60IN60 Day 18 - Thurs Mar 19

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 Mar 18

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 Mar 17

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 Mar 16

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 Mar 15

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 Mar 14

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.

60IN60 Day 12 - Fri Mar 13

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 Mar 12

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 Mar 11

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 Mar 10

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 Mar 9

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 Mar 8

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 Mar 7

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 Mar 6

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.

60IN60 Day 4 - Thurs Mar 5

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 Mar 4

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 Mar 3

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 Mar 2

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 Day 56 - Sun Mar 1

It's Day 56 and we're in Psalm 22.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 1 - I appreciate the honesty.

Help:
- Verses 6, 12 - This is poetic imagery.
- Verses 14-18 - Parts of this are prophetic, pointing toward Christ's experience.

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 Feb 28

It's Day 55 and we're in Psalm 18.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - He is worthy to be praised.  I've got evidence of that in my life.

Help:
- Verses 7-15 - This is poetic, not literal, language.
- Verses 20-24 - This most likely is intended not to say that he was perfect, but that he was passionately keeping the system that God had laid out at that point.  (The Old Testament Mosaic system.)

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 Feb 27

It's Day 54 and we're in Psalm 16.

One thing that can impede God speaking to you is the presence of unconfessed sin in your life. Are you coming to the Word today with a clean heart or are you holding things back from God? 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - I like that phrase: "in Your presence is fullness of joy."  I'd like more of that.

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 Feb 26

It's Day 53 and we're in Psalm 14.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 2 - God is looking for those who are looking for 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 52 - Wed Feb 25

It's Day 52 and we're in 1 Samuel 15.

A little reminder from James 1:22 - "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says!" 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 13-14 - Saul claims to have carried out God's command while the evidence that he didn't is making noise all around him.  So often we have motives to give partial obedience and think it's good enough.

Help:
- Verse 3 - This is just a hard verse.  Knowing that God commanded this destruction is hard to understand.  Statements like in verse 33 of the evil that this nation had done help us to understand partially, but it's still a very harsh word and one that believers have struggled with down through the centuries.
- Verse 21 - They might have been sacrificing a little, but most was just taken as spoil.
- Verse 35 - It's not that God didn't know this would happen.  It's just that, like a family tragedy you can see coming for years before, it's still heartbreaking to watch it actually unfold.

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 Feb 24

It's Day 51 and we're in 1 Samuel 14.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 44 - It's ironic that Saul had made a stupid decision, yet he sticks by it and even invokes the name of the Lord for it.  So many stupid things done with God's name as backing.

Help:
- Verses 9-10 - This is not something that we can normally count on: that we ask God for a specific sign and He will give it to confirm our need to move forward.  God did it here, but that's not an obligation for Him to always do similar things.
- Verse 19 - Instead of waiting on a word from God, Saul decides to move forward.
- Verse 24 - This was a bad idea from Saul that lessened the victory.
- Verse 41 - In the Old Testament they sometimes discerned God's direction through casting lots.
- Verse 44 - This was Saul's decision, not God's.  The oath was Saul's idea. . . and not a good one.  Here it brings the ridiculous situation of the hero of the story potentially being executed.
- Verse 52 - Saul put all the good warriors he could find in his army.

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 Feb 23

It's Day 50 and we're in 1 Samuel 13.

An encouragement as you read today: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 11-12 - We always have excuses for our disobedience.  Sometimes they're really good ones, but it's still disobedience.

Help:
- Verse 13 - This seems harsh, but God wanted someone who would trust Him and obey 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 49 - Sun Feb 22

It's Day 49 and we're in 1 Samuel 12.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 23 - "far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you" - That's a phrase to hold onto.

