60IN60 Day 55 - Sat Oct 31

 It's Day 55 and we're in Psalm 141.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 2 - That's a great image - that our worship would be acceptable sacrifices in His eyes.

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 30

 It's Day 54 and we're in Psalm 140.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 12 - God upholds the cause of the needy.  He's got His eye on the hurting and struggling.

Help:
- Verses 9-11 - A very honest prayer, although not a particularly merciful one.  

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 29

 It's Day 53 and we're in Psalm 139.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - He is always with me.  A comfort when I'm struggling; a nuisance when I'm sinning.

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 52 - Wed Oct 28

 It's Day 52 and we're in Psalm 138.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 8 - God is going to accomplish His purpose for my life.  The only one who can stand in the way of that is me.  I just need to obey.

Help:
- Verse 1 - "gods" - This obviously doesn't mean that there actually are other gods, but merely that there are things that people treat as "gods."

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 27

 It's Day 51 and we're in 2 Peter 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 13 - I'm looking forward to seeing the world redeemed and finally see things be the way they should be.

Help:
- Verse 4 - "fell asleep" - Another way to say "died."
- Verse 5 - Probably a reference to the rising of the land out of the sea.
- Verse 16 - An acknowledgement that some of Paul's writings are difficult 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 50 - Mon Oct 26

 It's Day 50 and we're in 2 Peter 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 9 - I like the first half of that verse - the Lord knows how to rescue us from temptation.  The question is: will I let Him help me?

Help:
- Verse 21 - The idea here is that the more we know the more responsible we are at the Final Judgment.  In that sense, to hear the truth and reject it actually puts you in a worse position than you were to start with.

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 25

 It's Day 49 and we're in 2 Peter 1.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 8 - A great promise that if I am pursuing the characteristics that verses 5-7 mention then I will be fruitful.

Help:
- Verse 10 - The idea here is not that we can lose our salvation, but that the fruit and change in our life allow us to know that we have truly been saved and that God is working in our lives.  Many, like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, believe they have God but the evidence points in the opposite direction.
- Verse 14 - A fancy way to say that he believed his death was near.

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 24

 It's Day 48 and we're in Ruth 4.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 17 - Out of this desperate situation came a child honored to be the grandfather of the great king David.  You never know what God may do with your small 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 Oct 23

 It's Day 47 and we're in Ruth 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Nothing really jumped out to me today.  Some days are like that.

Help:
- Verses 9-13 - This idea of "redeeming" seems odd to us because we live in a society where marrying for love is the only acceptable idea.  Throughout history, though, marrying for love was a minority idea.

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 22

 It's Day 46 and we're in Ruth 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 20 - God's kindness extends even to those who have accused Him of abandoning them.

Help:
- Verse 1 - According the Old Testament Law, it was expected that the closest relative would take Ruth as a wife.  Of course, today we only think of marriage as a "love" thing, but that's a rarity throughout the whole of human history.
- Verses 2-3, 15-16 - One of the provisions of the Old Testament Law was that those bringing in the harvest were to leave behind what they didn't get on the first run-through.  That was left was for the poor to harvest.
- Verse 22 - It was a dangerous place out there.

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 21

 It's Day 45 and we're in Ruth 1.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 20-21 - This is a very honest evaluation of the way she sees her life.  Many feel like this.  (Whether it's justified or not is another issue.)

Help:
- Verses 13, 20, 21 - This is the way that she feels.  It's not necessarily an accurate understanding, but it reflects her feelings.
- Verse 15 - "her gods" - This is troubling - that she went back to her gods.  I don't really have a good way to deal with it except to see it as a tragedy.

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 20

 It's Day 44 and we're in Romans 8.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3-4 - The last part of verse 3 and first of verse 4 really jumped out to me as something that I need to study at greater length.

Help:
- Verses 19-22 - Not only has sin impacted humanity, it has hurt creation itself.
- Verse 28 - Not saying that all things (even the bad) are good, but that God is working to redeem all things, even when bad things happen.
- Verse 29 - Predestination is a complex idea, but the short version is that God is His omniscience knows everything that's going to happen.  I believe that we have free will and are not just puppets.

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 19

 It's Day 43 and we're in Romans 7.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - Part of the point of our lives: to bear fruit for God.

Help:
- Verses 7-13 - The fault is not in the Law, but what sin did through the Law.
- Verses 14-25 - We still struggle with sin because of the flesh.  He is setting it up to talk about the power of the Spirit in our lives.

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 18

 It's Day 42 and we're in Romans 6.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Nothing jumped out to me today, which is odd because this is such a rich chapter.

