Tagged: Audrey Frank

I just finished Shûsaku Endô’s terribly beautiful book, Silence, about two missionaries who go into 17th century Japan to find their beloved mentor, who is reported to have apostatized under unbearable persecution. It was assumed, even by Endô’s publishers, that Silence was about the silence of God. Yet, for the rest of Endô’s life as he lectured about the book, he stated, “I did not write a book about the silence of God, I wrote a book about the voice of God speaking through suffering and silence.” I did not find God silent in Endô’s book. I found Him speaking generously, tenderly to Father Rodriguez, especially in his most excruciating moments. But perhaps the problem is in our definition of the silence of God. There… Read More

  Go gently through this day, Beloved. The world doth violence To our souls.   Look carefully before you, Beloved. The path is narrow, But good.   Tend kindly to your soul, Beloved. His mercies have no limit; Rely on them.   Stay your mind on Him,  Beloved. He will surely keep you In perfect peace.   Release your cares to Him, Beloved. Our Helper is reliable; Trust Him.   Let the laughter come, Beloved. Let not sorrow keep you From joy.   Tune your ear to His voice, Beloved. What He whispers Do.   Receive His rest and live, Beloved. Learn from Him Today.   @audreycfrank Photo by Sue Winston on Unsplash Read More

Il vostro cuore non sia turbato; credete in Dio, credete anche in me! Giovanni 14:1   Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1, NIV I love the way languages deepen my understanding of the Word of God.  To English speakers, the Italian word turbato may sound familiar. It springs from the Latin root turbinem, and from it we derive English words such as turmoil, disturb, and trouble. Closest in pronunciation is the word turbine. Right now, I'm 30,000 feet above the earth, sitting over a powerful turbine that propels this airplane through the clouds. I can feel the power beneath my seat but can't see this mighty machine. It's hidden under the wing outside my… Read More

Examine me, O LORD, and test me. Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives. Psalm 26:2 Wow! Both the word examine and the word evaluate are words used in refining and purifying metals.  בָּחַן ḇâḥan, examine, means to investigate, prove, examine, test, try (of gold, persons, the heart, man of God); to make a trial.   צָרַף ṣârap̱, evaluate, means to purge away, pure, melt, founder, goldsmith, refine, fuse. To cast.To test (and prove true). Olive Tree Enhanced Strong's Dictionary, 2023.  What, precisely, is being purified? The word motives ( לֵב lêḇ) reveals the breadth of the task. The Psalmist, in this case, David, is asking God to examine and prove true his kidneys (figuratively his interior self) and his reins (what controls him). He is… Read More

  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. Colossians 1:15-17   The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands…The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. Psalm 19:1; 97:6 “Nature was the first scribe.” James Prosek  We picked up James Prosek’s Audubon-like book on the coffee table of a hospitable stranger’s riverside cabin. His comment caused me to ponder the veracity of… Read More

But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble." So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. James 4:6-10 I used to dread our visits to my old great-aunt's house. Adult conversation about achy knees and cousin Sam's latest romance was utterly boring. So I would sneak away to the raspberry patch and eat sweet berries until my cheeks ran red with… Read More

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46, ESVUK   Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.… Read More

Into your hand I entrust my life; you will rescue me, O LORD, the faithful God. Psalm 31:5   So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good. 1 Peter 4:19, NET Entrust your life; entrust your soul. The Psalmist is in great distress and needs rescue. He chooses to entrust his threatened life to the Lord, the faithful God. Many things can prove “life-threatening.” It depends on where one’s “life” is centered. Job loss can feel life-threatening. The unexpected diagnosis is a threat. The lives of prodigal children seem profoundly threatened to the mother and father who faithfully trained them to know and love God. No matter who we are… Read More

Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet the young women of the land.  Genesis 34:1 Here is the first and last time we see Dinah happy and whole. Dinah means judgment. She was the daughter born after her shamed mother, Leah, gave birth to honor (the meaning of Zebulun, the sixth son Leah bore to Jacob). Dinah, now a young woman, left that morning set on finding friendship. Instead, she was intercepted and violated by someone with great power. The rest of the story is about the silence of her father, the patriarch Jacob, and the violent revenge of her brothers. Yet we have no explanation of why Dinah, the daughter of an unloved woman who spent her life seeking… Read More

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Since the LORD has prevented me from having children, please sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” Abram did what Sarai told him. Genesis 16:1-5 Can we be so attached to God’s promises and the way we interpret their meaning that we try to make them happen on our own? In serving the Lord among the nations for over thirty years, I have observed something fascinating: God’s heart is always for the nations. That promise-invitation I was given about my future when I was nine, sitting in a small country church in the Appalachian mountains, was… Read More