Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 38

The Silence of God’s Lambs – Our Responsibility to the Persecuted Church

Last week, I was stricken with a painful infection, one that had me in agony for several long hours. All I could comprehend was pain. My entire focus was on accessing relief. Driven to secure a solution, in four short hours I called my doctor’s office three times and the pharmacy twice.

When I finally experienced relief (only a few hours after receiving a prescription), I happened to read a report by Open Doors about the plight of Christians in countries hostile to our faith, countries where believers suffer pain and hardship for which there is no immediate prescription.

I thought about how we sometimes romanticize persecution and martyrdom as though the brothers and sisters who experience it are some other breed of humans, a people somehow impervious to pain and suffering, a people somehow resigned to yielding their personal hopes and the dreams they have for their children over to a greater cause. All the while we, Christians in countries friendlier to faith, are free to make sacrifice a choice, an a la carte option on some larger Christian menu.

Oh, this year I’m working on developing a quiet time. Maybe next year I’ll make learning to sacrifice my resolution.

Sacrifice? Oh, that was my word of the year in 2012. This year, I’m all about the word refreshment.

This idea that persecuted Christians are made of some other stuff than we is a fallacy we believe so we can sleep at night. Believers facing hatred, oppression, financial hardship, a lowered social status, imprisonment, torture, and death are not “some other kind of Christians.” Their plight isn’t romantic, it’s not the stuff of movies but instead, the stuff of nightmares and true life horror stories. Just like you and me, there are times when they remember the truth of Christ and are fortified in their spirits and times when the voices around them threaten to drown out what is true. Times when they can bear the pain and times when they are tempted to despair of life. Times they sense the presence of God and times when they feel forgotten by their Father and by the rest of the world. 

One day, on the other side of glory, I imagine we’ll sit around great campfires telling stories about the time of the great war for souls. There will be no condemnation there, as there is none now in Jesus Christ. We will no longer feel pain, regret, sorrow, or loss. My North Korean, Pakistani, or Somalian brothers and sisters will not blame me that God assigned me to live in a free land but I imagine they’ll be curious about how I utilized the freedom they could only dream of enjoying.

Some brothers and sisters from persecuted countries will tell me how they prayed for Americans that we would stay strong and not compromise the faith due to soft living and abundant choices. Others will ask if we heard God whisper their names on our hearts during our times of prayer as they suffered in labor camps or in prisons or at the grave sites of loved ones.

When I consider the enormity of the problem of persecution of Christians, I feel small, limited, and without power. Only one of these things is true. I am small but in Christ, I’m far from limited and powerless. There are things we can do that make a difference.  We fret so much about the silence of God but the greater problem is our silence, isn’t it, the silence of God’s lambs in the face of widespread suffering of large portions of His flock.

This is the season the Lord expects to find fruit on our trees. We need to pray now. We need to read our Bibles today. We need to intercede for the persecuted church every day this year – not next. Our brothers and sisters cannot decide to schedule their oppression for a more convenient time so we cannot choose to delay in wrestling with our responsibility toward them. It’s not part of our five-year ministry vision – it’s the reality of God’s family today. We are responsible to act now.

When we’re discouraged because our ministries aren’t as big or well-known as we dreamed, we need to think of persecuted Christians trying to hold on in utter isolation and refuse to yield to self-pity, ego, or selfishness. So, sitting with them in glory we can say to them “In our freedom, we thought of you and we acted on our faith twice – once for ourselves and once in your honor – and so you, too, helped further His kingdom. You share in the fruit of our work because you inspired us.”

The media is rife today with the quotes of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, most of which are deeply informed by the Word of God. As I reviewed some, they spoke to me of my responsibility to live with a heart aware of those who suffer in the name of Jesus:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?

The time is always right to do what is right.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.  

                                                                                    -Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King

Our prayers have effect. As for me, every time in the next month that I hear a news blurb about President Trump, I’ll use it as a reminder to stop and pray for Christians persecuted in one of the 10 nations listed here. I’ll research information about the plight of Christians in two of these countries and identify a missionary in each that I can pray for and find ways to support. We can seek God’s face and make it a daily plea for Him to show us how to use our freedom to serve the part of our family who are without theirs. He will answer and then we must obey.

The top 10 nations where it is most dangerous and difficult to practice the Christian faith are: North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and Eritrea.

God is not silent as often as He is speaking to deaf ears. Let us open our ears to hear His Word about those who suffer. Let us open our eyes to bear witness to the oppression of Christians around the world. Let us open our mouths to voice our intercession to the Father and our advocacy for those that others would have the world forget.

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:35b-40

By faith in Christ, we belong to this great lineage of faith listed in Hebrews 11. What ways do you know that we can support the persecuted church in our times? Let’s share what we know and act in every way we’re free to act in the name of Jesus. We can end the silence and through our voices and their cries, His message will be heard.

The Silence of God’s Lambs – Our Responsibility to the Persecuted Church https://t.co/06QPL941O8 #persecution #OpenDoors #martinlutherking

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 16, 2017

Dear Listening American Church – What Will We Inaugurate in the Days to Come

Dear Listening American Church (those who have ears, let them hear),

This week, our country will witness another transition of power at the highest level. The election was brutal on the entire nation but the Christian church took hits from within and without. Many are feeling, at the very least, beat up, battered, or bewildered. Others are resentful and angry. Still others harbor self-righteousness and smug pride. All of us are weary and wondering what the future holds. Now is an opportunity for the church to facilitate healing, restoration of truth, and reconciliation within the body of Christ.

