60IN60 Day 36 - Mon Apr 7

It's Day 36 and we're in Matthew 13.

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:
- Verse 23 - I want to see that overflowing fruitfulness in my life.

Help:
- Verse 12 - Isn't that unfair? It sounds a little that way, but you've got to read it with the idea that the larger passage in mind. The idea that's being shared here is something like this: "To the one that grabs onto what God is trying to show them, more insight and more opportunities to go deeper will be given. To the one who ignores what God is trying to show them, even what little insight they have will fade away."
- Verses 13-16 - This is a hard passage to understand. The most important thing to grasp it is to know that this is not God saying what He hopes will happen: "I hope they don't grasp it and their eyes are blinded so they won't turn to Me." This is God saying what the people are doing: "My people hear with their ears but not with their hearts because they don't want Me. If they would turn to Me, I would eagerly heal them."
- Verse 52 - As Jesus taught, He both shared old truths in an instructive and revealing way as well as sharing new things that helped people toward God.

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 Comments and Questions:

- "Please comment on Matthew 12:29. I may be over thinking this verse-taking it out of context." - The larger context here is the Pharisees accusing Jesus of doing miracles by the power of Satan. (It's interesting that the miracles are apparently so undeniable that the Pharisees cannot simply deny that they are in fact miraculous.) Jesus responds to their argument by saying: that doesn't make any sense. Why would Satan give Jesus evil power to drive out demons? The demons are on Satan's team so Satan wouldn't want them driven out! So Jesus points out that a kingdom divided against itself (like casting out demons by evil power) cannot stand. Then He says (and now we come to v. 29) the same point in the opposite way: if you're going to take something from a strong man (read: Satan) then you would have to be able to tie him up to render him powerless. So, again, it would be Jesus working against Satan's power, not with Satan's power.

60IN60 Day 35 - Sun Apr 6

It's Day 35 and we're in Matthew 12.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 14 - Are there obvious moves of God that I miss sometimes because I'm closed off to what He's doing?

Help:
- Verses 31-32 - The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not something that accidentally happens. It comes from the deliberate and repeated choice to ignore the leading of God and to ascribe what God is doing to other sources.

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 Apr 5

It's Day 34 and we're in Matthew 11.

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 21-24 - I have been given an enormous opportunity in knowing the gospel. Because of how much God has revealed to me, He has great expectations of me. We need to realize there is a responsibility that comes with what's been revealed to us.

Help:
- Verse 3 - Amazingly, John the Baptist is now doubting whether Jesus is really the Christ. This is because Jesus is not acting in the way that John expected: setting up a kingdom to drive the Romans out.
- Verses 16-19 - The basic point is: "nothing satisfies you." John came living a spare lifestyle and you wouldn't listen to Him. Jesus came living a life of eating and drinking and you wouldn't listen to 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 33 - Fri Apr 4

It's Day 33 and we're in Matthew 10.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 39 - Feeling a lot of this lately in my life. We've got to be willing to put aside our desires and pursue what He's calling us to.

Help:
- Verses 5-6 - Why did He say this? Because while Jesus was on earth, His mission was focused on sharing the gospel with the Jews. It isn't until after they reject Him that the gospel opens up to the Gentiles (i.e. us).
- Verse 15 - Why would it be more tolerable for them? Because with Jesus doing these miracles and sharing this teaching, they had a clear opportunity to know God's will and they're rejecting it. Because they had a better opportunity than Sodom and yet rejected it, things will be worse for them.

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 Apr 3

It's Day 32 and we're in Matthew 9.

One reason to be in the Bible regularly? It cuts through the clutter. We are surrounded by tons of information, but so much of it is essentially irrelevant to a meaningful life. The Bible speaks to the issues that matter. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - Which would I consider the greater miracle: the physical healing or the soul healing?  Which would I be more impressed by?

Help:
- Verse 3 - They thought He was blaspheming because only God had the right to forgive sins and they didn't think that Jesus was God.
- Verse 9 - He had met Matthew before.  This was not their first conversation.
- Verse 15 - Yeah, that means that we should be fasting regularly.
- Verses 16-17 - What's that mean?  That Jesus is doing a new 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 31 - Wed Apr 2

It's Day 31 and we're in Matthew 8.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 10 - It's hard to underestimate how prized faith is to Jesus.

Help:
- Verse 10 - The centurion shows faith by believing that if Jesus speaks the word it will happen.  He has confidence in Jesus' power, even sight unseen.
- Verses 18 - Why would He do that?  Most likely, given the previous two verses, is that most of the people were coming not to hear the truth but the see the miracles.  For Jesus, the miracles were primarily useful as signs that pointed people to the truth.
- Verses 21-22 - The presumption here is that the man's father was not yet passed yet, but that the man was asking for permission to wait until his father's death to begin to follow Jesus.
- Verse 34 - Why would they plead with Jesus to leave?  Apparently they prized their property (the pigs) more than the man's changed life and therefore decided having Jesus around was too risky.

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 Apr 1

It's Day 30 and we're in 1 Samuel 26.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 21 - Saul "repents" but is unwilling to change his behavior long-term.  Real repentance is less about the emotion and more about the changed behavior.

Help:
- Verses 9-11 - This is a clear explanation of why David has refused to kill Saul when presented with the opportunity.

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.