Faithful, joyful, and triumphant
“O come all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant
Oh come ye O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him born the King of angels;
O come let us adore him Christ the Lord.” (Attributed to John Francis Wade, 1751.)
This company, from every land, language, and race, spans both history and the globe. This company—the faithful, the joyful, and the triumphant—is your company. If you have made Jesus your Lord, you are counted among them.
Who is this company of the faithful? Who are these joyful and triumphant? Do the lyrics refer to men and women from the past who because of their unique, comfortable time in history were able to live victorious Christian lives? Is this the company to whom the carol refers?
Indeed, in the last days difficult times will arise. Men will be lovers of self and haters of good, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. The Lord warned us of this ahead of time. But you, Christian—you are called faithful. You are called joyful. You are called triumphant. This is who you are. This will never change—despite the spin culture puts on your deeply held, Bible-based beliefs.
You are faithful because of the Lord’s faithfulness to you. Therefore, your ability to be faithful does not rest upon circumstances or the rise or fall of the popularity of the gospel. You can remain faithful because you know He will never fail you nor forsake you. You will be able to stay faithful throughout the rest of your days because He will never let you down. Let this truth build great strength within you.
You are joyful because His joy—one of the fruits of the Spirit—is planted deep within you. This joy, like God’s Word, is imperishable. It cannot be stolen from you. Whether you feel it or not, joy is there inside of you, waiting to be cultivated and nourished through your sacrifice of praise to God. As you sow thanksgiving to Him, the crop of joy will increase and abound, and sooner or later it will overflow in your life. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is your strength. God’s joy will lift you above every subtlety, scheme, and snare that Satan can concoct. God’s joy, when acted upon, will transform your tests into testimonies—whether the culture believes it or not.
You are triumphant because of Jesus’ triumph over sin, death, and hell. You have been ransomed from the domination of the devil and have been transferred into the safety and soundness of the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Because Jesus has crushed the serpent’s head, you, too, can tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means harm you. Because Jesus rendered powerless him who had the power of death—that is, the devil—you are now free from slavery to the fear of death. Of this you can be confident: God will always lead you in triumph in Christ and will manifest through you the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
Will the knowledge of Him always be warmly embraced? If the prophecy concerning the turbulent last days in 2 Timothy 3 is any indication, the answer to that is no. However, take it from those faithful, joyful, and triumphant souls who have gone before you: Your victory is not based on the behaviors, opinions, or applause of the age in which you live. You are triumphant. It’s a done deal in Christ. So walk in it with the confidence that comes from above.
Don’t allow this generation or your circumstances to tell you who you are. You are the faithful. You are the joyful. You are the triumphant. And you unashamedly adore Christ the Lord.
Dorothy
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould… Romans 12:2, J.B. Phillips
© 2015 and updated, 2019, Dorothy Frick
Therefore I have hope
Are you dealing with stress beyond your limit right now? Maybe a bad diagnosis, or harsh words from someone from whom you expected compassion? Maybe long-standing pain or a sense of rejection or isolation? Maybe the stress of not knowing how you are going to make it?
Despite the beauty of the Christmas season, some of you are facing what may feel like insurmountable odds and pressure beyond your ability to handle.
Like some of you, I found this beautiful time of year colliding with some intense pressures in my life. Although I have chosen not to dim the Christmas lights or stop the carols of the season, the cloak of sadness and hopelessness has been present, attempting to wrap me in despair and shield me against hope.
But God!
To those of you in a similar situation, no matter how all-encompassing the hopelessness may feel, press on. Your feelings may not change; but you are building strength into your spiritual muscles as you resist the pressure to give up and despair….and the God whom you have served is not ignorant or unaware of your situation.
And then early this morning, as I was slogging around the house praying, I heard a short phrase on the inside of me: “Therefore I have hope.” I knew God was sending His Word to deliver me. I searched…and there it was, in the middle of Lamentations 3.
“This I recall to my mind,
THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE.
“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
“They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE in Him.”
“The Lord is GOOD to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.” Lamentations 3:21-25
If you are in a place of desperation, RECEIVE your HOPE. THIS is why the Baby was born over 2000 years ago! THIS is why the angels rejoiced over the field where the shepherds herded their flocks. THIS is why the magi traveled by camel over hundreds of miles…to SEE, to BEHOLD, and to TOUCH the Desire of nations–the very Son of God.
And THAT is why I am sharing with you. YOU are the reason that God sent His Son, the Babe of Bethlehem and the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief. May the Light of the World fill YOU with a girding power of hope in your inner man, and may you live to tell of the great things God has done for you.
God bless you.
Dorothy
Read MoreConcerning the grumbling of the Pharisees and a look at Jonah
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1-2
For some reason, this scene brings to mind some thoughts I had when reading the book of Jonah recently.
You see, it hit me—Jesus closely related to the prophet Jonah. Of course, Jesus knew He would be buried for three days in the tomb just as Jonah experienced three days in the belly of that humongous fish (see Matthew 12:40). The Lord thought about that eventuality—probably often—and took comfort that as Jonah was vomited out of the fish after three days, He, too, would be blasted back to life by the power of God. I believe He kept His thoughts on Jonah’s deliverance as a faith-builder.
However, Jesus and Jonah had another similarity. Both were called to preach to a volatile, rebellious people. Both knew the chances of rejection were huge and could very likely end in a violent death. Jesus, though, knew that undergoing this kind of tortuous death wasn’t a mere probability; it was fact.
Both men also understood that their obedience could lead to widespread, history-changing repentance and reconciliation to God. Jesus delighted in that end; Jonah, on the other hand, recoiled from it.
