60IN60 Day 24 - Wed Nov 30

It's Day 24 and we're in Psalm 28.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - I like the thought that thinking of what He's done for us fills us with joy.

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 23 - Tues Nov 29

It's Day 23 and we're in Psalm 26.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 2 - It's essential to come before God regularly and ask Him to reveal where we've still got work to do.  He wants to see us make progress.

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 22 - Mon Nov 28

It's Day 22 and we're in Psalm 25.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - Sometimes we're out on a limb for Him, trusting that He's going to come through.  He will not let us down.

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 21 - Sun Nov 27

It's Day 21 and we're in Psalm 24.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 1 - All that was created was created by 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 20 - Sat Nov 26

It's Day 20 and we're in Acts 4. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 14 - The hard-headedness is amazing.  They have no reply and know something amazing has happened (verses 15-18), but yet they are so tied to their position and their power that they won't consider changing.

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 19 - Fri Nov 25

It's Day 19 and we're in Acts 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 19 - That's a nice phrase: "times of refreshing."

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 18 - Thurs Nov 24

It's Day 18 and we're in Acts 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 43 - I'd like to see more of that "awe" 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 17 - Wed Nov 23

It's Day 17 and we're in Acts 1.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - I don't remember noticing this verse before.  This has a lot to say to preachers who spend endless time speculating on end times possibilities.

Help:
- Verse 11 - The latter half of the verse is a reference to the Second Coming.
- Verses 15-26 - I think this is a mistake by Peter.  He was not told to fill that twelfth spot.  I think God had Paul in mind as being Judas' replacement and Peter did something he wasn't asked to do.  If so, that means the first major decision by a Christian after Jesus left was a mistake.

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 16 - Tues Nov 22

It's Day 16 and we're in Genesis 45.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 2 - Forgiving is hard.

Help:
- Verse 2 - This is not playacting.  This is the genuine struggle of Joseph moving from resentment to forgiveness.
- Verse 3 - Why does Joseph ask if his father is still alive?  He knows that he is from previous conversations with his brothers.  This moment simply shows Joseph's heart for wanting to see his father again.
- Verses 4-8 - His brothers do bear guilt for their sinful treatment of Joseph, but Joseph is here acknowledging that he can now see where God was working within what seemed at the time to be terrible.
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 15 - Mon Nov 21

It's Day 15 and we're in Genesis 44.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 1-2 - In many ways Joseph has the best character of any of the Old Testament figures, yet here it shows him struggling with forgiveness.  We've all been there.

Help:
- Verse 1 - Why does Joseph do this?  I think at this point he still has bitterness and resentment toward his brothers and wants to make them squirm.  It's not until later in this chapter when Judah offers to sacrifice himself that Joseph's love for his brothers breaks through (which shows up early in chapter 45).

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 14 - Sun Nov 20

It's Day 14 and we're in Genesis 43.

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

Help:
- Verse 23 - The steward thought this was true, but 42:25 tells us otherwise.

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 13 - Sat Nov 19

It's Day 13 and we're in Genesis 42.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 24 - He is moved by their sorrow, but not enough to forgive.

Help:
- Verse 4 - Yes, Jacob is showing favoritism again and that is bad parenting.  The Bible describes what Jacob does but that doesn't mean it endorses it.
- Verses 7-17 - I think this comes from Joseph's resentment over how he was treated.  Some think Joseph is more mature than that and this is just a little drama, but I think Joseph still had hard feelings.
- Verse 28 - They were concerned they'd be accused of stealing.
- Verse 37 - Offering two sons as a bounty had to do with the honor system they had back then.
- Verse 38 - Yes, Jacob is playing favorites.

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 Questions and Comments:

- "Genesis 40 - The scriptures do not say why the chief baker was killed.  Did it have something to do with Pharoah's birthday (like when John the Baptist was beheaded)?  It was obviously a fulfillment of Joseph's interpretation, so is that the reason?" - We are not told what the baker had done to deserve to be in prison. His death, though, was not because of the vision of Joseph. Joseph's vision simply predicted what was going to happen. Presumably, the baker had done something worthy of the punishment and that sentence was carried out. (Given his position, it seems likely it might have been something like trying to poison the Pharaoh with his food.)