We know we live in the time of war – the war for souls – and the first casualty of war is often the truth. When deception abounds, it’s easy to lose heart, to lose our way, and to lose the will to live up to our calling in Jesus Christ. This is a good week to reflect and to remember what is true.

God’s people are ruled by God no matter who sits in power on earth. When the leadership of the Israelites transitioned from Moses to Joshua, the people were about to embark on a battle to enter the Promised Land. They would face a violent and merciless foe and the odds were against them but Moses reminded them of the truth with this charge in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Whether you’re excited about the new president or apprehensive, you can know that God still sits on His throne. There is no transition of power on the highest seat.
God sets up and removes world leaders. Whether they believe in Him or not, God exists and rules over the rulers of the earth. Daniel was a prophet in captivity serving a hostile nation and subjected to foreign powers and yet he writes, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:20b-22 We have every reason to continue to live in the confidence of God’s sovereign leadership in our lives and over our world no matter who is at the helm.
Our actions matter. While the leaders of nations have an impact and the speeches of actresses are heard round the world, most people will be most greatly influenced by those who directly touch their lives. The choices made in obscurity by individuals have power and the possibility of wide-reaching, even eternal effect. Our biggest problem isn’t that we are powerless, it’s that we don’t appropriate the power we have to affect the lives God’s assigned us to affect. When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus didn’t say “Seek to reach the widest audience.” Or “Aim to obtain power at the highest level in my name.” He said, “’The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’” Mark 12:29-31 If we focus on obeying God’s greatest commandments, our witness will impact earth and heaven as well.
Transition provides opportunity. The country is ripe for conversation. Conflict and crisis are more conducive to deep spiritual dialog than comfort and complacency. We feel our need of salvation right now. We feel our limitations. We feel how far we have to go with racial reconciliation, addressing the needs of the poor, defending against evil, and protecting freedom. The church has an opportunity to engage in the ministry of listening and reflecting what we hear. Of speaking truth and light into dark conversations steeped in deception. Of representing Jesus who laid down His life to reconcile all humanity with God and charged the church with the ongoing work of reconciliation and furthering the kingdom. Take direction from God’s Word. Pray for guidance. Intercede for others. Worship with zeal. Seek opportunities to serve. I believe as Tolkien did that “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” To love others in these times is to shine brighter than every star in Hollywood.
We were designed for these times. It’s popular to romanticize other times and places but the Bible says God determines where and when we live. We were designed for these times. Little House on the Prairie is a lovely book to read but God meant you and me for now. He further promises that we have everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:1-10). That doesn’t mean it isn’t work or isn’t challenging or that all our efforts will produce immediate success but it does mean we shouldn’t spend our minutes looking backwards or whining. We should rally in prayer and in service at our section of this outpost of glory. Other generations have faced trying times and God was present with them as He is present with us now – this truth alone should fortify our spirits. Tolkien penned these words, “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring Will you spend your time re-posting whiny articles on Facebook or will you engage with the world around you in Jesus’ name and light a lamp on the hill where you live?

To inaugurate is to begin, to commence, to initiate. This week, we’ll witness the inauguration of a new president. May it also be the inauguration of an era of the church where obscure individuals remember that God’s eye is on the small and unknown as much as He is aware of the powerful and the great. May we commence to revive our efforts to further His kingdom through love, through sacrifice, through listening, through speaking truth, and through laying down our lives.

The truth is not that our lives don’t matter. The truth is that they matter so much it sometimes paralyzes us with fear. Dr. Martin Luther King once stated “”Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” We, the listening church (may those who have ears to hear, hear), are called to enact our faith no matter the challenges of the times. May we greet this transition of power on our knees and prepare to stand in the name of Christ in the days to come.

Dear Listening American Church – what will we inaugurate in the days to come https://t.co/zErx9E2mLJ #Inauguration2017 #Healing #Church

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 14, 2017

Holy Hearing Aid! The Missing Ministry of the Modern Church

Is the modern church in need of a Holy Hearing Aid?

If we asked an impartial artist to render a symbolic drawing after observing the American church, I can only imagine that she would draw a being covered with talking mouths.

As if the body of Christ had made a visit to Chernobyl and, like deformed frogs affected by acid rain, had over-produced the moving lips and wagging tongue of God. As if the world was full of Charlie Brown’s and the American church was the teacher’s voice “wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah”. Or the drone of Ben Stein as the uninspired science teacher in “The Wonder Years.”

It’s vital that Christians speak truth. It’s crucial not to stand idly by when falsehood and deception rule the day. But our primary calling is to represent Jesus so sometimes that means speaking out but often it means listening harder than we ever would of our own accord because honestly, we serve a listening God.

When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt – God heard their cry but Pharaoh refused to listen. Idols created by human hands cannot see, speak, or hear but God listens to His people and hears our prayers.  To properly and entirely represent Jesus, we must be a listening people.

How more effective might our kingdom building efforts be if the family portrait of the church could easily be characterized by an oversized listening ear? And not just a few of us with special listening gifts but all of us. James, who was a writer with a direct and active approach to faith, wrote this: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James 1:19

That is a hard work verse. Listening is not a piece of cake. I ran my first conference call a few years back and by the end of the hour, I was spent! As a participant in these calls, I could tune out occasionally or allow my attention to wander. As administrator, it was my job to listen to everyone and it was draining but eye-opening to realize that as much as I care about listening, it’s obviously a muscle that needs further conditioning.

