Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 41

When Friends Lay Dying and School Children are Shot Down

My friend and your sister in Christ, Kate Hinke, entered hospice care this week. She has lived for Jesus, passionate about furthering God’s kingdom on earth and representing Him well in every aspect of her life. I wrote this post earlier this summer when she let me know the cancer treatments weren’t working. It’s here again today because others facing similar trials have found it touched them, It’s here because school children were shot in South Carolina. It’s here to ask you to pray for Kate and her family in the weeks to come. – mercy and grace, Lori

We don’t all get the miracle.

We know this. We know, because we’ve lived on this planet, that not every prayer is answered the way we want, that not every Christian lives a rosy existence this side of glory, that some of us die young despite every intercession.

It doesn’t sit well, though, does it?

When God’s faithful ones endure relentless trial, when they suffer, when they don’t receive the check in the mail or deliverance from the sword or cure from the disease or rescue at the last minute, we don’t handle it well. We weep, we plead, we rail, we protest, we agonize, we go silent, we grieve, and we ask questions. Why, God? Why Holy Father? Where were you for this daughter? Why did you not protect this son?

Did we not pray enough or correctly? What if we’d had more people praying – does that make the difference? Was it to teach some sad lesson or because of someone’s sin? Were you busy on that day when my loved one fell, when I needed a positive diagnosis, when the gunman came to my village? I know you love me but, perhaps there are children you like more. Is that the key?

We believe in miracles. We’ve witnessed them, read of them, taught of them, told of them. We know you are God Almighty and there is no other. Your power is limitless, your love boundless, your mercy endless, and your peace flows like rivers, but I do not sail that river today. Today in this room, my loved one learned her days are few, my parents were killed before my eyes, I was taken captive and sold to strangers far from rescue, my grandfather was unjustly sent to a labor camp, my daughter learned her husband was unfaithful, my son lost his child. I am in the valley of dry bones and I hear no rattles. All I feel is the heat of death and loss rising from the sand at my feet and I fall to my knees, pounding the earth with my pain, why, why, why?

But, inside we know.

We know we reside in a fallen world where our own sinful choices poisoned our fruitful existence and that all will not be set to right until Jesus comes again. We know this is true. We live on the greater truth that Jesus has redeemed us for eternity. One day this life will be a small square on a larger quilt.

We know that if every Christian received a miracle, if you answered all our prayers just as we desired, if you spared us from every earthly suffering, people would come to You for the miracle and not for You. We’re here for the Life, for Jesus, for the wonder of You in all your glory and we trust You. If the way to your great heart is through this suffering, we will follow knowing You will never leave us nor forsake us. None of us suffers in vain.

We know that You can use us for your glory alive and free, captive and imprisoned, or even after we’ve died. We know this because we’ve heard the voices of others who followed You through torture, disease, and martyrdom. We continue to learn from them – how to suffer, how to press into Your great heart in the darkest hour, how to pray, how to live in the shadows, how to love under duress, how to die well. And with this knowledge, our loved ones comfort others, bring the lost to You, further Your kingdom, strengthen their own faith, and wear us on their hearts until that day we are reunited forever.

We know that if do not receive the miracle, it doesn’t mean we’ve failed. It doesn’t mean you love us less. It isn’t a sign that we’ve failed in our faith. Your dear cousin lost his head. Your disciples were martyred one by one except for John who labored in exile on Patmos, no small suffering to witness the martyrdom of many. You sent your own Son to this hard place to die. When we do not receive the miracle, we are not deprived because we still have all of You, Jesus. With us in life. With us in death. With us forever more.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—  who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.

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 11:32-40

When we do not receive the miracle, we find that God has provided us something better. On this side of glory, we cannot imagine anything better than the miracle but when it does not come, we step into the True Life of Him – and that Life can never be taken from us.

On the other side, our suffering will fall from us like rags, all memory of our captivities, diseases, and torture will fade in an instant, and with the first intake of air in glory we will exhale every why we uttered on earth, for we will be home and the adventure will just be beginning.

We Don’t All Get the Miracle (for my friend who is facing death) https://t.co/I7LClzbOfb#amwriting#facingdeath#MiraclesCanHappen

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 6, 2016

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Go Ahead! Get Mad at This Post! I Want You To . . .

No one should have to walk on eggshells around people who can walk on water. That’s what I think.

There are Christians who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and then there are touchy religious people who take offense at every turn. Which we are, is largely up to us.

I once met with a group of writers who love writing but don’t follow Jesus. I learned from them and we enjoyed one another’s work. One night, we discussed a scene from one of my novels. An older writer asked why I didn’t have the veteran detective swear. I summarized the standards of Christian publishers for fiction. When I concluded, she looked at me with honest concern and asked, “Wow, exactly how fragile are you people?”

I agree with many of the standards we have for Christian writing – not for fear of offending anyone – but because I believe excellent writers can transcend trashy words, gratuitous gore, and blatant sex scenes. Christian writers, made in the image of God who is THE Word, should be the most excellent of all writers. No doubt.

Still, her concern bothered me. That’s not the kind of stuff I’m made of – not in Christ. In Christ, I’m not fragile; I’m indestructible. In Christ, I’m not breakable; I’m eternal. In Christ, I’m not quick to take offense; I’m slow to anger. In Christ, I’m tougher than I ever was without Him because He is my shield, my fortress, and my strong tower.

But, I understood what she meant. It can become an unstated contest in the church which of us is so “sensitive to the Holy Spirit” we see offenses at every turn. In modern times, we’ve become a touchy crowd. As easily sparked as tinder in a drought. That shouldn’t be the way of believers.

