Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 43

Whiny Baby Sissy-Mary Christians (the call to courage in these times)

Outside of this blog, I’m not very brave.

It bothers me when people don’t like me or misunderstand something I’ve said or disapprove of my opinion. I know I have a high tolerance for pain, but if someone made me sit in an uncomfortable chair in a room with nothing to read or do and ignored me, I’d be giving up state secrets in a matter of hours. That’s all to say that what I’m about to write is as challenging for me as it may sound to you.

I believe a time is near when American Christians will endure intensified social persecution but I think we shouldn’t whine about it.

It’s good that there are watchmen and watchwomen who post blogs and news reports about ways that our religious freedoms are being eroded (more quickly every day, it seems) in favor of social agendas and political correctness. I don’t think, though, that we should gather on Facebook or Twitter and bemoan the coming tide or reminisce about the past like a bunch of hand-wringing school marms wondering what to do when the black hats ride into town.

Christians are not victims and we so we shouldn’t act like victims. We are not civilians in the war for souls, we’re soldiers. Our enemy isn’t the NEA, NRA, Democrats, Republicans, or the LGBTQ community. Our enemy is the deceptive power of Satan at work in the world and we need to be on guard against his tactics, one of which is to get us acting like whiny sissy-Mary’s over every form of persecution and another of which is to treat like enemies the lost souls we’re called to love and serve.

There are brothers and sisters in other parts of the world losing homes and jobs for the name of Jesus. Imprisoned in His name. Separated from loved ones, suffering bodily harm, financial ruin, and even death because they claim the name of Jesus Christ. That, alone, should keep us from whining.

No one took Jesus’ life from Him. He laid His life down. He submitted to arrest, to beating, to prosecution. Isaiah 53 says, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

It’s easy to get sucked in to a victim mentality. “Oh, the intolerant world is restricting the freedoms of the poor, persecuted Christians.” But that isn’t a wide-angle perspective on the truth. The truth is that as Satan senses his time drawing near, he will lash out against those who belong to Jesus and life is going to get intense.

But we are not victims.

We are sons and daughters of the Most High King. We are soldiers serving under Christ. We are servants of the owner of this planet and our lives and futures belong to Him. We are salt. So when the decaying meat tells us we are no longer wanted, ultimately, it is the meat that suffers loss. We are light. So when those living in darkness seek to limit our influence, it is they who will stumble and fall.

In our love, we work and fight to remain at the task of being salt, at being light, but when we cease to do this for the love of others and act simply out of self-preservation, it ceases to be a work in the service of the Lord. Jesus laid His life down and calls us to do the same.

Remember Wesley and Buttercup in The Princess Bride? Whenever Buttercup would selfishly order Wesley around, because he loved her, he would obey and respond, “As you wish.” Eventually, this won her over and she learned to love in return.

As I said, I’m not as brave as what I write, but if we truly love those who are lost, is there a place for this type of sacrifice in our own culture? When they tell us to stop praying in the schools, what if we reply, “As you wish.” When they tell us to keep our God out of their government, what if we reply, “As you wish.” When they tell us we are not welcome in their discourse, their movies, their airwaves, or their bookstores, what if we reply, “As you wish.”

But we don’t cease in the fight, for after all, the real fight happens on our knees and through our obedience to Christ. The real fight happens every morning when our feet hit the floor and we face the choice of living for ourselves or for Him. We truly fight by abandoning the farce of victimhood and embracing the call to lay our lives down for those He came to save.

This is just what I’ve been thinking because it’s hard for me to picture Jesus whining and wishing we were back in the fifties. I know He has compassion on each of us. No matter how little the world values us, He sees us, loves us, and knows our worth. But, the people of the Most High King who know their future is eternally secure should not flail, cry out, and run around like Chicken Little. The sky isn’t falling, loved ones. We’re witnessing what our Lord and King said would come to pass. He has equipped us. He will deliver us. He is with us.

Whiny Baby Sissy Mary Christians https://t.co/HNZmF1krM7 the call to courage in these times #persecution#amwriting#courage

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 10, 2016

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Our God is an Avenger

Dear Yazidi mother,

I cannot imagine your pain.

I’ve read reports of what you’ve endured and can hardly bear to read another. Your husbands and sons murdered, your daughters ripped from your arms and sold to men who tell them their god gives them permission to rape and to enslave. A world feasting on the lurid details of your daughters’ pain but largely helpless to force their way into those dark rooms and carry them to safety. Words, words, words, and here, I add more. I’ve no combat detail at my command, no special forces, no stealth weaponry to deliver them and bring them home. Even worse, I know where my children are. I can see them, hold them, watch their laughter, and hope for their future. What have I to offer you, dear Yazidi mother, except that I know you are out there in unrelenting pain?

You may or may not have heard of my God. I had never heard of your people before ISIS took your daughters. What little I know now has not been from you but from observers half a world away. Forgive me that I neglected to know more until you became a headline. Your plight has spurred me to understand more about the people where you live and become familiar with cultures that are largely unnoticed until calamity strikes. I know the enemy takes advantage of our ignorance and the scarcity of intercession for these unknown peoples. May your children’s pain bring an end to this lack of knowledge and the dearth of believers’ prayers.