To listen means to care about hearing what the other person is saying more than about preparing your answer. To listen sometimes means to allow another to direct the course of the conversation. To listen means to relinquish a measure of control, to yield visible earthly power. (But true power comes from being in tune with the Holy Spirit so if we settle for earthly visible power, we’re likely to forfeit true power. Pharaoh thought himself powerful compared to the Hebrew Moses just in from the desert, yes?)

To listen means to slow down, sometimes to stop, to meander, and sometimes to run off course (or agenda) for the sake of another’s needs. To listen means to put others first. It means in each conversation to apply Colossians 3:12-14 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” ESV

Meekness and humility seem like pale, powerless stances in our society. Who wants to take to Twitter feed with humility or to be known as a meek blogger? When people tell me I’m being kind, their subtext is usually “are you sure you want to be such a chump?” To listen is not only to be counter-cultural, it requires a whole new level of faith and trust in Jesus. This is not a bad thing.

“Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses.” This quote by crime/mystery writer, Margaret Millar, is a spoonful of medicine for those of us trying to share our faith. We were designed with one mouth and two ears and we know that was no accident. Certainly, then, the body of Christ should listen, at least twice as much as it speaks.

We’re called to listen to others. Listening does not mean that we compromise the truth. It simply means we love and respect others enough to minister to them by listening deeply to their words, and asking enough questions so we know what they’re actually saying before we commit to speak.

We’re called to listen to the Holy Spirit. Jesus repeated an important phrase during His ministry on earth that became a drumbeat during John’s vision in Revelation: “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” I have to believe that the more we approach the end of the age, the more important it will be for us to listen to the Spirit of God. There was an abundance of evidence from this past election season that what we hear often has more to do with the ears we brought to a situation than with the actual words that were spoken.

We’re often frustrated that our words don’t have the effect we desire them to have; but we must understand that words are tools (or weapons). Knowing which word to pull out of our kit requires first assessing the situation – in other words, listening first will render our resulting speech more effective in the long run. Perhaps we have pulled out an exhortation when encouragement was the tool for the job. Or we’ve been encouraging what should have been hammered with truth. Or we’ve been facing a barrier that is impervious to words in its current state, it feeds on words like a fire feeds on oxygen but it will be diminished, weakened by a diet of silence.

The Spirit knows. Aahh, this is why we have two ears. Listen to the Spirit. Listen to others. Then speak. Aahhh. I seriously just got that.

This week, I am going to try to listen first in every conversation. I am going to try to live out James 1:19. I’ll fail a lot because my life, like yours, moves fast, but I plan to keep trying. Before I give an answer to anything, I will ask a question or reflect back what the other has said so I know for certain I have heard them correctly. I am going to spend more time reflecting on what God says than badgering Him with my requests.

This week, in the body of Christ, rather than be a voice for God, I will try to be an ear for Him. I’m thinking I should start now. What, dear loved ones, are the spiritual questions burning on your hearts these days? What are you here at the blog or on your computer seeking that you’re not finding? What are you feeling is on your heart that no one is hearing? I honestly would love to know.

If you’re reading this in email, just click HERE to leave a comment.

Because I Could Not Stop for Death . . .

There’s nothing clever in this blog post. If you’re in the mood for clever, click to the next blog on your list. No harm, no foul.

I want to be careful not to cloud this message in a flurry of metaphors or a pile of prose. The word on my heart is best delivered straight up, like the ghost of Christmas present in the Bill Murray movie Scrooged. She appears to the main character and plants a blow that brings him to his knees. “Sometimes you have to slap them in the face!” she says. “Sometimes the truth is painful but it’s made your cheeks rosy and your eyes bright!” That line is so funny because we know it’s true.

So, here’s the plain truth in one unclever line: Everyone dies.

We like to shove that knowledge aside. We set it on the back shelf of our soul’s pantry to face every morning with energy and optimism. But then, death breaks in and sucker punches us with the reminder that he’s waiting and we don’t know where or when.

Carrie Fisher dies and the internet is awash in mourning – not Princess Leia! A child dies at Christmas. A widow barely survives her first holidays alone. A loved one receives a prognosis measured in weeks or months, not years. A car crashes and a friend we sat beside on Sunday morning is buried on Wednesday. It isn’t right. Everything within us rails at death – with good reason – we were designed to live forever.

God has an eternal view on life because He is eternal. He created us to be in relationship with Him forever but we made the choice to rebel against Him. Here, He mercifully intervened by exiling us from Eden before we could eat from the tree of life lest we live forever in our fallen state. Instead, He lovingly provided a path for us to eternal life through Jesus Christ.

One path. Jesus. Only Jesus.

Sometimes I feel smug and self-righteous that I’m not so pushy and culturally insensitive as my Christian predecessors as to push my faith on others with heavy-handed conversation about hellfire and brimstone. My generation embraced “friendship evangelism” with lots of sound reasoning and I do believe in approaching others with respect and patience.

But, sometimes you do have to “slap them in the face.” The truth is painful but it does make your cheeks rosy and your eyes bright.

I can’t deny that my most successful conversation about the gospel occurred in a room full of friends mourning the death of a woman we all loved, taken from us before we were ready. An old schoolmate was there and remarked that the grieving Christians seemed different in grief than others he’d known. I asked him if He’d ever considered following Jesus.