Sensitive, touchy, easily offended is not how Jesus lived. It’s not our calling. Huffing, puffing, and finger wagging at every slight isn’t Holy Spirit sensitivity. It’s a form of self-centeredness, which is the antithesis of representing Jesus. If someone apologizes for swearing in my presence, I don’t want it to be because they fear a scolding but because they sense the presence of Jesus.

In karate, we did conditioning drills where we took hits from our partners (to our arms and legs) to prepare to withstand more hits. We invited the minor pain because it conditioned our bodies to take the pain of an actual assault and continue to operate.

That’s what I believe we should be thinking in these times. Does my faith offend you? Tell me about. Go ahead. Mock me. Laugh at me. Insult me. Try to shut me down. I’ll practice being slow to anger, quick to listen, and slow to speak. I’ll learn to rely on God to forgive those who persecute me and to pray for even those who despise me. I’ll practice loving under fire. I’ll practice witnessing for Christ with a mouthful of gravel and a boot on my neck. I want you to see Jesus and to know I am an overcomer by His power. If I have nothing to overcome, what is there for you to see?

Exclude me from your little circle? Fine. I’ll learn to enjoy the company of Christ. Hurt me economically? Excellent. I’ll learn to rely more on Jesus. Try to strip me of power? Go ahead. They did that to my Lord and He showed them that all power lies with Him by rising from the grave. What have I to fear? In Jesus, I live the gospel of bring it on, baby, bring it.

I talk tough on paper but I believe this, even if I shake in my shoes in the lunchroom at work when someone starts a conversation that I know will leave me in the minority. Still, it’s never occurred to me to complain to the management that my fragile Christian self can’t tolerate opposing views voiced over tuna sandwiches. Nothing we’ve faced so far in America has come even close to something we can call persecution – not compared to brothers and sisters overseas.

It’s no great witness to wag your finger at someone who curses in the next cubicle. It’s a powerful witness to choose to follow Jesus today in Syria, North Korea, Somalia, or China. How much better would it be, when faced with a coworker using the Lord’s name in vain, if we responded like this:

“I wish you hadn’t said that.”

“Oh, does it offend you when I use God’s name in vain?”

“It’s God’s business to take offense. It’s His name, after all, and He knows you better than I do. It’s up to Him to deal with you on that. No, it’s just that every time I hear you say that, I think about Christians suffering for that name in other countries and it makes me sad. I was just praying this morning for a pastor in China who has been in prison for ten months simply for preaching about the owner of that name. Every time you say it that way, I think how having to hear you abuse my God’s name is nothing compared to what that pastor is enduring.”

How many opportunities do we miss by displaying the world’s idea of sensitivity to God’s Spirit when we should be displaying His? Jesus didn’t walk this planet huffing and puffing and taking offense. There was nothing fragile about the King of Kings. Even in death, He laid His life down. It wasn’t taken from Him.

Because Jesus holds my heart in His hands, it’s really up to me how much hurt I take from the world. God’s enemies can try to destroy me but they won’t succeed. I can cooperate with them and let myself be fragile or I can submit to the conditioning, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and learn to love through it, forgive through it, bear witness as I endure it.

Maybe I’m wrong but cross bearing seems much more biblical than finger wagging, don’t you think?

**Planning a church workshop or retreat? Allow me to provide you with a free guide with everything you need for an Equipped to Slay Giants workshop or retreat!

Go Ahead! Get Mad at this Post! I Want You To . . . https://t.co/8itsQqqLKE is it really Christian to take offense? #topplinggiants

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 28, 2016

We All Need to Prepare for What’s Coming this Weekend

Thinking about phoning it in at church this weekend? I’ve done that.

Hey, it’s just a regular worship day. Nothing special happening, right? Lots of people don’t even go to church. Not expecting much to happen. Is anyone? It’s not like it’s revival week or Easter.

There is One who’s expecting something to happen. Every week when His people gather, on whatever day they gather, He arrives with expectation. He has that perspective because He has the view of what’s truly going on.

It’s more than us progressing through the order of worship. If we had His eyes, we’d show up expecting something to happen, too, because something IS happening.

Sure, people come seeking God. Many churches are seeker-friendly, motivated by love for those who have yet to know Jesus. It’s good to reduce barriers and make it welcoming. Church should be a place we encourage questions, where the lost can come as they are, as we all have, to discover Christ’s truth, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and the love that leads to repentance. Amen?

But, when the people of God meet to worship, it’s a more than a place for seekers. Much more. On any given day of worship, church is a gathering of warriors, of poets and priests, of God-explorers, of seed-sowers and harvesters, of kingdom pioneers staking outposts of glory, of the royal family seeking face-time with their father-king. Did you think you were just going to church? Oh no, loved ones, that’s a pale title for a rich and powerful convocation.

Warriors for Christ have spent the week in battle – some from behind closed doors, others behind prison walls or sitting with shattered families. Holding vigil hospital bedside or in shelters, on the streets, in the schools, on the mission field, or in their own backyard. Fighting for the lost and broken, doing the work of reconciliation and mediation, sweating out the struggle to stay married, stay faithful, stay clean and sober, stay patient with small children, stay believing, stay sane. These warriors drag their battered souls into the worship assembly parched for the Living Water, famished for the meat of a solid Word from Christ, in need of fortification, strengthening, encouragement, and a repair of their armor. This is what I long to find as I stagger in from the front lines.

