Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 40

Awkward Evangelists, Bumbling Missionaries

Hey, pssst, you there – yes, you. We need to chat. This isn’t a post for someone else. Yes, I know you think I’m not aware it’s you reading this but I am. You’re precisely the one I mean to reach.

God’s not messing around, you know that, don’t you?

And by God, I’m not talking about the god who is so popular in certain circles. I’m talking about the God you and I know. The God of the Bible. The God who created the world. The God who deeply, passionately loves us. The God who talks about sin like it’s a really bad thing. So bad, He had to sacrifice His only Son to pay the price for ours. Sin is that bad. He loves us that much. The God who is Jesus. Yeah, that Jesus.

God is serious that there is no way to Him except through Jesus. He’s serious about how lethal unrepentant sin is for humans. It’s life-threatening and you and I know this because we’ve received the cure by grace, purely by grace. We aren’t smarter or more special than anyone else. But, really, no one needs to tell us that because we look into the mirror of His Word daily. We find love there. Forgiveness. Grace. Peace. But, we also find challenge. Exhortation. Confrontation. Sanctification. Hard truth. And a constant call to repentance.

There’s a world of deception out there, though, clouding the issue, piping falsehood into every elevator along with the muzak and aromatherapy. Peddling the lie that there is no God or if there is, He’s reached through many ways. And some of us, not wishing to offend, remain silent at this fairy tale watching the elevator descend. Then, the speakers on the wall squawk that sin is an archaic notion, gone the way of “duck and cover” and that a little sin is no big deal. And some of us, wanting to be agreeable, agree, as if we’d permit our children to indulge in a little heroin and think that was okay.

At some point in recent history, our enemy figured out that if he held up a funhouse mirror to the church, we’d recoil at our reflection and, being the loving sensitive people we are, it would make us think twice about drawing attention to ourselves, to our message. The mirror hideously exaggerated our faults (yes, we have them) and made even our good qualities mawkish. We certainly don’t want to look legalistic, judgmental, old-fashioned, irrelevant, or preachy. The nasty figure we saw in Satan’s full-length sideshow cowed us and we haven’t found a way over it. So, people are dying while we try to recover from our distorted view.

It’s time. It’s time now to repent of our self-consciousness. You know why? Because people die while we try to get over ourselves.

As a church, we need to stop worrying about what people think of us. The kingdom of God is not furthered by solid poll numbers, favorability scales, or marketing campaigns. The kingdom of God does not consist of talk at all but in power. (I Corinthians 4:20) So, we need to stop worrying about whether we’re saying the right words and be sure we’re tapped into that source of power. Jesus.

So, here’s what I’m suggesting. That we spread the message badly. That’s right. Let’s just be awkward evangelists. Be remedial sowers of the gospel. Be bumbling missionaries. Let’s get up out of our pews and make a few people uncomfortable, make a few mistakes, make a few enemies, offend someone with the truth that they are so deeply loved someone died for them.

We can take a lesson from urban moms. You’ve seen them on YouTube, yelling at wayward sons out looting during riots or hollering at troubled daughters caught smoking pot. They’re not wondering what they look like to those around. They’re not worried if they’re hurting their kids feelings or using “I” sentences. They’re stepping up to get in between their kids and the dangerous choices they know will likely lead them to more dangerous choices. So they scream, “Stop it. Stop it now and get your backside home. I’m not playing. I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it. “

We know they’re not threatening murder. We know they’re screaming from a place of love. We know that they see their child’s powerful, inner potential for a life of creativity, contribution, and light at risk of being dimmed and dulled by commonplace, life-sucking sin.

That’s where God’s coming from, too, and we’re His people. Entrusted with this message to the world. Let’s take a stab at communicating it.

Sin is boring. When sin takes root in our lives, we’re drained of our spectacular life energy. We know this for ourselves which is why we stick close to Christ and access that transforming grace so we can be freer from sin every day. But we can’t consume ourselves only with our own sanctification while the people around us shoot unrepentant sin into their veins every day and die thinking their Father doesn’t love them.

There’s nothing interesting about habitual sin. It’s dull, isn’t it? Another crooked politician. Another celebrity pastor having another affair. Another addict. Another neglectful parent. Another wayward child. They don’t see what we see. They don’t recognize the light dimming in their own eyes.

Saying sin is bad isn’t judgmental. It’s like saying heroin is bad. It’s fact. Be certain of this fact and then say it to someone else.

We Christians burn hours of creativity, energy, and inventiveness entertaining ourselves, instructing ourselves, and commenting on ourselves and that’s okay but we have to invest a larger portion of that creativity and passion into telling others the freeing truth we harbor like a dirty secret from the past that we all are guilty of sin but God loves us anyway and sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us and that repenting of our sin and following Jesus is the only way out of this filthy crack-house the enemy calls modern life. We’re not good at this now and the only way to get better is to do it badly so let’s at least do that.

For centuries, people have shared the truth of Jesus in the wrong ways and you know what happened? People came to Jesus anyway. Because the truth is the truth and the way out of sin actually works so let’s not be the generation that invented a million ways to communicate but only uses them to tell ourselves what we already know.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 ESV

Let’s do that. Let’s live in the freedom of our redemption.

Awkward Evangelists, Bumbling Missionaries https://t.co/OWpjiKjWyY airing a pet peeve on the blog today #rant warning #evangelical #Gospel

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) November 2, 2016

My Thoughts on Nasty Women

Ah, the low-hanging fruit of a political debate.

