M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Liberator Raised Up by God
Chapter 2
Moses Is Saved.[a] 1 There was a certain man from the tribe of Levi who took a daughter of the tribe of Levi as his wife. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son. She saw that he was handsome and she hid him for three months. 3 But, not being able to hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus, caulked it with bitumen and pitch, and placed the baby in it and lay it among the reeds growing on the riverbank of the Nile. 4 The baby’s sister[b] hid herself so that she could watch what would happen from a distance.
5 Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe while her attendants walked along the riverbank. They saw the basket among the reeds and sent a slave to fetch it. 6 They opened it and saw the baby. It was a small baby boy who was crying. They had compassion on it and said, “This is a Hebrew baby.”
7 The sister of the baby said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go to call a wet nurse from among the Hebrew women to feed the child for you?”
8 “Go,” said Pharaoh’s daughter. The girl went and called the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby with you and feed it for me. I will pay you.” The woman took the baby and fed it. 10 When the baby was grown, she brought it to Pharaoh’s daughter. He became a son to her and she named him Moses, saying, “I have saved him from the water.”[c]
11 Moses Flees to Midian.[d] One day Moses, having grown up,[e] went out to his brethren and saw how they were oppressed. He noticed an Egyptian strike a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 Looking around, he did not see anyone, so he struck and killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out again and, seeing two Hebrews fighting, said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why did you hit your brother?” 14 He answered, “Who has made you head and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me like you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid and thought, “Certainly this thing is known.” 15 Pharaoh heard about it and sought to put Moses to death. Moses fled from Pharaoh and traveled to the land of Midian[f] where he sat down by a well.
16 A priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water to fill the trough and give water to their father’s flocks. 17 But some shepherds arrived and chased them away. Moses got up and defended them and gave their animals something to drink. 18 They returned to their father Reuel[g] who said to them, “Why are you back so soon today?” 19 They answered, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hands of the shepherds. He drew water for us and gave water to the flock to drink.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave him there? Invite him to eat with us.” 21 Moses agreed to live with that man, who gave him his daughter Zipporah as a wife. 22 She bore him a son and he named his son Gershom for he said, “I am a stranger in a strange land.”[h]
23 God Does Not Forget the Covenant.[i] And it came to pass that the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their slavery, and they cried out. The cry of their bondage rose up to God. 24 God heard their cry and remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God took note of the children of Israel and acknowledged their need.
Chapter 5
Jesus Calls the First Disciples.[a] 1 One day, as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with people crowding around him to hear the word of God, 2 he caught sight of two boats at the water’s edge. The fishermen had gotten out of the boats and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard throughout the night and caught nothing; but if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught such a great number of fish that their nets were beginning to tear. 7 Therefore, they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats to the point that they were in danger of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” 9 For he and all of his companions were amazed at the catch they had made. 10 So too were Simon’s partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men.” 11 When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
12 Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy.[b] In one of the towns that he visited, a man appeared whose body was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate before him and pleaded for his help, saying, “Lord, if you choose to do so, you can make me clean.” 13 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately, the leprosy left him.
14 He then instructed him to tell no one. “Just go,” he said, “and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as prescribed by Moses. That will be proof for them.” 15 However, the reports about him continued to spread, so that large crowds assembled to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
17 Jesus Pardons and Heals a Paralyzed Man.[c] One day, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem. And he possessed the power of the Lord to heal.
18 Then some men appeared, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They tried to bring him in and set him down in front of Jesus. 19 However, finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up onto the roof and lowered him on the bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd surrounding Jesus.
20 On perceiving their faith, Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to ask each other, “Who is this man uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus discerned what they were thinking, and he said in reply, “Why do you entertain such thoughts in your hearts? 23 Which is easier—to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say: ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But that you may come to realize that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I say to you, stand up, and take your bed, and go to your home.” 25 Immediately, the man stood up before them, picked up his bed, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all overcome with amazement, and they praised God as, awestruck, they said, “We have witnessed unbelievable things today.”