Poets and priests arrive for worship yearning for the beauty of the kingdom to be lifted up. They come craving the stained glass, the banners and candles, the harmonious melodious strains, a taste of the bread, a sip of the wine, an escape into the reality of the mystery and holiness of the Most High God. The poets and priests long for others to share in the wonder they’ve contemplated in the week apart from the rest. They long to say Amen together with the corporate Body of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The singing souls want to hear their part in the great chorus and know the music of the spheres.

The God-explorers have spent the week reading His Word and putting it into practice. They’ve been exploring what it means to love their neighbor, to show hospitality, to be slow to anger, to pray for those who persecute, and to give sacrificially with varying levels of success. They want to hear what other explorers have tried; they want guidance, correction, and encouragement. They want to share the joy of what went well and celebrate the experience of knowing there is still more to discover even when the seekers have found the Living God.

The seed-sowers and harvesters, like hard-working farmers, are hoping for a place of quiet contemplation, of Sabbath rest, of refreshment like water from a deep spring-fed well. They want to know if others have been watching the skies and seeing the same signs. They want to hear what others are doing to tend and protect the tender seedlings peeking through the soil or what methods are most effective for pruning an unruly vine. They are not showy in their worship but they are faithful and watchful week after week after patient, enduring week.

The kingdom pioneers staking outposts for glory arrive for worship with their lungs full of oxygen from beyond the veil. They need the gathering, the energy of assembly, the glory songs, and the revelation of God’s Word proclaimed. They need prayers for their efforts on behalf of the kingdom and confirmation of new territory they’ve noticed where God’s Kingdom needs to come. They need the crowd because they have God’s heart for the crowd to grow and they need to inventory who is still missing. They need the touch base with the seed-sowers and harvesters so their feet continue to touch the ground as they reach their holy hands to the sky. And the crowd needs them because without their vision, we perish.

And all of us, royal-family, children of the High King, who have spent the week knocking our crowns askew, our robes dusty from our common walk, and our manners affected by negative feedback and pressure from those raised outside the kingdom walls, need our memories revived. We need to hear the story of our adoption through Christ into the family of the High King. We need the reminder of how a royal child conducts him or herself even when away from the family. We need to wash our hands and feet in the basin of the servant Christ and remember who we are. We need a refresher of the hope of home, the truth of what awaits us when Jesus returns and we gather at the royal table and step into the realization of our restored glory, of the day when our story is no longer by faith alone but by everlasting sight. We need a weekly family reunion and a reminder of our family name.

So, let us be seeker friendly but worship must also be warrior welcoming, poet and priest inspiring, God-explorer affirming, seed-sower and harvester refreshing, kingdom pioneering outposts of glory grounding, and children of the king restorative and re-visioning.

This kind of worship isn’t planned by professionals. This kind of worship is organic and living and occurs when the Body of Christ gathers knowing the power of congressing in the presence of the Living God knowing who we are in Christ, and recognizing that that service isn’t some common event known as church.

No, the act of worship is a fist raised against the brutal foul forces at work in this world. It’s a flare sent up from the outpost. It’s a campfire set in the wilderness. It’s a well in the desert. It’s a family reunion. It’s a vision summit. It’s the bread and the wine and the blood and the risen Christ, our Head, infusing His Spirit throughout the entire body making what has been dispersed over the days one.

We do not have to wait for our church leaders to create this kind of worship or for our fellow worshipers to “get it.” This worship doesn’t come in a workshop, a weekend, or a movement. This worship is the reality of what is occurring and we just need God to open our eyes to it this week.

So cry out, loved ones: Open our eyes, Lord. Let us see this gathering as You see it. Let us know the power of our own corporate gathering in Your presence. We remember now. We are not church-goers. We are warriors, poets, priests, God-explorers, seed-sowers, harvesters, pioneers in outposts of glory, and children of the most High King. And this is s true on every regular, ordinary day of worship as it is on Easter and revival week.

You see it now, too, don’t you? Take heart, loved ones, it’s almost time to gather again. Come expecting.

Are you prepared for what’s coming this weekend? https://t.co/qXyefQWoKO #TopplingGiants #seeker #amwriting we should all be ready

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 22, 2016

The One Tradition All Christians Should Observe

God asks us to do the impossible.

In these days, these days of abusers, users, addicts, enablers, entitled mindsets, terrorists, and anti-Christian worldviews, in these days He refuses to release us from the command to love.

How are we supposed to do that? Seriously, most days we look like chumps. Smart money in 2016 is not on people who love. The point spread of this generation falls to those who keep up their guard, hold their love close to their vests, invest love prudently in a chosen few who prove themselves capable of receiving love responsibly, and reciprocating by changing then loving in return.

We cannot love like God (although that is the call). God loves lavishly, extravagantly, with no thought to return. He loves with patience, kindness, humility, without demand, without irritability or resentment. His love is never rude.

God holds out a love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. How are we supposed to love like that? From our experience on this side of glory, that’s a chump’s love. That’s a love that gets taken for a ride. Love that gets taken for granted. Love that extends itself for those unable or unwilling to love in return. People don’t do that anymore.

We’re too smart for that kind of love in these times.

Of course, Jesus showed us what this looks like. Jesus lived in this hard, Roman-army ruled world full of thugs, murderers, scoffers, and jackboots. Jesus knew scoundrels, hypocrites, oppressors, and whores. He saw, better than we, the depth of their sins, the blackness of their souls, and the perversion of their thoughts. Yet, He offered them love. Pure love. Heavenly love. Love divine, all loves excelling. Love that defines love. The gold standard of love He offered to men who smiled like fish and women who reeked of perfume purchased by their adulteries.

