Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 53

I Want People to Stop Yelling at Me

Passion inspires me. I respect passion. I find it contagious.

I’m also a fan of enthusiasm and zeal.

What does not float my boat is strident harping, badgering, fear-mongering, chicken-littling, and dramatic pronouncements disguised as prophetic utterances. I dislike rumor, innuendo, gossip, slander, boasting, and lies. In other words, presidential election years do not take me to my happy place. How about you?

Worse, yet. There’s huge pressure on Christians to determine God’s choice to lead the free world.

Like I know.

But there are many good, godly brothers and sisters who believe I should know. They do a lot of yelling on social media – some just a notch above enthusiastic but others just a hair short of bullying – yelling at me to use this season of politics to be a witness for Christ, my vote to stand for Jesus, my opinion to educate the world on God’s plans for all Americans and by extension, the world.

Wow, really? On top of my day job?

Here’s how I choose to be a witness during this time of presidential posturing – I’m going to remain calm no matter what.

Seriously, imagine the potential testimony if in the midst of an intense presidential race, thousands of us remained calm. Not apathetic. Not disinterested. Not disengaged or uninformed, rather informed from a godly a perspective.

They will know we are Christians by our love – not our vote, not our educated opinion, not because our choice of leaders win top spot. He isn’t real because my party is victorious; He’s real because in the midst of widespread evil, violence, poverty, hopelessness, and lies His people remain centered and calm because they know His plan will prevail.

My Bible says that God establishes kings and nations.

Daniel 2:21 “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;” and Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

I will be responsible with my vote. I’ll research the options. But I will remain calm at all times because my Bible says that fretting leads only to evil.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” Psalm 37:7-8

And I will not give in to fear because three hundred sixty-five times God, in His Word, commands me not to be afraid. So, not only will I not fear, I also won’t tempt others to fear because what would that make me but someone who aids and abets the enemy?

I will not fear because my Bible says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)

Though presidents may come and go, though the party I think is right doesn’t get into office, though the candidate I believed is revealed to be a liar, though one Christian leader says Christians should vote one way and one Christian leader says I should vote another – I will not fear, for God is with me. Emmanuel. God is with us.

I will be a purveyor of peace. I will be a testifier to truth. I will be centered on Christ. I will not fret or fear.

He will give me the courage to engage in the conversation, to be informed on the issues, and to observe the field without panic. He will give me the strength to pray for my enemy, to listen with His ears to those with opposing views, and to discuss others with respect. I will be so secure in Jesus, I will not panic at the evening news or the arguments in the lunch room or the ridiculous items shared in my newsfeed.

Let’s see what God will do when thousands of believers face the presidential race on their knees, expressing trust in Him at every turn, and focusing more on kingdom business than the business of kings.

Who’s with me?

I want people to stop yelling at me http://t.co/ELRfWdDV32 thriving the political season #presidential #evangelicalvote #amwriting #faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 31, 2015

The “Have a Good Day” Heresy

How can pursuing a good day possibly be evil?

During a prospective employee assessment for a job policing aliens in Men in Black, Will Smith is handed a gun and presented with a simulation of a dangerous situation. It’s a dark city street. Late at night. The street swarms with vicious looking aliens and one sweet looking schoolgirl, Tiffany, carrying an armload of textbooks.

Smith passes the test when he shoots Tiffany, proving he knows that the most pernicious evils often disguise themselves as light.

Living in a day of secret Internet sites, global politics, and stock market crashes, suggesting that consumers “Have a Good Day” may not appear to be dangerous but I believe the “Good Day” heresy is symptomatic of a systemic darkness that has infiltrated the matrix of our lives.

We’ve become a culture of consumers. This is what we do. We consume. We evaluate. We consume more.

We’ve elevated Have a good day from a clerk’s polite greeting to a cultural value. We worship at the altar of the good day. We idolize making choices that lead to all things good – good days, good marriages, good jobs, good children, good churches, good Christians.

Oswald Chambers once wrote, “The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best.”

When we aim for a good day, we aren’t aiming high enough. The truth is that life is intrinsically a good thing. Our lives are a gift from our Father. They are already good. However, each day will contain positive and negative aspects.

Growing up, I loved the old hymn, Day by Day. I was especially comforted by these lines: “He whose heart is kind beyond all measure, Gives unto each day what He deems best—Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest.”

That was my expectation. Not all good days.

The false expectations that we’re responsible to have good days is a source of great anxiety for many. That’s become our goal, our idol. To have good days. To experience happiness and pleasure at all times. If we don’t, we feel let down, a sense of failure, a concern that we’ve been shortchanged somehow or that others have figured something out that we haven’t. This good day thing. Is it any wonder we’re plagued with anxiety and depression?

