The movie Shangri-La pictured a beautiful land where people neither aged nor died. It was a lovely and haunting story, but unfortunately it ended sadly.
What if you knew of a place like Shangri-La only much better, and you really could find it for yourself? You can! Many have the mistaken idea that their earthly body is all there is. Your body is not the real you! Your real person is your soul. You might think of it as your mind, not your brain, but your mind. Your mind embodied in your soul does not die, it lives forever. It was you before you were born on this earth, and it will continue to be you after your body dies.
There are only two places where the real you will reside for eternity. You have the choice. One is Heaven and life with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The other is Hell and life with Satan. I now know that both places exist. I also know that hell is far worse than it has ever been depicted even by the old time fire and brimstone preachers. It is a place of eternal torture with no way out. In hell a person has the memory of everything that has ever occurred in their life on earth, and is completely aware of the agony of hell.
Heaven also is different from what we have come to think it might be. It is somewhat like earth in physical appearance, but infinitely more beautiful. Whether or not you have been blessed with a wonderful life on earth as I have, you can, if you choose, have a much better life in Heaven. Jesus does not make the choice for you, He offers Heaven for you to choose; but hell will be your fate if you refuse to come to Him.
Satan is alive and well and is working with great skill and subtlety to operate in the lives of every person on earth all the time. Everything that you do or think might have been influenced by Satan. The only way to get him out of your life is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, follow Him, and tell Satan to get out of your life in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus is actually with you all the time as is the Holy Spirit; all you have to do is recognize that He is there for you, and ask for His help and guidance. You can trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father, who want to help. All you have to do is ask.
Every person on earth is a sinner. Even as devout a person as Billy Graham admits this. However Jesus died for our sins and gives us a way to be forgiven. We all need to confess that we have sinned and pray for forgiveness. Even murderers have been forgiven by Jesus if they asked. But if you harbor a grudge against someone and never forgive them, you will not be forgiven. None of your sins will be forgiven until you repent and ask. Repenting and asking for forgiveness of your sins and really meaning it is a necessary step to salvation. Then by bringing the love of Jesus into your life and accepting Him as your personal Lord and Savior, you can make it to Heaven. The Bible states this in different places, one being – “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6. Since writing this I have thought more about it and realize that it is not enough to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We must also maintain a pure heart toward others and in everything we do.
I am certain that without coming to faith, I would have been routed to hell when I die. Yes I led what I thought was a good life, but it was without Jesus Christ. I have studied a lot of material since then, as well as having the privilege of talking with those who have known Jesus for a long time. I have studied, not just read, the Bible, along with many books about faith. The book that brought me to Jesus was “Heaven Is So Real” by Choo Thomas, dictated by Jesus. There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind about Heaven and hell. I know they both exist. I know how to get to Heaven and I believe that if I continue on what I know is the right path, I will make it. Knowing Jesus and having the Holy Spirit’s help in your life gives ‘peace beyond all understanding’. Heaven is not an exclusive ‘club’; everyone who believes can enter.
Knowing this gives me the duty to bring this message to all I can, especially those I care about. I feel this way – if I knew of a cure for a deadly disease and kept it to myself, this would be a terrible sin. Anyone who knows the way to Heaven must not keep it to themselves. God does not want anyone to go to hell. I believe that I, along with millions of believers, have been chosen to bring the message of salvation to others. This has been my mission for months, with some success and some failures. I have tried to do this by distributing the wonderful book “Heaven Is So Real”. If you have read the book, now an international best seller, perhaps you would like to talk about it. It gives much information on Heaven, how to find salvation, and about hell. No one can drag a fellow human being to believe in Jesus, certainly not me. It is my hope that everyone will decide that they really want the enduring Shangri-La, and not Hell for their real person, their soul.
If someone you know is not yet a believer, why not? Perhaps someone, even a leader in a church has misled them. Unfortunately there are some leaders of false faiths who get their inspiration from Satan, just as there are bad people. People may think they have reasons for avoiding the decision to be a follower of Jesus. Many say I will do it soon. “Soon” may be too late. We cannot be certain that we will be alive even tomorrow, let alone “soon”. Perhaps some people are afraid of what others will think, particularly their spouse or their family, or their friends. Would your spouse rather be with you in Heaven or hell? What is really important, your friends or your eternal life? A true friend will be happy for you when you become a believer.
Another reason might be that you don’t believe that the Bible is the Word of God. If you read it with a prayerful mind, it is impossible not to accept it. Read the modern version of the Bible, the New International Version (NIV)! The “Live Application Bible”, the “NIV Study Bible”, and the “Quest Study Bible” are excellent. These fine works make the Bible more interesting and understandable. Ask Jesus to show you the truth and lead you to a group of believers. Perhaps the faith you were raised in does not really accept Jesus as the Messiah. There are ‘Messianic Jews’ who do believe that Christ is the Savior.
God does not cause pain or suffering, but some people believe it is God’s fault, and therefore reject Him. Maybe you have practices that you know are sinful, or have done something that you don’t think will ever be forgiven, but it really will if you confess the sin and ask for forgiveness. Perhaps you love your possessions and your lifestyle and don’t want to change. Jesus wants you to enjoy your life, and He wants to give you peace, joy and freedom. Just don’t love things and your earthly life more that you love Him. Please think about these things, and make TODAY your day of decision. Any reason that you think you have for doing otherwise pales in comparison with attaining eternal life in Heaven, your true Shangri-La. Start by praying a simple prayer to Jesus for forgiveness, read the Bible and you are on your way!