60IN60 Day 60 - Thurs Oct 31

It's Day 60 and we're in Revelation 19.

I have listed below the readings for the next 60 days, which start on Monday, November 4.

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

Help:
- Verse 7 - "wedding" - This idea goes along with the thought that we are the "Bride of Christ."
- Verse 12 - Again, symbolism.
- Verse 15 - Obviously not a literal thing, but a symbolic way to refer to the words He speaks.

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.

* * * * *

Here are the next 60 days' readings:

1: John 1 (Monday, November 4)

2: John 2

3: John 3

4: John 4

5: John 5

6: John 6

7: John 7

8: Galatians 1 (Monday, November 11)

9: Galatians 2

10: Galatians 3

11: Galatians 4

12: Galatians 5

13: Esther 1

14: Esther 2

15: Esther 3 (Monday, November 18)

16: Esther 4

17: Esther 5

18: Esther 6

19: Esther 7

20: Esther 8

21: Esther 9

22: Esther 10 (Monday, November 25)

23: John 8

24: John 9

25: John 10
26: John 11
27: John 12

28: John 13

29: John 14 (Monday, December 2)

30: 1 John 1

31: 1 John 2

32: 1 John 3

33: 1 John 4

34: 1 John 5

35: Daniel 1

36: Daniel 2 (Monday, December 9)

37: Daniel 3

38: Daniel 4

39: Daniel 5

40: Daniel 6

41: John 15

42: John 16

43: John 17 (Monday, December 16)

44: John 18

45: John 19

46: John 20

47: John 21

48: 1 Peter 1

49: 1 Peter 2

50: 1 Peter 3 (Monday, December 23)

51: 1 Peter 4

52: 1 Peter 5

53: Nehemiah 1

54: Nehemiah 2

55: Nehemiah 4

56: Nehemiah 5

57: Nehemiah 6 (Monday, December 30)

58: Nehemiah 8

59: Nehemiah 9

60: Nehemiah 13

60IN60 Day 59 - Wed Oct 30

It's Day 59 and we're in Revelation 18.

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

Help:
- Verses 1-24 - This chapter focuses on the judgment of the Great Babylon.

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 58 - Tues Oct 29

It's Day 58 and we're in Revelation 17.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 14 - He is the Lord of lords and King of kings.

Help:
- Verses 1-6, 9-13 - There is a lot of symbolism in these verses (see, for instance, the comment in verse 18) - trying to describe things that are hard to understand.

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 57 - Mon Oct 28

It's Day 57 and we're in Revelation 16.

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 9, 11 - Even facing great wrath, they refuse to repent.  We all have moments when we dig in our heels and refuse to give in to God.

Help:
- Verse 1 - The bowl is a symbolic way to describe the judgment God is bringing.
- Verses 1-12 - These are end times judgments coming against an unbelieving and defiant world.
- Verse 13 - "frogs" - Again, presumably symbolic.
- Verse 20 - The earthquake will be so great that mountain ranges will be flattened.  Wow.

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 56 - Sun Oct 27

It's Day 56 and we're in Revelation 15.

We're back in Revelation and with it comes a lot of strange imagery.  Just remember that John is trying to describe images that are almost beyond imagination as well as the fact that there's a lot of symbolism here.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - It speaks of the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb - what's the song of my life?  What are the lyrics that describe what God has done for me and what I'm doing for Him?

Help:
- Verse 7 - "bowls of wrath" - The symbolism used to describe the disasters that God brings during this time on the evil world.

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 55 - Sat Oct 26

It's Day 55 and we're in Ezekiel 37.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 27 - What an offer: to live in God's presence.

Help:
- Verses 12-14 - This is not a reference to the resurrection of the old, but to the reinstatement of the new.

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 54 - Fri Oct 25

It's Day 54 and we're in Ezekiel 34.

A tool for your reading that can be useful is a study Bible. A study Bible is just a Bible that has notes in it to help explain some of the harder passages. If you don't have one and would like me to recommend one, just let me know. I'd be happy to suggest a few good ones.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - This really jumped out to me as a great description (in the negative) of what a pastor should be doing.  I'm going to have to do more digging and thinking on this verse.

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 53 - Thurs Oct 24

It's Day 53 and we're in Ezekiel 13.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - Sometimes people claim God is speaking through them when they're actually just making things up.  We need to evaluate carefully messages that are purported to be from God.

Help:
- Verse 4 - That is, animals that scavenge among ruins, feasting on dead bodies.
- Verses 10-15 - The wall analogy is basically that rather than building a solid (spiritual) wall with their teaching, they are building a weak wall that has plaster to look good.
- Verse 18, 20 - Probably references to human sacrifice, which (sadly) happened at some points in Israel's history.

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.

