THEY WERE READY (The Prelude)

[SoundingtheAlarm]

THEY WERE READY (The Prelude)

laying face down ...the floor stained with tears after hours of prayer and travail...he slowly rose to his knees he knew "Yes Lord" was all He could say Pastor Howard ...picked up his Bible and headed toward the sanctuary...His message today was not taken or googled off the internet...no yearly goody to be served. No this word was a word in season. The sanctuary was unusually crowded..but the pastor hardly noticed. His thoughts so intense...a boldness arising with each drawing moment.. "Take me past the outer courts, into your holy place..past the brazen altar...Lord I want to see your face" the people sang...Pastor Howard could barely contain the words inside...He strode forward to the podium as the song came to its end....Laying His bible down on the Podium...He looks gazingly out to the crowd. "People we are going to skip announcements if you don't mind....choir you are dismissed"

"Never in all my years of ministry have I ever been so stirred to deliver a message. I can truly relate to the Prophet Jeremiah as he said about God's word "it's like fire shut up in my bones""Father in the name of Jesus ...I ask for your help..let not a word come out of my mouth that is not coming by your Holy Spirit...let all who have ears to hear ..HEAR and all who have eyes to see ....SEE...let no life leave here without knowing they have heard from YOU Oh Lord...give me clarity I pray for your glory in Jesus name Amen.

"The title of this message is simply "ARE YOU READY?

"He opened his bible to 1 corinthians 15:51 and began to read

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The pastor thundered with great passion his hearts cry that not one in the building would be found wanting when that moment in time came to pass. He preached as if this was his last message...a fire burning in his soul ....knowing the terror of the Lord ...he begged and pleaded with all who would hear "Today is the day of salvation..now is the appointed time...many of you might be tempted to scoff at this message saying "Oh sure we have heard Jesus is coming many times and it's been 2000 years and yet the world continues....but Peter said this "know that in the last days scoffers would arise saying" "where is the promise of His coming?"

I tell you the truth ....Jesus will descend with a shout and call His church home...if you neglect such a great salvation today..if you harden your heart..if you mock or turn a deaf ear...two things are certain..you will find yourself an enemy of God heading for a time of His wrath that is to come and if you so happen to die in your sins...you most certainly are appointed to stand to face an eternity in a lake of fire. You might say ...that's pretty condemning preacher....but that's why I'm standing here..preaching with everything in me..."HEAR ME..this is a final call to someone here today..I feel it in my spirit" "Jesus came not into this world to condemn...He came to save!"

The pastor continued spelling out for the crowd of what the bible says will happen during the 7 years of Great Tribulation ...finally it came down to this

"In Closing....I WANT NO HEADS BOWED and NO EYES CLOSED....Jesus said this ...."If you will confess Me before men...I will confess you to the Father...but if you deny Me before Men..I will deny you to the Father" If you want to KNOW that you ARE READY ...that your sins have been forgiven an You are ready to make a public declaration of your faith and devotion to Jesus Christ..I want you to get out of your seat and run up to these altars and get on your knees and say this very simple prayer..."SAVE ME JESUS"

Inside that great sanctuary...a holy fear of God had fallen ..and when the pastor's call had gone out....hundreds got out of their seats and ran to the altar...tears flowing...people repenting.

Just a few weeks later that pastor walking by a new sunday school class in session ..."born again ..now what?" ...a joy springing up in his soul as the room is completely full....

that night ...that pastor and those new converts ..heard the shout "COME UP HERE" They Were Ready

[DrSoup]

I've only got one word for this...LOVELY!!

You do great work Sounding!! :))

[caligal]

You tell them Sounding :pray:spirit:yipee:yipee:goodscore:popcornbag

[SoundingtheAlarm]

TC sat in his prayer closet having just finished spending time alone with God....pen and paper in hand he began to write..."Dear family and friends, if you are receiving this letter it's because I love you so very much and feel to share this very important message with you. Now all of you know most if not all of my short comings and many of you have been there to experience alot of my personal ups and downs. So therefore you have to know this is not coming at you from any other angle than straight from my heart.

