Doyle Smith Daily

Hosea 13:12-13 (God's Word) Originally published 06/25/2013 Every single one of us has violated God's instructions as to how he wants us to live, and he does not overlook that, but he wants to forgive us and rescue us from the consequences of our choices. Most people refuse to allow him to do so. "Ephraim's wickedness is on record. The record of the peoples’ sins is safely stored away. They have the opportunity to live again, but they are not smart enough to take it. They are like a baby who is about to be born but won't come out of its mother's womb” Hosea 13:12-13 (God's Word). What a tragedy! God wants to forgive and save, but people will not allow it. Lord, give me a passionate hatred for my own sin and a passion to obey you, so that you can do all for me that you desire.

Hosea 12:6 (God's Word) Originally published 06/24/2013 The people of Ephraim were fighting to get what they needed and to protect themselves, but it was not working. "The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind and try to chase the east wind all day. They are very violent and destructive. They make treaties with Assyria and take olive oil to Egypt" Hosea 12:1 (God's Word). Hosea's advice was "Return to your God. Be loyal and fair, and always wait with hope for your God" Hosea 12:6 (God's Word). Lord, sometimes my life is like chasing the wind with a lot of effort, and it seems there is little to show for it. Help me to trust you more than myself.

Hosea 11:1-2 (God's Word) Originally published 06/22/2013 When I talk with "rebellious" children, they usually don't think of themselves as rebellious, but they think that their parents are too strict, don't understand their situation, or are old fashioned. They think the problem is the parents, or those in authority. God said: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. The more I called them, the farther they went away. They sacrificed to other gods--the Baals, and they burned incense to idols” Hosea 11:1-2 (God's Word). I have found that spiritually rebellious people are the same as rebellious children. They don't see themselves as rebellious, but that their situation is different. It is a different world, and what the Bible says is old fashioned, and it does not fit their situation. But God sees rebellion and disrespect for himself. Lord, give me a spirit of submission in every situation, even if I don't understand...

Hosea 13:6-9 (God's Word) Originally published 06/20/2013 How many times have you heard someone say that things are going great and then urge you to pray for them? Don't we usually urgently talk to God when we are in trouble? God tells us: "When I fed you, you were full. When you were full, you became arrogant. That is why you forgot me. So I will be like a lion. Like a leopard I will wait by the road to ambush you. Like a bear that has lost her cubs, I will attack you. I will rip you open. Like a lion I will devour you. Like a wild animal I will tear you apart. You are destroying yourself, Israel. You are against me, your helper" Hosea 13:6-9 (God's Word). We cause our own problems. Lord, when things go well, remind me to pray even more.

Hosea 8:4 (God's Word) Originally published 06/19/2013 God made the world and makes it operate every single day and has told its occupants how they are to live. To ignore God is like living in someone's house and acting like you own it. This offends God "They chose their own kings, kings I didn't approve. They chose their own princes, princes I didn't know. They chose to make idols with their own silver and gold. Because of this, they will be destroyed" Hosea 8:4 (God's Word). Lord, let me know when I am making decisions that offend you. I want to acknowledge you in all that I do.

Hosea 7:1 (God's Word) Originally published 06/18/2013 Sometimes it is our own behavior that keeps God from being able to help us. He wants to answer our prayers, but our rebellion against him keeps him from being able to help. "Whenever I want to heal Israel, all I can see is Ephraim's sin and Samaria's wickedness" Hosea 7:1 (God's Word). Lord, please tell me if my own failure to obey keeps you from answering my prayer.

Hosea 6:1-4 (God's Word) Originally published 06/17/2013 Hosea lets us know that God is always working to strengthen our relationship with him. "Let's return to the LORD. Even though he has torn us to pieces, he will heal us. Even though he has wounded us, he will bandage our wounds. After two days he will revive us, On the third day he will raise us so that we may live in his presence. Let's learn about the LORD. Let's get to know the LORD. He will come to us as sure as the morning comes. He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains that water the ground" Hosea 6:1-4 (God's Word). Lord, teach me more about yourself, that I might know you.

Hosea 5:5-6 (God's Word) Originally published 06/11/2013 God is the ruler of all the world, and to live making choices without consulting him or making choices contrary to his instructions, is arrogance. I can do it on my own. "The people of Israel's arrogance testifies against them. Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their sins, and Judah stumbles with them. They go with their sheep and their cattle to search for the LORD, but they can't find him. He has left them" Hosea 5:5-6 (God's Word). God's response to arrogance is to abandon us. Lord, remind me that you are Lord, and give me a spirit of submission and humility.