Questions You Have:
- "Proverbs 31:6-7 - What do you do with that since it seems to condone drinking?" - Those are challenging verses.  When you take verse 4-7 as a whole, I think the point he's making is this: "If you're a king or person in responsibility, you have nothing to gain from getting drunk because it will mess up your ability to administer your duties; if anyone has reason to get drunk, it'd the dying or disillusioned, who at least gets a temporary reprieve from his problem."  I don't take that to say that getting drunk is a good thing even for those in the second category, but rather just noting that by comparison at least they get something out of the experience.
- "Most of the time the focus is on the Characteristic of a Noble Woman but the first sayings of Lemual offer wisdom regarding promiscuity as well as focus on the needy.   While certainly there are verse that seem amiss to Christian theology, they are in the Bible.  How do we deal with them?" - That's a very wide question, but the general answer is this: if my theology and what the Bible says are in conflict, then my theology needs to change.

60IN60 Day 52 - Wed Oct 23

It's Day 52 and we're in Ezekiel 2.

Father, what do You want to teach us today through Your Word?

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - Our job is to convey the message.  Whether they listen or not is their responsibility.

Help:
- Verse 6 - "scorpions" - The idea here is something like "If you're traveling somewhere to deliver My message and you encounter scorpions, don't be afraid."
- Verses 8-10 - "scroll" - Presumably because this was a vision/dream, this is merely symbolic.  It is possible that Ezekiel actually eats something.

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 51 - Tues Oct 22

It's Day 51 and we're in Proverbs 31.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 10 - A great wife is indeed a valuable find.  (I know from personal experience.)  This chapter focuses on some of the attributes of a godly wife.  One thing that I think is worth noting is that while the chapter does mention the importance of what she does in the home, it also mentions her in the marketplace (see, for instance, v. 16).  It doesn't square with the "1950s housewife" image that too many presume is a perfect incarnation of the Bible's view of women.

Help:
- Verse 3 - Most likely this is a reference to a king having a harem.

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 50 - Mon Oct 21

It's Day 50 and we're in Psalm 77.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 7-8 - It's comforting to me to know that the Bible shows us that it's ok to bring our questions to God.

Help:
- Verse 3 - The writer was going through a hard time when he didn't understand why God was allowing the problems that he was going through.  When he thought of God, it made him more disheartened.
- Verse 10 - This is the way the writer feels.  It is not what has actually happened.

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 49 - Sun Oct 20

It's Day 49 and we're in Psalm 76.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - He is "resplendent" - amazingly majestic to behold.

Help:
- Verses 5-6 - This is referring to the death of an enemy army.
- Verse 10 - When we have a justified anger, we rejoice to see God's wrath bring justice.
- Verse 12 - That means God has the right to end the lives of princes.

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 48 - Sat Oct 19

It's Day 48 and we're in Acts 28.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 22 - "spoken against everywhere" - This is not to say that the witness of the early Christians was bad.  In truth, they were known for their compassion and love.  But when you introduce tell people about Jesus and some convert, there are inevitably going to be others in that town (the other religions, the merchants who financially benefit from those faiths, etc) who are going to be unhappy about it.  Our job is ultimately to share the truth, even if it results in some unrest.

Help:
- Verses 26-27 - This passage is not saying that God was intentionally trying to keep them in the dark.  Rather, it's acknowledging that their unwillingness to hear what God had to say was going to keep them from understanding God's will.

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 Oct 18

It's Day 47 and we're in Acts 27.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 23 - We have security about our future when we know we have a word from God about something.

Help:
- Verse 1 - "we" - Luke, the author of Acts, has again joined their group.
- Verse 9 - "fast" - A reference to the Jewish Day of Atonement.

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 Oct 17

It's Day 46 and we're in Acts 26.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 32 - I wonder if things playing out this way had to do with God's will or Paul's stubbornness?

Help:
- Verse 14 - "kick against the goads" - That is to say that Paul was trying to fight God and God was going to keep after him.

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 Oct 16

It's Day 45 and we're in Acts 25.

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

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 Oct 15

It's Day 44 and we're in Acts 24.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 27 - "two years" - Sometimes we presume that God immediately opened doors for the apostles and made things move forward quickly and smoothly.  In truth, they faced the same kind of frustrating delays that we do.

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 Oct 14

It's Day 43 and we're in Acts 23.

We're picking up in Acts where Paul is in Jerusalem and encountering violent opposition.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - God often gives just enough light for the next step.  He doesn't tell us everything that is coming up, but enough to encourage 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 42 - Sun Oct 13

It's Day 42 and we're in Jude 1.

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

Help:
- Verse 7 - "strange flesh" - Another way to say homosexuality.
- Verse 8 - "dreamers" - They are making up the truth that they want to be true, rather than receiving instruction from God.
- Verse 11 - "profit" - Often money is a significant issue in pushing new "truth."
- Verse 12 - "hidden reefs" - That is, a hidden danger; "love feasts" - Another name for communion.
- Verse 23 - "garment polluted by the flesh" - Love them and pray for their redemption, but do not love what they do or even the things associated with them.
- Verse 24 - God has given us the capacity to live victoriously.

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 41 - Sat Oct 12

It's Day 41 and we're in 3 John 1.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - I can say as a pastor that there is a ton of truth in that verse.

