Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 15

We’re Asking the Wrong Question About Racism

Too many of us are getting hung up on the wrong question.

It’s easy to understand why. Harder to ask the right questions. I may have it wrong but here goes.

The question of the day is, of course, am I racist?

All of us are challenged to reflect on this, to confess to it if we realize it’s true, and to repent, to change, to progress.

There are a couple of problems with this question.

First, it’s begs a yes or no answer. We tend to grade ourselves on a curve and so often, compared to Nazis or the KKK, we score better so we give ourselves a no. No, I’m not even tempted by the KKK therefore, I’m not a racist.

This is problematic logic.

Second, even if we’ve prayerfully wrestled with this question and risen from prayer with the understanding that we aren’t essentially racist, someone will likely tell us we just aren’t woke enough or aware enough or authoritative enough on the topic to draw that conclusion.

Or, we’re blind to our own condition. Or we didn’t truly understand the question. Or we didn’t appreciate the full definition of racism as determined by today’s standard.

Any of that may hold shades of truth, so the ambiguity leaves us likely to become victims of a vague false guilt and nagging doubt from the evil one but with no effective action steps to address the issue. We flail about trying to bat this phantom racism away like an annoying gnat, but it keeps buzzing about distracting us from what may be actual areas of needed growth. (This is a common tactic of our enemy. Phantom guilt distracts us from true conviction.)

It’s a frustrating exercise to be told that on this particular topic, we can’t possibly be trusted to come to an informed decision through prayerful discussion with God. This fruitless cycle leaves Christians who are sincerely trying not to be racist frustrated and in despair. While those who do harbor hatred of others based on skin color are probably not losing sleep. (I hesitate to call these people Christians, though they may use the term for themselves because to hate is antithetical to following Jesus.)

Third, the notion that there are different “races” is problematic for most Bible believers who understand that there is one human race, designed thoughtfully and creatively by God with a variety of skin colors, cultures, and ethnicities. Am I racist? I believe there’s only one race and since God is for it, so am I.

Of course, I don’t consider myself racist. I’ve grown up believing people are created equal and that all humans deserve respect, dignity, and love. I accept the idea that I have blind spots and am open to correction, but I am open. Ergo, I respond, no, I’m not racist. Still, after hearing the cries of my brothers and sisters of color, I’m not comfortable just leaving it at that. And so I conclude that maybe I’ve started with the wrong question.

I go to God’s Word, as is my practice for all of life’s major quandaries, and I find myself thinking there are more productive questions to ask that actually lead me to places where I can change and take action. These questions inspire repentance, continued growth, and kingdom work:

Do I love the way Jesus loves? (John 5:13)

Do I love everyone Jesus considers my neighbor? Are there ways I could love them better or communicate that love clearer? (Luke 10:25-37)

How can I show love to those who are expressing anger, pain, and desperation at a system they’ve experienced as unfair? (1 Corinthians 12:26)

Am I engaging with people in my community who look different from me? Why not? (James 2)

Do the demographics of my church reflect the demographics of my community? Of the world? Why not? Is there room for improvement? (Mark 6:15)

Am I willing to be uncomfortable to help people who don’t feel included or accepted in God’s family feel more at home? (1 Peter 4:9)

Am I quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger? (James 1)

Do I care enough about Christians of color to forget about myself and listen to them talk about their experiences and their parents’ experiences without judgment or defensiveness? (1 John 3)

If I’m a Christian of color, am I willing to see my beyond the skin of my Caucasian brothers and sisters and see them the way I want to be seen, as individuals worthy of respect and acceptance? (1 John 3)

God loves justice. Are there actions I can take that would further the cause of justice in my community? Or have I given up on justice this side of glory? Have I stopped trying because it’s hard? Have I lost hope and if so, can I repent of my own hopelessness and return to the work in faith? (Micah 6:8)

Jonah was blind to his own racism when he ran in the opposite direction of God’s call on his life to speak truth to the Ninevites. Am I living in obedience to God’s full call on my life? Are there ways I’ve placed my own comfort first over delivering the good news of Jesus or of engaging in the ministry of reconciliation to people who are from different cultures or ethnicities? (Jonah)

Am I growing spiritually, in ever-increasing measure, in faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love so that I am effective and fruitful in my faith? (2 Peter 1:1-10)

Would others say my life is marked by truth and love, both spoken and lived? Is the legacy I leave likely to be one of reconciliation, sacrificial living, and bringing glory to Jesus’ name? (Romans 12)

Can we imagine, for a moment, that if we worked with some of these questions that we might make a dent in reducing racism, deepening Christian community, and spreading the gospel at the same time?

If the question your asking yourself in this time in our generation leads you to change nothing, then you’re asking the wrong question.

And if you’re not asking any questions, then loved one, you’re not even paying attention.