“No,” he explained, “I figure I’ll take the approach of the thief on the cross and ask forgiveness at the last hour.”

I was brought up short and forgot to be delicate, “This may be your final hour, have you considered that? We don’t all get that final understanding that death is approaching. It could come on us at any minute and on the other side is heaven or hell. Are you willing to roll the dice on where you spend eternity? What are you waiting for? Decide about Jesus right now. He is God. Are you with Him or not?”

He decided at that moment to follow Jesus. Grief removed my sense of delicacy and thank God it did.

For many years, Christians were indelicate about preaching the gospel and this offended some but you know what, being offended doesn’t actually hurt a person or alter them in any way. Death. Death is the true offense. Death is the offense that alters everything – forever. And it comes for us all.

Carrie Fisher probably didn’t get on that plane thinking it would be her final flight. We don’t know when death will come for those in our lives but God does so we must stay sensitive – not to human feelings or political correctness but to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

And we need to take seriously the truth that we will die. For some, death will be a door into the arms of the Heavenly Father and into the rest of the adventure. For the rest, it will be an entry into a Fatherless eternity.

No matter how we dress that up it’s an ugly, offensive truth. No matter how storied the lead-in, the ending may creep up unexpectedly. No matter how soft the approach, the landing of that truth is a solid blow to personal comfort. But as surely as we all must face death, so must we face Jesus and decide if we’ll accept His sacrifice on our behalf or reject Him forever.

The force is a good story but it’s not real. Jesus and death are real. Consider Jesus for yourself. Listen to the Holy Spirit and speak when He prompts you to speak. It’s not the words you use that matter, it’s the power of Jesus behind them. Trust not the words, trust only Jesus for Jesus is enough.

Death is not the natural order. That’s a lie. Life unto life – eternally in the light of Christ. This is the truth and the way. Join the resistance. Defy death by choosing life in Christ and passing the truth onto others.

And THEN, when you’ve chosen to follow Him, live with eternity in your sights. Live as if you have forever. Spend your days, this side of glory, on Him because He spent it all on you.

Christians do need to be more sensitive – to the leading of the Holy Spirit – and to the truth that death comes for us all but Jesus knows the way through death into life. Follow Him.

If you’ve decided to follow Jesus, these sites are wonderful reminders of why. If you haven’t yet chosen to follow Jesus, these sites explain the truth and the way – If you’re reading this, Jesus is calling you to Himself.  http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/theplan.asp,  http://www.allaboutgod.com/plan-of-salvation.htm

Because I Could Not Stop for Death https://t.co/D8KUYVyPjM #CarrieFisher #princessleia #eternallife #JesusSaves

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 28, 2016

Christmas. It’s SO not about the Children

If the radio, TV, movie theaters, and Facebook are on target, then Christmas is full of loving, laughing families, fireplaces, the best gifts ever, and last-minute miracles. And, there’s some of that, of course. But around the world and even in the next room, Christmas looks quite different for millions of us. This Christmas Eve post is for you because despite the version you see on screen, Jesus brought Christmas and He didn’t bring it for children, He brought it for us all.

Some of us man the stations over Christmas Eve and Christmas. Armed forces overseas and at home. First responders. Hospital staff. Caregivers. Those on vigil over loved ones in hospital or hospice. Social workers. Emergency foster parents. Fill-in radio announcers. Restaurant staff. Homeless shelter workers. And countless others. We often see things at Christmas others hope never to see in their lifetimes. We work so others can rejoice. We fill the airways with voices so people alone won’t feel so alone. We provide respite for weary families. We cover for tired staff who need a break. We stand guard so revelers can survive their gathering.

Jesus is with you. He is Emmanuel. God with us. God with us in those hours just before daybreak when coffee isn’t doing it. Those minutes on scene when it’s clear not everyone survived. Those moments when death is imminent and a family watching a loved one slip away need a hand to hold or to encourage once more that they’ve done all they could. Those hours dealing with people who curse Christmas and come in out of the cold having medicated themselves against their inner demons wondering what family they’ve let down again this year. Hours in a hot kitchen serving meals to other families so yours can eat in January. Jesus sees you and came for you. He loves how you celebrate Him through service. He loves how you represent Him with your sacrifice. God sent the angelic announcement to the shepherds so everyone would know that God will find you even if you’re out doing your job.

Some of us cringe inside when we hear it proclaimed over and over that Christmas is all about the children. It reminds us of our empty wombs, empty cribs, empty nests. We buy gifts for others’ children. We visit cemeteries with poinsettias in hand. We Skype and Facetime and phone chat with adult children far away or little ones visiting their other parent this year and bravely assure them we are fine because that’s what parents do. And we’ll be fine alone, we know that. There will be other holidays. Or we haven’t given up on having our own children someday or we really do love other people’s children but it’s still nice to be assured Christmas isn’t all about children, it’s about Jesus. Jesus came as a baby but He grew up. He loved children but He loved us all. He wove a long-barren woman, Elizabeth, into the Christmas story as well as the widow Anna, and the elderly Simeon. Even loss and sadness were part of the story when Herod ordered many children slaughtered in his efforts to take out the new king.