Help:
- Verses 5-6 - Missionaries were there and the church had supported them.
- Verse 11 - Not salvation by works, but a reminder that salvation causes works.

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 40 - Fri Oct 11

It's Day 40 and we're in 2 John 1.

Sometimes things get busy and you miss a day or two.  Don’t get discouraged and quit.  Just lay aside those readings you missed and jump in with today’s reading.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - Another straightforward verse on the fact that real faith is obedient faith.

Help:
- Verse 1 - "chosen lady and her children" - Two possibilities: (1) The letter is addressed to a Christian woman and her children; (2) It's addressed to a woman who was the leader of a church and "her children" refers to the people within the church she's brought to the Lord.
- Verse 7 - "antichrist" - This does mean that they are THE Anti-Christ, but that they have the spirit of Anti-Christ in what they're doing.
- Verse 9 - The teachers Paul is warning about had added to the instruction the apostles had given them, altering the truth of the gospel into something different.
- Verse 11 - We should not support those who teach what is Biblically wrong.

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 39 - Thurs Oct 10

It's Day 39 and we're in Philemon 1.

Philemon is a book about a situation where Paul had seen a run-away slave come to Christ.  Paul desires for that slave (Onesimus) to continue to help him in his ministry, but he sends Onesimus back to his owner to get permission for that to happen.  Slavery in Paul's day was not quite the same as what we saw in the South in early American history, but was more of an indentured servitude.  Still, Paul here calls Philemon (the owner) to treat as Onesimus as a brother in Christ rather than a slave and that's was a radical thing for that culture (and one that more Christians in early American history should have heeded).

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 19 - I find it amusing how Paul twists the screws a little in this verse.

Help:
- Verse 10 - "son" - That means Onesimus was his spiritual child, meaning that Paul had been the one to lead him to faith.
- Verse 16 - This is a radical verse.  Can you imagine how much different the first 100 years of American history would have been in the Christians of that era had heeded its words?

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 38 - Wed Oct 9

It's Day 38 and we're in 2 Kings 23.

If you've got questions about your reading, I love answering those. Feel free to email me. Unless it's something personal, I'll usually anonymously share the question (and answer) in the following day's email so everyone can benefit from it.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 22 - They had gone for years and years without doing something as central to their faith as the Passover.  It's easy for us to lose even big pieces of our faith along the way if we aren't regularly relying on the Word.

Help:
- Verse 6 - I presume the point of this was to dishonor the items burned and not the graves of the people.
- Verse 14 - The bones would defile the articles and make them unfit for cultic purposes in the future.
- Verses 25-26 - The king did what was right, but the people were not willing to also repent and change, so judgment fell.  It's not enough to have a good leader if people are unwilling to follow.

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 37 - Tues Oct 8

It's Day 37 and we're in 2 Kings 22.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - Tearing the robes was an outward way in that day to show extreme grief.  The king realizes in hearing the Word just how far away from God's will the nation is and he tears his robe in distress.  Am I that bothered by where I'm falling short of God's will or have I become desensitized to it?  Also, it raises the question: what are the ways that I'm sinning that I may not even be aware of because I'm unaware of God's will?

Help:
- Verse 20 - Presumably God does this because He knows the nation as a whole is not going to repent of their sin, but He wants to reward the king for his efforts.

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 36 - Mon Oct 7

It's Day 36 and we're in 2 Kings 21.

These chapters tell of one of the good kings.  There is a lot of Old Testament that tells of the bad kings because there were so many.  Here is the story of Josiah, one of the good ones, but today's reading sets up the story by talking about some bad kings.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Nothing jumped out to me today.  There will be days like that.

Help:
- Verses 1-9 - It's not just that they weren't serving the Lord - it's that they were actively pursuing evil.

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 35 - Sun Oct 6

It's Day 35 and we're in Matthew 28.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 19-20 - This is our responsibility: to spread the word by spreading the Word.

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 34 - Sat Oct 5

It's Day 34 and we're in Matthew 27.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - It's sad to me that the religious leaders were so careful to not violate their rules while they were in the process of betraying the Savior.  We can miss the big picture so easily.

Help:
- Verses 12, 14 - "no reply" - Why?  Because I think the case against Him was so shallow and weak that He could have easily refuted their arguments.
- Verse 52 - This is an incredible detail not to be overlooked: the miracles that accompanied Jesus' death.

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 33 - Fri Oct 4

It's Day 33 and we're in Matthew 26.

You are not reading the Bible to gain trivia knowledge. You're reading the Bible for life change. Father, change our hearts to look more like Your's.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 15 - Judas betrays for money.  How many Americans essentially do the same thing, betraying a life of faithfully following Jesus in order to have a certain lifestyle?

Help:
- Verse 11 - This is not Jesus saying, "Don't care for the poor."  He's simply noting that the moment was an unusual one that fully justified the expensive sacrifice.
- Verse 17 - The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also known as the Passover.

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.