Donald Trump comments that Hilary Clinton is a nasty woman and Elizabeth Warren embraces the label as a title to wear with pride. “Nasty women vote!” she proclaims. Seriously. I mean, I get it. It’s a comeback that writes itself but, as a woman, I find it embarrassing. No matter who gets your vote this season, don’t jump into the basket of this hot air fueled balloon.

As a woman, I encourage other women to rise above all this nonsense. As women, we were made for so much more.

God created women in His image.

In Christ, there is no male or female.

We are equal in the eyes of God. Equally fallen. Equally in need of redemption. Equal recipients of grace through Jesus Christ. Equally adopted into the household of Christ.

Redeemed women are not nasty and we don’t embrace nastiness. We step into our freedom. We embrace our place as daughters of the Most High God. We carry ourselves as the royalty we are because of the cross. We are warrior women in the battle for souls. We further the Kingdom of Christ with our choices, our prayers, our obedience, our sacrifices, our faith. Love of Christ emboldens us and frees us from fear and from self-seeking ambition. We have received mercy and grace and so we seek to dispense mercy and grace to those God places in our lives.

Redeemed women follow Jesus into troublesome situations without fear. We speak the truth – to power, to the powerless, to ourselves. We defend the unborn, the unwanted, the unlovely, the untouchables. We speak for the voiceless. We minister to the rejected, the lost, the wounded, the messed up, the addicted, the deplorable, the homeless, the friendless, the displaced, and the untolerated.

We serve wherever God leads us and put every effort into our calling – from the nursery to the boardroom, from our homes to the public stage, through our relationships and through our creative work, by staying with those we love or by leaving them for foreign lands. We work hard. We worship hard. And we rest when He calls us from the fray.

Women of God don’t envy our brothers in Christ nor do we seek to tear them down; we stand beside them and partner with them in this kingdom that is more real than the one the world has designed. We seek to model Christ and we aspire to more than to mimic the worst in men by proving we can be as ruthless, as crude, as blindly ambitious, and as self-seeking.

Our power comes, not from a spirit of snark and snipe, not from proving we can form an “old-girls’ club” that will outplay the “old-boys’ club,” and not from using our amazing minds to sink to the level of men who call us out with grade school taunts. Our power comes from our connection to the source of all love, from minds that are unpolluted by this world, and from eyes that look forward to a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

As women of God, we embrace faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. We maintain a sense of humor and humility about ourselves because there is much we have to learn and further we have to grow but we reject bitterness, arrogance, meanness, and nastiness as weapons of this world. Our lives are marked by laughter because our God invented joy and so we spread that wherever we serve Him but our laughter is not at the expense of others, it’s more inventive and creative than that.

Women are unfathomable ideas from the mind of God and each of us has the potential, through Christ, to make our eternal mark on this world. We’re not waiting for a world leader to set us free. The Master of the Universe has already done that. We live and love from within that freedom now.

So, I get it. Nasty women vote. Godly women vote, too, but we don’t imagine that vote will change the world more than how we conduct ourselves every day. Our votes matter but so do the choices, characters, and examples of the most obscure, unknown women who belong to Christ. We affect eternal change and we don’t need polls to build us up, Christ does that.

This post isn’t about politics, loved ones, it’s about keeping our focus in a nasty world. Let’s be better than the headliners of the day because we are free to more.

Thoughts on #Nastywomen https://t.co/fHS7iuvwXD surviving the rhetoric of this #PresidentialElection #evangelicalvote #riseabove

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 27, 2016

Satan Runs a Numbers Game but We Don’t Have to Play

Satan doesn’t wear red silk pajamas and horns, nor does he carry a pitchfork. No, Satan wears a suit from Brooks Brothers, horn-rimmed glasses, a visor, and he comes at you armed with an adding machine.

See, Satan runs a backroom numbers game and he’s always showing up to check your tally. How much do you weigh? How much do you make? What’s your credit score? What are your grades? How many drinks was that? How many times are you going to screw up that way? You’re how old now? You’ve missed church how many times?

Failed once more? Gave in twice yesterday? Lost how much? How few days do you have left? Is there no one who cares about you? Is there no one you’ve helped? It’s not adding up, friend. You’re short. You see it, don’t you? You’re in deficit.

Let’s count your friends. Your achievements. Your sales. Your conquests. Your curtain calls. Your sins. What’s the score, high roller? How much can I put you down for before I spin the wheel?

And we slip into thinking God works this way, too, because He invented numbers and math but, you know what? He’s into higher math, baby, and He’s obsessed with Word problems.

Like this on, for instance: “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:3-7

Like that math? That’s God’s way of working tough equations. Here’s another: “Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.” Romans 5:14-16

Yes, Satan runs a numbers game. He’s slick, he’s heartless and he’s got access to all your data. But God keeps the tab, He holds your tally sheet and He settles the final score. He can add your sins but then He subtracts the work of Christ on the cross from the total score and you definitely come out ahead.

He multiplies your blessings and divides your sorrows so they are only a fraction of what you deserve. When you are filled with His Holy Spirit you are empowered to an exponential that cannot be calculated by any device known to humans. And if you give Him your life, He will reduce you to your root and you will find that radical living is all you ever wanted in the first place.

Satan has a number, loved ones, and it’s almost up. Try on this ultimate Word problem that is Satan’s problem, not ours: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” Revelation 19:11-13

Are you wagering your life in a backroom numbers game that’s been rigged from the start? There’s a better way.

