Tagged: Audrey Frank

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the highways of Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs. Psalm 84:5-6 In our last devotional together we examined the cost of spring-making. Psalm 84 prepares the pilgrim for two realities on the Way: the reality of weeping, and the reality of refreshing. [bctt tweet="Jesus paid the cost of spring-making, and because of that, we can walk the Valley of Baca with hope. With the strength Jesus gives, we can also practice the discipline of spring naming. #hope " username="audreycfrank"] Spring naming transforms the pilgrim pathway, making it a place of refreshment for us and a resource for those who come behind. The discipline… Read More

Paul said to the Roman officer and his soldiers, “Unless you all stay together onboard the ship, you have no chance of surviving.” Acts 27:31 (TPT) When the winds rise and the ship’s timbers groan, the natural human inclination is to panic. Our innate fight or flight instinct trips and the little amygdala deep in our brain urges, Protect yourself!!! The soldiers on board Paul’s battered ship to Rome were no different. As they sneakily untied the lifeboats and tried to slip away Paul warned them, “Unless you all stay together onboard the ship, you have no chance of surviving.” He had shared with them that morning the dream God sent in the night. While he slept, the angel of God came to him and… Read More

But we must run aground on some island to be saved. Acts 27:26 Sometimes in life we must run aground to be saved. If it were up to us, we’d avoid shipwreck. Who wants to be dashed against the hard rocks of life? But it’s not often up to us, especially if we live in community. In community, no one lives unto himself. The reality is, everything we do impacts others. We can choose to stick together, even in storms. The community of believers is a motley crew of decision makers, opinion bearers, and gifted individuals. We may not all agree on our course. The communal course may lead us to run aground. Some people choose isolation just to avoid such strife. But for those… Read More

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8   Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8-9   For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:5   Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.… Read More

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.  2 Corinthians 3:5 Sufficient: enough, adequate, plenty of, ample, abundant.  Antonyms: insufficient, inadequate. Just one search on Amazon books returned 393 results for the word enough. Sufficient yielded over 10,000. We have an obsessive-compulsive relationship with the need to be enough. The need to be sufficient nags at us until we do something about it. Then it nags again. Then we strive again. Then it nags. Then we quit. Or run faster, work harder, sleep less.  Some of us believe we are too much. We try to squeeze our big love, our big personalities, our big dreams down to fit the enough boxes everyone carries around. Some of us think we are… Read More

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world, the things that are not, to nullify the things that are. 1 Corinthians 1:28 Come and be small, said no one ever. Except, perhaps, one who learned the hard way that less is more, small is truly big, and to lose one's life is to find it. Saul's name meant sought after. One day, he would be called Paul instead. Paul means little. But that would come later, at great cost. Saul used to be the biggest personality in the room. Like a raging bull with all the credentials of ascribed honor behind him, he was an indomitable force in the early days of the church. There are many kinds of honor in the world,… Read More

And behold, the Lord stood… and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.” Genesis 28:13 Take heart, dear parent. The Lord Himself will speak to your children. Jacob deceived Isaac and Esau rebelled against him. Yet Isaac remained sure of the Lord, spoke a blessing over Jacob, and sent him into adulthood. The blessing of our children is critical at the launching point where we send our children out into adulthood. Though they may or may not embrace the truth they have been taught, though they may or may not be following Jesus as they exit our homes, they need… Read More

Jesus responded, “You have the food to feed them.” They replied, “All we have are these five small loaves of bread and two dried fish. Do you really expect us to go buy food for all these people?” Luke 9:13 Ministry is thrilling, and sometimes exhausting. It is a beautiful privilege to give all we have in the name of Jesus. The disciples had just returned from what was probably months on a ministry tour, laying down their lives and seeing wonders and miracles through the new authority Jesus had given them. Dusty, tired, and happy, they couldn’t wait to tell their Teacher all they’d witnessed. Jesus invited them to spend time with Him and they likely assumed that meant time alone to rest together… Read More

But during the night, the Lord sent an angel who appeared before them. He supernaturally opened their prison doors and brought the apostles outside. “Go,” the angel told them. “Stand in the temple courts and preach the words that bring life! So early that morning they entered the temple courts and taught the people.  Acts 5:19-20 Go. Stand. Preach the words that bring life. So many words in the world. Words that bring death, and words that bring life. (See Proverbs 18:21). What power we have, we followers of the Word (see John 1). We can preach words that bring life. Have you ever seen anything brought to life? Have you witnessed the birth of a child? The delight of a blossom appearing overnight from snow-bound… Read More

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-4 We are called to be a refuge for the persecuted. As I plumped the pillows and smoothed one more thick blanket over the bed, I thought of my persecuted brothers and sisters around the world fleeing from oppression. Racing through the night, seeking shelter, praying for passage. Holding little ones close, hoping they don’t feel the… Read More