Get going ANYTIME and stay on track with a popular version of the M’Cheyne Plan available below based on the English Standard Version (ESV). Reading (or listening) to this version will take you through Psalms and the New Testament twice and the rest of the Old Testament once in a year. Each day’s readings are queued up and ready for your encouragement and growth in Christ, so bookmark this page or save it to your home screen on your phone for one-click access anytime!
The TGC plan features ,”Daily Bible passages to read or listen to which follow the M’Cheyne Yearly Bible Reading Plan, plus a Daily devotional commentary to read or listen to from D.A. Carson that provide deeper insight on one passage from the daily readings.” – TGC | thegospelcoalition.org
12 Comments
Janice Huse
As we are digging deep into today’s scriptures, it would be wise to pray about the difference between the ESV version of Luke 2:14, and that which is in the KJV. “… and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased” has quite a different message than :”… and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The angelic announcement was made available from the beginning to all mankind, not limited to those whose ways pleased God. Peace with God the Father by way of redemption and salvation through Christ Jesus was offered then and now as a free gift to all. Might seem like a little thing, but, as Proverbs warns, it is the little foxes which spoil the vine. Even the little words in scripture are important.
Robin
I was struck by so many powerful things in today’s reading, but I will only mention this one from Mark 5: 18 -20.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
This man, once bound yet now delivered, begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus told him to go tell his friends what the Lord had done for him.
Jesus knew the transformation that came from the deliverance He brought was complete. It doesn’t seem He was concerned that it would wear off. And word must have gotten around that this man did exactly as Jesus instructed, because Mark recorded it possibly years later.
Although we know people are to be tested and proved before stepping into leadership, people who have newly been delivered and reconciled to God through Christ should be encouraged to share with those around them what the Lird has done for them.
Truly we overcome by the blood of the lamb, who is able to deliver a man who kept a whole town in fear because of the demonic strength he displayed, and yet with a word was sitting restored to his right mind; and the word of our testimony. May we never stop saying to those around us, ” Look what the Lord has done.”
Robin
Interesting. In Nehemiah 4:9, in response to the plots being made against them by their enemies, the children of Israel did two things:
1. They prayed to God ( spiritual)
2. They set a guard as protection
(practical)
Nehemiah arms them and tells them not to be afraid then says to do two things in verse 14:
1. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, ( spiritual)
2. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes. ( practical)
We show our faith by what we do.
Janice Huse
Neh.4:1-23 has long been a favorite passage of mine , providing wisdom in spiritual warfare by revealing the tactics of the enemy as well as some of the strategies of the Lord , working through His people, which overcomes them.
Sue
January 9
Peter raises Dorcas to life. Before that, he put the widows out. Why? It doesn’t say but Peter then knelt and prayed, obviously seeking God’s direction. It seems the widows were a distraction from Peter hearing from God. Here were widows that loved Dorcas dearly and were beneficiaries of her kindness only wanting to let Peter see what a wonderful Saint she had been. The rest is history, so to speak. Peter did something unconventional and raised a dead woman to life!
Sara: Asas doctors care for him and his well-being . They are sharing their expertise and experience for what they see as best. However, you are stepping out and putting aside the distraction and kneeling before the Lord as Peter did. If God is asking you to do something unconventional do it in confidence!
This is a perfect example of “going deeper”. We ALL need to put the distractions outside and kneel before the Lord to hear his direction for us.
Steve and Anna-Belle Groseclose
I was still pondering on yesterday’s passage in Mt. 9 about the new and old wine skins and had even asked Steve for a practical application. Today I’m thinking that your thoughts on Asa apply, Sara. As we go deeper with the Lord and learn to hear His voice we will not do the expected and usual things. His ways are not our ways. He has new ways for us to walk in and new things to show us.
Robin
Sara, absolutely share Asa’s story. People need to know God isn’t far away but near and that He leads us when we are listening. No one knows how to deal with Asa’ situation better than the one who created him.
Sue, so true, and I am overwhelmed that in spite of everyone thinking evil continually, that He already had a powerful plan in place to redeem us through His son. Though we are not worthy we are worth it to God. A love beyond comprehension.
Sara
There is so much to chew on in these passages. I was thinking about how exact God is. He didn’t tell Noah to just go build a boat but He told him exactly how to do it. And He didn’t say we’ll get some animals in there He said two of everything male and female. Then My mind went hum I would have been ok if He wouldn’t have taken the snakes. But then with that thought I found it interesting that a snake or serpent was the very creature that the devil embodied to deceive Adam and Eve yet God still allowed the snake to live. It feels like a visual of how God truly wants all to come to Him and he gives us many chances to do so.
Robin I have felt your comment on, are we willing to stand on truth even when it seems we are alone, with some of Asa care and Drs. We are doing some things that aren’t the “normal” way to treat the symptoms of SB and some of the notes in his chart about me haven’t always been very kind. Yet Asa is thriving not because of any one Dr or medication or in our case homeopathic meds but because God is allowing him to thrive. Sure God has brought some amazing people into our lives and given them great knowledge but ultimately none of it would work if God didn’t want it to work. Why Asa is doing so well and some other kids with SB aren’t is only because of God. So I will continue to go against the grain if it’s what God is telling us to do and will Praise His name all the way because there is really no other explanation and I pray that so many people will see God through this journey and ultimately Asa’s life testimony. I continue to pray about if God wants us to share his journey more and how to do that.
Sue
Jan 6. God’s heart hurt to the depths when he saw the evil of mankind. As I thought about this chapter where God destroyed the world I couldn’t help but wonder of the grief that God experienced. Not only did he destroy mankind other than Noah and his family, but everything good that he had created alongside man. God poured himself in to his marvelous creation at the beginning. it says in the New Testament that not even a sparrow falls without him noticing, yet he was forced to destroy every living thing along with man. How heartbreaking it must have been to snuff out the life of the innocent along with the lives of the guilty.
Robin
As I was reading the passage about ‘a spirit putting a lying tongue in the mouths of the prophets’ (2 Chronicles 18:18-22), I was struck by the idea that just because a majority of prophets are saying the thing you want to hear, doesn’t mean they are right. Micaiah alone had the true word of the Lord. How often do we see in scripture a majority of religious leaders being wrong because they aren’t genuinely submitting themselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word? Are we willing to stand on truth even when it seems we are alone? How do we come to know the Lord so deeply that we know without a doubt that He has spoken and we will not be moved from it even when all around us are saying something different?
Robin
As we are focusing on prayer today there are two passages in Matthew that stood out to me. The first is from yesterday, Matthew 9:37 where we are instructed to pray EARNESTLY to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. The second is from today’s chapter, Matthew 10:26-28, the idea that understanding can at times seem elusive to us, but God will speak to us in the night what we are to say in the light and He’ll whisper things we are to proclaim from the rooftops.
The only way we can hear a whisper is to get quiet and get close to the one who is whispering. Prayer involves earnest requests as in Matt 9:37 – then it involves shutting up and drawing near so we can hear what to proclaim to a lost world. And we are to proclaim it without fear, in spite of the fact that the hearers may hate us and harm our bodies. The only one we fear is God, who controls our eternal destiny. Dear God, hear my earnest prayers and instruct me as I quiet myself, draw near and listen. Then fill me with the boldness to shout what You tell me from the rooftops.
Stefan Liner
I find it so cool that even in the blessing Rebekah’s mother and brother spoke over her, we see a prophecy about the Messiah:
“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!”
(Gen 24:60 ESV)
It makes me think of the following passages concerning Jesus and His Church:
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:16-19 ESV)