Whispers And Shouts

One day I was walking into a local pharmacy. In the parking lot was a van, obviously belonging to a business.
Oddly enough however, the only words on it were: Anytime, anywhere. I thought it strange not to have the name
of the business. I immediately surmised it was a little reminder from God that He was there for me anytime, anywhere. But sometimes I read too much into things, so I didn't dwell too much on it.
I went in the store and quickly made my purchase. Upon exiting via a different door and side of the parking lot,
I was face to face with a station wagon with a bumper sticker that said simply: Therefore, I am! I laughed and now I knew God was speaking to me in the middle of my day!

On the evening of that day, I had a dream I will never forget, I hope to God. I dreamed I was at the crucifixion of Jesus. Unbelievable!
I mean I was right there, watching the soldiers, two of them, with the cross in an upright position and the soldiers on a ladder.
They were pounding the nails through Jesus' hands. I could hear the sickening clang of the hammer hitting each nail, over and over.
I was counting each nail, and I counted 56 in total, including the ones used to affix the sign above His head. I was watching His face, and surprisingly, He looked like a regular human being that was being crucified , and not like the Jesus I had pictured in my mind. He didn't look like God. But His face was in agony, like He couldn't take anymore.

As they kept pounding more and more, I kept hoping and thinking to myself: Thats enough! Stop! They wouldn't. The soldier on the left was paying meticulous detail to making sure every nail was perfectly affixed to the sign, even giving each one a final tap, like you would a home project, like it was so significant, and I remember thinking: Hey, He's in agony, why are you worried about a sign, get down from there!
I used a modern day derogatory curse word to describe them in anger. I noticed His arms were starting to contort and curve inward and I could see the veins starting to bulge outward. I couldn't believe the cruelty of it all.

Upon awakening, I could not believe the dream I just had.
I couldn't believe God chose me to give this dream to. And I came to realize as I spoke with Him about it, that it was not the soldiers whom I called a name that drove the nails through His flesh, but myself. I'm pretty sure they didn't actually use 56 nails, but the symbolism for me was this: Each time I sin, another nail gets driven through His Body. Yes, Christ suffered and died once, yet, I believe that, in God's world, there is a transcending of time. Look at Romans 5: 8: " But God commandeth His own love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (American Standard Version) How could Christ die for us while we were yet sinners? We weren't even born yet! But God knows no time, so the past is actually still the present for Him, and my idea of my sins driving a nail through His hands gets more credibility, in my opinion.

As far as observing His human like appearance on the cross, I think God was trying to remind me that Jesus was, indeed, both human and Divine, and that is why there is nothing I or you go through in the human experience that he can't understand and identify with.

And what pain more excruciating and cruel could there be but that endured during a human crucifixion? The answer is none.
Christ came to earth to endure the most torturous type of pain known to men at the time, for my sins, and yours.
I cannot thank God enough for this dream I had, and I have to pray to keep it in the forefront of my mind always.

God chose to speak to me in such a powerful way on the other end of a day in which He chose to communicate to me through a seemingly insignificant thing such as a bumper sticker. He can speak softly in a whispering hush, or He can blow you away with an un-mistakable message. God is.....God!