First, you must give your heart to Jesus Christ and repent of the sins in your life. Jesus will then take away every sin from your past from that moment on. No matter what sin you have committed, He will never remember them and His Spirit will come into you and live within you. You will have His peace and joy within, which the world can never give you. He truly wants you to go to Heaven and be blessed while you're on earth.
Going to church is very important to the Lord, because it is His house and He wants His people to praise Him. While we are praising Him in the church, we will receive many different kinds of blessing, such as healing and deliverance. Also, it is very important to listen to His word and fellowship with other Christians. This is what He wants us to do after we are saved.
Reading the Bible daily and praying, many times a day, is a good way to have a relationship with Jesus. This way, you will hear His voice. God loves to hear your voice raised, praising Him instead of praying silently. God talks to us through the Bible because every word in the Bible is God breathed.
Some Christians and non-Christians literally hear God's voice; sometimes in whispers and other times His spirit speaks into our spirits. When this happens it is like a normal conversation between two people.
After giving our hearts to God, we must work out our salvation daily by giving up the worldly things that we have been doing before our salvation. If you really try, Jesus will strengthen you in every area of your life and you will find a joy that you could never imagine. The world can never match this joy.
God will test your obedience and if you are sincere, God will begin blessing you beyond belief. Some blessing come quickly, while others are slower to come. This is why we have to pray continually.
Learning God's word is very important. Without knowing His word it's very hard to lead a life holy to the Lord and serve Him and be blessed.
If you have a desire to serve Him, God will bless you immeasurably. God's own son wanted to serve Him so much that He gave up His life for us. He didn't just die, but suffered mightily by hanging on the cross for hours, shedding His blood to cover our sins. This was done to save all mankind from the lake of fire.
God hates sin. Please ask God to search your heart to see if you have sinned willfully or without knowing before your bedtime prayer each night. We all sin every day and fall short of the glory of God.
With God, nothing is impossible. He can do any and all things through us, but He will never force us to come to Him. We are born with a will and it is a matter of personal choice for each and everyone to come to Him or reject Him. He wants us to make a choice for Him and not the world.
This is the reason that anyone who has the salvation experience should witness and let others know about the Jesus that lives within them and resides on their tongue.
Many feel that after we die, we don't know anything. In reality, only our bodies die, but the spirit and soul lives on through eternity, just as when we were alive. This is the reason He wants everyone to come to salvation.
If you have been saved but have back slidden, please search your heart and make it right with God. Don't wait too long for we don't know the hour or the day that our lives will end or when Jesus comes for His church.
One of the saddest things in life is to never know Jesus. My heart aches for these unfortunate people because I know where they are going. I have Jesus' love in me.
Jesus' heart aches for His people every second, but there is nothing He can do for those who don't believe in Him. Whoever doesn't believe will be in Satan's hands for eternity.
God bless you,
Choo Thomas
July 31, 2008
About Harboring a Grudge against God
This is a letter I wrote to a lady who lost her son to disease over fifty years ago. She still asks “why does God allow such suffering”, and blames God for this. George Hagen
Dear _____. It was an interesting dinner with you. I have thought about some of the things that were said ever since. I am troubled by parts of the conversation. You said that people keep pushing books and evangelistic material at you. It seems that you resent this, or at least don’t want it. I submit that if no one cared anything about you, perhaps you would not be bothered by these from people you know. I believe that folks that do this are trying to help you. I know I gain nothing personally by offering the book that brought me to faith. I do it because I believe it will be useful to the other person.
I mentioned that a lady in Tacoma, Washington, who we had known for over fifty years, kept sending stuff to me. This included Bibles, a Bible on tape, books on faith etc. At first I sort of resented her “interfering” in my life. Later I simply ignored the material, but thanked her for it. She finally sent the book “Heaven Is So Real” in January 2004. I told you that it was put aside, but for some reason I decided to start reading it one night just before retiring. During the night I woke up to a bright light, went to the bathroom and then back to sleep. Around 2:00 AM I saw a huge flash of light that was terribly bright. It woke me and I awoke shaking and could not see for the light blinding my eyes. The shaking and bright light only lasted a little while, but I realized that this happening was a message from the Lord. I knew that the book was important, very important. I read it and reread it several times, and continue to read parts of it. This book changed my life completely for the better. For the first time I knew that Jesus Christ was Lord and Savior. Before this, for 79 years I had ignored Him. Now I am eternally grateful, literally, to Nancy Shelton who sent this book. I called her and she was so thankful that something finally got through to me after her efforts over fifty years.
