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BILL GATES' SCREEN SAVERHeaven or Hell? Just a joke! Don't be angry Bill! Bill Gates died in a car accident. He found himself at Heaven's gate being sized up by God. "Well, Bill, I'm really confused on this call. I'm not sure whether to send you to Heaven or Hell. After all, you enormously helped society by putting a computer in almost every home in the world and yet you created that ghastly Windows system. I'm going to do something I've never done before. In your case, I'm going to let you decide where you want to go! I'm willing to let you visit both places briefly if it will help you make a decision." Bill said, "OK, then, let's try Hell first." So Bill went to Hell. It was a beautiful, clean, sandy beach with clear waters. There were thousands of beautiful women running around, playing in the water, laughing and frolicking about. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect. Bill was very pleased. "This is great!" he told God. "If this is Hell, I REALLY want to see Heaven!" "Fine," said God and off they went. Heaven was a high place in the clouds, with angels drifting about playing harps and singing. It was nice but not as enticing as Hell. Bill thought for a quick minute and rendered his decision. "Hmm, I think I prefer Hell" he told God. "Fine," retorted God, "as you desire." So Bill Gates went to Hell. Two weeks later, God decided to check up on the late billionaire to see how he was doing in Hell. When God arrived in Hell, he found Bill shackled to a wall, screaming amongst the hot flames in a dark cave. He was being burned and tortured by demons. "How's everything going, Bill?" God asked. Bill responded - his voice full of anguish and disappointment, "This is awful. It's nothing like the Hell I visited two weeks ago. I can't believe this happened. What happened to that other place with the beaches and the beautiful women playing in the water?" God says, "That was the screen saver." HEAVEN OR HELL?There once was an consultant who lived her whole life without ever taking advantage of any of the people she worked for. In fact, she made sure that every job she did resulted in a win-win situation. One day while walking down the street she was tragically hit by a bus and she died. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself. "Welcome to Heaven," said St.Peter. Before you get settled in though it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had an consultant make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you." "No problem, just let me in." said the consultant. "Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in." "Actually, I think I've made up my mind... I prefer to stay in Heaven." "Sorry, we have rules..." And with that St. Peter put the consultant in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell. The doors opened and the consultant found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow consultants that she had worked with and they were all dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kinda cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. The consultant was having good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved good-bye as she got on the elevator. The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found St. Peter waiting for her. "Now it's time to spend a day in heaven." So the consultant spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St.Peter came and got her. "So, you've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity." The consultant paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell." So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again the consultant went down-down-down back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks. The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her. "I don't understand," stammered the consultant, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable." The Devil looked at her and smiled, "That's because yesterday we were recruiting you, but today you're staff." HELPDAY #1 Dear John, I died today ... It's a lot different than I expected. You see, I always thought dying would bring me into a world that is foggy and hazy. But this place is crystal clear ... it is even more real than life on earth. I still have a body and can think, talk, and feel. Right now they have me in a line getting registered I guess. John, I am kind of afraid. The attendants around me don't look too happy ... and just on ahead at the front of the line I can see a little sign that says Hades on it. One thing is for sure ... this sure ain't Heaven. John ... I'm afraid. Am I going to burn in hell? Your friend, ++++++ DAY #2 John, HELP! It's worse than I ever anticipated. I am surrounded by darkness, yet I can still feel the flames. I can smell my flesh as it burns. I am dead yet alive. I am in agonizing pain. I am thirsty ... my whole body feels like it is about to explode. Oh John, why can't I die? Why won't God just let me die. But there is hope ... they say there is a Judgement Day coming up where we will stand before God and He will judge our case and lives personally. Friend, my beloved friend John, I hope you never come here! I hope no one else will ever have to suffer like this. I am in pain. Your friend, ++++++ YEAR #1,096 Dear John, Today was Judgement Day. The hope I previously had is now but a distant memory. Now I know nothing but terror awaits me. The flames await to consume my flesh eternally. When my name was called, I went to stand before the Great White Throne. He who sat up on it called or the Book of Life ... as he scanned its pages, I