Xtreme Daily Bible Study
Thursday, April 30th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
If we were to ask ourselves if we have a fun life, almost all of us would say, “Heck no, I wish I were somewhere else!” We wake up, and we do the same thing every day. Nothing too much out of the ordinary happens. We get in a routine and eventually days begin to blur together, weekends fly by, and the weekdays get slower. Pretty soon you’ll start asking yourself what the reason is for doing everything in the day you do. You may be expecting something great in the future you know God has for you but think that you have to go through a bunch of boring to get there. God never intended for us to be trying to live our lives hoping they will get better. He wants us to be living with our eyes and expectations on the here and now. Let me explain. If you are living for your own goals and dreams and your present circumstances don’t match up, you’ll get into a mindset that it’ll get better one day. If you live seeking God’s plan for your life and see how God is at work in every little detail and is Lord in all of your daily life, you’ll put your heart into what God has placed in front of you knowing it comes from Him and that He will take care of the future. Take a look at your life and ask yourself what you are looking for, Is it God’s desires that set your sights? Do you see God at work in your daily living? If not, exchange your desires for God’s and ask Him to help you see life day to day as He sees you living it out.
Extra time in the Word Colossians 3
Wednesday, April 29th
Written by Michael Williams
Proverbs 23:9
Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.
Would you consider some unsaved people, fools? I have seen Christians I would consider to be fools, I’ve played the part of the fool a time or two in my own life. So if there are unsaved people who are “fools”, how do we share the gospel with them if they won’t listen to what we have to say? I guess it really comes down to who is speaking, right? Let me ask you a question, have you ever heard God speak? I don’t mean the little man dressed in white, sitting on your shoulder or a grumble in your stomach when you do something bad. I mean, have you heard the audible voice of God? Does God have a problem getting His point across without using words? Ok, let me ask you this, do you have the power in and of yourself to convince someone that Jesus is who He says He is? Can you single handedly provide a divine epiphany that will turn someone towards Jesus? I don’t think so. So, it is essentially God who gives us the ability to share the Good news with someone, correct? There are fools who eventually aren’t fools anymore, right? God has done this without ever uttering an audible word. We would have to say that God has more than one way to communicate. He can communicate His message to people through us without us using our mouths. Don’t forget, fools are foolish because they don’t listen. Don’t limit God by thinking that the only what he can speak through you is by you opening your mouth.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 23
Tuesday, April 28th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Proverbs 24:13-14
My son, eat honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, and your hope will not be cut off.
Do you have any particular thing you like to snack on, or drink once in a while because you just have to have it? My thing is Diet Coke. I can’t go through a week without having some coke (no pun intended). If you hand somebody who doesn’t drink anything diet a Diet Coke, they’ll look at you like you’ve got to be kidding. There isn’t any way they’re going to drink it. But, if you hand me a Diet Coke, because of years of acquiring a taste for it, I will never turn you down. In the same way, you can’t just give somebody wisdom from God’s Word that does not have God in their life and expect them to appreciate that advice. In the same way, anyone who sees God’s Word as just a book will not take seriously and practice in their life the wisdom that’s life changing. In order to take in God’s Word, you need to have a desire for it. You can’t have a desire for it if you don’t see it for what it really is. You have to see God in His Word and God at work in your life in learning to appreciate His Word. When you do, you’ll want Him more, and you’ll walk in His Word. Ask God to make Himself real to you today, and see how His Word can be at work in your life.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 25
Monday, April 27th
Written by Michael Williams
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5
Have you ever been jealous of someone else’s walk with God? Believe me, I have! I remember having friends who talked about God so much that it got on my nerves. It wasn’t that I didn’t like hearing about God. I just hated being reminded that I could be closer to God than I was at the present moment. Can’t we always be closer to God? I think Enoch in Gen. 5:24 was the closest anyone could be with God here on earth. You can’t get much closer than that. I’ve thought to myself from time to time, “I wish I had passion for people like she does.” Or, “I wish I could read my bible and get as much out of it as he does.” This is probably one of the most comforting verses for me. Why? It basically says that God is the one who gives us the desire to serve him, and I don’t decide how much I can love God. As much as I like to think I have it all together, I am often reminded I am a fool and a selfish sinner who is shown undeserved mercy and love daily from an all powerful, all capable God. I do not have the capacity to love the things of God. I don’t even have the capacity to love people the way I should. All of that comes from God. I can’t love God on my own without His direction. So even in those times when I feel that I’m not loving God has much as I think I should, I can look at this verse and remember that I can only go as far as God has taken my heart. In other words, I can only love as much as God has taught me to love. It is from God that we get our ability to love Him and others. Thus the growth process of faith. The average Christian doesn’t just wake up and start raising people from the dead. There is a fine tuning process that God puts us through that enables us to love more and more a little bit at a time. You can read about that in John 15. God directs our hearts to His love, and all we can do is follow. It starts as a crawl, grows to a step or two, and maybe even a few stumbles along the way. All along God is patient; he doesn’t expect us to go from crawling to sprinting overnight.
