Doyle Smith Daily

Leviticus 25:20-21 (ESV) Originally published 07/02/2015 God understands our needs, and he provides. Every 7th year the people of Israel were not to plant crops, but have a Sabbath year. "And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?' I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years" Leviticus 25:20-1 (ESV). God's provision required management. If they sold the excess crop of the sixth year, they would have nothing for the 7th year. If the follower of Christ doesn't have enough money to give to God what he has told them to give, they must first look at their management of what God has given them. Lord, give me direction in how to use the resources you have given to me, both time and money.

Leviticus 25:1-5 (ESV) Originally published 07/01/2015 God asks his people to live as if he provides for them. God told them: "When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine" Leviticus 25:1-5 (ESV). How hard it would be to trust God to provide food from what would grow wild? Lord, help me to live with the awareness that it is you who provides for me, not my work or effort. Give me wisdom and strength to work, but the awareness that it is you who provides so I don't worry about anything.

Leviticus 24:17-19 (ESV) Originally published 06/30/2015 God made every person and tells us how we must treat each other: "Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done, it shall be done to him" Leviticus 24:17-19 (ESV). Every person is made by God, and when you take that life, you forfeit your own. Every animal that you own is given to you by God, so if someone kills what God has given you, then you must replace it. If someone injures you, then you cannot do worse to him than he has done to you. Lord, thank you for reminding me that every person and everything in this world belongs to you. May each person that I relate to today I see them as precious to you and treat them as your children by creation.

Leviticus 24:16 (ESV) Originally published 06/29/2015 Blasphemy is insulting or cursing God by what we say or do. "Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. the sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death" Leviticus 24:16 (ESV). God demands respect from his people. Lord, reading about you and talking about you so much. . . . does it cause me to get too familiar? This reminds me to think of your majesty, power, holiness. I cannot even grasp your magnitude. Help me to honor you and never to do or say anything that would dishonor you.

 Leviticus 24:1-4 (ESV) Originally published 06/27/2015 "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the LORD regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generation. He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the LORD regularly'" Leviticus 24:1-4 (ESV). The LORD did not want the people to think that he was with them only in the big feast days, but there every day. The lampstand was gold to show its importance and the oil pure to show holiness. God wants his followers to remember that he is with us every day, not just on Sundays. Lord, I start my day talking with you, but I also want to be following you every minute of my day. When each new thing happens in my day, remind me to ask you how I should respond.

Leviticus 23:35-36 (ESV) Originally published 06/26/2015 The Feast of Booths was a time when Israel gathered in Jerusalem and lived in what we might call tents to recall their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. "On the first day shall be holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. For seven days you shall present food offerings to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly, you shall not do any ordinary work" Leviticus 23:35-6 (ESV). For us who have been delivered from the slavery to sin, it is not the Exodus we remember but the death of Christ who died to set us free. On this solemn occasion we eat and drink to remember what Jesus did and look forward to the time when we will eat with him in heaven. Lord, every time I take the Supper with you, remind me not only of the power you have to defeat human authorities, but that you have crushed Satan himself and set me free to serve you.

Leviticus 23:27, 29-30 (ESV) Originally published 06/25/2015 The Day of Atonement was the time when sacrifices were given for all of the people's sins for the past year. It was a very serious and demanding day. "It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD...For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people" Leviticus 23:27, 29-30 (ESV). To afflict themselves was to fast and pray, actions of self-denial. We celebrate Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection at Easter and every Sunday, but they are not days of self-denial, fasting and prayer, rather times of self-indulgence and pleasure for most church people. Lord, you demanded the death penalty for those who did not practice self-denial prayer, so we know this is important to you. How can I acknowledge how important your fo...

Leviticus 23:23-25 (ESV) Originally published 06/24/2015 The Day of Atonement was the one day of the year when all the people of Israel were to experience forgiveness for all the sins they might have committed in the past year. They were to prepare for that day: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD’" (Leviticus 23:23-25 (ESV). Lord, remind me to always start my prayer and worship time by asking you to reveal the sin in my life that offends you so that I might confess my need for forgiveness.

Leviticus 23:22 (ESV) Originally published 06/23/2015 God's plan for helping us: "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God" Leviticus 23:22 (ESV). God provides for his people, but he also gives us the opportunity to care for ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He expects us to accept responsibility for what we can do. Lord, open my eyes to do everything I am to do and trust you for the rest. I want to do everything you have assigned me to do, but alert me when I am doing for others what they need to learn to do for themselves.

Leviticus 23:19 (ESV) Originally published 06/22/2015 God has promised his people that he would provide for them. "You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD" Leviticus 23:19 (ESV). When God provides for his people, he wants them to acknowledge that he has kept his promise to provide. Giving an offering from our income is our acknowledgment that God has provided for us as he promised. Lord,  remind me every time I give an offering that you own everything and what I have is a gift from you and I can depend on you to provide for all my needs.

Leviticus 23:10-11 (ESV) Originally published 06/20/2015 The people of Israel were farmers, and when the crops were harvested, there was no more food until the next harvest. God told them: "When you come into the land and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that you may be accepted" Leviticus 23:10-11 (ESV).   Giving the very first of the harvest acknowledged that what they had was given to them by God and that all they had was really God's and giving the first fruits without knowing how much they would actually get when the harvest was over was an act of faith that God would provide for them. This act showed their acknowledgement that God was the ruler of the world and that they could trust him to provide for them. We do the same thing when we give our offerings to God. We acknowledge that he has provided the money, and we give it first, before we pay the bills, to sh...

