What must I do to be saved?

As Christian parents, we want to train our children to be internally motivated to do the right thing, even to handle their own chores. Too often, we have resorted to “bribes” to entice them to get things done. “If you do…, you can…” Sometimes, we even encourage bad behavior (using sweet snacks as an enticement), which has long-term repercussions. An even worse outcome of this type of motivation is that kids can grow up always asking, “What’s in it for me?”

Instead, parents should focus on training children to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. That means parents need to focus on the heart. That’s where our motivations begin and where our values are stored. This means parents need to think long-term and deal with character rather than simply behavior.

Parenting our children’s hearts means we need to spend time with them and know their character. Bible-based parenting is time-consuming, to be sure. But you know you have made the wisest investment when your children grow up to lead Bible studies, worship, and other acts of service. If that’s your goal as parents, you can’t short-cut that!

Think about God’s evaluation of David: “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

One “tool” you can use is your own heart rather than anger. Anger can be a very poor tool to use for motivation, especially if it used too much, too often, or too intensely. The kid will just think, “Well, I made mom mad!” And then he or she will wait until Mom or Dad get over their temper-tantrum and the child has not learned anything except how to avoid the parents’ wrath.

Instead, Mom or Dad could express their disappointment in the behavior of the child, how the misbehavior caused damage, etc., and how that behavior will have long-term negative consequences in future relationships and even in their relationship with God. We’re not talking so much about laying on a guilt trip (which my own dad used often), but being sincere.

Without using the Bible as a club to beat your child over the head, you can and should use it to help direct your child down the path of self-discipline as God defines it. The Hebrew writer describes this value of the Word: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

Use the Bible to teach character qualities that God requires us to have. You could also make reference to the “heart” of your child while you are correcting him or her: “Calm your heart down” (for example). Also, when you praise, try to be specific in your compliments rather than generic and if you can, again, bring the Bible or Jesus’ example into the discussion, it would be a positive thing.

Paul Holland

In the parable of the sower (Luke 8), Jesus illustrates some hearts by suggesting they are like “thorny ground.” The word of God is sown in their hearts and they have “heard” (8:14) but, as they go on their way, the word is choked with “worries and riches and pleasures of life.” Consequently, they do not bring “fruit to maturity.” The things we worry about are not necessarily sinful. “Riches” are not inherently sinful. “Pleasures of life” are not always ungodly pleasures. But they can be a distraction from what God requires of us.

King Uzziah was blessed by God because he “did right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 26:4). But those blessings became a distraction. Later, in verse 16, the historian writes that “when he became strong [from his blessings from God!], his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God.” Subsequently, he decided he did not have to submit himself to the restrictions of the Word of God.

In the 1920s, in Ethiopia, a man named Haile Selassie decided to bring peace to the land, in the face of fighting among warlords. He was described as a gentle and quiet man. As he grew in power and influence, in 1927 he invited warlords to recognize him as the nation’s leader. One warlord, Balcha, decided to defy Selassie. Eventually, Selassie insisted that Balcha join him for a banquet. Balcha agreed, if he could bring 600 of his personal bodyguards, for he suspected Selassie of deception. Selassie allowed him.

At the banquet, Balcha ordered his bodyguard to be suspicious and not to get drunk. During the banquet, Selassie treated him with honor and respect. When the time came for the songs to honor Ethiopia’s leaders, Selassie allowed only songs to praise Balcha. Throughout the whole event, Balcha decided in his mind that he could eventually defeat Selassie. He would return with his entire 10,000-man army and either kill or imprison this pushover.

However, when Balcha returned to his camp with the aforementioned 10,000-man army (minus his 600-man bodyguard), he found the camp deserted and nothing but smoke arising from the fires. Selassie, during the banquet, had sent the army of an ally to buy out the loyalty of Balcha’s men – with gold and other valuables. Surrounded by this formidable army, Balcha’s men were intimidated and yielded. His entire army was disarmed and disbanded. Balcha eventually surrendered and agreed to become a monk.

Balcha was distracted with the “blessings.” We, too, can get distracted by our blessings and think that these “riches” and “pleasures” are an end in themselves. The proper view of blessings is described by Paul in Romans 2:4: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

Blessings from God should motivate us to constantly reexamine our life to make sure our behavior measures up to His expectations. That is the mark of true faithfulness, not the quality or quantity of our blessings. In Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, our Savior warned, “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full” (6:24). Don’t get distracted with wealth or pleasures.

Paul Holland

Weld County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Brownlee was killed in the line of duty in 2010, leaving behind two sons: Tanner (age 19) and Chase (age 16).