He loved the ones who spit in His face, laughed at His captivity, crowned Him with thorns, and nailed Him to a tree. He loved under fire, under duress, under a captor’s boot and a scorner’s laugh. He loved when His Father said no to His prayers and when His dearest friends deserted Him in His darkest hour. He loved when He had to look on the pain in His mother’s face as she watched Him die.

No one took advantage of Jesus – He offered His freely. No one took His life – He laid His life down. He didn’t love because anyone forced Him to love. He loved because He is love. He bore all things, believed all things, hoped all things, and endured all things. And He still does.

So, God asks us to do the impossible but He did it first, He did it best, and we can do it because He will make us able. If you think about it, how we operate in this world comes down to one simple question:

Would you rather be Charlie Brown or Lucy?

How can Peanuts characters teach us how to live out our call to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things? By always running to kick the football.

For over fifty years, Charles Schultz testified to us all. Every fall, Lucy offers to hold the football for Charlie Brown to kick. Charlie Brown sometimes wavers but he always relents and goes for the kick. Every, single time, Lucy pulls the ball away at the last second and Charlie flies into the air. He falls flat on his back and stares at the skies.

All of us who offer our love in these times know exactly how Charlie feels. The world abounds with Lucy’s and they seem like the smart ones in the moment of the fall. But what we have to ask ourselves is this:

At the end of the day, do we want to be Charlie Brown or Lucy?

We can join the smart ones who withhold their love, who smirk at Charlie’s gullibility and hope, who toy with and deceive for the pleasure of those who spectate, who display their own arrogance and superiority through trickery, who refuse to really allow themselves to be children and engage in the real game

Or we can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things and always, always choose to run and kick the ball. I choose to be Charlie and keep tradition – the tradition to love the Jesus loves.

Je suis Charlie – how about you?  

**To celebrate the release of my new book, Jesus and the Beanstalk (Overcoming Your Giants and Living a Fruitful Life), I’ve created a free download with everything you need to plan a retreat or one-day workshop for your small group, women’s ministry, Christian organization, or ministry team! Equipped to Slay Giants Workshop Guide is free for any of you who do that kind of planning and can be used with my book or without it! Thank you for praying for God’s work through this book and for readers to grow in Christ and in application of 2 Peter 1:1-10. Mercy and grace, Lori

The One Tradition All Christians Should Observe! https://t.co/3oQdh6VrG3 #football #charliebrown #TopplingGiants

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 20, 2016

Why Don’t You Just Give Up, Old Woman?

The old woman lived in a village filled with people. She loved them all (well, she tried to love them all. She succeeded with some more than the others; but then, she was a woman who needed Jesus every day. And, she never did stop trying.)

So, every day, she studied the Book of truth about Jesus and every day she spoke with Him in prayer and then listened very hard for His still, small voice. Through reading the Book and listening to Him, she understood that His powerful truth wasn’t just her truth; it was a truth for everyone in the village (because after all, if a thing is true, it is The Truth, even a little child can know this). Someone had once told her the truth and now she had the wondrous adventure of knowing Jesus. She knew what Jesus wanted was for her to tell the truth to the people of the village.

So, she did.

Every day she found a way to tell them the truth. Sometimes she used words. Other times, she demonstrated the truth with her actions and then explained it with her words. At times, she spoke with a loud voice to crowds in the town square but other times she sat quietly with one or two and spoke the truth softly over tea. She found it wise to write the truth and post it on the wall in the village square for all to see, or to pen it on slips of paper and slide it under their doors. Once she hired a skywriter visiting the town fair from several towns over to write the truth in smoke across the noon sky.

Lately, she was feeling more urgent about the signs in the skies. She considered more dramatic ways to communicate the truth. Perhaps she might paint the truth in graffiti on their walls, stage dramatic re-enactments from the Book in the square, or perhaps she would sit in the coffee shop at the center of town and tell the truth all day to anyone willing to listen.

The people from the town listened to her (for they had no choice. She was an old woman, after all. She was one of them, living and working in their midst, and besides, she would not stop with the telling so it might be avoided for a time but it took hard work to avoid her forever). They liked her stories but they took offense at some of the statements she made about Jesus, the truth, and their lives.

“That truth is too hard, old woman!” someone would shout from the crowd.

“There are many hard things in this world,” she would say, “but this hard thing leads to life.”

“Your words cause pain, old woman. We don’t want pain.” Another would protest.

“No one wants pain but this life is full of it, isn’t it?” she replied. “Still, the pain caused by this truth is like the pain of childbirth – it leads a soul to joy in the end, can’t you tell?”

Over time, no one in the village seemed to change at all from the truth the woman spoke to them and this was something she discussed much in daily prayer. She wasn’t a woman who liked to cause discomfort. She wasn’t a woman who wanted to cause discord. She was a gentle woman, after all, and it was hard for her to be the one to deliver hard truth.

But, Jesus was clear. He loved the people of the village and the old woman loved the people of the village (well, she tried to love them all. She succeeded with some more than the others; but then, she was a woman who needed Jesus every day. And, she never did stop trying.), and the way of love was through this hard truth. Jesus had become this Way and it cost Him everything. The old woman had taken this Way and through it she found everything. And all must take this way who desire love, truth, and eternal life. Besides, Jesus walked with her every day as she carried out the task.

So, she continued to speak hard truth to the people of the village.

Once a dark visitor came to town looking for land in which to invest. He observed what there was to observe and so, naturally, he noticed the woman’s activities among the people and he heard the message she delivered in some way every day. He also noticed that no one paid the woman much mind so it thought it might be a place where he could settle.