You’re not racist? Good for you. But that’s a pretty low bar to clear for a son or daughter of the Most High God. Aim higher.

Jesus has set us free. We don’t live under threat of punishment. We live free from fear of condemnation.

Why NOT ask the hard questions and continue to grow up in Christ? 

We're Asking the Wrong Questions about Racism https://t.co/IAhaH7YVWV #racism #Jesus #leadership

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 25, 2020

Fear Not Fire nor Flood nor Contentious Conversation (Seven Keys to Productive Conversations during Conflict)

Every generation of Christians has its own challenges. Some must send young men and women to war. Others must abolish evil practices like slavery. One of our challenges is that we must get contentious people talking with one another. Many a general would prefer to lead troops into battle because at least he enters with a sense of control.

We know it’s imperative to get people talking about hard topics, but we hesitate. For good reason! It’s not easy to manage a group conversation when there is conflict or there are passionate opinions and a multitude of challenging personalities in the mix.

Still, James 4:17 ESV warns us “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” We stare at that verse and long for wise support about how to lead effective hard conversations with conflicting groups in our family, church, ministry team, or community. Take heart! God will provide but we need to show up to receive the provision.

There’s no guaranteed way to keep a conversation from exploding or to ensure it produces positive outcomes but there are strategies to increase the likelihood that Christ will be honored, and people will feel heard. Today, our greatest achievement may be simply keeping people at the table.

By investing work to shape the conversational space before we discuss the primary hurting points, we establish an environment where success has the best opportunity.

Create a simple mission statement for the conversation. After opening in prayer, poll the room and ask what people expect to discuss and achieve. Establish a time frame and do the math on how many people can realistically be permitted to speak and for how long. Large groups may be divided into subsets. Our hardest conversations cannot be had through one meeting but usually require a series of conversations. Set this expectation and then determine an achievable goal for each meeting one at a time. Summarize with a simple statement such as, “Tonight, we want to find out what is important to everyone regarding our worship music” or “Today, our goal is to give everyone who wants to speak, the opportunity to share their perspective on how racism impacts them personally.”
Determine ground rules and enforcement strategies. Lead a brief discussion about ground rules that will help guide safe, orderly conversation as well as how those ground rules will be enforced. For example, “One person at a time. Everyone contributes. Respect will be extended to all.” This is a good time to discuss time limits on speakers or topics that will be saved for another day. A simple enforcement strategy is to invite the group to raise their hands if a speaker is violating the ground rules and that person will have an opportunity to self-correct before the facilitator steps in. Don’t neglect creating an enforcement strategy and employing it. Ground rules are ineffective if they aren’t observed. There should be as few as necessary, they should arise from the group, and enforced by the group whenever possible.
Identify areas of strength and places of agreement. Next, identify shared strengths and areas of agreement that already exist. (If a disagreement is identified during this time, acknowledge it by recording it but remain with strengths and agreements until there is a solid list.) Keep this list before the group. Add to it as other agreements are identified. Sometimes, the only agreement is that everyone agrees there is a problem. Celebrate this small starting place and be undaunted by it (Zechariah 4:10). Identify ways the groups’ strengths might be used to help during disagreement. Express gratitude in prayer for this list. It can be useful if decorum starts to break down to revisit this list.
Identify the stakes. There might not be high stakes in a discussion about paint color for the nursery, but discussions of worship format, racism, or leadership style may result in diminished witness in the community, loss of members, or changes in staff. Stating the stakes up front helps people respect that the words spoken in the room carry weight beyond the room.
Normalize conflict and differences of opinion. It can be helpful to remind people that conflict and differences among Christians are to be expected and not feared. Not all differences arise out of sin and those that do can be met with the expectation of forgiveness and grace. God loves variety and He loves when His people do the work of reconciliation. Commit as a group to move forward unafraid of disagreement. Renounce fear in your midst. Assign one or two individuals the power to pause the discussion and check in with the room when they notice a breakdown in productive discussion. (If there are “sides,” designate a person from each side with this task.)
Encourage transparency and participation. It’s frustrating to reach the end of a hard conversation and hear muttering that some didn’t really agree but also didn’t speak up. Anonymous polling with the results read aloud can be a good barometer of true agreement. It helps people see they’re not alone (or that they are!) Verbal polling can also be helpful. Warn people a poll is coming: “Just a heads up that after Tom speaks, I’m going to poll to see where everyone stands on this topic (or on continuing the conversation), beginning with Lashonda.”
Determine a shared summary of the discussion at the end. It’s worth saving 10-15 minutes at the end to summarize what was discussed and agree on both what occurred as well as next steps. Revisit the groups strengths and agreements before closing in prayer.

Key to effective hard conversations is appreciating that it may take more than one to achieve progress. People must feel safe to come back to the table.

