welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread reading titled keep your guard up was written by Marvin Williams
 a man and several friends went through a ski resort gate posted with Avalanche warning signs and started snowboarding on the second trip down someone shouted Avalanche but the man couldn't escape and perished in the cascading snow some criticized him calling him a novice but he wasn't he was an avalanche certified Backcountry guide one researcher said that skiers and snowboarders with the most Avalanche training are more likely to give into faulty reasoning the snowboarder died because he was lulled into letting his guard down
 in the book of Deuteronomy as Israel prepared to go into the promised land God wanted his people to keep their guard up to be careful and alert so he commanded them to obey all his decrees and laws and remember His passed judgment on those who disobeyed they needed to be careful to examine themselves and keep watch over their inner live this would help them keep their guard up against spiritual dangers from without and spiritual apathy from within it's easy for us to let our guard down and fall into apathy and self-deception but God can give us strength to avoid falling in life and forgiveness by his grace when we do
 by following him and resting and his wisdom and provision we can keep our guard up and make good decisions
 today's our daily bread devotional scripture reading is from Deuteronomy Chapter 4 verses 1 through 9
 now Israel hear the decrees and laws I'm about to teach you follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord the god of your ancestors is giving you do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it but keep the command of the Lord your God that I give you you saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at baal-peor the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who follow the bailiff peor but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today see I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it observe them carefully for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the Nations who will hear about all these decrees and say surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people
 what other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him and what other nation is so great as you have such a righteous decrees and laws as of this body of laws I am setting before you today only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live teach them to your children and to their children after them
 let's pray dear God throughout scripture you remind us to remain alert and aware of the things that lure us away from you please help us to follow you faithfully and to avoid the things that can hinder our walk with you
 thank you Lord It's in Jesus name we pray amen
 thanks for listening today I'm Steven and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries