January 24, 2010

When You Find Us Gone

Please read this carefully!

Please don’t assume that this is just another of Dad’s ranting about end
times. This is for real, and I know it will take place soon now! Print and put
this message where you can find it later.

When you realize that Mom and I are no longer here, you will then know
for sure that what has been said and written about end times is true! We
have prayed many times that you will come with us, and we hope you do,
but this is just in case. We have been so blessed with a wonderful family
who made our life very happy. We pray that we will be together forever.

When we are gone and you find yourself still here, you must act in order
to have a chance of being with our Lord in Heaven. Being the good
persons that you are is wonderful, but it alone will not give you a place
with our Lord. You can still make this happen, but you must act!

First you need to remember or relearn how to be saved. The way is in the
Bible in John 14:6 – Jesus said: "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” Its meaning could not
be clearer! Unless you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will not
be in Heaven.

The steps are in the book “Heaven Is So Real” and there are copies in my
office of the latest edition. Take one if you will. Read the part titled “For
Salvation” on page 250 at the end of the book. Pray the prayer of
Salvation. “Simply say this prayer out loud, from your heart: Lord Jesus, I
believe You are the Son of God and You died for me. Please come into
my heart, be my Lord and Savior and forgive me of all my sins and take
control of every area of my life from this moment on. Jesus, fill me with
your Holy Spirit and use me for Your glory. I want to serve You and love
You all the days of my life. Thank You Father, that I am now Your child, in
Jesus’ holy name. Amen.”

This is the necessary first step, but I urge you to read the whole book as
you will find Jesus’ guidance. Read it! Then begin to read the Bible, first
the New Testament. There are Bibles in various versions in our home.
Forget the pleasures you have enjoyed, now your job is to make it to
Heaven.

As you know I have written many articles about faith. These were written
with guidance from God. You were sent a complete set with a table of
contents, but you will find them on a USB drive below the monitor. Many
of the articles are in the file drawer beneath the printer. Many are also on
the website http://www.choothomas.com under “How to be saved”.

You will have to endure the Great Tribulation that will begin shortly after
we leave. At first it will seem not bad, or that things are getting better. But
in time, things get terribly worse. ‘Endure’ is the correct word, as there will
be trials beyond your imagination. Satan will do all he can to take as many
with him to live in hell forever. He will even try to make you believe that he
is god, but don’t believe this. You must resist him and above all do not
take his number ‘666’. Money will be useless unless you accept Satan.
You will be tortured if you resist him, and eventually killed. But enduring
this, as terrible as it will be, is a small price to pay to assure that you will
live in Heaven forever instead of hell with its never ending torture.

To avoid the terrible Tribulation, take the steps to Salvation shown

above – NOW! Dad

P.S. Since sending this, other points came to mind:

If you are left behind, stock up on non-perishable foodstuffs and

emergency supplies. Before long you will be unable to buy anything
unless you pledge your life to Satan. In time, because of the chaos during
the second half of the Great Tribulation, there will be no electrical power.
Water may not be supplied without power to run the pumping stations.
Also there will be no power at the service stations. Think about how you
will get along without running water and gasoline.

The Internet will be out of commission as well as cellular towers and

phone service. Of little use will be computers, and only a laptop will work,
and then only while the battery has a charge. Before this occurs, you
should play the CDs and DVDs such as those of “Heaven Is So Real”,
copies in my office. A battery-powered radio might be useful. A few radio
stations may be operating for a while. As inconvenient as these things will
be, they are a ‘walk in the park’ compared with what happens later in
Tribulation.

People left behind will scramble for a place to hide after the destruction of
the world begins. But they will find no safe place either from the chaos or
from Satan. Don’t waste time now worrying about what you will do, or
thinking about taking all you can tote and flying off to a foreign place of
safety. There will be no safe place, as much of the world will be
destroyed. Over one-half of those still alive will be killed in the horrible
events that begin midway in the seven-year Great Tribulation.

