Review: How Should a Christian Live?

I received this book to review from Thomas Nelson publishing.
How Should a Christian Live? is a devotional, journal, and audio bible based on 1 Corinthians through Philemon. The audio bible is a dramatized reading of the International Children’s Bible by an all star cast. The quality of the readings is great, although the version itself is mostly a paraphrase. Like the ICB version, this devotional is quite dumbed-down, given that it’s geared to teens. It would be appropriate as a Bible study for 8-12 year-olds. Included in the devotional are word scrambles, crossword puzzles, word finds, message decoding, and quizzes to keep a child’s attention. Intermittently, definitions of common biblical words are provided, such as sovereign, unconditional, humble, etc. The simple definitions, along with all of the relatable anecdotes will help a child understand these epistles better.
What caught my attention most was the first two pages. The book starts with a short, simple prayer that a child can pray, followed by the statement: “Welcome to the Kingdom of God!” It goes on to say that if you prayed that prayer (and meant it), you are now in God’s kingdom. Nothing at all is said about repentance. How easy is that! Apparently, all you have to do is pray a prayer and you get to go to heaven, regardless of how you live. I’ll be gluing those pages together before giving this devotional to my children.