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.

60IN60 Day 29 - Mon Feb 2

It's Day 29 and we're in Matthew 9.

What's the Bible say about the book you're reading today? We have the Word so that as believers we can be "equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17). Read the Word so you're ready for what life throws at you. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 36 - Do I look at the lost with compassion or dismissal?

Help:
- Verse 3 - They believed Jesus was blaspheming because only God has the right to forgive sins and they didn't believe that Jesus was God.
- Verse 9 - Jesus had met Matthew before.
- Verse 15a - Jesus is the bridegroom.
- Verse 15b - Yes, this means you should be fasting regularly.
- Verses 16-17 - Jesus hasn't come to repair the old way but to bring a new way.
- Verse 30 - Jesus didn't encourage people to publicize these miracles because they generally just brought gawkers and not people genuinely interested in being disciples.

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 28 - Sun Feb 1

It's Day 28 and we're in Matthew 8.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 10, 26 - A reminder of the need to have faith in His power.

Help:
- Verse 4 - Jesus told the man to tell no one because that type of publicity generally brought gawkers and not people who were seriously interested in His message.
- Verse 9 - The centurion is saying, "I know you are a person with spiritual authority and what you say will happen."
- Verse 10 - The faith the centurion had was faith that what Jesus said would happen.
- Verse 12 - Many Israelites will find themselves condemned.
- Verses 21-22 - The presumption here is that the man's father had not died yet, but that he was implying that his father was sick and he needed to wait on that situation to play out.

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 27 - Sat Jan 31

It's Day 27 and we're in Genesis 35.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 10 - It's worth some pondering why God chose as the person who would receive the name Israel someone whose primary trait was being a deceiver.

Help:
- Verse 2 - Why Jacob hadn't done this up to this point speaks to his lack of fervor for God.
- Verse 4 - Apparently the earrings were a way to express their allegiance to that god.
- Verse 22 - More family dysfunction.
- Verse 28 - Back in that day, people lived longer.  God would shorten the typical lifespan later.

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 26 - Fri Jan 30

It's Day 26 and we're in Genesis 34.

What's the Bible say about the book you're reading today? "All Scripture is inspired by God. . ." (2 Timothy 3:16). So reading the Bible helps me know how God sees things. 

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

Help:
- Verse 2 - He raped her.
- Verses 3-4, 7, 19 - Yes, this is sick.  As you can see throughout Genesis, there's a lot of dysfunction and evil in this family.
- Verse 8 - Hamor didn't know what had happened.
- Verses 20-24 - Their motive in this was to provide an opportunity to plunder them.  See verse 23.
- Verse 25 - Remember (and this is important to remember throughout the book of Genesis) that not everything the Bible describes is approved by God.  This is an evil response to the original wrong that was done.
- Verse 31 - They justified their evil in their minds.

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 25 - Thurs Jan 29

It's Day 25 and we're in Genesis 33.

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

Help:
- Verse 10 - "as one sees the face of God" - That is, he was expecting judgment.
- Verses 14, 17 - Again Jacob deceives, saying he's going to one place and then ending up somewhere else.
- Verse 15 - He accepts Esau's offer.
- Verses 17-18 - Jacob eventually settles in a different city.

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 24 - Wed Jan 28

It's Day 24 and we're in Genesis 32.

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 28 - The word "striven" is interesting to me.  God seems to appreciate the fact that Jacob battled with Him.

Help:
- Verses 22-23 - Jacob sent them across and stayed behind, but when it came time to face Esau, he was out front (33:1-3).
- Verses 24-32 - This is an important but peculiar scene.  It is apparently a pre-Incarnate appearance of Christ and they battle.  There is some resonance to the scene of all the times we "wrestle" with God spiritually during difficult times.

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 23 - Tues Jan 27

It's Day 23 and we're in Genesis 31.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 43 - He'd justified in his mind the way he'd mistreated Jacob.  How often do we feel like we've done nothing wrong when we're actually guilty?

Help:
- Verse 20 - Jacob is consistently deceptive.  This is just another example.
- Verse 35 - She lied and said she was having her period and that's why she couldn't stand.

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 22 - Mon Jan 26

It's Day 22 and we're in Genesis 30.

What's the Bible say about the book you're reading today? "All Scripture is. . . profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). Reading the Bible will make your day more "profitable."

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 3, 9 - Always trying to force things.