Help:
- Verses 17, 19 - They'd been told ahead of time it was sin, but "they wanted what they wanted."  Now, too late, they acknowledge their sinful desire.
- Verse 20 - This is Plan B.  God will not abandon them to their sin, but they have lost the chance for Plan A when they chose to have a human king.  There are choices we can made that remove God's Plan A for 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 48 - Sat Feb 21

It's Day 48 and we're in 1 Samuel 11.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - There are things that should move us to righteous anger.  We are too often angry over petty things and not often enough angry over injustice.

Help:
- Verse 3 - Why they allowed them to do this is beyond me.  Maybe it was the custom in war of that day.
- Verse 10 - Yes, they lied.
- Verse 12 - Suddenly Saul is popular, whereas originally there were some who questioned him as the choice.  People overreacted and wanted to kill those who'd questioned him.  It was a mob mentality, not a God thing.

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 Feb 20

It's Day 47 and we're in 1 Samuel 10.

One reason to be in the Bible regularly? It helps you avoid nonsense. There are so many different ideas out there today about God. It's important that we base our image of God on who He said He is, not what other people wish He was. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 19 - With sadness, God lets us have what we want, even knowing it will hurt us.  We're too stubborn to listen to His warnings.

Help:
- Verse 1 - "kissed him" - On the cheeks.
- Verses 6, 9 - Even though God did not want them to go down this path, He was going to do His best to empower Saul to be a good king.
- Verse 19 - God had been their king up to this point, but they wanted a human king like all the other nations.  See chapter 8.
- Verse 22 - Is this comedy or tragedy?  The new king is sufficiently overwhelmed or shy that he is hiding among the baggage.

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 Feb 19

It's Day 46 and we're in 1 Samuel 9.

Note that we've jumped forward to chapter 9.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 16 - It's always cool when God gives you a sign and then you watch it happen.

Help:
- Verse 2 - A head taller and very handsome?  Reminds me of someone. . .
- Verse 16 - The people were demanding a king so they could be like all the other nations.  Up to this, God was their king and there were prophets to speak His will.  God warned them in chapter 8 of all the bad that would come from that decision to get a human king, but they persisted, so He let them have what they wanted.

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 Feb 18

It's Day 45 and we're in 1 Samuel 3.

Note that we'll be skipping to chapter 9 tomorrow.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 1 - It's interesting that there are times when God is more active.  I wonder how much is the times and how much is the receptiveness of the people?

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 Feb 17

It's Day 44 and we're in 1 Samuel 2.

Note that we're reading the first three chapters and then skipping forward to chapter 9.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 25 - This is a tough verse (explained below), but it's a reminder that judgment will fall eventually.

Help:
- Verses 6-7 - Not everything is God's perfect will (i.e. the way God wants everything to happen), but there is also God's providential will (i.e. that God allows things to happen).
- Verses 12-17 - They were using their religious position for personal gain, which was wrong and caused the people to have great cynicism toward the things of God.
- Verses 20-21 - As I've said before, this is an unusual situation.  This is not the way that fertility issues normally play out.
- Verse 25 - The idea that God desired their death is tough to read.  Was it just?  They were doing great wrong with their religious position, were unrepentant, and had been given abundant opportunities to repent.  It was time for justice.

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 Feb 16

It's Day 43 and we're in 1 Samuel 1.

We are reading the stories of Samuel.  Please note that we're reading chapters 1-3 and then skipping forward to chapter 9.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - That's a big sacrifice.  Would I be willing to do that?

Help:
- Verse 5 - This does not mean that is the usual reason for infertility.  Obviously, this is an unusual circumstance, given that the person to be born would end up as a Biblical prophet.
- Verse 19 - "remembered" - This doesn't mean God had forgotten her - God can't forget anything!  It's an Old Testament phrase that means that this was the moment God chose to move.

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 Feb 15

It's Day 42 and we're in 1 Corinthians 16.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 9 - It's telling that he both has great opportunity and great obstacles.