You told us of the tragedy of your son and asked why God would allow the terrible suffering of this young man. His passing was terribly sad for you. We don’t know why God sometimes heals people and sometimes does not. We do know though that God does NOT cause these problems. We live in a world of sin, we are all sinners. I am a sinner even today, but am trying very hard not to do anything that is not pleasing to the Lord. The worst possible sin is the one I was afflicted with most of my life. I valued money and many things more than love for God. I often prayed and thanked our Heavenly Father for our good life and good health, but that was about it for praying. I didn’t know Jesus except of course I knew He died on the cross for some reason. I did not attend church. So my sin was in ignoring Christ and in valuing many things more than I did a love of God. My life changed in 2004 and if it had not, I know where I would have spent eternity – not in Heaven.
We have lost many friends of years back, and this is so sad. Beautiful memories of the good times we had together with them live on but will never be again. We know that some of them, and we hope all, have gone to a better place. This knowledge does indeed ease the pain of the loss, and especially for the loved ones in their immediate family.
We mentioned the tragedies of three of our kids, one was lost to us at about age 22, one was afflicted with crippling arthritis, a third with depression. It was not God that caused any of these problems, and with two of our kids it seems that He helped them largely overcome the illnesses so that they could lead normal lives. Satan is alive and well and is trying very hard and with great skill to alienate Christians from God. He would love to have us blame God for our troubles. When this happens, Satan has won. Illnesses occur in our sinful world, not because a person sins as many of the Old Testament people believed, but it is a natural occurrence because of diseases and other afflictions that are rampant in the world. To expect God to cure every illness is not realistic. The chances are even less if serious prayer is not involved, What God does is to make these problems easier to bear if we believe in Him and offer prayers.
When God created the universe, He saw that it was good. Genesis 1:31. But evil entered. The Bible declares that apart from our Lord Jesus, there is none who does good, no not one. (Romans 3:12). So God’s definition of “good” is different from ours. After we come to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will be prompted to really do good and love our fellow man. Before that, our “good” helps others but does not chalk up any points for a life of eternity with God.
After I came to faith in 2004, I started to read the Bible and have read it through three times. Now I continue to read it every day, picking out books and chapters that have been noted before as being most beneficial. Often when reading, a thought sort of jumps out at me. Several times it accused me of some sin that I had not realized was a sin. I immediately accepted this and prayed for forgiveness. Each time a “load” was taken from me that I hadn’t realized was a problem. An example is that I harbored a grudge against a prominent Democrat. Holding a grudge does not hurt the target person, only the person holding it. It is a very serious sin. To hold a grudge against God is fatal.
Am I perfect? Of course not. Before pledging my life to Jesus, did I ever do anything to deserve an eternity in Heaven. Absolutely not. I lived a good life and tried to help others along the way. But without really loving Jesus, these efforts only made me feel that I was a good person.
In studying the Bible, I came to realize the truth that Jesus stated “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. (John 14:6) In other words, there is no way to get into Heaven just by good works. But it is very simple, we just have to pledge our life to Jesus and then live as we believe he wants us to. There is a “sinner’s prayer” that is the first step. I took this step in 2004 and it changed my life. I found no downside to doing this, only more love for everyone, and I can’t help it, love for others just keeps coming out.
I know you were already tired of people “preaching” to you, but I am not preaching. I have a busy schedule most days and I would not have “wasted” time in writing this just to preach. I believe so much that Jesus will come for His faithful ones soon now, that I don’t want anyone to be left behind. I know that some in our church will not be taken to Heaven at this time, as they think that just attending church and doing good works will get them there. They might make it eventually, but they will have to go through the terrible tribulation first.
May the love of the Lord be with you. If you want to talk about any of this, please let me know.
George (and Anita) Hagen
April 28, 2007
PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS WARNING -- If you know anyone who has not already accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, please let them know about this warning! Recently I received more confirmation on the imminent coming of Christ. I will be glad to share this latest information with anyone who wants it. His coming could be at any moment or a little while yet, no one can know the exact time. I am nobody special and am just offering what I believe with all my heart to be true. I am neither a religious nut nor someone who has “lost it”, my mind that is. This is a deadly serious situation and those who ignore it may not have the future they desire.