If you should be deceived and accept Satan, you may have a better life
for a little while in that you can continue to use your money. But soon
after, Satan will begin to torture you and laugh because you fell for his
guile. Hell will begin for you while still on this earth, and then it will
continue forever! It will be too late to accept the Lord as your Savior.

The Bible tells us that when Tribulation ends, Jesus will come to the earth
to rule. This is His second coming. The earth will be restored and those
who may have literally lost their head, but kept their faith in the Lord, will
rule with Him. All of Jesus’ faithful will be with Him forever.

George Hagen: glhagen@verizon.net

January 3rd, 2010

Will All Christians Make It To Heaven?

What do you believe about Jesus Christ? You might be shocked to know
that less than half of those who call themselves Christians believe this
statement -- “Jesus Christ did not commit sins during His time on earth”.
Wow! This is based on a survey by the Barna Group March 27, 2009.
[This group serves the information needs of the church by offering
statistics, resources, seminars and custom research on current cultural
and spiritual trends. http://www.barna.org.]

No one should judge another but questions do arise. Have these people
who call themselves Christians ever read the Bible? It is clear in the Bible
that Christ never sinned. Also Jesus was proved the son of God by His
resurrection from the dead. [2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15, 7:26;
Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:14]. Though a core teaching of the
Christian faith is the divinity and perfection of Jesus Christ, tens of millions
of Christians do not accept this. If we as Christians do not believe these
things about Christ, our faith is empty!

Also unfortunately, about 25% do not agree that the Bible is accurate in all
of the principles it teaches. Further – over half of American Christians do
not believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit exists. They believe that they are
mere symbols of evil and good, but are not living beings. They do not
realize that these entities are operating in their lives all the time. This to
their peril!

If we don’t know the truth about Satan, we do not cast him out of our lives
regularly. We blame God for our troubles, or we blame others. Satan is
totally evil and will do anything to break up marriages and cause
Christians to ignore God. In great contrast, the Holy Spirit is with those
who believe and is a tremendous help. Those little urgings you get to
choose the right path or to do something truly beneficial for yourself or
others are from Him.

Another Barna study discovered that half of all adults now contend that
Christianity is just one of many options that Americans can choose. Our
country was founded on Christian beliefs, and I believe that God helped
our nation to be strong to fight for what is right. Now so many no longer
hold these truths dear, and are trying mightily to take Christ out of the
schools and all government institutions. How sad for the USA!

Interestingly, a huge majority of adults pick and choose what they believe
rather than adopt a church or denomination’s slate of beliefs. That may
be wise as only about one fourth of “Christian” churches truly teach about
Christ, even some of those claiming to be Jesus based.

Sadly, almost 25% of Christians surveyed do not believe that God is the
“all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who rules the world
today”. These people believe such things as “everyone is god”, “god is
realizing true human potential”, etc. What does God think about these
folks? He likely regards them the same way He mourned over the
wayward Jews in the Old Testament. He tolerated it for awhile, but finally
punished them.

If those facts don’t bode enough bad news for Christianity, we also know
that the vast majority of the world’s population follows other religions, or
doesn’t believe in God the maker of Heaven and Earth at all. This is why
Jesus said that only a small percentage of people will be a part of His
Kingdom. In John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It is obvious that
many Christians have not read the Bible. I know that many people have
been encouraged to read it to find out more about God, after reading the
book “Heaven Is So Real”.

Some astronomers are searching the heavens to find how the universe
was formed. Many scientists continue to search for links to prove that
humans evolved from apes or even sea creatures. It is not a sin to be
curious about these things, but perhaps these scientists would save a lot
of concern if they just read and believed the story of Creation in the Bible,
that it is the true Word of God.
Today the most severe punishment we could possibly receive is to be
separated from God. We need God in our lives and we need Jesus as our
Lord and Savior. Otherwise we will end up knocking on Heaven’s door,
greeted by Jesus who will say “I don’t know you”. I pray that those who do
not have Jesus in their lives will wake up before it is too late.