Help:
- Verses 3, 9 - Through Genesis, this seems to be something that people resorted to when getting pregnant became hard.  It pretty much always ends badly.
- Verses 15-16 - It sounds like it denigrated to the place where Jacob was being told where to sleep.
- Verse 22 - As stated before, God is not normally the one who actively decides on fertility issues.  This is unusual because of the historic importance of this family in Israel's story.
- Verses 37-40 - This, of course, has no value in and of itself.  It only worked because God blessed it.  I think He does similar things today - working through our sometimes hair-brained plans - so that we know it's from 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 21 - Sun Jan 25

It's Day 21 and we're in Genesis 29.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 32 - Such dysfunction.

Help:
- Verse 10 - As stated before, it was fairly common back then to take your spouse from your extended family.  Most people lived in relatively small groups that necessitated this.
- Verse 11 - The kiss here was not a romantic one, but one of greeting (probably on the cheeks).
- Verses 18-19 - Back then the family had much more say in determining who a woman married.
- Verse 23 - Presumably much drinking had gone on before this, making this mistake in the dark possible.
- Verse 31 - As stated before, God isn't normally the one actively orchestrating fertility issues like this.  This is different because of the historical importance of this family.

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 20 - Sat Jan 24

It's Day 20 and we're in Genesis 28.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 6-9 - There is something sad about Esau here trying to do what he thinks will please his parents.  It seems like he's always falling short.

Help:
- Verse 2, 9 - As mentioned before, back then it was fairly common to take your spouse from your extended family.  The fact that most lived in small tribes or small villages necessitated it.
- Verse 9 - Polygamy was common back then.

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 19 - Fri Jan 23

It's Day 19 and we're in Genesis 27.

Remember that your daily reading in the Bible isn't about gaining information - it's about changing your life to be more like Christ. That means that you need to take action on what God speaks to you about.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 20 - This happens pretty often - God's name gets invoked in a lie to make it fly.

Help:
- Verses 6-13 - This is very dysfunctional.
- Verses 33-36 - Although it was taken by deception, there was authority that God had granted to Isaac to speak the blessing and there was authority when he spoke it.  It's somewhat similar today to, for instance, the authority that is granted to a pastor to speak God's Word and that authority can be used for good or hypocrisy.
- Verse 46 - Rebekah is using this as a cover to get Jacob out of town before Esau kills 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 18 - Thurs Jan 22

It's Day 18 and we're in Genesis 26.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 24 - It's interesting to me that Abraham's influence is lingering even after his death.

Help:
- Verse 7 - Yes, he just made the same stupid mistake that his father made twice.

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 Jan 21

It's Day 17 and we're in Genesis 25.

One thing that's important as we read daily: being eager to hear Him speak to you. Go into your reading expectant that God desires to share something with you.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - The fact that Abraham had concubines is an uncomfortable truth.  It's one to wrestle with.

Help:
- Verse 6 - Given the larger life story of Abraham, we presume that these concubines were later in his life.
- Verse 7 - Back then people lived longer.
- Verse 21 - This is not to say that God's hand is usually the deciding factor in such things.  Given what we read in v. 26, this is an unusual situation with implications for what God is doing in bringing about Israel.  I believe that, normally, fertility issues are not specifically driven by the hand of God.
- Verse 22 - "If it is so" - She's saying, "If this is from God, then why the struggling within me?"
- Verse 28 - Remember that not everything the Bible describes is approved by God.  A lot of the behavior of the "heroes of the faith" is sinful.  Here, this idea of playing favorites among the children is a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what they get.
- Verses 31-34 - Esau was obviously someone who didn't think through the implications of his decisions.

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 Jan 20

It's Day 16 and we're in Genesis 24.

We'll be reading the stories of Isaac and Jacob from Genesis.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 14 - God doesn't usually grant requests like that, but sometimes His mercy is unusually generous.

Help:
- Verse 2 - "place your hand under my thigh" - This was the equivalent of a handshake back then.  It seems odd to us, but then again if someone 600 years from now heard that we pressed the palms of our hands together and shook them up and down, they might think that weird too.
- Verses 21, 27, 38 - He was wondering whether this woman was of Abraham's house.  Yes, it seems odd to us to marry fairly close relatives, but it was common back then when tribes and towns were usually relatively small.
- Verse 51 - The family had a lot more say back then in arranging marriages.  This seems weird to us because we're used to romantic love being the only standard for marriage.  Before we judge their system too harshly, we should probably remember the divorce rate that our system has created.
- Verse 67 - That means he married her.