These seven guidelines will facilitate that in most situations, but truly, people feel safe when their leaders demonstrate fearless, wise, vulnerable confidence that God will bless obedience even when it passes through conflict.

This is a starting place but there are more tips in my latest book, The Art of Hard Conversations: Biblical Tools for the Tough Talks that Matter.

Seven Keys to Getting People Talking Effectively in Church https://t.co/K96v3cgXH3 #leadershipdevelopment #hardconversations #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 16, 2020

Behind Closed Doors – Hard Conversations among Christians about Racism

My friend called me out. I’m a writer. A Jesus-follower. I have a platform. Of course, I should use it to speak into this moment. Why else would God give me a voice in these times? I literally wrote the book on how to have hard conversations.

So this radical Jesus-lover sent this: “Lori, we need to you to write a blog/post sharing your wisdom on how to have the hard conversation about race. Hope to read it this week. THX.”

I looked God straight in the eye because conviction is swift and crystal clear. He responded by bringing Galatians 5:13-14 ESV to mind, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

And I understood from that that while my ethnicity in one way affords me the “option” to wrestle with the question of racism, my relationship with Jesus leaves no such default on the table because the default of every believer is love and truth. The loving truth is that racism has no place in the Body of Christ. When my neighbor suffers, I suffer.

And that’s exactly how it should work, these hard conversations about race. My friend was watching for me to do what is right to do and when it didn’t happen, he called me on it.

Honestly, I’ve hesitated to write on this topic because I’m not having substantive hard conversations with black friends. At least, not in person. I’m listening to everything they say through protests, written words, films, art, music, and sermons. And it’s right for me to listen because what business does some middle-aged white woman have writing anything about conversations of race?

But, here’s the thing. I’m not just a middle-aged white woman.

That’s what the world sees. But, what I am at my core is a daughter of the Most High God. What I am, in my inner being, is in Christ. All my hope for the world, for change, for deliverance, for overcoming, for true freedom is summed up in Jesus.  I don’t believe that change comes through politicians or protests or programs (though I don’t object to those and believe God uses them for His purposes.) I believe change comes by way of the cross – changed souls, changed hearts, changed ways – because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

Growing up in the sixties and seventies, I believed racism would be eradicated in our times. I grew up in a mostly white rural area but in the church – let me say that again – in the church, I saw men and women of every color gather to worship as one people. The favorite folk song at our church camp was “Rainbow Race” by Pete Seeger. As a youth, I honestly believed it was a done deal.

I confess that as I’ve grown aware through my almost sixty years of life that racism has proved more stubborn and persistent than we imagined, I’ve adopted a learned helplessness/hopelessness that honestly isn’t representative of Christ at all. But that’s no reason to give up on the work. We must be refreshed and renewed by the Holy Spirit – when we’re beaten down, we must allow Him to revive us.

There are hard conversations to be had outside the church but let me begin with conversations we can have between Christians. I’m pretty practical so I believe we each should be begin at home – hard conversations with our inner circle.

Right now, people in my inner circle are asking “What should I be doing? How can I help?” The temptation is to join a march and call it a day. Or rush out to find a black friend and press him or her for ideas. It’s always tempting to look for the quick fix for discomfort – like comfort food for the soul, but let’s not allow one another to get off so easily. Instead, let’s take one another seriously and ask, “Are we willing to commit time in fasting and prayer asking God what we should do? Are we willing to listen to black sisters and brothers who are preaching on this now – to read their books and engage in discussion? What are we willing to set aside to make space for this work in our lives? Are we willing to fan this impulse to flame or do we just want to quiet a flare up of cultural guilt? Do we accept the urgency our black brothers and sisters feel?”
We need to get comfortable with hard conversations about sin, repentance, and change – with other white Christians. (Yes, this can also apply to Christians of every color – sin is not bound by skin color.) We need to be persistent about calling one another out for the everyday attitudes, remarks, and Facebook memes that express thoughts that represent shades of hate, bitterness, or resentment. We’re too savvy to be outright hateful but we must be zealous for the name of Christ that we present ourselves for cleansing from every hint of it. Many of us who are white hear comments in those quiet conversations with others and we think we’re standing firm by just not joining in. That’s not enough. Here’s a rule I’m adopting – if I hear something I would be uncomfortable hearing in the presence of a black friend, I’m going to speak up.
Speak up how? Like every other sin, we speak directly but with humility, gentleness, and the hope of redemption. “I hope I’m wrong, but that comment sounded hurtful and unkind regarding people of color. Did you intend it to come out that way?” Racism is sinful. Period. We MUST confront it in ourselves and in our communities.
And while we’re praying for courage for our black brothers and sisters, we need to ask for a healthy dose of our own. A white reader asked me this week about speaking out. Here’s our conversation:

Reader: “I have a question and I hope this is a safe place to ask it. This is how it goes for me:

SJW- White people should speak out

White person speaks out

SJW- White people should shut up and listen.