Jesus came for grown-ups and seniors, too. We were children once. He remembers our dreams. He knows what we’ve endured. He sees how hard we’ve tried. He takes joy in us even in our age because from His perspective, we are still very, very new to life. He knows what it feels like to be alone, to never marry, to live a life that is about something other than raising a family, a life set apart. And Mary would come to know great loss, wouldn’t she? And her Son would give her over to another’s care in her old age because by then, He would be home with His father. It’s all there, in the original story, don’t you see? Can you find the thread where God wove you into the Christmas that Jesus brought to earth?

There is another Christmas. It’s festive and fun. It’s not a bad thing, really. Nothing wrong with gifts, lavish meals, joyous songs, and gatherings. And, of course, there is much good in celebrating the children. But that is not the Christmas that comes to all so don’t be deceived if you’re missing that one that you’re missing Christmas.

The true Christmas, Jesus, comes to us wherever we make room for Him. He is not afraid to show up in waiting room at the rehabilitation center and hold your hand while your son is admitted. He is unafraid of the drunken brawl that breaks out at your mother’s house that the neighbors hear and call the police. He’s strong to save as you stare at the tubes keeping your daughter breathing after her attempt on her life when the Christmas tree lights feel like naked light bulbs in an interrogation on your entire life. Jesus is there, if you invite Him, when you’re fixing yourself a quiet meal and tea on your first Christmas without the man or woman who have shared every Christmas for fifty years before and your loved ones have gone home.

Christmas, the true Christmas, is about the lavish, relentless love that God had for us even when we broke His heart. The love so strong, so wise, so deep He gave us His only begotten Son. He named Him, Emmanuel, God with us. You see, God saw us floundering and flailing, caught up in the nets of our own sins but every time He drew near to save us, His glory and holiness frightened us so we only fought back. So, He became one of us so some would allow Him close enough to die for us so we can be free.

He didn’t go through all that to leave us alone because we’re working or wounded or childless or unmarried or broken or grieving or fallen on December 24th and 25th. He still comes near.

Christmas is all about you – you in relationship to Jesus Christ, loved ones. Wherever you are, may you feel – truly experience – the miracle of His presence in whatever circumstances this next forty-eight hours finds you. Be blessed and allow Him to bless you with Himself by inviting Him in to your corner of the world right now.

May mercy and grace find you this Christmas, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Christmas. It’s So not about the Children https://t.co/gyMrIqMsjP #AloneAtChristmas #ChristmasEve #MerryChristmasEveryone

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 24, 2016

Because Not Everyone is Excited about Christmas

A new king is a welcome and exciting development


Unless you’re the current king and you’re not interested in being dethroned.

You think I’m talking about Herod, don’t you?

Really, I’m referring to myself.


Some days, I make room for Jesus and
Flock with the shepherds to the manger



Other days, I’m enjoying the fit of my seat on the throne of my own life
And I order all potential threats murdered in my own streets,
a bloodbath by my own decree.



The scandal of Jesus is that He insists He’s the original royalty
And that He will rule your life or
Find shelter in another heart.

The offensiveness of being told to remove one’s self from
A well-warmed throne
To make room for another
Never gets old, does it?

It’s newly offensive every morning
Along with His mercies
And His faithfulness.

So, some days I’m all about the shepherds
But other days, I find Herod staring back at me from my bathroom mirror
And I remember why Jesus’ arrival
Caused a stir.


He doesn’t take well to being ignored – love Him or leave Him but make a choice.

Jesus.
Scandalous. Offensive.

The stone that makes men stumble and the rock that makes us fall.

He didn’t waft down from Heaven on a cloud,
God hurled Him into humanity like a rolling stone
And He emerged the old-fashioned way with blood and ripping screams.



Jesus.

Are you traveling with the wise men seeking Him at great cost to yourself?

Or are you putting a hit out on Him like Herod hoping to keep the throne of your life to yourself?

Big questions. Something to consider. Advent – because not everyone is excited about Christmas.

Because not everyone is excited about Christmas https://t.co/GRCMGaQEfO #ExcitedForChristmas #Herod #JesusIsKing

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 23, 2016

The Linus Papers

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

Because the world is obsessed with its numbers. Because power takes polls and counts, finding comfort in masses and multitudes. Because Caesars and kings and rulers of this world take only their own affairs into account and not the impact of their decrees on the poor and the humble. Because we are often not considered valuable people with important lives to those in power but only signatures on licenses and numbers on forms and pins on maps. And little has changed since the time of this night in Bethlehem but neither has our God so we are not at the mercy of rulers and kings though it may feel that way sometimes . . .

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

Repeatedly through the Bible, while great historical events are noted, the stories God chooses to spend time telling are those of individual lives and choices set against monumental times. He reminds us that all of His-story comes down to one – one woman who says “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” One man willing to open himself to God’s dream for the world at the sacrifice of his own dreams. God reminds us at every step of their donkey toward Bethlehem that He is less interested in, less concerned with earthly kings than with one humble soul surrendered to His plan.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

God the Father has such perfect confidence in His own ability that He surrendered His Son to this evil, filthy, disease-ridden, crime-burdened planet in the form of a helpless, squalling infant in the care of a poor, unknown couple. The dragon was determined to destroy the babe but the dragon is no match for God the Father. He testifies to His own strength by entering the world completely vulnerable yet unafraid. We, too, can have this perfect confidence in His ability to protect us no matter where He sends us to be lights for Him and to represent His Son. We are as safe within His will as a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