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 Jan 19

It's Day 15 and we're in 1 Corinthians 8.

If you struggle with the feeling that you need to hurry through the reading, it can be helpful to lay aside a certain length of time for the reading. "I'm going to spend the next ten minutes reading the Bible. If I get done early, I'll go back and re-read it. If I don't get it done, that's fine. Now I can relax and not try to hurry through so I can get on with the other things I need to get done today. I'm going to be here for ten minutes."

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 9 - Don't use your freedom in Christ in a way that causes a brother or sister in Christ to stumble.

Help:
- Verse 1 - Food sacrificed to idols was a big issue back then.
- Verses 2-3 - If you think you know it all, you're not as smart as you think you are.
- Verses 4-5 - If food is sacrificed to an idol God, nothing has really happened with that food because that idol isn't real and can't affect the food.  There is only one alive God.
- Verse 7 - Some weaker Christians were bothered by the fact that the food had been sacrificed to the idol even though the idol isn't real.
- Verses 9-10 - Don't use your freedom in Christ in a way that trips up a fellow believer.  An example today: Biblically I have the freedom to drink wine if I want to but I don't because it might cause a weaker believer to stumble in seeing his preacher drinking.
- Verse 13 - He vows to avoid meat sacrificed to idols if it's going to hurt his brother in 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 14 - Sun Jan 18

It's Day 14 and we're in 1 Corinthians 7.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Nothing jumped out to me today.  That's ok - there will be days like that.

Help:
- Verses 1-5 - If we get married, we need to fulfill the sexual aspects of our commitment.
- Verse 7 - Paul was single and he argues that you can do more for the Lord without the obligations of a family.  He also recognizes that not everyone can do this.
- Verses 10-11 - This is a hard teaching.  It's important to read all the New Testament passages on divorce together in order to get a clear understanding of what's acceptable and what's not.
- Verse 14 - The unbelieving spouse is drawn closer to God through the presence of the believing partner.  Similarly, the children are raise with at least one Christian parent.
- Verses 27-34 - The basic point: life is short, the time till judgment is short, and we should treat the time as precious for serving the Lord.
- Verses 36-37 - This gives a lot more authority to the father in determining who to marry than they exercise today.  It was a common thing in that culture, but that's not to say that we are obligated to live that way.

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 Jan 17

It's Day 13 and we're in 1 Corinthians 6.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 9-10 - It strikes me that out of this list of sins we would likely first note that homosexuals are listed, given our current political battles.  We're not nearly as likely to note that "covetous" are in there too, since that's a sin that almost all of us are committing.

Help:
- Verse 1, 4-6 - Paul teaches that we should not sue other Christians in public court.  Instead, the church should find a wise person within the congregation to decide the matter.  Sadly, I do not know of a single instance of this being obeyed.
- Verses 2-3 - We will be part of ruling with Christ.
- Verse 7 - There are bigger things that losing a little money.
- Verse 13 - The issue here was food sacrificed to idols.  Paul notes that both the food and our earthly stomachs will someday be gone (when we die).  Our focus instead needs to be on the larger question of honoring God with all we do.
- Verse 15 - Having the Spirit within us, we are the Temple of God.  To go to a prostitute, we'd be physically uniting the Temple of God with a prostitute.
- Verse 18 - Sexual sin is different because our physical bodies are involved in the act of committing the sin.

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 Jan 16

It's Day 12 and we're in 1 Corinthians 5.

Father, what do You want to teach us today through Your Word?

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 9-10 - We get this wrong so often.  We act like we're supposed to be staying away from the sinners in the world.  That's absurd.  Of course they're doing things that are wrong - the Bible teaches that you need the Spirit within you to live a truly good life.  It's the people who are claiming to be Christians and yet are still living in their sin that we should stay away from.

Help:
- Verse 1 - Someone had married or was having sex with his father's second wife (not his mom, but still inappropriate).
- Verses 2-5 - When Christians fall into major sin, it is the responsibility of the church to exercise church discipline and confront that sin.
- Verse 6 - Having a little bit of unrepentant sin condoned in the church would quickly spread to a larger accommodating of sin.
- Verses 7-8 - We are to be a new people, with the old sin cleaned out.
- Verses 9-13 - Another passage on church discipline.  When there is major sin within the church, it needs to be confronted.  Conversely, sin among those outside the church is to be expected since they don't have God in their lives.  We are to work to win them to Christ, not avoid them because they're sinners.

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.