So, I understand if you know little about the God I serve. He is the One True God who created the earth and all the people in it. We rebelled against Him, our Father, and condemned ourselves to eternity separated from Him but because of His great love for us, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was born into this world, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again from the dead, victorious. If we accept His sacrifice for us, we receive eternal life and are filled with His Holy Spirit, delivered from all condemnation, and secured for life with Him forever. He is a God of grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and love.

He is also an avenging God, and this is why I write you today. There are brutes who share this earth with us. Those who rebel against God, who reject His Son, who choose to follow their own ways, their own lusts, and every evil practice under the sun. They can find forgiveness if they turn to Jesus but if they do not, they will bear the consequences of their choices.

In our Holy Book, which contains the very words of God, there is an ancient letter written to the churches in Thessalonica. In it is this passage:

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” I Thessalonians 4:1-8

The Lord is an avenger is all these things. What is happening to you and to your daughters, to your sons and your husbands, is immoral and wrong according to the One True God. God didn’t design sex as a weapon. He designed women to reflect Him, to walk with Him, and not to be victims of the unbridled lust of angry men.

Across the world from you, my sisters in Christ and I may not appear to be of much help in the pain of your separation from your children. Sometimes even we forget that we, too, are warriors, but the pain of your daughters has helped us remember who we are. In Christ, we are not helpless. In the name and power of Jesus Christ, we can intercede on your behalf. We have been and will continue to pray daily for the deliverance of your daughters. We pray for their comfort in captivity, for supernatural intervention and protection against the worst kinds of evil, and for rescue from the hands of their captors. We pray God would bring these men to repentance but if they will not repent and receive Him, we pray they will reap the full consequences of their actions for your daughters are as precious to you as ours to us.

In our country, we speak often of the love of the God I follow and it is a love that is stronger than death. He is, indeed, a loving God full of light and grace. But, know that He is also an avenger. Though you cannot see your daughters, He knows their plight and He will have the last word on those who commit this evil.

All things are under the rule of the God I serve, though now, we do not see that played out as we would like. We still witness the horrors of sin and the consequences of the choices of men who choose evil over good but that will not be true forever. As often as we pray for our own children, we will also pray for yours. There are some who will say this is worthless but I tell you it is not. Prayer is a powerful weapon that binds forces of evil, takes captive principalities and powers, and renders impotent the darkness against the light.

Dearest Yazidi mother, you may or may not know the God I serve but His Son died also for you. The eternal life He offers can also be yours. He isn’t a God of the West but He is the God of all peoples and nations. One day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. His love isn’t bound by borders and the love He places in our hearts for your daughters makes them ours, too. If you suffer, so do we. Your children are our children. We will not be watch our children enjoying their freedom without stopping to intercede for yours until we all step into the freedom of His light.

May the prayers of the followers of Jesus Christ be effective and fruitful in securing the deliverance of your daughters in our times, Amen.

Our God is an Avenger https://t.co/kVgHYMHkiK praying for deliverance of the captives #Yazidi#prayers#amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 8, 2016

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The Evolution of Dragons (or Sometimes a Story is a Sword)

Fairy tales have evolved. Have you noticed?

I remember thinking that twenty years back when I read a library book to my children about The Gingerbread Man. Do you remember him? “Run, run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.”

In my childhood, the gingerbread man ran from the childless couple who baked him. He kept running from all pursuers, believing himself smarter and faster than everyone else. Finally, the fox outwitted and devoured him. Lesson learned. Don’t run away from your loving home because dangers await those who think they know better.

In my children’s generation’s version, the gingerbread man gets eaten but on the last page, somehow miraculously escapes the stomach of the fox! He learns a wise lesson about the danger of running away but there are no real consequences for his actions.

What? It even annoyed my kids. “That makes no sense. Why would someone even write that story?” my son asked. I wondered that, too.

When I was a child, fairy tales were a little frightening – children who disobeyed, wandered, or were lazy were cooked in witches’ stoves, lost in the woods, eaten by wolves, or missed out on meals and fun. They were, in fact, stories that trained the heart to recognize danger in real life – the danger of disobedience, of wandering from the truth, of trusting dark forces one meets on the run. In the world of my children’s sanitized fairy tales, disobedient children endure “a bit of a fright” but always have second chances or are rescued at the last minute. Whew. No need to worry about a little disobedience. The story always ends well. Not a kind lesson to teach children.

I thought about this again, ten year’s later when I stood in the children’s book section to find gifts for my nephews. The shelves were full of dragons.

I’d never seen so many dragons. They were ornate, bejeweled, intricately designed, and beautiful. But what struck me most about this bevy of beasts was that they were primarily tame. Not only tame, but friendly – some even downright heroic.

Dragons have always fascinated me and I think there should be a dragon in every children’s tale – but dragons are never tame and, traditionally, they are there to be conquered, not befriended. In Biblical literature, the dragon represents the evil one – the one who comes against Christ and the church. In Revelation 12, Michael, the archangel defeats the dragon. “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”

He is a very clever dragon. He has learned the perfect lie for each generation.

In earlier generations, the dragon fed on people’s anxieties. He terrorized them and convinced them he was powerful and they could not defeat him.

In later generations, the dragon fed on people’s avarice by enticing them with his great stores of the promised treasure he protected in his lair.

A more recent generation, surrounded by anarchy, yawned with apathy as it shared a puff of the dragon’s favorite pipe and leaned its head against the dragon’s breast to watch the light dance off his scales.