Lol. I don’t know what to do except concentrate on my own actions and my own heart. But that’s probably going to look like I’m being silent. Advice?”

I responded:

“I love that question and have been praying about it. Here’s where I’ve landed: We need to speak or be silent in accordance with the commands of Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Period. There will always be someone who calls us wrong no matter what we choose so we cannot choose our actions in response to other people’s demands but only in obedience to God. To speak in these times is to risk being misunderstood, criticized, rejected, mocked, dismissed, labeled, or opposed. But we must represent Jesus and God’s Word regardless of the fallout. If we are silent, it must also be in His name and at His calling, not out of fear of the consequences of speaking or the fear of getting it wrong. If we speak and someone shows us rightly where our words betray an inner prejudice, we should receive that in humility, process it with God, and grow. We will make mistakes but that’s not a reason to not try.”

I do have more to say about having hard conversations about race, but this has been a long post so there will be another.

For me, this is the place we begin – having hard conversations on our knees – repenting and seeking God’s counsel and then having hard conversations with our inner circles about the words we speak behind closed doors and the actions we could take that will lead to lasting change in the name of Jesus.

Frankly, there is no hope outside of Christ. None. In the history of the world, when the oppressed rise without Jesus, they simply become new oppressors. If we, as Christians, don’t involve ourselves in this work, there is no hope.

But, we know there is hope because we have all been to church and we’ve seen it happen before our very eyes – brothers and sisters of every color worshiping as one.

There is more work to do, but we must live and speak as people who know this hope. And because God has taught us how to have hard conversations, we can serve our brothers and sisters of color by engaging in this work, in the name of Jesus. Not without consequence on this side of glory, but with the hope of Christ in our hearts, we are already more than overcomers.

Are you having hard conversations about racism in your inner circle? Here’s some ideas how to begin. https://t.co/lTWTBzSJGr #Jesus #hardconversationsaboutrace

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 8, 2020

Abuse of Power

Whatever the headlines are on our preferred news stations, I believe there is a single headline about 2020 in heaven and it reads, “Abuse of Power.”

I’m not going to be cute with this blog. I’ll cut to the chase. I write for Christians because I love Jesus and I adore His people. There’s nothing special about me that isn’t also special about you. We wrestle with the same things, you and I, and right now, we’re wrestling with a year rampant with power struggles.

With every new catastrophe – fire, flood, locusts, pestilence, violence, plague, pandemic – there comes a struggle over power. Who will control the narrative? Who has accurate information? Who makes the decisions? Which decisions are right to follow, and which are right to defy? Who has the power to lead, to change, to dispense justice, to speak, and to judge?

And even when everything explodes on Pentecost weekend, God’s people still don’t connect the dots. I know this because too many Christians respond to our times like so many chicken littles running around crying out that the sky is falling and too few of us stop to remember that we already know who has the power – it’s us.

We must remind ourselves of this because there are people depending on us to remember. There are over 118 references to power in the New Testament. It is a wonderful refresher to read each reference in context.

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, the people marveled because He taught with authority and power. He gave power to His disciples so they, too, could engage in His work. After His death and resurrection, Jesus told His followers to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high. At Pentecost, they were, indeed, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and when they went forward, they spoke and acted from within that power.

Paul reminds Timothy “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

The evil one, who is God’s enemy, is the great deceiver and one of the greatest deceptions of this age is that we, the church, are powerless. Too often we fall for this lie and when we do, we let the weapons, which are not the weapons of this world, drop from our grasp, and we stand aside wringing our hands when instead, we should act, speak, and pray from a firm foundation of power in Jesus Christ.

No wonder Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians went like this: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:16-23 ESV

The greatest abuse of power in our times is not political or racial or patriarchal or economic. The greatest abuse of power is God’s people forgetting who we are and who He is and living as helpless bystanders when really we are empowered as warriors to pray, to preach, to act as representatives of the most High God and to stand against the ruling authorities of this world – no matter how frightening they try to appear. With them, it’s smoke and mirrors, but our strength is more real even than our fear and forgetfulness.

Neither the government nor the media showed us how to love the world, Jesus did. Now, let’s show them.

I know we don’t appear powerful. I know there are longstanding issues in our midst that the church has failed miserably to address. I know that each of us harbors a secret list of our own weaknesses. None of this negates God’s Word. None of this changes the work of Christ on the cross. None of this makes us any different than the early church and they changed the world.

Let’s not wait for the world to invite us to speak or provide us with action steps or suddenly start believing in prayer. Let us live in the power of Jesus Christ who demonstrated power over temptation, over disease, over demons, over ruling authorities, over religious frauds, over death – and let’s take that to the streets, in His name.

