First of All, Pray: Blog
Bringing Biblical Truths to Daily Life
Despising the shame
I was reading about the atrocities being committed in Syria this past week by anti-Assad, radicalized members of the religion of peace. Sects such as Alawites, Druze, Kurds, Christians, and even non-radicalized Muslims have been slaughtered by the thousands. When I read about the hundreds of Alawite women being paraded nude through the streets—with the obvious intention to shame and degrade them—before they were unceremoniously executed, I found myself reeling in grief. And then, that Voice I’ve come to recognize said this, “I was naked when they crucified Me.”
If not one sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge, then my heart takes hope thinking that He, who understood their dilemma more than any of us could, moved with compassion among those women, depositing grace, courage, and the hand of forgiveness and everlasting life to them. I believe that Death cannot win…not even in this.
As I was mulling these thoughts over, I was reminded of a section of Scripture I dove into years ago. It revolutionized my thinking about SHAME. Hebrews 12:1-2 opened my eyes to a nuance of Jesus’s death on the cross that I had never before realized.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, DESPISING THE SHAME, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
Since the entire scope of these two verses is so huge and instructive, in honor of the women and others who have been martyred this week by Syrian jihadis, I will simply focus on the three words that reveal what occurred within Jesus during the excruciating ordeal surrounding His torture, mock trial, and execution by way of the cross—DESPISING THE SHAME.
As I have mentioned, the purpose of stripping these Syrian women naked was TO SHAME THEM. It was to make them FEEL SHAME about themselves. To make the last thoughts they had about themselves to be FILLED WITH SHAME—to THINK “I AM A SHAMEFUL PERSON.”
The same ploy was used on Jesus, believe it or not. How do I know? A quick read through Mark 15 in the New Testament gives several depictions of the mockery and shame-inducing methods used by the soldiers and others upon Jesus, including the final straw before nailing Him to the cross—stripping Him of His clothes, hence any dignity, and hanging Him publicly for all to see.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. When Hebrews 12 says that Jesus DESPISED THE SHAME, it does NOT imply that He felt squeamishly horrified about being embarrassed and humiliated; nor does it mean that the public degradation was so intense that He despised it; NO!!! That word, DESPISING, in the Greek, kataphroneō, actually means this: He “contemned, despised, disdained, thought little or nothing of” the shame being poured out upon Him. [from G2706 – kataphroneō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv)]
Let’s look at this definition a little more closely. The word “contemned” means that Jesus—while suffering through taunts and torments—treated and regarded all their attempts to personally shame Him with CONTEMPT! He DISDAINED their tactics to make Him feel bad about Himself—in other words, He KNEW that the mockery, the taunting, the torture, and the nakedness was absolutely unworthy of His consideration or respect. He “thought little of or NOTHING” of their determination to make Him feel as if He had blown it, and their strategies of shame NEVER fazed Him.
It is significant that during His entire passion, Jesus never felt ashamed of Himself. But this was the goal of those who targeted Him! Not only did the political and religious leaders want to terminate Jesus in every sense of the word, but they also wanted to so saturate the Man with imposed shame that no one would ever desire to be associated with Him or His “miserable” life again. Disposed! Done! Finished!
However, Jesus DID bear shame on the cross–but not His own. He bore your shame, my shame, and the shame—both earned and unearned—of the entire human race. Had the forces of darkness succeeded in causing Jesus to FEEL PERSONAL SHAME, He never would have been able to bear ours. Had He yielded for a second to personal shame (as planned by the enemy of our souls), His death would have been just that—one man’s humiliation and demise…and this sacrifice would have been made void.
But Jesus—Son of Man and Son of God—disdained and regarded as NOTHING their attempts to make Him ashamed of Himself! He had far bigger fish to fry! He thoroughly and effectively took on OUR SHAME! OUR SIN! And, as a result of His unequaled, excruciating yet marvelous sacrifice, He has made available full REDEMPTION for anyone and everyone who will believe. THIS is His Joy. And THIS is why He died that ignominious death for you and for me.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2, Berean Standard Bible
Dorothy
© Dorothy Frick, 2025
A Christmas crisis
I was facing a small-scale crisis on Christmas morning that could have become a HUGE crisis after the sun went down IF it had been left undealt with.