Read the Word problems again – then you do the math.

Satan Runs a Numbers Game https://t.co/0PtDzX046Z but we don’t have to play – Do you know God’s higher math? #evil #redemption #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 25, 2016

Why God is Loving this Election Season

Of course, this election matters.

Yes, when it’s over, no matter who takes their seat in the Oval Office, God will still be Sovereign and His plan for His people will move forward. But still, the election matters.

And I don’t believe God is as perturbed by this election as some of His people are. I don’t believe He’s watching in dismay shaking His head wringing His hands imploring us all to “just get along.” I believe He wants us to stop being lukewarm and choose to be either hot or cold.

Intense debate, clear discussion, and heated rhetoric creates an atmosphere that incites people to think they better figure out what they believe because there are important choices to make. Choices that matter. And hiding behind the silent mob hoping someone else will figure it out and choose for us doesn’t work as well when conflict flushes hidden agendas out of the bushes.

Jesus created conflict when He walked among us. He didn’t stand in the synagogue and teach, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a Sadducee or a Pharisee or a fisherman, what matters most is that we just learn to accept one another.” That’s not what happened.

He told the religious rulers of the day that they’d better get over themselves fast and repent or they’d face the coming wrath. He told everyday sinners it’s better to cut off their hands and pluck out their eyes than to go into hell whole because they didn’t take their sin seriously.

He didn’t teach that because we’re so small and God is so big that we don’t have to worry about our decisions because God has a “magic override.” Instead, He hailed the widow and her two mites, the little boy with his loaves and fishes, the bleeding woman who touched the hem of His garment, the mustard seed of faith. Of all people, Jesus understood His Father’s Sovereignty but He didn’t deliver the message that our small choices don’t matter, just the opposite, in fact.

And, you’ll notice, He didn’t focus on just the rulers, hoping to win them over, because the everyday person’s choices don’t make a difference. He didn’t spend the bulk of His time trying to get into see governors and kings. He preached in the synagogue but He also preached in the hills, on the beach, along the road, and in fishing boats and people’s homes. He spoke great theological truths to hookers and tax cheats, to fisherman and housewives, to rich men and poor widows.

Yes, He delivered a message of love and told us the greatest commandments are to love Him and love others but He Mark writes this, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV)

When He met with His disciples after His resurrection, He didn’t say “And now let acceptance spread throughout the land.” Instead, He charged them this way, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ”Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Luke 24:45-47 ESV

The weight of our sin, the consequences of our wrong choices matter so much that the only way to redeem us was for God to offer His Only Son to suffer and to die in our place. If we could have just accepted one another into heaven, He’d have organized a global sensitivity seminar instead of watching us nail His Son to a cross.

I’m as tired of this election season as the next person. I can barely stand to switch on the news or engage on social media but God has used this season of debate to remind me that He’s coming again. And the only reason I can use that knowledge to comfort myself is because at some point in my life He confronted me with the offensive discomfort of knowing I needed to repent of my sin and change. Why in the world do I hoard this comfort for myself? How can I say I love others and withhold from them the truth in order to maintain my safe place of being acceptable and considered a nice person?

There are choices that are right and choices that are wrong. It’s not always easy to determine which choices fall into which category. It takes the hard work of knowing God, studying His Word, engaging in discussion, teaching, and rigorous debate with people who are like us and people who are unlike us, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, repentance, submission to Christ, teeth-gritting obedience, and a significant amount of personal discomfort. It takes a willingness to ask hard questions, listen to hard truths, and engage in hard conversations. Furthering the kingdom of God is not for the fainthearted but it is for the meek and humble.

There’s nothing great about me that when confronted with my sinful state, I grabbed onto the only  means of salvation available for us all. That doesn’t make me smart or special, it makes me a blessed recipient of His tender mercy and I dare not think my job is to withhold the truth of this salvation from others so I can watch the end of the world from the comfort of my spiritual easy chair.

Is this election season miserable, uncomfortable, and stressful? You, betcha. But because God is Sovereign, I believe He has allowed His church to endure this to stir us up and remind us that if we’re lukewarm, He’s ready to spit us out. Be hot. Be cold. Make a choice because your choices make a difference. The person who sits in that Oval Office has earthly power that one day will come to a crashing end but those of us who serve the Living God, who are being built into a holy temple, who represent the most High King, our choices will matter for eternity.

Are you exercising the power of your choices to build the Kingdom of God? Or are you hiding like a frightened Pharisee behind the silent mob hoping to remain unnoticed until He comes? In the land of the free and the home of the brave, are you willing to be both? Because He has set us free and will enable us to be brave if we step out into the light and speak the loving truth, loved ones.

Why God is Loving this Election Season https://t.co/D1Fnim1AR3 #TrumpPence16 #Hillary #Evangelicals are you hiding behind the silent crowd?

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 21, 2016

When Others Tear Down What You’ve Built (a parable for these times)

The man sat on the park bench staring. No joy from the children in the park. No interest in the chess tournament at the tables to the left.

Jesus settled beside him and elbowed him in the ribs. “What gives, John? Why the long face?”

John shrugged. “I just thought I was building something, you know.”

“What did you think you were building?”

“Well, I worked hard to be a good husband and thought I was building a solid marriage.”

Jesus nodded, smiling at the children. “Stella left you for that guy who owns the car dealership where you’ve bought every car you’ve ever owned.”