60IN60 Day 12 - Fri Nov 18

It's Day 12 and we're in Genesis 41.

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:
- Verses 1, 40 - The timing of the famine determined when Joseph got out of jail.  It was a longer wait than he'd have liked, but as verse 57 indicates many lives were saved by what Joseph went through.

Help:
- Verse 38 - Pharaoh gave Joseph too much credit in presuming that the divine spirit dwelt within him.  He did have help from God, but he wasn't part divine.

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 11 - Thurs Nov 17

It's Day 11 and we're in Genesis 40.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 14-15 - Sometimes what looks like it's obviously going to be the open door fails to materialize.

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 10 - Wed Nov 16

It's Day 10 and we're in Genesis 39.

One problem that regularly bothers me as I read is a wandering mind. A word in the text will make me think of something that I have to do that day and my mind is off to the races, leaving the Bible behind. I've found it helpful to have something near me that I can make a note on when that happens so I can write down that thing I need to do later and get back to concentrating on the reading in front of me.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 21 - It's an interesting comment here.  Within the larger bad thing, God showed kindness to Joseph in a smaller way.  Of course, we'd usually just avoid that struggle altogether.

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 9 - Tues Nov 15

It's Day 9 and we're in Genesis 38.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 24-25 - He was so indignant over her sin even when he had secretly committed that same sin.  What are the sins I publicly condemn while privately accommodating?

Help:
- Verses 7, 10 - This is not something that usually happens, but it does sometimes.
- Verses 14-18 - Yes, this is Jerry Springer stuff.  The Bible describes what this family does and that doesn't mean that God approves of what they do.  Pretty sick stuff.

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 8 - Mon Nov 14

It's Day 8 and we're in Genesis 37.

We're going to be reading the Joseph stories out of Genesis.  In many ways, he's the most impressive character in Genesis, although he does give into resentment in meeting his brothers in Egypt.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 34 - Did the brothers think about the consequence to their Dad before they did it, or were they just focused on their own feelings?

Help:
- Verse 3 - "Israel" is Jacob.
- Verse 3 - Yes, this is bad parenting.  Genesis tells what they did, but that doesn't mean what they did was always right.

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 7 - Sun Nov 13

It's Day 7 and we're in Matthew 21.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 13 - A defining characteristic of the church should be our prayer.
- Verse 43 - He wants fruit from 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 6 - Sat Nov 12

It's Day 6 and we're in Matthew 20.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 34 - How often am I "moved with compassion"?

Help:
- Verses 1-16 - Two possible interpretations: a. This refers to the opening door for the Gentiles to come into the Kingdom after it'd been just the Jews for so long; b. It refers to those who are saved late in life and have little time to serve God.
- Verses 22-23 - They would die for the Kingdom, but that authority had already been 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 5 - Fri Nov 11

It's Day 5 and we're in Matthew 19.

As you read, listen for where God wants to speak to you. What jumps out to you? What speaks to situations you're dealing with right now? 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 21 - What's holding you back?  What's holding me back?  For this guy it was his possessions, but it might be something else for us.

Help:
- Verses 1-9 - This is not all the teaching on divorce that Jesus did.
- Verse 12 - This means that some are born without the "equipment" to have sex; some (not so much today, but it happened back then) were made eunuchs by people (like the man who would oversee the king's harem); some choose not to have sex because they feel God is calling them to a single life (this would not involve a physical change like the other two options).
- Verse 17 - This presumably was because the man looked at Jesus as a human teacher.
- Verses 23-26 - This is not saying it's impossible for rich people to be saved, but it is harder.  Why?  They tend to love the things of this world and put their trust in their wealth.

