A cynical, but honestly truthful response to john lennons "imagine" lyrics..

"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky"...You're right, then Jesus died for nothing and this life is meaningless; eat and drink for tomorrow we die(maybe, we don't know because we don't have answers)

"Imagine all the people
Living for today"...Hey great idea, we should all ignore the fact that our choices have very serious consequences for tomorrow and even the next generation. God says He punishes the sins of the wicked to the 3rd and 4th generation, but blesses the righteous to the thousands

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do"...It's very hard to do. Good luck ignoring all the different beautiful skin colors, cultures, people groups, nations, languages, clothing, art, skills and trades...The value of something is based on the uniqueness and diversity of those who appreciate it. In heaven those who are saved will come from all nations, tongues, and tribes to praise God, proving once for all that He is the most worthy thing in existence.

"Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too"...I'm not so thrilled that this means you're not willing to stand up for anything, except the belief that we shouldn't stand up for anything. Besides you can't live without religion. By the dictionaries definition it's a set of beliefs that orchestrate how you comprehend the existence of all things, what you value, and human origins. So by saying things like "I don't believe in God," "Heaven doesn't exist", "We should all live like this and such," is making your own "religious" statement. By the root meaning of the word it means to reconnect to something/someone. So whatever you reconnect to the most is your religion.

"Imagine all the people
living life in peace"...Think about your own worldview for a second, just one please...You can never achieve utopia through tolerance and acceptance because that would mean you'd have to accept and allow someone who believes that it's their right to kill, steal and do whatever they want without throwing a fit at them, and yet the reason you want peace is because awful sins like this happen. You're saying we want everything to exist, except you because you don't think or behave like us. At what point to you want the evil in the world to not exist. The war level, the murder level, the stealing level, the lying level, the swearing level, the thinking, the feeling, the motive level. You gotta be consistent, and as soon as you say you're not as bad as most people you've proven the Bible true when it says that our tongues and hearts are only wicked all the time by lying about it.

I am a Christian

I was reading a book about John Calvin by William Stacy Johnson - if you're interested in reading it - and towards the end was inspired to write this short list of "I am..." statements. My hope is to capture the true meaning of these words, people, or movements, and redeem them from where they have ended as we know them today. I do not endorse the idea that truth can be found anywhere, or even things that are helpful, but rather I hope that we're all encouraged to pursue and think critically about the things we say we believe, and even more critically about what we do about with what we claim to believe.

I'm catholic because I believe in the universal body and church of Jesus Christ.
I'm orthodox because I believe we should find the truth and proper ways of living for God.
I'm reformed because I believe we should fashion, shape, and make fresh to all the truth of Scripture.
I'm methodist because I believe what we practice and how we practice matters because it reflects what we believe.
I'm lutheran because I believe Martin Luther was a wise man, and as anyone who seeks to genuinely follow Christ should be respected as an image-bearer of God.
I'm baptist because I believe you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.
I'm charismatic because I believe followers of Christ should have in them a zeal, and passion for God's glory unmatched by all else.
I'm evangelical because I believe the Gospel of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as the message of God's only provision for our sins needs to be told to everyone daily.
I'm universalist because I believe Jesus calls everyone to repent from sin.
I'm exclusive because I believe Jesus is the only way to God the Father, to salvation, and to eternal life in heaven.
I'm protestant because I believe we should humbly, graciously, lovingly, and truthfully stand in protest against injustice, oppression, false religion, sin and evil; so that all may have equal opportunity to find joy in following Christ for God's glory.

What are you..?

9 Sinful Views of Sin

1) "Sin is just breaking some rule"...Actually sin is violating who God is, and breaking relationship with Him.

2) "Jesus died so I'm forgiven"...Actually Jesus died so that you'd stop sinning

3) "If I don't confess every single sin and forget one I'm going to hell"...Jesus died for all sins; past, present (meaning your current thoughts on God falling short of who He really is, thereby making Him something less than the true God which is idolatry), and future.

4) "God knows my heart, and what's there is what counts"...Your life is a reflection of your heart, so you can't say my heart is good, but my life is bad.

5) "Sin is fun, life is boring so sometimes I allow it in my life"...If you love Jesus sin is never fun

6) "It's not a sin if no one gets hurt"...No matter what sin hurts someone, especially you, and Jesus when He was killed

7) "It's only sin if I get caught"...God knows, you're always caught.

8) "If it's very popular - even in Christian culture - it must be okay"...Jesus was a rebel, He was counter-cultural. We are called to not be of this world, just passing through.

9) "Everything must be a sin issue, even when it's not a sin"...Sometimes it's difference of opinion, or conscience. And some times things just happen in the case of Job or Jesus. Open bibles. Open discussion, not open war.

Often times the most consequential and significant choices, or events in life that we make and go through are not really our choices, but God's.

Here I am, in a river of questions.
Can I pour my heart out to a listening ear?
I see this life, its valley's and mountains
And I think of all the roads that brought me here
I've questioned my reasons.
The life I'm living. I've questioned my ability
to judge wrong from right.
I've questioned all the things that I've ever called certain
My race, my religion, my faith, my mind.
I've questioned significance, meaning and relevance.
Does the work I'm doing really matter at all?
Well I've questioned my friendships, alliance, dependence
Who will still be here when I fall?

But the one thing I don't question is you
God, You really love me like you say you do.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgrigf-Ca48

Just a thought...
Maybe we don't know as much as we think we do…
Science still can't explain yawning.
Like you never took your world view to it's furthest conclusions?
That if human behavior is just what protoplasm does at this temperature, then there is no need for humanitarian effort,
because these atrocities weren't wrong,
it's just the universe weeding out bad genes
Them is fingernail-on-chalkboard words, ain't 'em?...

“The study of doctrine is both an intellectual and devotional discipline. It is a passionate search for God that should always lead the student to greater personal transformation, obedience, and heartfelt worship. Therefore, the student should be on guard against the great error of seeking only impersonal knowledge, and not the person of God. Neither mindless devotion nor mere intellectual pursuits are profitable, for in either case, God is lost.”

 

~ Paul Washer in "The One True God"

Pride is a state of being, and lifestyle completely of God-forgetfulness, so we must combat this with a constant state of self-forgetfulness.