“Old woman,” the dark visitor asked, “why do you do this thing? Day after day you annoy these people with what you say is truth but day after day they ignore you. You aren’t changing them, why go on?”

“I never imagined I could change them.” The old woman replied. “Change is up to them and Jesus. Changing them is not my job.”

“Then why do you persist in speaking hard truths to them when it’s clear no one is changing?”

The woman paused as if she was listening to another voice (for so she was). Then she replied, “It may not be within my power to change them into people who choose the Way or who embrace hard truths, but I will not give them the power to change me into a person who abandons the Way or who stops speaking hard truths. I have been given this message by One who gave everything for me. I cannot be many things but I can be one old woman who keeps speaking the truth – even when it’s hard, even when no one listens, even when darkness comes, because this truth is the only light.”

The dark visitor shook his head and sneered, “They call you names behind your back. They think you’re a fool.”

The old woman shrugged. “This isn’t news, dark one. They think I am a fool today but today will not last forever. There will be a day when we all stand before Jesus and every truth I’ve spoken will be as evident as the wall against which you now lean or the pavement beneath your feet. On that day, the people of the village will know that Jesus loved them all along. That Jesus never stopped sending messengers to them to deliver the life-giving truth that could save them. I don’t live by what I see today but by what I know I will see on that day and every day after forever more. Now, go from here. There is no square of land for you here because as long as there is one small spark of light darkness will not find a comfortable corner on which to build itself a home in this place.”

And so he left.

And so the old woman went on with her day, speaking hard truth, and learning to love as she is loved forever. And she is still telling the truth to this day . . .

Why Don’t You Just Give Up, Old Woman? https://t.co/phOdIekIJa speaking hard truth in hard times #amwriting #OnceUponaTime #TopplingGiants

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 18, 2016

**Note to the reader: This story is a fairy tale that could come true if we let it.

The Art of Hard Conversations

Do you avoid hard conversations? Do you have an aversion to speaking the truth when it’s unpleasant? That’s not uncommon.

Me, I have an aversion to yeast. I think it’s creepy when you add the warm water to a packet of yeast and it bubbles as it begins to activate. Totally creeps me out.

Here’s the thing. Within the forces of darkness, there are expert political operatives. These operatives aren’t concerned with the election of presidents but with the election of lies to the office of truth. They then promote these lies, like yeast, throughout the body of Christ.

Humans can take anything good and twist it to where it isn’t. That’s no secret. We can hijack the simplest commands of Christ and make a mess of them. As the family of God, we live within a framework of grace and redemption so when we create a mess, we can receive correction and try again. Of course, there’s fall out, but there’s also restoration. That is truth.

The demonic operatives, however, pounce on the messes we make and spin the lie that since we twisted the initial command and created a mess, we can’t be trusted any longer then, with the command. That command is so dangerous and we’re so faulted, they whisper, that it’s best if we simply decide not to go near it again.

In some quarters, evil operatives convince people that specific commands are perhaps antiquated, misinterpreted, or completely beyond comprehension because no one can possibly know the specific nuance of the original Greek. In other quarters, they simply whisper the age-old serpentine question, “Did God really say . . ?”

I do find it amazing that God entrusted His people with the task of loving one another and furthering His kingdom on earth. Just from observing my own life, I marvel at His mode of operation. I can muck up my day and four relationships before my feet hit the floor. And yet, the God who is fearless did, in fact, choose to involve us, individually and corporately, in the work of kingdom building.

He knew there would be a learning curve with His commands. He could have created a systematic work around. Instead, He essentially said “You people, you glorious messes I sent my only Son to die to save, I want you now to love one another, to serve one another, to tell people who haven’t heard about my Son His story, and I even want you in one another’s lives – encouraging, correcting, and generally trying to be a family. When you mess it up (as you will) I want you to ask and offer forgiveness and try again. Ready. Set. Go.” (Proof positive that God is absolutely fearless.)

Why, then, are we avoiding hard conversations? God commanded us to correct one another. There are numerous verses on the subject.  Of course, historically, globally, personally, and locally, we’ve done it badly. We over-correct or under-correct. We choose our words poorly. We show favoritism in our correction. We ignore correction directed toward us. Yes. All that is true.

It’s understandable, then, that the operatives of darkness have seized upon our mistakes as an opportunity to elect a lie to the position of truth. This is the lie that we have no business being in one another’s business. That if we don’t have something “nice” to say, we should say nothing. That it’s so dangerous to engage in hard conversations only professionals should try it.

The truth is, avoiding correction, neglecting to confront one another, ignoring a brother or sister who is going off track can lead to as much harm as doing it badly.

We are children. If we fall off our bikes the first twenty times we try to balance and ride, we may need a supportive teacher or training wheels or just more maturity but we shouldn’t give up on learning to ride. Likewise, if we’ve tried to correct a brother or sister and we did it badly, causing harm to them or to ourselves, we should seek forgiveness, make amends, get some instruction or wise guidance on how to exhort, but then we should try again.

It doesn’t have to be that hard.

A Christian person I know was at a church event standing beside another Christian who let slip some comments that were unnecessary and hurtful. The person looked at the other Christian and simply stated, “That just sounds to me like a really bad attitude.” Because this other Christian loves God, the Lord used the comment to do good soul work. At the end of the event, the other Christian turned to the person and said, “I apologize for my comments. I realized when you said that that you were right. Here’s where my comments came from.” The first person was able to help the other believer find a fairly simple solution to the cause of their aggravation. Everyone walked away better for the exchange.