After talking with and praying with a couple of friends about it and learning that it would cost $600 for the appropriate company to just LOOK AT this issue on the holiday, let alone it would probably have to be left unrectified until the 26th anyway, I decided to just wait until the next day…even though that could put me in potential danger overnight.
I thought of another friend who has skill in various things mechanical and texted the situation. He said he could look at it in about an hour.
In the meantime, I worked at keeping my emotions in check. Although I did cry (at first tears of “why me?” and frustration); but then after reading an absolutely random scripture in a translation I am unfamiliar with, those tears turned to faith and trust and soon became tears of thankfulness and praise to God for His faithfulness.
You see, while I was waiting, I opened up the “Streams in the Desert” devotional online and started to read the Christmas Day entry (something I rarely do anymore).
The second scripture was a translation of Isaiah 9:6 that I had never read before…and it pierced my heart with a bullseye.
This is how Isaiah 9:6 reads in my familiar translation:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (NASB, 1995)
But online, the verse I saw was this: (heart-piercing bullseye in CAPS)
“For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. HE SHOULDERS RESPONSIBILITY AND IS CALLED: EXTRAORDINARY STRATEGIST, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NET Bible)
It dawned on me! He shoulders responsibility for ME–NOT just for the government–MY safety. MY help. MY life–IF I will simply trust Him to do so, obey Him, and love Him!
And it also hit me that this Wonderful Counselor we hear about at Christmas is 100% an EXTRAORDINARY STRATEGIST, brilliant in all things and kinder than the most patient earthly counselor. He KNOWS how to effectively strategize for MY situation…if I will simply trust Him to do so!
My mechanically shrewd friend arrived, fixed the issue in 40 or so minutes…and was on his way!
My Christmas Day (and night!) was rescued, and I now have a clearer understanding of my EXTRAORDINARY STRATEGIST God who SHOULDERS RESPONSIBILITY…not just for others, but for ME and ALL those who are willing to trust Him through the difficulties of life we all face.
What a remarkable Christmas gift from My Father…the knowing that He will shoulder responsibility and will be my Extraordinary Strategist throughout the remainder of my days!
Let me never forget! I hope you come to know Him in this way as well!
Dorothy
© Dorothy Frick, 2024
My Christmas Eve prayer for you
This Christmas Eve, whether your home is as colorful as a carnival, as turbulent as a tornado, or as quiet as a mouse, I want to offer up a prayer for you from my heart.
For my friends who feel all too keenly the absence of loved ones who are no longer with you, I pray for the calm and deep comfort of the Lord to well up within you and gird you with grace and strength. May you be blessed with the gift of “touch”—knowing that just as your loved ones’ lives touched yours, so too, does your life touch those around you very deeply; and may you feel the depth of God’s gentle love for you. And in the coming year as you reach out to those He brings your way, may you find grace to comfort them with the comfort with which you have been comforted.
For my friends who brace yourselves for the storm clouds of strife that invariably blow your way this time of year, I pray for the love of God to overtake you so that you will have the grace to speak blessing where there is cursing. May you be a peacemaker in the midst of strife and a refuge of safety in the midst of turmoil. I pray that He will give you the gift of “hearing” so that as you navigate through the noise and agitation, you will hear with clarity this is the way in which you should walk; these are the words I want you to say. I pray that the Lord will go before you and make the rough places smooth and that His glory will be your rear guard. And may the seeds of peace and love and life that you sow—even in the midst of the storm—be cultivated by God in the upcoming year to produce the powerful fruit of salvation and wholeness in the lives of those you love.
