Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 25

The Sweet Agony That Is This Time We’ve Been Given

Life is an extraordinary thing.

Just when you think you’ve nailed it, an unexpected development greets you at the corner and you’re sitting curbside rubbing your head trying to remember where you were going before – before the thing,

Before you met the girl who you know will change everything,

Before you got the diagnosis that wasn’t even on your radar,

Before your son called from the police station asking for you to come,

Before you watched your grandbaby take her first steps,

Before the dream you worked so long to realize suddenly appeared,

Before the hospital called to say your daughter overdosed,

Before your coworker suddenly asks you if Jesus is real,

Before those kids from church showed up for your special needs daughter’s party,

Before you were passed over for the promotion you deserved,

Before you suddenly see that your father is failing before your eyes,

Before your husband landed the first punch to your solar plexus,

Before your sister called to say she’s cancer free.

And it all happens at once, doesn’t it?

There were no more apt words written than “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—” Dickens new a thing or two about the human experience. We all were born into these times.

And the poet, Stevie Nicks, understands when she wonders if she can handle the seasons of her life. Can any of us?

How can we bear the ordinary passage of days with the brilliance of a sunrise over a glimmering lake, the sweet noggin of a newborn snuggled beneath our chins, the laughter of a toddler at her older brother’s antics, the silhouette of a prodigal in the doorway, the smell of freshly baked bread on a winter’s day?

All visited on the same day we stand round an open grave, endure the snub of a sibling who even here cannot be kind, watch a dear friend stumble on legs that soon won’t hold him as he tosses a rose onto the coffin bearing the one who died too young.

How can any doubt that there is a loving God? How can any imagine evil is not real, personal, and active in the world?

How can any of us close our eyes to rest without trusting a Savior’s plan? How can any of us dare send a child into the world without appealing to Him daily for protection from the evil one?

It is all to brief. All too intense. Too real. Too important. Too amazing. Too breath-taking, heart-stopping, and true.

How can we not want it to go on forever?

And there is a way, a way to walk through that door disguised as death to find another sunrise, one more real than any we’ve ever known because there is no shadow of evil to portend bad things.

There is eternal life – and through that door is an endless age full of purpose, beauty, truth, love, relationship, and the greatest story ever lived, because Jesus is the door to that life.

There is another way. A way that leads to a second death. One that is the end of all beauty, warmth, and light. How can we not want to warn others about it? How can we not expend every effort to alert those who sleep through this life that they are not only wasting these days, but eternity, too?

And here we live, you and I, in the nexus between heaven and hell. In the place of the shadow of things to come. In the life and the times, we’ve been given, with which we must do something.

No wonder it gets hard to exhale. No wonder we reach for the wrong comforts. No wonder we cry and wake in the night and sometimes go a little mad.

But, the Lion of Judah reigns and He is fierce, majestic, and full of glory. He is for us. He is with us. He will never leave nor forsake us. Not through fire, flood, violence, or blood, betrayal, or sorrow, or a brutal tomorrow, He reigns with love and truth at His stead.

We will not always feel this way, loved ones. What breaks us now will not break us forever. What tears us down will not keep us down. What rends our hearts will not rend us unable to enter a future where evil cannot abide.

Hold on. Press into the moments ripe with the scent of eternal life and push on through the moments where the phantom of death tries to convince us he has the final word.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He speaks last and His Word is forever. Maranatha. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, Come.

The Sweet Agony that is This Time We’ve Been Given https://t.co/afOLaRJE5H #Jesus #amwriting #eternallife

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 15, 2018

When Satan Quotes the Bible

Somedays it seems that the world is on fire.

Rampant wildfires out west. The destruction is heartbreaking. Fire, unchecked and misused, becomes a terrible, terrible weapon.

And yet, fire respected, channeled, and handled appropriately brings warmth, life, and light. A good fire can be the difference between survival or death.

God’s Word is like a fire. He declares it so in Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Handled appropriately, Scripture brings warmth, life, and light.

Misused, the destruction can break hearts and destroy souls. We must be aware of the tactics our enemy uses against us and one of his most insidious weapons is to use God’s Word for the downfall of many.

Satan tried to quote Scripture to Jesus when he tempted Him in the desert. How arrogant and self-deceived is he to think he could trip Jesus up with the words of the Father?

It failed him then, but since the devil has no creative powers, Satan is stuck repeating his own tactics again and again. Those who fail to learn from Jesus’ example, are doomed to fall prey and the devil makes headway by twisting God’s Holy Word.

This happens on an individual level when we elevate certain passages of scripture and ignore others. Certainly, we read God’s Word with wisdom, in context, considering the form of each passage – whether poetry, prophecy, or parable. But, we must read widely in His Word, not confining ourselves to pet pages and promises, while ignoring challenges and commands.

It happens on an institutional level within families and within the Body of Christ, when leaders or those in authority exercise a double-standard in application.