Let us live so that the headline in heaven for the rest of 2020 reads, “And Then They Remembered the Immeasurable Greatness of His Power.” Amen?

What is the single greatest Abuse of Power in 2020? https://t.co/yEi7VkuCrb The answer may surprise you #Jesus #AbuseOfPower #ICantBreathe

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 1, 2020

O, Me, Of Little Faith

Lately I’ve been noticing the invisible people in Bible stories. Recently, it was a whole crowd who had previously managed to elude my view.

Who were these people? These ones who came out to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist, to repent of their sins, and to be baptized? In all my years reading God’s Word, my focus has always been on John but now, I wondered about all of these.

They’re mentioned in all four gospels, this nameless, faceless throng so affected by the words of this wild prophet, this precursor to Christ, this way preparer, this path straightener, this son of Elizabeth and her husband.

Matthew describes them this way, “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:5 ESV)

Mark makes it sound like quite a crowd when he says, “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” Mark 1:5 ESV)

Luke describes John’s back and forth with the crowd and says they were “in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,” (Luke 3:18 ESV).

John describes a similar back and forth between John the Baptist and a contingent sent from the Pharisees with questions about who the prophet was. (John 1)

Who were these crowds so aware of their need for a Messiah, so ready to hear a message about their sin, so eager to confess, so public with their repentance?

Too often I consider my modern faith superior to the crowds surrounding Jesus and yet, here were throngs of people who understood their lives were wrong and needed transformation. Here were people following a prophet who didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear but what God told him to speak. A prophet who bluntly pointed out their sin and instructed them to change, to die to themselves, to make themselves ready for Jesus.

He wasn’t selling them on the coming Messiah. He wasn’t creating a safe place for them to hear the Lord. He wasn’t validating their strengths or affirming their seeking hearts. When they came to him, he told them their lives were all wrong and needed to be different – and they responded.

It brings to mind visions of Billy Graham Crusades – people responding to altar calls – flooding down auditorium stairs to kneel and pray at the foot of the podium. Throngs in the South dressed in white on sunny Sundays filing down to the river to be baptized in Jesus’ name. Revivals in South Korea, the Philippines, Nigeria, hidden China.

These visions create conflict in our spirits, do they not? We who have been conditioned to be suspect of the crowd, of trends, of the mind of the masses. We who have known that those who travel in crowds are subject to hive mind, to lemmings’ risks, to be led to slaughter like sheep.

And yet, is that distortion an enemy scheme to blind us to the waiting crowd?

Because, here they are, this invisible mob flocking to John to confess and repent. This straightforward, no punches pulled preaching resulted in – well – results. A people prepared to receive Jesus. Our forefathers and foremothers – the crowd who leapt together off the cliff into fuller life.

Of course, there were those standing with them who had come with ulterior motives, out of curiosity, to scope out the phenomenon, to exploit the moment. The gospels record them, too, and John’s plain message that they have no business entering the waters unless they are ready to confess and repent. Do we allow these modern Pharisees to silence us, to turn our eyes from the crowd waiting for Jesus?

O, me, of little faith. When I look at a crowd – my community, my country, my generation – I work from a modern playbook and devise ineffective ways to appeal to them on Jesus’ behalf – so I can say I tried without risking my head.

I ignore the gospel truth that my work is to prepare the way. People don’t seek a cure for something they don’t know afflicts them.

The truth is that the crowd is still there suffering with a vague notion that something isn’t right. To address it they buy things or make things or part ways with things that no longer bring them joy in hopes they will find a worthy god in consumerism, industrialism, minimalism. They seek their god in other humans, or they give up god and escape until death arrives.

And we know the truth as surely as John that the path they seek lies through confession and repentance in preparation for Jesus, but we value our heads more than love so we devise cloaked messages hoping someone will stumble into the truth.

Maybe, though, we can speak our generation’s language and still state prophetic truth. Maybe we could sit with our neighbors around a fire or at the island in our open concept kitchens and share our dilemma.

“So, you know I follow Jesus. I’ve been struggling lately to figure out how to talk with people about faith without sounding like a jerk. The prophets of the Bible plainly told people to confess their sins and repent. That message resonated with me once. It also resonated with crowds of people through time – people who felt their lives weren’t right no matter what they tried. People who felt deep down they were meant for more than the life they were experiencing. People weighed down with secrets sins and the fear they would be found out. What comes to mind for you when I mention confession and repentance? Have you found everything you’ve been looking for in life?”

I don’t know. I’m no John the Baptist. My faith is small, but maybe I can muster enough courage to ask a question.

Because the reality is, there is, among my generation, another crowd (maybe the last crowd) waiting for someone to speak the truth. And whether I see them or not, God tells me they’re there.

