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.