First and foremost I hope all of you know that I love Jesus Christ. He means everything to me. But in saying that ..let me say I truly believe the only reason that the apostle Paul said he was the chief of all sinners was that TC hadn't been born yet. Some of you would be very fair to say TC's a hypocrite and I totally understand. Again I have fallen short many times and feel so unworthy to write this letter but at the same time..feel so compelled.

As many of you already know I believe that these are the "end times" and if you don't it's because of my timidity and hence this letter. Many would scoff and say "where is the promise of His coming?" "it's been said for 2000 years" but in the bible Peter warned that would be a sign his coming was very close..Peter said "in the last days scoffers would arise saying the very same thing" you might also say "no man knows the day nor the hour..but Jesus also said this...."how is it you can look to the sky and know a storm is coming but yet you can't discern the signs of the times?" True know man does the exact hour Jesus will call his church home but Jesus himself said we would or should know the season.

What are the signs to look for? A global depression, growing escalation of hatred toward Israel, ....wars and rumors of wars(war on terrorism, North Korea-South Korea, India-Pakistan, Israel-Hamas, Iran threatening to blow Israel off the map)...people running everywhere (to and fro)...love waxing cold....earthquakes in diverse places..greed on a major scale...the world gone mad...and days like Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah. The bible says that at some point the whole world will cry out for a "man" to step on the scene and save them ..starting with two major issues. The Economy and Israel. Right now you all can testify that everyone is looking for answers ...not just here in America but worldwide. Someone please bring relief. And I am sure you all have watched over the last few years the mounting violence in Israel. When has there ever been such a global cry for peace?

So what is the reason for my letter? ...Jesus said there would come a time where He would shout "come up here" and millions of His people would be caught up to meet Him in the air....can you imagine that? He said it would happen in the blink of an eye or in the twinklin of an eye...THAT FAST. Please stop and think about that for a minute. If Jesus was to make that call right now ..what would be the result? Planes falling out of the sky as christian pilots have been called home. Car wrecks galore as unmanned vehicles run wild ...the panic, the heart break would all be unimaginable and undescribable..but please try and imagine.
and not long after that moment...a 7 year countdown will begin....any one still here will be left to face a time called Jacob's Trouble or the Tribulation Period. It will be a time that could easily be called the Perfect Storm. All of satan's fury and God's wrath will be unleashed upon those still here. Those who survive will have been divided into two camps. Those who have pledged allegiance to Jesus Christ or those who have aligned themselves with mankind and satan himself. If you align yourself with Jesus ..you will suffer martyrdom for your decision and if you choose mankind you will suffer eternal damnation. Either way you will die for your decision.

You might be saying TC aren't you being meladramatic??? I can't even begin to be dramatic enough to warn you of what is soon to come. I wish I could.

Think back to Hurricane Katrina..suppose I was the weatherman and I knew it was coming an the eye was for sure to hit the town you live in. But rather than offending you or for the sake of being politically correct chose to keep the "warning" to myself ...and because I did..you were blindsided by the storm and lost your life? what kind of person/weatherman would I be?????

Well according to my faith...THERE IS COMING A STORM upon this earth that will leave no person untouched by catastrophe...your Only hope to escape is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you will believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ has died and rose from the grave You will be saved~

Please, if you are reading this letter ....do Just That....Believe in Jesus and confess Him. I beg you.

Jesus said this..."If you will confess me before men I will confess you to my Father, but if you deny me before men I will deny You before my Father"

In closing...please let me restate that I am no better than anyone. Not at all..in fact I am the least of all...but I don't care about that ..I CARE ABOUT YOU....please hear this letter for what it says....I don't want you to be caught in the most horrific storm this world has ever saw ....a 7 yr storm that is coming as sure as death and taxes. Please REPENT if you haven't already and make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life...I beg you ....because His Wrath will soon be poured out.

In closing...let me just say this again..."I love you all" ...if this hurts or offends you...I'm sorry ..BUT I'd rather hurt and offend you and have you HEAR this message and make sure you Know it and Jesus Himself than to stay quiet for fear and then someday stand before God and hear that you didn't make it because I cared more for my own pride than I cared for you!

