Xtreme Daily Bible Study
Sunday, August 31st
Written by Bill Scott
James 5:19-20
My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God. (MSG)
So often we know Christians who walk a way from their relationship with the Lord. I have seen it more times then not but a lot of Christians just write them off. I have heard the phrase, “Well if they are that dumb to walk a way from God there is nothing I can do about it.” That is a lame response for a Christian to say. The Bible is very clear we are not to write them off. We need to get off our backside and go after them and do what we can to bring them back to God. Maybe that would look like just being a good friend to them. Find ways to bless your friend while they are a way from God. I would pray for a divine appointment where you can share the Love of the Lord and lead them back to God. I think if we would be more pro-active we would see many come back to Christ and continue their relationship with Him. Never write someone off because they walk a way from God.
Extra time in the Word James 5
Sunday, August 1st
Written by Kyle Shultz
Proverbs 19:2
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
This has got to be one of the hardest lessons that I have to keep learning. You know all those times when your heart tells you “Go after this! This is where it’s at!” but then you fall on your face with a huge letdown? That’s the danger of being led by your emotions. We want to be led by our heart because emotions are so strong, but the heart is deceptive and is deceived very easily. Our emotions are the way they are based on a reaction to whatever is in front of us. If we had a good night sleep, didn’t get in any fights and enjoyed a good day with friends, we’re great. If we miss a meal, forget to do homework until it’s too late, get in arguments with friends or family, we feel terrible. What I’m trying to say is our emotions are so fickle, they change in the blink of an eye. The only way we can be guided by knowledge as this verse shows is by putting God where He needs to be in us (the fear of the Lord, Proverbs 1:7). We have to place Him there, and keep Him there. He will keep us on a consistent plain and teach us how to handle those emotions because He wants us focused on Him.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 19
Saturday, August 29th
Written by Bill Scott
Isaiah 59:1-2
Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and He is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem–your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, He has turned away and will not listen anymore. (NLT)
Is God hearing your prayers? When you sin we build a wall between God and us. We need to resolve the sin in our life and ask for forgiveness so the wall is torn down and we have good communication with God. I have seen so many times where people are living in a lifestyle of sin and then wonder why God is not answering their prayers? Sin builds a wall and only we can tear it down by confessing our sin to the Lord. Now understand, there are times when God is silent, that doesn’t mean there is sin in your life. God answers prayers in three ways. 1. Yes, I will give you what you want. 2. No, I will not give you what you are asking for. 3. Yes, I will give you what you want but not now so wait on me. Only you know if sin is blocking your prayer-life with God. If you do not have unconfessed sin then keep knocking on the door of heaven because God will answer your prayer in one of three ways.
Extra time in the Word Isaiah 59
Friday, August 28th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Proverbs 15:15
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
Let’s face it. This is a tough world. We’ve always got something weighing on us. If we get alone and take an honest look at ourselves, there’s not much pretty in there. If we hang around people long enough, they’ll eventually rub us the wrong way. Not only that, but we also get messages from people all the time that we’ll never be enough. If you don’t exactly fit in a mold, you’re “weird”. We really can’t do anything about avoiding these things. The question is are you going to let this weigh you down? 1 Peter 5:7 says that we need to give Jesus all our cares. Why do you think that’s the case? Is it because Jesus wants us to plug our ears when bad things come and pretend they don’t exist? Not at all! He knows that if we focus on them that it will make us sour. The key to cheerfulness is rejoicing. Rejoicing is finding satisfaction in something. If we focus our attention on Christ, what He says is true, and what He has done for us and made us, He lifts us out of the oppression! It’s not a one time thing either. Because we always have Christ, we can shake the frowns anytime. Look at your life and ask God to help you change one thing in you today out of response to who Christ has made you.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 16
Thursday, August 27th
Written by Bill Scott
Isaiah 43:4
That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. (MSG)
How much do you mean to God? Check out this verse. God tells us that he would sell the whole world to get you back. God is crazy about you and desires to have a wonderful relationship with you. For whatever reason you have fallen a way from the Lord. It’s time to come back to Him. God loves having a close relationship with you and would do whatever it took to see you in good standing with Him again. You might say, Bill you don’t understand, I don’t deserve a close relationship with God after what I have done. YOU ARE RIGHT! But because God has an unconditional love and is not only willing to forgive you for what you did, He also chooses to forget what you have done as well. Satan is the one whispering in your ear that you cannot come back to God. This verse is very clear just how much God wants you to come back to Him so why not today? Just pray this prayer.
Lord forgive me for walking away from you. Forgive me for __________ I choose to come back to you today. I want you to be Lord of my life. In Jesus name amen.
Congrats you are now in good standing with God! Welcome home.