In this generation, the dragon feeds on our arrogance and convinces us that we can tame him, that we can make him our friend. We sit at his table to have talks, discussing the details of a brokered peace.

The dragon lies.

He lies to us and he lies to our children. He lies so well, we feed the lie to our children with their bedtime milk and cookies. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” (Isaiah 5:20-21)

Some of you will argue with me that I’m just talking about stories. That I shouldn’t be concerned about children’s fairy tales and book series read by schoolchildren. And, of course, I’m not declaring that every story told with a friendly dragon is evil or wrong. Let imagination take flight. Imagine dragons, by all means, but tread carefully on a symbol God has used for the evil one.

I will tell you what the dragon knows: story is the key to the treasure store of our hearts and our imaginations. Once he enters there, he can weave a web of lies so finely entwined with our own neural pathways we believe the thoughts and ideas are our own. When children nurse on lies from the cradle, they cannot tell from the truth as they grow. When they ingest the truth with their mother’s milk, they develop an appetite for truth that cannot be satisfied with falsehood.

Stories are sippy cups for truths that are so powerful and real they can slay dragons. Fiction is just truth with wings. It’s not wrong to weave a tale and it’s not even wrong in those tales to befriend a dragon as long as we remember that the truth is – dragons are never, never tamed.

So do write a dragon into every story – whether for children or those who think themselves grown – but never think him tame enough to turn your back on him.

Remember, a story is never just a story. Sometimes a story is sword.

The Evolution of Dragons (or sometimes a story is a sword) https://t.co/8dgcnXqNUg#dragons#amwriting#amwritingfantasy

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 3, 2016

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The Job Interview Question I Wasn’t Prepared to Answer (but you should be)

At job interviews, I’m prepared to answer just about anything but I wasn’t prepared for the question I heard recently. Not just once, but in a series of interviews for a job I found intriguing.

Conversation flowed. We connected. It was going well. Smiles. Nods. Quiet laughter. Then, a glance at my resume. A mention of my writing –a skill worth noting on a resume. Communication skills a plus. Writing talent a boon. Publication an achievement that speaks to excellence, perseverance, and determination. But, you know, I write for Jesus.

There’s no hiding the nature of my writing (and why would I?) since two of three of my books mention Jesus right in the title – so, it’s out there. Which for me is a gift. It keeps me from hiding in moments when my old sin nature beckons me to slink back to my old ways, to be less than God designed me to be, tempted to place Him in a box. I see a slight eye flicker as the interviewer looks them over. There’s a brief clarification of the genre. Yes, I write for the Christian market.

Another nod and smile, but then, the question. The tone is casual, but the question is not benign: “How will you keep your faith from interfering with your job?”

I’m sorry, what?

Replaying the chat, of course I see I should have asked a clarifying question myself. Jesus knew to ask a question before He answered one. “What is your specific concern?” or “Has this been a problem with other employees?” or “Is this a something you ask every applicant?”

But, it’s an interview, I need the job, and we’re solidly in the question/answer mode. Plus, it’s my personality to maintain the relationship, avoid confrontation, look for the work around. God is working on me but it’s still my default. If we were in court, I would hear the judge respond to my objection, “I’ll allow it since your resume opened the door to this line of questioning,” so I respond:

“Well, my faith informs the excellence with which I do my job so I don’t think you want me to keep it from “interfering.” If lying or committing fraud are part of the job, it will definitely interfere, but I don’t think that’s how you operate here, so we’re good. (polite laughter at this) I think you’re asking if I’m judgmental. I’m not, but that’s because of my faith, not in spite of it. Have I answered what you’re asking?”

Smiles. Handshakes. The interview ends on a hopeful note, but it leaves a strange aftertaste.

How easily I joined the narrative, the implication that I would naturally understand their assumption that my faith is a problem, that perhaps I wouldn’t be able to contain my judgmental views, no one wants to hire a trouble-maker so, of course, they have to ask. Why did I enter that narrative so willingly, with a smile, without resistance?

And as I’ve told this story, some believers have shrugged and said, “Oh, they’re worried you would proselytize or refuse to do something that’s unbiblical. That’s all it was.” WHY ARE WE HOLDING HANDS WITH THE STORY THE WORLD TELLS ABOUT US?

Did my answer give them the idea that I’m one of those “acceptable” Christians? One who believes Jesus would never tell anyone their actions or attitudes were sinful? One who follows the domesticated, generic Christ who never would have been dangerous enough to have to die like a thief on a cross? Surely not someone who follows the wild-eyed Jesus who wove a whip and said such hard things he turned away crowds! Did I come across as a compliant believer? One who would never cause trouble?

Some would say that’s good but I know my own tendency to stay quiet, to fear trouble, to avoid making waves, to stink at sharing my faith, to capitulate hard truth, so the conversation frightened me. How subtly, smilingly, I can be encouraged to “play nice” and only bring the “agreeable side” of my faith to work.

How will you keep your faith from interfering with your job? I replay that moment and consider other answers, better answers, answers that refuse to walk hand-in-hand down the corridor of the false narrative being spun in our times.

“Will my faith interfere with my job? Why? Do you anticipate asking me to lie, commit fraud, steal, or conspire in deception? If so, then my faith may interfere. My faith has taught me that no matter what I do, to do it as for Jesus, so I bring that integrity with me to the workplace, surely you wouldn’t prefer I leave it at home?”