For my friends who feel isolated, lonely, and without a family to call your own, I pray that the presence of God will overtake you, not only in your spirit, but also in your mind and emotions. I pray you receive the gift of “taste” so that you may taste and see that the Lord is good. May you recognize the breadth, length, height, and depth of your acceptance in the Beloved, and may you experience, in a very real way, the intensity of the love that God personally has for you. May the coming year bring deeper friendships, warmer connections, and a greater number of mutually satisfying godly relationships into your life. May you learn to expect and receive these blessings; and may you, my friend, be a blessing in the lives of others.
For my friends who know you are fortunate to have all of your loved ones around the table again this year, yet who nonetheless feel let down by life, I pray that you receive the gift of “seeing”. May you see, by the Spirit of God, how precious each life really is; may you recognize the wealth of connection you have been granted; and may you receive wisdom from on high so you may further nurture and cultivate each treasured life given to you. May you see and experience how truly rich you are, and may the upcoming year bring forth great fruitfulness in your life.
For my friends who are harried and hassled and stretched to the limit by the demands at this time of year, I pray you find that place of quiet and refuge in the Lord, to take a breath, and to let His soothing presence minister rest and grace to your soul. May you receive the gift of “smell”—the ability to pause and smell the cinnamon, the evergreen, the cookies, and the cold crisp air. May you take mini vacations in your mind as you pause and think on the journey to Bethlehem, the song of the angels, or the newborn babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger. May your heart be lifted with the songs of the season, and may you find humor in the hustle and bustle and even in the superhuman expectations you place upon yourself. And may your joy increase more and more, along with your strength, in the year to come.
And to all of my friends, I pray that the grace, mercy, and peace of God overtake you and strengthen you, equipping you for all that is ahead of you in 2025. May you enjoy deep intimacy with the Lord, and may His voice become clearer, your sight more focused, and His Word sweeter as you journey with Him throughout the coming year.
And tonight, may every one of you find time to sneak away and snatch some silence on this holy eve. I pray that tonight, whether by candlelight, firelight, Christmas lights, or by the light of the stars or the moon, you take the time to steal away and to say thank You to the One who came to earth as that precious Baby so long ago. And as you do, may He fill your heart with His wonderful presence.
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace. (By Joseph Mohr, 1816)
Merry Christmas and may God bless each one of you, my dear friends.
Dorothy
© 2015; updated 2024, Dorothy Frick
For Thy pleasure [Updated 2024]
Dwelling place
Because you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. Psalm 91:9-10
WARNING: Do not use Scripture as a good luck charm, magic potion, or spell to “manifest” your secret wants. Scripture is God’s personal letter to His people for us to use in developing our relationship with Him in the vast spectrum of life’s matters. Psalm 91 is likely the clearest portion of His Word regarding His protective nature toward people; it reveals His rock-solid determination to stand with you, guard you, guide you, protect you, heal you, and help you through the ups and downs of your life. And, seeing as Psalm 91 is, like most of Scripture, a relational guide for us humans in our interactions with the Most High, it also discloses what our part of the deal is.
Because you have made the Lord, my refuge…
You have a choice in this matter. You can MAKE the Lord your refuge—your place of shelter, protection, or safety. You don’t have to. It is entirely up to you, and He will 100% allow you your choice. In fact, you can use Him as a “sometimes” refuge, the One you go to from time to time, and He will honor that. However, as with most relationships, this “on and off” mentality can wear thin, and true intimacy and connection will never fully materialize. You see, there is Someone else in this interplay besides you…
…even the Most High, your dwelling place…
The time came in my life when using the Lord as my “sometimes” refuge wasn’t cutting it. I clearly saw my need to give all of myself to Him—for all time. And something very amazing happened…He became my dwelling place. Jesus said, “I am now standing at the door and am knocking. If anyone listens to My voice and opens the door, I will go in to be with him and will feast with him, and he shall feast with Me” (Revelation 3:20, Weymouth NT). What a blessing to know that you are never alone, that Someone greater than you loves you, cares for you, and has promised to never leave you or forsake you! (See Hebrews 13:5b.)
