60IN60 Day 15 - Mon Sept 16

It's Day 15 and we're in Exodus 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 11 - I think we all have moments of doubting that God could do something significant through us.  Ultimately, though, it's about how big He is, not how great we are.

 

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 Sept 15

It's Day 14 and we're in Exodus 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 5 - Even in the midst of something intended for evil, God is able to work so that His chosen servant is raised both with a Hebrew heritage and with a knowledge of the inner workings of Pharaoh's household.

 

Help:

- Verse 12 - Moses' thoughts were in the right direction (protecting the Hebrews), but he went about it the wrong way (in his own power).

- Verse 25 - Not saying that God had been distracted, but rather that their cries and prayers finally were sufficient to merit His 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 13 - Sat Sept 14

It's Day 13 and we're in Exodus 1.

We'll come back to John.  We're going to visit different parts of the Bible during our 60 days: gospels, New Testament epistles, Old Testament stories, Psalms, Proverbs.  Each brings something different to the table.

 

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 8 - "who did not know Joseph" - You can't rest on the way things used to be.  It's a new day and you have to face what's in front of you.

 

Help:

- Verse 1 - The context of this, for those who don't know, is that Israel has long been in Egypt and now God is going to bring them up to the Promised Land.

- Verse 15 - Because there were so many Israelites, either (a) these were the two midwives in charge of all the others or (b) the Israelites didn't normally call on the midwives at birth.

 

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 Sept 13

It's Day 12 and we're in John 7.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 17 - Obedience has to come first, then assurance and confidence follows.

- Verse 38 - I love that image - God overflowing from within us.

 

Help:

- Verses 8, 10 - Jesus means, "I'm not going to go up at the start of the festival and be the big presence you want me to be."  Instead, He went up secretly, waited until later in the festival, and then did a little teaching.

 

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 Sept 12

It's Day 11 and we're in John 6.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 15 - Jesus didn't trust people's instincts to lead to the right thing.  Why do I sometimes?

 

Help:

- Verse 29 - This isn't saying that we just have to say we "believe" in Jesus and then we can go live our lives any way we want.  To truly believe in Jesus, I must then act on what He said to do (i.e. follow His teachings) because I believe that what He said is true is really true.  That's required to actually believe in Jesus.

- Verses 51-56, 60, 63 - This is the original "hard saying" from Jesus.  These are tough words.  The best way I think to understand it is that Jesus sacrificed His body and blood in my place, so therefore I have to receive that into my life in order to experience new spiritual life.  Obviously, we tie these words into what we celebrate at communion.

 

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 Sept 11

It's Day 10 and we're in John 5.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 13 - Most healers would gather a big crowd and publicize what they did.  Jesus quietly does it, then slips away without telling the man His name.  I like it.

 

Help:

- Verse 18 - We use the term "Father" so often in prayer that we take it for granted, but that was not something the Jews back then did.  They considered Jesus using that term to be provocative.

- Verse 29 - This is not saying that we're not saved by grace, but rather that our actions are going to reveal the true state of our heart - whether we've been changed or not.

 

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 Sept 10

It's Day 9 and we're in John 4.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 14 - "a well of water springing up to eternal life" - Nice image - I like the idea of God being within us and flowing out of us.

- Verse 34 - Is that what satisfies me?

 

Help:

- Verses 48, 50 - Jesus speaks those challenging words in verse 48, but then the man shows that he is willing to take Jesus by faith (and not by signs) by walking away without having seen the miracle.

 

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 Sept 9

It's Day 8 and we're in John 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:

- Verse 3 - "born again" - He's not offering a minor adjustment to our spiritual lives.  He's offering rebirth.

- Verse 20 - So true about why we shy away from God.  We have things we don't want to come to light.

Help:

- Verse 8 - The point here is that you can't see the wind but it still has an impact.  You can't see the Spirit, but he's still real and having an impact.

- Verse 14 - Moses raising up his staff (and people being saved by that from physical problems) is a picture of Christ being raised up on the cross (and us looking to that to be saved from our spiritual problems).

- Verse 25 - This question seemed to center around whether baptism was necessary for purification.

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 Sept 8

It's Day 7 and we're in John 2.

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 9 - I love the fact that with all the big important guests there the only ones who see the miracle are the servants.  God's not impressed with our power and position.

Help:
- Verse 10 - Despite what some Baptists will tell you, there is no way to have this story make sense without the wine that was made by Jesus being alcoholic wine.