“Will my faith interfere with my job? In other jobs, people appreciate the love, compassion, respect, and generosity of spirit I extend to everyone I encounter, as instructed by my faith. Will that be a problem in this workplace? I’m not sure I can learn to work without being kind, honest, patient, and loyal. You may have to consider someone else.”

“Will my faith interfere with my job? Why? Is this a place where people must conform, where conversations are monitored and screened, where people check their souls at the door, where ideas pass through a filter before being aired? Is this a place where freedom has been given a shelf on the same locker in which I place my lunch?

When did we start buying into the story that others tell about us? Loving and following Jesus is what makes us someone you want at your place of business. In all we do, we work as if we’re doing it for Him so our work bears the mark of excellence, integrity, truth, and creativity – because every day we are more like Jesus.

They offered the job. I said no. It’s a small thing – no sacrifice because I had another option. I’m just one person in the smallest state but we have to start, in small ways, to refuse to align with the lies. To say no to any narrative that says the world’s story is the true one, not the one we live.

I only tell this story now so you’ll be ready for the question: How will you keep your faith from interfering with your job? What will be your answer?

The job interview question I wasn’t prepared to answer (but you should be) https://t.co/8XiAw1Vdae#ReligiousFreedom#amwriting#workplace

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 1, 2016

I’d love to hear your thoughts about faith in the workplace! If you’re reading this in email and would like to comment, click HERE!

When Christians Disagree

It’s likely that you and I don’t agree on everything.

Theoretically, we know that. Theoretically, we still love one another, you know, because we’re one family under God. Theoretically, we, in the church, form a beautiful tapestry, our differences of opinion devising the colors and textures that give depth to the work of the kingdom. Theoretically, we’re generous, inclusive, and kind even when we disagree.

Face-to-face, though, or in conversation, when we stumble onto one of these IED’s (isolated entities of disagreement), they detonate. We reel from the flash, dodging shrapnel as we try to recover a sense of equilibrium and find solid footing on which to continue our love relationship. It ain’t easy.

It’s ain’t easy because these places where we disagree aren’t just theories. They are the fabric that make the decisions that create our daily lives. They aren’t just theological places of contention between Christians – they determine whom we’ll choose to marry – or not, how we’ll use our gifts, how we’ll treat the most vulnerable among us, and where we will worship.

It’s easy to forget on how often we do agree. To enter the church, we all admitted we are sinners and cannot save ourselves. That because of our sinful state, we are worthy of eternal separation from God. That God, in His great love, put into process a plan for our redemption and sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place. That Jesus, in obedience to the Father, lived a sinless life on earth, died a cruel death on that cross, and rose again, victorious over sin and death. That each of us, if we believe He died for us, enter into a saving relationship with Him and receive, by grace, forgiveness, and eternal life. That we know all this through His Word. That our call now is to know Him, worship Him, obey His Word, and further His Kingdom on earth until we die or He returns, whichever comes first. That is the wide and sturdy platform on which we meet.

But, there are things. Issues. Potholes. Places of contention where we haven’t understood what He’s commanded in the same way. These things aren’t esoteric and distant such as how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. These things are tangible and deeply, heart-achingly personal. Is it all right for my brother to marry another man? Can my aunt become our pastor? Does my teen-age daughter have to carry her baby to full term? Is there a Christian way to vote in November?

Even if we agree on the basic right or wrong of these issues, there are more disagreements about how we live them out. If my brother knows I oppose gay marriage, is it all right for me to show him I love him by attending his wedding? If I believe God has put an order in place that excludes women from being teaching pastors, is it wrong for me to meet with the local woman pastor to pray and study together? Do we celebrate the teen-age daughter with a baby shower? If I strongly oppose your politics, can we still have peaceful fellowship or should I just find another church? By staying, am I quietly condoning your views?

There are more sticking points – how do we treat Mary? When is Jesus returning? Is Jesus returning? Is the earth getting warmer? How old is the world? Is it always wrong to have sex outside of marriage? What does love look like when we disagree?

It’s not easy but we don’t need easy. We’re the church. We do hard things. We follow Jesus Christ who did hard things. Our Father is the Creator of the universe who is capable of all things. We have the Holy Spirit who empowers us with the spiritual resources to love, live, learn, and obey supernaturally. All things are possible with God, even that His disagreeing church can work its way to inhabit the unity He’s given us.

Here’s some things I believe about these places of disagreement:

I do the best I can to study the Bible and godly teaching, to pray, and to seek God’s guidance in determining what I believe. I form opinions I believe are correct (if I didn’t think they were, I would change them) BUT
I don’t believe I’m going to get to Heaven and hear God tell me, “Lori, you got every issue perfectly correct! You go sit over with the other correct people while I straighten out the rest.” I believe we’re called to conduct ourselves, always, with love and humility – not wishy-washy uncertainty (which is different) but with humility.
I don’t apologize for what I believe because I believe it’s biblical, meaning it’s God’s idea, not mine. I pray for the strength not to compromise when what I believe God says is hard to live but biblical truth nonetheless.
If we disagree but you’ve come to your conclusions out of love for God, for His Word, and for others and you support your stand biblically, I respect you and believe we can still work together toward unity BUT
If you’ve reached your belief by dismissing the Bible as outdated and irrelevant or out of anger/rebellion, or because you just want what you want, you and I may have harder conversations, still in love, still with humility, but harder still.
I will listen to you because that’s loving. I will hear you out without calling you names or putting you in a box or questioning your salvation (because that’s not my job.) I hope you’ll do the same. I pray for strength to stay loving, gracious, and kind even if you don’t. We may still disagree when we’re through BUT
God commands me to love, to live at peace as much as it depends on me, and to offer correction with gentleness and humility as I speak His truth. This informs my attitude and actions toward even people yelling at me on Facebook. I’m intentional about spending time studying the entire Bible, not just the places of contention, and I find there a constant call to lay down my life for others (not God’s truth, but my life.)
I remember we have an enemy who is at work trying to exacerbate our strife and I am more opposed to him than I am to you.
James 1:19-27 calls me back from the screaming brink whenever I lose my cool with another Christian over our differences.

