Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our Reading, titled Thanks But No Thanks, was written by Po Fong Jia.

A Christian school for autistic children in India received a big donation from a corporation. After checking that there

were no strings attached, they accepted the money. But later, the corporation requested to be

represented on the school board. The school director returned the money. She refused to allow the

values of the school to be compromised.

She said, it's more important to do God's work in God's way.

There are many reasons to decline help, and this is one of them.

In the Bible we see another.

When the exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem in Ezra 3, King Cyrus commissioned them to rebuild the temple.

When their neighbors said, let us help you build, because like you, we seek your God, the leaders of Israel declined.

They concluded that by accepting the offer of help, the integrity of the Temple Rebuilding Project might have been compromised, and idolatry could have crept into their community

since their neighbors also worshipped idols.

The Israelites made the right decision, as their neighbors then did all they could to

discourage the building.

With the help of the Holy Spirit and the Council of Wise Believers in Jesus, we can develop discernment.

We can also be confident to say no to friendly offers that may hide subtle spiritual dangers

because God's work done in his way will never lack his provision.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ezra chapter 4 verses 1 through 5

and verse 24. When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a

temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubabel and to the heads of the families and said,

Let us help you build, because like you, we seek your God, and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Isahadhan,

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