M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 36
1 “Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilled craftsmen whom the Lord has gifted with wisdom and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary are to do everything just as the Lord has commanded.”
Magnificence of the Gifts. 2 Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilled craftsmen in whose hearts the Lord had placed wisdom, everyone whose heart moved him to come to do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings that the children of Israel had brought for the construction of the sanctuary. But every morning they continued to bring more offerings. 4 All the craftsmen who were building the sanctuary left the work they were doing 5 and came to Moses and said, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the work that the Lord has commanded.”
6 Moses, therefore, commanded and had proclaimed in the camp, “Let neither man nor woman bring anything more for the construction of the sanctuary.” He thus stopped the people from bringing more offerings, 7 for what the people had already given was sufficient, and indeed even more than enough for the work.
The Curtains. 8 All the craftsmen among them made the tabernacle with its ten curtains of twisted linen, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, and cherubim skillfully crafted. 9 Each curtain was twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. All the curtains were the same size. 10 Five of the curtains were joined to one another, and the other five curtains were joined to one another. 11 Loops of blue cloth were made on the outside edge of the first set, and likewise on the outside edge of the second set. 12 Fifty loops were made in the first set and fifty loops in the edge of the second set. The loops were symmetrical. 13 Then fifty gold clasps were made and attached the sets of curtains to each other to form the tabernacle.
14 Curtains of goat hair were made to build a tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15 The curtains were thirty cubits long and four cubits wide; all eleven curtains were the same size. 16 Five of the curtains were joined on one side and six curtains on the other side. 17 Fifty loops were made in the outside edge of the first set, and fifty loops in the edge of the second set. 18 Fifty bronze clasps were made to join the tent together and make it a single structure. 19 Then a covering was made for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and over it a covering of sheep skin.
20 The Boards. Upright frames were made of acacia wood for the tent. 21 Each board was ten cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. 22 Each board had two joints to fit them together. This is how all the boards of the tabernacle were made. 23 Thus twenty boards were made for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and forty silver bases under the twenty boards, two bases for each of the two joints on each board. 25 Twenty boards were made for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, 26 along with their forty bases of silver, two bases under one board and two bases under the next board. 27 For the rear of the tabernacle facing toward the west six boards were made. 28 Two boards formed the corner of the tabernacle in the rear. 29 They were doubled together below and joined together above into one ring. The two of them formed the two corners. 30 There were thus eight boards with their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under one board and two bases under the next board.
31 Also made were bars out of acacia wood: five bars for the boards of one side of the tabernacle 32 and five boards for the other side of the tabernacle and five bars for the boards of the rear, toward the west. 33 The middle bar was made to pass half way up the boards, running from end to end. 34 The boards were covered with gold, and rings were made in which the bars were inserted out of gold; the bars were also covered in gold.
35 The Inner Veil and the Entry Curtain. The veil was made of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. Cherubim were made in the cloth, the work of skillful craftsmen. 36 Four columns were made for it out of acacia wood and covered in gold. The hooks were also made of gold and their four bases were made of silver.
37 A screen was made for the door to the tent out of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen, covered with embroidery. 38 Five columns were made for the screen with their hooks. The columns and their hooks were covered in gold and their five bases were made out of bronze.
The Community of the Witnesses to Christ[a]
Chapter 15
Union with Jesus[b]
1 “I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinegrower.
2 He removes every branch
that does not bear fruit,
and every branch that does
he prunes to make it bear even more.
3 You have already been cleansed
by the word I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in me,
as I abide in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine,
so you cannot bear fruit
unless you abide in me.
5 “I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me, and I in him,
will bear much fruit.
Apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me
will be thrown away like a withered branch.
Such branches are gathered up,
thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 “If you abide in me
and my words abide in you,
you may ask for whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
8 By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me,
so have I loved you.
Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments,
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
11 “I have told you these things
so that my joy may be in you
and your joy may be complete.
Love as Jesus Does[c]
12 “This is my commandment:
love one another
as I have loved you.
13 No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends
if you do what I command you.
15 “I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know
what his master is doing.
I have called you friends
because I have revealed to you
everything that I have heard from my Father.
16 “You did not choose me.
Rather, I chose you.
And I appointed you
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will remain,
so that the Father may give you
whatever you ask him in my name.
17 The command I give you is this:
love one another.
Witnesses to Jesus in the Face of the World’s Hatred[d]
18 “If the world hates you,
be aware that it hated me
before it hated you.
19 If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own.
But you do not belong to the world
because I have chosen you out of the world,
and therefore the world hates you.
20 “Remember the word that I said to you:
‘a servant is not greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you.
If they kept my word,
they will keep yours as well.
21 But they will do all these things to you
on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.
22 “If I had not come
and spoken to them,
they would not be guilty of sin,
but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 Whoever hates me
hates my Father also.
24 If I had not done works among them
that no one else had ever done,
they would not be guilty of sin.
But now they have seen and hated
both me and my Father.
25 All this was to fulfill the word
that is inscribed in their Law:
‘They hated me without cause.’
26 “When the Advocate comes
whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father,
he will testify on my behalf.
27 And you also are my witnesses
because you have been with me from the beginning.
Chapter 12
On the Way of Righteousness[a]
1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but the one who hates correction is stupid.
2 The good man wins the favor of the Lord,
but the malicious man incurs his condemnation.
3 No one earns security by wickedness,
but the roots of the righteous will not be shaken.
4 A good wife is her husband’s crown,
but one who disgraces him is like decay in his bones.
5 The aims of the righteous are honorable,
but the schemes of the wicked are full of deceit.
6 The words of the wicked are snares to shed blood,
but those of the upright keep them safe.
7 Once the wicked are overthrown, they are no more,
but the house of the righteous remains firm.
8 A man will be praised if he exhibits good sense,
but one with a perverse mind is despised.
9 It is better to be a laborer and have food to eat
than to put on airs and have an empty stomach.
10 A righteous person supplies the needs of his animals,[b]
but the heart of the wicked is without mercy.
11 One who tills his land has an abundance of food,
but he who chases fantasies[c] is a fool.
12 The wicked desire the prey of evil men,
but the root of the righteous bears fruit.
13 The wicked man is ensnared by the sin of his lips,
but the righteous frees himself from misfortune.
14 An abundance of good things flow from the fruit of one’s lips,
and a man’s labor will give him a suitable reward.[d]
15 The fool is convinced of the rightness of his ways,
but the man who listens to advice shows wisdom.
16 A fool is quick to show his anger,
but a prudent man ignores an insult.
17 A truthful witness is honest in his testimony,
but a false witness testifies deceitfully.
18 Thoughtless words wound like a sword thrust,
but the tongue of the wise produces healing.
19 Truthful speech endures forever,
but deceitful lies last only for a moment.[e]
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil,
but those who counsel peace have joy.
21 No harm befalls the righteous,
but endless are the misfortunes of the wicked.
22 The Lord abhors lying lips,
but he delights in those who are truthful.
23 A prudent man does not flaunt his knowledge,
but the heart of fools proclaims their folly.
24 Authority will be granted to the diligent,
but the lazy will be enslaved.
25 Anxiety in the human heart weighs it down,
but a kind word makes it glad.
26 A righteous man gives good advice to his neighbor,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 A lazy man never reaps a rich harvest,
but the diligent man acquires precious wealth.
28 The way of righteousness leads to life,
but the way of vengeance leads to death.
Chapter 5
1 Hence, be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a sacrificial offering whose fragrance is pleasing to God.
Sins To Avoid. 3 Indeed, fornication and impurity of any kind, as well as greed, should not even be mentioned among you. Such talk is not fitting for saints. 4 You should never engage in any obscene or foolish or suggestive conversation. All this is completely out of place. Instead, you should rather be engaged in offering thanks to God.
5 You can be absolutely certain that no immoral or impure person or one who is greedy—that is, an idolater—will have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no one deceive you with worthless arguments. These are the very things that bring down the wrath of God on those who are disobedient. 7 Do not associate with them.
Christians Are Children of Light. 8 Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, 9 for light produces all goodness and righteousness and truth. 10 Discern what the Lord finds pleasing. 11 Take no part in the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather seek to expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of what deeds people do in secret. 13 However, everything that is exposed by the light is made visible, 14 and whatever is made visible is light. Therefore, it is said,[a]
“Awake, O sleeper!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Therefore, take care to live as intelligent people, and do not be like those who are senseless. 16 Make the most of the present time, for this is a wicked age. 17 Do not be foolish, but recognize what is the will of the Lord. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which can lead to debauchery.
Rather, be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with one another. Sing and chant to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ and Christian Spouses[b]
Be Subject to One Another in Christ. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, the body of which he is the Savior. 24 Just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also wives must be subject to their husbands in everything.25 Love One Another in Christ. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her 26 in order to sanctify her by cleansing her with water and the word,[c] 27 in order to present the Church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such flaw, but holy and without the slightest blemish.
28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own body; rather, he nourishes it and cares for it, even as Christ does for the Church, 30 because we are members of his body.
31 For this reason
a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery. Here I am applying it to Christ and the Church. 33 However, each one of you should love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife should respect her husband.
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