CHAPTER VIII (My Victory is Yours) Excerpt...

     We talked, although I can’t be sure that it was always audible, because every breath seemed to take so much effort. I’m not quite sure how we communicated. It’s possible we were exchanging thoughts or ideas like two spirits communing. We talked about pleasant things like Heaven, and what it would be like. When I questioned Him further about this, He said not unkindly, “It is not for your ears now, child. But know this, when you arrive in my Father’s world, the glory will be so awesome and wonderful and perfect that this temporary light affliction will dim in comparison.”

    I marvelled at His choice of words, temporary and light. To me it seemed to be an extremely slow and agonizing way to die. The pain was beyond words, and it seemed like we had been there for days. Each moment seemed to drag into a never-ending forever. 
He then said, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT)

    This was of great comfort to me, but I knew my life was coming to an end. I struggled to breathe, as I sagged lower and lower. My body was literally shrinking, as I weakened from the loss of blood and fluid. However, to my surprise I felt a wonderful sense of peace or calmness, and I knew it had to come from Jesus. In some way, He was able to comfort me and sustain me, even though He was being crucified as well.

     Coarse talking grabbed my attention. The soldiers were standing around talking and joking. One group was huddled around in a circle over a piece of clothing. I suddenly realized it looked familiar, and it was in fact Jesus’ clothing. I sighed in disgust. There were some religious leaders standing around too. I knew it took a lot for them to come to this smelly, dirty place. It was probably just their pride and self-righteousness that brought them. They were ridiculing Jesus saying, “He saved others... but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if He wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:42-43 NLT)

    The words stung me deep within my spirit. Jesus remained unmoved, except for the occasional roll of His head and soft moan.
“Why don’t You do it Jesus?” I thought. “Show them who is in charge.” I wanted Jesus to show these religious hypocrites who He really was.
I thought I heard Him ask, “Do you think they would believe Me?”
I pondered that question for a bit, and then I understood. “No. If they didn’t believe You before, they probably won’t now.”
“The only way I’ll win, is if I lose.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, bewildered.
He sighed. “This is not a battle of flesh and blood, and physical strength. This is a battle of good and evil. The devil thinks that by crucifying Me, I will die and he has won. But he has actually lost. When I die, then sin, death, and the devil will have been conquered. When I rise from the grave on the third day, then death will have lost its power. Through My death and resurrection, sin, death and the devil will all be defeated.”
“Defeated,” He said again, and then added, “But not dead.”
“Can you explain that?”
“My victory is your victory. You just have to claim it. You don’t need to follow after the sinful temptations that you used to go after. You can be victorious over your sinful nature and the devil... if you choose to take up your cross and die with Me daily.” Then I imagined He smiled, as He concluded, “After all, you are on the winning side.”

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