O, Me, Of Little Faith https://t.co/dSelmNLvlt Speaking to the waiting crowd of our generation #Gospel #Jesus #truth

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 27, 2020

I’ve posted daily prayers on Facebook since the start of the pandemic and have collected those posted during our initial confinement in this free download for all of you who’ve asked. Feel free to download a copy today and share as God leads. Praying through a Pandemic

Praying through a Pandemic – Book 1 – Our Initial Confinement

These past weeks have been an unprecedented time in most of our lives. The upheaval, confusion, isolation, conflict, grief and fear were widespread, but so, too, was creativity, renewal, and re-connection as we reinvented our lives.

While some of us have found insight and relief from pausing life as usual, others have been pressed into harrowing, unrelenting service, and still others have lost loved ones, ministries, businesses, or dreams.

I attempted to cope with the COVID19 pandemic as I have with most of my life – through turning to God’s Word, through prayer, and through writing. On March 18th, I began typing a daily prayer onto my Facebook status and readers responded, asking for more. And so, I continued to type a daily prayer (as I still do.)

On May 9th, our tiny state, Rhode Island, began Phase 1 of returning to life beyond COVID19. I decided then to compile all the prayers from our initial confinement into a pdf booklet that I could share with you. You can download a copy of Praying through a Pandemic – Book 1 – Our Initial Confinement by clicking HERE or the link at the end of this post.

I offer these prayers for your use as God leads. Please feel free to pray these prayers in your prayer time or just read them as an historical, spiritual record.

You are welcome to print the booklet and share it with others.

I invite you to share individual prayers as you feel led as long as you reference the booklet.

I would love it if you find value in these prayers and in my posts, if you would share my website with others and invite them to subscribe. When they do, they’ll receive the same free download.

May God bless you with His presence during this trial we endure together, yet apart, and with a fresh revelation through His Word of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and of His vision for your life.

I often refer to you readers as loved ones because you are – wholly, lavishly loved by our infinitely wise God. Take heart in the words of our Lord Jesus who said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV.

Pray without ceasing during this time of re-invention. God is faithful and will be with us through whatever may come. “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:35-39 ESV

Praying through a Pandemic – Book 1 – Our initial confinement by Lori Stanley Roeleveld

Praying through a Pandemic – Book 1 – Our Initial Confinement https://t.co/2xnSnwd2ok #freedownload #Jesus #Covid_19

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 16, 2020

Judging, Not.

Did you ever meet someone and know immediately that you were kindred spirits? That he or she would become part of your fellowship of the ring? That’s how I felt the first time I encountered Maggie Wallem Rowe. It’s my pleasure to introduce you to her and to her knew devotional – This Life We Share. You can thank me later!

The Invisible Parable

The small band of Jesus followers sat weary and discouraged. The old woman came upon them and asked the source of their long faces.

“Our task is large, our numbers are small, and our faith feels small, though once it was great.”

The old woman looked on them with love and asked, “And what does it tell you in the Book about accomplishing this great task?”

Their Book was well-worn for they knew it well and loved the Author. Their response came quickly and was true. “It says our Lord has given us everything we need and yet . . . here we are.”

“Yes,” the old woman nodded, “I have known this kind of weariness.” She glanced around the room. “I notice in every corner and especially along the back wall, you have many unopened gifts. Tell me about these.”

“Those?” they replied, with looks that indicated they’d stopped seeing those gifts long ago, “There are many reasons we’ve left them where they are. It’s complicated, you see.”

“Make it simple for me,” the old woman said as she walked to one pile and pointed. “What about these?”

“Just look at the ancient wrapping on those gifts! They have been unused for so long! Surely there can’t be anything there of use in modern times or that might appeal to this generation! We would never toss them out, of course. We cherish them. But surely there’s nothing there to help us in our great task!” They looked at one another with confidence in their response.

“I see. Well, what about this other pile. This wrapping isn’t ancient. Why are these untouched?”

They continued to respond with confidence in their thinking. “Oh, those gifts are waiting for their mates to arrive. Granted, some have been waiting a very long time, but we aren’t sure how to use them without them being in pairs. As soon as mates arrive, we’ll explore their gifts and put them immediately to use!”

“And these beside them? They appear to be rewrapped.”

“Yes, those are gifts that had mates at one time but lost them. So, they’ve been set aside until a new mate can be found or the old mate returns.”

The old woman closed her eyes for a moment before asking about the last two piles. “What of these and these?”

“See that big pile is full of gifts that are of such odd shapes and sizes, we can’t imagine how to employ them in the task. They don’t fit any ways we currently work. Some are too big for us to manage, others too small, and others just escape our understanding all together. And that last pile? Well, those seem perfectly fine. They’ve just been sitting there so quietly, apparently, we’ve forgotten they were there. Maybe they don’t want to be put to use. The gifts that arrive well-shaped, in the proper groupings, that announce themselves clearly are all employed in the task.”