27 Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew).[d][e]After this, he went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting at his customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” 28 and, leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
29 Jesus Dines with Sinners. Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for him, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”[f] 31 Jesus said to them in reply, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but rather those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
33 A Time of Joy and Grace.[g] Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast frequently and pray often, and the disciples of the Pharisees do likewise, but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “How can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then, in those days, they will fast.”
36 He also told them this parable: “No one tears a piece from a new cloak and sews it on an old cloak. If he does, the new cloak will be torn, and the piece from it will not match that of the old. 37 Nor does anyone pour new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and spill out, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 Rather new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one who has been drinking old wine will wish for new wine, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Job’s Fifth Response[a]
Chapter 19
God Has Wronged Me.[b] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “How much longer will you torment me
and oppress me with your words?
3 You have reproached me now ten times,
and you mistreat me shamelessly.
4 And even if it were true that I have erred,
the fault would be completely mine.
5 “If indeed you want to exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,
6 know that God has wronged me
and cast his net over me.
7 Even when I protest that I have been wronged,
no one comes forward to support me,
and I receive no justice when I cry out for help.
8 “He has blocked my path so that I cannot pass,
and he has shrouded my way in darkness.
9 He has deprived me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He assails me on every side until I succumb;
he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 He has inflamed his anger against me
and looks upon me as his enemy.
12 His troops move forward as a single force;
they have surrounded me with siegeworks
and encamped around my tent.
13 “He has caused my brethren to turn against me;
my friends are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives and my companions now ignore me,
and those who were guests in my house have forgotten me.
15 Even my serving girls regard me as a stranger;
I have become an alien in their eyes.
16 When I summon my servant, he does not respond,
no matter how much I plead with him.
17 “My wife finds my breath repulsive;
my stench is loathsome to my relatives.
18 Even young children despise me;[c]
when I approach, they turn their backs on me.
19 All of my dearest friends abhor me;
those I love have turned against me.
20 I have become just skin and bones
and have escaped with only my gums.[d]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,
for the hand of God has touched me.
22 Must you pursue me just as God does?
Will not my flesh ever be enough to satisfy you?[e]
I Know That My Redeemer Lives[f]
23 “How I wish that my words might be written down
and inscribed on a scroll!
24 How I wish that with an iron chisel and with lead
they were engraved in stone forever!
25 “But I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the end he will stand upon the dust.
26 After my awakening, he will call me close to him,
and then from my own flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes;
my eyes, not those of another, will behold him.
How my heart within me yearns for that moment!
28 “As for you who say,
‘How we will persecute him,
for the root of the trouble lies in him,’
29 beware of the sword that is pointed toward you,
for the avenger of wickedness is the sword,
and then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Chapter 6
Avoid Lawsuits against Each Other.[a] 1 If any of you has a dispute with another, how can you seek judgment before those who are unrighteous[b] instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, how can you consider yourselves as incompetent to deal with smaller cases? 3 Do you not realize that we are to judge angels?[c] Why then should we not deal with matters of this life?
4 Therefore, if you have such matters to resolve, how can you seek judgment from those who have no standing in the Church? 5 I write this to make you ashamed. Is it really possible that there is no one among you who is wise enough to mediate a dispute between brethren? 6 Why should a brother go to court against another brother, seeking a decision from unbelievers?
7 In truth, the very fact that you engage in lawsuits with one another is a misfortune for you. Why not prefer to be wronged? Why not prefer to be defrauded? 8 Instead, you yourself are guilty of wronging and defrauding your own brethren.
9 Are you not aware that wrongdoers will never inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites,[d] 10 thieves, extortioners, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once such as these. However, now you have been washed clean, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
12 All Things Are Lawful for Me![e]“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not allow myself to be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach is meant for food,” but God will destroy them both. However, the body is not meant for immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 God raised up the Lord, and he will raise us up also by his power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I then take Christ’s members and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall become one flesh.” 17 But anyone who joins himself to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.[f]
18 Flee from sexual immorality! Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? 20 You have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.
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