“Yeah. And I’ve worked to be a faithful pastor. I thought I was building a ministry but a lot of people want me to step down now that my marriage is over. People are talking behind my back – people I’ve trusted and loved.”

“This, I’ve heard.”

“Plus, I’ve worked hard to build a family. Prayed for my children and taught them about you. The girls are doing well but Tyler is so angry with Stella, so disappointed, he’s walked away from you and he’s shut me out. Everything I’ve worked to build someone else is tearing down. I have so little to show for all my labors.”

Jesus touched John’s arm and kept His hand in place until John looked into His eyes. “’Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.'”

“Seriously? My bank account barely even qualifies as one and we’ll have to sell the house I worked so hard to buy. I have no treasure. What does that mean to me right now?”

“It should mean everything, John. You’ve stockpiled more treasure than you know. You think that what I seek are people who can accomplish things. People who build things that will stand here on earth. But, you see, I am the builder and the labors of your heart, soul, mind, and strength provide the material I use to build a home for you.”

“So, I’ll be spending eternity in a shack on Heaven’s beach?”

Jesus laughed. A rolling belly laugh so loud the chess players stopped to stare. “What’s so funny?” John asked, bewildered at Jesus’ amusement.

“You’re funny, John. That’s one of the things I love about you. You hold onto your sense of humor even when life beats you down. And there’s  a spark of fight left in you, yes?” Jesus inhaled and collected Himself. “Your faithful labors matter in my eyes and in my kingdom. You were an imperfect but faithful and loving husband. You are an imperfect but godly, persistent father. You are an imperfect but loving and truthful shepherd who handles the Word with care. These choices you’ve made are investments in a treasure no one on earth will be able to steal even if right now they haven’t achieved what you desired they would.”

Donna sat in her car in the parking lot of corporate headquarters trying to collect herself before the others left for the day. Jesus rapped on the passenger window, opened the door, and slid in beside her, offering her a tissue.

She couldn’t look in His direction without falling apart. If she started crying now, a warehouse of tissues wouldn’t absorb her tears. They sat without speaking for a long time.

“It’s not fair, you know, Jesus. All my hard work, everything I’ve built, it’s all about to be torn down.”

“Is that what you think?” He replied.

“What else is there to think? I’ve never smoked a day in my life and somehow I end up with lung cancer. I’ve devoted my entire career to building this company but now my father’s turning the reins over to my brother because I can’t keep up through the treatments that don’t appear to be working. You saw them standing together discussing Doug’s proposed changes. All he considers is the bottom line and he’s always resisted the charitable programs and employee benefits programs I’ve championed. My whole life is falling down around me. I took care of this business. I took care of my body. And now, here I am, unmarried, childless, facing death and I have nothing.”

“You feel as though you have nothing?”

“C’mon, don’t act as though you don’t get it. I stood up at every missions conference in college promising you I’d go anywhere to build your kingdom. When it was clear my calling was here, I worked hard to represent you even in corporate America. I pleaded for a husband and family but I surrendered my dreams to you when it was clear they weren’t in the plans and I started that mentoring program through our church but now, I don’t even have the strength to see that through. Everything I’ve built is being destroyed.”

Jesus placed His hand over Donna’s and leaned toward her lowering His voice, “‘For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.’ There is a place, a dimension of reality, for which you don’t yet have the eyes, Donna, but soon, you’ll clearly see that your labors provided rich material with which I could prepare a place for you. Your prayers for everyone you encountered in the corporate world, your witness to your family and staff, the impact you had on many young lives that has yet to bear visible fruit – it was like the finest marble and oak and stone in my hands. What awaits you cannot be torn down and will stand forever.”

Donna leaned into Jesus and believed.

Loved ones, we long to build because we are the children of a Builder. When our efforts fall short of our hopes or when others tear down the visible evidence of what we’ve built in the name of Jesus, we can know there is a place where nothing is lost, nothing is stolen or destroyed, and every choice we’ve made for Jesus matters forever. In the days to come, it will matter even more that we grip this truth with the fist of faith God provides for our endurance.

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Stay the course. Labor in His name. Encourage one another. Don’t lose heart. His kingdom is at hand.

When Others Tear Down What You’ve Built – https://t.co/CCmHx97GSB the dimension we can’t yet see #dontloseheart #kingdombuilding #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 19, 2016

Tai Sabaki for the Body of Christ – A Shift that Foils the Enemy’s Plans

We aren’t the first people to be angry about what’s become of their society. We aren’t the first to sense a cultural shift we foresee as cataclysmic. We aren’t the first to wrestle with how to respond.

In the days of Herod, King of Judah, God’s people suffered under Roman rule. They lived in the shadow of an oppressive political climate, a stifling religious atmosphere, and a culture teetering between martial law and moral license. There were impossible standards set for some and hedonistic abandon allowed for others. Even within their own ranks, God’s people disagreed about how to respond.

Zealots plotted. Rulers compromised. Tax collectors cooperated. Some quietly resisted. While still others kept their heads down and their hearts guarded hoping no one would notice as they humbly practiced their faith and waited for Messiah to come.

Everyone had their own ideas about what this promised savior would look and act like. Would he lead an army? Would he be the holiest of rabbis? Would he even be real or was He just a religious notion, a symbol of the hope that the Messiah-potential was in each man? They had waited so long, perhaps he was just a myth. Pablum to quiet the masses. There were questions, debates, discussions, but few answers. These were such heavy times; the gospels are laden with Mary’s. How sorrowful are the times in which you live if you and several neighbors name your daughters “bitterness?”

