Doyle Smith Daily

 Genesis 22:11-12 (ESV) Originally published 11/20/2014 The things we fear control our behavior. God asked Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice to him and he had his son on the altar ready to kill him. "But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here am I.' He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld you son, your only son, from me'" Genesis 22:11-12 (ESV). Lord, help me to be more afraid of your disapproval of me today than anything in the world or anyone. Help me to ask myself if the things I think or do today find your approval

 Genesis 22:1-2 (ESV) Originally published 11/19/2014  God wanted to know if Abraham was really willing to do anything that God asked him to do. "After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, 'Abraham!!' And he said, 'Here am I.' He said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you'" Genesis 22:1-2 (ESV). This test was for Abraham perhaps more than for God. Have I really given my whole life to God? The only way to know is to have to make hard choices and to do things that are hard and costly to me. Lord, I think you test me every day to see if the things that are important to you are most important to me. Help me to be aware that what I think and how I spend my time is a test as to whether or not you are Lord of my life

 Genesis 21:22 (ESV) Originally published 11/18/2014 This is evidence of why Abraham was a man of God. "At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, ‘God is with you in all that you do" Genesis 21:22 (ESV). These pagan  men saw in Abraham the evidence that God was guiding his life without Abraham trying to convince them about God. Lord, I want to tell people that you are the Ruler of the universe, but I want even more for those who know me to see your nature in who I am and what I do

 Genesis 21:17-18 (ESV) Originally published 11/17/2014 God has done a lot more than what is recorded in the Bible. "And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation'" Genesis 21:17-18 (ESV). God's work is bigger than we will ever know in this world, and perhaps in Heaven we will learn of what God did with Ishmael and what he did in China and all the rest of the world. Lord, you are overwhelming to me. You are at work in every country, community, and in every person in the world at the same time. How humbling to think that you listen to me and guide me.

 Genesis 21:12-13 (ESV) Originally published 11/15/2014  Abraham and Sarah gave up waiting for God to give them a son, and Abraham conceived a son through Sarah's maid at Sarah's insistence. Then God gave Sarah and Abraham a son, Isaac and there was conflict as a result of their disobedience. "But God said to Abraham, 'Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring'" Genesis 21:12-13 (ESV). If we continue to trust God, he has the ability to accomplish his purpose in our lives, even when we fail him. Lord, when I fail you I get upset with myself. Remind me that you can solve any problem my disobedience causes if I am faithful to obey.

 Genesis 20:1-2 Originally published 11/14/2014  Even great people of faith had times when they did not trust God. "From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife. 'She is my sister.' And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah" Genesis 20:1-2 (ESV). This was the second time that Abraham lied and gave his wife to another man (Genesis 12:10-20). All of us who follow Christ have areas of our lives in which we really trust God and at the same time have trouble trusting God in other areas. Lord, show me the ways in which I do not trust you and help me to be able to trust you in every part of my life.

 Genesis 19:27-29(ESV) Originally published 11/13/2014  I hear some people say a loving God would not hurt people. "And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived" Genesis 19:27-29 (ESV). God's judgment destroys those who fail to submit to his authority to protect those who do submit to his authority. Lord, thank you for taking care of me and protecting me and give me a spirit of submission to your every instruction

 Genesis 19:17-20 (ESV) Originally published 11/11/2014 God was going to destroy Sodom, and he sent angels to rescue Lot. "And as they bought him out, one of them said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." And Lot said to them, 'Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest disaster overtake me, and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one? --and my life will be saved!'" Genesis 19:17-20 (ESV). Lot trusted his own judgment over that of the angels and God. We read the words of God in the Bible, but we think we can improve on them. Lord, today if I try to compromise what you have told me remind me of Lot.

 Genesis 19:19-20 Genesis 19:17-20 Originally published 11/11/2014 God was going to destroy Sodom, and he sent angels to rescue Lot. "And as they bought him out, one of them said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." And Lot said to them, 'Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest disaster overtake me, and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one? --and my life will be saved!'" Genesis 19:17-20 (ESV). Lot trusted his own judgment over that of the angels and God. We read the words of God in the Bible, but we think we can improve on them. Lord, today if I try to compromise what you have told me remind me of Lot.

 Genesis 19:14-16(ESV) First published 11/06/2014 God was going to destroy Sodom and sent angels to warn Lot, Abraham's nephew, to escape with his family. "So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, 'Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.' But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. As morning dawned, the  angels urged Lot, saying, 'Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.' But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city" Genesis 19:14-16 (ESV). The sons-in-law died by ignoring the warning, and God had to force Lot to escape because he didn't take the warning seriously. Lord, your mercy is so great that you warn me over and over about how I should think and act, but I don't always take it ...