TC closed his notepad and prayed one more time "Father ..I have tried to do as I felt you led me to do...I have wrote this letter of warning in your name..Please dear Lord, bless this message and convict all my friends and family to hear its urgent message for your glory and purpose in Jesus name I pray ..Amen"


TC sent out several copies...prayed over each one ....not many days afterwards... he sat lying in his bed ...dozing off when a sound from heaven came piercing the night "COME UP HERE" ....TC was READY!!!!!

[SoundingtheAlarm]

"Tony I am not trying to make you mad" "THEN WHY THE &*^& DO YOU CALL UP AND PREACH THAT CRAP?" "I mean do you know how ridiculous you sound?" "don't you realize that your friends all think you have lost it? that you are some luny right wing fanatic?
and Yet for some strange reason you feel the need to call me as if there is something wrong with ME??"

"I'm not saying anythings wrong with you Tony...what I'm saying" "OH I KNOW WHAT YOUR SAYIN SIS" "your saying that I'm going to HELL RIGHT?" "NO TONY what I'm saying is that if you don't accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior ..then He says that those who reject salvation seal their own fate" "LIKE I SAID..YOUR SAYING SINCE I HAVEN'T JUMPED ON YOUR JESUS BANDWAGON THAT I'M GOING TO HELL....QUIT DANCING AROUND SIS..I KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT YOU ARE GETTING AT AND I'M TOTALLY SICK OF IT" "Listen Tony this is the LAST thing I was trying to start...I have no desire to condemn you or make you mad..but your my brother and I love you...and let me ask you this Tony..."what can I do to get you to listen without getting so defensive?" "LISTEN TO WHAT SIS?" "to what I'm really saying" "OK SIS...you got two minutes....cause I got to hit the hay" "Tony, you were there all those years in sunday school...you know what I believe...you know the bible stories...Jesus died on a Cross Tony ...but why did He do it Tony...why did He die?" "oh No..I'm not answering no questions..your the one with all the answers sis ..go right ahead" "Tony He died for our sins....He took our penalty. And you know Tony the bible says and history confirms that Jesus Christ was a man who lived and died on this earth and was buried in a borrow tomb...and 3 days later rose again confirming His message that He truly is God ...and Tony He promised there would come a time where He would come again..and Tony that's why I'm calling...Jesus is coming...I truly believe it" "NO *&* WAY....No WAY you didn't just admit that you believe that sis" "Tony...I really do..and if you read the bible and you studied what it said ...you'd believe it too. Israel is God's time piece...He said there would come a day when the whole world would focus it's attention upon that tiny piece of Land ..watching for Peace to come ....when has there ever been so much news paid attention to that nation as now Tony? And Tony the bible teaches there would come a day when global markets in unison would begin to shake and that the whole world would cry for someone...anyone to bring calm ...when Tony have you ever saw or heard of such a time as this....whole countries on the verge of bankruptcy...prosperous states like California going broke...all the news is talking about is ..this bailout and that bailout...the truth is Tony there will never be a bailout ..this world is going to hell and Jesus said that today is the day of salvation...Now is the appointed time..chose this day whom you are going to serve?" "Please Tony I beg you...please ..I didn't call you to hurt you or attack you but just to tell you that I love you and my hope was that you would pray with me?" "PRAY? FOR WHAT?" "For Jesus to be the Lord of your life and your savior from your sins and what is to come" "THERE YOU GO AGAIN..MY SINS?" "what about yours huh?" "you think I don't remember all your crap sis?" "so forgive me if I don't just run to my knees trying to be like you" "It's not about being like me Tony..it's about realizing that the God who created you..is trying to get your attention and call you unto Himself before it's too late" "OOOH spooky sis...too late for what?" "to late to be ready to escape what's coming Tony....Jesus said there would come a time when He would call His people home and right after a season of trial would come upon this earth such as the world has never seen. Worse than even the Holocaust Tony" "Oh sis you have lost your mind..and I can't listen to this no more...so let me tell you this...I love you too..I appreciate what you are trying to do..but sis to be honest I think you need to see a psychiatrist or something I really do..but hey like I said earlier ..I got to hit the hay ok?" "Tony....(she begins to cry)...OH SIS..please ..SEE THAT'S WHY I don't want any part of this crap..."Tony...just promise me you'll think long and hard about what I have said..and get on your knees and call upon Jesus" "SIS THAT"S ENOUGH..your really ticking me off now...I'm going to hang up now...love ya ..BYE"

Tony hung up the phone and cursed..."I AM So blanking sick of her crap" His sister hung up and prayed "Lord, whatever it takes ..please get through to Him..Please God in Jesus Name Amen"


Over the next couple of weeks she went about her life....praying, and witnessing to other friends and family members.


