It's Day 60 and we're in Acts 8.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 1 - This persecution at the time must have seemed a horrible thing, yet used it to force the believers to spread out all over the region and share the gospel.
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.
It's Day 59 and we're in Acts 7.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 54 - The Word doesn't always bring out pleasant responses. It depends on where your heart is.
Help:
- Verse 60 - "fell asleep" - This is used in different places in the New Testament as a euphemism for death.
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.
It's Day 58 and we're in Acts 6.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 4 - These two things form the core of what a pastor should spend his time doing.
Help:
- Verse 7 - Sometimes we talk like all the religious leaders rejected the claims of Christ. That's not true - many became believers.
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.
It's Day 57 and we're in Acts 5.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 17 - You'd like to think we work from higher motives, but even in the things of God it often comes down to things as petty as jealousy.
Help:
- Verse 5 - This is shocking. I think it speaks to the purity of the early church and how much God wanted to maintain that.
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 Questions and Comments:
- A comment from one of our 60IN60 participants. Exodus 33. "We are all going to gather on our porches and face toward your house, and we are going to expect something big to happen. I guess I understand this chapter, but it is amusing to imagine someone bragging, 'I have seen the backside of God.'”
- John 21. "The last few verses make no sense to me at all." - Verse 24 is oddly phrased because John likes to refer to himself without saying "I" or "me." Elsewhere he refers to himself as the "one Jesus loves." Basically verse 24 is John saying, "I wrote these words and my testimony is true." Verse 25 is an acknowledgement by John that he has just scratched the surface of all that he could have written. If he were somehow able to tell the full story of everyone that Jesus impacted, the world would be filled up by that many books.
- John 20. "This time, I found myself curious about John’s habit of not naming himself but referring to himself as the beloved disciple. Any ideas on his motivation?" - It is an odd way to phrase things. My guess is that because he was saying positive things about himself, like that he was the "one Jesus loved," that he found it less embarrassing to not use his name.
- A comment from a 60IN60 participant. John 18. "Jesus answered, 'I told you that I am He; so if you are seeking Me, let these men go on their way.' Four times Jesus tells the Romans and Pharisees, (who mostly make up the crowd), who he is. Once, so strongly, they fall back at his words. In his fourth declaration, Christ says (loose paraphrase) 'I’ve already told you who I am. I’m the one you came for, now let these men go.' Could it be that he is identifying himself repeatedly because Christ he knows that his disciples can’t endure what was to come? All but John would go on to be martyrs, but at this point, they are confused men. He is protecting them by his repeated declarations."
- John 15. "Could you say a few words about verse 7 please. Many times we pray for things— good prayers for other people, not selfish things—- yet they are not answered. Also in verses 16 and 17, there is much said about fruitfulness which I get, but then 17 speaks of loving one another. It seems disjointed and I don’t get the correlation. Is it saying that because we love our fellow man we should work to help them, be charitable and speak to them of salvation? Thank you." - 1. Verse 7. This is a great promise of answered prayer. It puts an important condition on answered prayer: if we remain in Him and He remains in us, which basically means if we are close to Him. (We get close to Him by obeying His commands - v. 10). This makes sense: if I am listening to Jesus' words and incorporating them into my life, I am going to ask for things that glorify God and that He is eager to answer. There are always situations where God's answer is delayed because of timing issues or because He has other plans, but the biggest point is that our default should be the expectation that God is eager to answer. This is something that is largely missing today, as we often pray without any real expectation of seeing an answer. One good way to think of this is that there are times when God doesn't answer our prayer for the good thing because He has a plan to give us a better thing. 2. Verses 16-17. These two verses are the conclusion of a section that begins with v. 12. Verse 16 teaches us that Jesus' goal for our lives (the reason He has chosen us) is so that we can go forward and live fruitful lives. Verse 17 is a reminder to love one another. Verse 17 ends the passage with the same instruction that v. 12 started it with: love each other. Think of it like a sandwich. The "bread" (vv. 12 and 17) tell us to love each other. The "meat" (vv. 13-16) tell us about the way that Jesus loved us. The connection is that when we see the instruction to "love each other" (vv. 12, 17) and wonder, "What exactly does it look like to do that?" we turn to Jesus' example (as detailed in vv. 13-16) to learn what that kind of sacrificial love looks like.
