60IN60 Day 6 - Sat Jan 9

It's Day 6 and we're in Matthew 6.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 3-4, 6, 25 - The Spirit really jumped out all over the place today.  Lots to chew on.

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 5 - Fri Jan 8

It's Day 5 and we're in Matthew 5.

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 5 - Christians aren't supposed to be arrogant jerks - they're supposed to be gentle.

Help:
- Verses 17-20 - Jesus didn't come to lower the standard.  If anything, He came to raise the standard.  But through what He did for us, He opened the door to us having a new nature (being a new creation) and having the Holy Spirit within us, so we could live out what He desires for us to.
- Verses 29-30 - The idea of throwing away your eye is intended to emphasize this idea: do whatever it takes to avoid hell.  If you getting rid of an eye would do that, you'd be better off doing that than going to hell.
- Verses 31-32 - This is the general rule, but there are further discussions in other passages.
- Verses 39-42 - The idea of being struck has to do with being insulted, not being assaulted.

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 Jan 7

It's Day 4 and we're in Matthew 4.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 9 - "I will give you" - I don't think we adequately appreciate the power and authority Satan has.

Help:
- Verses 19-22 - Jesus had met them before.  This sounds like He walked up to random people and asked this.  We know from other gospels that they'd talked before this.

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 3 - Wed Jan 6

It's Day 3 and we're in Matthew 3.

If it's hard to understand what you're reading in the Bible, make sure you have a translation that's a good fit for you. Reading the King James (a great historic translation) can be particularly difficult because of the antiquated language. Among the good options available today: New International Version (good all-around translation), English Standard Version (good all-around translation), New American Standard (a more literal translation, closer to the original manuscripts), and New Living Translation (a translation that focuses on readability and understandability).

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 12 - The fire is an image to dwell on for a while.

Help:
- Verse 11 - "with the Holy Spirit and fire" - It's not completely clear what the fire represents.  It could be a reference to the Day of Pentecost; it could refer to judgment; it could refer to a burning passion within 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.

Your Comments and Questions:

- "Matthew 1 documents the long list of Jesus' ancestors, ending with Joseph, not Mary.  She is the one that is in the biological lineage of the Savior.  Joseph (no disrespect intended) is basically the step-father.  Could Joseph be the one mentioned because:

a) women in bible times were not really recognized before Jesus

b) Joseph was obedient to the angel's message and was rewarded for that

c)  because they were married (became as one) that Joseph was as much a part of the lineage as Mary

d) Joseph was grafted into Jesus' family, similar to the way Gentiles are included in salvation

Or I could just be reading too much in to it !  lol"

Good question and good points made.  Since the genealogies of Matthew and Luke have some differences, it is generally agreed that one is for Joseph and one for Mary.  I think the points you bring out on possible reasons are all worthwhile.  For me, I think the reason is maybe just God going the extra mile: "The Messiah is prophesied to be a descendent of David.  Mary is exactly that.  But so is Joseph too, even though he has no biological relation to Jesus - just in case anyone would have any objection at any point on that."

60IN60 Day 2 - Tues Jan 5

It's Day 2 and we're in Matthew 2.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 22-23 - There was a detail here about Nazareth that I hadn't noticed before - I'll have to do some digging on it.

Help:
- Verse 10 - The Magi did not follow the star in the sky all the way to Jerusalem.  The star appeared in the opposite direction from which they traveled.  Verse 2 tells us it appeared in the east, but they would have had to travel west to go to Jerusalem.  They saw the star, knew (somehow) it was a sign about the birth of the king of the Jews, so they took the next logical step: go to the capital of Israel.  This is why they're so excited in verse 10 when the star reappears.  They'd been without it for their journey and now it showed up again.

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 1- Mon Jan 4

It's Day 1 and we're in Matthew 1.

An encouragement as you read the Bible today: in Acts 17:11, it tells of some Christians in Berea who "received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether [what we taught was Biblical]." Let's be like them. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 18 - It's striking to me that the way in which the birth came about probably led to the damaging of Mary's reputation.  People could count months and must have presumed that the quick marriage was the result of an unexpected pregnancy.

Help:
- Verses 1-17 - The genealogy makes for boring reading, but it's important to Matthew to establish the heritage of the Messiah.

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 start on Monday.