I may risk offending you with this, and I hope that you don’t need this warning. However, this is something that I strongly believe will be helpful, and if not to you, to a relative or a friend. I know now beyond any doubt that there is an afterlife for our spirits, and that we must prepare for this. The consequences of not preparing are terrible; our spirit will live forever in eternal hell. OUR REAL SELF IS OUR SPIRIT. Our earthly body is its temporary house. Our spirit lives forever. In Heaven we will have renewed bodies.
No matter what we have done or experienced in our past life, all of us can live forever with Jesus Christ in Heaven. We must take an easy step, but a vital one – confess our sins (everyone on earth is a sinner if only because they value something more than a relationship with God), ask for forgiveness, and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If you have already taken this step, I rejoice with you, but perhaps you will pass this or a similar message on to someone else.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that the only way we will ever see our Heavenly Father or be in Heaven is through belief in Jesus Christ. He is the way and the only way. Living a good life will not, without Jesus, get us there! I have found the way, but I am only a humble servant, no better than anyone else. All of us commit sins every day no matter how hard we try to live a good life. Jesus forgives all our sins if we ask and will continue to forgive our transgressions if we confess and ask for forgiveness.
When I finally accepted Jesus in February 2004 as my Lord and Savior and believed that he died for our sins, I found my life gradually becoming more fulfilling. Many of the earthly things that I cherished in the past are no longer important. What is important is the love for God and for each other. God is love, and nothing else compares with this.
I found my faith after reading the book “Heaven Is So Real”, by Choo Thomas. Every day, faith becomes more meaningful as I read the Bible and other inspirational writings, and try to share this faith. Yes I still enjoy many other things and enjoy life to the fullest, but my faith overshadows all else. Prayer has brought so many wonderful things that I feel “undressed” without it. The Holy Spirit lives in me and gives continual guidance when I listen. Everyone can have this same experience if they ask.
If you know someone who hasn’t taken this vital step, I urge you to put your arms around them and tell them to take it. Take the thought to everyone you love, and that should be each and every person who crosses your path in life. We are all equal under God, all brothers and sisters in faith. Don’t wait to take the step yourself if you haven’t, nor to share the message with others. No one can know when their life might end without warning!
My careful study of the Bible plus information from other biblical-based sources, leads me to only one conclusion. We are in what some call “end times”. This means that our world will soon be partially destroyed by a dramatic series of events, and later rebuilt.
Here is what is going to happen. Only God knows the exact time, but it will happen. While planning to continue my life in the fullest, I also am sure that it will be much shorter than I had planned or imagined. Christ’s coming to call his followers to Heaven, predicted at least 2000 years before Jesus was born, is very near. I believe it could happen in 2007, but of course I really don’t know. Information about Jesus’ coming is in John 3:16, Mathew 24:21-22, Romans 10:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Luke 16:19-31, etc.
The coming of Christ will be a wonderful event for the millions of believers in Jesus. They will be taken up to Heaven along with their young children. For the rest of humanity, it will be the beginning of a hell on earth. Those who remain will be presented with the choice of worshiping Jesus, or worshiping Satan. The latter will be the easy choice, but a horrible choice that no one should make.
The world will then go through seven years of the “Tribulation” described in the book of Revelation in the Bible as follows: During the first 42 months after Christ comes and takes to Heaven those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, the Antichrist will come to power, will consolidate his power and cause peace to reign throughout the earth. Then great world catastrophes will lead many people to recognize that the judgment of God is taking place. In two separate happenings, half of the world’s population, probably many of the evil of the world, will be killed in cataclysmic events like nothing the world has ever seen. There will be earthquakes, tidal waves, hurricanes and other disasters described in the Bible. A sample of this may have occurred already. This will be a time of great persecution for the people who have delayed until then to accept Jesus as their savior.
