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.