Saturday, May 31,2008
Written by Janet Trstenjak

Psalm 104:33,34
I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.

Have you ever stopped and looked around you to see what maybe God did today to bless you! I mean YOU, just you! Did you realize that He loves you so much He wants to draw you to Him. Ok, if you are a guy, what would you do special to get a lady you are interested in to notice you and want to be with you OR if you are a lady, what kinds of things would you want a guy to do to draw your attention? God is like that! He made us in His image, those are things He thinks about! Did you ever think that when you look at a sunrise or some other part of nature and it just seems incredible one particular day that maybe, just maybe He did it because He wanted you to notice! Have you thought about the fact you might not even be seeing it the same way someone else is that day because to you He made it the way He knew you would enjoy it! He loves you that much! How many things do we miss every day because we get too caught up in the day and we don’t stop to notice. Trust me it hurts when you do something special for someone and they don’t take the time to notice. When it means enough to God to put little things in your life to bless you, it hurts when you don’t notice. He wants that close, best friend, big brother, Savior and Love of your life relationship with you start looking today for even the smallest things and when you see them keep them in your heart to remember on those days when it just seems nothing is right, it will remind you of His unfailing love as He pursues yours!
Extra Time In the Word: Psalm 104

Wednesday, May 28,2008
Written by Bill Scott

Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. (NLT)

There is so much wisdom in this verse. Depending on how your heart feels often reflects on how you act. If you are broken hearted you can be depressed. If you are hurt you might be angry. If your heart becomes angered you might become hateful. The Bible wants you to guard your heart. How do you do that? You filter everything that is coming at you through the Word of God. God’s Word tells us how to handle things in life. If we are obedient we’ll be able to guard our heart and live a pure life. This is a short but powerful verse for the day. Today guard your heart so Satan does not take you for a ride.
Extra Time in the Word: Proverbs 4

Tuesday, May 27,2008
Written by Bill Scott

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (NIV)

What is your first thought when someone comes to you with an angry spirit and yells at you? Mine is to yell back at them and put them in their place. I am sure you can relate to my response however it’s not the response God is looking for. We are suppose to have a gentle answer. This means we need to not yell back. We can share the truth with them and that might not be pretty but we need to do it in the right way. If you yell back at the individual it just becomes a fight but if you give them a gentle answer you’ll soon see things calm down quickly. This doesn’t mean you let the other person walk all over you but you are the one in control of what is happening. Regardless of how others act, take the high road and have a gentle answer ready for those out of control.
Extra Time in the Word: Proverbs 15

Monday, May 26,2008
Written by Janet Trstenjak

James 3:10
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brothers this ought not be so.

Are you the same person ALL the time or are you one person in front of certain people and then someone else around others? Would you say what you say at home or to your close friends in front of your spiritual peers? Some people live one life in front of the people they want to impress and then when they are around the people they are comfortable with or they are on Facebook or Myspace a whole nother person comes out! That shouldn’t be, and that is what this verse is talking about. Make your walk with God real, be who you are no matter where you are and if you are having a tough time spiritually in an area find someone you can confide in that will help hold your feet to the fire. Don’t be embarrassed about it, we all have this issue in one area or another and the only real way to grow spiritually is to acknowledge one area at a time and have someone hold us accountable so we can get victory in that area. We have not “arrived” until we see Jesus so our spiritual walk is something we need to continually work on and we need to help each other be all we can be for Him!
Extra Time in the Word: James 3

Saturday, May 24,2008
Written by Bill Scott

Eccl 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. (NIV)

Proverbs 14:17
A short-tempered man is a fool. He hates the man who is patient. (TLB)

I’ll be honest with you. I can very easily be one who can fly off the handle. I use to be a real hot head and it always landed me in trouble. This verse is full of wisdom. The wisest man in the world wrote this to us. Do not get angry quick. You are a fool if you are one to lose his temper all the time. It will always get you in trouble and nothing good will come from it. Begin to pray for self control, after all that is a fruit of the Spirit right? Walk a way from whatever is making you made. Count to ten, go pray do whatever it takes to get you to settle down and then take care of the problem with the Lords help. You do not have to be someone who has no self control!
Extra Time in the Word: Ecclesiastes 7

Friday, May 23,2008
Written by Janet Trstenjak

2 Corinthians 6:17-18
Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

So, what is it in your life that God has told you, “NO, don’t touch it, stay away from that, now is not the time!” And yet the temptation is to have it or do it anyway. We all have those areas where waiting just seems like it is more than we can stand. To be separate is be willing to be obedient in every area, not just the ones you want to be obedient in. We are called to act different than people who are not His sons and daughters. Trust Him if He is saying “No” He has reasons you just don’t understand yet. As we grow spiritually we begin to understand more, just like as children grow up it starts to make more sense why your parents said, “No to touching the burner on the stove, or No to using the Cat’s litter box for sandcastles.” Trust Him to help you grow into everything you can be in your lifetime, that will give you true success in every area of your life!
Extra Time in the Word: 2 Corinthians 6