The Israelites had every right to be angry. Much like God’s people in these times when fifty shades of rage abound. Without much effort, you will find fifty-two English synonyms for the word “angry.” People develop a range of words to describe those things that are important to them. In these days, most of us find anger a necessary tool and practice wielding it and expressing it the way our predecessors practiced with the bow and arrow, a quilting stitch, the fiddle, or the lathe. Anger is the social currency of our times, the universal tongue, the language of the marketplace where we swap ideas.

We are a people incensed. But, we can change that. Anger is a feeling. Harboring, nurturing, expressing, and inciting anger is a choice. It’s a choice our enemy wants us to make because he knows as we do that “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:20 ESV

You know, as I do, that with a slight emphasis on a different syllable, we can change the entire meaning of a word. In karate, there’s a term called tai sabaki, or body shifting. By shifting one’s weight slightly from one foot to the other or from one direction to the next, a fighter can avoid an opponent’s attack and place him or herself in a position of advantage. Often the shift is so subtle, the enemy barely notices until his fist finds nothing but air. With very little effort, by shifting emphasis, the fighter changes the course of the battle.

During my morning Bible reading, God alerted me to a shift in emphasis that can be a type of tai sabaki for the modern soul. It involves the word incense. If we emphasize the second syllable of incense, the word can mean offended, angry, enraged. It feels powerful but if we cling to this position, too often, we find ourselves simply exchanging blows with the enemy and even with friends.

Now, just shift the emphasis to the first syllable and we find ourselves inhaling the sweet aroma of incense. Tai sabaki of the Body of Christ. Why does this matter? What does this mean? Especially for those of us who grew up in church traditions where incense was something they used in those other churches?

It was during the Jewish hour of incense God set a shift into motion for the people of Israel that would bless us all. In Luke 1, Zechariah the priest entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense. Outside, a multitude of people prayed during the hour of incense. An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah standing to the right of the altar of incense and announced that his barren wife would bear a son to be named John who would go before the Messiah in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord.

A multitude of people poured their prayers out before the Lord on behalf of their nation. In the book of Revelation in chapter 5:8b, we learn that “the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Again in Revelation 8:3-4 the prayers of the saints are mingled with incense, “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,  and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”

Our prayers do not go up in smoke. Our prayers rise to the highest throne, the King Eternal, the Only Wise God, and they are mingled with the holiest of incense. In the fullness of time, the angel will ignite them with fire from God’s altar and then there will be fireworks on earth. Though it is a long time coming, just as Messiah took long to arrive, it is no myth. The day will come when faith will be sight.

Incense comes from the Latin word incensum, literally “something kindled.”  So, it seems to me we have a choice.

We can burn with anger. We can become incendiary devices in the hands of the enemy. OR, with a slight shift of soul, we can translate our anger into prayers that will be mingled with holy incense and set ablaze with fire from God’s altar for His purposes.

Which should we choose? To be a people incensed or to be a people of prayers that rise like incense to the highest throne?

Tai sabaki for the Body of Christ https://t.co/RXNk5xUo3j Will we be incensed or will we be incense? Our choice. #prayforamerica#amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 16, 2016

I love to visit with other believers to encourage and to challenge with God’s Word, with stories, and with laughter. If you’re planning an event or a women’s retreat, visit my speaking page. Let’s start a conversation about how I might serve your group.

How Not to Live like a Twitchy Rodent

We live like twitchy rodents raised in a labyrinthine minefield, constantly fearful of setting off a social or cultural IED.

A reader emailed me a link to an article about new curriculum mandated for public schools in California. Curriculum which has the potential to create a hostile atmosphere for families with a biblical worldview. She asked if I could write something about how Christians can navigate and be salt and light in our public schools. It’s not just schools. In workplaces, employees are required to take specialized training covering a myriad of social concerns.  Transgender sensitivity training, LGBT education, gender spectrum orientation, cultural awareness and hate speech warnings have become standard.

I confess I’m pretty lame at working my way through this cornfield. I’m as twitchy as the next Christian. Maybe more. I work in social service in Rhode Island. When I explained to one state social worker that a family were evangelical Christians, the worker replied, “What kind of whacko fringe group is that?” At the time, I laughed it off but that happened over four years ago and the escalating atmosphere is making it harder to laugh. Some meetings open with a round of applause when legislation I don’t support passes into law and I’m the only one not clapping. State trainings on cultural sensitivity where the only culture it’s okay to mock is mine. Discussions of community resources where people exchange glances at my mention of one or two churches that may be helpful. Yeah, it’s getting weird out here.

But as hard as it is for us adults, it’s even more challenging to consider our children subjected to an organized indoctrination into a culture so antithetical to biblical beliefs. Some parents homeschool, others enroll their kids in private Christian schools but many are forced to or choose to contend with public schools relentlessly using their captive audience for social experimentation.