George Hagen glhagen@verizon.net

November 14, 2009

Is the World Coming to an End?

We hear on TV and read daily of catastrophic happenings all over the

world. An earthquake takes place every day somewhere, and some are
severe causing massive destruction. Hurricanes and tornadoes continue
to take their toll on lives and property. The warming trend of the earth is
destroying vegetation through drought, removing livelihood for many
people and animals, and creating new deserts. People depending on
agriculture are finding it difficult or impossible to grow crops so are
flooding into cities for survival. New plagues are surfacing regularly; some
coming back that were thought to have been eliminated. Terrorist attacks
and crime is on the increase in many parts of the world. Also wars and
uprisings kill an untold number of people and displace even more. Rogue
nations are developing atomic weapons capable of destroying civilization.
Some atomic stockpiles could fall into the hands of terrorists.

So what are we to think? Does this terrible trend of events signal the end
of civilization as we know it? If so, shouldn’t we just “eat, drink and be
merry” and enjoy the end as best we can? That is the advice of those who
do not know the Word of God.

Scriptures tell us what will really happen. Yes the world will be partially
destroyed sometime in the future, but it will be rebuilt by God in new glory.
Meanwhile, the Lord will take his faithful ones up into Heaven before the
worst occurs. Then there will be seven years known as “The Great
Tribulation” where Satan rules. People left behind can still make it to
Heaven if they refuse to pledge their souls to Satan by taking his
forbidden number “666”. Those who do will be with the devil forever and
suffer his fate in hell. But those who refuse Satan and pledge their souls
to Christ will live with God forever in Heaven. Yes they may suffer terrible
tortures by Satan and hear his lying promises of everlasting life, and they
may be killed if they continue to resist the devil. But it will be worth it a
million times and more.

How do we know that these biblical predictions about the future will come
true? Simply because over 2000 prophecies and predictions made
hundreds of years before the event have been fulfilled. For example, the
birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and his death and resurrection was
prophesied .500 and 700 years before Jesus was born. The Bible
contains 2500 prophesies so 500 have yet to be fulfilled including those in
the above paragraph.

So how do we avoid all this misery? By pledging our lives to Christ here
and now if we haven’t already done so. We will be taken up in the clouds
with the other faithful ones when Jesus comes. And He will be coming
very soon now!
George L. Hagen: glhagen@verizon.net

November 5, 2009

What Is Faith?

Faith is the source of our strength, courage and guidance and our victory
over the evils of the world, temptations and Satan. So why can’t we just
accept in faith God’s promises and let them flow into our life all the time?
We are just not constituted this way; at least I know I am not. Even though
in the morning I decide to spend time with our Lord, my mind continually
encounters thoughts that divert me. I have to consciously bring my mind
back to our Lord, and a quick silent prayer helps. No matter what we are
doing, our Lord can be a part of it. We have to keep reminding ourselves
that for our own good we need to have the Lord in our lives. Whatever
effort it takes is worth it in attaining such a comforting feeling of inner
peace. While on this earth I plan to take advantage of the wonderful
promise of having “peace beyond all understanding”.

Hal Lindsay in his book “Apocalypse Code” offers enlightenment about

faith. God promises an experience of perfect inner peace in spite of even
severe adversities. He promises wisdom and confidence so that we can
stand up for the truth of the Word of God. His peace can be our daily
experience. I feel so sorry for people who don’t know God – who don’t
understand His promises and what He has to offer us. This is available
not only in the next life but in this one. I think about the many in the world
who have heard the truth but find themselves denying it and worshiping
false gods – false leaders, money and other hollow idols.

Faith is the key to these provisions. Few if any subjects in the Bible are
more important for us to understand than that of faith. The Bible declares
many things about faith and here are a few:
We are born into eternal life through faith. We are declared righteous
before God by faith. We are forgiven by faith. We are healed by faith. We
learn God’s Word by faith. By faith we understand things to come. We are
controlled and empowered in the Holy Spirit by faith. We can please God
only by faith. Faith pervades every aspect of our relationship with God
and our service for Him. Hebrews 3-4.