Just one more verse about this concept of making the Lord your dwelling place—or in other words, your home. Jesus was talking to one of His disciples along this line and said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). The fact that you are loved is clear. That the Creator of all things wants to live with you in an ever-deepening, give and take fellowship is mind-boggling!
No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.
BECAUSE you’ve made the LORD, even the Most High, your dwelling place, these things are yours to BELIEVE and EMBRACE by faith:
No evil will befall you… Truth be told, I’ve had some scary things happen since I’ve made Jesus my Lord. I’ve also experienced broken relationships and friendships, have lost loved ones and dear friends to death, and have had to have various surgeries (including open heart). I’ve been sick more than once and have broken a few bones. I’ve suffered rejection, humiliation, and excruciating loneliness at times. I’ve cried more than a few times out of genuine hurt and then again, at times, from self-pity or rage. Nevertheless, through all of these difficulties, the Living God kept right on being my God, holding me, steadying me, and bringing me through to the end of each dark tunnel. Therefore, I can boldly say, No evil has befallen me.
Because of His amazing care, I am still alive. Once, probably in 2010, I heard the Lord say one Monday, “Don’t mow your lawn on Thursday.” (Thursday was my go-to day for mowing.) Wednesday came, and I had a hundred excuses why I didn’t want to mow that day, but I could sense His powerful nudge, “MOW! NOW!” I did and then came back inside, took a shower and made dinner. Thursday morning around 10:30, I was in the kitchen looking out the window into my backyard. My cats sat at the screen door, also looking out. Suddenly, a deafening CRACK! sounded. A large silver maple had just given up the ghost! TIMBER! It fell across the width of my backyard and clipped a large branch off of another tree on the opposite side. WHOOOOMFFF! Down it went! The cats looked at me, I looked at them; all of us looked back out at the splintered mass of trunk and branches in the yard under which I would’ve been squashed like a bug…and I started DANCING! I whooped and hollered and danced and praised God throughout the house, thankful for His simple instruction on Monday, “Don’t mow your lawn on Thursday,” and super thankful that I didn’t ignore His nagging, pushy prompting on Wednesday to “MOW! NOW!”
…nor will any plague come near your tent. We lived through a couple of years of plague-related panic not even five years ago. Although I didn’t lose any friends or loved ones to the virus we faced, I know many who did, and the fear and grief of that time is indelibly etched in our national and global consciousness. I remember in those early days of the shutdown how the lack of knowledge about this thing, its transmission, and how to treat it brought fear to many. And there I was, in early spring as trees and other plant life started pollinating, that I experienced serious shortness of breath. I was alarmed. Today, I realize I was suffering then from an allergy-induced asthmatic reaction, but back then, everything was suspect. I prayed and paced my house several hours a day, and slowly calm and peace regained control of my mind. I knew that the Greek word for “Spirit” (pneuma) was the same as the word for each of these: “breath,” “lungs,” and “air”. So, knowing that my Father would make a way for my health, I prayed, “Holy Pneuma, I ask You to breathe Your pneuma into my pneumas and bring forth fullness of life to my airways! In Jesus’ name, Amen!” Over time, my lungs started opening back up, and what a blessing it was to breathe WITH the Holy Spirit!
We all know that we live in an imperfect, messy, germy, dangerous world. But the Lord has chosen to take a special interest in each one of us…and to go the distance with YOU if you are willing to go the distance with HIM.
…I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20, NKJV
Dorothy
© 2024, Dorothy Frick
What kind of fool are you?
I was a new believer in Jesus, barely 3 months old in the Lord, and while listening to country gospel radio, I heard a few things about water baptism. Pretty soon, I was loaded with curiosity and conviction about this new concept and asked a lot of questions of a gal in the dorm Bible study I had recently started attending. I was a sophomore, and she, having been saved as a kid, was a senior. She was as learned as Moses in my eyes, and did she ever have the answers! In fact, after all my questions were addressed, she declared, “I’m calling Rick [the leader of the Bible study] and getting everyone together tonight for your baptism.”