Thursday, May 22,2008
Written by Bill Scott

Ephesians 1:4-8

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need (MSG)

This morning I am writing today’s Bible study from a small coffee shop in Ohio. After reading passage of scripture I am about to jump up and dance. I would actually do that if I didn’t think I would scare those around me. Do me a favor. I want you to read this passage of scripture three times out loud. Make this passage personal because you are ready about God’s unconditional love for you. You are reading about the gifts that God has given you. Let’s break the verse down. Before God created the earth he had YOU in mind. He had fallen in love with us before he made the world! He decided to make you holy. He adopted you into his family. I love the part where it said, he took pleasure in preparing all of this. He gave his only son to die for your sins. Because of that we are free from the punishment for all of our wrong doings. Ok here is where I almost put down my coffee and danced. ‘And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!’ That means if you are struggling with porn, lust, sexual sins, stealing, lying, self-injury, drugs or whatever, you can be FREE! Not just a little but abundantly free! I would encourage you to write this scripture down some place and carry it with you for the next week where you can read it a number of times each day. When you are finished reading the Bible study today, take time to praise the Lord for each line of this passage,make it another verse to memorize.
Extra Time in the Word: Ephesians 1

Wednesday, May 21,2008
Written by Janet Trstenjak

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord my rock and my redeemer.

This is a prayer for ALL of us! Wow! Think about it, if our thoughts and words are always pleasing to God our actions are bound to follow and the same would be true in the other direction. If your thoughts and words are not right then your actions are bound to not be right either. It really does make a difference what we meditate on. It’s the old “garbage in – garbage out” concept. So, whether it’s movies you watch, books you read or music you listen to, it really does affect everything about you, what you say, your attitude, how you feel about life, how you treat people, etc. Did you know that something as simple as standing or sitting up straight and holding your head up for a short period of time will help change your feelings and attitude, especially if you can do it with a smile on your face and then if you can add in some praise music or scripture memorization or reading a chapter or two in your Bible you just might find it helps give you a whole different outlook on your situation. I am sure your thoughts are worth a LOT more than a penny to you and to God. I would like to challenge you today to start memorizing Bible verses so your mind has it to meditate on. How about starting with Psalm 19:14 this week.
Extra Time in the Word: Psalm 19

Tuesday, May 20,2008

Romans 3:22-24
We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.

Satan will always try to get you to feel you are not worthy of God’s love, that you are not a good enough Christian, that you cannot be forgiven again or perhaps that you have done so much wrong in your life that you cannot become a Christian. Satan’s only power over you is to convince you that you are not accepted by God himself. I want you to read this verse very carefully. We are accepted by God when we accept Jesus. God will accept us regardless of what we have done in life. No one can measure up to God’s standards and yet God has called us not guilty. All of this was done because Jesus died for our sins; he took the punishment for your wrong doings. All of this is yours if you’ll choose to receive it. Once again the ball is in your court. Are you going to believe the lies that Satan has said about who you are and what you deserve or are you going to receive God’s gift to you? We all want to be accepted by someone right? Why not be accepted by the God of the universe today? Today trust is Jesus and begin a spiritual journey that will blow your mind.
Extra Time in the Word: 2 Corinthians 12

Sunday, May 18, 2008
Written by Janet Trstenjak

1 John 1:7

But if we walk in the Light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His son, cleanses us from all sin.

If you want to know what God thinks of sin, take a look at Calvary! Sin is sin, He died for all of it. Sometimes we want to categorize which ones are worse than others and we think well, a little lie here or there isn’t bad, or maybe talking in ways we shouldn’t, whether it is gossip or taking God’s name in vain isn’t as bad as stealing or some other sin, but He had to die for it ALL!! There can be no sin in heaven and so therefore He had to die for every sin there is because His goal is forgiveness and He wants to have a relationship with you for eternity and He was willing to go that far to have it. He paid the same price for our lies or cheating on that test as He did for any other sin! It is all wrong and we need His help to overcome any sin we struggle with. We are human, we are not perfect and we are going to struggle and fall at times but the key is what you do when you do? Are you repentive, do you mean it or are you just going through the motions? Mean it and turn and ask God to help you steer clear of doing it again! The great thing is that Calvary is also a perfect picture of His mercy and grace because He loved all of us enough to die for us and He is always right there ready to help pick up the pieces when we mess up and are truly humbled. Don’t ever believe the lie that you have messed up one too many times or that He is too angry with you to want to help. He ALWAYS WANTS TO HELP! He loves you, give it to Him and let Him help you in any area you are struggling in, He’s waiting. If we can help you have a closer walk wih Christ, or maybe you don’t have one but would like to have one, email us at office@xtrlive.com

Extra time in the Word: 1 John 1