It's Day 56 and we're in Exodus 34.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 55 and we're in Exodus 33.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 54 and we're in Exodus 32.
We finished at Exodus 20 a while back with the Ten Commandments. Now we finish up the story with the pathetic actions of Israel in response.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - It's amazing how quickly they got off track. Why did that happen so quickly? Two things are key: 1. Israel, as seen by their whining in previous chapters, didn't have their hearts into following God, so they were eager to turn aside; 2. Aaron was not a mature leader (see verses 22-24).
Help:
- Verses 27-29 - This seems harsh, but apparently that severe a response was necessary to wake the people up to how bad what they were doing was.
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.
It's Day 53 and we're in John 21.
Where God Spoke To Me:If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 52 and we're in John 20.
Where God Spoke To Me:If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 51 and we're in John 19.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 30 - He didn't say "I am finished," as though it overwhelmed Him. He said, "It is finished," meaning that His mission was accomplished.
Help:
- Verse 11 - Among those responsible in this travesty of justice, Pilate bore the lesser share.
- Verse 12 - Pilate was an embattled leader by this point in his career and could not chance another uprising without potentially losing his throne. So when the people said that refusing to do this made him "no friend of Caesar," they were hitting him where it hurt: the potential loss of his power.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have questions or comments, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 50 and we're in John 18.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 49 and we're in John 17.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 48 and we're in John 16.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 47 and we're in John 15.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 1-11 - This is one of my favorite passages because it speaks to how God desires bring about great fruitfulness through our lives. The main point: to be fruitful for God, the key is not to work harder, but to get closer (to God).
Help:
- Verse 22 - There is a responsibility that comes with increased knowledge.
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.
It's Day 46 and we're in 2 Timothy 4.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - Paul and Mark had a huge disagreement years before this, so Paul's request in this verse is a sign of reconciliation.
Help:
- Verse 6 - Just a colorful way of saying that he recognizes that the end of his life is approaching quickly.
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.
It's Day 45 and we're in 2 Timothy 3.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 5 - "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power" - Lots of that all around us today.
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:
- A comment from one of our 60IN60 participants. Exodus 19. "A foreshadow of the transfiguration. I love discovering Jesus in the Old Testament."
- A comment from one of our 60IN60 participants. Exodus 20. "This is, to me, a very personal event. God speaks directly. Naturally most folks are wary, especially having come from a country where the priests determined what the gods said and what was the appropriate response. This is like Dad times a million. And his commands are not difficult, although through sin we make them so. It’s just one of those, 'Okay kids, I’m going to make it as easy as I can' moments. And yes, they want Moses to do the work, but then Moses has a pretty good track record with God, around that time, and they really don’t want to piss off the creator of the universe. I think it took them a while for the idea of individual prayer to kick in."
It's Day 44 and we're in 2 Timothy 2.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 5 - We need to strive spiritually, not sit around lazily.
Help:
- Verses 11-13 - What's each statement mean? a. "died with Him" - Part of salvation is that we in our belief participate in His spiritual death, so we "die" spiritually and are raised to newness of life; b. "deny Him" - This would be unbelievers, not believers; c. "faithless" - If we drift away from Jesus, He will draw us back.
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 Questions and Comments:
- A comment from a 60IN60 participant: 2 Timothy1. "'Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.' Just as Timothy heard from Paul, we must hold onto the scripture and study it. Many false doctrines are out in the world. Forget the Health, Wealth and Prosperity Theory — there’s the Replacement Theory, Liberation Theory on down to believing astrology and psychic hotlines are dangerous. Christians who don’t study are fair game."
