and Satan agree? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 How can the temple of the true God and the statues of other gods agree? We are the temple of the living God. God has said,
“I will live with them.
I will walk among them.
I will be their God.
And they will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27)
17 So,
“Come out from among them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Do not touch anything that is not pure and ‘clean.’
Then I will receive you.” (Isaiah 52:11; Ezekiel 20:34,41)
18 And,
“I will be your Father.
You will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord who rules over all.” (2 Samuel 7:14; 7:8)
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