Extra time in the Word 2 Thessalonians 3
Sunday, April 26th
Written by Bill Scott
Proverbs 13:7
“A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.” (MSG)
I have had friends who love to show off in life. They drive the big cars, have big houses, dress like there is no tomorrow. I do not believe it’s wrong to have things that God has blessed you with but some live a lifestyle of just showing off. They want the world to look at them and think they are at the top of their game. I had a friend who did this. His life was so empty. He spent some of his time in depression because he had nothing of value inside of him. The things he had were not wrong but what he did with them was to have a showy life. I travel to many countries around the world. I was in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. There were no Xboxes, computers, good schools, nice clothes etc… There was hardly enough food and drinking water for those that lived in that country and yet there were people full of life! I saw children playing in the streets with smile on their faces. Yes they were facing tough times but they also knew what it is to live a simple life and to be happy in that. Praise God for the things you are blessed with but do not become showy. Make sure you live life to the fullest.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 13
Saturday, April 25th
Writen by Kyle Shultz
Proverbs 24:5-6
A wise man is strong and is better than a strong man, and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power;
I’ve been working out and lifting weights for about 3 years. When I started, I was a beanpole. Close to six foot and just over 150 pounds. Now I could run for an hour outside in the middle of a summer day in Florida, but I was embarrassed to where a sleeveless shirt in the gym. I would see other guys who were naturally bigger than me and able to lift more than me content to do their own thing and not try too hard, because they thought where they were in terms of strength was fine. Although I was scrawny and had no clue what I was doing, I kept my ears open to anyone’s advice who knew what they were talking about. I stuck with it even though I couldn’t lift much. I’ll never be a bodybuilder or anything, but I’ve learned that the more you keep your eyes open to different lifts and always look for ways to get stronger, you’ll keep moving forward. But if you feel comfortable just doing the same thing and never work where there’s a little pain, you’ll just stay there.
In the same way, we need to always be looking for truth from God and listening to the wisdom of godly men and women who have walked the path of life before us. Our own understanding will only get us so far, and we’ll learn, but it’ll be the hard way. Never think you have it all together, no matter how much God has gifted you. Always be looking to move forward, and stay teachable.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 24
Friday, April 24th
Written by Michael Williams
Proverbs 17:1
Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
I think I can count the number of times I’ve “gone out” on one hand. I didn’t really get it. Why did people get such a kick out of “going out.” Of course there was the surge of energy and excitement that came from the “good time” atmosphere and new people. The anticipation of a new relationship with a new person is intoxicating, but I noticed that there were so many people flocking there who were desperately longing for love and acceptance. It didn’t take long for me to realize that most of them were willing to do what ever they could to attain it. It’s sad really. For those people, and others who may not have the same objective, “Going out” was the opportunity to forget about your problems. Little did they know they might find new ones the next morning, or nine to ten months, after their night of uninhibited frivolity. In college the thing to do was to go to the club or the bar and “have a good time.” But it usually led to senseless brawls, pending hangovers, promiscuous sex, or a significant other you wish you would have never met. There always seemed to be a well established platform for degrading women and the eradicating self esteem, rather redefining it. “The more you want to have sex with me when you see me, the more attractive I am.” Did I mention that this is horribly sad? Unfortunately there wasn’t much to do beyond going out for a movie or food in a hole in the wall restaurant or coffee shop. I often had to make a choice between “a dry morsel with quiet” and “a house full of feasting with strife.” God has made his point clear. There are some things that appear to be a good time, that aren’t really worth our time.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 17
Thursday, April 23rd
Written by Kyle Shultz
Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
I haven’t personally lived a long life as a believer. But I’ve heard the testimonies of many Christians who lived a long life in the will of God and I am experiencing the truth that the truths of Christ need to be repeated into ourselves constantly. If you’ve ever seen the movie Rocky IV, this will make sense. Yes, the movie is quite fake in a boxing sense and it was obvious that both guys were on steroids. If you remember when Rocky was training, his coach was pounding this saying into his head, “No pain! No pain!” While it helped him train hard, when Rocky was getting his head caved in ring, the coach repeated it until Rocky was charged up to face Drago. I wish it were a simple as hearing God’s truth once, and being able to run off of that for the rest of life. But the truth is we forget. We forget about the times when God came through for us, we forget about those times when God touched our hearts through His Truth. We constantly need to be putting our minds and hearts in a place where we are sensitive to God’s truth, and allowing His Truth to be our guard.
Extra time in the Word Philippians 3
Wednesday, April 22nd
Written by Bill Scott
Proverbs 23:17-18
Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed. (NLT)
Why is it that sinners often do well in life? I mean if we love God and are obedient then why are we not doing well? When we think that way we often envy those who do not walk with Christ. I can remember thinking this way when I was a teenager in regards to some of my friends. They didn’t love God, yet they were doing well in sports, good jobs, they were popular in school etc… I’ll never forget my mom saying the last chapter isn’t written yet. If you are faithful to God you will be blessed in the long run. Mom was right. As my friends got older I saw the toll that sin took on their lives. I saw how lost they were and how unhappy they were. Do not envy sinners, those who do not walk with God. Continue to be obedient to God and your future will be good! I love the ending of this verse, “…your hope will not be disappointed.” Follow God today with all your heart!
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 23
Tuesday, April 21st
Written by Janet Scott
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
What is God’s perfect will for your life? Maybe I should ask if you want God’s will for your life or are you busy doing your own thing hoping He will get in line? If we seek Him and His will our hearts desires will be met! God gives you desires in your life because ultimately good desires that are from God are there to help you better do what He has called you to do. Make sense? He has equipped you with things you can develop in your life to be the best you that you were created to be and wants to help you grow in those areas. I have been in the will of God in my lifetime and I have been completely out of the will of God in my life before and trust me the most miserable place I have ever been even though some of it might have seemed like “fun” at the time, was when I was out of His will! There is no true joy, peace and happiness in your life when you are out of His will. I had one pastor tell me when I was trying to decide what college to go to as a Senior in high school that I should make 2 columns on a sheet of paper and on one side right down all the reasons I think it might be a right decision or a positive one and on the other side write down all of the negative and reasons it might be wrong and then look it over to see which side has more on it. If you are honest in your columns it can be a great way to make a lot of major decisions in your life. Seek God’s perfect will for your life and if we can pray for you during this time please email us at prayer@xtrlive.com.
Extra time in the Word Romans 12