Help:
- Verses 1-4 - This is a great idea: create a "generosity fund."  Put a little money aside each pay so that you can be generous when opportunities arise.
- Verse 20 - Greeting each other with a holy kiss is not binding on us today.  It was their custom in that day.  It was a kiss on the cheek.
- Verse 21 - Most of Paul's letters were dictated to someone because of Paul's eyesight.  On the original letter, this line was written in his own handwriting.

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 Feb 14

It's Day 41 and we're in 1 Corinthians 15.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 24 - I don't remember noticing the line about Jesus handing the Kingdom over to the Father.  I'm going to have to think more about that.

Help:
- Verses 6, 18 - "asleep" - It's a euphemism for having died.
- Verse 29 - This verse is very obscure and I honestly have no good explanation for it.
- Verse 31 - "I die daily" - Not physically, but that spiritually Paul kills off his will and yields himself to God's will.  This is similar to what we are to do in "carrying our cross."

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 Feb 13

It's Day 40 and we're in 1 Corinthians 14.

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:
- Verse 26 - Worship, especially evening worship, would be more meaningful if this happened: if everyone brought something to share for the Lord.

Help:
- Verses 1-4 - Some believe that "prophecy" here refers to predicting the future.  It more likely simply means preaching.
- Verses 5-9 - This is laying out the point that if someone is speaking in tongues in a worship service, it's pretty useless unless someone is there to interpret what he's saying.
- Verses 27-28 - If a church does believe in speaking in tongues, these are some of the rules for how it can be expressed in worship.
- Verses 34-35 - Some argue this is a binding teaching for today; others argue that this was only for the Corinthians.  I believe the latter interpretation.

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 Feb 12

It's Day 39 and we're in 1 Corinthians 13.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - I need to have love at my core and not just good works.

Help:
- Verse 12 - This means that in this world we don't always see spiritual things as clearly as we'd like, but someday we'll see clearly.

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 Feb 11

It's Day 38 and we're in 1 Corinthians 12.

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:
- Nothing jumped out to me today.

Help:
- Verses 10, 28, 30 - Obviously Baptists and Pentecostals disagree on whether speaking in tongues is a gift that's available.  Baptists believe that it disappeared at the close of the apostolic era.  Pentecostals believe that it returned in the early 20th century.  I disagree with my Pentecostal brothers, but count them as my brothers in Christ and acknowledge that I have much to learn from their 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 37 - Tues Feb 10

It's Day 37 and we're in 1 Corinthians 11.

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

Help:
- Verse 1 - This seems a little bold.  I think the point Paul is making is not that he is perfect and therefore a perfect example, but that he was passionately pursuing Christ (something the Corinthians were not doing) and that it would benefit them to be more like him.
- Verses 3-10, 13-15 - Is this controversial?  Oh yeah.  There are a few basic ways to handle these verses:  1. The core point Paul is getting at is for women to be modest and that translates to all cultures, even if the head covering doesn't; 2. This is a binding command for all women in all cultures and therefore they should be wearing head coverings; 3. This was a cultural thing relevant only to Paul's time and in no way binding on women today.  My personal interpretation is #3.
- Verse 30 - "Sleep" here means that they had died.
- Verse 32 - If we get off track, the Lord will discipline us to get us back where we need to be.

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 Feb 9

It's Day 36 and we're in 1 Corinthians 10.

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:
- Verse 31 - Do all I do for the glory of God.

Help:
- Verses 1-4 - This is Israel's history.  We are being told to avoid their mistakes.
- Verses 20-21 - This has to do with people sacrificing meat to idols in Corinth.  That's obviously not a problem for us today.
- Verse 23 - By "lawful" here Paul means ok before God, not legally ok.  He's saying that there are things I may have freedom to do in Christ, but that may not be productive in some situations.
- Verses 32-33 - This obviously doesn't mean pleasing people by compromising the gospel.  He simply means that he does his best not to unnecessarily offend people so that he can win as many as possible to 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 35 - Sun Feb 8

It's Day 35 and we're in 1 Corinthians 9.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 25, 27 - We have to be disciplined as we pursue this.  Prayer, Bible study, carrying your cross, etc. don't come easily.  We need to do the difficult things.

