do you know what you believe?

the other day, my husband and i talked briefly to someone about God, finding out what he believes... and from what i've heard in other conversations, i think what he said is the trend of what Americans believe these days.

his main points were 'i don't believe there is a heaven or a hell,' 'if i do more good than bad, then i should be ok when i die,' and 'i don't think any religion is better than any other.'

my first reaction: if there's no heaven or hell, then why would you be concerned about 'being ok' when you die? and what does it even mean to 'be ok when you die?'

one big problem in the US, i think, is that no one really thinks through what they believe about this stuff! and sadly, i think it partly comes from not having to think about it. human beings usually just do what they have to do to get by, and generally speaking, we Americans live a leisurely life (as evidenced in part by our huge waistlines). we are not faced with death or persecution or basic survival every day.
we hide death, we don't talk about death, we smear creams on our faces to 'erase' wrinkles and hide our age, we have ridiculous sayings like 'don't ever ask a woman her age' because for some reason that would be RUDE wouldn't it?!, we don't allow people to see the bodies of their loved ones, we beautify our caskets with puffy pillows and bring bazillion flowers to funerals, we hide the elderly in dysfunctional nursing homes, we tell half-truths to children about death like 'mommy will always be in your heart,' all our celebrities look ridiculously young due to surgeries and makeup and airbrushing...
if we were faced with death or persecution more, i believe we'd spend more time thinking about what we believe about death and what happens after death. but most Americans feel very satisfied to put it off till later. and when they are confronted with the thought, they carelessly say what they've heard others say.
and what's the easiest thing to say? that there's no heaven or hell anyway. that really lets them off the hook. because if there's no heaven or hell, then they don't need to change anything about their life! it's a great answer that allows them to continue how they are!
the problem is that somewhere deep down, they know in their very soul that it DOES matter and that there IS a heaven and hell. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "[God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men." there is something built into each of us that KNOWS our souls will exist forever. that's why we are concerned with being good in this life and being ok when we die.
we get disturbed and depressed if we think our life has no meaning.
we desire to be the best we can be.
we want our life to matter even after we die.
we spend our years thinking of how to best use this life on earth and how to fulfill our purpose.
the same people that flippantly say, 'there's no heaven or hell,' later say to someone who lost a loved one, 'they're in a better place.'
we find out that we need that 'better place' to exist in order to be comforted. when we really are faced with death, we need there to be more to life than just meaninglessly living and dying.
Americans, it's time to wake up and think NOW about eternity! you are not guaranteed tomorrow! you might say, 'yeah i know it's possible that i could die tomorrow,' but do you even believe that??! it seems that you don't, because you're still living like you're invincible, putting off till tomorrow to decide what you believe. you need to know NOW what would happen to you if you died tonight!
a lot of people have heard the Bible verse, John 3:16, which says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." this is the basis of true Christian belief. we do not rely on our own goodness or our own works to get to God, but we rely on Jesus, who is God's own Son who came to earth to save us by dying for us. the next verses, which are WAY less known, explain in more detail:

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, 

but to save the world through Him. 

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, 

but whoever does not believe 

stands condemned already 

because he has not believed in the name 

of God's one and only Son. 

This is the verdict: 

Light has come into the world, 

but men loved darkness instead of light 

because their deeds were evil. 

Everyone who does evil hates the light, 

and will not come into the light 

for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 

But whoever lives by the truth 

comes into the light, 

so that it may be seen plainly 

that what he has done has been done through God."

John 3:17-21

all of these words are Jesus speaking. He was talking to a religious leader, Nicodemus. now this guy could boast of doing good deeds all his life, if there ever was anyone. he was of the highest Jewish order, someone who could honestly say that he'd been following every law since he was little. but Jesus basically told him that if he thought he was ok in God's sight, then he had another thought coming. as another 'good' Bible man, Paul, said later, "I consider them (good deeds and credentials) rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." Philippians 3:8b-9

God tells us through the Bible that, to 'be ok when you die,' your works aren't going to cut it. only belief in Christ, to save you from the bad you did, will bring you to heaven.

another reaction from me: you may say you don't think any religion can be right, or claim to be correct while others are wrong, but you yourself think you are right and that others are wrong. that seems mighty hypocritical...

Americans like to pretend that we can include everyone and that we don't think anyone needs punishment or can be judged.
one of America's favorite phrases is, 'don't judge ME!' used as license to act however they want.
to get votes, our politicians step around EVERY moral issue to the point that they are totally ineffective and seem to not believe anything!
lawmakers are trying to remove references to God in schools and on tv and radio and any public place, claiming 'not everyone believes in God!' but in the next breath, they claim that 'Mother Earth' should be respected and cared for. uh... hello? you still believe in some bigger 'entity.' you just called it 'mother earth' because you don't want to answer to a true God!
BUT, when it comes down to it, we ALL believe there is a right and a wrong. ask any married woman how she'd feel if she came home to find her man in bed with another woman. ask any kid how he'd feel if someone murdered his family. ask any man how he'd feel if someone lied and cheated to get his job and have him fired.
we KNOW there are right and wrong.
and ultimately, if you are concerned with 'doing more good than bad' by the end of your life, you know there is a 'good' and a 'bad.' where do you think that knowledge comes from? it's deeper than something you inherited in your DNA. we have an innate sense of right and wrong; you don't have to teach a kid the meaning of 'unfair,' or how to deliberately disobey. Romans 1:20 explains that we see who God is loud and clear even just by looking at how His creation works, "so that men are without excuse." 
recently the media has pinned a lot of wrongdoing on 'mental illness' in order to avoid discussion about good vs evil because that leads to discussion of God vs Satan. so instead of people who have made bad choices, we have killers who are 'mentally ill.' i mean, they must be, in order to do something that bad, right?!?! no. they are people who CHOSE evil. that's why we want them to be accountable. if someone is truly mentally ill, we wouldn't want to lock them up in jail, we'd be feeling badly for them. most Americans don't feel too bad for Adam Lanza or James Holmes or, to make my point, Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer or Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin. we want justice. we want 'good' to win and 'bad' to lose. our tv shows and movies are based on that premise, from Law & Order to Disney movies...
basically, your own idea of 'doing more right than wrong' so that you can 'be ok when you die' means that you believe in some sort of absolute 'rightness' and 'wrongness' that will somehow be judged at the end of your life.
the thing about Christianity is this: it is not a religion based on rules and regulations used to 'reach God.' Christianity is believing in a God who reaches out to you! 
He sent His Son to you.
He provided the 'goodness' that you could never measure up to.
there's no big scale at the end of your life where your good deeds are measured against your bad deeds, leaving you wondering all your life if you made it or failed. you can know the outcome today if you put your trust in Jesus!
any good works done as a Christian are done out of thankfulness and out of the desire to please this wonderful God who saved us, not to somehow ensure our own salvation!

there IS a heaven and a hell. and Jesus clearly stated that there is salvation or condemnation for each person, based on whether or not you believe in Him. (remember John 3:16-21)

is your heart searching for that reassurance of where you will go when you die?
don't put it off any longer! think about it now! research it! read John, or Romans, or 1 John... ask God to lead you to the right spot.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' 
declares the Lord, 
'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 
plans to give you a hope and a future. 
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, 
and I will listen to you.
You will seek Me and find Me 
when you seek Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you,' 
declares the Lord, 
'and will bring you back from captivity.'"
Jeremiah 29:11-14a