BREAKING NEWS AT 10pm cst millions of people have suddenly .without warning disappeared......"Tony sat in recliner..cold beer in his hand.....rushes to his remote and turns up the volume ...SHOCK flows through his mind....picks up his cell phone and dials his sister"

just moments earlier his sister had been taking her make up off ..winding down for the night..."COME UP HERE" came THAT shout.....SHE'S WITH JESUS...SHE WAS READY

[cocopea9052]

SoundingtheAlarm....you came back! :yeah.......:yeah

Not that you left of course---for those who don't know, this is a spin-off (?) from the "AretheyReadyForThis" website. And I am so happy to read this here. I had been hoping you guys story could appear on both sites, but this is just as wonderful. I love it. :thumb

Yes, "they were ready"...and so are we!!!. We're witnessing, preaching, pleading, begging, praying, going about daily life and then one day....:rapture. This is us!

Please keep up these stories (here). Don't move and don't go away...:lol2

Thank you!

[caligal]

We all love these stories and want them to stay here. Please write more.:hug :yipee :yipee :popcornbag

[cocopea9052]

We all love these stories and want them to stay here. Please write more.:hug :yipee :yipee :popcornbag


Caligal...:wave good to see you here and making me laugh as always.

[caligal]

:heythere :humble :thankyou2 :popcornbag

[SoundingtheAlarm]

TC sat in his prayer closet having just finished spending time alone with God....pen and paper in hand he began to write..."Dear family and friends, if you are receiving this letter it's because I love you so very much and feel to share this very important message with you. Now all of you know most if not all of my short comings and many of you have been there to experience alot of my personal ups and downs. So therefore you have to know this is not coming at you from any other angle than straight from my heart.

First and foremost I hope all of you know that I love Jesus Christ. He means everything to me. But in saying that ..let me say I truly believe the only reason that the apostle Paul said he was the chief of all sinners was that TC hadn't been born yet. Some of you would be very fair to say TC's a hypocrite and I totally understand. Again I have fallen short many times and feel so unworthy to write this letter but at the same time..feel so compelled.

As many of you already know I believe that these are the "end times" and if you don't it's because of my timidity and hence this letter. Many would scoff and say "where is the promise of His coming?" "it's been said for 2000 years" but in the bible Peter warned that would be a sign his coming was very close..Peter said "in the last days scoffers would arise saying the very same thing" you might also say "no man knows the day nor the hour..but Jesus also said this...."how is it you can look to the sky and know a storm is coming but yet you can't discern the signs of the times?" True know man does the exact hour Jesus will call his church home but Jesus himself said we would or should know the season.

What are the signs to look for? A global depression, growing escalation of hatred toward Israel, ....wars and rumors of wars(war on terrorism, North Korea-South Korea, India-Pakistan, Israel-Hamas, Iran threatening to blow Israel off the map)...people running everywhere (to and fro)...love waxing cold....earthquakes in diverse places..greed on a major scale...the world gone mad...and days like Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah. The bible says that at some point the whole world will cry out for a "man" to step on the scene and save them ..starting with two major issues. The Economy and Israel. Right now you all can testify that everyone is looking for answers ...not just here in America but worldwide. Someone please bring relief. And I am sure you all have watched over the last few years the mounting violence in Israel. When has there ever been such a global cry for peace?

So what is the reason for my letter? ...Jesus said there would come a time where He would shout "come up here" and millions of His people would be caught up to meet Him in the air....can you imagine that? He said it would happen in the blink of an eye or in the twinklin of an eye...THAT FAST. Please stop and think about that for a minute. If Jesus was to make that call right now ..what would be the result? Planes falling out of the sky as christian pilots have been called home. Car wrecks galore as unmanned vehicles run wild ...the panic, the heart break would all be unimaginable and undescribable..but please try and imagine.
and not long after that moment...a 7 year countdown will begin....any one still here will be left to face a time called Jacob's Trouble or the Tribulation Period. It will be a time that could easily be called the Perfect Storm. All of satan's fury and God's wrath will be unleashed upon those still here. Those who survive will have been divided into two camps. Those who have pledged allegiance to Jesus Christ or those who have aligned themselves with mankind and satan himself. If you align yourself with Jesus ..you will suffer martyrdom for your decision and if you choose mankind you will suffer eternal damnation. Either way you will die for your decision.

