Xtreme Daily Bible Study
Saturday, February 28th
Written By Bill Scott
Psalm 27:10
“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” (NLT)
Through life we will experience those we care about turning their back on us. For some that will be a mom and dad. For others a close friend might be the person who decides to walk a way. During those times God has promised to hold you close. He is one person in your life that will never walk a way from you. I have experienced close friends walking a way from me during the tough times in my own life. The hurt was intense but during that time I can assure you that the Lord held me close. Perhaps today you are facing tough times and no one seems to be around to help you through. Know that your God loves you and will hold you close!
Extra time in the Word Psalm 27
Friday, February 27th
Written By Kyle Shultz
1 Kings 18:21
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
Elijah made a bold statement about following God in a time when it wasn’t just looked down on, it was persecuted. Israel had been known for being God’s chosen people; they had left following the Lord for following Baal. If you read throughout the Bible, you’ll see that Israel leaves following God for this Baal. Baal isn’t a name for just one particular god, it was more of a term for a god, kind of like how Pharaoh was the name of the king of Egypt. Baal was the name of many types of gods, basically any god other than the Lord. What Elijah is demanding from Israel is that if any other god is God, than follow it. But if the Lord is God, you must follow Him.
In the history of our nation, America has been labeled, many people in one nation under God. But if you look at our nation today, most Americans do not want to even be associated with God. It would be natural want to do is go with the flow. Following whatever everyone else is doing would be the easy way out. But there is a problem with that; we as believers know that Christ is the way. To sit down and pretend to accept what everyone else accepts would be death inside of ourselves. We may exist on the outside, but we will never really live. It is time that we stop having one foot in following what our feelings tell us, what the world shoves at us, and start living in the truth of knowing and following Christ that we know to be true.
Extra time in the Word 1 Kings 18
Thursday, February 26th
Written By Kyle Shultz
Exodus 3:10
So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.
There is a dramatic difference in how we need to view God speaking to us, and God using us. I mentioned in our last study that God looks to get out attention through the little miracles He does for us in our everyday lives. God’s purpose for our lives or Him using us is drastically different. When God got Moses’ attention, He used a little miracle, God’s purpose for Moses was enormous! He sent Moses to deliver an entire nation from the world’s most powerful empire! God didn’t expect Moses to try and take it by force. All God did was send Moses. When Moses went in obedience to God, and went knowing God would empower Moses to do the impossible, God did some of the greatest miracles through Moses that the world has ever witnessed. God’s plan for you is no less important in His eyes. He wants to do incredible things through you if you will just believe it and follow His plan for your life. What He wants from you is to expect the impossible, there are absolutely no boundaries with what He wants to do through you. He also wants you to be obedient. Whatever He shows you He wants to do, He only wants you to be obedient in doing what you can do, the rest depends on the mighty power of God. What you will find is that He is faithful to do His part.
Extra time in the Word Exodus 4
Wednesday, February 25th
Written By Michael Williams
John 3:5
“Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
Have you ever wondered how God speaks to us? It’s not like you can pick up the phone and give Him a call with all of your questions. Poor Nicodemus asks Jesus himself and still doesn’t get a simple answer. How does God work? Nicodemus wasn’t just anyone. He knew the scriptures; he was around men of God on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, he was the one people went to for answers. He was a Pharisee. I love the simple answer Jesus gives. You can find God’s answers in the way the environment stirs, but you can’t explain why the environment stirs the way it does. Sometimes the point is not to try to figure out why things happen the way they do, or where the particular situation is coming from. There are some things about God we just won’t understand. The point isn’t always to understand why or how. The question should simply be when and where. How is God challenging me in this moment, and in what way do I fix my sails to catch the wind and allow God to take me to where I need to go.
Extra time in the Word John 3
Tuesday, February 24th
Written By Kyle Shultz
Exodus 3:4
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Moses was just minding his business one day and doing his normal thing, taking care of some sheep in the mountains. Then he saw something that was different, an act of God. He saw a bush burning that wasn’t affected by the flames. He knew only God could do this, so he wanted a closer look. When He got closer, he heard God speak, and it took him by surprise. Moses wasn’t looking for some mighty miracle from God, he was just going about his day and when he saw something that he knew could only come from God, he stopped what he was doing and wanted a closer look. The same is true for us. God is always at work in our lives, and He’s always working little miracles that we can choose to pass by thinking “oh, that was cool”, or we can take a closer look at them and see God in our lives. I think where a lot of us miss out in seeing God in our lives is we expect Him to make some big entrance or do something radical. Truth is that’s not normally His style. He does little things for us everyday. He just waits for us to see if we will stop what we are doing, and let God show us how much He really is in our lives.
