Ready Brakes  (Read Ephesians 6:10-18)

"Are you sure you're OK?" Mother asked again, The Car's
brakes had failed when they came to a stop sign, and the car
had kept going slowly across the road and into a pole.

"We're fine," Brian and Chris assured her. They were
more interested in watching the truck tow their car away
than in answering Mother.

Later that afternoon, the boys went over to play at a
neighbor's home. When Mark, the neighbor boy, suggested
they watch a video, Brian looked at the title.
Everyone's been talking about this movie, he thought. But
we probably shouldn't watch it.

Chris was uneasy about the video, too. There's going to be
language and stuff in this that Christians shouldn't watch, he told
himself. but when Mark slipped the tape into the VCR, neither of
the boys said anything. Although they winced now and then at the
language they heard, they were soon engrossed in the story.

At the supper table, their accident was the main topic of
conversation. "I meant to have those brakes checked," sad Dad
regretfully, "but I put it off. That was a mistake. Car maintenance
is very important," Then, just as Brian and Chris started to leave
the table, Dad reached for the family Bible. "Just a minute," he
said. "This accident reminds me that maintenance of our spiritual
life is even more important - so starting today, we're going to take
time for family devotions right after dinner. When we don't spend
time in the Word, we don't maintain a close walk with the Lord, and
our own 'brakes' might fail when we need to apply them."

"Our own brakes?" Chris asked, puzzled.

Dad nodded. "When our spiritual life is maintained through
time spent with the Lord, we're more prepared to apply our
'spiritual brakes' -  we're more likely to call on the Lord for help, or
to recite a Bible verse that stops us from giving in to temptation,"
he explained.

"I think we understand what  you mean," Brian said, nudging
Chris under the table. They knew their "spiritual brakes" had failed
just that afternoon. N.E.K.

How about you? - Do you find it hard to resist temptation? Pay close attention to God's Word during family and personal devotions. It will help you be stronger and better able to say no when you're tempted.

Key:  Maintain Your Spiritual Life

Memorize: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" Ephesians 6:11

This is out of the book "The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids"  BUY IT  Copyright @ 1993 Children's Bible Hour

Updated 6/1/01