Jesus warned the disciples, “And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Mark 8:15 (ESV) The leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees is hypocrisy while the leaven of Herod is more likely stubborn unbelief or worldliness. Our modern society has a serious problem with rampant yeast and we should find it unnerving.

Some of you reading this are remembering times when you were seriously harmed by overzealous or Pharisaical correction and I apologize if this post has been a trigger for bad memories. I’ve been a victim of this myself but I still see the benefit of us learning to have hard conversations within the body of Christ because there’s corruption happening for lack of it.

I’m going to write several posts with some tips that may help us improve our ability to have these conversations without causing permanent damage and I’m interested in having a conversation about this subject if you are. What are your questions, experiences, or counsel? Just because a thing is hard, that doesn’t make it impossible – especially with God – even for us mess-makers.

We need to face even the giants of our own making. 

The Art of Hard Conversations https://t.co/BdDb9Wrq1X how to confront without causing eternal damage – #amwriting #TopplingGiants

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 14, 2016

What Responsibility Do Christians Bear for ISIS?

I faced a hard question this week. It came to me on my knees.

So much conversation is in the air about who is responsible for ISIS. What president is most to blame for their existence? Which candidate is most likely to eradicate them? What nation should be addressing them? How does our culture contribute to their recruitment of some Americans and other Westerners?

How does the world protect Christians living in their shadow? Furthermore, how does the world protect Christians living under North Korean persecution or Chinese oppression? We should be addressing all these questions but for Christians, there is a more important question to ask:

This week, I remembered something: we are not victims. We serve the Creator God, Lord Almighty, King of the Universe, the Omnipotent One. We not only serve Him but we are His people, His army, His children. The question every Christian should ask is what is our responsibility in this war against ISIS? What is our responsibility to the persecuted church? We’re not helpless bystanders, not a single one of us. We are sons and daughters of the Most-High God. Greater is He that is in us than He who is in the world.

Here are my thoughts:

First, we should be living on our knees in these times. The church of Jesus Christ should live an intercessory lifestyle, praying and fasting for the souls on all sides of this issue. Prayers of protection and deliverance –yes, but also prayers that God would bind the spirit of deception and call those who oppose Him and persecute His church to salvation through Jesus Christ. Prayers for the leaders of all nations and prayers for those believers with boots on the ground in these countries – nationals and missionaries alike – that the work of the kingdom would thrive even in the age of persecution.

Second, we need to listen and learn from our brothers and sisters who suffer for Christ. To what do their lives testify? We have numerous avenues for communication with those living under persecution – what do they understand about Jesus that can inform the way we live here in America? What is their message to us about faith in our times? What is their counsel about how we can employ our freedom to support them in their confinement? I suspect they want us praying for more than their protection – they want us to pray that their kingdom work continues even as they suffer and that their suffering is not in vain.

Third, we can serve as witnesses and voices for them. Worse than suffering under ISIS or Kim Jong Un would be if the world became so accustomed to this oppression they forgot about those who suffer. If the world began to take their suffering for granted. If we ignored them or refused to notice them. We cannot hide our eyes from what the suffering church endures because it’s unpleasant, uncomfortable, or hard to bear. We must pay attention and we must speak out on their behalf. There is power in their story. In our freedom, we can voice their stories – to one another, to those in earthly power, to the press, and to the world.

Fourth, some of us are in a position to take action. There are ministries working to minister directly to those who suffer, to rescue those who have been taken, and to spread the gospel to those who would be oppressors. If we’re in any position to take action, we should and the rest of us should support these activities prayerfully and with resources.

Fifth, we need to exhibit the best that the love of Christ has to offer right now. Love casts out fear so Christians should sow courage with our lives and with our words. We should refrain from fear-mongering and rumor-spreading in our daily lives, from our pulpits, and in our social interactions. The church should be the seedbed of bravery, honor, and steadfastness. Love isn’t arrogant or rude. We can be demonstrating love for our enemies by learning about their culture, their lives, their challenges, and the barriers that exist between them and the gospel of Christ. We can learn more about those who suffer under terrorism. Know what their culture is about and what is important to them. Love rejoices with the truth so we can be diligent about spreading the truth of Christ all the more knowing that some do not have the freedom to do so we should share it once for us and once again, for them.

Sixth, we can demonstrate faith and confidence that our God will have the final word on these days. There is nothing occurring in the world that our God did not see coming and even for those martyred, there is an eternal story still to come. So we will not despair, even in these times.

The writer of Hebrews says it this way: “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:32-39

It matters how we live in these days.

It may be little enough what we can do for the persecuted church or against terrorists like ISIS or against powers like North Korea but if there is even a little, we should do that. Our God took a little boy’s lunch and fed a multitude. If we each offer Him the little we can do as individuals and churches, on behalf of the persecuted church – I imagine He could feed the world.

**Note to readers: Please, have this conversation first, in prayer, and then with those believers around you. Feel free to share this blog post or print it out and use it whatever way you feel will benefit the work of the kingdom in supporting those who suffer and in spreading the gospel to those who cause suffering. In the comments, share ways you or your church or others you know are working on behalf of the persecuted church. Let’s offer Him what little we have and see what He will do . . .

What responsibility do Christians bear for ISIS? https://t.co/xvW3HAdNq8 #persecutedchurch #amwriting #ISIS #NorthKorea what can we do?

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 10, 2016

Twin Giants (Interview with a Giant-Slayer #4)

Sometimes giants come in pairs. In order to face and forgive the giant who abused her, Pam had to face down the inner giant of fear. God didn’t leave her alone with either one. I’m grateful to Pam Halter for her willingness to be transparent and brave in sharing the story of the day she faced down twin giants – one external and one internal.