looked at the multitude of angels and believers behind His throne. Then I couldn't believe what I saw. As I focused my eyes I spotted you among the saints. There you were awaiting eternal bliss while I awaited eternal damnation. You sang songs of joy while I screamed shrieks of terror. Suddenly the voice of the enthroned God caught my attention, "Your name has not been found in the book, therefore I sentence you to burn in Gehenna, the lake of fire forever ... without hope ....... without escape." I am terrified as I await my punishment. I have no hope. Your friend, ++++++ The Day After Judgement Day John, I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. The angels who have been designated to cast me into the lake of fire are coming down the hallway. I can hear their footsteps. I have heard about this Gehenna. They say it is worse than Hades. How can it be? I cannot bear it. The angels are at the door. Oh no ... NO! They are opening it and they are looking at me, John, they are grabbing me and carrying me out of the room! I can already smell the burning sulfur and brimstone. I can see the edge of the cliff where Hell burns! John this is it! I am without hope! We are coming closer, closer! My heart is bursting with fear. They are holding me out over the edge of Hell ... I am dangling over its flames! I am damned forever! They have thrown me in! FIRE!! PAIN!! HELL!! WHY JOHN?!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT JESUS? Your friend, P.S. Wish you were here. THE FACT OF HELLIF THERE IS ANY SUBJECT that is offensive to modern sentimentalists, it is the subject of hell. Our generation clamors for what the poet has called a "soft dean, who never mentions hell to ears polite", and our un-souled age wants a Christianity watered so as to make the gospel of Christ nothing more than a gentle doctrine of good will, a social program of economic improvement, and a mild scheme of progressive idealism. There are many reasons why the modern world has ceased to believe in hell, among which we may mention first, a psychological reason. If a man has led a very wicked life he does not want to be disturbed in his wrong-doings by harsh words about justice. His wish that there be no final punishment for his crimes thus becomes father to the thought that there is no such thing as hell. That is why the wicked person denies hell, whereas the saint never denies it, but only fears it. Another reason for the denial of hell is that some minds confuse the crude imagery of poets and painters with the reality of the moral order behind the doctrine. Eternal realities are not always easy to portray in the symbols of time and space, but that is no reason why they should be denied by anyone, any more than the reality of America should be denied because it is sometimes symbolized by a woman bearing a flag of red, white, and blue. A final reason is found in the reason that the doctrine of hell has been isolated from the organic whole of Christian truths. Once it is separated from the doctrines of sin, freedom, virtue, redemption, and justice, it becomes as absurd as an eye separated from the body. The justice of this reasoning is borne out of the fact that men become scandalized about hell when they cease to be scandalized about sin. The Church has never altered one single iota the belief in an eternal hell as taught by her Founder, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In adherence to His divine testimony, the Church teaches, first that hell is a demand of justice, and secondly, that hell is a demand of love. First of all, once it is recognized that the moral order is grounded on justice, the retribution beyond the grave becomes a necessity. All peoples have held it morally intolerable that the mere fact of dying, a murderer or an impenitent wrongdoer should triumphantly escape justice. The same fate cannot lie in store for the martyr and the prosecutor, Paul and Nero, the Judas and Christ. If there is a supreme Good to which man can attain only by courageous effort, it must follow that the man who neglects to make that effort imperils his felicity. Once it is granted that eternal life is a thing that has to be won, then there must be always be the grim possibility that it may also be lost. Even the order of nature itself suggests retribution for every violation of a law. There is a physical law to the effect that for every action there is a contrary and equal reaction. If, for example, I stretch a rubber band three inches, it will react with a force equal to three inches. If I stretch it six inches, it will react with a force equal to six inches. If I stretch it to twelve inches it will react with a force to a foot. This physical law has its counterpart in the moral order, in which necessarily implies punishment. What is sin but an action against a certain order? There are three orders against which a man may sin: first, the order of individual conscience; secondly, the order of the union of consciences, or the state; and thirdly the source of both, or God. Now if I sin or act against my conscience, there is a necessary reaction in the form of remorse of conscience that, in normal individuals, varies with the gravity of the sin committed. Secondly, if I act or sin against the union of consciences or the State, there is a contrary and equal reaction that takes the form of a fine, imprisonment, or even death sentence meted out by the State. It is worthy of note that the punishment is never determined by the length of time required to commit the crime, but rather by the nature of the crime itself. It takes only a second to commit a murder and yet the State will