He didn’t send His angels to the palace to appear to Herod or to the homes of the nobles. He didn’t send His Son into a time when there was Twitterfeed and global media. His messengers visited those forgotten, those considered expendable, those runts of their household litters out doing their job in the dark of night. The king of glory entered into a stage of humanity where word of mouth was the mass media. So when the angel said this good news of great joy will be for ALL the people, that is underscored by its initial recipients’ place in this world. And He showed us the power to spread this good news is within our grasp because any of us can tell our neighbor. He calls us now to represent this news to ALL the people. Look around you this week – these are your assignments, the people for whom Jesus came.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

And we long for this peace on earth. And sometimes it eludes us, even His people. But when we remember who He is, when we stop long enough to remember His power, His glory, His creativity, His awesome wisdom, and His lavish love. When we look up from those things that consume us – the sheep, the census taking, the busy-ness, the powerful rulers and the ever-raging dragon – when we pause to consider Him, we recover this peace that is our inheritance through Jesus whom we celebrate. Then we affirm the words of the prophet Isaiah who said, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Then we stand with Linus in complete security in our Father God because that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. May we live and rest in this truth on Christmas and in every minute of the year to come.

If you haven’t heard Linus give his Christmas speech yet this year, you can hear it HERE. May we all remember our awe of our Father God in the days to come.

The Linus Papers https://t.co/k9ikxRafXy what does Christmas mean to us today? #Linus #CharlieBrownChristmas #Christmasstory

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 21, 2016

The Twelve Sanity Checks of Christmas

Sanity Check Number One: The world has always been in trouble at Christmas even before there was Christmas. Through every generation there has been trouble, suffering, and trial in the world as Christians lit candles for the Christ child and slipped gifts under trees. We inhale the world’s toxins and exhale the breath of Christ with every carol. He entered a world of suffering with full knowledge of what He faced, so celebrate Him even amidst screaming headlines.

Sanity Check Number Two: Good godly Christians disagree about how to celebrate. Families argue. We see things from different perspectives. The family of Christ is one in Him but we come from every tongue, tribe, and nation so we’re likely to have differing thoughts on what it means to remember Christ at Christmas. Know why you choose what you choose and be at peace with Him in that. Don’t judge your Christian siblings but don’t hand them your joy.

Sanity Check Number Three: Most of us of us feel we aren’t enough.  Many of us are plagued with a vague notion that we cannot do enough, buy enough, give enough, or be enough to honor the season and to let our loved ones know how important they are to us. The truth is, we aren’t designed to be enough. We’re designed to sense this incompleteness and bring it to Him because we need Him. He is the One who is enough. If our loved ones feel this lack, then good. Let it send them to Him, too. Validate that. It’s never enough? Of course it isn’t, and it won’t be until you find your “enough” in Jesus.

Sanity Check Number Four: Those who feel they are enough for the season without Jesus are deceived. Some hijack Christmas for their own purposes and inhabit the practices without allowing Jesus to inhabit their lives. He will sort this out in His time. Their presence at our gatherings reminds us that more than the flickering bulbs on the tree, we are the lights of Christmas and into the year to come. Be that light.

Sanity Check Number Five: Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, Barak Obama, and Vladimir Putin have a certain amount of power but in the end, we’ll find they had less eternal influence than one single soul completely yielded to Jesus. Be that soul.

Sanity Check Number Six: Some Christmas’s it’s hard to celebrate and that’s just life, not a failing on your part. God created us human. He knows what we’re made of and doesn’t reject our humanity. When someone dies, we’re sad. When we’re fighting cancer, diseases, or old age, we’re weary. When we don’t have enough money to pay the bills, we’re frustrated. When tragedy strikes, we’re overwhelmed. When we’re alone, we’re lonely. When these conditions arrive at Christmas, they’re magnified. Jesus doesn’t lay burdens on the season, we do. He isn’t another relationship we have to manage, He came to carry us. Let Him into whatever you’re experiencing at Christmas and He’ll wrap you in His presence.

Sanity Check Number Seven: The whole world is not having a party and gathering around perfect tables. Some are but most humanity is not having a wonderful life at Christmas. We know this but we forget it under the bombardment of Hollywood and Hallmark. You feel like the only one but somewhere not far from you, another feels like the only one. Pray for that one. Ask God to let you know who else may need a call or visit to say, I’m not at a great party or happy feast either. Let’s be alone together and Jesus will make three.

Sanity Check Number Eight: Christmas feels like a battleground because it is and always has been. The clock has been ticking on the evil one since the foundation of time but the birth of Christ brought the plan to light for all humanity. In Bethlehem, God pulled back the curtain on Satan and unveiled the limits of his earthly powers to destroy us. The end is decided but skirmishes continue. As in any battle, the best strategy is to remain calm, stand your post, and pay attention to the One in charge.

Sanity Check Number Nine: People don’t come to Jesus because we say Merry Christmas or wear buttons about reasons. People are drawn to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and by hearing the truth of Christ. The most important items to wear this season are your pieces of spiritual armor and the most valuable words you can utter are the words of the gospel. Just ask Linus.

Sanity Check Number Ten: Our loved ones aren’t trying to ruin our holidays, they’re just reminding us how much we all needed Jesus to come. We get on one another’s nerves. We fail each other. We sometimes are abominable and mean and unkind even at Christmas. We are as much in need of forgiveness and mercy on December 25th as we were in July so let grace be the dish you bring to the potluck. Let it be the first item across the threshold and remember Christ has a serving of that to heap on your plate as well.

