Short Stories

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Heaven or Hell You Choose
The cold heartless darkness permeated every fiber of the soul. The young
Man stood shivering under the only source of light he could find. He looked intently at the flyer he found blowing in the wind wondering about its significance toward him. The flyer only said, "Heaven or Hell you choose." This it declared is the midnight hour. True to him this hour is the midnight hour. For a life that once held such promise now could only see hell opened up in front of him. Midnight when life was at its darkest and midnight when before him there laid no hope. When did it happen? When did the lights go out? When did the delight turn to despair? Somehow he thought the message on the flyer he held was meant for only him.

As he looked at the flyer he could now recognize a face of one that had always been beside him. He always thought of this one as his gentle guide. This was the one that told him to look out for himself. This was the one that seemed to show him a clear path to success. This is the one that showed him some fun things to do and as long as he felt self satisfied this guide always smiled. Grab for the life, life was for the living you owe it to yourself to live for yourself and no one else. He had made the money and he had experienced the fun and now all that had disappeared and the face on the flyer did not appear as beautiful as it once had. Now as he intently concentrated on the flyer he viewed another face. This was a sweet face, the face of a baby girl. He first does not recognize this face but as he looks more intently he realizes here he views his baby girl. He watches the show of a life that should have been. He watches her grow and watches her take her first steps. He watches her first day at school and her first trial and error of wearing make-up. He watches her go on her first date and then to her prom. He watches her graduate first from High School and then from college. He sees her get married and oh how proud he was to give her away. He sees her give birth to his first grandson and now he realizes that this is not memories but a vision. The vision of a life that was cut off in the womb because he had convinced her that she must end the pregnancy. For the liar had told him that success waited, but you cannot be tied down to a wife and a baby.
Liar! the young man yelled liar! he screamed with every fiber and with a heart shattering with every syllable. Yet he believed the lies. He loved the lies. He thrived on these lies and the liar became his lord and his god now all he wanted to do was to separate himself from the liar but he knows not how. He had tried Jesus once and that he thought would be enough. He recognized Jesus but he refused to let go of the pleasures the liar brought to him. He never repented of becoming a part of the liar's lies and becoming like the liar a son of the liar. He lived in the dark dungeon of the liar instead of living in freedom of the truth. Now this liar has his own dungeon to face and through this flyer the liar laughs a hideous, nerve crushing, screeching laugh saying I brought you down with me.

Now come some more faces. Faces of those who had tried to talk to him and A Face of a praying Grandmother whose final words were to her loving Jesus pleading for the soul of her grandson stopped only by her dieing breath. A face of a preacher who preached repentance, but the young man only smirked and said," that a loving God would never send anyone to hell." Yet now here he saw it and he wondered could there be any way to escape it. Faces of the many who had rejected the liar and had followed after Jesus now these were sitting upon their thrones ready to rule and reign with Him. They all looked at him with piercing eyes of judgment knowing him and knowing his total depravation. They all have the faces filled with joy however they all know the awesome judgment of the one who sits on the white throne.
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Now he sees he's back, the liar that is. He smirks that demon like smirk as his face once again appears on the flyer. He has come back to deceive once again. He has this nature and nothing will ever change the nature. Suddenly a bone chilling realization comes over the man I also have his nature can anything or anyone change this nature in him. When he looks at the face of the liar the face begins to come familiar the face looks like the same face that stares back at him from the mirror. "You are of your father the devil." Where there is hope there is change and yet he has never changed. No change no hope that now becomes the chant he hears. However he wonders where am I going? Where does the chant come from? No change no hope, no change no hope, no change no hope, over and over it rings. He comes to the knowledge that the chant is coming from his own mouth. He views a great white throne and one with a mighty judgment sits upon the throne. This is not the Jesus he had heard about. This was not the baby in a manger or the suffering savior on a cross this was a holy righteous Lord. This was a holy and righteous judge who could not allow the unrighteous to pass through him. He had been the babe in the manger; he had been the suffering savior hanging on a cross to save all of mankind from the judgment ahead. The man realizes now that he is here at this judgment by choice and he hears the cries of the liar from deep within a burning lake of dark flames. The cries are of agony and also of taunt telling the rich man you belong to me and soon you will be joining me in this torment. In his lifetime the man had lawyers who helped him bend and break the laws and step over people on his way to the top. Yet not one of these lawyers stood by him now for they were not allowed to. He looks at the face of the Judge and he begins to see all of the opportunities he had to repent and to receive the grace of the one that sat upon the throne. He sees his sin as the holy Judge sees his sin. He sees the ones he has hurt as the holy judge sees them. He hears the words of the righteous Judge say I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Suddenly he is jolted back to reality by an unseen force. He is still standing underneath the street light. The same chill bores through his body. He looks at his watch and it is still the midnight hour. How could it be, he feels like he has been through a lifetime and even an eternity but only a few minutes expired. He again looks at the flyer and reads Heaven or Hell you choose. This is the midnight hour. Then the tears flow uncontrollable as a raging river after the flooding rains. A warmth permeates the cold chill of the once heartless soul. As the tears of repentance flowed upon the flyer hell was being erased and Heaven was coming into clear view. The only face upon the flyer he now saw was the loving face of the Truth the loving face of grace. He felt the brush of the gentle touch as the loving savior the Lord Jesus wiped away his tears and he could see the beauty of the light all around him.
The final judgment is the lake of fire. The antichrist, the false prophet, all of the demons and the devil himself will be cast there. However you have a choice heaven or hell you choose.

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