Hosea 4:12 (God's Word) Originally published 06/19/2013 What does God look at to see his place in our lives? This passage jumped out at me. "My people ask their wooden idols for help. A piece of wood tells them what to do. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray. They commit adultery by giving themselves to other gods" Hosea 4:12 (God's Word). When I have problems, where do I go for help? If we place our trust in him, we will go to him. Lord, please show me when I depend on anything or any person but you to guide my decisions and actions.

Hosea 2:19-20 (God's Word) Originally published 06/08/2013 God described his people (Israel or his church) as being like a wife who pledged loyalty and love for him, but then became a prostitute, loving many others instead of him. God made it clear that there were consequences for what they had done, but he showed his great love for his people, even though they had been unfaithful. "Israel, I will make you my wife forever. I will be honest and faithful to you. I will show you my love and compassion. I will be true to you, my wife. Then you will know the LORD" Hosea 2:19-20 (God's Word). Lord, teach me to love others as you love me.

Daniel 12:1-2 (God's Word) Originally published 06/07/2013 God told Daniel amazing things that would happen in world history, but the most important thing is what he told him about what would happen to each of us. "It will be a time of trouble unlike any that has existed from the time there have been nations until that time. But at that time your people, everyone written in the book, will be rescued. Many sleeping in the ground will wake up. Some will wake up to live forever, but others will wake up to be ashamed and disgraced forever” Daniel 12:1-2 (God's Word). He was told this hundreds of years before the resurrection of Jesus. Lord, I give thanks to you for promise you make to those who live in faith, obedience and submission to you. You promised that those alive when the end comes will be rescued and those dead will live forever. Guide me every day to live every moment in obedience to you.

Daniel 9: 3,20 (God's Word) Originally published 06/06/2013 I think I can see why Daniel was such a great servant of God. He was burdened for Jerusalem which was in ruins. "So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes.".... “I continued to pray, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel. I humbly placed my request about my God's holy mountain in front of the LORD my God" Daniel 9:3, 20 (God's Word). Lord, give me this passion and humility for your Kingdom.

Daniel 8:17-19 (God's Word) Originally published 06/04/2013 The prophet Daniel lived around 600 years before Jesus was born. He was a man so submissive to God that God trusted him with information he gave no one else. "He said to me 'Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times.' As he spoke to me, I fainted facedown on the ground, but he touched me and made me stand up. He said, 'I will tell you what will happen in the last days, the time of God's anger, because the end time has been determined" Daniel 8:17-19 (God's Word). God determined 2,600 years ago how he would end this world. Lord, help me to live today as if it were the last day.

Daniel 6:22 (God's Word) Originally published 06/03/2013 A commitment to live in obedience to God sometimes seems very costly because God tells us how to use our time and money and that we are to put the needs of others ahead of our own. It requires trust in God to live his way. It really helps me to see how God has always cared for his children who obey him in spite of the risk. Darius, king of Babylon, was deceived into making it a capital crime to pray to anyone but him. Daniel's enemies knew that Daniel prayed to God, so they reported him, and Daniel was thrown into a den of lions who were hungry. When Darius came the next morning, he found Daniel alive. Daniel said, "My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they couldn't hurt me. He did this because he considered me innocent" Daniel 6:22 (God's Word). Lord, give me the trust in you to obey what you tell me to do, regardless of how dangerous, risky, or foolish it might appear to me so that ...

Daniel 5:23 (God's Word) Originally published 05/29/2013 God does not tolerate disrespect for himself and his authority. Belshazzar was king of Babylon, and at a party he used the vessels of the Temple for his guests and him to drink. Daniel told him that God was offended: "’You didn't honor God, who has power over your life and everything you do....’ That night King Belshazzar of Babylon was killed. Darius the Mede took over the kingdom" Daniel 5:23, 29 (God's Word). Lord, help me to remember that every good thing in my life is a gift of grace, not what I have done.

Daniel 4:37 (God's Word) Originally published 05/26/2013 Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king in the area. He had a dream that he thought was a message, but he could not tell what the message was, so he called on Daniel whom he knew had a connection with God. Daniel told him that God was telling him that he would lose his mental capacities for a period of time; then it would be restored. The king was walking around one day looking at all he had built and thinking about how great he was:  then, he was reminded of what was told him, and he lost his mental capacities and was unable to function as a person. After "7 periods of time" one day his capacities came back immediately. He said, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, will praise, honor, and give glory to the King of Heaven. Everything he does is true, his ways are right, and he can humiliate those who act arrogantly” Daniel 4:37 (God's Word). Lord, the most powerful people in the world are subject to you, and I ask you...