- "Would you comment on Paul's personal 'entrusting' in verse 12 and his similar advice to Timothy in verse 14? Is this act of 'entrusting', with the aid of the Holy Spirit, applicable to all believers?" - Although the same word ("entrusting") is used in v. 12 and v. 14, there are two different actions discussed. First, in v. 12 it speaks of what Paul entrusted to God: "He [God] is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." The "day" in question is the day of judgment. What Paul is saying here is that all the sacrifices he has made for Christ will receive their due reward. He is not worried about Christ failing to "hold onto" what he has earned or to properly reward him for his service to the Kingdom. So he does these things not receiving an immediate reward but he's not worried about it - he knows that God is able to "guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." It won't be lost or misplaced or forgotten. He can trust Christ with all that. (A related example would be how most people don't get paid each day at their job. Instead they trust their employer to hold their money for two weeks and be faithful to honestly pay them their paycheck.) Second, in v. 14 it speaks of "the good deposit that was entrusted" to Timothy. That speaks to the truth of the gospel that has been given to Timothy to go and share with the world. Paul encourages Timothy to guard/protect/hold onto what has been given to him. Timothy is to do this "with the help of the Holy Spirit" (v. 14). So this is a call for Timothy to faithfully share what was handed to him by Paul. Preach the truth, share the gospel, don't water it down or change it. Third, are both these true for us as well? Most definitely. As we serve God we have to entrust our ultimate rewards to God and serve without immediate repayment. And we have been given a gospel that we need to faithfully preach without changing it.
It's Day 43 and we're in 2 Timothy 1.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 7 - "power and love and discipline" - That's what the Christian life should look like.
Help:
- Verse 6 - Some spiritual gifts are given at the moment of salvation. Others can happen at special times, such as the laying on of hands.
- Verse 10 - "abolished death" - He has abolished spiritual death.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a comment or question, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Your Comments and Questions:
- Exodus 18 - "'thousands, hundreds, fifties, ten...' I always thought it interesting how Jethro instructed Moses to divide his judges. I'm assuming those who judged over thousands would have the less serious cases, like a lower court, deciding squabbles among neighbors or allotting grazing grounds. Am I correct or do I have this backwards?" - It's the opposite. The person with less authority would be judge over 10 people; the person with slightly more authority would be over 50 people and would presumably handle the more complicated cases that the "10 person" judge couldn't handle. That would continue all the way up to the judges over 1,000. The appeal from those judges would go to Moses. It all makes good administrative sense.
It's Day 42 and we're in Exodus 20.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 19 - So many times we want to have someone else do our talking to God for us, rather than have that personal relationship ourselves.
Help:
- Verses 5-6 - The idea that the fathers' sin brings iniquity down three or four generations is hard to understand. The best way that I've come up with to grasp the idea is to think of it like this: I think of the statement less as God punishing and more as a statement of the way life works. When I live my life for something other than God, my kids are going to pick up on that and, very likely, are going to live lives that reflect what I've taught them. Therefore, my sinful life is going to reverberate down through multiple generations. Maybe not a perfect explanation, but the best one I've come up with so far.
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.
It's Day 41 and we're in Exodus 19.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 18 - When God shows up, you know it.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have questions or comments about the chapter, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It's Day 40 and we're in Exodus 18.
It's Day 39 and we're in Exodus 17.
Where God Spoke To Me:It's Day 38 and we're in Exodus 16.
If you come across something in your reading that doesn't make sense at first, be quick to re-read and to ask questions. If I can help answer anything, drop me an email.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 3-4 - More whining instead of asking God to supply. Why are we so quick to blame God instead of asking Him to take care of our problems?
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have questions or comments, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Your Comments and Questions:
- A comment from one of our 60IN60 participants: Exodus 15. "These 'through the wilderness' passages always fascinate me. The chosen people complain about everything, eventually despising the manna and asking for meat, missing the onions in Egypt (onions!), and finally making a golden calf. Small wonder that Moses asked God to take his life rather than deal with them. A British journalist named William Norman Ewer once wrote:
It's Day 37 and we're in Exodus 15.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 24 - It's amazing how quickly we forget the miracles and answered prayers and come complaining instead of coming anticipating His provision.