I was shocked. It was April Fool’s Day! How could I EVER do something so scriptural on THIS day? Wouldn’t that be mocking God??? Wouldn’t I be committing sacrilege? I poured out my concerns to her.
She had the answer. Obeying God and His Word trumps every label, every date on the calendar, and every criticism that I could ever face.
So that evening, around 7:30 or so, a bunch of us trooped down to the rock quarry just outside of campus. Someone had a bundle of blankets for both me and the baptizer, Rick, to wrap each of us in after we stepped out of the cold April first water, and others built a blazing bonfire. Evidently, that group had everything down pat, having done this many times before, and I myself witnessed many baptisms after that in the very same quarry…some in the dead of winter when we had to break the ice!
I thought long and hard about that word “FOOL” many times after my April Fool’s Day baptism and discovered that the word frequents many passages and verses in the Bible. For example, Jesus told His disciples to stay away from rash name-calling in Matthew 5:22, “…everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” In other words, He nailed all of us on our attempts to crush others with weaponized labeling. OUCH!
However, the Word of God is not timid in the use of the word “fool”. In fact, scriptures use it multiple times to identify certain individuals—and not due to impulsive rage or outbursts. No, the word is used concerning a whole assortment of behaviors, and in particular, one unique point-of-view. I want to focus on that one perspective—brought to light more than once in the Bible—used to identify a certain type of fool. In this case, in the spirit of calm, reflective study, calling such a person a fool is NOT anti-Matthew 5:22.
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God,’ they are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good.” (Psalm 53:1). If you look up Psalm 14:1, you’ll find almost the exact same declaration.
So—not my words, but the Words of the Psalmist—when someone declares that God does not exist; that He is a fairy tale or a Bronze age fabrication—they have effectively identified themselves as a fool. Good news is that right now multitudes of believers in Jesus once said the same thing and embraced the fool’s notion. However, somehow the Living God penetrated their worldview and made Himself known to them. For some, like me, it may take a few “visits” from the Spirit of God before they recognize “Wow! This is GOD! And He’s talking to ME!” but He knows how to work with hard cases. I challenge any of you in that category identified in the Bible as a “fool” (and I challenge agnostics as well, but He’s not so blunt in your case!) to simply ask Him to make Himself known to you. He will. But remember, He’s sovereign. He’s not a genie in a bottle, something you can conjure up in a spell or incantation, a magic 8 ball (do they still sell those things?), or a gum machine where you drop in the quarter and out pops the gumball. He is God, King of kings, Lord of lords, and is subject to no one’s commands. But He is also Love, and in love, He will reach out to you in the way He has determined best suits YOU. Remember, this is not about giving you a goosebump moment, but it’s all about preparing you for a lifelong (and beyond) relationship with Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.
So, in honor of the 49th anniversary of my water baptism in a cold rock quarry at 7:30 in the evening, I want to honor God and challenge you on this April Fool’s Day to open your heart and simply ask Him, “Will You reveal Yourself to me?” I will be praying for you in the meantime.
Dorothy
© 2024, Dorothy Frick
123123
Evidently, this tidbit of information is out there. But a friend of mine brought this to my attention this morning: Today is 123123. That won’t happen again until 2123; and there’s a good chance none of us will see it after today.
But it reminded me of “On the Count of THREE!” or “READY, SET, GO!”
I became a Christian 49 years ago as of 12/29/23, and I have learned that God is all about preparation. He’s all about growing us up. He doesn’t desire us to remain babies or toddlers or even teens. He expects us, at every phase of our walk in Him to recognize His leading, His correction, and His redirections…and to yield to what He is saying. Part of growing up is learning His impressions and promptings in your spirit in the multi-assortment of ways He may bring them to you and then complying to what He directs.