I have more thoughts but I’m interested to hear from you. This is tough stuff. We’re not going to weather this next storm of disagreement with a campfire and a few choruses of Kum Bah Yah. Creating peace is serious work for serious Christians.

What Scriptures or practices guide you when interacting with Christians who disagree on contentious issues? What have you found helps the process of maintaining unity amidst difference? What habits keep you from compromising biblical truth? What do you do to cultivate love for differing believers and to demonstrate that love to them?

Never more have we needed this conversation, so let’s begin it here.

When Christians Disagree https://t.co/Hb9ucRs6s0 guidelines for forging peace in the church #evangelicals#amwriting#unityinChrist

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 26, 2016

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Five Summer Binges for the Soul

It’s summertime and that means it’s time to binge. People indulge in all sorts of binges during vacation time. We binge on the beach, the sun, the surf, on fruit, fresh corn, Netflix, novels, and sleep. Nothing wrong with that but with summer bringing a change in routine, why not also indulge in some binges for your soul?

Binge on the Bible:

Break out of your “verse a day” habit by spending all your free time for one week, reading large portions of the Bible in one sitting. This Scripture feast can freshen your perspective on God’s Word, improve your understanding of the context of verses, and remind you why you fell in love with the Bible in the first place. Here are some summer Bible binge plans:

Using a chronological Bible, binge read the sections that include Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The history of the kings and the dispersion of the Jews interspersed with the relevant prophecy will shake up your perspective on biblical times but also on the days in which we now live.
Read all four gospels and the book of Acts in one week. That’s about seventeen chapters per day. For a different experience, try listening to an audio version, this will make it easier to keep scripture in your ear throughout the day’s activities.
Read the Psalms in one week, that’s approximately 21 Psalms a day. Try reading one or two per hour or seven at breakfast, seven at lunch, and seven at dinnertime.
Spend time with the twelve minor prophets – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. This may take more than one week but you could designate it for the month of August. Do a Google search for “12 Minor Prophet Reading Plans” and you’ll find many for four weeks.
When was the last time you read The Revelation of Jesus Christ? It contains the promise of a blessing for those who read it, hear it, and heed it. With 22 chapters, you can read it in one week or even five days.
Go deeper instead of wider. Spend one week studying a single passage in depth (such as Romans 8) or study one word (such as steadfastness, glory, or grace) and all its occurrences in Scripture.

Binge on Prayer:

Turn off the TV, put down the novel, and devote your time for one week to praying for the world. Using a guide such as An Insider’s Guide to Praying for the World , or a globe or atlas, simply devote one day to prayers for each continent. Intercede for the lost. Intercede for the national Christians ministering in those places, as well as for missionaries. Pray for the leaders of those countries, and for poor and oppressed.
Spend a week bathing your inner circle in intercessory prayer. On the first day, list all your family, loved ones, dearest friends and co-laborers in the kingdom. Ask God to lead your prayers for them. Look up specific scriptures to pray for each one.
Pray for your community, the field in which you labor, intensively for one week. Take prayer walks throughout the area, walk around your place of fellowship while praying, invite others to pray with you and walk with you. You may even choose a day of fasting. Intercede for your community and listen to what God has to say.
Devote a week to seeking God’s direction for your life in every area. Perhaps you’re at a crossroads – pray at every opportunity for His guidance. Perhaps you’re right where you belong – pray at every opportunity for God to open your eyes to ways to go deeper with Him, to engage more effectively with those around you, and to mature in your faith.

Binge Bless:

                Wouldn’t it be fun to binge on blessing others for seven days? How many ways can you find in one week to serve those around you or to surprise them with a special visit or gift? Cook a meal each night to deliver to a family in need or to families that serve your church. Visit an older neighbor or church member each day and listen to their stories. Choose an amount of money you might normally spend on entertainment or dinner out in one month and bless someone with an unexpected, anonymous gift. Bring baked goods to the first responders in your town. Help a friend with home improvement project. Volunteer to care for a weary mom’s young children for a couple hours every afternoon for five days. Write notes to friends and family far and near with words of what they mean to you. Binge on blessing and it will return to you.

Binge on Praise and Thanksgiving:

Binge for a week on praising and thanking God. Prepare for this by putting notes throughout your home, workplace, and car with Bible verses describing God’s attributes, His amazing acts, and His deeds. Play hymns and praise songs throughout the week. Pull out your guitar or other musical instruments and make music to Him. Make lists of the ways He has cared for you, blessed you, and provided for you. Write poetry about what He means to you. Create a wall of thanks in your home and cover it with post-it notes of gratitude to Him. Offer to begin or end your week by offering a testimony of God’s work in your life to your congregation or small group. Praise Him through social media or aloud to loved ones. Fill every corner of your world with praise and gratitude for a week-long binge.