Tanner learned that his father’s patrol car was going to be auctioned off to raise money for the Concerns of Police Survivors, a group that aids fallen officer’s families.  He saw an opportunity to obtain something that had meant a lot to his Dad – a useful keepsake that he would treasure.

Tanner and his brother needed some funds to make a bid on the car, so they started a GoFundMe page.  They were able to raise $3,340.  On the day of the auction, Tanner made a bid, but other bids greatly surpassed his offer.  According to Kelly Blue Book, the value of the Dodge Charger was $12,500.  But the winning bid, made by local rancher Steve Wells, was $60,000.

But then Wells took the keys and walked over to Tanner and said, “Here’s your car.”  Then Wells hugged him.  Tanner was stunned and overwhelmed with joy.

“This is just so huge. I mean, me and my dad built a fence and stuff, but having something I can use and drive around that he drove around, it just means a lot,” Tanner told CBS affiliate KCNC.

Tanner relayed to the Greeley (Colorado) Tribune what the car meant to him: “I remember he was always cleaning it when he brought it home during the week,” Tanner said. “He absolutely loved that car. I want to honor his legacy by showing him I’m growing into a man and that I can handle the responsibility of taking care of his car.”

Thanks to Steve Wells, Tanner was given the car and the opportunity to honor his father’s legacy. *

There is a gift that has been offered to each and every one of us.  It is the gift of salvation that leads to eternal life.

We don’t deserve the gift.  In fact, what we deserve is death, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  And we are all sinners (Romans 3:23).

But God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can receive forgiveness and the gift of eternal life (John 3:16).

God will forgive and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

No, we don’t deserve it, but I pray that each of us will accept the Gift on His terms, and then seek to honor the One who gave His life for us by living for Him all of our days.

— David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from “The unexpected twist after son of fallen deputy is outbid for his late father’s cruiser” by Elahe Izadi in The Washington Post, May 14, 2015, in www.washingtonpost.com

Have you ever wished you could have a “re-do” in life? Have you ever wished that when something went wrong that you could go back and do it all over again? I’m sure most of us have wanted them from time to time. In school, when most of us failed a test, we would plead for the teacher to have a “re-do” test. Maybe, there were times when you said something that you should not have and you wished you could go back and have that conversation all over again.

There were people in the Bible who wished they could have a “re-do” in their life. When Nathan the prophet called out David for his adultery with Bathsheba and explained to him the consequences of his sin, I’m sure that David wished he could go back and change the past. I’m sure Peter wanted a “re-do” when Jesus looked at him after he had denied the Lord the third time. Saul, too, probably wanted a “re-do” when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Saul sat for three days praying and fasting neither eating or drinking. He was probably thinking, “If I could only go back and do it all over again.”

But you know what? We cannot “Re-do” life. David could not undo his sin with Bathsheba. Peter could not undo his denials of the Lord. Saul could not go back and “un-persecute” Christians. What is done is done.

Yet, in the face of what has happened in the past, God is a God of new beginnings. When David confessed his sin, when Peter returned to the Lord and when Saul repented of his prideful heart, God was able to take them and start them over with a new life in Him. The Apostle Paul stated years later, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He would repeat this sentiment in Galatians 6:15 when he wrote, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”

Where does one start? If one truly wants a “re-do” in their relations to God, one must be willing to repent of one’s sins. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Following this, one must acknowledge their new direction. This indeed being in the direction of Jesus. Romans 10:9 says, “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Finally, if one is to have their sins washed away in the sight of the Lord, one must be baptized. David did not need to be baptized because he lived under the Old Law but Saul did since he was under the New Law. That is why Ananias said to him, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

What happens in this process of baptism?  Paul explained it this way in Romans 6:4-6, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Did you notice the contrast between the “newness of life” and the “old man”? Baptism brings on the newness of life and ushers out the old man and the body of sins.

That’s something to think about. If God can do a “Re-do” in the lives of David, Peter and Saul, then He can do a “Re-do” in your life as well. If you would like to know more about being baptized into Christ and being a part of His Church, please let us know.

Roy Knight

Did God really create everything in six days? Did He really destroy the world with a flood as is recorded in Genesis 6? Was Jesus really born of a virgin? (See Is. 7:14; Mt. 1:23.) Did Jesus really give sight to a man who had never seen? (See Jn. 9.) Did Jesus really rise from the grave? (See Mt. 28:1-10.)

Are the incredible stories of the Bible really true? More and more, many are coming to believe these stories are not really true events that occurred in history, but allegories that represent some sort of truth.

What about the story of Jonah? A real event, an allegory, or even a fairy tale? Take a moment and read Jonah 1.

Did those events really happen? Was Jonah really swallowed by a big fish and spend three days within the belly of the fish? Was he really vomited out of the fish onto dry land? For our time, consider just three things.