The word disciple means “disciplined one”. Although no disciple (and that includes you and me!) has walked 100% perfectly, each of us are called to bring the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives before God on an ongoing basis and receive from Him how to proceed from there. No matter HOW bad, HOW ugly…or HOW good…you may judge yourself to be, He wants to be in on all of your reasonings, assessments, and adjustments, and if you allow Him to do so, He will then empower you to grow and mature.
123123 is the day for positioning yourself to run the race before you with a simple focus on hearing from your Maker and yielding to His promptings. Are there adjustments or corrections to make? Join the club! Don’t beat yourself up for that; simply take the time to let Him reveal His best course for you and then follow that.
I believe that the preparation that the Lord has for each of us is not necessarily flashy or instantly spectacular; but when God has His say so in your life on the quiet and often hidden aspects, the results are absolutely life changing.
123123—READY, SET, GO!
Dorothy
“…let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Heb. 12:1-2
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
© 2023, Dorothy Frick
My Christmas Eve prayer for you
This Christmas Eve, whether your home is as colorful as a carnival, as turbulent as a tornado, or as quiet as a mouse, I want to offer up a prayer for you from my heart.
For my friends who feel all too keenly the absence of loved ones who are no longer with you, I pray for the calm and deep comfort of the Lord to well up within you and gird you with grace and strength. May you be blessed with the gift of “touch”—knowing that just as your loved ones’ lives touched yours, so too, does your life touch those around you very deeply; and may you feel the depth of God’s gentle love for you. And in the coming year as you reach out to those He brings your way, may you find grace to comfort them with the comfort with which you have been comforted.
For my friends who brace yourselves for the storm clouds of strife that invariably blow your way this time of year, I pray for the love of God to overtake you so that you will have the grace to speak blessing where there is cursing. May you be a peacemaker in the midst of strife and a refuge of safety in the midst of turmoil. I pray that He will give you the gift of “hearing” so that as you navigate through the noise and agitation, you will hear with clarity this is the way in which you should walk; these are the words I want you to say. I pray that the Lord will go before you and make the rough places smooth and that His glory will be your rear guard. And may the seeds of peace and love and life that you sow—even in the midst of the storm—be cultivated by God in the upcoming year to produce the powerful fruit of salvation and wholeness in the lives of those you love.
For my friends who feel isolated, lonely, and without a family to call your own, I pray that the presence of God will overtake you, not only in your spirit, but also in your mind and emotions. I pray you receive the gift of “taste” so that you may taste and see that the Lord is good. May you recognize the breadth, length, height, and depth of your acceptance in the Beloved, and may you experience, in a very real way, the intensity of the love that God personally has for you. May the coming year bring deeper friendships, warmer connections, and a greater number of mutually satisfying godly relationships into your life. May you learn to expect and receive these blessings; and may you, my friend, be a blessing in the lives of others.
For my friends who know you are fortunate to have all of your loved ones around the table again this year, yet who nonetheless feel let down by life, I pray that you receive the gift of “seeing”. May you see, by the Spirit of God, how precious each life really is; may you recognize the wealth of connection you have been granted; and may you receive wisdom from on high so you may further nurture and cultivate each treasured life given to you. May you see and experience how truly rich you are, and may the upcoming year bring forth great fruitfulness in your life.
For my friends who are harried and hassled and stretched to the limit by the demands at this time of year, I pray you find that place of quiet and refuge in the Lord, to take a breath, and to let His soothing presence minister rest and grace to your soul. May you receive the gift of “smell”—the ability to pause and smell the cinnamon, the evergreen, the cookies, and the cold crisp air. May you take mini vacations in your mind as you pause and think on the journey to Bethlehem, the song of the angels, or the newborn babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger. May your heart be lifted with the songs of the season, and may you find humor in the hustle and bustle and even in the superhuman expectations you place upon yourself. And may your joy increase more and more, along with your strength, in the year to come.