There are cowards in power over households or congregations holding others to harsh rebuke when they violate God’s Word while grasping grace to their own breasts like shields when confronted with their sin and plugging their ears against correction with the words of Roman’s 3:23, like a holy “na-na I can’t hear you.”

These errant ones wound many lambs who then wander from the fold or break beneath the merciless rod, thinking God must be abusive, harsh, and cruel as these who feign to represent Him. It is on us, God’s people, to stand against abusive application of God’s Word and to call it the lie that it is.

We must grow up in these times, and inhabit the wisdom God promises us, so we can confidently apply correction or hold faithful followers accountable, while still calling out those who misuse Scripture as a whip to maintain control over the powerless and the loyal.

This evil tactic appears on an even larger scale these days, as Satan grows bolder, knowing His time grows short. Never have I seen such frequent misappropriation of God’s Word through the media and through political leaders as I have in these times.

One particularly blatant example occurs on a television series on Hulu called “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I don’t recommend this show for personal viewing. I do recommend, however, that those ministering to young women or outreaching women be aware of its content.

This is the description as found in Wikipedia, “In the near future, fertility rates collapse as a result of sexually transmitted diseases and environmental pollution. With this chaos, the totalitarian, theonomic government of ‘Gilead’ establishes rule in the former United States in the aftermath of a civil war. Society is organized by power-hungry leaders along with a new, militarized, hierarchical regime of fanaticism and newly created social classes, in which women are brutally subjugated, and by law are not allowed to work, own property, handle money, or read.”

The brutal villains of this series misquote God’s Word flagrantly and repeatedly to defend their subjugation and harsh treatment of women while excusing themselves all failings. I have been horrified to watch this show gain momentum among young women, even sparking feminists to dress as “handmaids” during protests.

Yes, it’s fiction. Yes, it’s a brilliantly written, well-acted story. But, the twisted integration of Holy Scripture within the plotline is a blatant, destructive, demonic form of propaganda, such as I’ve never seen. It is holy war waged against unwitting souls so openly, so publicly, so breath-takingly effectively, the church will be grappling to address the damage for at least a generation.

Jesus set women free. God’s Holy Word demonstrates His love for women, our equality in the eyes of God, and testifies that we are made in His image. No matter what it teaches about order or roles within relationships, homes, or churches, God is clear that women, like men, are loved, forgiven, redeemed, gifted, and destined for glory through Jesus Christ.

Loved ones, we live and serve our Lord in the days of rampant wolves. Jesus told His followers, “’Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.’” Matthew 10:16 ESV

If we are going to be light in a dark world, we must be aware of what lurks in that darkness and be prepared to call it out. We know our enemy has sent wolves disguised to worship beside us and we must have courage to confront them when we catch a glint of canine teeth on fellow sheep. And we know our enemy is inoculating souls against God’s Holy Word, so we must pray and do as Jesus did in the desert – Remain calm. Reclaim God’s Word for truth. Bring the dark lies into the light.

Live, unapologetically, for Christ with both actions and words. Know His Word. Be aware when Satan quotes it with evil intent. Believe that the Bible is a light saber defending itself when we wield it well.

Yes, His Word is a fire. Just as firefighters set backfires to combat flames, so God’s people are equipped to send the enemy running as his plans to defeat us backfire at the proper application of God’s Word.

When Satan quotes the Bible, calmly stand your ground, open your mouth, and let truth come out. There’s nothing to fear, but there are backfires to light and actions to take in Jesus’ name.

If your faith is small, strike a match, loved one. Watch Him do the rest.

When Satan Quotes the Bible https://t.co/5PjvRaCFqZ #TheHandmaidsTale #Jesus #Bible

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 12, 2018

Available for pre-order! Thank you to everyone who have already sent The Art of Hard Conversation to the top of its category on Amazon! Pray that God uses these words to provide tools and confidence to many to speak up and speak out for Christ. 

Maybe You Should Turn Back Now (reasons NOT to follow Jesus)

There are a lot of really good reasons not to follow Jesus.  

Seriously.

Every August, the Discovery channel celebrates shark week. That’s usually my inspiration to celebrate some of the harder truths of our faith on my blog. This is one of them. Following Jesus isn’t nice. It’s not a great hobby or past-time. There are some really good reasons not to follow Jesus and here are a few:

It’s hard work. It requires sacrifice. You have to change in ways you aren’t prepared to change.

In coming years, I suspect it will actually become downright uncomfortable, maybe even dangerous to be a Christian in America. It’s dangerous  now in other areas of the world. So, as a favor to those of you on the fence or thinking this is just a “nice” religion to follow, I’m convinced I should warn you of some of the reasons you should NOT follow Jesus.

In case you’re worried that this isn’t Biblical, let me assure you that Jesus had a habit, one that probably threw the disciples into regular fits of frustration, of warning people away or saying exactly the thing that would be sure to frighten them off from following Him.

Jesus wasn’t selling a product and He doesn’t need numbers to remain in office. He isn’t Tinkerbell who needs applause to exist. We need Him. He knows that better than we do.

