Rick is on a "temporal life" binge with his tweets to people. Here are the recent tweets I happened to notice on the subject. After you read them, think about them a bit.
1. "When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, remember that you are not home yet."
Sept. 13, 2011
2. "You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, "Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary?"
Sept 12...2011
3. "Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven! "
Sept. 9, 2011
4. "Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet."
Sept 8, 2011
5. "This is not your final destination. You're just passing through!"
Sept 7, 2011
6. "Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it... Temporary."
Sept 4, 2011
Rick says,
1. "When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, remember that you are not home yet."
Rick Warren
Does this seem helpful to you?
Does it encourage you?
If you are in doubt, overwhelmed with life...
will you be encouraged to know that you still have a long way yet to go?
( "You are not home yet.")
How is this notion that I am "not home yet"
going to help me, really, in a time of despair?
Why not, something more biblical sounding Rick?
Like, "Don't let your heart be troubled." or"
"Remember, the things God has said and done and that
Jesus is with you always, even unto the end of the world.?
No. Instead, what is told to us is,
"You are not home yet."
Really, this is not encouraging.
Yes, it;s helpful to remember this is not a perfect world.... that you
are not home yet....but where is the promise of God in sentiments like that?
A statement like that is actually quite hopeless.
2. "You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, "Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary?"
Rick Warren
Christian, I am wondering,
do you think that the first two seconds in heaven
will be filled with regret over temporal things?
I doubt it. I kinda thought it might be more like relief and joy...
maybe a little amazement or wonderment, not regret.
Even so, if such was the case, if you, at that point felt regret, then remember,
the Bible says that at that time, God wipes away every tear...
and that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
So.... here is a question.
Why is Rick emphasizing that life is temporary?
Why does he stress that such "temporal" things are of
little or no importance.
Note also, Rick is not specific about what things are "temporal" here.
So one must ask and wonder, "What "things" is he referring too as unimportant?"
(He could mean a lot of things.)
One must wonder "Why?" is he trying to convince us of what we already know... and
wonder, what it is he is trying to sell us as he talks like this.
3. "Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven!"
Rick Warren
Rick, evidently, doesn't want you to be too attached to
your citizenship on earth, as he reminds you of your " homeland."
This is kinda funny, because as you know,
the Apostle Paul was a Christian and he is the
one who informed of of our citizenship(or is it "homeland") in heaven
AND he was also a citizen of Rome,
which was also a citizenship he exercised, by the way.
Acts Chapter 22... verse 25
You might say that Paul had two citizenships.
did Paul have schizophrenia?
No.
Was Paul perhaps too concerned about the temporal?
Hardly.
However he valued the rights of his earthly citizenship for some reason.
And so should we who are are born in America, land of the free.
Also, Paul's identity was not "in eternity."
(Another claim of Rick Warren... one intended to pull you into
the ideas he sets forth for you to believe in as you
hear him speaking and willingly make Warren your guru guide,
Paul's identity was actually in the person of Jesus Christ,
as it is also for the Christian man or woman or child.
Eternity is nothing you want to be looking forward to, if it doesn't include Christ Jesus our Lord,
because eternity alone is ....nothing more than eternity and
"eternity" without Jesus Christ who redeems out life from the pit, is hell.. .
4. "Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet."
Rick Warren
"Real believers"?
(This, as opposed to fake ones?)
Well, you either believe or you do not. You are either hot or you are cold.
Rick hopes you are not just a "believer"... but a "REAL" one.
In all fairness, there may be some truth to Rick's statement, but consider.... it is not simply
the cognitive relaization that there is
"far more" than just the few years we have on this planet,
that makes one into a (REAL or fake) "believer".
And not only that...
What if the lives we "live on this planet,"
(be it one day or a thousand days)
really do matter
and really do make
a difference? (in "eternity" or in the lives of other human beings.)
What if our temporal lives and the people we love and know
are important and meaningful
and that what we believe,
and who we believe in ... even our doctrine
and choices do make a difference after all?
What if your life involves saving someones soul by
telling them the good news of Jesus Christ?
What if your life brings joy to a hurting person
or your life intervenes and saves another human life?
Is life here on EARTH really "just a few years"
Does it have some PURPOSE in every moment we do
live here on earth or should our focus be eternity?
Is your focus to be eternity?
Should you just abandon your life and responsibilities here upon earth?
5. "This is not your final destination. You're just passing through! "
Rick Warren
Yes. "This" is not your final destination.
(So, now that you are convinced of this, maybe
you will not worry to much when other people want to
come and take your land and possessions away... enslave you..
or change your government and Constitution.)
You're just passing through... on your way somewhere else....
Where?
The grave?
You, if you are like every
other human who is "just passing through," you
might being going to die someday,
and then where will you be?
What, exactly, is your final destination?
You might be going to die someday,
(Might... right?)
Know this now,
today is the day of salvation!
And today, if you hear God's voice,
harden not your heart.
Believe on he one whom he sent so
that your sins will be forgiven and
when you die, you will be in heaven with Him.
Remember,
Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
6. "Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it...Temporary"
Rick Warren
God sees our lives as "temporary?"
Really?
How so?
I wonder, why didn't Pastor Rick simply, plainly, tell his listeners,
2 Corinthians 4:18?
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(NIV)
Interesting...
The temporalness of life is pretty obvious...
not something that we really need divine vision to "see."
Yet we do need a special ability to see
the things that are eternal and unseen by physical eyesight.. don't we.
Such is God's perspective... eternal perspective.
If you have not yet seen the temporal-ness of life for yourself, just watch
your untouched fruit bowl for a week or two
God made all things good, but sin spoiled it and causes decay and death. Sure, Rick, We live in a temporal and fallen world... but God has redeemed creation , saved us from our sins in Christ.
What we need to ask god for is not the vision to see life as temporary...
that is a given... we need to ask for God's forgiveness for
our disobedience, our sin.
We can also pray and ask to receive the gift of his one and only son...
Jesus Christ and the reality of his life and death to save us
BY FAITH in him to give us life... eternal life with him and thereby
see the things that are eternal.
Keep your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!
HE endured the cross, died was buried and rose again to life
on the third day, according to the scriptures.
Now, why doesn't "Pastor" Rick elaborate on things like this?