And to all of my friends, I pray that the grace, mercy, and peace of God overtake you and strengthen you, equipping you for all that is ahead of you in 2023. May you enjoy deep intimacy with the Lord, and may His voice become clearer, your sight more focused, and His Word sweeter as you journey with Him throughout the coming year.
And tonight, may every one of you find time to sneak away and snatch some silence on this holy eve. I pray that tonight, whether by candlelight, firelight, Christmas lights, or by the light of the stars or the moon, you take the time to steal away and to say thank You to the One who came to earth as that precious Baby so long ago. And as you do, may He fill your heart with His wonderful presence.
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace. (By Joseph Mohr, 1816)
Merry Christmas and may God bless each one of you, my dear friends.
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick; updated December, 2023
The government will rest on His shoulders
Should Christmas and government have anything to do with one another? Many say NO—the two are entirely separate concepts, and they must never occupy the same space.
And yet—surprise, surprise—government and the first Christmas are forever bound together in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus.
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth…And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David. Luke 2:1, 3-4
God’s big, sweeping plan to redeem mankind from the grip and tyranny of sin was ordained before the foundation of the world. As part of that plan, He used the government of the time in an important sub-plan, laced together with multiple other sub-plans of prophetic and intricate detail to bring clarity, precision, and confirmation to His greater plan. And as His plan unfolded, most of the individuals involved were utterly unaware that they personally played a specific role in its fulfillment.
Take Caesar Augustus, for instance. Caesar’s own records (“The Deeds of the Divine Augustus”, see http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html, #8) reveal that he conducted three censuses during his reign. They were held in roughly twenty-year cycles, and the census that summoned Joseph to Bethlehem when Mary was pregnant with Jesus was likely the second of the three. Caesar Augustus—the self-proclaimed “divine Augustus”—was merely a mortal chess-piece played by the wisdom and hand of the one true God to fulfill His predetermined purpose. Whereas Augustus took great pride in amassing boundless wealth for his administration through taxes collected in the census, God used this empire-building monarch’s hunger for ever-increasing power to get Mary and Joseph to the right place at the right time.
Know this: There is no power or throne established by the hand of man or devil that supersedes the power and authority of our God and His Christ. Neither Caesar, nor Pilate, nor Herod, nor Nero, nor Lenin, nor Hitler, nor governments present nor governments to come can override the rule and the plan of God.
Don’t be surprised if the heathen rage (Psalm 2:1). Don’t be shaken if you see the “nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing. The kings of the earth” may indeed “take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’” (Psalm 2:1-3). The fact is that God is aware of it all and He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them (Psalm 2:4).
The God who used the governmental drive of Caesar Augustus to get His handmaiden and her fiancé to Bethlehem for the birth of the Christ child is not moved by regulations, mandates, hearings, or lawless acts of leaders—whether elected or self-appointed, national or global. He sees the end from the beginning and His purpose will be established; He will accomplish all His good pleasure (see Isaiah 46:10).
Caesar Augustus was subject to the plan of God without knowing it. And despite all that we are witnessing now—those who assume superiority to the rest of us, calling good evil and evil good—no purpose of God can be thwarted. You, as one who has opened your heart to Jesus, can be confident in your God—the Highest Authority in the universe. According to the Bible, you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8). No one—neither man nor government nor devil—can stop you from walking as a child of the Light.
Be confident and be bold this Christmas season…and forever! It is your birthright in the Lord.
Dorothy
…and the government will rest on His shoulders… Isaiah 9:6b
© 2015, updated 2023, Dorothy Frick
Suffering according to the power of God
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” 2 Timothy 1:8
I don’t know how often I have read 2 Timothy, but this verse recently jumped out at me, as if for the first time. I come from a faith tradition that does not preach or teach much on suffering; I know some who do teach about this topic, but it makes sense to me why it’s not an extremely popular or sought after subject. Who wants to be reminded of suffering?