Consider the world of coaches, personal trainers and exercise instructors who regularly warn people that they may not have what it takes to be on their teams or in their classes. Then, making the team or class isn’t even the end of the weeding process.

There’s not a football coach on earth who puts up a sign saying he’ll take anyone who wants to play, they can forgo training, only show up for games when they feel up to it, and play any way their heart leads them to play in that moment.

There is no personal trainer I know of who takes on a client and says “Let’s do only enough work to keep you exactly the way you are today.”

There’s no exercise instructor who tells her class she doesn’t believe in judging others so they can feel free to use any form of an exercise that feels right to them. It doesn’t happen.

Jesus was less like today’s television preachers and a lot more like today’s football coaches and trainers.

He said things this:

“Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25-33

Giving up everything you have. Everything. That’s what following Jesus means, that’s what it requires, everything.

I’ve followed Jesus for more than five decades now and all the time I hear Him calling “Are you ready to go deeper? Are you prepared for what that may mean?” The process of following only begins with the decision for Jesus. The choices continue and the questions and decisions get harder.

So reason number one why you should not follow Jesus is this: You’re feeling the need for some religion in your life.

If that’s you, then Jesus isn’t what you’re looking for. There is a whole world of religion out there – many that boast they are pre-Christian, ancient, new age, Eastern, traditional, or inclusive. The a la carte menu of world religions is endless.

There’s even one that seems like following Jesus but it isn’t. It’s more like “Jesus-lite.” It’s the “religion” of Christianity and believe me, there’s a difference. There’s a “rules” version of that religion, too, for people who want checklists and a sense of safety. So, if you’re feeling the need for some religion there are a host of lovely choices out there, go for one of those.

Following Jesus is not a religion as the world has come to define religion.

The life of a Jesus follower cannot be contained in a particular building or confined to a specific day of the week or defined by a system of rituals. It’s not restrained from affecting areas of the follower’s life that do not conventionally fall under the category of spirituality. When you invite Jesus into your business, nothing is off limits. Like the best football coaches in the big leagues, when you sign with Jesus – He owns you, man.

So, if you just want a box to check off on the census or at the hospital when they ask your religion – don’t follow Jesus. He won’t fit in that box. If that’s what you’re looking for, maybe you should turn back now.

If you’re up for more than that – if you’re longing for truth, real hope, participation in something that extends far beyond you, and a future that is eternal – well, Jesus is who you want, my friend, because He’s the adventure.

Some of you have been asking about my next book and here it is! Available for pre-order, The Art of Hard Conversations: Biblical Tools for the Tough Talks that Matter. It debuted as a number one release in its category which thrills me because it means many people are interested in engaging in the tough, but necessary conversations happening in our times.

Maybe You Should Turn Back Now – Reasons NOT to Follow Jesus https://t.co/LxvUvIq8bs #Jesus #amwriting #Christians

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 8, 2018

God Doesn’t Need a Conflict-Free Church

This week I’ve been asked to talk about hard conversations at a denominational conference whose theme is “Less Talk, More Action.” The irony has not escaped me.

During a week dedicated to inspiring the church to less talk, more action, I’ll be talking about talking. When the preacher tells you that God has a special plan for your life, remember the adventures He invites me into and take note. Special must mean something different in the original Hebrew!

Not only is my photo in the dictionary next to the antonym for “action,” but the featured speaker at the conference is Hercules! You know him better these days as Kevin Sorbo (Let There Be Light, God’s Not Dead, Soul Surfer actor, Kevin Sorbo). He’s so synonymous with action, he has his own action figure.

This presented me with a serious challenge and forced me to revisit some of my own personal wounds of feeling somewhat useless in the Body of Christ because I’m a person of words (as opposed to a medical missionary or someone who builds houses for the homeless or has wealth to donate.)

Through much prayer and immersion in God’s Word, He reminded me that this dichotomy between words and actions is a particularly human dilemma. God has such integrity within His Person that His Words are synonymous with His “actions.” (ie, He spoke the world into being.)

Our sin is what divorces our words from actions and makes them just “talk,” but as we are transformed by Christ, we can abandon meaningless chatter and speak light into a dark world.

Part of the ministry of our reconciliation to God through Christ is an internal reconciliation with God’s plan for us. He commands us to speak and when the genesis of our speech is our relationship with Jesus, instructed by His Word, and prompted by the Holy Spirit, our words become instrumental in building the kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 says, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

The more we become like Christ, the more often our talk lines up with our actions and actively testifies to His power.

We need to learn to be unafraid of hard conversations.

Hard conversations vary from person to person. For some, speaking loving, meaningful words is hard. Others find it hard to discuss death, disease, depression, or other difficult life situations. For some, sharing the gospel, speaking the truth about sin, or engaging in touchy topics is tricky. And almost everyone considers controversy and conflict the stuff of hard conversations.

We must embrace the freedom we have in Christ, release our fear of these conversations, and allow God to show us the opportunities that await us there.

