M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God’s Command to Joshua
1 Moses was the servant of the Lord. Joshua son of Nun was Moses’ assistant. After Moses died, the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people go across the Jordan River. Go into the land I am giving to the people of Israel. 3 I promised Moses I would give you this land. So I will give you every place you go in the land. 4 All the land from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north will be yours. All the land from the great river, the Euphrates, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west will be yours. This includes the land of the Hittites. 5 Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. No one will be able to stop you all your life. I will not leave you. I will never leave you alone.
6 “Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take their land. This is the land I promised their fathers I would give them. 7 Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night. Then you will be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. 9 Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”
Joshua’s Orders to the People
10 So Joshua gave orders to the officers of the people. He said, 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River. You will go and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.’”
12 Then Joshua spoke to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua said, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you. He said the Lord your God would give you rest. And he said the Lord would give you this land. 14 Now the Lord has given you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, your children and your animals may stay here. But your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers. You must help your brothers. 15 The Lord has given you a place to rest. He will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land. This is the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River. That is the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you.”
16 Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. We ask only that the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. 18 Then, if anyone refuses to obey your commands or turns against you, he will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!”
A Prayer of Someone Far from Home
A song for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord.
And he answered me.
2 Lord, save me from liars
and from those who plan evil.
3 You who plan evil, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood.
5 How terrible it is to live in the land of Meshech.
I have to live among the people of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace.
7 I want peace and try to talk peace,
but they want war.
The Lord Guards His People
A song for going up to worship.
121 I look up to the hills.
But where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord.
He made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you be defeated.
He who guards you never sleeps.
4 He who guards Israel
never rests or sleeps.
5 The Lord guards you.
The Lord protects you as the shade protects you from the sun.
6 The sun cannot hurt you during the day.
And the moon cannot hurt you at night.
7 The Lord will guard you from all dangers.
He will guard your life.
8 The Lord will guard you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Happy People in Jerusalem
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
122 I was happy when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the Temple of the Lord.”
2 Jerusalem, we are standing
at your gates.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city
where friends can come together.
4 The people from the tribes go up there.
The tribes belong to the Lord.
It is the rule to praise
the Lord at Jerusalem.
5 There the descendants of David
set their thrones to judge the people.
6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem:
“May those who love her be safe.
7 May there be peace within her walls
and safety within her strong towers.”
8 To help my relatives and friends,
I repeat, “Let Jerusalem have peace.”
9 For the sake of the Temple of the Lord our God,
I wish good for her.
The Lord’s Message of Freedom
61 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me.
This is because he has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken.
He has sent me to tell the captives they are free.
He has sent me to tell the prisoners that they are released.
2 He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness
and the time when our God will punish evil people.
He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad.
3 He has sent me to the sorrowing people of Jerusalem.
I will give them a crown to replace their ashes.
I will give them the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow.
I will give them clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness.
Then they will be called Trees of Goodness.
They will be like trees planted by the Lord and will show his greatness.
4 They will rebuild the old ruins.
They will build up the places destroyed long ago.
They will repair the ruined cities
that were destroyed for so long.
5 My people, foreigners will come to tend your sheep.
People from other countries will tend your vineyards.
6 You will be called priests of the Lord.
You will be named the servants of our God.
You will have riches from all the nations on earth.
And you will take pride in them.
7 Instead of being ashamed, you will receive twice as much wealth.
Instead of being disgraced, you will be happy because of what you receive.
You will receive a double share of the land.
So your happiness will continue forever.
8 The Lord says, “I love justice.
I hate stealing and everything that is wrong.
I will be fair and give my people what they should have.
I will make an agreement with them that will continue forever.
9 Everyone in all nations will know the children of my people.
And their children will be known among the nations.
Anyone who sees them will know
that the Lord blesses them.”
10 The Lord makes me very happy.
All that I am rejoices in my God.
The Lord has covered me with clothes of salvation.
He has covered me with a coat of goodness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding.
I am like a bride dressed in jewels.
11 The earth causes plants to grow.
And a garden causes the seeds planted there to grow.
In the same way the Lord God will make grow what is right.
He will make praise come from all the nations.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
9 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed. The man was lying on his mat. Jesus saw that these people had great faith, so he said to the paralyzed man, “Be happy, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law heard this. They said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God—that is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 The people saw this and were amazed. They praised God for giving power like this to men.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Matthew stood up and followed Jesus.
10 Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11 The Pharisees saw this and asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
12 Jesus heard the Pharisees ask this. So he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. Only the sick need a doctor. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’[b] I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Jews
14 Then the followers of John[c] came to Jesus. They said to Jesus, “We and the Pharisees often give up eating.[d] But your followers don’t. Why?”
15 Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then his friends are sad, and they will give up eating.
16 “When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 17 Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If they do, the old bags will break. The wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then the wine and the wine bags will continue to be good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
18 While Jesus was saying these things, a ruler of the synagogue came to him. The ruler bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and touch her with your hand, and she will live again.”
19 So Jesus stood up and went with the ruler. Jesus’ followers went too.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. 21 She was thinking, “If I can touch his coat, then I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman. He said, “Be happy, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed at once.
23 Jesus continued along with the ruler and went into the ruler’s house. Jesus saw people there who play music for funerals. And he saw many people there crying. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is only asleep.” But the people laughed at Jesus. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went into the girl’s room. He took her hand, and she stood up. 26 The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Show kindness to us, Son of David!”
28 Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again. So this will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them very strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him. 33 Jesus forced the demon to leave the man. Then the man who couldn’t talk was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The leader of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues and told people the Good News about the kingdom. And he healed all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36 He saw the crowds of people and felt sorry for them because they were worried and helpless. They were like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 God owns the harvest. Pray to him that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest.”[e]
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.