Binge on the Arts:

I hear people complain about the poor quality of Christian books, movies, or art and I encourage them to update their views. There is much excellent work being produced by Christian writers, filmmakers, musicians, and artists that would benefit from the support of other believers. God calls us to encourage one another and spur one another on to love and good deeds. Explore the work of Christian artists for a week. Surround yourself with the art, music and literature of other believers. If you find them a blessing, spread the word about them, send them a note, or write positive reviews for them on Amazon, Goodreads, and other avenues for media. If you’re not interested in modern Christian arts, immerse yourself in hymns, classical compositions, historic Christian art, architecture, poetry, and writing. Terry Glaspey has a wonderful guide called 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know: The Fascinating Stories behind Great Works of Art, Literature, Music, and Film. It’s a lovely, informative tool. If you love the art of quilts, Ramona Richards has written My Mother’s Quilts: Devotions from a Legacy of Needlework. New fiction writers you may enjoy (and for whom I can personally vouch) are, James L. Rubart, Felicia Bridges, Colleen Scott, Aaron Gansky, D.L. Koontz, Tessa Ashfar, and Liz Curtis Higgs. Expand your experience of God by seeing Him through the eyes of Christians in the arts. Binge-ing can be beautiful and beauty is as restorative as a vacation away.

Summer is a wonderful time to binge. God certainly binges on lavish greenery and flowers, on painted sunsets, on sparkling seas, and cooling mountains. Our souls can benefit from a binge if we binge on things of Christ. Choose any of the binges above and I guarantee you’ll find refreshment and restoration as if you’d vacationed by the sea.

I am always eager to learn more about you, loved ones! Read my About You page to explore what I already know but if I haven’t written about YOU on that page, let me know more about who you are, what you care about, and what you’re hungry to read. Send me an email at lorisroel@gmail.com!

Five Summer Binges for the Soul https://t.co/37cU8zucn3 It’s summertime, time to binge. Can a binge be refreshing to your soul? #summer

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 21, 2016

Where Did Following Jesus Take You (Or Jesus Through the Looking Glass)

Portals and doorways fascinate us, not because they are so engaging in themselves but entirely because they lead us somewhere.

When Alice slipped through the looking glass, she stuck around to explore Wonderland. When Lucy walked through the back wall of the wardrobe, she explored Narnia. When Dr. Who invites passengers into the Tardis, they expect a journey to somewhere fantastic. When Dorothy opened the door of her house after a hair-raising twister ride, the world literally changed from sepia to technicolor and beckoned her to follow the yellow brick road. The truth we know that emerges in the stories we tell is that doors, portals, passages, and gates should lead us to somewhere.

This holds true, as well, in daily life. As young people, we dream about our wedding day. Once we’ve found the one we love, we plan and prepare for it – often as if it’s the only event that will ever matter. The next morning we wake up inside a new adventure knowing there’s an entire marriage to explore. The wedding was simply a doorway into a deeper relationship.

The same thing happens when we’re expecting a baby. I remember reading “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” cover to cover. I also recall the first evening in the hospital, alone with my firstborn son, in a full-blown panic because now that he’d arrived, I had a million questions the book hadn’t covered. What I needed in that moment was a crash course in what to do once that baby emerges. Labor and delivery weren’t an end but simply doorways to a lifetime of parenthood.

Coming to Jesus is like that. Jesus is the door – the opening, portal, gate, way  (“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9) but modern humanity acts as though just through the door of faith lies a boring, empty room or a brick wall. As if coming to Jesus is the end of something, not the passageway into a promising adventure. As if entering a faith relationship is like one of those old movies where the whole focus is on finding a mate and the rest of the story is summed up with the single line “and then they lived happily ever after.” Too often, we let Hollywood convince us that the chase, the search, the pursuit, and the questions are the most interesting part of any adventure. That just isn’t true.

Is it more interesting to launch a manned rocket ship into space or to explore space? Is it more interesting to obtain and staff a sailing ship or to set sail and travel the high seas? Is it more interesting to prepare for a climbing trip, purchase the equipment, study the guidebook, and arrive at the foot of the mountain or to explore the mountain? Certainly, the preparation for these trips is engaging and interesting and so it’s right for the church to give the endeavor of seeking God its proper place – to respect those who are on the journey of finding Him.

But, we need to not stop there.

The modern Body of Christ hasn’t nurtured, cultivated, or cherished this idea that entering the faith is crossing the threshold to the true adventure, which is exploring the Almighty God. We live in spiritually lean times. We live in a time of spiritual famine. A famine of God’s Word. A famine of Christian community. A famine of godly wonder.

So, that’s our challenge, isn’t it? To maintain wonder. To learn how to explore God. To learn to go deeper into the adventure with Jesus. It’s our challenge but also our longing, our desire, our hunger, our thirst, to maintain the wonder of exploring God. Isn’t that, though, a little like saying we need to keep our wonder of starry nights or sunsets or waterfalls. Why do we struggle so to maintain wonder?