Sanity Check Number Eleven: The poor and needy will be with us in January, too. Your neighbors helped at a soup kitchen. Your sister and her family invited in refugees for a meal. Your college roommate moved to the inner city to work on racial reconciliation in Christ. You can barely manage to get presents and a meal on the table for your own brood. Don’t dismiss those stirrings of wanting to be active in the work to be done in the world and don’t settle them by resolving to do more next Christmas. People will be needing to see Jesus in the hands and feet and arms of the Body of Christ the week after Christmas, too. The calendar doesn’t empower Christ-like charity, the Holy Spirit does. Ask for direction and then follow it on December 26 and beyond.

Sanity Check Number Twelve: Don’t treat Jesus like a baby. Jesus came as a baby but He grew up. He’s with us at the grown up table and is a present help in every situation. Don’t try to shield Him from anything your facing this season – marital strife, drug addiction, discord, church schism, moral failing, desperation of soul, despair, sorrow, utter fright for the future, doubt, disappointment, greed, selfishness, or the desire to hide from it all. He is the One who is undisturbed by the wind and storm. He is the One who raises the dead, who makes the blind see, the lame walk, and the hardened sinner repent. He came to be with us so let Him. He isn’t a fragile babe in a manger made of imported china, He is the King who has come and is coming again.

Jesus is powerful and present. Humans are amazing, fascinating, engaging creations but we need Jesus to save us from our sinfulness and failings. He did and He does. He inhabited our humanity. He lived a sinless life. He dies on the cross and rose again. He lives now and is coming again. He is merciful, strong, holy, just, and able to save. He is the love that is stronger than death. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Beyond the panic. Beyond the presents. Beyond the fragile peace we create for twenty-four hours of our own devices, He is and He wants to be with us, loved ones. This is the sanity of Christmas in a mad, mad world. Let us pour this truth into our cups and drink our fill.

The Twelve Sanity Checks of Christmas https://t.co/DFyCKInL0S holding onto the real reality at Christmas #Christmas #twelvedaysofChristmas

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 17, 2016

The Very Best Bible Reading Plan You’ll Find This Year

One of the saddest experiences I ever had happened years ago, with a family who lived one street over from a popular touristy, restaurant district. Christmas was near so I asked the teens if they had a wish list. I expected them to clamor for video games, trendy sneakers, or iPods, instead, they showed me a dozen magazine clippings of recipes.

“We think we figured out how to make this stuff if you could get us the ingredients for Christmas.”

What was on their list? Ingredients for lasagna, grilled cheese, hot dogs and beans, shepherd’s pie, and tacos. They were hungry, deeply famished. As they showed me the pictures of the food and read the directions, they spoke in dreamy tones of commonplace foods and described how they would imagine being able to sit down at a table to eat as much as they could hold. I was overwhelmed.

The family received state money for food assistance but the parent who cared for them struggled with life tasks so usually purchased only two or three items. The cupboards were stocked with ramen noodles, peanut butter, and saltines. Every day, they walked home from school through the aroma of the area’s finest eateries but they were so hungry, food was all they could imagine wanting under the Christmas tree.

Such an easy problem to solve.

Those of us working with them supplied all that their recipes required for the holidays and beyond. Then a family friend helped that parent learn how to vary the shopping. We introduced them to local church suppers and food pantries. The teens happily took over the cooking and learned to prepare a variety of meals. One of them finally observed, “Isn’t it crazy that we nearly starved to death and all the time we were surrounded by food!”

Many Christians live just like these hungry boys.

There are believers who languish in persecuted countries with no access to God’s Word. It’s understandable they would suffer from a famine of God’s Word because it’s not available to them. They go to great effort and length to secure even small portions of scripture and treasure it when they find it.

Other believers, though, live surrounded by opportunities to feast but exist in a self-imposed state of famine. You may be one.

This is how you’ll know.

Walk around your house collecting all your bibles. (Go ahead. I’ll wait.) Stack them on a table. Never mind the Bible study books or books about the Bible. Just collect the Bibles. Then, ask yourself how often you opened and read any of them in the past two weeks. (I feel it important to mention here that there is therefore no condemnation in Christ. You are loved and found in Him, you are His child and secure in eternal life even if you haven’t read the Bible in the past two months – if you’d read the Bible, you’d know this. False guilt is a waste of time. Real guilt, if you’re ready to own up to it, is already covered by Christ so this is an exercise, not in failure, but in waking up.)

You love God’s Word. You know reading the Bible daily will open you up to a deeper relationship with Him. You know that it’s better to go right to the source and wrestle with it yourself than to listen to a thousand Bible debates on Facebook. You know that time in God’s Word will increase your knowledge of Christ but also your wisdom, endurance, and love for others. I don’t even need to remind you that Paul, who loved Jesus, was an apostle, and had miraculous experiences, loved to read and study Scripture so, of course, we need it, too. Then what gets in your way?

It’s a famine induced by a glut of choices. A famine induced by the pursuit of the perfect reading plan. A famine induced by indecision and the illusion that owning twelve Bibles and being surrounded by Bibles and clicking on links that discuss the Bible are all the same as consuming the Bible with your own eyes and mind. Reading the Bible is reading the Bible and it’s the daily food every soul craves.