The old woman closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and waited in the silence that followed.

One of the Jesus followers rose and picked up one of the gifts leaning against the back wall. “Is it possible that we do have everything we need but we haven’t been seeing it? But why would some of what we need be invisible?”

The old woman smiled and opened the Book. “‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ 2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV Is not our God an invisible God? Have we not been created from that which was invisible? Can you imagine, then, that He would employ both the seen and the unseen in this great task?”

And as she spoke, their eyes opened to the great number of gifts in their midst. And their hearts awakened to the great possibilities that before had been unseen. And the wrapping fell away from most gifts which revealed their obvious value, though a few others remained partially hidden.

“What of those?” they asked the old woman, “Why do some remain almost invisible?”

“Ahh,” she laughed before she replied, “Certainly an invisible God has determined that some work would be done by those who remain invisible. Has He not, even now, expanded your faith to believe in the work they contribute even though it remains unseen?” (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

“Yes!” they shouted as they joined her laughter. In fact, the room filled with the laughter of those who once had been weary and those who once had been invisible. And then, there was a great silence as they prayed together and then a burst of chatter as they discussed the great task.

And the old woman smiled as she watched the impossible – faith that cannot be seen expand and deepen before her very eyes.

What if your church is not as small as you think? https://t.co/tl9P0RkbsG #churchlife #leadershipdevelopment #Invisible

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 6, 2020

The Shocking Reason We Hang Out in Psalms

Like many of you, I am not always okay these days. There are moments when I feel connected with Jesus, engaged with work, on-top of the pandemic situation, and prayerful.

Then, there are the other moments.

When I’m frustrated at the number on my scale. Or sad about the loss of my dad. When I’m angry about a painful family situation – or about social distancing – or about the division in our country. When I’m blue about the prolonged separation from my kids and grandkids or I’m disappointed in not meeting my own productivity expectations. When I’m annoyed with my husband (or quarantine-mate) or he with me.

None of these emotions change the truth of the gospel in my life, my foundational belief in Scripture, or my trust that God will work all this together for good for those who love Him, and yet, it doesn’t always feel okay to tell other Christians when I’m not okay.

I know it is fine to not be okay because I read the Bible. Jeremiah, Moses, Paul, Job, and Jesus Himself had moments when they were not feeling okay about their situations. We have recorded the times when they expressed these feelings to God in prayer.

And, yet, we struggle to hear these same sentiments – anger, fear, sadness, grief, disappointment, stress, frustration – from other believers without immediately responding with a Bible verse or Christian cliché designed to “fix” our friend’s mood.

The Psalms don’t do that. The Psalms remind us God designed us with a full emotional palette and not all of them are pleasant to express. Better yes, we know the Psalms – in all their raw, emotional, transparent, theologically sound resonance – are blessed by God as holy Scripture and we find this more assuring than the rapid religious prescriptions too often doled out by our Christian friends.

David was one of the chief Psalmists and we know him to be “a man after God’s own heart.” David honored the truth of who God is as He reveals Himself through His Word. David generally ends every Psalm with a redemptive, hopeful statement about God’s nature and His plan.

But, David was more willing than our modern cohorts to also honor the truth of his experience as a human being living in a fallen world.  

David’s faith in God’s character was so rich and full that he could risk being fully human in front of God. Psalm 103:13-14 says it best, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” ESV

God rejects our sin, but He does not reject our humanity. He created us and knows our design better than we do.

He knows we’re suffering from this social distancing because He made us to live in community with others. He knows we are sometimes afraid, anxious, angry, sad, disappointed, grieved, or frustrated. He’s not afraid of these emotions and is ready to process them with us, just as He did with David in the Psalms, if we’ll only let Him.

It may be disturbing, but apparently an ancient warrior/poet/shepherd/king was more in touch with his emotional truth than many of us are today.

The shocking truth is that as much as our society understands about feelings, many Christians still feel more comfortable turning to a dead Psalmist for comfort than they do other Christians. We have evidence in Scripture that we should be accessing support from both.

Of course, we want to encourage one another with God’s Word, to fortify our hearts with truth, and to inspire one another to hope. We do this by honoring the truth of Jesus Christ and clinging to that as the final word on all our situations.

But, the pathway for most us to pinning our emotions to that truth is to bushwhack through the whole truth of what we’re feeling and experiencing. We need to honor our own humanity by honestly speaking the truth when we’re not okay, to express it and explore it before God (and often another mature believer) and THEN restate the truth of Christ to which we cling.