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 Questions and Comments:

- "Matthew 18:34-35 ~ in this story the 'master' is God and He wants us to forgive others because He has forgiven us. The verses say that the master (God) was angry at the unforgiveness and handed the slave over to the torturers. These verses do not say the master (God) tortured the slave (us). But turns the slave (us) over to the torturers. So who are the torturers ?  I think it's our own mind. Every time we see that person that we hate, or hear about that person that we've not forgiven, our mind and spirit goes into overdrive and we torture ourselves again and again. We build up more animosity. We entertain more gossip We harbor more resentment.  And Satan is more than willing to help. The verses say the slave (us) remain with the torturers UNTIL ALL THAT WAS OWED WAS PAID.  Until we forgive as God forgave us, we're going to be in a state of torture. We can't let Satan have that power over our minds. Forgive and let God handle the rest." - You raise an interesting question. I have to say I've never thought about that exact point before. I think the explanation you offer is an interesting one. I think my answer would probably be that the parables of Jesus generally have a major point that He is trying to make and sometimes if we go too deep into the analogies and details the small details may not line up perfectly. This might be one of those cases.

60IN60 Day 4 - Thurs Nov 10

It's Day 4 and we're in Matthew 18.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 34-35 - These are verses to think about slowly.  If God really feels this way, that's different than most of us think of Him.

Help:
- Verse 10 - This is one of the two New Testament verses that hint at the idea of guardian angels.
- Verses 15-18 - This is the idea of "church discipline."  It's how we are to treat serious sin within the church.

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 3 - Wed Nov 9

It's Day 3 and we're in Matthew 17.

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 20 - How little faith we must have, since we see so little of His power.

Help:
- Verse 4-5 - Peter's mistake was that he should have realized the point of the vision was how great Jesus was, not that all three were equally impressive.

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 2 - Tues Nov 8

It's Day 2 and we're in Matthew 16.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 26 - One of my life verses.

Help:
- Verse 4 - The "sign of Jonah" refers to the fact that Jesus was going to be three days to the resurrection, like Jonah was three days in the fish.
- Verses 6, 11-12 - The "leaven" was their hypocrisy.
- Verse 18 - Catholics believe the "this rock" is Peter; Protestants believe it is his confession of Christ.
- Verse 20 - This was largely a timing issue.  He had a timetable in mind.
- Verse 24 - As disciples, we need to be willing to make sacrifices for Him.
- Verse 25 - This means that rather than doing what I want to do, I instead obey the teaching of Christ, believing that obedience to Him will lead to true 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 1 - Mon Nov 7

It's Day 1 and we're in Matthew 15.

There is a little overlap between the two "60IN60" cycles, so we are starting another 60 days because of the way the calendar fell.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - This is a challenging verse for me, because the penalty seems too severe.  This is a part of the Word that I will have to keep wrestling with.

Help:
- Verses 21-28 - It seems harsh that Jesus declines her request.  His mission at this point is exclusively to the lost sheep of Israel.  In other words, He's come to try to win back God's people to God.  Of course, we know that they will reject Him.  But before they do that, He focuses His attention on them.  You can't say yes to everything.

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 Next Round

The next round of 60IN60 starts Monday.

60IN60 Next Round

 The next round of 60IN60 starts Monday.

60IN60 Day 60 - Thurs Nov 3

It's Day 60 and we're in Proverbs 15.

Congratulations!  You've completed the 60 days!  A new round of readings will begin on Monday.  If you need something to read the in next few days, may I suggest some chapters from the book of John?

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 8 - The second half of this verse is a great comfort to me.  That when we're passionately pursuing God, He doesn't just put up with our prayers - He "delights" in them.

Help:
- Verse 6 - Again, this is not always true, but the fact that the most prosperous nation in world history (America) came out of the Protestant work ethic does speak to it.

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 59 - Wed Nov 2

It's Day 59 and we're in Proverbs 14.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - This struck me as funny for ways you could paraphrase it.

Help:
- Verse 30 - Given the first half of the verse, I think the word the NASB translates "passion" would have to something like being agitated.

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 Nov 1

It's Day 58 and we're in Proverbs 13.

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

Help:
- Remember that the nature of a proverb is that it is a general truth. It is not a promise of something that will be true in every single situation. For instance, when it says to "train up a child in the way he should go and when he gets old he will not depart from it," that's generally true, but it's not saying that there's never been a child who's stayed away. A proverb is a general truth.

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.