Help:
- Verses 4-14 - Paul here is defending the right of a minister to be paid for his work.
- Verses 12, 15-18 - After having defended the right to be paid, Paul then speaks of the fact that he didn't exercise that right to be paid for his work as a minister.
- Verses 19-22 - Paul here is saying that he will do all that he can to make the gospel accessible to people, short of compromising the core truth.  To those who are Jewish, he presents the gospel and himself in a Jewish way to try to make the gospel as clear and appealing to them as possible.  A modern example: if someone was trying to reach a group of young people who disliked old songs, that person could use modern music (like rock praise choruses) as part of their effort to convey the Good News.

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 Feb 7

It's Day 34 and we're in Matthew 14.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 14 - I need to have that compassion for those searching for hope and 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.

60IN60 Day 33 - Fri Feb 6

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

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 23 - I want to see that abundant fruitfulness in my life.

Help:
- Verse 11-15 - This initially sounds like Jesus is trying to keep truth away from people, but that's not what it's saying.  Verse 12 is key: the one who listens openly and wants to know the truth will get more; the one listening to criticize will lose what truth they had.  Verse 15 is also important.  The word "otherwise" there doesn't "I'm keeping it from them" but "otherwise it would happen."
- Verses 31-32 - The kingdom initially looks small and unimpressive, but it'll grow into something expansive.
- Verse 33 - The kingdom starts hidden, but then shows up in influencing much.
- Verse 52 - With Jesus' teaching, people have both new truth (that He's sharing) and old truth (from the Old Testament, that's now clearer because of Jesus' 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 32 - Thurs Feb 5

It's Day 32 and we're in Matthew 12.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - Our primary emotion toward those away from God should be compassion.

Help:
- Verses 1-2 - This had to do with the endless rules that the Pharisees made up for people to live by.
- Verses 31-32 - The "unforgiveable sin" is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which essentially is attributing the obvious move of God to Satan.  This is not a sin you can do accidentally.  It's something that would require a very hard heart.
- Verse 43 - The "waterless places" presumably refer to something in the spiritual realm.

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 31 - Wed Feb 4

It's Day 31 and we're in Matthew 11.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 22 - There are degrees of punishment on Judgment Day.  This should trouble us for a lot of Americans who have had multiple opportunities to hear the gospel and yet rejected it.  It puts them in a bad situation.

Help:
- Verse 3 - John the Baptist is doubting whether Jesus is the Christ.  Why?  Probably because John expected a political Messiah who would overthrow Rome and John is still sitting in jail at this point.  Jesus was the Messiah, but not the type of Messiah John was expecting.
- Verse 12 - This verse is a little obscure.  It most likely means that the kingdom was suffering from violent attacks.
- Verse 14 - A prophet like Elijah was to be the forerunner of the Christ.  John is filling that role for Jesus.
- Verse 25 - Not babies, but spiritual infants.  Those who are willing to come humbly and receive the 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.

60IN60 Day 30 - Tues Feb 3

It's Day 30 and we're in Matthew 10.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 39 - I have to be willing to lose my desires and follow Christ, presuming He has a bigger and better plan.

Help:
- Verses 5-6 - During Jesus' earthly life, His specific mission was to Israel.  It's only after His rejection and crucifixion that in Acts the door is opened to Gentiles.
- Verse 34 - This means that Jesus is divisive and is going to cause some disagreements as some follow Him and some dismiss Him.
- Verse 37 - This is not to say that we should not love our families (after all, the second greatest commandment is about loving people), but it does mean that our love for God should be the primary love of our lives.
- Verse 38 - Taking up your cross means sacrificing for Jesus.
- Verse 39 - We have to follow Christ and His teaching and presume that this will lead to a greater life than our own direction.

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.