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.
It’s Day 36 and we’re in Exodus 14.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 11 - When things get hard, we are so quick to romanticize the way things used to be. We cry out for deliverance, then long for our chains again when the walk of faith gets hard.
Help:
- Verses 21 - As you can read from the text, it didn't exactly happen the way it was portrayed in the old Charlton Heston movies. First of all, it was incredibly windy in the walk. Second, the path had to be really wide, rather than a narrow path, because there were hundreds of thousands of Israelites that had to make it through.
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 Questions and Comments:
- A comment from a 60IN60 participant: "Early in Exodus 11 God tells Moses to have the Israelites to '. . . ask their neighbors for gold and silver jewelry.' He also made the Egyptians respect the Israelites and even have great favor toward Moses. Considering all the plagues the Egyptians suffered because of Moses and the slaves (Hebrews) - masters (Egyptians) society, this seems a little strange. In Exodus 12, we see this dynamic play out after the initiation of Passover and the deaths of the first born in every Egyptian home as Moses had forewarned. Only then did Pharoah relent, allow them to leave with all they asked for and '. . . the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians.' Truly remarkable."
It’s Day 35 and we’re in Exodus 13.
- Verse 17 - He knows we're fickle and sometimes chooses the long way around just to keep from getting so discouraged that we give up.
- Verses 1-16 - Why this long discussion of the firstborn? I think the underlying principle is that we need to give the first portion to God. For instance, although it's partially just symbolic, the first check I write after every payday is my gift to the church. It's a reminder that what I give God comes first, not after everything else is taken care of.
- Verse 13 - Basically this means: donkeys are sufficiently important to your agriculture that I don't want you do sacrifice them; instead sacrifice a lamb in their place.
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.
It’s Day 34 and we’re in Exodus 12.
- Verse 13 - The blood covers us, protecting us from death.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
It’s Day 33 and we’re in Exodus 11.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 3 - It's amazing what doors can open up when you have the favor of the Lord with you.
Help:
- Verse 10 - As I've mentioned before, I think this hardening is a partnership of the Lord moving Pharaoh's heart in that direction and Pharaoh being inclined himself to go in that 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.
Your Questions and Comments:
- John 14. "In today’s 60IN60 could you please explain verse 30: '. . . for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in regard to Me . . . .' Is He referring to his upcoming capture and death?" - The "ruler of this world" referenced here is Satan. There are at least a couple senses in which this is true. First, Jesus had never sinned, so Satan had no viable claim over Him with regard to His guilt. He wasn't guilty. He hadn't sinned. This is different than when Satan makes accusations before God the Father about the rest of humanity. In those situations, Satan can rightly say that we are guilty and deserving of punishment. Second, Jesus was not fooled (as many people are) by the temptations of Satan. So it is also true in the sense of Jesus saying something like "Satan's temptations are not enticing to Me. I'm not buying what he's selling."
It’s Day 32 and we’re in John 14.
- Verse 12 - I want to see those "greater things."
Help:
- Verse 9 - If you've seen Jesus, you've seen the character and love of the Father.
- Verses 21, 23 - This is the standard: that we obey.