You might be saying TC aren't you being meladramatic??? I can't even begin to be dramatic enough to warn you of what is soon to come. I wish I could.

Think back to Hurricane Katrina..suppose I was the weatherman and I knew it was coming an the eye was for sure to hit the town you live in. But rather than offending you or for the sake of being politically correct chose to keep the "warning" to myself ...and because I did..you were blindsided by the storm and lost your life? what kind of person/weatherman would I be?????

Well according to my faith...THERE IS COMING A STORM upon this earth that will leave no person untouched by catastrophe...your Only hope to escape is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you will believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ has died and rose from the grave You will be saved~

Please, if you are reading this letter ....do Just That....Believe in Jesus and confess Him. I beg you.

Jesus said this..."If you will confess me before men I will confess you to my Father, but if you deny me before men I will deny You before my Father"

In closing...please let me restate that I am no better than anyone. Not at all..in fact I am the least of all...but I don't care about that ..I CARE ABOUT YOU....please hear this letter for what it says....I don't want you to be caught in the most horrific storm this world has ever saw ....a 7 yr storm that is coming as sure as death and taxes. Please REPENT if you haven't already and make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life...I beg you ....because His Wrath will soon be poured out.

In closing...let me just say this again..."I love you all" ...if this hurts or offends you...I'm sorry ..BUT I'd rather hurt and offend you and have you HEAR this message and make sure you Know it and Jesus Himself than to stay quiet for fear and then someday stand before God and hear that you didn't make it because I cared more for my own pride than I cared for you!

TC closed his notepad and prayed one more time "Father ..I have tried to do as I felt you led me to do...I have wrote this letter of warning in your name..Please dear Lord, bless this message and convict all my friends and family to hear its urgent message for your glory and purpose in Jesus name I pray ..Amen"


TC sent out several copies...prayed over each one ....not many days afterwards... he sat lying in his bed ...dozing off when a sound from heaven came piercing the night "COME UP HERE" ....TC was READY!!!!!

Rex sat down in his lazy boy after a hard days work. Lying beside his chair was the day's mail. Rex first popped the top on his ice cold beverage ..took a drink and let out a big sigh. Stress was bearing down...so many of his buddies had been layed off...a seeming haunting certainty was facing Rex...a job he held for years was on the chopping block. Hitting the remote to turn on the tv..."Wall Street fell another 5 percent today....fears mount world wide as jobless claims are staggering upward" Rex flip through all the networks and finally hit mute as he scrolled through his mail...."hmmmm a letter from TC?"

Rex tore open the envelope and began to read TC's heartfelt cry. TC had been Rex's golfing bud for years and although Rex knew TC was "religious" they had never really talked that much about faith....but as he poured through the letter...Rex sensed an urgency in it's tone..."why would he take the time to send this?" he thought....a tear trickled down ...


"""""In closing...let me just say this again..."I love you all" ...if this hurts or offends you...I'm sorry ..BUT I'd rather hurt and offend you and have you HEAR this message and make sure you Know it and Jesus Himself than to stay quiet for fear and then someday stand before God and hear that you didn't make it because I cared more for my own pride than I cared for you!"""""


Rex read through the letter several times....and almost picked up his phone...but something stopped him..and instead he felt led to read this one paragraph one more time


""""Please REPENT if you haven't already and make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life...I beg you ....because His Wrath will soon be poured out."""""""

Closing the letter ...something strange began to happen...his heart pounding with intensity ...Rex found himself gripped with fear...knelt down by his couch ..."Jesus, my name's Rex...I'm TC's friend..and he say's I need to make you my saviour and Lord and that's what I'm doing right now....so if you don't mind...would you please be my savior?"

When the news broke "10pm cst time ...millions have disappeared"....Rex was gone...."HE WAS READY"