Daniel 2:28 (God's Word) Originally published 05/25/2013 Daniel was a captive in Babylon, but was made one of the king's advisers. The king demanded that his advisers tell him the dream he had and its meanings. When they couldn't do it, he was to kill all of them. Daniel told the king that no man could do what he asked. "But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets" Daniel 2:28 (God's Word). None of us know what people around us are planning, but God does, and he will guide his children who live in trusting obedience to him. Lord, when I am anxious about what is happening, remind me that you know exactly what I should do and have promised to guide me if I obey you.

Daniel 1:8 (God's Word Originally published 05/24/2013 Daniel was a prisoner in a foreign culture and ordered by the king to live like the Babylonians. He was convinced that disobeying God would bring harm to him. God told his people to not eat meat that was not properly prepared. "Daniel made up his mind not to harm himself by eating the king's rich food and drinking the king's wine. So he asked the chief-of-staff for permission not to harm himself in this way" Daniel 1:8 (God's Word). Daniel chose to obey God at great risk to himself. Lord, when I read what you say I should do, remind me that it is always for my good, no matter how risky it might seem to me

Ezekiel 43:25; 1 John 1:7-9 (God's Word) Originally published 05/23/2013 Disobeying God and ignoring him are critical things for him who is ruler of the universe. He cannot overlook it. This is what God required of Israel: "Every day for seven days you must sacrifice a goat, a young bull, and a ram from the flock as an offering for sin" Ezekiel 43:25 (God's Word). But because Christ died to provide forgiveness of sin for those pledged to serve God, this is what he says: "But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. If we say, 'We aren't sinful' we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we've done wrong" I John 1:7-9 (God's Word). Lord, remind me every time I offend you, and I will admit it and ask for ...

Ezekiel 39:27 (God's Word) Originally published 05/22/2013 God had to discipline his people because they rebelled against him, but what he had in mind by his discipline was bringing them closer to him. "Then my people will know that I am the LORD their God. I sent them into captivity among the nations, and I brought them back again to their land. I left none of them behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, because I will pour out my Spirit on the nation of Israel, declares the Almighty LORD" Ezekiel 39:27-29 (God's Word). Lord, remind me when things are bad that you are always working to bring me closer to you.

Ezekiel 37:3-6 (God's Word) Originally published 05/21/2013 God took Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones and asked: "Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, ' Only you know, Almighty LORD.' Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, 'Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD. This is what the Almighty LORD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, you will live. I will put ligaments on you, place muscles on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD" Ezekiel 37:3-6 (God's Word). God wants to do in and though us things that are impossible for people to do to show the world who he is. Lord, help me to live trusting in your mighty power for all you ask me to do.

Ezekiel 35: 9 (God's Word) Originally published 05/20/2013 God's judgment is designed to help us by correcting our behavior. "I will turn you into a permanent wasteland. Your cities will not be lived in. Then you will know that I am the Lord" Ezekiel 35:9 (God's Word). When things are really bad for you, the first thing you should do is to ask God if he wants any change in your behavior. Lord, it is a great comfort to know that you are watching and guiding me every day.

Ezekiel 33:30-32 (God's Word) Originally published 05/18/2013 Why would God be upset when people go to Bible study? "Son of man, your people are talking about you by the walls and in the doorways of their homes. They are saying to each other, 'Let's go and hear the word that has come from the LORD.' Then they come to you, as if they are still my people, and they sit down in front of you. They listen to what you say, but they don't do it. They say that they love me, but in their hearts they chase dishonest profits. To them you are nothing more than a singer with a beautiful voice who sings love songs or a musician who plays an instrument… They listen to your words, but they don't do them" Ezekiel 33:30-32 (God's Word). Lord, make obedience to you my greatest passion.

Ezekiel 33:7-9 (God's Word) Originally published 05/16/2013 "Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I say and warn them for me. Suppose I say to a wicked person, 'You wicked person, you will certainly die,' and you say nothing to warn him to change his ways. That wicked person will die because of his sin, and I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his ways and he doesn't turn from them, then he will die because of his sin. However, you will save yourself" Ezekiel 33:7-9 (God's Word). Lord, when I see someone doing things that I can see will bring them disaster, give me the courage to tell them what I have learned from you.