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 Questions and Comments:
- A comment from one of our 60IN60 participants: "Here are the central tenets of our faith as social people—service and love—and his news that his end on earth is near. This time I fixated on the simplest thing—the transfer of bread. Jesus declares one of the disciples will betray him, which naturally causes consternation. When asked he identifies the culprit not by saying “That bum Judas” but by offering him bread. Until this moment Judas betrayal is only intent. Satan enters to provide him the cajones to do what he’d been thinking of doing. Once identified, Judas can only confess and beg forgiveness or follow through, and he makes his choice. Still, that isn’t the tiny thing I focused on. It was the bread. Jesus dipped the bread in an oil and vinegar dressing, a traditional act of friendship and (I didn’t know this until now) a remembrance of Joseph’s betrayal. It’s the first I focused on. I do not think Jesus’s act was ironic, nor was it simply a revelation of the villain in the group. I think it was genuine, a last chance. I noted that Judas perfunctorily took the bread but he did not eat it. He chose to run—not only from the others but from what he might have become if he had accepted it. And at the end, as if to underscore that meaning, Peter is told that he will betray Jesus, and with him we learn that even treachery is forgivable if you accept the offer implicit in the bread."
It’s Day 31 and we’re in John 13.
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 2 - He'd been prompted, but it was still his choice. And he chose in the wrong direction.
Help:
- Verse 1 - The "full extent of His love" was not the washing of their feet, but the willingness to go to the cross.
- Verses 8-9 - First Peter refuses (v. 8), then Peter draws the wrong lesson (v. 9). What he should have done is simply receive Jesus' word.
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 Questions and Comments:
- John 11. "I am somewhat puzzled by verses 47 - 53. If Caiphas as high priest prophesied that Jesus would die, was this revealed to him by God or was he just setting the narrative for the appropriate time and circumstance to justify the killing of Christ? Please clarify this for me. Thanks!" - I do not think God had revealed anything to Caiaphas in the sense that he was quietly listening for a word from God and then obediently spoke it in this moment. When v. 51 says, "He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation," the idea is more that Caiaphas said this just as a part of what he was thinking but the words had deeper significance than he understood as he spoke them. I think for him the thought behind his statement was something like this: "We Pharisees are God's representatives. God is working in Israel through us. We are God's chosen leaders. Now this Jesus guy comes along and he is threatening our power. If we lose our power, Israel as a nation is done because we are its only hope. Therefore it's better for one person to die than for the whole nation to perish." I think he was just saying something that expressed his justification for killing Jesus. He was unaware his words had a deeper meaning, but his statement fulfilled prophecy that the high priest would make a statement like that. It's a combination of personal freedom (Caiaphas said what he wanted) but divine foreknowledge (God had put the prophesy in the Bible because he knew the high priest would make that statement with a double meaning).
It’s Day 30 and we’re in John 12.
- Verses 9-11 - So often, once we get something in our minds, we stick with it, even to ridiculous ends. I need to follow the truth wherever it leads and not try so hard to hold onto to my pet ideas.
Help:
- Verse 8 - This is not an excuse to disregard the poor, just a statement of fact about the fallen world in which we live.
- Verses 20-26 - It's odd that His disciples come to Him with this straightforward question and goes off on this tangent. What's going on? I think I'd paraphrase it like this, "The time for talking is past. To really see a harvest, something greater is going to have to happen and the time for that is now. I have to die in order to open up new life."
- Verse 34 - "lifted up" - Just another way to say that He was on the cross.
- Verse 40 - The original Greek makes it clearer that this is not something God is doing by mere fiat, but this is what they have chosen for themselves and God is letting it happen.
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:
- John 11. "This miracle is one of my favorites because it shows Jesus once again out smarting the Jews on their own terms. How? He tarried. And then Martha's statement " By now, Lord, he stinketh." So was Lazarus dead or really dead?" Were there different gradations of dead among the Jews? Yes. There was a Jewish myth that the soul lingered about the body for three days after bodily functions ceased in hopes of re-entering the body. Not all Jews believed this, yet it was a well know belief and many did believe it. By tarrying until the body had begun to decompose (and because the Jews were always trying to explain away his miracles), this was one miracle that couldn't be explained away. An in your face resurrection. Even then, some hurried away with plans to kill him."
It’s Day 29 and we’re in John 11.
It’s Day 28 and we’re in John 10.
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.It’s Day 27 and we’re in John 9.
Help:
- Verse 3 - Even in the midst of tragedy and heartbreak, God is working to bring something redemptive out of it.