I may not be much help but I do understand (and live) the problem. Here are some things I do:

I immerse myself in God’s Word because the evil one pipes deception into the air like an essential oil. It’s more important than ever that we read, first-hand, what God says and, with the support of solid teachers, internalize a solid understanding of who Jesus is and what God commands. We can’t rely on others to give us the truth! We need to pan for our own gold in His Living Waters. Likewise, we need to read and teach His Word to our children. It’s on parents and extended family to pass on the truth of God’s Word to the next generation. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 The world is relentless and persistent at exposing our children to its agenda, can we be any less?
I work hard to live like the daughter of a King, like a person who owns the promise of eternal life, as someone who knows the truth and is unafraid of the weapons of this world. Whatever we face now is nothing compared to the joy in store. This is our Father’s world and in it, I represent Him. I live on an outpost of glory and, by His grace, conduct myself as an ambassador of His kingdom come.
I don’t look for fights but I don’t back down when they come. There’s always time to pray and turn my anger and fear over to God so I can calmly state my position, emphasizing that I don’t expect people who don’t follow Jesus to live by the same rules but I answer to God for my words and choices. God tells us not to worry in the day of trial about what we shall say for the Spirit will provide the Words. There is a time to speak and a time, just as Jesus did before Pilate, to remain silent. If we live by the Spirit, we’ll be attuned to the proper time for each. Likewise, we can teach our children this same confidence.
I meditate on verses like Micah 6:8: Micah 6:8 (ESV) “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” I care that people are treated equally. I believe God does, too. I believe in being kind because love is kind. There’s no room in my life for hatred, rage, arrogance, smug superiority, or self-righteousness. I didn’t discover God – He found me. He lives in me. He’s calling to others through me. It’s the humility angle that hangs me up but I believe it’s key.
To walk humbly through life is to operate from a seat of true security, deep love for God and others, and a clear sense that we are here to serve others, not win an argument with them. So, I am quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. I remember that I only see the truth because of God’s mercy on me so when I share it with others, it’s not with an attitude that they are stupid or lesser. I explain my understanding of God’s Word with gentleness, patience, and self-control. (Of course, you know, I’m imperfect at this but this is the goal.)
I refuse to spend time gazing into the fun house mirror the world puts up to reflect (deflect) the church. We are not sketch material for Saturday Night Live. We are not the worst caricatures of stereotypical believers. I know real, sincere, loving, faulted, bumbling, hard-working everyday believers and I focus on them, not Hollywood’s version of us.  I tell their stories more often than I listen to the lies of others about them.
Finally, I pray in the Spirit at all times. Many saints before us have endured worse. German Christians whose children were indoctrinated by the Nazis. Slave women who loved Jesus but watched as their little ones were sold to other plantations. Chinese and North Korean parents whose children are surrounded by Communism and aggressive atheism. We do not live as people without hope. Yes, it’s hard but not impossible to endure and to triumph because we belong to the Most High God. We must be committed to a prayer-filled life both for communion with Christ and warfare in the battle for souls.
I am always open to learning better ways to communicate truth, speak with humility and boldness, and open my heart to God so I don’t worry about what’s pouring out of it into my speech.

What about you? How do you navigate these times? What are your questions? Your struggles with our current culture? Where do you go for answers and ideas?

How not to live like a twitchy rodent! https://t.co/NR6C5YEilV navigating culture and faith #amwriting #culturewars #livingfaith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 13, 2016

The Giants that Grow Quietly within Us – Interview with a Giant-Killer #5

**So privileged to bring you my friend, Robin Luftig’s interview. She is truly a giant-slayer of the first order and I’m honored to have her friendship in my life. The title of her website (https://robinluftig.com/) says it all: Not only Surviving, but Thriving. Her testimony is proof that we can not only defeat the giants in our lives, we can thrive in the midst of the battle. God can use us when we’re prepared for the fight and also when we’ve been knocked down. Here is this week’s interview with a giant-slayer”

Describe the giant in your life and how you overcame:

My life was a good one. Wonderful children. Loving husband. Not a care in the world. I had spent years of making bad decisions but I knew I had turned a corner and my relationship with Christ had given me a new direction, a new purpose. But on the night of April 1, 2011, my life was held in the balance.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Luftig,” the doctor said, “but you have a tumor on your brain about the size of my fist. Do you want a priest or could I call the hospital chaplain for you?”

Those were the words I heard hours after having a seizure out of nowhere that left my right side completely paralyzed. I later learned that they could determine my tumor had been growing between ten and twelve years. I had no headaches or significant signs of its existence until the seizure. Later the next day I was told I had ten days to put my affairs in order. I needed extensive brain surgery and they could not confirm my chances of survival or if I survived, what level of normalcy I would have. This ten-day journey took me through the darkest valley of my life. I found myself in the midst of a medical nightmare where my relationship with God had to be completely honest. I had to face the shock of my present, the fear of losing my future, and a time of reflection over a tempestuous past that I had allowed define me for too many years.

While hours ticked away, I fought to see God’s face and hear his voice. I spent hours writing notes to as many loved ones as I could, sharing my love as well as Christ’s love for them. I sought answers to unaddressed questions from throughout my past as to why God had left me, only to find that he had never left me at all.

And he continued to stay with me through the many hours of surgery as well as the weeks of physical, speech, and occupational therapy.

As shocking as it was, this is a story of redemption and triumph over brokenness. It’s a story about facing paralyzing (pun not intended) fear and discovering that there is no place so far from God that he cannot reach through and redeem a willing heart.

Describe how any of these traits mentioned in 2 Peter 1:1-10 played a role in slaying your giant – faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love:

I knew I may only have a bit more than a week to make a difference in the lives of my friends and loved ones. I came to accept that if God could use my death to impact Glory more than he could use my life, I had to be on board with that. The steroids I took to prepare me for surgery only allowed me to sleep two-three hours a day. I used those extra hours to contact people I loved to tell them that I loved them and that God loved them more than me. I shared my faith with as many people I came in contact with, to let them know that even though I was facing death I was not alone. So love, brotherly affection, and faith got me through.

