Can it almost be August already??   Have you been to Hobby Lobby lately…uh…can you spell Christmas decorations??   So, being the fact that my life is a mess, that I left my husband on June 26, I've barely even had time to think of getting something ready for the magazine.   I found the following letter that I wrote to a family member back in June of 2000.   I'm submitting this to you and to MYSELF at the same time.   Sometimes a dose of our own advice to others can be just what the Great Physician ordered:

June 19, 2000

Ok “Jane” here it is.   I have read and re-read your letter over and over many times, and this is my “answer” so to speak regarding this constant battle that seems to be raging within so many of us this day and age.   The battle in my definition from what you wrote is simply this, the enemy constantly reminding us of our helpless/hopeless condition, which as you well know is a complete lie.   I love something that Joyce Meyer said, “How can we as women expect to trample on serpents when we can not even conquer a sink full of dirty dishes?”

Have you ever heard or maybe seen a complete rendition of the crucifixion of Jesus?   The total and complete utter humiliation and agony Christ went through - all for the atonement of our sins, past present and future?   Jesus was and IS our King.   He was also labeled King of the Jews.   John 19:2 says this, “And the soldiers put a crown of thorns on His head.”   With the hatred they had in their hearts towards our King, it should come as no surprise to us that they did not lightly place this infliction upon His head.   They pressed it violently into His skull, large one inch thorns digging through His hair and scalp into the bones of His skull.   Eve been witness to a severe head injury?   Was there much blood shed?

Imagine if you possibly can what it must have felt like to have railroad like spikes one inch thick, six inches or more long, driven, pounding....pounding into the wood of the cross ~~ the stake going through skin, veins, arteries and muscle and finally bone.   Can you imagine the amount of blood that was shed?   Most likely not just a trickle as pictures portray.   Consider when they stood the cross upright and vertical and dropped it into the hole in the ground that was to hold it upright.   They had no care in the world as to the contents hanging . . . dangling there.   The Word of God says every joint in His body was dislocated (Ps 22:14).   I have had bones dislocated, have you?   Remember pain?   It is at this point that Jesus can feel every bone in His body.   His mouth by now is so dry that his tongue sticks to the side of His mouth.   He asks for water, they give Him vinegar.  

Have you ever before this moment considered the amount of blood that Jesus shed for you and me?   I hadn't until recently.   Was it enough?   Did Jesus bleed enough blood for our sins?   Is there any single sin that we have committed that is worth putting Him back in Golgotha on the cross to shed more blood?   Then why... WHY , do we allow the devil to torment us?   Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “Behold I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”   He said ALL power ~~ not some, or a little.... ALL !!   What sin from the past have I committed that is worth making the Father sad? . . .   Jesus gives me ALL power to fight the devil!!  

The root cause of all our problems is the devil and demon forces.   The harder he and they fight us, the more of the Word of God we need in us.   We should continually be growing....going forward, not to rely on parents, grandparents, friends or spouses to carry the spiritual load.   When it seems our prayers are not answered like they used to be when we were baby Christians, God is leaving us in the “ring” so to speak, because He believes in us so much that He knows   we are strong enough to go on to the next level of spiritual maturity.   We must learn to fight the devil ourselves!!   God is not pleased when we allow the devil to intimidate us!!   The Bible says in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Would I kill my son or willingly allow him to be killed for someone else's crime or mistake?   I'll just answer that with and emphatic NO!!!   Would I die for him?....Absolutely!!   But see, God gave up His Son.   Jesus gave up His life for ME!!!   What an awesome gift.   How could I possibly be arrogant enough to think that any one of my sins is worth putting Jesus back on the cross??

You may think I kinda got off track here...but really it is just this simple.   Sometimes I think we make life and living so complex when we are to have the faith of a child.   Here's a story that you may have already heard but is worth repeating:

A little boy was walking along a long beach when he came upon thousand's upon thousand's of stranded, dying starfish.   He started frantically throwing them back into the ocean, one after another.   Along comes a man walking down the beach and asks the boy what he is doing.   The little boy tells him he's throwing back starfish into the ocean because they are stranded and dying.   The man tells the boy, “Look, see, there are thousands of starfish here on the beach, they are all stranded and dying.   What difference can it make if you throw back a few here and there?”   To which the little boy replies as he throws back another, “It matters to this one!!”   Jesus will come back when He is ready...and not before.   We are just commanded to go, step out in faith in the name of Jesus   . . . Go out, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or a women's shelter, you have such a magnificent gift for ministering to women . . . you can't save them all . . . but you might save one!!

I love you more than you'll ever know.   Serving HIM together, jamie