At times in the last few months I have felt disappointment that I did not
seem to have this promised peace “peace beyond all understanding”. Yes
I did have the comforting thought of knowing where I will spend eternity.
But what about life here and now? Weren’t we supposed to feel this
peace all the time? The answer is no, unless we exercise our faith and
keep the Lord in our thoughts. We must continually thank and praise Him,
and acknowledge that it is God’s will, not ours that governs our lives. We
can dedicate almost any activity to the Lord and feel His presence. We
not only gain His peace, but also His help in whatever we do. Earlier in my
life I would have thought this folly and nonsense, but now I know that it is
His promise, if only I keep the FAITH!

George L. Hagen: glhagen@verizon.net

October 9, 2009
Questions About the Rapture

As the time draws nearer for the Rapture, questions seem to be flying
around with many different ideas about it. They range from outright denial
that there will be a Rapture, to confusion between its timing and that of
the Great Tribulation. Some believe Tribulation will come first, and that
Jesus will only take His faithful ones to Heaven at His Second Coming
after the Tribulation. There is also discussion on whether the rapture will
be silent as depicted in the fictional series “Left Behind” where people
suddenly disappear with no warning and those left are in shock and
wonderment.

Here is what will happen and the sequence, as given in the Bible, and
revealed by Jesus to some of His faithful. Jesus has told those with whom
He communicates that the Rapture will be very soon. No one will know the
exact day or hour until He arrives. Jesus states that He will be coming in
the clouds to take His “Children” to Heaven. He will come with trumpets
and loud acclamation and everyone on earth will realize what is
happening. (Rev, 1:7 & 1 Thes. 4:15-17) The first taken up will be the
spirits and souls of those who have already died but who had accepted
Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They will be given new bodies in the air.
After these souls are raised up, He will call up those who are still alive that
have accepted his wonderful offer of salvation. They also will get new
bodies. There will be great concern, to put it mildly, among those left
behind. (Luke 13:22-30) This is NOT His second coming as He will not
touch the earth. His second coming is after the Great Tribulation.

Then the Great Tribulation begins. Some believe that the calamities that
have already been occurring are a part of the tribulation or a fore-runner
of it. This is probably true, but the Great Tribulation is promised to be
terrible and nothing like it has occurred before or will happen again. (Rev.
6, 16:16-20 & Mark 13:19) (see also Matthew 24, Luke 21 & 2 Peter 3).

In the first part of this Great Tribulation the world will witness what seems
to be the answer to its problems. A man who may already be alive will
come to the front as the world leader. He will promise two main things --
world peace and one religion that all can accept. His program will sound
so good that he will be acclaimed as the world leader. He will sign an
agreement with the Jews to allow them to build their long sought temple.
This agreement will later be broken. The Great Tribulation will last seven
years and the above will occur during the first half.

After this man who is really the Anti-Christ has consolidated his rule, he
will display great miracles using the power Satan gives him. He will even
resurrect from the dead. This will convince many that he is really God and
people will begin his worship. Then he will build a statue of himself and
require everyone to worship it. Those who agree will be asked to accept
his mark, the mark of Satan, on their arm or forehead, or perhaps have a
microchip implanted under their skin. His mark is the number “666”. (Rev
2:10-12, 13:11-18, 14:9-13)

Everyone who refuses his mark and does not worship him will be first
denied the right to buy anything. Their money will be useless. Their
foreheads will be marked with the cross of our Lord and great hardship
will begin for them. Then they will be persecuted without mercy and those
who still refuse Satan’s mark will eventually be killed, probably beheaded.
But these will be raised up as saints in Heaven. Those accepting Satan’s
mark will be with him forever and suffer his fate. (Rev 14-1, 11-13)