Part of the answer is simple – just as ambient light obscures our view of the heavens, so do humanly devised religious practices sometimes obscure our view of God. Just as we often miss sunsets because we’re too busy, so we miss God because we’re distracted. The most amazing waterfalls require work to locate and long hikes up steep hills to view. So it is with God’s attributes – experiencing them requires work, dedication, steep climbs and we don’t all invest the effort.

What does it look like to maintain wonder of a relationship with God? What does it look like to truly engage in Christian community? And, what does it look like to minister to a world in the midst of a famine for truth? These questions are more important than the paler questions we’re busy asking. How do we get more bodies in the door? What style of worship will attract the most young families? How do we distinguish ourselves from the liberal/judgmental church down the road? Find meaty answers to the first questions and the second set will take care of themselves.

Yes, you’ve entered into a relationship with Jesus. That’s beautiful. What’s happened since then? What more do you know about Him? About humanity in relationship with Him? About the wonders of the universe? What adventure have you known – one that happened across the planet or one that happened from your rocking chair? There are some incredible shut-in saints who have gone spelunking through the heights and depths of prayer and spiritual warfare taking adventures many travels world travelers would envy.

When Alice entered through the looking glass, she returned with stories to tell. What happened when you entered through the door to eternal life, to redemption, to the very heart of God? Or, did you sit down just inside the gate? Maybe it’s time you got up and took a long look around.

My new book, Jesus and the Beanstalk, is available for pre-order. If you’re looking for an engaging way to encourage your own spiritual growth or to have a healthy conversation in your small group about maturing in Christ, you’re going to want this book! Be sure to subscribe and receive the opening chapters and reserve your copy TODAY!

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Where did following Jesus take you? (or Jesus through the looking glass) https://t.co/jHh7LS5kbZ #amwriting #followingJesus #Wonderland

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 19, 2016

We Are Not of Those Who Shrink Back and Are Destroyed

In the light of a new day, facing more headlines, another body count, more cries for war and tears for peace, we will be tempted to lose heart. And we would, in fact, lose heart, if not for Jesus Christ. For in these times when we grieve, we lament, we keenly feel our mortality, our frailty, the brief candle that is the wisp of a single life, it really comes down to this – how will you live today?

Will you live intentionally with gratitude, with purpose, with a heart open to love, with words full of light, with a mind set on eternity, and a strength drawn from the wellspring of life? You have received the gift of a new day, how, then, will you live?

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” 2 Corinthians 4:1

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

“ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Hold fast, loved ones. Press into Jesus. Don’t fall prey to the schemes of the evil one. Live well. Love hard. Go in the strength you have, mighty warriors.

I have no clever words, no poetry, nothing of my own to offer you today for I am like you, I’m so weary of the death and sure there is more to come. But our God has the words of Life and it is His I share freely. Know you are all in my prayers this day as I offer prayers for the world, ”

“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 10:36-39

Race you to the fortress, loved ones. I’ll meet you there.  A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Message me, loved ones, or comment here if you need to be mentioned to our God in prayer because your weariness is more than you can bear. Remember you can download for free (for personal use or use with your church group) Free to Face the Headlines (thirteen proven strategies for consuming the news without being consumed by the news.)

We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed https://t.co/IDaNci0RIU #NiceAttack #Nice #NiceFrance #PrayingForFrance

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 15, 2016

I Don’t Want You to Read This Blog Post (a lesson in backfire)

The world is ablaze with righteous indignation. Arrows fly and I’ve grown weary of dodging them. Haven’t you?

Weary of headlines. Weary of blog posts, Facebook updates, tweets, and op eds. Weary of debates in the lunchroom and at the dinner table, over coffee after church. We volley the blame ball from one hand to another like artful dodgers who occasionally get in a good spike on the other side.

The enemy knows if we blame blaze one another, he can continue waging war in the shadows. And we play his game, don’t we? Blame the whites, the blacks, the cops, the gunmen, the system, the politicos, the church, the world. Volley and return as if it’s a game but it’s not, is it? We’re at grave risk of losing heart.

We pound on one another’s chests demanding salvation as if we believed that one of us could produce it from his or her back pocket. Come on, Mr. President, Mr. Billionaire, Ms. Lawyer, Doctor, Pastor, Teacher, King, Little Child, Ms. Journalist, Mr. Activist, Psychiatrist, Mother, Father, Actress, Queen, Scientist extraordinaire – show us the way, free us, stop withholding our salvation.

You and I, loved ones, know the folly of this effort because the kingdom of God has already come and salvation is with us. We don’t need to join the shouting, the archers on the wall, the demanding mob, because we serve the God of the still, small voice. We take our instructions from the One who slipped into this world unafraid as a helpless babe and never needed to take a poll to reassure Himself of His own power. He doesn’t derive existence from our belief like Tinkerbell. He loves us of His own choosing. We don’t need an army on our side if we are on His.

Our hearts pay the price of living in the path of flying arrows. As we lose heart, it appeals more and more to join the archers on the wall but God is our shield and defender and so it is to Him we look for direction, for marching orders. Not to our verbose neighbors on Facebook, not to the bloggers, not to the candidates, not to the spinners on talk radio, not to the angry gun-waving crowd.

And what is His counsel, as true in these days as in the days of David and Saul? “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.” Psalm 37:8-9

The word for fret is charah, meaning to be hot, furious, burn, become angry, be kindled – to burn, kindle (anger), to be angry with, be incensed, to burn, kindle, to heat oneself in vexation. And us, we act like tinder, do we not? And this is what fuels the flying fire. 