At that time the Antichrist will be killed. Next, Satan will resurrect and take over the body of the Antichrist. All humanity will be required to worship him or his image. He will deceive people into believing that he, Satan, is God though miraculous happenings. Those who accept this will have the mark of Satan (666) either on their right hand or forehead (Revelation 13: 16-17). Those without this mark will not be allowed to buy or sell anything. Thus there will be monumental hardship for those people. Those who have pledged to Christ will have the mark of the Lord on them and will be mercilessly persecuted and tortured. Unless they give in to Satan, they will be killed. Satan’s plan is to drive as many as possible to worship him. So the easy way out will be to go along with Satan. Those who accept him will be doomed to be forever in hell. For doomed persons, it will be an eternity of torture and fire with no way out.
No one should choose to go through Tribulation. The choice is yours to make. The only way to avoid this is to become a follower of Jesus Christ, ask for His forgiveness of your sins, and then worship Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This is easy and has many great present day benefits.
To gain information on what is going to happen during Tribulation, read the last book of the Bible, “Revelations”. Especially note the passages in Revelations 20:4 and 14:11. If you haven’t read this before, you may find the images strange. The book “Revelation Unveiled” by Tim LaHaye explains in great detail what the symbols and events in Revelation really mean.
Jesus will help you all the time if you ask. Having true faith gives you a wonderful warm feeling, there is nothing like it. The Bible is the Word of God. Those who don’t believe this probably haven’t read it. The Bible says you are not saved by just doing good works. You must accept and love Jesus as your savior.
There are no non-sinners and never were except Jesus. I thought I was OK by just living a good life. For salvation, we must repent our sins. Also accept that Jesus’ crucifixion and decent into Hell and resurrection was penalty for removing our sins. Unless we accept Jesus, we won’t be saved no matter how pure our life. We must worship and love Jesus and our Heavenly Father, pray often and sincerely, read the Bible, and live by the messages in the Bible! And try to do what we believe Jesus wants us to do. We should show our love to everyone, forgive even our enemies! Help the less fortunate. The door is narrow. Jesus said: “No one will see the Father except through me”. “I am the way”. Although the door is narrow, it is wide enough for all who sincerely seek the love of Jesus.
Attending church is a real help. It gives fellowship and a way to share our beliefs, and have them reinforced. Regular tithing is important, and if we give with our heart, we will gain back in some way more value than we contribute. Everything that we “own” is a gift of God for us to use while on the earth. We can’t take it with us, but we can take the rewards of giving and good deeds.
The alternative to being saved is eternal hell. Satan is in control of the earth right now to the extent that God allows. He is working continually to try to have us come to his home, hell. He is trying to break up Christian marriages and friendships. Tell him to get out of your life - in Jesus’ name. Do this whenever you don’t sense Jesus’ presence.
How do I know these things? How did I get to be a believer? I have never seen Jesus but feel his presence. I ask Him for something (non-material and non-physical) and often get immediate response.
My turning point was in reading Choo Thomas’ book “Heaven Is So Real”. I have told my story in another writing of having a vision after reading the first few chapters of this book.
The author is a present-day apostle of Jesus. Her life is totally dedicated to Jesus while still fulfilling her role as a wife, mother and grandmother. I am most fortunate to know her and we correspond and talk regularly; each time is a wonderful experience. Everything in her book was verified for me in the Bible. I find the Bible interesting, not boring at all, and with modern language. The New International Version, NIV, was researched by noted scholars using all available texts, languages and modern tools.
The time to be saved is now! We don’t know how long we will be here, months, days or hours.
We need to concentrate on eternal life for our spirit, not present day pleasures. Our mission today is to spread the Word. How else will others know Jesus if someone doesn’t tell them?
Summary on how to be saved:
Accept Jesus as our savior; love him for his sacrifices and what he has done for us.
Be sure to also show Our Father our praise, thanks and love for everything we have and are.
Repent your sins. Ask for forgiveness every day.
Show love to everyone! Forgive anyone who we think has wronged us.
Pray often and pray sincerely to Heavenly Father in Jesus’ name, for important things.
Ask Jesus for the Holy Spirit to help in our everyday life. He is extremely helpful.
Try to do what you believe Christ wants you to do.
Live an example to others and they will recognize it. Some of course will try to tear you down.
Keep Satan from influencing your life; cast him out of your life in Jesus’ name!
Associate as much as possible with people who have similar faith, but don’t ignore others. Also: Attend church and tithe. If you don’t want to attend now, take the other steps immediately and tithe somewhere. However, church attendance helps in reinforcing your faith and in gaining knowledge.
George L. Hagen: glhagen@verizon.net