Was there a particular Bible verse or passage that was valuable to you in slaying this giant?

“We know that our God can save us [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego speaking], but if he chooses not to, he is still worthy to be praised.” (Daniel 3:17-18, paraphrased)

How did other Christians play a role in your giant slaying?

God brought Christian brothers and sisters alongside me to give me hope. A man dealing with brain tumors visited our church the day before I was to have my surgery and offered me encouragement. I received a phone call from a woman In Oregon who I didn’t even know who wanted to pray with me. God met my every need.

Have you faced an impossible diagnosis and survived? Have you faced a possible diagnosis that is not going away but God has made it possible for you to endure, even in the face of the giant? Tell us your story in the comments.

If you haven’t checked out my new book, Jesus and the Beanstalk (Overcoming Your Giants and Living a Fruitful Life), I invite you to do that today! Here’s what reader had to say:  ”

“I’m happy to report that reading “Jesus & the Beanstalk” honestly felt like I was having a coffee/tea date with a friend. This book would be perfect to use in a small group Bible study. There are questions at the end of each section of the book for you to think about & answer. There are a lot of beautiful stories in this book that that will tug at your heart. I really enjoyed this book. I plan on reading it again, and then passing it on to my pastor to look over and either use in one of the small groups at Church or put in the Church library. I definitely recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars, which I rarely do.” -C.Carney

You can learn more about the book by clicking on the Books tab at the top of the website and clicking on Jesus and the Beanstalk. Click on Equipped to Slay Giants Retreat Guide to find a free plan for using this topic in a workshop or retreat with your group!

The Giants that Grow Quietly within Us https://t.co/mlKnYmcKPh Interview with a giant-killer #5 #topplinggiants #braincancer #healing

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 8, 2016

I am So Tired of Haiti

You felt it, didn’t you?

When meteorologists began predicting the size and path of Hurricane Matthew and we could all see Haiti was going to take a devastating hit. I felt so weary. I knew without any doubt that I could not care about this tragedy or feel it as much as I did the earthquake.

I wanted to close my eyes and ears to pretend I didn’t know that so many people would lose every inch of ground they’ve recovered since 2010. I also knew I wouldn’t be alone in my weariness. Of the millions of Americans stirred in 2010, only a portion will likely rally to support the aid they’ll require once they assess the damage done by Matthew.

And I could do that, too – switch the channel, turn off the radio, refuse to read the news, ignore the cries of a nation. In all honesty, I want to do that. I have my hands full. I meet with American poor every day. My husband and I have problems. There are people in my own family, my church, my community who need my support. I could just stick with them. I may actually help solve some of their problems and I like the feeling of being a problem solver. I don’t like the feeling that all my effort and resources are a drop in the bucket, often futile, feeling ineffective and useless, a drink offering.

But, I represent Jesus. And that makes all the difference.

So first, I cried out to Him to have His heart for this situation. He promises in Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (ESV). I asked for that heart even though that invites pain. I would rather experience pain than stone cold apathy.

Second, I confessed that I’m tired of Haiti. I’m tired of gigantic situations that are slow to change, glacial even. I’m weary of interceding, and knowing, and seeing the everyday struggles, and suffering and I haven’t even done a short-term trip across Haitian borders.

I’m tired of knowing that while the American poor have it bad, the Haitian poor would see their impoverished situation and wish they could have a just a portion. The relentless trial, the endless political maneuvering, the countless debates in American churches about how to help and when help is too much, the vast spiritual oppression that keeps so many in darkness. Enough! I’m worn out defending loved ones who have devoted their lives and made sacrifices to be light and comfort in that land only to have others scorn their efforts, judge them, or dismiss them as foolhardy.

I’m tired of it all, I said to Jesus, and Jesus replied Imagine how they feel. Imagine their weariness as the storm approaches knowing their helpless in its path. Imagine the deep fatigue of my workers in the field as they watch years of work be undone by a single storm. Can you continue in your weariness where you sit surrounded by walls, running water, and abundant food? Are they not my children, too?

So third, I offered myself to Jesus – heart, mind, body, and soul – to be renewed in compassion, mercy, and grace. To receive forgiveness, healing, and fortitude for my soul. He taught me in that moment that it’s perfectly human to run out of strength but He is the source of all strength.

He had no condemnation for me because I belong to Jesus and He reminded me how much the church, especially the American church, has to learn from the suffering church. Lessons about faithfulness in trial, about perseverance and endurance, about how He can provide and about how He doesn’t measure us by our achievements but by our continual willingness to love and to put that love into action.

He doesn’t expect us to solve Haiti but He does expect us to serve Haiti. He doesn’t expect us not to tire or become discouraged but He does expect us to come to Him to be restored.

We’re all called to be involved in different ministries and you may already be fulfilling your calling in other places. But some of us are called to love Haiti – either from within its borders or from afar. It’s hardest to love when it doesn’t seem to make much difference. We must have faith that it does.

Every light pushes back the darkness. Every act of mercy is a raised fist in the war for souls. Every prayer of intercession rises to the Father. Every sacrifice and gift reminds those who suffer that God hasn’t lost sight of them. The darkness does not hide them from Him.

Let us learn to love with endurance. God offers us this encouragement in Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (ESV) The secret is taking our hearts to Him to be revived.

Others may weary and turn away but you and I represent Jesus. Jesus wouldn’t give up on us and He won’t give up on Haiti.

