Do Not Neglect To Do Good

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them. We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:5-16

Bird feeders are just right for birds but their doors are too small for squirrels to get into. That doesn’t stop squirrels from trying, and sometimes we are the same way. Adam and Eve were the same way. They tried to get what wasn’t meant to be theirs, and today we do the same thing. Their fall set the stage for each of us to take our own falls. God put them where they could no longer reach the food they wanted. As a result of their disobedience, they and their descendants must now work hard to get what He originally had given as a gift – food.

May our desire to have what God has kept from us not keep us from enjoying what He has given to us.

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

Our Daily Bread – March 10, 2009