Contact Robert Colaco, National Chairman of Citizens For A Better America ®
Personal Remarks of:
Robert Colaco at the funeral service of his father
Gregory A. Colaco
at J.T. Oswald Mortuaries in Reseda, California
on Thursday, December 23, 1999 at 10:15 a.m.
I would like to share with you a story, an incredible story, some have even
described it as a miraculous story.
This story is about how our Lord Jesus Christ can miraculously answer
prayers. Five and a half years ago in July 1994, I receive a phone call from
my mother Amber Colaco at 04:30 a.m. telling me that my father had a heart
attack and he is at Kaiser Hospital. I grabbed my wife’s hand and I was
impressed to pray: "Lord Jesus, please keep my father alive until he accepts
what you had done on the cross for him."
We would later find out that my father had arrived at Kaiser Hospital right
after several health care professionals had just finished with another trauma
victim and they were available to immediately help my father, Gregory
Colaco.
You see, with my father’s Catholic upbringing and background he was unsure
what it would take to get into heaven. He did not feel or believe that he was
good enough for heaven and would think and comment that if he died he
would go to hell. He thought that God would allow him to go to purgatory to
continue to work to be good enough, even though that is not in the Bible.
Gail, my precious wife, would have many discussions with him about how he
did not need to go to hell but could go right to heaven by believing in Jesus
and what He had done on the cross, paying for all our sins once and for all.
On one such discussion when he had come to visit us in March of 1994 while
we were in Houston, Texas working and staying in my parents condominium.
He again talked to Gail about spiritual things and specifically going to hell.
She struggled and prayed about how to communicate that he did not have to
go to hell. Finally, as we were taking him to the airport she thought the Lord
might have given her an approach that my dad would understand. She said to
him that she knew why he would not accept what Jesus Christ had done on
the cross for him. She had his attention and he wanted to know why. She
explained it was because it was too expensive for him. How could this free
gift she had been talking about be too expensive for him he wanted to know.
She explained he would have to give up all the good works that he had done
in his life. That comment really affected him and he understood exactly what
she was saying, but he was not ready to take that step yet.
Ever since that massive heart attack of July of 1994, where only about 25%
of his heart was operational I have continually prayed for my father that God
would somehow move him to the place where he would accept what Jesus
Christ had done on the cross for him.
Then in the first week of October 1999, my father for the first time began to
not be able to walk. He had not experienced this condition ever before in his
life. This was very frustrating for him because he had just purchased a brand
new car so that nothing would get in the way of him going and seeing his four
grandchildren, the children of my brother Noel and his lovely wife Vaughna.
Many, many trips to Kaiser Hospital in Woodland Hills, revealed that
although God does use in great ways health care professionals they are not
God. Even with all their multi million dollar equipment and great knowledge
they could only suspect that my father had a brain stem stroke but they were
not certain of it. They discharged him to Topanga Terrace for Skilled
Rehabilitation Services.
After 3 weeks of rehabilitation Kaiser discharged him from Topanga Terrace,
but because of extremely low blood pressure he was back in the hospital
again just over a week later.
Now fast forward to Wednesday, December 08, 1999 my father was taken
from Topanga Terrace to Kaiser for some tests to determine why he was
getting weaker in his legs. I had called to warn him that the one test would be
very painful. When I went to see him after they were done with the test at
11:30 p.m. he said to me: "Robert, hell is better that then going through the
pain that I have just been through with this test." I told him: "Pop, I love you
and I respect you, but with all due respect that is just not true. Hell is a lot
worst than this test and it is permanent."
I talked to my brother on Friday, December 10, 1999 and he had told me that
my father had a heart attack, but he is still alive. I was so tempted to just rush
on over to Kaiser to see my dad and was scared that I would not see him
again. But, at that moment my Lord Jesus Christ used my wife to remind
about the prayer that I had prayed 5 ½ years ago and she said to me are you
going to give us on your faith now? Or, are you going to believe that our
Lord Jesus Christ would answer that prayer?
The first thing I did instead was to start calling my friends to pray for my dad
and to pray that our Lord Jesus Christ to keep him alive until he accepted
what Jesus had done for my father on the cross.
I did go to see my dad and I spoke with his cardiologist Dr. Turnier, who is with us
today and who has done wonders working to keep my dad alive. She has even
counseled my father how he can keep his stress level down to prolong the life of his
heart. She explained with great compassion that both of us thought we would lose my
father 5 1/2 years ago and he has been alive these five and one half years but that my
fathers heart was failing now and that there was nothing to be done. It was now just a
matter of time before he left this life.
Went to go see my father on Saturday December 11, 1999 and he said to me:
"I hope that you have come to tell me some good news." I knew that he was
talking about good news about his medical condition. But, I said to him:
"The only good news that I have for you pop is good news that you don’t
even want to hear about and that is that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for you
and you need to accept what he had done for you on the cross and set aside
your good works, your bad works, your competition with you friend as to the
higher level of purgatory that you will end up end instead of him.
In fact that very night my brother Noel and his wife Vaughna brought all their four children
to see their grandfather. It was very exciting how God would use my nephews and nieces.
We got into a discussion about how my youngest niece Sarah had fallen asleep in the
bathtub some time before and my niece Hannah started to ask me what would happen if she
were to fall asleep again. We began a discussion about how she could drown and die. We
went on to talk about if Hannah or her sister Sarah would die and stand before God and He
were to ask her why should I let you into my heaven what would she say? We would go on
and talk about what the bible says about the issues revolving around Hannah's question. I
went on to share some passages of scripture. As I would start the scripture many times
Stephen would then complete the verse because he had memorized the verse.
01. Romans 3:10-As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
02. Romans 3:23- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
03. Romans 5:12- Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-
04. Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
05. Romans 5:08- But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
06. Romans 10:09-13- "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. For the Scriptures says, "Whoever believes on Him will not
be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same
Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of
the Lord shall be saved."
07. John 3:36-"he who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not
believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
08. John 6:47- "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting
life."
09. I John 5:12- "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have life."
My father struggled with these truths till near the end of his life then he finally
surrendered himself like the thief on the cross, completely to Jesus's care and
salvation. I encourage you to do the same today. None of us knows how
long we have on the earth. The bible says, "Today is the day of decision.."
Membership me in praying.
God, Thank you for revealing to us in your inspired word that we have all sinned and fallen
short of your glory. Thank you for telling us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank you for telling us that if I confess with my mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that you raised Him for the dead I will be saved. Lord Jesus
thank you for telling me that he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I want to thank you for
what you did on the cross for me and I accept you as my Savior and Lord. Amen.
I want to invite you all to join us at St. Catherine's Catholic church for a
funeral mass. My dad was raised in the catholic church and while he
encouraged my brother and I to go to our Baptist churches he wanted to be
buried with a catholic mass himself. We are honoring that request you are
invited to join us or to join us later at the grave site or at my mothers home.
We have maps if you need them.
Elapsed time of remarks: 18:31:34 minutes.
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