Allow me to speak words of freedom to you: There is no perfect reading plan. Every reading plan was devised by imperfect humans and will be employed by imperfect humans so pick one plan and do it imperfectly. When you miss a week – forget catching up – just start up again. Or, go wild and don’t follow a plan just start reading (okay, but not the start in Genesis thing because everyone dies off in Leviticus). Start in an imperfect place, maybe the middle of Isaiah. Read three chapters or five and record what you read. Tomorrow, read five more. If you miss a day, so what? If you miss a day of showering you don’t decide to skip showers for the rest of the week and start up again on Monday, you just shower, right?

Another thing. There’s no perfect day to start. Or, actually there is. Today. Today is the perfect day to begin. And here’s the best part. It’s always today. Tomorrow is a terrible day to begin reading the Bible so avoid that and start on the perfect day, today.

When I was young and single and interested in a boy, I’d be sure to hang out in places I might encounter him. If you’re interested in a relationship with Jesus, one place you’re certain to encounter Him is in His Word so it’s always a perfect place to spend time.

Pick a Bible. Any of the seven on your table. Open it. Read a portion. Ask God what the passage says about Him. What does the passage say about you? What from this passage can affect your life today? Tomorrow, read this section again and do what it says.

This is the single best way you can enter the Christmas season or the New Year or the middle of winter or any season of life. Don’t allow your soul to waste away steps away from the finest food prepared by Your Loving Father.

Today is the day, loved ones. Wake up to the power between the pages of God’s communique to all living on this outpost of Glory. Today, is the day. Read on and feel your soul revive.

The Very Best Bible Reading Plan You’ll Find This Year https://t.co/2M0RYC2U8y #biblereadingplan #BibleStudy #NewYearsResolutions

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 14, 2016

Sometimes Angels Sing the Blues

When I read the start of the Christmas story in Luke, a Blues Brothers tune replays in my head. “Hold I’m, I’m Coming.” Over and over I hear it until I wonder if the angels formed a gospel choir and sang the blues to the shepherds in the weeks leading up to Jesus’ birth. 

God’s people had been waiting and longing for generations and they were tired of waiting. We haven’t changed much since those times. Haven’t learned much either. Many of the Israelites had grown so tired of waiting for the salvation of the Lord they were devising their own Messiahs through politics, through religious legislation, through abandoning hope and seeking other gods. Humans needed saving and they turned to themselves for answers rather than trust in the One God would provide.

Holding on is one of the hardest things we ever do. Waiting is so painful, waiting with hope an impossible burden, many take solace in giving up. In abandoning the right path. In seeking a fleeting comfort, a second-rate dream, a smaller story than the one they were designed to live.

May this not be so with you, loved ones.

Life was messy for God’s people. They longed for the same things we desire – babies to love, enough money to build a home, freedom from fear, deliverance from our own failings but, like us, they experienced hardship and oppression from without and within.

Elizabeth and Zechariah served God amid this pressure and pain. They had lived faithful lives into their senior years despite God’s refusal to bless them with a child. Where others might repay this unanswered prayer with rebellion, they continued to serve God because He is God and not because He granted them their every wish.

Then when the time was right for God, He pressed them into the service of His great plan for all generations by choosing them to bear the prophet John who would prepare the way for His Son, Jesus. He revealed to them the part of the Great Story reserved for them, waiting for the fullness of time.

Elizabeth and Zechariah perfectly represent all who wait, all who live with unmet longing, all who suffer yet continue to seek God and not their own way. They weren’t perfect but daily, they had made one choice after another to serve God and not themselves. Rare souls in those days and rare in ours as well.

We live in longing now, too. We long for true freedom. We long for to see the hope for which we’ve waited, the salvation of our souls and the souls of those we love, but it’s all such a long time coming. It seems He was barely with us for a heartbeat when the waiting began again, the waiting for His return.

Are you waiting and longing this season? Are you growing weary? Are you pressed on every side by the temptation to give up, to find another way even if it’s a lesser path? Do you hear voices telling you that you’re a foolish dreamer, an idealist, someone who needs to get a grip and join the rest of the mortals in what they already wisely have done – settle for smaller stories? I understand the fatigue and Jesus sees it, too, but He cries out to you to hold on, loved one. Hold on, He’s coming.

Read, again, Zechariah’s words at the birth of John the Baptist and know that this story is one so great that God bides His time so that more have an opportunity to enter in. Those of us who found Him early can call on His strength and the strength of those who came before us to find the courage to hold on.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” (He entered history, He was here, He lived, He died, He rose again, and so too, will He return)

“and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;” (Haters and evil people will not win the day, not in the end, so we must resist the temptation to join them no matter how large their masses grow)

“to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” (We aren’t saved so we can pursue our own pleasure but so that we might serve Him. In this way we enter a Greater Story and live the adventure we were created to know this side of glory and then beyond.)

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people  in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,” (And we, too, can prepare the way for Jesus into the hearts of our loved ones, our neighbors, even our enemies by speaking and living the truth every day, even in sacrifice and self-denial)

“whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 2: 68-79 (There are those who say this darkness is our path into endless night but we know that Jesus ushered in the sunrise of eternal life for all who choose to follow Him. As we let Him live within us, so we, too, shine with this light, and we lead others by following Him in the way of peace.)

We are the lights of Christmas, loved ones. So shine on as you hold on through this last stretch of darkness for just as He came before, rest assured, He is coming again.’

Sometimes Angels Sing the Blues https://t.co/6OOmfUeyY9 we can all feel a part of Christs’ coming in the waiting #Advent #Christmas #Angels

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 11, 2016