When I was learning long-division, I would often get lost somewhere in the problem. Sometimes my teacher would tell me the right answer but then insist I work back through the problem and sort out where I went astray.

We honor God, not by handing our brothers and sisters the “right answer” but by sitting with them, reminding them that God hasn’t changed, but then listening to their current discomfort, accepting them where they are, and THEN asking what truth they know about Christ they can hold onto until their emotions come around.

As my math teacher used to say, it’s not just about the right answer, it’s about developing the confidence to work through the next problem.

We can help one another with that. We can be living Psalms by being willing to be authentic with one another at the same time we state God’s truth. By honoring our humanity as we honor the unchanging truth of Jesus Christ, we deliver the whole truth and grow deeper in relationship with one another.

How Do You Handle Bad Days? https://t.co/GwautrykT2 The Shocking Truth of Why We Hang Out in Psalms #Psalms #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 22, 2020

 

The Truth We Know – Even in the Dark

God has been having one long hard conversation with humanity since the fall – not the season – the decision, the moment we chose our way over God’s way in the Garden of Eden and were thrown out.

Every boundary, every law, every rule reminds us He is perfect, wise, and holy. Every story of every flawed human who dared to try to connect his or her story with His greater story, reminds us there is hope for us, forgiveness, relationship, redemption.

Jesus on His knees in the Garden of Gethsemane choosing God’s way over His followed by His long walk to the cross, into death, and back into life provided the open door for each of us to enter this hard conversation and come out whole with God. And it demonstrated His power and His love.

Individually, our stories don’t begin at our birth, not even at our physical conception. To know the beginning of our story, we must reach back to the moment when the idea of us was conceived in the mind of our God.

You were conceived in God’s imagination. And He cherished the notion that was you and considered where He would want you to enter His story, precisely the moment, precisely the place, precisely the manner in which you would impact the rest of us by fighting your way out of darkness into the light of this outpost of glory. And then, He breathed His life into you and launched you into the conversation.

Of course, we all experience some confusion because we’re born in the dark. Just as we do whenever we come upon an ongoing conversation, we must listen for a time to catch up.  Studying God’s Word and listening to those who came before us provides context for what we’re hearing. The sooner we listen, the sooner we’re able to contribute wisely and with love. If we neglect this listening, we just add to the noise and misunderstanding.

But there comes a moment for each of us when we comprehend Jesus. We embrace the truth of Him, and we distinguish His voice from among the others. And in that moment, we grow unafraid. We follow His voice and we find Him. Whatever we were before, in that moment we make eye contact with Jesus, we become warriors in the battle for souls this side of glory.

And all that came before was just our way of finding our way back to connecting our story to the greatest story ever told. And when we make this connection, our story makes all the sense in the world. Even the pain, even the suffering, even the missteps we find have simply become story threads that He weaves into His epic tale.

The day we become warriors we lose our fear of the hard conversation. We rise to it. We know it is meant for our healing and for our salvation so we endure every discomfort, every hardship, every brutal truth like soldiers who remember the reason they fight, what is at stake, how everyone we love depends on us standing this ground against dark forces.

We are light warriors and we illuminate the battlefield so others clearly see the hideous nature of the enemy and can find their way to the greater story, the only one that leads to life.

It was no mistake that your story passes through a pandemic. You were designed for this, assigned to it, and equipped for it. Your story began in the mind of God and will continue in His great heart but right now, it passes through great tunnels and dark valleys. Do not let the times make you afraid and do not let them make you silent.

Give voice to your experience of God during this time. Continue to engage in the hard conversation – the one that tells us we all fall short of His glory, that we have all selfishly chosen our own way rather than the truth of God. But God in His great love, provided a way for us to be saved and that way is Jesus Christ.

We live in a fallen world and so wars, disease, disaster, and death come upon us all. The enemy of God exploits these times to interject lies into the great conversation, to whisper rumors that God is not good or ineffective or dead.

But we are the ones who know the truth. We are the ones equipped to speak it into these times. We have made eye contact with Jesus and in that moment, we became fearless warriors armed with truth and light.

Our lives are our living worship. We honor Jesus’ resurrection most when we allow our lives and words to testify to it even as darkness presses in and as the enemy tries to convince us we isolated, small, and alone.

Your story has connected with the greatest story and you live as an integral part of something greater than any one of us alone. The truth of our lives is what we add to this ongoing conversation.

Wherever we celebrate our risen Lord this weekend, let us remember now more than any Easter that has gone before that our presence here is no mistake, we were assigned these times. We know that our Redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand on the earth and after our skin has been destroyed yet in our flesh, we shall see God. Job 19:25-26 (paraphrase)

We know this truth even in the dark because we are the light of the world.

The Truth We Know, Even in the Dark https://t.co/FmVqAWKKO3 #Easter #COVID19Pandemic

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 11, 2020