take away life for such an offense. Finally, whenever I sin against God, and this I do when I rebel against the order of consciences…I am acting contrary to the One Who is infinite. For this action, there is bound to be a reaction. The reaction from the Infinite must therefore be infinite, and an infinite reaction from God is an infinite separation from God, and an infinite separation from God is an eternal divorce from Life and Truth and Love, and an eternal divorce from Life and Truth and Love is – hell ! Hell is demanded not only by justice, but also by love! The failure to look upon hell as involving love makes men ask the question, "How can a God of love create a place of everlasting punishment?" This is like asking why a God of Love should be a God of Justice. It forgets that the sun that warms so gently may also wither, and the rain that nourishes so tenderly also rot. Those who cannot reconcile the God of Love with hell do not know the meaning of love. There is nothing sweeter than love; there is nothing bitterer than love; there is nothing that so much unites souls and so much separates them as love. Love demands reciprocity! Love seeks a lover, and when love finds reciprocity, there are a fusion and a penetration and a union to a sublime and ecstatic degree. And when it is a question of the love of God and the love of the soul, that is the happiness of heaven! But suppose that love does not find reciprocity; or suppose that love does find it betrayed, spurned, and rejected. Can love still forgive? Love can forgive injuries and betrayals and insults, and Divine love can forgive even to seventy times seven. But there is only one thing in the world that human love cannot forgive, and there is only one thing that Divine love cannot forgive, and that is the refusal to love! When therefore, the soul by a final free act refuses to return human love for Divine love, then Divine love abandons it to its own selfishness, to its own solitariness, to its own loneliness. And what punishment in all the world is comparable to being abandoned, not by the lovely but by the love that is God?! LOVE FORGIVES EVERYTHING EXCEPT ONE THING, AND THAT IS THE REFUSAL TO LOVE! A human heart pursues another and sues for its affection with all the purity and high ardor of its being. It showers the loved ones with gifts, tokens of sacrifice, and all the while remains most worthy of a responding affection. But if, after a long and weary pursuit, it has only been spurned and rejected and betrayed, that human heart turns away and bursting with a pent-up emotion in obedience to the law of love, cries out: "LOVE HAS DONE ALL IT CAN. I CAN FORGIVE ANYTHING EXCEPT THE REFUSAL TO LOVE." Something of this kind takes place in the spiritual order. God is the great Lover on the quest of His spouse, which is the human soul. He showers it with gifts, admits it into His royal family through the water-baptism, into His royal army through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and invites it to His royal table of the communion of bread and wine, and countless times during human life whispers to it in health and sickness, in sorrow and joy, to respond to His plaintive pleadings, abandon a life of sin, and return love for love. If however, the human heart, after rejecting this love many times only to be re-loved again, after ignoring the knock of Christ at the door of his soul only to hear the knock again, finally, at the moment of death, completely spurns and rejects Divine Goodness, then the God of love, in obedience to the law of love, cries out: "LOVE HAS DONE ALL THAT IT CAN! I CAN FORGIVE EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE REFUSAL TO LOVE!" And it is a terrible thing to be trough with love, for once Divine love departs at death, it never returns: THAT IS WHY HELL IS ETERNAL! THAT IS WHY HELL IS A PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO LOVE! TELL THEM OF MY WAYI had a dream the other night that judgement day was
here, I found myself in one great line, with men from every
land, Christ held the book within His hands and God was on
the throne, Then Christ took the book of life and read the names,
therein, And I wondered if I’d find mine still for it had
once been there, I stood in fear before the throne and thought back on
all my life, I never failed to worship God on Sunday and Wednesday
night, I gave my goods to feed the poor and never ceased to
pray, So surely the Lord will know me and tell me to walk on
in, And as I thought, the crowd moved up, and I was fifth
in line, The first man stepped to meet the Lord, and fell upon
the floor, Jesus took the book of life but could not fine his
name, Next in line was sister Anne who once in Christ had
been, Her name had once been written in the pages of that
book, Then a black man came before the throne, He had worked
with me for years, This man had never learned the truth and neither had
his kin, And then the man before me I suddenly recognised, He was my roommate from college days - he had been my
greatest friend. But never told him of the Lord - it seemed so trivial
then, And finally upon the judgement day, I meet with him
once more, And now I stood before the Lord, my soul filled with
fright, Again the Lord, He took the book and looked there for
my name, And then the Lord, He said to me, "I’ve
found here one dark blot, "You met them every day in life and knew they
were astray, I see now how important it is, to keep our eyes on
Him, So be a light to all you meet, speak freely of
Jesus’ plan, Author Unknown THANKS FOR
VISITING! GOD BLESS YOU! |
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