Leviticus 23:5 (ESV) Originally published 06/11/2015 "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD'S Passover" Leviticus 23:5 (ESV). God did not want his people to forget what he had done to save them from slavery, so he set a time to remind them. Jesus’ death on the cross provided forgiveness for my sins. Lord, remind me of the horrible cost to provide forgiveness for my sins every time I ask you for forgiveness. Forgiveness is my Passover, and I want to remember it every day.

 Leviticus 23:3 (ESV) Originally published 06/10/2015 "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places" Leviticus 23:3 (ESV). This was a reminder that God made the world. Jesus' disciples set aside the first day of the week to remember that God has power over death and that Jesus is alive. Lord, I want to begin every day remembering that you not only have the power to make the universe, but to defeat death. When I think of the problems that I face I want to remember the power that you have.

Leviticus 22: 31-33 (ESV) Originally published 06/09/2015 As a child's behavior reflects on the parents so the behavior of a child of God reflects on God. "So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD" Leviticus 22:31-33 (ESV).   Lord, you have forgiven me of my rebellion and placed your Holy Spirit in me. You have set me apart from the world; now help me live to reflect who you are. Help me to banish from my mind ungodly thoughts. In every situation I face today guide me to act like you. May I bring honor to you today because I act like you.

 Leviticus 20:26 (ESV) Originally published 06/08/2015 God said to his people: "You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine" Leviticus 20:26 (ESV).  Lord, how different from my neighbors am I? You are so far beyond me that I cannot compare myself to you. I want to belong to you and be as separate from the world as you are, but I cannot do this. Transform me to be like you.

Leviticus 20:10-13 (ESV) Originally published 06/08/2015 God's plan for people was that sex was for a husband and wife. "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. If as man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Leviticus 20:10-3 (ESV).  While Jesus in John 8:1-8 does not support the death penalty for the woman caught in adultery, he makes it clear that her behavior was unacceptable to God. Lord, you have given us a clear teaching to have compassion without moral compromise. I want to hold firmly to w...

Leviticus 20: 8-9 (ESV) Originally published 06/05/2015 Human culture works correctly only if we live by God's instructions. "Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him" Leviticus 20:8-9 (ESV). Parents live by God's rules and children, who defy the authority of parents, are defying God. God raises children through the parents. This is God's plan for the world. Lord, you reveal to me my own need for submission to you. Give me wisdom and passion to obey you in every part of my life so that I might be like you.

Leviticus 20:1-3a (ESV) Originally published 06/04/2015 God has serious consequences for the parents that destroy their children. "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Say to the people of Israel, ‘Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people,'" Leviticus 20:1-3a (ESV). Worship of the god Molech required child-sacrifice for him to bless the family. Lord, show me what I can do to help parents understand how critical it is to raise children to know and to serve you.

Leviticus 19:35-37 (ESV) Originally published06/02/2015 "You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:35-37 (ESV) Lord, convict me to pay every bill as soon as I get it so that every person I do business with would see me as honest and fair, just like you.

Leviticus 19:33-34(ESV) Originally published 06/01/2015 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" Leviticus 19:33-34 (ESV).  Lord, help me to think of every person I meet today as someone you love and to serve them as if they were you in disguise. 

Leviticus 19:23-25 (ESV) Originally published 05/30/2015 "When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I  am the LORD your God" Leviticus 19:23-5 (ESV). God wants us to never forget that even the food we eat is a gift from him. They were to care for the tree for four years without eating its fruit so from the fifth year on they would remember they were eating food that belonged to God. Lord, I must admit to you that I think of the food I eat as mine because I bought it with my money. Forgive me for taking your provision for granted. Remind me when I eat today that what I eat today is yours and that it is a gift to me.

Leviticus 19:17-18 (ESV) Originally published 05/29/2017 God demands his followers to have healthy relationships with each other. "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD" Leviticus 19:17-8 (ESV). People can treat us badly, but our reaction to what they do becomes sin on our part. Avoiding sin means we get rid of anger, hatred, and a desire to get even. Lord, help me to recognize what I have done to create bad relationships, and show me what to do so that they might feel loved.

Leviticus 19:15-16 (ESV) Originally published 05/27/2015 We all make judgments about people, but God has limits for his people. "You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD" Leviticus 19:15-6 (ESV). God is fair to all people and demands that of us. The presidential race is starting, and millions of dollars will be spent to slander people. When we repeat these things without checking to see if they are true, we violate this command. The follower of Christ will treat every candidate with respect because God does. Lord, show me how to disagree with a politician without attacking them or their character.

Leviticus 19:13-14 (ESV) Originally published 05/26/2015 God has a special concern for vulnerable people. "You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD" Leviticus 19:13-4 (ESV.) God warns his people that if they use the power or position that he has given them to take advantage of others, he will use his power and position as ruler of the universe to settle that score. Lord, help me to be a servant to everyone I interact with today.

Leviticus 19:11 (ESV) Originally published 05/25/2015 How different our world would be if everyone just lived this way: "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another" Leviticus 19:11 (ESV). What will it be like in heaven with no locks, no shady half-truths, and being able to trust everything anyone says to you? Lord, I want to live today keeping every promise that I make to you and to others. I want to do what you put in my mind that you want me to do.