MAY 11, Proverbs 3:1

“Bee, you left your watch at the edge of the sink,” said Alan one morning. “I didn’t see it, and I knocked it into the water.”

Bee took her watch from her brother’s hand and put it on. She looked to see what time it was. “Oh, no!” she moaned. “It’s not working!”

“Mom and Dad gave you a watch, but you don’t even take good care of it,” Alan scolded. “You better learn not to be so careless!”

“Relax, little brother! I just forgot it,” retorted Bee impatiently.

Just then Dad appeared, and Bee showed him the watch. “Get me a hair dryer,” he said. “I’ll remove the caseback and see if we can dry it out.” He worked on the watch for a while, and to Bee’s relief, it started running. “You know, Bee, your watch reminds me of you,” said Dad as he handed her the watch.

Bee laughed. “How is that so?” she asked. “It can’t be because you took the back off and saw the inside. We already talked about how you can’t do that with us.”

“No, but if we hadn’t dried it, your watch probably would have gotten rusty inside,” Dad said. “That could happen to you, too.” “It could?” asked Alan in surprise.

“Yeah, Dad,” added Bee. “Metal objects rust, but people aren’t made of metal, so how could anybody get rusty inside?”

“No, you’re not made of metal,” said Dad with a smile, “but . . . yes! In a different way, you could get rusty. You’ve both accepted Jesus as your Saviour, and now you need to guard yourself against getting rusty spiritually by forgetting about God and how to live for Him.”

“I see what you mean! And we probably guard against getting rusty by going to church every week, don’t we?” asked Bee.

“And to Sunday school,” suggested Alan, “and to Bible club.”

Dad nodded. “Those things help. They’re important, but daily devotions are, too,” he said. “You should set aside some time each day to read your Bible and pray.” He smiled. “Let’s all be sure to do that.”

Thought:To prevent spiritual rust – read and obey God’s Word each day!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I confess there are times when I forget my quiet time and let several days go by without reading the Bible or praying. Please help me fight spiritual rust by being diligent in studying of the Bible! In Jesus’ name I pray – Amen.