Some believe that those who do not pledge their lives to our Lord before
the Rapture will not be given a second chance. I believe that some people
will indeed be given a second chance during the Great Tribulation. That is
if they pledge their lives to Christ, ignore the lies of Satan promising
everlasting life and if they refuse to follow the evil one, and do endure his
tortures. (Rev 14:9-13; Rev 20:4-6, Rev 7)

Then massive wars and destruction of the earth begins. One part will take
place in an area called Armageddon. The Anti-Christ will muster armies
from the east, likely China, to assemble and try to destroy the Jews in
Jerusalem. The battles will rage in the Armageddon area next to Israel.
The huge armies of the east will be confronted with armies of God and
soundly defeated. Millions of these warriors will be killed. Also the Bible
seems to point to Russia as attacking Israel with their mighty air force
intending to drop atomic bombs. God will destroy these planes before
they can drop any bombs. All of this terrible turmoil and destruction will
occur during the second half of the seven-year Great Tribulation. (Rev
16:16, 20:9)

Also during this time the earth will suffer further disaster almost too
horrible to imagine. It will be far worse than depicted even in some
science-fiction films. Whole cities will be destroyed. Possibly some of this
will be with atomic weapons. The major part of the destruction of mankind
will be the work of the Lord’s wrath because of the horrible sins of the
world. Over one-half of the world’s population will be killed, and much of
the heavily populated areas of the earth will be scrap heaps. Will those
destroyed only be the unrepentant sinners? I do not know but it is an
interesting question. However sometime during the tribulation all of the
wicked will be killed or die of plagues. After the millennium these will be
raised to life for their final judgment, which will be Hades forever. (Rev
16:17-21)

After these terrible times are over, God will begin to rebuild the earth and
eventually locate a New Jerusalem where many of His saints and faithful
ones will live. There will be a Millennium of 1000 years during which Satan
will be bound and Christ will rule. The righteous will reign with Him. This
New Jerusalem is already built in Heaven and simply will descend to
earth. The earth will ultimately be restored to a state far better than it ever
was. Possibly the majority of saved people will live in a wonderful area in
Heaven. It is large enough with enough housing to accommodate all who
will ever go there. Does all of this sound too good to be true? We need
not doubt anything that God will do -- didn’t He create the earth and the
universe and everyone and everything in it? (Rev 21:1-2,10-27)

Heaven is ready for us and our wonderful Lord has already built housing
and developed a Heaven that is beautiful beyond imagination. We will live
there forever with God, unless He sends us to help Him on earth or
somewhere in the universe. Heaven is something that we should look
forward to with great joy. We won’t be sitting around on a cloud
strumming a harp, but working actively to make it better. There will be
plenty to do and enjoy with recreation facilities far beyond anything on
earth. We will relish new kinds of fruit and there will be gorgeous flowers
and other beauty. Some of the food will be the kinds we enjoy on earth,
but also varieties we do not know. In short, it will be true Paradise.
(Isaiah65:17, 66:22). Our bodies will be new but will be recognizable to
those who knew us, but mature adults will look younger. News about this
and what Heaven is like can also be found in the wonderful book “Heaven
Is So Real” by Choo Thomas. This is really Jesus’ book as He guided its
writing.

Many mistakenly believe that they have to earn Heaven by doing good
deeds and living an exemplary life. This is false. We cannot earn our way
into Heaven; it is a free gift from God. We only have to pledge our lives to
Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. He will forgive all the
sins that we confess to Him and make us into a “new person”. Then we
will want to do good deeds and live in the way Jesus desires for our lives.
(John 14:6, 1 John 1:9, Titus 3:3-8, Rev 3:3-6, 10-13)

Should you believe that the above sequence is how it will happen? The
Bible deals with all of this. Sometimes sorting it out is a challenge. I am
only a servant of our precious Lord, but the essence of this message
came from God. On Sunday evening September 27th I was prompted by
something just read. I wondered about some of the sequence depicted in
a little booklet. So I quickly went over these coming events in my mind. I
then asked God if my understanding of them was correct. Three times He
confirmed that the above is the sequence in which the Rapture and the
Tribulation will take place. The events have been described in the Bible
(note the above references).The details have been written by others in
more detail, but I believe this message captures important things we need
to know.
George L. Hagen: glhagen@verizon.net

August 30, 2009

Back to Basics

National surveys tell us that those who claim to be Christians are a

shrinking group. Further, we find that most people outside of this group
know little about God and nothing about Christ. This article is directed to
these folks. We hope that even those who know our Lord will find
something of interest.