Extra time in the Word Isaiah 43
Wednesday, August 26th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Proverbs 15:8
The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him.
We all go through those times (more times than not for a lot of us) when we aren’t guarding our walk with God as closely as we ought. What you have to examine is what you do in order to be realigned with the Lord. Whenever you mess up with your friend, you do something for them to show them you’re sorry. That’s what you do in relationships as well. God doesn’t want that from us because there’s nothing that we can do for Him. When we try and give God something to earn His favor back, it’s us offering something from ourselves. The apostle Paul said that in our flesh is not a single good thing, and Isaiah says that our own righteousness is like filthy rags to God. I believe what this verse is saying is that God is pleased with us when we realize that there isn’t a single thing we can do and just ask God to bring us back to where we need to be. God made it possible for us to be right because of Jesus. If we keep focused on that we’ll be fine.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 15
Tuesday, August 25th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
Our entire walk is a journey. Once we accept Christ into our lives the mission of our lives change. All we knew before was living for ourselves and now we have the purpose of living for Christ. The source of our strength in living for God is based on us placing our satisfaction in Him. That’s what it means to rejoice in Him. We can rejoice in His working in us in the good times and the bad. This verse explains how we can rejoice in the bad times. After living this life for a while is that there are a lot of bad times, baggage, and things we don’t want to deal with. But when we allow God to help us focus on Him we find that these bad times actually help bring out what God has put in us. The harder the time, the more He brings out Christ in us. The amazing thing about Christ is that He can take us through times that are beyond our own strength and He will protect us. This verse shows that He will pour out His love which will fuel you forward in Him. It’s His love that motivates us to live for Him, and it’s through His love that He makes us like Him. And we have access to living in His love when we place our own satisfaction in Him.
Extra time in the Word Romans 5
Monday, August 24th
Written by Kyle Shultz
Ecclesiastes 7:4
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
If you ever look at the book of Ecclesiastes, you’ll see that this is a pretty depressing book. Solomon is explaining at the end of his life that there is not one earthly pursuit that is worth putting your life into. This verse especially looks depressing. I don’t know of many people, barring some extreme occurrence, who would willingly want to go to a funeral home rather than a theme park. That’s what it this verse looks like. God doesn’t want us walking around all depressed, that’s not what this verse means. Just because any earthly pursuit is not worth pouring your heart into doesn’t mean God doesn’t have one for you. What Solomon was trying to explain is that it’s better that you see yourself for who you really are than try to bury yourself in fun times or trying to make yourself feel better with whatever it may be. When we see what we really are, it opens our eyes to how much we really need God. No, God doesn’t want us to restrict ourselves from every fun thing, but He wants our attention and focus on Him. Through Him, we’ll be able to enjoy those things because they’ll be in their right place.
Extra time in the Word Ecclesiastes 7
Sunday, August 23rd
Written by Bill Scott
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon GOD get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (MSG)
Waiting on God can be difficult at times, but it’s something that is so necessary. If we choose to wait on God we will get fresh strength. I don’t know about you but I am all about that fresh strength. The Bible says we’ll soar like eagles. I don’t know if you have ever watched an eagle fly? It seems effortless. They just seem to glide forever and seldom flap their wings. This means we don’t have to be in survival mode, we can glide while waiting on the Lord. The Bible says we’ll run and not get tired and we’ll never lag behind. Yes, it’s true that we want our answer now but God says to wait on him and when you do you can receive His promises. So we can do it our way and be tired, worn out and lagging behind or we can fly with the eagles if we are will to obey and do it God’s way.
Extra time in the Word Isaiah 40
Saturday, August 22nd
Written by Kyle Shultz
Proverbs 1:10-11a, 14-15
My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, “Come along with us…throw in your lot with us and we will share a common purse.” My son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.
One of the reasons why Solomon warned his son, and why God wants us to receive His wisdom, is the danger of having the wrong kind of friends. Have you ever known a group of people that did things that you knew wasn’t right, but you wanted their friendship anyway? It’s healthy to want to be accepted by others because that’s the way God made us. He made us to love Him, and have friendships and healthy relationships. The reason why many believers never really move forward in their walks is because of the fear of rejection and being alone. They’ll see people living in the wrong, but will embrace them. Romans 1 explains that the wrath of God is being stored up against those who live that way because they suppress the Truth of God to live that way. Associating with this will reap its own punishment. In order to move forward, you can’t allow the fear of being alone to control you. Most every godly person in God’s Word experienced times of being alone. But the thing about following God is that His grace will keep you from breaking. You’ll bend from tough things in life, but never break. God will also give you godly friends, and a few godly friends who will stick with you through the good times and bad are better than a hundred bad friends who will turn on you when it’s to their advantage.
Extra time in the Word Proverbs 1