Describe the giant in your life and how you overcame:

Twenty years ago, I was a fairly new Christian. I had grown up in church, but until then, hadn’t understood about the relationship a believer needs to have with the Lord. That year, I learned the photographer for my daughter, Anna’s, special needs preschool was the ex-husband who had abused me physically, verbally, emotionally, and sexually. I still lived in fear of him.

I was going to keep Anna home that day, but felt God tell me I needed to go there and face him to tell him I forgave him. I tried to talk God out of it, (heh) but it was so heavy on me, so I sent Anna to school and I asked my dad come and sit with my youngest daughter while I went to the school building to do what God asked me to do. I read Psalm 28 over and over. I took my Bible with me so I could read it again aloud before I went into the school building. Even so, my entire body trembled, I felt light-headed with fear, and I could hardly breathe. Not only did I have to face my former abuser, I had to again hear his voice and see the hands that hurt me. Even writing this, I feel the anxiety again.

When I walked in, there was a woman in the room used for the picture taking. I asked for him and she said he was on another job so she was taking the pictures at this location. I thanked her and practically flew into the nurse’s office and collapsed! Then I took a piece of paper, wrote a note to him, and sealed it in an envelope. I left it with his assistant.

I got in the van and wept in relief. Then I laughed and laughed. I felt like what Jehoshaphat must have felt when he arrived to battle the enemy, only to find dead bodies. And I thanked the Lord repeatedly for sparing me the emotional trauma.

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 think this experience strengthened my faith. I learned that sometimes God asks His children to do some really hard things, but He doesn’t leave us alone to do them. My giant in that situation was FEAR. While I didn’t have to go through with it, face-to-face, just going to the school that day showed me I can do anything God asks me to do. That is the stuff that builds faith, which I now know I needed to be able to face what I’m going through today. He is so good!

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

Psalm 28

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

My husband supported me in prayer, and while he wasn’t happy about me facing my ex on my own, he also felt it was God’s calling for me. He was as relieved as I when I told him what happened. He knew what I had been through, so he understood how painful it would have been, but we both knew it was the right thing. Whew! I’m still relieved – and thankful – to this very day.

Have you ever had to face down twin giants? One external and one internal? Corrie ten Boom had to face and forgive a guard from the concentration camp where her sister died. You can read the story here.  If you’d like to get to know Pam Halter better, this is her website.

Twin Giants (Interview with a Giant-Slayer #4) https://t.co/tYHuPWNtus #TopplingGiants #amwriting #forgiveness

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 9, 2016

How to Survive a Pharisee Apocalypse

Do you know how to survive a zombie apocalypse? Within the church, we’re at much higher risk for a more dangerous contagion. Let me start with a little story.

Once, I worked with a mother who requested help. She’s on her own with no extended family and was struggling to know how best to manage her children. So, she did the right thing and reached out for support.

The problem being that support arrived like the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

One program arrived bringing its staff and they decided she’d benefit from a second program with their staff who referred her to programs three and four with their staffs. Finally, everyone received messages from the frantic mother: “I know you all meant well but please stop helping now! Two weeks ago, I was only overwhelmed with my children. Now, I’m overwhelmed with all of you, too!”

That used to happen to my youngest child when she was small. Hannah has a VERY helpful father and a VERY helpful older brother. Hannah would ask for a little direction on a project but too often, it would unleash a tsunami of assistance. After not too long, I’d hear, “MOM! Tell Dad and Zack to stop helping already!”

The Pharisees liked to help people, too. I’m sure many Pharisees started out with very helpful intentions. They wanted to help themselves and other people live by God’s laws. They decided they could be most helpful by building “hedges” around the laws. Sort of godly guardrails. They figured that if it was sinful to violate a certain law, the best way to avoid sin was to not even get close to breaking the law, so they added rules (rules that God didn’t add) as a protective hedge. They grew very proud of their hedges and their ability to stay on the right side of their hedges. Their pride was a sin and led to even worse sins. Worse, they passed this sin onto others who started off wanting to be helpful. These men who spent their lives waiting for the Messiah woke up one day to find themselves in conflict with the Messiah.

The conflict occurred because Jesus arrived like the Edward Scissorhands of Pharisaical hedge-clippers.

You see, contrary to modern PR, God is an intrepid freedom-lover. He created an entire world for us to explore and His heart is that we’ll explore it in His company. He isn’t interested in surrounding us with a playpen of formal religious rules. He provided the law to school us in holiness and our inability to save ourselves so that we’d welcome His Messiah. Instead, we crucified Him for the sake of our love of checklists, grading systems, and rules

Jesus assured His disciples that when He left them, He would send them a helper in the form of the Holy Spirit. The word He used stems from paraklētos, a Greek word meaning helper, intercessor, one who comes to one’s side, an advocate. The problem is that most of us don’t trust the Holy Spirit to do His work.

Oh, we trust Him to guide us but we doubt He can guide our brothers and sisters very well. We wouldn’t put it that way. We know the Holy Spirit knows His business but we wonder if others will listen to Him as well as we do. When we think like this, we place ourselves at risk of the Pharisee apocalypse.

Of course, God has designated shepherds, counselors, and teachers within the Body of Christ. Their help isn’t the problem. It’s the self-deputized meddlers, the junior holy spirit trainees, that are an issue and it’s as easy to fall into this trap as it is to click on a viral link in a spam email.

