60IN60 Day 48 - Sat Dec 21

It's Day 48 and we're in Hosea 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verses 1-23 - God cannot abide their sin and just wink at it, yet He so passionately desires for them to come back to Him in love and faithfulness.

If you want to read the chapter online, here’s a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

60IN60 Day 47 - Fri Dec 20

It's Day 47 and we're in Hosea 1.

A scary thought: the Bible is "able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). That can be frightening, but know that God loves you the way you are, but too much to leave you that way. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Nothing really jumped out to me.

Help:

- Verse 2 - What's going on here? God is asking a prophet to go marry a prostitute? It's an object lesson for Israel. Israel was committing spiritual adultery by breaking their covenant with God and running after all these other gods. God is trying to show them that He takes their commitment as seriously as a marriage commitment and wants them to take it seriously also.

If you want to read the chapter online, here’s a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

60IN60 Day 46 - Thurs Dec 19

It's Day 46 and we're in Titus 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 9 – We can spend so much time on pointless arguments. We need to avoid those and stay focused on what’s fruitful.

If you want to read the chapter online, here’s a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

60IN60 Day 45 - Wed Dec 18

It's Day 45 and we're in Titus 2.

Sometimes we only want to hear words of comfort from God, but we're reminded in Hebrews 4:12 that the Bible is "sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit." It's great when we get an encouraging word, but we need to be convicted too. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 2, 5, 6, 12 – “sensible” – In the NASB, the word “sensible” comes up multiple times in this chapter. We need to be sensible in how we handle our lives.

Help:

- Verses 9-10 – Other verses in the New Testament instruct slaves to get their freedom if they can.These verses concentrate on how they should handle life in their current situation.

If you want to read the chapter online, here’s a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

60IN60 Day 44 - Tues Dec 17

It's Day 44 and we're in Titus 1.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 16 – My actions need to reflect what I say my beliefs are.

Help:

- Verses 5, 7 – “Elders” and “overseers” are other terms for what we would call a pastor.

- Verse 10 – “circumcision group” – Those who argued (wrongly) that to be a true Christian you needed to follow the Jewish custom of circumcision.

- Verse 15 – “To the pure, all things are pure” – Rather than having a long list of legalistic rules, we are as Christians to simply listen to the Spirit as He guides us.

If you want to read the chapter online, here’s a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

60IN60 Day 43 - Mon Dec 16

It's Day 43 and we're in Joshua 11.

Is the Bible an old dusty book? Nope - ". . . the Word of God is living and active . . ." (Hebrews 4:12). Dig into today expecting it to speak to you. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 18-19 - We all remember the miraculous intervention by God at Jericho, but the majority of the conquest of the land happened by long, hard battles.

Help:
- Verse 20 - I presume that the sinfulness of the people in the land is what led God to do this. I don't think He's just be arbitrary in His actions.

If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

60IN60 Day 42 - Sun Dec 15

It's Day 42 and we're in Joshua 10.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Nothing really jumped out to me in this chapter.

Help:
- Verses 12-13 - This is a miraculous intervention by God.
- Verse 13 - "the Book of Jashar"- This is a book that didn't make it into the Bible but is a historic document.
- Verses 28, 35, 40 - Israel doesn't just kill the men who meet them in battle, but they kill everyone in the city: men, women, teens, children, babies. There are some explanations that are often given: the guilt of these people was great; it was necessary for all the people to be gone for Israel to succeed in this land; this was Israel's God-granted land; they chose to fight rather than to flee. All of them get at part of the issue, but in the end I still struggle with such wholesale slaughter in the name of God. It's one of the Biblical issues to which I have not yet found an explanation that fully satisfies me.

If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.