Because the truth is that every time we, as the Body of Christ, work through conflict – whether it be marital, parent-child, congregational, work, or otherwise, we demonstrate the power of Christ in a way the world notices.

The world doesn’t need a church that is free of conflict. It needs a church that is unafraid of conflict and comfortable working through conflict because Jesus is with us.

He’s given us an open door to be the ones to whom the world turns for guidance in how to help people work through controversy and confrontation. We simply need to stop running from and avoiding every training opportunity.

When I began preparing for my talk this week, I was awash in anxiety. But, because God called me to it, I believed He would walk me through it. On my knees, facing the conflict within me, God not only prepared me to speak, He added a new measure of healing over old wounds and corrected wrong ways I think about His design and plan for me.

Christians do hard things. The world is full of challenges, but we are full of Christ. What hard thing is before you today? What opportunity has He provided for you to see Him work?

God Doesn’t Need a Conflict-Free Church https://t.co/MY8w6uency What is does need is this – #Jesus #amwriting #amspeaking

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 28, 2018

I May Have to Give Up Writing

It’s been a drive that revs within me ever since I can remember.

It predates my desire to write. And it began when I read the first stories I could read in my children’s Bible.

It’s the drive not to just read the Bible, but to LIVE the Bible. On a cellular level, from the first stories I consumed, from Adam to Jesus, I not only believed the truth, I received it in a way that inspired me to want my life to tell this story.

Honestly, the Bible has always gotten me into trouble and I’m not a trouble-seeking type of girl.

I take no pride in saying I’ve usually been too chicken to break rules.

Like every other first-born, I like getting things right and I’m not afraid to behave when others are acting up. I usually reminded teachers when they forgot to assign homework, started my papers the night they were assigned, and was the one school staff trusted to be “in charge” when they stepped out of the room.

(Ugh, I know right? I’d take pride in that girl if she was driven by virtue, but mostly it was fear.)

So, then along comes God’s Word into my life. Seems like it would be a win. Reading it earns approval. Memorizing it impresses many. Studying it and teaching it reaps admiration. Living it, however, lands me in a world of trouble.

I remember being called into the pastor’s office of one church for a “chat.” (sigh.) He’d had complaints about my Bible study.

Complaints? Was I teaching in error? Had I not been sensitive to someone’s question? Was it moving to fast? Too slow?

No. The complaint was that I was challenging people to apply the passages to their lives and discussing how we may live differently as a result of what we were reading.

I remember feeling disoriented in that office. How was I in trouble for this?

To me, reading the Bible and not trying to live it made about as much sense as reading the instruction manual for your television set without ever switching it on.

Trouble has followed me, since, because enacting God’s Word incites me to speak up, stand up, and walk to the beat of an eternal drum others can’t always hear.

It’s been years (like a lot of years – like over fifty years) since I first fell in love with God and His Word. I’ve reached the age where it’s tempting to think I could coast from here into glory.

But, that’s not what I read in His Word. And I’m eager to see God work so the best way to do that is to be where He is and the best way to do that is to do what He says. So, lately, I’ve been thinking I don’t need to KNOW more about God’s Word, I need to LIVE more of what I know.

So, I’ve been doing that. Rather than blog about what it means to love God and love others, I’ve been, well, loving God and loving others. Rather than write about His command to rejoice always, pray constantly, and live with a grateful heart I’ve been – well – not doing that because that’s really, really hard, but seeking more opportunities to do that than I would if I was ignoring those verses.

And it’s powerful stuff, this living God’s Word. It’s revitalizing and eye-opening. It’s affecting me, again, right to the marrow of my old dry bones that are rising with anticipation of where I may catch God at work today.

I may have to give up writing to devote more time to living. Why should you read another blog post when you could read His Word? What more can I say to you than “Do what He says?” How many blog posts does it take for a person to put God’s Word into practice and inaugurate a revolution in his or her life?

What if this were the last one? What if I were to pack away my keyboard, put down my pen, and focus on living the Bible where I am?

I would miss you, but I believe that if you did the same – started living the Bible where you are – we would meet one another again – there in Christ. And there we’d be. Together. In the light. Furthering His Kingdom come.

We cannot live the Bible by our own energy or our own power, but only through Jesus.

Still, doing what He says changing everything.

I don’t think I’m going to stop writing. I believe that’s part of the living His Word to which I’ve been called – this exercising of gifts, this devotion of my talents to Him, this speaking out and speaking up, but the living piece is real.

I want to be writing for Him and not simply because it’s time to promote my blog or the next book or to keep you coming back to me because coming back to me is nothing – moving deeper into Him is everything!

I’ve written about this before, and I believe it more every day. While Trump, Clinton, Obama, and Putin have a certain amount of power, in the end we’ll find they had less eternal influence than one single soul completely yielded to Jesus. Be that soul.

Now. Act now. Live now. Be now with fully with Jesus. And watch the kingdom roll in like a glorious tsunami of light.