 Genesis 18:32 ESV) Originally published 11/05/2014   God had plans to destroy Sodom because of its wickedness, but Abraham interceded for Sodom. "Then he (Abraham) said, 'Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten (righteous) are found there.' He (God) answered, 'For the sake of ten I will not destroy it'" Genesis 18:32 (ESV). Sodom was destroyed for the lack of ten people who trusted God. We have no idea how much influence the life of one follower of Christ has with God. Lord, cleanse me of all rebellion and resistance to you that I might be that one righteous person you can count on.

 Genesis 18:17-19 (ESV) Originally published 11/04/2014 God was set to bring judgment on Sodom when he stopped to tell Abraham and Sarah that he was going to give them a son. "The LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice,...'" Genesis 18:17-19 (ESV). God wanted to involve his follower Abraham in what he was doing on earth because Abraham was faithful. Lord, if there is something that you want done today and I can serve you, tell me what to do and give me the faithfulness to do what you need me to do.

 Genesis 18: 13-14a Originally published 11/03/2014 At age 90 for Sarah and 100 for Abraham they had apparently stopped asking for a son. But when God promised a son to them Sarah laughed because it was humanly impossible. "The Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Genesis 18:13-14a (ESV). This does not mean that God will do everything we ask but that he can do anything we ask if it suits his purpose and is best for us. Most of all it means that he will do everything he tells us he will do no matter how impossible it seems to us. Lord, I want to live with confidence that everything that you promised in the Bible you will do. Give me the courage to take the risks of obedience. 

 Genesis 17:15-17 Originally posted 11/01/2014 God shows his power and majesty by doing things that are impossible to us. "And God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.' Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?'" Genesis 17:15-7 (ESV). To undertake the impossible when God has not directed it is presumption, but to fail to undertake the impossible when God has directed it is unbelief. God asks us to do things that seem impossible to us to help our trust in him to grow and prepare us to face even more difficult situations and to demonstrate who he is. Lord, help me to know today what you want me to do and to do it, reg...

Genesis 17:1(ESV) Originally posted 10/31/2014 In talking to Abram God identifies himself. "When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty, walk before me, and be blameless, ...” Genesis 17:1 (ESV). This is the foundation of our faith that the God of the Bible has all power and authority over all the universe. He can do whatever he chooses to do. To fail to recognize his position and authority is rebellion against the greatest power in the universe. Lord, I acknowledge you as the ruler of the universe and of my life and ask that you help me to submit to your every wish this day. I will fear nothing with you as my master.

  Genesis 16:1-2 Originally published 10/30/2014 It is easy to get frustrated with God when the promises we read in the Bible don't happen when we think they should. Sometimes we try to make them happen. "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, 'Behold now, the LORD has  prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.' And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai" Genesis 16:1-2 (ESV). Sarai didn't trust God to keep his word, and Abram trusted Sarai, not God. Lord, today when things don't go as I expected, remind me to react as you want me to instead of acting on my feelings or human wisdom.

  Genesis 15:13-16 Originally published 10/29/2014  We might think that planning 10 years ahead is long range planning for us, but not for God. "Then the LORD said to Abram, 'Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not complete'" Genesis 15:13-16 (ESV). God knew what he was going to do 400 years in the future to the Israelites, Egyptians, and the Amorites. His knowledge and wisdom is beyond anything we can imagine. Lord, I cannot know the future, but if I can obey your instructions one day at a time, I am assured my future is secure. Show me what to ...

Genesis 15:7 Originally published 10/28/2014  It is hard for us to recognize when God is speaking to us, and God understands this. God made a promise to Abram and Abram believed it, but God knew he needed assurance. "And he (God) said to him (Abram), 'I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess" Genesis 15:7 (ESV). God wants us to be sure we know when he is speaking to us as much as we want that. We can check what we think God is saying against Scripture to make sure it is God. But there is also for us the assurance from the Holy Spirit that lives within us. Lord, help me to recognize your guidance in my life today that I will follow you.

Originally published 10/27/2014 Faith is to believe the things God says even though there is no human evidence that they will happen. God promised Abram that through him all the world would be blessed, but Abram was over 75 and had no children. Abram could not see how this could happen at his age, but God said he would have a son. ""And he bought him (Abram) outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:5-6 (ESV) Lord, guide me to know the differences between my plans and your promises. Don't let me fool myself. Give me the faith to trust you when your promises seem impossible that the world might see your power.

Originally Posted to Facebook  10/25/2014 God responds to our trust in him. Abram had recovered the people and goods taken from the king of Sodom and the king offered the goods to Abram, but he turned this offer down for fear that people would think that Abram’s wealth came from people, not God. "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield: your reward will be very great" Genesis 15:1 (NIV). God's response to Abram's trust in him was to offer protection and great reward. Lord, it is a great comfort to know that when I trust you by being obedient that you stand between me and anyone or anything that would destroy me.