M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Passover Feast
16 Celebrate the Passover Feast of the Lord your God in the month of Aviv. In that month he brought you out of Egypt at night. 2 Sacrifice an animal from your flock or herd. It is the Passover sacrifice to honor the Lord your God. Sacrifice it at the special place the Lord will choose. He will put his Name there. 3 Don’t eat the animal along with bread made with yeast. Instead, for seven days eat bread made without yeast. It’s the bread that reminds you of how much you suffered. Remember that you left Egypt in a hurry. Remember it all the days of your life. Don’t forget the day you left Egypt. 4 Don’t keep any yeast anywhere in your land for seven days. You will sacrifice the Passover animal on the evening of the first day. Do not let any of its meat be left over until the next morning.
5 You must not sacrifice the Passover animal in just any town the Lord your God is giving you. 6 Sacrifice it only in the special place he will choose for his Name. Sacrifice it there in the evening when the sun goes down. Do it on the same day every year. Be sure it’s the day you left Egypt. 7 Cook the animal and eat it. Do it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat bread made without yeast. On the seventh day come together for a service to honor the Lord your God. Don’t do any work on that day.
The Feast of Weeks
9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to cut your grain in the field. 10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to honor the Lord your God. Give to the Lord anything you choose to give as an offering. Give, just as the Lord has given to you. 11 Be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. Be joyful at the special place he will choose for his Name. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites living in your towns. So should the outsiders and widows living among you. And so should the children whose fathers have died. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. Be careful to obey the rules I’m giving you.
The Feast of Booths
13 Gather the grain from your threshing floors. Take the fresh wine from your winepresses. Then celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days. 14 Be filled with joy at your feast. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites, the outsiders, and the widows living in your towns. And so should the children whose fathers have died. 15 For seven days celebrate the feast to honor the Lord your God. Do it at the place he will choose. The Lord will bless you when you gather all your crops. He’ll bless you in everything you do. And you will be full of joy. 16 All your men must appear in front of the Lord your God at the holy tent. They must go to the place he will choose. They must do it three times a year. They must go there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. None of your men should appear in front of the Lord without bringing something with him. 17 Each of you must bring a gift. Give to the Lord your God, just as he has given to you.
Appoint Judges and Officials
18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes. Do it in every town the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly. 19 Do what is right. Treat everyone the same. Don’t take money from people who want special favors. It makes those who are wise close their eyes to the truth. It twists the words of those who have done nothing wrong. 20 Do only what is right. Then you will live. You will take over the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Don’t Worship Other Gods
21 Don’t set up a wooden pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. Don’t set it up beside the altar you build to worship the Lord your God. 22 Don’t set up a sacred stone to honor another god. The Lord your God hates Asherah poles and sacred stones.
A psalm of David.
103 I will praise the Lord.
Deep down inside me, I will praise him.
I will praise him, because his name is holy.
2 I will praise the Lord.
I won’t forget anything he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins.
He heals all my sicknesses.
4 He saves my life from going down into the grave.
His faithful and tender love makes me feel like a king.
5 He satisfies me with the good things I desire.
Then I feel young and strong again, just like an eagle.
6 The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are treated badly.
7 He told Moses all about his plans.
He let the people of Israel see his mighty acts.
8 The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious.
He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.
9 He won’t keep bringing charges against us.
He won’t stay angry with us forever.
10 He doesn’t punish us for our sins as much as we should be punished.
He doesn’t pay us back in keeping with the evil things we’ve done.
11 He loves those who have respect for him.
His love is as high as the heavens are above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins from us.
He has removed them as far as the east is from the west.
13 A father is tender and kind to his children.
In the same way, the Lord is tender and kind
to those who have respect for him.
14 He knows what we are made of.
He remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of human beings is like grass.
People grow like the flowers in the field.
16 When the wind blows on them, they are gone.
No one can tell that they had ever been there.
17 But the Lord’s love
for those who have respect for him
lasts for ever and ever.
Their children’s children will know
that he always does what is right.
18 He always loves those who keep his covenant.
He always does what is right for those who remember to obey his commands.
19 The Lord has set up his throne in heaven.
His kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his.
Praise him, you mighty ones
who carry out his orders and obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all you angels in heaven.
Praise him, all you who serve him and do what he wants.
22 Let everything the Lord has made praise him
everywhere in his kingdom.
I will praise the Lord.
The Lord Saves Israel
43 Family of Jacob, the Lord created you.
People of Israel, he formed you.
He says, “Do not be afraid.
I will set you free.
I will send for you by name.
You belong to me.
2 You will pass through deep waters.
But I will be with you.
You will pass through the rivers.
But their waters will not sweep over you.
You will walk through fire.
But you will not be burned.
The flames will not harm you.
3 I am the Lord your God.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
I am the one who saves you.
I will give up Egypt to set you free.
I will give up Cush and Seba for you.
4 You are priceless to me.
I love you and honor you.
So I will trade other people for you.
I will give up other nations to save your lives.