Help:
- Verse 1 - It's a misunderstanding of grace to think that we should just sin more so God can give more grace.  A proper understanding includes a hatred of sin and all that it's done to me.
- Verses 3-4 - Believing in Christ has caused us to spiritually participate in His death and resurrection.  He died for us and we are raised to spiritual life through Him.
- Verse 6 - Our old spiritual being was crucified with Christ and we have been raised to new spiritual life - a new creation in Christ!

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 17

 It's Day 41 and we're in Romans 5.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - I don't think we sufficiently appreciate how great the idea is that we've been reconciled with God.

Help:
- Verse 3 - This is not to say that we love problems for the sake of having problems, but rather (as the verses that follow reveal) that we appreciate the positive side effects that our struggles can bring in terms of spiritual maturity.
- Verse 13 - Awareness of our guilt is necessary for judgment.
- Verse 20 - As the awareness of our guilt increased, so did the need for grace.

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.

Your Thoughts and Questions:

- "In Romans 3: 25 does this refer to those who followed God before the death and resurrection on Christ not being judged for their sins but will be in heaven?" - It is a reference to the Old Testament saints who had true faith in God but lived before Jesus' death.  Ultimately, the only means of forgiveness is the cross of Christ.  Because they lived faithfully for God but lived before the cross, God waited until the cross was available to judge them, so they could benefit from the cross.

60IN60 Day 40 - Fri Oct 16

 It's Day 40 and we're in Romans 4.

This chapter is rather complicated, but the main idea is that we are justified before God by our faith and not by works.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 21 - This is a good one to fall back on - what God has promised, He is able to perform.

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 15

 It's Day 39 and we're in Romans 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 20 - The rules don't get us closer to God - they just help us realize how far away from Him we are.

Help:
- Verse 8 - Some twist the truth to argue that if we are saved by grace then we should sin more so there will be more of a chance for grace.  It's a complete misunderstanding of the offer.
- Verses 20-23 - The Law helps us to understand how far away from God we are.  It can't save us.
- Verse 25 - "propitiation" - An old word referring to the idea of God's wrath toward sin being satisfied in the death of Christ.

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 14

 It's Day 38 and we're in Romans 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - Good question.  Get more humble.
- Verse 8 - "selfishly ambitious" - Make sure that God is our first priority, not our own name.

Help:
- Verses 25-28 - The point is essentially that it's the inward obedience that matters.

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 13

 It's Day 37 and we're in Romans 1.

Romans is the greatest explanation of the gospel.  The first 8 chapters lay out Paul's main case.  You can basically divide what he puts forward in four parts: 1. We have sinned and need to repent; 2. Jesus died for us to be able to be forgiven; 3. When we accept Christ into our lives, He gives us a new heart and makes us into a new creation; 4. We move forward to live victorious lives in the power of the Spirit within us.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 32 - It's not enough that people pursue the sin - we can reach a place where we actively celebrate things that are 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 36 - Mon Oct 12

 It's Day 36 and we're in Mark 16.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - He has risen.  There is not any better news than that.

Help:
- Verse 9-20 - This is not Scripture.  It's not in the early manuscripts and should not be included.  (And that's good especially because of verse 18.)

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 11

It's Day 35 and we're in Mark 15.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 38 - This was the curtain that hid the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place in the Temple.  This means that through Jesus we are now permitted in the holiest of places: God's presence.  May we not take that for granted.

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 10

 It's Day 34 and we're in Mark 14.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 65 - The self-restraint He showed here is amazing.

Help:
- Verse 7 - This is not justification for ignoring the poor.  It's simply a statement acknowledging that what Jesus was about to go through was an unusual situation and that this expensive gift was needed in that moment.
- Verses 51-52 - This is probably a reference to Mark, the author of this gospel.  In all the church Easter plays that I've seen in my life, I have never once seen this part of the story portrayed. ;-)

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 9

It's Day 33 and we're in Mark 13.

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 33, 35, 37 - Again and again He says to be alert.  Am I ready for what God is doing in the world, whether it's the great destruction described here or great revival?

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 32 - Thurs Oct 8

 It's Day 32 and we're in Mark 12.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 34 - Some questions Jesus applauds and lauds.  How great would it be to ask Him a question and have Him say something like that?
- Verse 40 - "greater condemnation" - That just really hit me hard this morning.  Not just are those without God going to be condemned, some are going to receive a "greater condemnation."  We need to do all we can to share the truth so that folks don't have to experience that.