1. Just three years ago a man by the name of Michael Packard claimed to be swallowed by a whale and spent about thirty seconds inside the whale before being spit out. Previous to this incident there was another man who was photographed mostly inside the mouth of a whale. That man survived, and he is a believer in Michael Packard’s story. There have been many other stories, and there is little doubt that some are fabrications. But really, we sell the Bible story short if we merely seek to find physical proof that such is possible. Jonah 1:17 says that “the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah.” My thinking is that this was a miraculous situation, especially in Jonah being able to survive within the whale for three days. We are not at the mercy of finding proof that such is possible in our world today.

1. A second point that we should make is that the reading of this incident, as well as many others, is as if it is a real event. It seems as if the story is real. The Bible certainly uses many different types of literature. Jesus used parables. David used poetry. John wrote using apocalyptic literature. But we have clear reasons for believing those are not literal. Not only is this “allegorical” form of interpreting the Scripture, like Jonah, wrong; if it were right, no one would be able to understand it, and that’s not right! (See Jn. 8:32.)

1. Concerning Jonah, our Lord actually gave endorsement to this story. Listen to what Jesus says in Mathew 12:40: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Now here is a monumental problem. If the story of Jonah is not true, we are forced to conclude that the story of Jesus is not true either. They stand or fall together! But we have reason to believe in Jesus, and we have reason to believe that what He appealed to is also real.

The same God who created everything from nothing, had no problem accomplishing the other things we read about in Scripture. Believe the Bible!

Daren Schroeder

In the Law of Moses, the Lord told Israel: “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 11:18-20).

While parents want to modify their children’s behavior so they will grow to maturity, parents should concentrate on the heart. When a child is young, parents can start working on helping the child develop the type of heart that he or she needs to be successful, to please God, and to be a faithful Christian.

Lying is a behavior, true, but it is an issue of the heart. Losing one’s temper is a behavior, but it is an issue of the heart. Meanness, to siblings or even animals, is an issue of the heart. We might change our children’s behavior, but that change might not last past high school – as long as Mom and Dad are watching. But molding a child’s heart to fit the desires of God’s heart will have a lasting impact which will reach into eternity.

If we just focus on modifying our children’s behavior, we have a focus that is too narrow, too worldly, and too short-sighted. Developing a heart that is teachable and moldable is the better approach.

Look back at God’s words to Moses in Deuteronomy 11:18-20 and meditate on the creative ways you can teach and train your child to build a life based on the teachings and principles from God’s word. The home is the best laboratory to learn how to live for Christ and parents are the best teachers.

For the foreseeable future, our Thursday Daily Droplets will focus on “Bible-based Parenting.” We hope you find these thoughts helpful.

Paul Holland

Jeremiah said to the rebellious, idolatrous people in Judah, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’” (6:16).

The late Martin Luther King, Jr. made this statement in one of his earliest recorded sermons, “If we are to go forward today, we’ve got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values that we’ve left behind.” King’s statement did not have in mind some idealistic remembrance of the past. He knew very well many of the failures of the past. Rather, like the biblical prophets of old, King recognized that human hope rests not on future discovery or technological advances, but on that which God revealed long ago.

The appeal of the Restoration Movement is much the same. A simple reading of the Old and New Testaments reveals the natural tendency of human beings: we drift away from God and His standards. Taking the mantle of restoration, we intend to return to God, trusting in His authority to order our lives.

As we look at the makeup of our society today, we have to wonder if the restoration plea, “Back to the Bible,” has lost its relevance. How can we call people back to the Bible when they no longer believe in God and His Word? The further we drift from God, the more we need to call people back to Him.

In laying the groundwork for this plea, we must endeavor to show the nature of the world. In Dr. King’s sermon, he contended “all reality hinges on moral foundations.” If we show that this world exists solely within a moral framework, then we will have begun to lay the foundation for a discussion of the appropriate source of morality: the perfectly moral God who founded this world.

Second of all, nearly all people believe this world is not all that it should be; to change it for the better would be progress. Yet, we do not all agree about what should change or how we should change it. In calling people back to God, we call them to the truest form of progress. C. S. Lewis wrote, “If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”

With Jeremiah we cry out, “Ask for the ancients paths,” knowing that in returning to God we acknowledge the world as it is and we hope for all that it can be.

Clay Leonard

Why is there so much evil in this world? Why do good people suffer? Why all this carnage and murder in our nation? Why so many wars around the world? Why? I heard this statement recently; “What lies behind something you can’t explain, is something you can explain.” That “something” we can explain is the devil, “the serpent of old” (Rev. 20:2), he is at work in this world.