Our country today is largely a society of non-believers. Oh, they believe in

something, but it is not God. We have adopted ideas touted in popular
books of the last decade. Primarily, the principle is, “take care of yourself
first”. Of course we should look after ourselves, but not at all costs.
People want instant gratification in everything. They are not willing to wait
for fulfillment. While their grandparents were willing to wait for and live for
“heaven at all costs”, they do not even think about life after death. They
want their heaven on earth. Further, today young people have adopted
popular sports and media figures as their idols. They hang on every word
coming from or about these people as if they were gods. This has shut
our God in Heaven out of their lives.

Many young people, perhaps the majority, are growing up in homes

where God is never mentioned. How can they learn of Him without help?
If they don’t know God, what is to become of them? God is love, and God
teaches moral values. If love for others and appreciation of moral values
are missing in a person, they have little chance of happiness. The results
are high crime rates, addiction, disillusionment, divorce, and suicide. This
is not to belittle those parents who do practice and teach moral values
even though they do not teach about Christ. But even then, this leaves an
emptiness only filled when God becomes a part of a person’s life.

So who is God? God is our creator; He created the Heavens and the
earth, the galaxies of the universe and everything in them. He created
you! He created you just the way He wanted you to be. But He also gave
you and everyone a free choice. We can follow His path or we can choose
our own. And every choice has a consequence. As our Creator, God
deserves our allegiance. He created you for His pleasure. He wants and
expects you to worship Him. He didn’t put us here to just have a good
time. He wants us to be happy, but we are here for a purpose. If we don’t
know God, then how can we determine the purpose for which He created
us?

How do we get to know God if we don’t already? Prayer, pure and simple.
We might pray each and every day something like this:

“Oh God if there is a God, help me to know that you are real.”

With this simple little prayer, we invite God to contact us. Will He? He will if
we are sincere in wanting Him in our lives. We were born with an internal
need to know God. Until we come to know Him, there will always be
emptiness in our life.

What next? The person should seek others who can help him/her to
understand what believing in God and ultimately Jesus Christ can do for
them. They need a setting where they can learn the basics of the faith.
Helpful people can be found in small church groups such as bible study,
or in prayer groups, or perhaps the person next door.

Until recent years, I never once asked another person about their faith. I
thought it was none of my business. I learned, though, that it is my
business. Once I started asking others what they knew about Christ, I
learned that a great many were just waiting for someone to talk to about
faith. Ask your friends to recommend a church. Or you can call a church
and ask about Bible study or prayer groups. Be sure to ask if the church
teaches that Christ is our Lord and Savior. Many churches listed in the
Yellow Pages have websites that are easily located on the Internet.

Reading the Bible can also be immensely helpful. The Bible is not boring,
although some parts are more interesting than others. There are
thousands of great stories in the Bible, fascinating tales of real
happenings. Start reading Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament.
Then read Exodus and Deuteronomy. Next, read about Daniel (in the
lion’s den) in the Book of Daniel, and about David and Goliath in the Book
of 1 Samuel. The books of Ruth and Esther are beautiful stories of
devotion to others. Then skip to the New Testament and learn about
Christ and His miracles. The books of Luke, John and Acts are especially
interesting and informative. Eventually, read the entire Bible. Even fifteen
minutes a day will take you through the Bible in a year. I am willing to bet,
though that you will find parts that you “can’t put it down” until you find out
what finally happened. I was captivated when I started reading this
wonderful book, and occasionally I would read it for hours.