Help:
- Verses 13-14 - The Pharisees and Herodians come together set the trap.  The Herodians were in league with Herod, so if Jesus says to not pay taxes, they can go to Herod and call Jesus a rebel worthy of death.  If Jesus says to pay the tax, then the Pharisees can tell the people that Jesus is just a patsy for the Roman government.  It's supposed to be an ironclad no-win situation for Jesus, except that He has the perfect answer.
- Verse 25 - We will know each other, but we will not be married in the same way we are on earth.  For some people that seems like really bad news; for others it seems like really good news. ;-)
- Verses 35-37 - This is a little Bible riddle that Jesus gives them.  David is speaking of someone coming after him, so David should be the one given the most respect.  Instead, though, David speaks of the one who comes after him as his "Lord."  Why?  The correct answer is that the one who came after him was God Incarnate.  This illustrates that the Pharisees didn't have quite as complete a grasp on the Bible as they thought they did.

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

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

60IN60 Day 31 - Wed Oct 7

 It's Day 31 and we're in Mark 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:
- Verse 2 - "which no one has ever ridden" - Jesus was doing something that no one else had ever done, or ever could do, in heading to the cross for our sins.

Help:
- Verse 14 - Why does Jesus curse the fig tree?  It's not because He's having a bad day and lost His temper.  This passage is a "sandwich" - a story starts, then is interrupted by another story, and then the original story is concluded.  When that happens, the two stories are always intimately related.  Here Jesus curses a fig tree (verses 12-14), goes and clears out the compromised Temple (verses 15-19), and then the fig tree is dead (verses 20-21).  Jesus cursing the fig tree is symbolic of Him cursing the Temple system.  He is laying that aside for the new open door that will happen through His death on the cross.
- Verses 27-33 - The point of this is that the religious leaders wanted to hold onto their popularity among the people but also didn't want to acknowledge John as a prophet.  Jesus targeted their hypocrisy.

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 30 - Tues Oct 6

 It's Day 30 and we're in Mark 10.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 21 - "felt a love for him" - I love that line.  Jesus wasn't trying to beat him down with what He's about to ask the young man.  He wasn't trying to prove a point with the man's failure.  Jesus told him to leave everything behind because it was the path to life.

Help:
- Verses 2-12 - There are other passages that flesh out further details on divorce.  This passage emphasizes the main point, which is that marriage is sacred.
- Verse 18 - "Why do you call me good?" - Jesus was, of course, good because He never sinned.  I think He said this because the man came to Him thinking He was another teacher, albeit a "good" one.
- Verse 23 - Being rich makes it easy for us to love this world.  It's hard to have money and not have it rule you.
- Verses 24-25 - This goes along with the teaching Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount about the path to God being a narrow road.

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 29 - Mon Oct 5

It's Day 29 and we're in Mark 9.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 43-48 - The point of these verses is not to mutilate yourself, but to do whatever it takes to avoid hell.  Do I have that level of concern about hell and the destination of many of my friends?

Help:
- Verse 12 - The "Elijah" figure is John the Baptist.
- Verse 29 - That is, being "prayed up" and having been before the Lord in prayer and therefore being close enough to Him to manifest that kind of power.
- Verses 49-50 - This is obscure.  The verse 49 reference probably means that suffering and struggle will come our way.  Verse 50 probably means that we need to have the "flavor" of Christ defining our lives.

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 28 - Sun Oct 4

It's Day 28 and we're in Jonah 4.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - Am I happier about the things I have than the people God desperately loves?

Help:
- Verse 1 - He was angry because Nineveh was an enemy of the Israelites.  He wanted justice, not mercy.

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 27 - Sat Oct 3

It's Day 27 and we're in Jonah 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 5 - You never know who's ready to say, "Yes" to God.

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 26 - Fri Oct 2

It's Day 26 and we're in Jonah 2.

Remember that your daily reading in the Bible isn't about gaining information - it's about changing your life to be more like Christ. That means that you need to take action on what God speaks to you about. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 2 - God hears us when we cry out in our distress.

Help:
- Verses 1-10 - It has long been presumed by many that Jonah was alive in the belly of the fish, but it never actually says that.  Some of the wording (see verses 5-7 especially) lends itself toward the idea that Jonah died in the fish.  The miracle would then be that God raised Jonah back to life.

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 25 - Thurs Oct 1

It's Day 25 and we're in Jonah 1.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - Why did Jonah run away?  Because the Ninevites were enemies of Israel and he didn't want to go preach to them and give them the chance for mercy.  It's sobering to know that God loves everyone - even my enemies.

Help:
- Verse 2 - "come up before me" - That means that the accumulated weight of their sin had reached a place where it demanded action.  It wasn't that God wasn't paying attention before that or was unaware before that.
- Verse 5 - "asleep" - This could be because he's so exhausted because of the stress of the event or it could be that he is at peace about running away from God and finds sleep easy.
- Verse 7 - "lots" - God obviously doesn't always influence the outcome of such things, but in this situation, He spoke to the sailors through something they could understand.
- Verses 8-10 - They believed in provincial gods - gods that had a limited scope of power.  When they heard Jonah say that his God was the God of the sea, they knew why the storm had 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.