Charlie and the Bear!

It was a warm day and Mom put little Charlie on the porch in his play pen. She was busy around the house when she heard Charlie jabbering in the most unusual way.

Looking out, she was shocked to see a big, black bear standing there looking at the boy in his play pen! Charlie was smiling at the bear and trying to talk to him.

The bear must have been surprised to see a human being in a cage. Then Mom grabbed little Charlie from the pen and rushed into the house, slamming the door behind her.

“The baby didn’t seem frightened at all!” she said. “He just wondered what was bothering me.” The friendless bear plodded on back to the nearby woods. He must have wondered what was bothering her also.

Perhaps this is the way our unsaved friends feel when we talk to them about their need of the Savior, since they don’t fear God or sin. Even the prospect of spending eternity in hell does not impress them. They just wonder what is bothering us – that’s all.

Well, God is real, the Bible is true, and hell is an awful place. And everyone who does not repent and come to the Savior is going there. Jesus warned us about hell time after time. In fact, He said ten times as much about hell as He did about heaven (see Luke 16)!

Are you saved and ready for heaven? Have you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior? We are not saved by doing good. The Bible says it is “not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). The Bible says that we have all sinned against God and we must come to Jesus to have our sins forgiven, or we can never go to His heaven.

Jesus is the only One who can forgive our sins and put them away. He can do it because He has already suffered for our sins, when He bore them in His own sinless body there on the cross. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). You must believe this good news, put your trust in Him and His death on the cross and receive Him as your very own Savior.

Ask Him to come into your heart. Ask Him to forgive you and save you right now. He will change your life and give you a peace and joy you have never known before. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 

Charlie and the Bear!

It was a warm day and Mom put little Charlie on the porch in his play pen. She was busy around the house when she heard Charlie jabbering in the most unusual way.

Looking out, she was shocked to see a big, black bear standing there looking at the boy in his play pen! Charlie was smiling at the bear and trying to talk to him.

The bear must have been surprised to see a human being in a cage. Then Mom grabbed little Charlie from the pen and rushed into the house, slamming the door behind her.

“The baby didn’t seem frightened at all!” she said. “He just wondered what was bothering me.” The friendless bear plodded on back to the nearby woods. He must have wondered what was bothering her also.

Perhaps this is the way our unsaved friends feel when we talk to them about their need of the Savior, since they don’t fear God or sin. Even the prospect of spending eternity in hell does not impress them. They just wonder what is bothering us – that’s all.

Well, God is real, the Bible is true, and hell is an awful place. And everyone who does not repent and come to the Savior is going there. Jesus warned us about hell time after time. In fact, He said ten times as much about hell as He did about heaven (see Luke 16)!

Are you saved and ready for heaven? Have you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior? We are not saved by doing good. The Bible says it is “not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). The Bible says that we have all sinned against God and we must come to Jesus to have our sins forgiven, or we can never go to His heaven.

Jesus is the only One who can forgive our sins and put them away. He can do it because He has already suffered for our sins, when He bore them in His own sinless body there on the cross. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). You must believe this good news, put your trust in Him and His death on the cross and receive Him as your very own Savior.

Ask Him to come into your heart. Ask Him to forgive you and save you right now. He will change your life and give you a peace and joy you have never known before. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 

– C. D. Carter

Scriptures from The New King James Version, © 1994, Thomas Nelson, Inc. By permission. Free tracts and biblical counsel available by request.