I may have to give up writing https://t.co/Xk705Qz6jz #influencers #Jesus #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 19, 2018

Sometimes Love is a Hard Conversation

I have witnessed incredible courage in my times – bravery on the battlefield of childhood.

Times when adults stood around muttering that “someone should do something” until a child, full of love, tugged the sword out of their stone hearts and became king of love and reason.

An eight-year-old alone in a room of professionals, speaking up to say, “We’re not safe at home. We’re being hurt. Please don’t make us go back there.” Then, taking up her mother’s hand and saying, “Mommy, I’m sorry. I love you, but you’re not protecting us. Maybe these people can.”

The ten-year-old boy who leapt to his feet in a living room crowded with adults (for weeks I’d wondered if he’d been listening) and shouted, “Ha! Mom, I knew that was wrong even though you said it was okay for me to ride in the trunk of the car. It is wrong, isn’t it?”

I nodded my head as I watched his mind make connections like a pinball machine the moment after the quarter drops. “I bet it’s not normal to find a guy sleeping on the floor of your bedroom and your mom doesn’t know who he is. And, I bet it’s not okay for me to put up to five things in my pockets at the store and not pay for them, right? Mom, you’ve got tons of stuff messed up. I think you believe you love me but you’re doing it way wrong and I’m not going to trust you until you start doing it right.”

Suddenly, I realized the kid wasn’t done. He turned to the small group of aunts and uncles sitting in the room. “And you guys – what have you been doing? How come you aren’t saying anything to her? I’m a kid and grown-ups are supposed to watch out for kids. You guys are epic failures watching out for me.”

Or the thirteen-year-old girl who sat across a kitchen table and looked me square in the eye. “Why should I tell you anything about my hopes and dreams? You’re like the fifteenth old lady to sit in this kitchen and act like you know something that might help us. We have problems, but I’m not stupid. Why do you act like it should be normal for me to start spilling my guts to a total stranger just because she says I can trust her? Is that what you teach your kids? Maybe I might need to know something more than your name before I start spilling family secrets because when you all go home at night, I’m still living here and to live here, you have to be smart and careful. Why don’t you ask my dad his hopes and dreams? If you start working on that, we might actually get somewhere, but that’s a lot harder than sittin’ with a thirteen-year-old, isn’t it?”

Sometimes love is a hard conversation.

Don’t tell a kid in your ministry you love them in the name of Jesus unless you’re willing to sit with their parents and talk when you suspect things aren’t all right at home.

Don’t tell a young woman you love her and then suggest she stay quiet when she says that a church leader made her feel uncomfortable with his words or his hands.

Don’t tell a young wife to go home, pray, and be a better wife when she confides about her husband’s unexpected rages, his drinking, his pornography, or his abusive words.

When your friend gossips about the pastor’s wife and belittles her husband and shares details about her neighbor’s business in the guise of a prayer request, don’t just walk away and feel self-righteous that “at least you’re not like her.”

To be like Jesus is to love like a child.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-3 ESV

A child sees no conflict between loving someone and telling them the truth.

A child sees no dissonance in loving a person and saying hard things to them.

A child knows that if someone doesn’t stand up to people doing wrong things, they’ll keep doing them.

A child knows how to love someone and still tell them they have to stop hurting other people.

Children learn from the people doing wrong to silence themselves, to hide, to cower, and to embrace helplessness. Jesus calls out the child in us to unlearn these ways for these are the ways of the sinful world.

Jesus demonstrated that sometimes love is a hard conversation.

Children of God, let love incite us to speak truth into our own lives and to choose love even when it would be easier to stay silent. This is the way of light. Sin, pain, and all manner of evil flourish in the darkness.

Our words can be light against which, the darkness will not prevail.

Sometimes love is a hard conversation https://t.co/LtaEdmwILX #hardconversation #Jesus #confrontingabuse

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 14, 2018

Hijacking Jesus

Here’s the thing –

Lately, I’ve been hearing all kinds of conversations describing the followers of Jesus.

Like a vicious version of the twelve blind men and the elephant – I’ve heard the talking-heads describe people of faith

as bigots, haters, misogynists, war-mongers, jingoists, chauvinists, xenophobic, homophobic, sycophants who believe in archaic fairy-tales and conspire to construct a future that looks something like the next season of The Handmaid’s Tale.

And I’ll confess I’ve responded with a variety of reactions from fear to fretting, from anger to angst, from defensiveness to discouragement, from frustration to fault-finding. It hasn’t been pretty inside my head and when that happens, I’ve learned to stay quiet until Jesus sorts it all out.

I mean, honestly, I can see some truth in what gets said. The grace of Jesus Christ is lavish and inclusive. He lets anyone into this great family of His – I’m proof of that – and none of us has our acts together (sort of pre-requisite to admit that, of course.)

We sometimes act in ways that don’t reflect Jesus out of immaturity, remnant sin, or lapses of faith.