Amen?

**Please, if you serve in Haiti or are Haitian or serve with an organization ministering to Haiti, I encourage you to share ways the church can help in the comments below. Mercy and grace, Lori

I am So Tired of Haiti. Aren’t you? https://t.co/C7rXUkAzjW What can we do about that? #HurricaneMatthew #HaitiMatthew #compassionfatigue

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 6, 2016

Christian Flashcards: Can You Find the Pharisee?

People these days seem to imagine that Jesus would be laid back and cool.

We appropriate a twisted version of grace that says Jesus came to say “It’s okay, man. You’re fine. I love you. Follow me and don’t change a thing about you.” Because of this, we’re drawn to the preacher with skinny jeans, mussed hair, excellent graphics, and sermons that make us laugh but we shun the uptight church lady who’s always harping about obedience and knowing the Bible.

If we had a deck of Christian flashcards and their photos were placed in front of us asking, “point to the Pharisee,” most of us would pick the uptight church lady and we would not necessarily be right. On the other side, God will reveal the Pharisaical robes of some of those cool preachers and He’ll reveal the heart of love exuding from some of those uptight church ladies.

Read a gospel. In these times when there are powers working overtime to distort His image, I find it necessary to be reading a gospel all the time in addition to my other Bible reading as a kind of antidote to deception.

Jesus said really hard things. Yes, He drew crowds but they scattered just as quickly and it didn’t take much to incite them to call for His crucifixion. You don’t kill people for being too nice. Leaders don’t see danger in someone who’s laid back and willing to go along to get along. Even the writers of Godspell in the ‘70’s knew the gospel story was one of a world-upsetting revolutionary.

Jesus called the Pharisees out for hypocrisy and for building “hedges” around the law. Jesus believed in the law. He didn’t come to destroy it but to fulfill its requirements on our behalf. The Pharisees, however, thought they were so wise, so superior to others, they often broke the law themselves. That’s bad enough but when teaching the law, they added to it in order to keep everyday people far from breaking them. They lived in fear of not being hard enough on others, about allowing their people to break the laws so sought to protect themselves by stiffening them. They weren’t obeying from hearts of love but of fear.

The laws are hard enough, right? No need to make them harder. And teachers should lead by example not using the guise of righteousness as a cover for their own bad choices.

Now, think about this. Some modern believers are so afraid of appearing like Pharisees, of appearing unloving, of creating any discomfort or sense of guilt, they’ve built a hedge around their own ministries by not ever teaching Biblical truth about currently touchy subjects. Secretly, they believe those truths. Secretly, they even obey those commands but they withhold the truth of them from others for fear of appearing to be Pharisees. This creates, in fact, a modern version of Pharisaism that too often goes unaddressed.

There is a time to remain silent about some of the more divisive commands but not to completely leave those truths out of the work of preaching and teaching.

On the other hand, not every uptight church lady (or man) is acting out of self-righteousness or a sense of superiority. Granted, some are, but many are coming from a place of love and concern for God’s flock. Knowing the Bible and reminding people that God’s commands are to be obeyed isn’t being a Pharisee. If you add to those commands or refuse to obey them yourself, well, now you’re talking, but accurately teaching biblical commands (which abound in the New Testament) and expecting believers to live up them is being like Jesus. I’ve personally been annoyed by some of the uptight church ladies and gents I’ve known through the years but usually found myself grateful to them for their unyielding commitment to truth and to God’s Word. I admire how many of them walk, unafraid, into other people’s ridicule or scorn for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of their listeners. We’ve allowed the world to hold up a fun house mirror to love and then we reject true love when it tries to help us avoid walking over a cliff.

It can be very lonely to be an uptight church lady standing firm on truth as the world (and other believers) keep pressuring her to sit down and be silent. To keep on speaking is a self-sacrificing act of love. The too-cool, compromising preachers are often surrounded by supporters but how will it feel to face that same crowd on the day the truth is clear to all?

I have never regretted getting to know believers I started out fearing because they seemed legalistic or Pharisaical. Sometimes, it turns out, they’re just that but I exercised love and that’s always worthwhile. Other times I discovered they were great reservoirs of love, courage, and biblical understanding and in my life, that has made all the difference.

None of us knows, as our generation becomes the “old folk” in the congregation, what truths will come under assault and how we’ll be perceived when we stand against the compromise. We all need to check constantly that what we’re proclaiming is biblical and not just cultural but our enemy engages in a constant assault of the truth we must guard against together. Even more reason to spend less time stereo-tying and judging and more time listening, loving, and getting to know those uptight ladies and gents along with the cool preacher in jeans.

They may not be as different as they appear and the Body of Christ may do well to listen to them both.

Praying for hearts of love even for the hard to love, listening to fellow believers but measuring everything against God’s Word, and interceding for (and speaking correction to) those who have given their hearts over to Pharisaism – this is a way to live. This is a way to follow Jesus.

If there were flashcards, these days would be easy but these are not easy times. Providentially, we have One who walks through them with us and guides us into the most excellent way.

Christian Flashcards: Can You Find the Pharisee? https://t.co/s0pUzn88lB how to spot a legalistic hypocrite #topplinggiants #Pharisees #love

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) October 4, 2016

Remember, I LOVE to hear from you, even when we disagree. Be sure to comment. Has anyone ever accused you of being uptight? legalistic? a Pharisee? Dismissed you as irrelevant without trying to understand you? How did you handle it?