The devil lost his effort to overthrow God, and “was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:9). John tells us that “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.  The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8).

Jesus “appeared” in this world, overcame the devil’s temptations, and by His resurrection overcame death, Satan’s greatest tool. Jesus destroyed “the works of the devil,” and gave the world good over evil, healing over suffering, peace over anxiety, love over hate, hope over despair, life over death. With Christ in your life you can “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jms. 4:7).  It is hard to make sense of the things we see on the five o’clock news. But I can know that those who do such evil things are “of the devil.” That I can explain.

-Dennis Doughty

The modern dating system is centered around ancient conceptions of the timing of Jesus’ birth. Thus, the expectation is, if Jesus died in what we call AD 33, he was about 33 years old at his death. However, Luke 2:1–7 mentions Jesus being born at the time of a census “when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” Historical references to this Quirinius suggest that the census likely took place around AD 6. Meaning Jesus was not born in what we call year 1. We can approximate the timing of Jesus’ death by looking at the timing of Pilate’s governorship, which lasted from approximately AD 26 to AD 36. This would mean Jesus was, at the oldest, 30 when he died.

None of this matters too much in terms of what the Bible reveals. The Bible does not give any specific indications of how old Jesus was. People have surmised he was 33. We have ample evidence to believe Jesus truly lived and died. Nothing in the Gospel accounts gives us reasons to doubt those conclusions.

Even though I’m aware of the challenges we have for arriving at Jesus’ age, the long-held assumption that he was 33 when he died has made me think a little bit more than usual about my life and my accomplishments as I celebrate my 33rd birthday. Jesus’ example challenges me, and I am forced to acknowledge my shortcomings in so many areas as I compare myself to Jesus, the only standard. I think about all that Jesus accomplished: the good that he did for other people, the disciples whom he trained, the ministry that he fulfilled. While it’s certainly possible to place an improper emphasis on work, it’s also possible to fill the time with vain and meaningless activities. Jesus did not allow himself to get distracted from God-honoring activities.

I also think about all that Jesus resisted. For however many years he lived on the earth, he did not commit a single sin. He lived in perfect submission to the Father. I am certain that every single day of my life for which I am accountable, I have fallen short of God’s perfection.

Then I think about this as I celebrate another trip around the sun: Jesus’ days on earth ended for your sake and mine. Without his death, I would not have a life worth living. So often we think about birthdays as special days, opportunities to celebrate “me,” but I’m reminded that today – and everyday – it’s about Him!

Clay Leonard

The 911 call that came in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Department sounded serious.  A resident of Lehigh Acres, Florida reported having found a 15-20 foot python under the hood of their car.  Could someone be sent out to help?

Life in Southwest Florida is different than in Northeast Tennessee, for on staff with the Sheriff’s Department was a state-licensed python contractor (I don’t believe there is one of those in the area in which I live).  Sgt. James Vanpelt calmly approached the car to raise the hood.  What he found was not a python but a red rat snake; instead of the size that had been reported, it was closer to 4 feet.  In a matter of minutes, the snake was removed from the vehicle’s engine compartment.

I’m not going to make fun of the resident who made the call.  If I spot a snake hiding in my car, I’m likely to exaggerate its size, too.  That’s why we call on experts like Vanpelt; they come to our rescue and easily take care of the menacing “beasts” that frighten us.

Much of the phobia that we have about snakes comes from Genesis 3.  Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent and deceived her into committing the first sin on record.  Because of his lies, humanity has been subjected to various hardships, including the biggest hardship – death.  No wonder most of us hiss when a snake is spotted!

Whom shall we call to help us with this horrible monster?  God spoke to that serpent of the help that was to come in later times: the woman’s offspring “shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).  A bruise to a heel is fairly minor; a bruise to the head is far more serious.

Generations later, Jesus embarked on His mission to earth, “that through death He might destroy the one who had the power of death, that is the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).  What Jesus did was impossible for any human to do; we could only cower in fear as we watched the destruction Satan brings upon people.  Jesus, however, easily defeated mankind’s greatest foe.

The “Ghostbusters” movies, first launched in 1984, made famous the question, “Who you gonna call?”, to which the answer was declared, “Ghostbusters!”  Today we might ask the same question about this deadly serpent that threatens us: “Who you gonna call?” There’s only One who can help.

Make no mistake about it: Satan is deadly, and not to be toyed with.  Jesus described him in John 8:44 as “a murder from the beginning” and “a liar”.  He deceived the mother of us all, and he can deceive us.  How thankful we should be that we have a Savior who calmly came to this world to save sinners like you and me (Luke 19:10)!

Come to the light God offers!  Study His word, the Bible.  Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).  Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.

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Copyright, 2024, Timothy D. Hall