Some of us err by presuming on grace while others err by clenching our jaws around God’s laws. You see, when we start following Jesus, we’re immediately forgiven, promptly accepted, instantly included, but only just beginning our journey of becoming like Him (remember Princess Diana for the first two years after the royal wedding? Oh yeah, that wasn’t pretty. But in the end, she was more royal than the rest!).

Other false impressions of Jesus-followers stem, frankly, from false followers – people who just aren’t. Now, they may be deceived, or they may be deceivers, but either way, they leave a bad taste in people’s opinions that taints their trust of Jesus when in truth, they haven’t encountered Jesus at all!

And then, there are just those who hate Jesus-followers because they hate Jesus, and this is to say, they don’t necessarily think they’re hating Jesus – they just love their sinful ways more than they can imagine loving anything or anyone else – and so they justify falsehoods, rumors, and destructive half-truths all in the name of what they know as freedom (though that is only because they’ve never experienced the real thing there, either!).

It’s enough to dishearten a simple Jesus-follower and boy, I’m the simplest.

But then, I heard someone lament that there are those attempting to hijack our faith. And that was scary for about thirty seconds until I imagined someone trying to hijack Jesus – and that made me laugh aloud!

Can you imagine the poor outlaw who attempted to hijack Jesus? Jesus would probably be really quiet for a while, watching the criminal at work, all the while loving Him and not at all afraid because how can you really frighten someone who’s been crucified, died, and risen to eternal life?

How can you frighten the One who created you? My goodness, you were His idea in the first place! He’s counted the hairs on your head and certainly knows what drives you, what you long for, what you dream about, how you’ve been wounded, and what your heart cries out to receive.

And suddenly, I wasn’t afraid of this whole conversation that’s been happening. I’m not worried about what to say or where it will wind up. All at once, I’m fascinated, again, by Jesus, and I’m wondering what He’ll do in response and how I can be a part.

Because, when I went beneath the waters of baptism, I died and when the minister pulled me out, I rose with Jesus, again, to eternal life so you can’t frighten me either – even if you try to hijack my faith.  I don’t like the wild ride, but when I remembered that Jesus is here beside me, I remembered you can’t take me anywhere He won’t be.

And I don’t have to defend Him – He defends me. And I don’t have to hate you, because He’s freed me to love. And I don’t have to fear you, because He is my courage. And, in fact, I believe you may find yourself captivated by the One you’ve tried to take captive.

Maybe other religions can be hijacked – they probably can because they were originally driven by humans with no true claim to deity -but Jesus? No way. He’s so real most of the world can’t handle His kind of reality.

Trying to hijack Jesus? Friend, brace yourself. You’re in for a wild ride yourself.

Hijacking Jesus – how not to be afraid of the current conversation https://t.co/hE1XUIxbzF #Jesus #amwriting #unafraid

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 30, 2018

When We’re Afraid of Saying the Wrong Thing

I find lately that I’m easily tempted to fear “saying the wrong thing.”

These are days without mercy. Times where lines are drawn, and camps formed over subjects large and small. We’re instructed that words are codes and any of us who unintentionally mumble the wrong phrase or ask a question that makes us suspect, are suddenly labeled “part of the problem” – or worse.

To think I judged those who hid in silence during the Boxer rebellion in China or in the early days under Hitler when Jews were first disparaged or in the South in the sixties when some refused to stand with people of color for fear of retribution. I thought of those days as somehow long past and irretrievably part of history.

I was so wrong.

Now, I am beginning to understand how easily fear creeps in, how little room reason is given when voices are raised, and how subtly bullying can happen between civilized adults.

Pressure to silence is just a dark tunnel on the pathway to denying the truth altogether. It’s a blindfold before the firing squad of social tyranny. Since when did my own voice become the enemy?

I’m ashamed of my fear because it’s not the way of Jesus-followers. We’re called out of fear. And yet, for the sake of truth, I must own up to it. Speaking truth, first in the privacy of my own heart, is part of the remedy.

And what I have learned in my five-plus decades on this planet, is that fear is a part of life on this side of glory. But, what is vital is that we fear what it makes sense to fear.

Jesus said it this way:

“‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:4-7

These are, in fact, the words of Jesus. Mentioning hell. Endorsing a healthy fear of God – a fear that leads to freedom from the useless fear of other people and their opinions of us. Reminding us that no matter how insignificant we feel – we are known to the God of Creation.

And Jesus, who faced every temptation as we do, was likely also tempted to fear saying the wrong thing. But, Jesus, loving the Father purely, knew to align His soul properly and this freed Him to speak truth even when others lay in wait to ensnare Him.

Jesus understood, deeply, what it’s like to live among people without mercy just waiting for Him to misspeak: “As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.” Luke 11:53-54

Jesus is truly my hero.

He navigated past this temptation into a life of spoken and lived truth and because He did, so can we.