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 Sept 7

It's Day 6 and we're in John 1.

You are not reading the Bible to gain trivia knowledge. You're reading the Bible for life change. Father, change our hearts to look more like Your's.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 39 - "Come and you will see" - That's a pretty good summary of what Jesus calls us to.  Come and walk with me and I'll show you what you need to know as we walk along.

Help:
- Verse 1 - "the Word" - The Word is Jesus.  That's just another name/title for Him.
- Verse 15 - What's John's statement mean?  To paraphrase it: Jesus came after me, in that my ministry started before His, but He was before me, in that He is preexistent because He's God.
- Verse 16 - "grace in place of grace" - This seems to refer to the fact that even before the fuller grace that we've received through Jesus, we received grace in God withholding His judgment because we were stick under the Law.  See verse 17.

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

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

60IN60 Day 5 - Fri Sept 6

It's Day 5 and we are in Psalm 135.

Where God Spoke to Me:

- Verse 6 - This is an interesting idea to me. (See further commentary below.) To be morally pure (like God is) means that you can do what you please and it is still good. What a wonderful way to live: that what you want to do is what is good.

Help:

- Verse 5 - This does not mean "There are other gods but God is the biggest among them." What it means is "People have manufactured their own gods but God is the real one." See verses 15-18.

- Verse 6 - That God does what pleases Him doesn't mean that He's off running after selfish things. No, God is morally pure so when He does what pleases Him He is still doing that which is right and best for us. This points us to something that God is accomplishing in us: as God makes me into someone who is Christlike, He is making me into someone where what I want and what God wants are increasingly the same 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 4 - Thurs Sept 5

 It's Day 4 and we are in Psalm 130.

Where God Spoke to Me:

- Verse 5 - I've been there: my whole being waiting on God to come through for me. When there's something we want so badly and we have to wait on God to bring it about, we're in that moment. Unfortunately, His timetable isn't the same as ours; fortunately, He knows what's best.

Help:

- Verse 3-4 - Even in the Old Testament, there is the witness that we need God's forgiveness and that He is willing to forgive.

If you would like to read the chapter online, here's a link.

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

60IN60 Day 3 - Wed Sept 4

It's Day 3 and we are in Psalm 124.

Where God Spoke to Me:

- Verse 1 - "If the Lord had not been on our side . . ." - There are moments of my life I can look back on and wonder how differently things would have turned out if God hadn't been there to help me. It's a source of thankfulness and humility.

Help:

- Verses 2-4 - This is poetic language that Israel could not have stood in the face of the onslaught of their enemies. There are many Old Testament stories that emphasize that Israel wasn't strong enough on their own but only survived through the assistance of God on their behalf.

If you would like to read the chapter online, here's a link.

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

Your Questions and Comments:

- "I thought as I read your comments this morning and you were talking about out sometimes as Christians we come to church out of obligation and it made me think about Sunday before last I got to church at the same time as the Ellis family and little Cody came running to the church and up the stairs and I thought to myself that’s the way we should all be as Christians running to the church with anticipation  to see what good things God has in store for us inside."

60IN60 Day 2 - Tues Sept 3

It's Day 2 and we are in Psalm 122.

Where God Spoke to Me:

- Verse 1 - This isn't always true - that we are joyful to go to the house of the Lord. Sometimes it seems like people go more out of a sense of obligation. When you are able to actually look forward to worshiping with your brothers and sisters in Christ, when you are eager to see what God is going to do in the worship, that's a wonderful feeling.

Help:

- Verse 6 - This is a statement that is often repeated around the world: "pray for the peace of Jerusalem." It becomes especially popular when there is another round of violence that breaks out in that region. That is a good thing to pray, but the ultimate hope of that prayer, though, is not just for a temporary cessation to the hostilities in the Middle East. As Christians we believe that the only lasting peace that will come to that region will be when Christ returns someday. So that prayer is both a call to God for the current violence to stop and for Christ to return to set this world right.

- Verses 7-9 - It is verses like these that lead toward the idea that we as Christians should be pro-Israel.

If you would like 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 Sept 2

It's Day 1 and we are in Psalm 121.

Where God Spoke to Me:

- Verses 1-2 - This is such a strong statement. God is on my side and I know He's there to help me.

Help:

- Verse 5 - This is lovely symbolic language of God placing His hands over us to protect 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 Next Round

 The next round of 60IN60 will begin Monday, September 2nd.