God gives us plenty of guidance on how to help without transitioning to Pharisee mode. My favorite is this: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.” Galatians 6:1-5

Remain immersed in Jesus Christ. Of course, we want to help others but we need to be in constant conversation with Jesus and back off when He tells us to stop helping. My daughter liked the challenge of her projects and felt proud when she figured them out with minimal assistance. The single mom wanted help but she didn’t want the whole world to start telling her how to raise her kids.

The most helpful believers in my life have been the ones who ask me questions. What does God’s Word say about what you’re deciding? What are you hearing from the Holy Spirit in prayer? What support do you feel you need? What godly role models do you have for this choice? How is this choice working out for your life and for those around you?

I don’t watch horror movies. When I want to scare myself, I read about Jesus and the Pharisees. I know my own Pharisaical tendencies and see how easy it is to become infected with the same self-righteous virus that infected them. The longer I walk with Christ and the more I know, the more I’m aware of this pitfall. Jesus warned the disciples that what affected the Pharisees could spread like yeast.

Never mind a zombie apocalypse –  learn how to survive a Pharisee apocalypse. How do you prepare to resist the Pharisaical hordes?

How to Survive a Pharisee Apocalypse https://t.co/Uy5akaOH34 #topplingGiants #amwriting #zombieapocalypse

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 7, 2016

I Invite You to Desolation, RSVP (or God’s Own Area 51)

Desolate.

Deserted of people, and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness.

Do you know the place of desolation? Have you spent time there?

Geographically, I’ve encountered some extremely desolate places. Spiritually, I can testify that Desolation is also a spot on the map of my soul’s geography. Many of you have sojourned there, too. People are familiar with desolation that occurs when one is rejected but we can visit desolation even at times when others surround us and their accolades fall on our ears.

I read an article that didn’t surprise me about an actress who felt winning an Oscar only served to show her the emptiness of her life as she was facing the desolation of divorce. I’m reading a book now but a Christian brother who was highly successful in a Christian field but found his soul deep in desolation even as he accomplished much for the kingdom of God. 

Those moments come for us all, I know they have for me. I received my first book contract when I was in the midst of terrible personal turmoil over some very central relationships in my life and major disruption at my day job. While I accepted countless congratulations on social media for my “arrival” in publishing, I dragged myself through long days and cried myself to sleep. The contract was a joy, a gift to encourage me in the midst of trial but I received the news during an extended stay in Desolation.

It’s my habit to return regularly to the gospel of Mark and I’ve done that recently, renewing my view of Jesus in this vivid and immediate version of His story. This time through, one phrase is leaping from the page for me – desolate places. Jesus spent much of His earthly ministry in desolate places. He withdrew to desolate places to pray. He preached and ministered in desolate places when the crowds became too overwhelming for Him in the cities. He invited His disciples to follow Him to desolate places at the height of their popularity. And, most striking for me, is that He fed the thousands with loaves and fishes when they came to listen to Him in a place so desolate, the disciples couldn’t imagine where they would find food.

Until now, I’ve despised desolate places. I’ve rejected desolation in my life as a detour from God’s plan for me, a wrong turn, something to be ashamed of, hidden, avoided, and forgotten as soon as it’s gone. I don’t imagine the disciples were too excited to follow Him to desolate places. These were men accustomed to the obscurity of fishing boats at sea and suddenly they were rock stars of the ancient world. Maybe a couple of them breathed with relief at pulling back but I bet more than one chafed at the notion of leaving the crowds at the height of their ministry. I’ve dragged my feet when He’s beckoned me to Desolation but the gospel of Mark is changing my thoughts on this.

God is unafraid of desolate places. Just as He saw no impediment to walking on water, likewise, He finds nothing to fear in Desolation.

In fact, He seeks out desolate places. He invites us to join Him there. It is where He feeds us. It’s where He multiplies to abundance what little we bring. It’s in Desolation He reminds us that our value with Him doesn’t lie in what we accomplish but simply in our being with Him and He with us. It’s in Desolation that He weans us from the applause and the nodding approval of the crowd and teaches us to measure our lives more through our “To Love” list than our “To Do” list. It’s in Desolation that we remember our limitations, our fragility, our child-like nature, and we re-establish our complete dependence on Him and it is there He supplies what we need out of nothing. He takes the meager meals we’ve prepared for ourselves and demonstrates how, in His hands, this offering can serve thousands.

Now, I’m scouring the scriptures for desolate places. Now, I see the essential work of God there is to be observed out in the barren wasteland of our lives. Desolation is not so much a place to be endured as it is a place of wonder, an opportunity to locate God’s secret workshop. Like discovering that all the stories about Area 51 are real – a visit to Desolation is where we learn what all the great biblical men and women have found when they entered their desolation – that He is God and there is no other.

God whispered a secret to us about Desolation through the prophet Ezekiel and I whisper it to you again now, especially to those of you languishing in Desolation yourselves. Hear the Word of the Lord: “And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’  Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36:35-36 ESV

Is God calling you out to a desolate place, loved ones? Follow Him there and see what He is about.

**The book I mentioned I’m currently reading is by Allen Arnold and it’s called The Story of With: A Better Way to Live, Love, and Create. I highly recommend it.

Also, you may be interested to know that my latest book (I’m so excited about this book) Jesus and the Beanstalk (Overcoming Your Giants and Living a Fruitful Life) is AVAILABLE anywhere books are sold. Ask at your local bookstore or order online. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

I invite you to Desolation, RSVP (or God’s Area 51) https://t.co/C4GfskcZ2S what exactly happens in Desolation? #amwriting #TopplingGiants

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 4, 2016