Here’s how I believe He did it:

He drew away from the crowds daily and focused attention on His Father God. He trained Himself to know God’s voice, God’s ways, God’s words.
He gave Himself over completely to love – love of the Father and love of others.
He emptied Himself of Himself, served others and considered their needs above His own. The author of creation walked among us in humility and sacrifice – knowing it would cost Him His life.
He asked questions of those who approached Him and only answered those who truly sought God. He didn’t spend His energy on those seeking trouble over truth.
He spoke the truth simply and without apology.
It doesn’t appear He chased after anyone who walked away or rejected the truth. He devoted Himself to those “who had ears to hear.”

I have begun one practice Jesus didn’t need. To bolster my courage and cultivate humility (why this is any challenge is a testament to the stubbornness of sin), I regularly meditate on Jesus’ last hours – His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

And when I have re-read of Jesus’ suffering, I remind myself that even if I were the only human ever created, the cross would have been necessary to secure my salvation. Because I received mercy, I can extend it to others. Because I am a recipient of grace, I offer it freely to others.

And then, I reflect on the resurrection of Jesus. For after the suffering, after the death, after the grave, there is eternal life.

If the truth of Christ costs me friends, favor, following, or fellowship on this side of glory, even if it costs me my life – my story is not over. Hatred will never have the last word on my life because my Redeemer lives.

Love overcomes fear, my friends. Don’t be bullied into silence – it’s a detour from truth into denial. Now, more than ever, it’s important to speak the truth of Christ to the poor and the powerful. To do this, we must first let Jesus speak His truth into our own hearts and minds.

Tomorrow, let’s look for opportunities to speak or write truth when it most scares us most to do so. Then, do it again the next day. In this way, we speak light into the darkness and discover that darkness has no defense against the coming Kingdom.

When We’re Afraid of Saying the Wrong Thing https://t.co/Y8EOHcD6X4 What’s a Christian to do? #Jesus #mercy #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 25, 2018

We Should Be the Most Aggravating People

More than once, I’ve aggravated the people I’ve been called to serve.

More than once, I’ve listened to a family tell the story of their conflict and ask me who I think is right. More than once, my reply has been, “It has often been my experience that everyone involved is wrong. This may be true with your family, too.”

We should be the most aggravating people.

In fact, we’ll know we’re growing more like Jesus the more people we aggravate – especially if we aggravate people on both sides of controversial issues.

Jesus was a constant source of frustration for people with agendas, because He never felt compelled to choose any side but the side of truth.

He was loving. He was reasonable. He didn’t entertain anxiety or worry about what camp He was in. In fact, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to follow Jesus “outside the camp.”

“For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:11-14

Despite what you may read on Facebook or whatever the last thirty-second video on Twitter reported to you, most problems plaguing our society are not easy to fix by choosing a political party, voting for the right president, invoking one “magic” Bible verse, or rejecting a particular denomination.

Individuals are complex, as are families, communities, societies, cultures, and people groups. If God had wanted to, He could have boiled His guidance down to a meme. Instead, He chose to communicate His plans via the entirety of His Word. Rare is the complex situation that is addressed by simply “choosing a verse.”

Jesus could have “solved” society when He was here, if that was His plan. Instead, He demonstrated a different way.

In the days of Jesus’ ministry, there was mass oppression by Rome. There were unfair practices that ruined families and burdened the average worker with taxes and usury. People groups enslaved one another. People weren’t treated equally. War was rampant. Human life was cheap. Even forgiveness was for sale.

Some God-followers believed greater religious piety would bring about salvation. Others believed political revolution was the answer. Many others just kept their heads down and suffered, hoping Messiah would come in their generation.

And then He did.

And it wasn’t like what they thought it would be. In one breathtaking sacrifice, He provided the solution to everything by paying the price for our sins and rising again to live forever.

Yet, at the same time, He solved nothing, because what could be seen by the unredeemed eye remained the same. Rome still ruled. Poverty and oppression existed. To the unsaved soul, nothing had changed, but in fact, everything had.

Those who saw the cross as the way of salvation and followed Jesus by way of Calvary, found the freedom to step out of this present matrix and onto the power grid of the Kingdom of God which has come.

The world’s matrix still works to suppress the truth and it can be hard to see His Kingdom, but when we live according to the freedom grace provided, we aggravate others, in His name.

For instance, I believe that according to the Bible, it’s wrong to break laws. I also believe, according to the Bible, it’s wrong to enforce laws without mercy. Where does that land me? Outside the camp with other aggravators.

Here’s how I muddle through our times:

I pay attention to Jesus all the time. By reading the Bible. Praying. Sitting under wise biblical teachers who aggravate me. Worshipping. Serving. Sacrificing. Learning to love under fire.
When controversies arise, I ignore the camps. I refuse to start where people start – by assuming someone is right and someone else is wrong. I assume, like Paul teaches in Romans 3:10, that everyone (including me) is wrong.
Like James teaches in James 1:5-8, I ask for wisdom, and trust that God will provide it. (though probably not on social media or in the morning headlines.)
I look beyond the boundaries of my own congregation/country to that of history and of other nations. I don’t imagine modern American Christians have all the answers. I research church history for similar situations. I consider how Christians in other nations approach comparable concerns. I ask God for a new way.
I ask God to redeem both my emotions and my mind and I trust neither until they align with the truth of Christ. Jesus exemplified reason and mercy. Jesus personified wise justice and love. He is alive within me and His church in these times. We can find the way and walk in it.
I never imagine any of this will be easy. The way Jesus took cost Him everything and I imagine He’ll lead me along the same path. Following Him will likely cost my pride, my agenda, my personal comfort, private goals, some friends, and many tears. But taking any other way will cost me much more because with Him, I have everything that matters.