These aren’t some isolated commands without repetition in His Word. We find them, again, in the book of wisdom for they are wise: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?” Proverbs 24:17-22

So, when your soul cries out that there is trouble in the world, what do I say, what should I do? be wise where you turn for that answer. Don’t bury your head or cover your eyes and ears but be wary of those who would kindle you or cause you to heat yourself in vexation. Instead, fight fire with backfire. Turn to our God who is a consuming fire and let Him burn off everything in you that would provide fuel for the enemy’s flame. Instead, let God guard your heart in these times when Satan would declare it a loss. 

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

For we are not of those who shoot flaming arrows or let ourselves become tinder for Satan’s soul-destroying blaze. “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29

I don’t want you to read this blog. I want you to hit the floor and press into God. The world is on fire, loved ones, and it’s too easy to be caught in the blaze. It’s time we set a backfire. Seek God for your assignment on the line, then, get there and strike the match.

Planning a retreat for the fall? Let me help with plans for an Equipped to Slay Giants one-day or weekend retreat. 

I Don’t Want You to Read This Blog Post (a lesson in backfire) https://t.co/ODwnQlBWtH#DallasPoliceShooting#amwriting#faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 13, 2016

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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Spock, Lazarus (or truth when facing death)

Dead things hold little promise. Death is a line that, once crossed, carries a weight worthy of holy pause.

I remember sitting through one Sunday morning service behind a man who was dead by three o’clock that day. Following church, he and a fellow pilot friend took off for an afternoon flight and crashed. For days, when I closed my eyes, I saw the back of his head and felt the weight of death. Breathing one moment, breathless the next.

Permanent. Undo-able. Unstoppable. Unpredictable.

And life, this being alive thing, is large even when the creature is small. I was in the room when the vet injected our seventeen-year-old family cat with the final solution. It was time. It had been a long time coming. I was prepared – I thought – until that last breath – the final gasp when her exhale wasn’t answered with a mirroring inhalation of air.

Death. It sucks the air out of life. Like a sucker punch. A belly flop. A face plant. A dead drop.

TV shows and movies make death palatable through artful lighting, well-crafted sets, and slick camera angles. But when death is in the room with us, when we stand close enough to sense a tug on our own mortality, it’s as unpalatable as a scream, a retch, a convulsion, a fist to the throat. Death has an unmistakable odor. When you’ve inhaled it once, you know it ever after. “That’s the smell of death,” you’ll say after the first whiff. “Are you sure?” someone who’ve never encountered it before will ask. But, they’ll never ask that again.

Doctors work miracles every day. They know they are kings until the moment their efforts fail. As they switch off the screeching monitors and note the time of death, in that moment, they are not kings but peasants living under a death sentence themselves, looking themselves in the mirror, checking to see if they can still make it fog.

So, it’s understandable when men and women of biblical times were confused whenever God challenged death to a duel. God brought Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and asked, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel knew death but he had enough faith in God to answer, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Ezekiel 37 goes on to record what happened next: “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Death is only death until Life touches it. The same way darkness yields when we switch on the light.Like rock, paper, scissors, Spock – life always conquers death – not the other way around. Ask Martha.

Martha knew death. She was the woman of the house and the women of the houses in biblical times looked death in the face. Their loved ones died at home. Women washed the bodies, prepared the herbs, wrapped the breathless corpses of dear hearts who’d shared their table hours earlier, and carried them to their tombs. No sanitized, distanced funeral director to stand in the gap. Just the woman of the house and a breathless shell.

So when Jesus instructed Martha to open her brother’s tomb, she paused. Ever practical she reminded him, “Lord, there will be a bad smell.” But Jesus persisted and she had enough faith to order the tomb opened. We don’t have to have enough faith to raise dead bones or call out a corpse from the grave – only enough faith to obey the One giving the instructions to see Life free a soul from death.

One of the most powerful exchanges in the Bible is recorded here in John 11: 21-27  “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Son of Man, can these bones live? Yes. Yes, they can. And they can inhale and exhale and rise and dance and praise the living God who was and is and is to come. It seems death is all around us these days. It winds its ways through the back alleys, over the transoms, and into our souls like a toxic gas released into the airways. Sometimes it’s hard to breathe at all, nevermind inhale the sweet oxygen of promised glory but nothing is impossible with God. We can even believe in life when we are surrounded by death.

Are you dealing with death today? Death of a loved one? Spiritual death of those who have yet to awaken to the truth of Jesus? Are you wondering if those bones can rise? Jesus is the resurrection and the life – the sweet, sweet fragrance of eternity where death is no more and we are the participants in life eternal.

As surely as we knew on the playground that rock beat scissors, so we know that life conquers death. Lazarus walked out of the tomb. Jesus rose from the grave. We are the dead bones that rise. Rock, paper, scissors, Spock, Lazarus – life wins over death because Jesus is.

If you’re struggling today with the headlines, click on Gifts for Readers and download a copy of Free to Face the Headlines (Thirteen proven strategies to consume the news without being consumed by the news). You’re welcome to use it yourself and share it with others, my gift to you in these trying days.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Spock, Lazarus (or truth when facing death) https://t.co/KXYI5F0K4Y#DallasPolice#Dallas#Headlines

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 9, 2016

If you’re reading this in email but would like to comment, click HERE and scroll down to the comment section.