Fast-forward to Jesus’ day. Although the educated and religious folk of His time probably scoffed (as I have in the past) at Jonah’s rank disgust at the thought of the repentance and reformation of his foes in disregard to God’s plan, here they had a Man before them who unashamedly preached repentance and life transformation to the non-religious around them.
Did they say to themselves, “Now, here’s a Man—unlike Jonah—who willingly embraces sinners and the dregs of society, and by His preaching, their entire lives are miraculously changed and made whole!”?
No, they grumbled. They had no interest in “sinners”; they had no interest in the transformational intersection of a human with his/her Maker. They could care less about the secret fears, sorrows, or pains of those with whom they were spiritually charged. They were Jonah—yet a Jonah who never turned to offer repentance and hope of God’s forgiveness.
Jesus, like Jonah, preached repentance as the doorway to the kingdom of heaven. He didn’t sugar-coat His message and made no exceptions concerning sin; but He preached repentance out of a heart of love and compassion for those stuck in the quagmire of their lives. And their lives, deemed valuable to this Shepherd, were transformed as they gave Him their hearts.
May you and I see our lives and those around us with the eyes of Jesus, not Jonah—and certainly not with the eyes of the “learned” religious ones of Jesus’ day.
Dorothy
© 2019, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreConcerning watchers and boxes
It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. Luke 14:1
I don’t think they can help themselves. People bound up with a “religious spirit” seem to be compelled to inspect everyone else’s words, behaviors, worldview, clothing, spirituality, you-name-it—and have no qualms displaying open offense if the object of their inspection deviates in any way from their pre-set, tightly-clenched perspective. In fact, these folks frequently search high and low for even the slightest offense.
If you think your job is to coerce others to toe your line and use snubbery, open put-downs, whisper campaigns, smear blitzes, or even physical force to do so, there’s a good chance you’ve picked up a good old-fashioned religious spirit.
The intended outcome of such “watching” is to squeeze the “watchee” into a box of the watcher’s choosing. I’ll bet most of you reading this have experienced fervent box construction by those who should have been welcoming, warm, and harbors of refuge for you. Their goal? To to silence you; to label you with their own definitions; to force you to conform to an image of their choosing…whether you want to or not.
Such were the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. Only problem was that Jesus didn’t play along. He marched to a different Drummer…the drumbeat of His Father.
You can watch the hand-wringing and scheming of the offended ones who “watched” Jesus throughout the gospels, and every time they set their snare, you can see how unimpressed Jesus was with their traps and faux outrage. In fact, the Father, with whom He maintained constant communion, always gave Jesus words to say and/or unabashed actions that silenced, stymied, or frustrated their best strategies to entrap Him.
You, like Jesus, also have a link up with the Father by which you can access His wisdom and direction every time you encounter the inevitable box-builders in your life. Trust Him to deliver you from those snares; He has a custom-made strategy for every trap; and He will download it to you just for the asking.
However, one thing you must do in your determination to be free of imposed boxes—don’t impose boxes of your own making upon others.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1, NKJV
Dorothy
© 2019, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreComparing
For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 2 Corinthians 10:12
When comparing is the wrong choice
Have you ever found yourself thinking that someone else has it so much better than you? If you have—as I have at various times—you probably also noticed that your thoughts were not infused with the spirit of love and grace! Instead, if you were honest with yourself at all, you would have recognized jealousy, bitterness, and possibly even some hatred rising up within you. And as the apostle Paul wrote, that attitude of bitter comparison shows a dire lack of understanding on your part.
On the other hand, have you ever found yourself thinking that you were better than someone else? If so—as I have, also, at various times—you may have noticed that your mindset was not like Christ’s—with humility of mind regarding another as more important than yourself (Philippians 2:3b, paraphrased). In fact, if you were at all self-aware, you would have recognized pride, arrogance, and possibly even some hatred lodged like a rock within your soul. Once again, as Paul wrote, that attitude of a smugly superior comparison reveals a blatant lack of understanding on your part.
What do you do when you realize you’ve compared yourself to others, whether from jealousy or superiority? Acknowledge those thoughts and attitudes to God, own them before Him, make no excuses for yourself, and repent. Apply 1 John 1:9 to yourself and trust God to help you to walk comparison-free.
When comparing is the right choice
…I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… Philippians 3:8a
You know not to compare yourself to others, whether for better or for worse. But here, Paul is directing all of us to compare two deeply important aspects of our own personal lives, one to the other—knowing Christ Jesus as Lord vs. Everything Else.
As I look around my home—my safe, secure, comfortable home—I recognize that in comparison to what others own, it lands on both sides of the spectrum. It’s better than some, not as nice as others. And I’m OK with that because my value in life is not in what I own.
However, Paul wraps it all up—possessions, wealth, beauty, talent, prowess, position, reputation, and even spiritual “ranking”—in the same package he calls All Things. He then compares that total package of his whole life to ONE thing—knowing Christ. Guess which wins?
In fact, Paul states this: “Everything else is loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ.” Knowing Jesus—in ever-increasing intimacy—causes everything else in your life to take its rightful—and subordinate—place. Knowing Christ doesn’t denigrate everything else, but it certainly allows you to put it all in perspective. Knowing Christ is far more valuable than Any Other Aspect of your life, whether your possessions, wealth, beauty, talent, prowess, position, reputation, or spiritual “ranking”.
I pray we all grow in our full appreciation of the surpassing value of knowing Christ.
Dorothy
© 2019, Dorothy Frick
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