Are you living like it’s Saturday?
[Here is some background on this entry I posted several years ago:
Seven years ago on the Saturday before Easter, it was a dark, rainy, gloomy day. My cat Gideon was in late-stage kidney disease, and his buddy Rowe wasn’t acting right; he’d fall down and yowl in pain from time to time. I knew something was wrong with him, I just didn’t know what. Then that Saturday before Easter, I found a full cat canine tooth on my kitchen floor. It was Rowe’s…which only kicked up my despair and foreboding to panic level.
It was in that very circumstance I wrote the following blog entry. I hope this speaks to you.]
Are you living like it’s Saturday?
For most of us, Saturday means this:
Projects. Pastimes. Parties. Plans. Playing.
Rest. Recreation. Recuperation. Recharging.
But once, a couple of thousand years ago, there was a Saturday unlike any other Saturday. That day, like every other Saturday before it and after it, was sandwiched between a Friday and a Sunday. But those two days (as you can imagine) were unlike any other Friday or Sunday before or after.
On that Friday a group of friends witnessed the vile, unjustified arrest of their Friend, a blatantly rigged trial, and a patently predetermined death verdict. They watched helplessly as their Friend was dragged away, flogged, and beaten beyond recognition.
The hope which permeated His every word burned in their own hearts, stoked by the power of His presence. He was the One. He was the Messiah; but here He was now, brutally cut down as they heaved Him high on the crossbeams, slamming His tormented body into place for all to see…to mock, to jeer…
Hope was fading. Joy had withered away. Their Friend, the One who had healed the sick and raised the dead, was gone. His lifeless body was laid in a tomb with a stone covering it so decay could finish its slow work unmolested.
It was Saturday. A numb, raw, gloomy Saturday.
Sunday had not yet arrived.
Now, you and I know what that particular Sunday had in store for His friends…for the world…and for you and me. We know of the pre-dawn rendezvous at the tomb; the rolled-away stone; the discarded burial ointments and herbs when once the strange salutation was spoken, “Why do you seek the Living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen.”
Now, we, like His friends of old, know Him. We have walked with Him and have talked with Him. We know He is risen, He is alive, and because of that, we know that we too are alive in Him.
But today I heard the Lord ask me, “Are you living like it’s Saturday?”
It jolted me. Was I? Was I, a friend of the crucified One, so saddened by losses and weighed down by the perplexities of life, living as if it were only Saturday? Was I living a pre-Sunday life?
I KNOW BETTER.
I had to come to terms with the Truth: It’s not Saturday anymore!
Jesus conquered death. He conquered sin. He conquered pain. He is the Way-Maker when there is no way; He is the Quiet in every storm; He is the Light that overcame darkness—and He is my God. He who crushed the serpent’s head and pulled me out of self-destruction can walk me through torrential winds or crashing waves to the other side—Safely. Unscathed. Strengthened in hope and in faith.
I’ve made up my mind. I refuse to live like it’s Saturday ever again. For me, it’s Sunday now.
Dorothy
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God…When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1, 4).
© 2018, Dorothy Frick; reposted 2025
Read MoreDespising 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
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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
Read MoreMy 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
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