God’s Goodness

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6.12

Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread.

God's goodness was written and read by James Banks.

Deuteronomy 6.10-19

When the Lord your God brings you into the land, He swore to your fathers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you.

A land with large, flourishing cities you did not build.

Houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide.

Wells you did not dig and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.

Then, when you eat and are satisfied,

be careful that you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name.

Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you,

for the Lord your God who is among you is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you

and He will destroy you from the face of the land.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massa.

Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given you.

Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight so that it may go well with you

and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.

Thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

God's goodness.

Oh no, that was my response upon opening a beehive and discovering the colony it suddenly died.

It had been a thriving hive with lots of honey.

I'd carefully maintained it throughout a mild winter and anticipated an early harvest.

But a cold snap in the warm weather led to collapse.

I checked with local experts.

Many beekeepers lost hives this time, they reassured me.

Mild winners present challenges for bees, even healthy hives.

Bees fend their wings to maintain warmth in the hive and winter.

But when the weather warms briefly, they exhaust themselves seeking even more food.

If temperatures drop quickly, they don't have strength to keep warm.

Their distraction leads to destruction.

Even good things can become dangers when they turn us from what matters most.

Moses cautioned God's people about this after they left Egypt and before they entered the land God was about to give them.

A land with houses filled with all kinds of good things that they did not provide.

When you eat and are satisfied, Moses warned in Deuteronomy 6.

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord.

Remembering God in our blessings helps us because he is the source of every good and perfect gift.

When we humbly respond to his goodness by loving him with heart, soul, and strength,

we find in him the best blessing of all.

May we pray.

Abba, Father, keep us from the distraction that leads to destruction.

Help us to be truly thankful to you as the giver of every good and perfect gift.

And to love you, not for the gift, but for you because you are worth so much more.

And we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

As you go about your day, reflect on these questions.

What are you grateful for?

How do you all good things ultimately come from God?