5 Do not be afraid. I am with you.
I will bring your people back from the east.
I will gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Let them go!’
And I will say to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from far away.
Bring my daughters from the farthest places on earth.
7 Bring back everyone who belongs to me.
I created them to bring glory to me.
I formed them and made them.”
8 Lead my people into court.
They have eyes but can’t see.
Bring those who have ears but can’t hear.
9 All the nations are gathering together.
All of them are coming.
Which one of their gods said ahead of time
that the people of Israel would return?
Which of them told us anything at all about the past?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right.
Then others will hear them. And they will say,
“What they said is true.”
10 “People of Israel, you are my witnesses,” announces the Lord.
“I have chosen you to be my servant.
I wanted you to know me and believe in me.
I wanted you to understand that I am the one and only God.
Before me, there was no other god at all.
And there will not be any god after me.
11 I am the one and only Lord.
I am the only one who can save you.
12 I have made known what would happen.
I saved you. I have told you about it.
I did this. It was not some other god you worship.
You are my witnesses that I am God,” announces the Lord.
13 “And that is not all! I have always been God,
and I always will be.
No one can save people from my power.
When I do something, who can undo it?”
The Lord Is Full of Mercy but Israel Is Unfaithful
14 The Lord sets his people free.
He is the Holy One of Israel. He says,
“People of Israel, I will send an army to Babylon to save you.
I will cause all the Babylonians to run away.
They will try to escape in the ships they were so proud of.
15 I am your Lord and King.
I am your Holy One.
I created you.”
16 Long ago the Lord opened
a way for his people to go through the Red Sea.
He made a path through the mighty waters.
17 He caused Egypt to send out its chariots and horses.
He sent its entire army to its death.
Its soldiers lay down there.
They never got up again.
They were destroyed.
They were blown out like a dimly burning flame.
But the Lord says,
18 “Forget the things that happened in the past.
Do not keep on thinking about them.
19 I am about to do something new.
It is beginning to happen even now.
Don’t you see it coming?
I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert.
I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land.
20 Even wild dogs and owls honor me.
That is because I provide water in the desert
for my people to drink.
I cause streams to flow in the dry and empty land
for my chosen ones.
21 I do it for the people I made for myself.
I want them to sing praise to me.
22 “Family of Jacob, you have not prayed to me as you should.
People of Israel, you have not worn yourselves out for me.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings.
You have not honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not loaded you down
by requiring grain offerings.
I have not made you tired
by requiring you to burn incense.
24 But you have not bought any sweet-smelling cane for me.
You have not given me the fattest parts
of your animal sacrifices.
Instead, you have loaded me down with your sins.
You have made me tired with the wrong things you have done.
25 “I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts.
I do it because of who I am.
I will not remember your sins anymore.
26 But let us go to court together.
Remind me of what you have done.
State your case.
Prove to me that you are not guilty.
27 Your father Jacob sinned.
The people I sent to teach you refused to obey me.
28 So I put the high officials of your temple to shame.
I let Jacob’s family be totally destroyed.
And I let people make fun of Israel.
The Beast Who Comes Out of the Sea
13 The dragon stood on the seashore. I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. There were ten crowns on its horns. On each head was an evil name that brought shame to God. 2 The beast I saw looked like a leopard. But it had feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of the beast’s heads seemed to have had a deadly wound. But the wound had been healed. The whole world was amazed and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast. They asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against it?”
5 The beast was given a mouth to brag and speak evil things against God. The beast was allowed to use its authority for 42 months. 6 The beast opened its mouth to speak evil things against God. It told lies about God and about the place where God lives. And it told lies about those who live in heaven with him. 7 The beast was allowed to make war against God’s holy people and to overcome them. It was given authority over every tribe, people and nation, no matter what language they spoke. 8 Many people who live on the earth will worship the beast. They are the ones whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lamb is the one whose death was planned before the world was created.
9 Whoever has ears should listen.
10 “Everyone who is supposed to be captured
will be captured.
Everyone who is supposed to be killed by a sword
will be killed by a sword.” (Jeremiah 15:2)
So God’s people must be patient and faithful.
The Beast Who Comes Out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast. This one came out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb. But it spoke like a dragon. 12 This beast had all the authority of the first beast. It did what the first beast wanted. It made the earth and all who live on it worship the first beast. The first beast was the one whose deadly wound had been healed. 13 The second beast performed great signs. It even made fire come from heaven to the earth. And the fire was seen by everyone. 14 The first beast had given the second beast the power to perform these signs. By these signs, the second beast tricked those who live on the earth. The second beast ordered people to set up a statue to honor the first beast. The first beast was the one who had been wounded by a sword and still lived. 15 The second beast was allowed to give breath to this statue so it could speak. The statue could kill all who refused to worship it. 16 It also forced everyone to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. People great or small, rich or poor, free or slave had to receive the mark. 17 They could not buy or sell anything unless they had the mark. The mark is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This problem requires wisdom. Anyone who is wise should figure out what the beast’s number means. It is the number of a man. And that number is 666.
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