Get a bible with modern language. A New International Version (NIV), or

the New King James Version are good choices. I like the bible called “The
Message” by Eugene H. Peterson. This is the easiest to understand.

I didn’t start reading the Bible until I had read the wonderful book,
“Heaven Is So Real” by Choo Thomas. Choo was chosen by Jesus to
write this book under His direction. I was actually shocked into belief in
Christ after reading just a part of this book. In continuing to read it, I
learned many things about heaven and hell that were full of wonder. Most
importantly, I learned who Jesus really is. Then I started to read the Bible
in earnest and began to attend church. Also prayer became a necessary
part of my daily chores. But prayer is not a chore. Prayer is a tremendous
help in every aspect of living. If you ask for help, the Holy Spirit is right
there for you.

Aren’t all churches and faiths equal? There must be something useful in
the major religions of the world. Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam are
religions that have huge followings. Of course they have value. Many
religions teach that there is a god, the need to embrace moral values, and
a path to a great afterlife. These are also Christian teachings. So what is
the difference, why should we be a Christian rather than a Buddhist? The
difference, and it is a chasm, is Christ. No other religion embraces Christ
as their savior. Muslims do know about Jesus, but they regard Him only
as a great teacher, not as God. They do not have a holy intercessor who
is God.

What about Jesus Christ? He is also God and He gave up His Heavenly
kingdom role to come to earth, be born and live like an ordinary man. But
Jesus was far from ordinary. He was the only person who ever lived a life
without sin. After He grew up, He performed miracles, taught about God,
and ultimately was crucified for this and died for our sins. Then He was
resurrected by His Father God, and returned to Heaven where He is
today. On earth He left a legacy of disciples who continued Christ’s work,
wrote the New Testament, and established many churches.

Heaven is a place of purity. No one can enter Heaven who is not pure in
heart and without sin. If it weren’t for Jesus dying for the sins of the world,
few could ever enter Heaven. No one is pure enough on their own. But
Jesus made a path to Heaven if only we believe in Him. There is no other
route to Heaven.

How do we get Christ to be our Lord and Savior? This is the easiest step,
but one we must choose to take. Simply say this prayer aloud, from your
heart:

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and You died for me.
Please come into my heart, be my Lord and Savior and forgive me of all
my sins and take control of every area of my life from this moment on.
Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and use me for Your glory. I want to
serve You and love You all the days of my life. Thank You,Father, that I
am now Your child, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Then pledge your life to Him! I wrote a note to Jesus with my pledge to
Him and signed it.

How do we know that God hears our prayers? His Word tells us: “Now this
is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to
His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of
Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
him.

George Hagen glhagen@verizon.net

August 17, 2009

Would I stand up for the Lord?

If I had been one of Jesus’ friends, would I have abandoned Him? I don’t
know. Certainly the disciples were frightened for their lives. But some of
his friends, both women and men stood by Him to the end. Since I don’t
know how I would have reacted, I can only consider how I would stand up
for Him today. If I were persecuted for my faith as so many are in this evil
world, how would I fare?

In my adult life I have never been afraid of anything except momentarily. I

have faced dangers in my airplane over unfriendly terrain and at night
never giving it a thought. But have I ever been challenged by an
overpowering force that gave me a choice of living or dying? No I haven’t
and hope I never will. People in other parts of the world have been given
this choice – give up your faith and live, or die a martyr. How would I
react?

It is easy to say, as the disciples did before Jesus was sentenced to be

crucified that I would never abandon our Lord. Over the centuries, we
know that many were made martyrs by sticking to their faith -- and me?. I
now know the choices -- either be with the Lord or be with Satan --
Forever! Knowing that, certainly I will endure whatever comes and
choose Heaven over hell.

But the world has largely chosen hell, often without knowing it. If a person
has never heard of Jesus, how can they choose Him? Although the Bible
is clear that the only way to Heaven is by declaring allegiance to Christ,
most people either do not know or believe this. Even if they have been
told about Jesus, they still cannot bring themselves to accept Him. They
believe they will have to give up too many worldly pleasures; or they
aren’t even concerned about Him. To them, life after earthly existence or
the fate of their soul is not a worry or anything to even think about.

