The Sin Tester

Bible Reading: Psalm 19:7-11

“Oh no!” moaned Drake as he looked at the swimming pool. “There’s green stuff in the water!” He and Amaya had the responsibility of putting chemicals into the pool when needed. But they hadn’t done their job. “Now we’ll have to put in extra chemicals to kill all that algae, and we won’t be able to swim for a couple of days,” Drake said, wiping sweat off his forehead.

“And they’re supposed to be the hottest days we’ve had all summer!” Amaya sighed, fanning herself. “How did it get like this so fast? The water looked fine yesterday.”

“Have you been using the water tester every day?” asked Mom.

Drake shook his head. “I guess we just thought we’d notice if it was getting dirty.”

“Yeah,” said Amaya. “All that green stuff wasn’t there yesterday.”

“You didn’t see it yesterday, but it was there all right,” said Mom. “If you had used the water tester, you would have known that.” Mom gazed at the unappealing algae. “The sooner you get the chemicals in there, the sooner it will be clean again.”

That evening, Dad heard about the problem. “Well, hopefully this will help you remember how important it is to test the water, even if you don’t see any algae.” Dad grinned. “It reminds me of a different kind of test we all need to take regularly.”

“What other test?” asked Amaya.

“We need to test our lives using God’s Word,” Dad replied. “When we do something wrong that seems small to us—like tell a white lie or make an unkind remark—we often don’t do anything about it. But when we compare our actions to how the Bible tells us to live, we see how ugly those so-called little sins really are. The Bible shows us our sin and tells us what to do about it.”

“You mean, tell Jesus we’re sorry?” asked Drake.

Dad nodded. “We all do things that are wrong, and when we recognize sin in our lives, we need to confess it to Him. He’ll forgive us and help us change our behavior.”

“And He does it right away,” added Amaya. “Unlike the algae, we don’t have to wait to have our sin cleaned away!” • Deana L. Rogers

How About You?

Are you using the Bible to test your actions? Has it shown you ways you’ve been dishonest or unkind? Sin is a serious problem, which is why Jesus died for us—so
our sins could be washed away and we could be forgiven. Don’t let any sin, no matter how small it seems, take root in your life. When the Bible shows you something you’ve done wrong, confess it and change your ways.

Today’s Key Verse:
Psalm 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Today’s Key Thought:

Test your life with the Bible