Extra time in the Word Exodus 3
Monday, February 23rd
Written By Bill Scott
1 Corinthians 13:1, 2
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
You can replace charity for the word LOVE. You might be the most talented individual in the world. Perhaps God has gifted you in so many areas. This verse is so clear, especially the last sentence. If you do not have LOVE in your life you are nothing! God is love and as his child he wants you to show love. I love the part in the verse that says you might have the faith to actually MOVE mountains but that’s not impressive to God if you do not have LOVE. Today inspect your life and make sure you are showing God’s love to those around you. Do not underestimate the power of God’s love in your life!
Extra time in the Word 1 Corinthians 13
Sunday, February 22nd
Written By Kyle Shultz
Exodus 2:24-25
God listened to their groanings. God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw what was going on with Israel. God understood.
This came at a time when the Israelites were slaves to Egypt. They had been salves for hundreds of years. They looked as though they had no hope. They had most likely given up all hope. The passage says that they cried out, but not to God, they cried out because of the pain they were in. So where was God in all of this? He was right there with them. We can see today that He not only heard every bit of their pain, He also understood. How is it that He understood? He felt their pain. They had the promise of being God’s children. When a loving parent sees their kid hurting, a part of them hurts because that child is part of them. The same applies to us today. God knows every bit of your hurts and struggles. He is not ignoring you. He knows your struggles so much more than just because He is all-knowing, He knows your struggles because He feels the pain that you feel. Who you are is found in Christ, what you feel, He feels. There are going to be plenty of times when God doesn’t get us through a hard time right away, and it will hurt. He allows it because His plan is so much bigger than the hurt that we feel at the moment. In those times what we really want is someone to empathize with us, know what and how we feel. I’m here to tell you that God doesn’t just know your pain, He feels it too.
Extra time in the Word Exodus 2
Saturday, February 21st
Written by Michael Williams
Job 42:5-6
“I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said”
Being wrong is right….
Right where you want to be.
Sometimes the most fulfilling moments in life come when we realize we where wrong. In that moment, we stop looking within ourselves or our circumstances for the answers. When we realize that the only place we can look for the right answers is God, we have tapped into a wellspring of transcendent truth. Sometimes finding out you where wrong is the best thing that could have ever happened to you.
Extra time in the Word Job 42
Friday, February 20th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Job 29:11-12
All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me. For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.
The main thing we think about when we think of Job is that he was a rich guy who loved God, lost it all, and eventually got it back again. What this passage shows us is a little background on what put Job in a position to be wealthy. God has made it clear to us that in order for us to be blessed, we need to choose to be a blessing. We see from this chapter that Job never turned anyone away who needed help. If he had the ability to offer someone a helping hand in any way, he did it. In all honesty, that is basically what Christ wants us to do. He has equipped us with His ability in His name to be Jesus to the world. When we get our eyes off of ourselves and let Him bring us into opportunities to help someone in His name, not only will we be a blessing, but He will bless us for obedience. God does want to bless us like a loving father who wants to give a child gifts. But the big reason He blesses us is to reach out with that gift, and bless your brother in need. God never makes us rich to be rich, He makes us rich to give.
Extra time in the Word Job 29
Thursday, February 19th
Written By Bill Scott
2 Corinthians 5:17
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT)
I am not the same person I used to be. Praise God. As soon as you become a Christian you are a new creation. The old life is gone, finished, destroyed. Does this mean we won’t struggle with the old temptations, the old way of speaking and thinking? We have to renew our minds. This means we need to find out what it means to live as this new creation that we have become. It’s a journey to learn how to walk as a child of God. This is why it’s so important to be in a good church, youth group and reading the Bible on a regular basis. Just the other day I had to reformat a hard drive for my computer and reprogram with all the correct things so my computer would run smoothly. You are reformatting your mind so to speak with God’s Word, promises and how He views you. Continue to embrace the new life and which just how much you change this year.
Extra time in the Word 2 Corinthians 5