Here I go, anyway.
This phrase in 2 Timothy 1:8 kept rumbling around inside of me—suffering for the gospel according to the power of God—and then shortened to simply suffering…according to the power of God.
I thought of the apostle who wrote this letter to Timothy and how his entire life as a believer in Jesus was punctuated with suffering.
I love comfort. I told God that. But being a realist, I recognize that this life has its share of suffering, and no one is exempt. Whether the suffering comes in the form of rejection, mockery, lack, pain, illness, loneliness, or any number of other sources, it struck me that there is a way to suffer according to the power of God. Therefore, if I am to undergo suffering of any kind, I choose to do so according to the power of God.
Psalm 91:15 reveals an amazing statement from God. It declares, “I will be with you in trouble”. If you are IN trouble of any sort, know this for certain: That is exactly where the Living God is as well. He is WITH YOU. IN TROUBLE. He’s not like so many whose instinct is to ditch you at the first whiff of difficulty. NO. He’s right there with you in the middle of your trouble. Where you suffer. And if you dare to believe that, then you will be empowered to suffer according to the power of God, a suffering in which the Almighty bears the brunt of your pain and will turn it all around for your good. Why? Because HE’S good.
In August of 2003 I underwent bypass surgery to correct an anomalous right coronary artery. When I awoke in ICU, it felt like my chest had been crushed by an 18-wheeler. Immediately the Scripture came to me, “He was wounded for our transgressions. He was CRUSHED for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5a). And I experienced (as I was waking up from a 14 hour stretch of unconsciousness) the Lord’s crushing in place of mine. My pain was still there, but I was keenly aware of the intense pain He endured for all of us and mine became miniscule in comparison. Without being aware of 2 Timothy 1:8, I had entered into suffering according to the power of God.
And today I was reading Hebrews 2. In verse 17 I read that He was made to be like all of us in all things (the Greek meaning of “was made to be” is He “was obligated to be”. That means if He refused to be made like us in all things, then none of us would ever taste the freedom of being forgiven and cleansed or the joy of experiencing the love of God and eternal life with Him. For us to be fully accepted in Christ, He was obligated to become human…and hence, to suffer like we suffer—and beyond.
Hebrews 2:18 continues, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
There is something about suffering that is readily linked to being tempted. Resisting temptation carries a form of suffering—you refuse to pamper or give into whatever is luring you to disobey God. However, I saw something deeper here as well. Suffering of all varieties brings with it great temptation to be outraged at God and ditch HIM for all kinds of reasons. “Why did this happen? I PRAYED!” “Why won’t this go away? I don’t get it! I did everything the Bible says to do and I still hurt (lack, feel depressed, am lonely, etc.)”
Jesus was tempted in the very things He suffered. Don’t think He wasn’t tempted like we are when we suffer to scream, cry, yell, question God and tell Him off, slap faces, punch holes in the wall, kick the dog or cat, and throw an absolute hissy fit and a great big pity party! But He didn’t. Why not? Because He suffered according to the power of God. And in that, He conquered temptation and never gave in to a bit of it.
This verse goes on to say that as a result of His temptation in the things He suffered (and the inferred overcoming of it all), He is ABLE—He has the POWER—to come to the aid of all those who are tempted. That includes you.
Are you in the middle of some kind of suffering that is tempting you to question your faith and everything you know about God? Then you qualify to receive His ability and His power to aid, assist, and support you right where you are, in whatever condition you find yourself.
The victory is not in avoiding suffering altogether (although He so often is gracious to cause us to bypass it), nor is the victory in how short the suffering lasts (although He frequently brings about quick deliverances).
The victory IS found by fixing our eyes on Jesus despite whatever we may be suffering, and to know that the Greater One IS at work in our lives and that He will turn this whole situation around for good. Press on despite it all. Victory IS yours.
This is how you suffer according to the power of God.
Dorothy
© 2023, Dorothy Frick