Christians should be the most aggravating people because the way of love and reason upends the matrix of our times. Go forth, and be aggravating, the way a bright light aggravates the darkness.

We Should Be the Most Aggravating People – how are we doing? https://t.co/RSWsxsXEn2 #Jesus #Christian #solutions

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 19, 2018

When God is Being Withholding and Mean

“I thought you were being mean,” the young ministry worker admitted to me.

“I could see that. But, now you think I’m not?” I asked.

“When you insisted that I talk with the family about what led them to their situation, I thought you were judging them, but the conversation helped them understand things they could try in the future. We got to know them better and understand what they value and how they make decisions. And, it’s the same conversation I have with myself when I am in the midst of a crisis. I don’t know why I didn’t initially see the wisdom of having it with them.”

I nodded.

“When you insisted I ask them about their future goals, I thought it was ridiculous because they were in crisis and needed help not some dream about someday. But, the conversation helped them remember dreams they’d abandoned, and we could tailor the help we gave them today for those goals.”

“Anything else?” I asked.

“When you suggested I have them make some of the calls for support and invite them to make a list of ways they could help others, that just seemed like added work, but they felt better about themselves because they remembered they are givers, even when they need help.”

“And now you don’t think I’m mean?” I smiled.

“No. You wanted to help them with what they asked for, but you wanted to help them in ways beyond the immediate that I wasn’t seeing.”

“Did you ever ask yourself what would motivate me to be mean to people in need? Have I ever demonstrated a spirit of meanness in my character?”

She laughed. “I didn’t really consider any of that. I just thought I knew best and any way other than the one I had in mind couldn’t be as loving. I feel kind of bad now. I thought you were looking down on them, but by having those hard conversations, you were treating them with more respect than I was. I just figured they wouldn’t have insight into how they got there or have dreams about the future or want to find ways to give to others. I thought I was being loving, but now I have an expanded idea of what love looks like. Does that make sense?”

“It really does. Don’t feel badly. I do the same thing to God every day. Often, I’m so sure my idea of what should happen in a person’s life is the most loving idea, I somehow think I’m better and more loving than God if He doesn’t make that thing happen. God is constantly expanding my idea of what love looks like in action!”

This worker is a wonderful person, she just has less experience than I do. I have faith in our process because I’ve seen it in action.

There’s a lot I don’t know about loving people but treating them with respect and as people with the ability to sort through their own crises with support is ground level love. Too often, when we help others, we unintentionally rob them of the opportunity to be the heroes of their own stories.

God doesn’t do that.

The love God offers is so freeing, it doesn’t write all the hard parts out of our life stories. He’s too loving to feed into our answered-prayer-entitlement program. He refuses to addict us to easy answers and prefabricated solutions.

Prayer is an ongoing hard conversation with God about what we think we (and the world) need and what He believes we (and the world) need. Sometimes we’re pleasantly surprised with a ready response that matches our idea, but often, we wrestle with His notion of an answer.

That’s when our enemy tempts us to doubt His love or His goodness, His reality or His ability. Learning to recognize that strategy and defend against it is part of maturing as a follower of Christ. It is the ropes course in developing the muscle of faith.

Hebrews 11:6 cautions us: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” ESV

God does exist.

God loves so purely He IS love.

God rewards those who seek Him.

However, God’s ways are so foreign to us, we don’t always recognize them as loving. We think He’s mean, when really, we’re just focused on our idea of solutions.

There is a revealing verse we often miss because most Bibles place it in the chapter before 1 Corinthians 13. It is the final verse of 1 Corinthians 12 and it says, “And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

This is what following Jesus is all about: letting go of the way we see, the way we know, the way we think of as right, effective, and loving and learning the “still more excellent way.”

That is the place of adventure, yes? Following His still more excellent way. Even when others misunderstand. Even when it is hard. Even when forces oppose us.

But as we follow Him and trust His nature and receive the grace He freely gives, we enter into a greater story where we are the heroes of our own plotlines that weave seamlessly into His-story to testify to all the world of His expansive love.

We dare not offer the world a lesser love, one of our own design and manufacturing, because it pales beside the greater love that lays down its life for us.

When you do not understand His answers and the way makes you doubt His love, return to what you know of Jesus’ character and nature to address the temptation to judge Him mean rather than trust that He just knows another way to the place you want to go. Then, watch Him work!

When God is Being Withholding and Mean https://t.co/CuCT8TCyve do we really understand love? #moreexcellentway #Jesus #Prayer

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 13, 2018