I could have been one of these if I had not found Jesus in 2004 after
reading the book ‘Heaven Is So Real’. What a momentous discovery
for me at age 79! To think that before then I only thought about Jesus at
Christmas, and soon He was forgotten again. Now I cannot imagine life
without Christ being important. I have had a wonderful life and
unknowingly was guided and helped by God all through my life. Would He
have continued to help me if I had not finally turned to Christ? Maybe, but
He may not have helped me into Heaven.

Sometimes we have some rain in our lives, and it would be hard to bear
without Jesus being there for comfort and help. The troubles on one day
seemed unsolvable. But after prayer at the end of the day I realized that
there is nothing beyond help from Christ. This can be compared to having
a fifty pound weight lifted from my shoulders except it is far more
important.
In my ‘down’ moments I felt that the problems were too much for me and I
was diverted from doing anything except to stew about them. I didn’t have
the incentive to do much of anything including writing. Good, you say? But
I turned to our wonderful Lord who quieted my fears. After that I knew that
He is willing and able to help with all situations. I wouldn’t trade this feeling
for anything this world offers. Yes, I know I will defend my faith in the Lord
no matter what.

James L. Christiansen wrote: The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid

difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It
does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life.

George L. Hagen

glhagen@verizon.net

JESUS IS COMING SOON, PREPARE FOR THE RAPTURE

Jesus, who redeemed us through the cross will prepare a place and will
come back to be with us. He has promised us. (John 14:3). The rapture
will take place before the Great Tribulation (Rev. 3:10). Jesus said, “you
know to interpret how to interpret the appearance of the sky but you
cannot interpret the signs of the times, (Matt. 16:3 Luke12:56).

ALL BELOVED SAINTS IN JESUS CHRIST

The rapture is reserved for those saints who will be lifted into the
sky upon God’s trumpet call, saints that are to be raptured will be
lifted into the sky to meet Jesus in the clouds (1 The 4:16-17). The
rapture is reserved for those believers who wear spiritual white
robes. Their physical body will be transformed into a glorious body
and will be God’s delight, (Rev. 19:7-8).

If you remain in lukewarm faith, Jesus will spew you out so you
must not be like this type of believer (Rev. 3:16). Jesus’ first
coming was to bring salvation, but He is coming again to meet
those who are Ready and Waiting in the clouds at the sound of the
trumpets and this is call Rapture. Lord Jesus, will take His children
with Him to Heaven. After the tribulation on earth then He will return
again on earth with those who were ratpured with Him into Heaven
to the New Jerusalem this will be called His Second Coming. For
what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the
presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? (1
Thess. 2:19)

At Jesus’ return, only raptured saints will be presented at the seat

of glory (1 Cor. 15:49-55). Even if we do not know the day and time
of His coming, the sons of light are not in darkness therefore that
day will not come upon you like a thief (1 Thess. 5:4-5). Do not be
lukewarm believers nor do not sleep but be awake and pray, (1
Thess. 5:1-4). Remember, therefore, what you have received and
heard: obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come
like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you,
(Rev. 3:3). Those with lukewarm faith, those who are tied to the
world, and those who do not know Jesus will be left behind for the
Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation will be the most
devastating time in all of human history. Those who are left behind
in the Great Tribulation must not receive the biochip (which bears
satan’s name) into their body (forehead or right hand; Rev 13vs16,
20vs4) even to the point of death. Christians who commit suicide
will spend eternal life in hell. By refusing this chip, you will be
tortured then killed. For the unblelievers (nonChristians) you don’t
only have to refuse the chip but also you will have to confess Jesus
as your Lord and savior with your lips, ask of forgiveness of your
sins and believe in your heart that is the Son of the God and He
died for us, Amen.