Tagged: Audrey Frank

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: "God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!" But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's." Matthew 16:21-23, NET   Peter said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!"… Read More

For Pastor Dave, with gratitude And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7, NET I don't care. This sentence brings to my lively mind a clear picture of a stubborn child, arms crossed, refusing to obey.  Or a weary ministry leader beleaguered by too much caring and not receiving enough care in return.  The child only cares about what he wants; the adult is desperately drawing boundaries to self-protect from any more pain in the challenging task of so much… Read More

  Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the LORD’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern.” Genesis 24:50 Oh, to have such faith, such desire for God’s will that our wishes are of no concern! These hearts of ours sure do have lots of wishes. And when they concern those we love, our vocation, our identity, we are especially specific in our wishes. Abraham was no different. He was growing old, and his son Isaac’s future was primary in his mind. Issac, the covenant child, great ancestor of Jesus, needed a wife. Abraham’s last wish was for Isaac to marry a girl from Abraham’s relatives. After an impassioned conversation about Isaac’s future security, Abraham implores his servant to make a solemn promise to fulfill… Read More

  But you, LORD, are a shield that protects me; you are my glory and the one who restores me. Psalm 3:3   You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5  My prayers have been compartmentalized for so many years. Jesus, heal me. Father, protect me. Holy Spirit, help me. The realization is dawning in my soul like a sunrise that I am encircled. I am surrounded by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Three in One are never alone and therefore I am never alone.  God exists in community; therefore so do I. The concept of God’s encircling is everywhere in Scripture. Psalm 3 describes the Lord as a shield who protects us.… Read More

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ Luke 18:10-13   I have been thinking about honest prayer. As I pondered today, I remembered a day when I witnessed different approaches to a human king. I have tried to capture it here. May… Read More

  My God with his lovingkindness will meet me (ASV). The God who loves me will help me (NET). Psalm 59:10 My work requires extensive travel. Sometimes, I arrive at my destination expected, prepared for, and cared for, while other times, I am on my own. Being expected, prepared for, and cared for makes a big difference. Sometimes it’s critical to know someone is waiting for me. One time I flew from Egypt to Kenya so sick I almost passed out in the passport queue upon arrival. As the blackness closed in, I feverishly scanned the crowd for a kind face, trying to decide if it was better to introduce myself before I fainted or let them meet me by looking through my bag for… Read More

He shoulders responsibility and is called the Wonderful Adviser. Isaiah 9:6, NET Three books shaped my early childhood: the Bible my great-grandmother gave me the Christmas I was seven years old, my mother’s girlhood copy of Little Women, and my grandfather’s thick and heavy Webster’s Dictionary. I read them all until the pages grew soft like velvet. The word responsibility inspired me long before I knew I was an Enneagram 1 or that Achiever and Responsibility were two of my five top themes in the Clifton Strengthsfinders assessment. Responsibility- the quality or state of being responsible: such as moral, legal, or mental accountability; reliability, trustworthiness. Synonyms: duty, task, function, job, role, place, charge, business, onus, burden, liability, accountability, answerability, province. And curiously, in British English… Read More

The LORD’s Spirit will rest on him — a Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the LORD. Isaiah 11:2, NET According to Worldometer, as I write this there are 8,194,837,950 and speedily counting human souls on earth. As the population increases, it decreases simultaneously, and the world spins around on her careful axial tilt of between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees. Where is wisdom to be found among so many souls, on an incessantly spinning earth? Surely we need wisdom to survive.  Extraordinary wisdom is called for, the kind that provides the ability to execute wise plans. Wisdom that produces absolute loyalty to Wisdom Himself. We need wisdom that fosters delight… Read More

The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.   Isaiah 9:2 Darkness has some strange effects on the mind and body. Studies have shown that humans who live in darkness for prolonged periods behave differently. There is even an entire field of biology called chronobiology devoted to studying the effects of light and darkness on humans, or the effects of solar and lunar activity on living creatures. You might have heard of the circadian rhythm, the internal wake-sleep cycle in humans. Or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the effect of darkness during late fall and winter on one’s mental state. Some people refer to it as the “winter blues.” Countries far north of… Read More

  The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. Isaiah 9:1 Gloom is defined by the Collins Dictionary as “a state of near darkness” or “a feeling of sadness or lack of hope.” It’s hard to see during the gloomy hour just before nightfall. Details are blurry. Lines on the road seem to disappear. People look like shadows, and it takes extra effort to focus.  Anxiety can have the same effect, pitching us into a state of near darkness, flooding us with sadness, and diminishing hope. It’s hard to see clearly when our minds and hearts grow dim with anxiety. In the gloom, we are more likely to cross boundaries or let someone else cross ours. We might bump into someone and cause… Read More