The religion of consumerism has invaded every aspect of our lives. We consume our days. We consume our relationships. We consume worship. And as consumers, we view everything as a product, a product that must deliver.

Listen to the questions we ask one another on Sundays. “How was worship?” “How was the music?” “Was it a good worship service?” “How was the sermon?”

How would our mindsets change if we asked instead, “What message did you hear from the Lord this morning?” “What encouragement will you carry with you from God’s Word this week from the service?” “What aspects of God’s nature did the music inspire you to consider today?”

Deeper questions. Not questions for people who consume worship – instead, questions for worshipers.

We are a people plagued with anxiety and I believe much of it stems from this Have a Good Day heresy. Am I having a “good” day? Do I have a “good” marriage? Am I a “good” parent? Am I involved in a “good” church? Am I a “good” Christian? These are not evaluations suggested by God’s Word!

God expects there to be trouble in my days. God tells me not to judge anything before its time. He expects me to have an imperfect marriage and be an imperfect parent constantly in need of His mercy, strength, wisdom, and grace. He knows my church, my spouse, my children, my friends, my fellow worshipers will struggle.

I’m not here to consume these relationships. I’m not here to have good days. I’m here to serve Christ, to learn to love, to understand Jesus through struggles and joys. I’m here to experience life to the full.

I’m not here to consume worship and evaluate the performers on the platform. I’m here to meet Him, to offer Him my praise, gratitude, and an open heart. I come empty to be filled not bored to be entertained.

Have a good day we wish one another. And what if we don’t? What if, in fact, we have a string of days that aren’t good? What if something happens that ensures many of our days will not be good? Is life then still worth living? Yes. Yes. and Yes. Because Jesus meets us in those days. God is good.

God is good but we’re pursuing good days instead of the good God. And I believe we can’t do both at once.

He is a God of redemption. His story is about redeeming the days and the marriages and the children and the churches because the truth is, even our good days aren’t good enough but in Christ we experience forgiveness, grace, mercy, truth, and life in abundance.

Some of you are scoffing, annoyed with me for harping on this “Have a Good Day” heresy. I understand. But see if you experience some relief tomorrow if you stop trying to have a good day and instead, see where Jesus meets you in all the moments. See if worship changes this week if you release yourself from consuming it and lose yourself in participating in it.

When tomorrow comes, some evil will jump out at you as evil but some of it will look a lot like Tiffany. When you encounter her, tell Tiffany to have a good day, won’t you?

The “Have a Good Day” heresy. http://t.co/EEuEgDSxFI when is pursuing a good day evil? #amwriting #WillSmith #anxiety #livingfaith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 26, 2015

What Light in this Present Darkness?

Are you finally angry enough to invest energy in fighting the true enemy?

I sat beside a lovely professional woman this week. I like this girl. She’s snarky, intelligent, and strong. We don’t know one another well but we get along. So, I was shocked to hear her make this pronouncement as she scrolled through her Facebook feed:

“Ha! Josh Duggar. What a mess! I’m SO happy he’s been exposed as a fraud. I only wish it had been even more lurid like pictures of him with men or something.”

“Wow,” I responded. “Why would you hope that the details were even more lurid?”

“So people would see that Christians aren’t so loving after all and are mostly fake. They have no idea what true love is.”

“I see. So, you think true love is wishing that his wife Anna and their children would be exposed to photos of him having sex with other people? You wish that Anna had to face even more lurid headlines? You wish the scandal were more heartbreaking for his poor wife, his children, and the people who love him to have to face? That’s the love lesson?”

“Well, no. Of course I don’t want Anna to suffer, I just, I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about her. I’m just angry at Christians.”

And that’s where we are. She’s not a mean woman. She’s just a person living in our society picking up on the vibe that pulsates through the air like an invisible shockwave. A toxic fume undetectable to those lacking contact with the Holy Spirit.

She’s a good citizen and she’d never identify as someone on the side of evil. She supports Planned Parenthood. She is angry with Christians and rejoices when one falls. She hates ISIS but she blames their existence on all religions. She believes love means accepting everybody as they are except people with ugly non-inclusive views, deluded Jesus-followers, or Republicans.

And Jesus loves her.

She is not our enemy.

Jesus loves her and with His eyes, I love her, too.

Social media is loaded with indignation, commentary, and vitriol these days. Sides are being drawn. Fighting words stated. The pot is being smoked and stirred. Satan is flooding the airwaves with destructive lies and loving the confusion that erupts. In times like these, in this present darkness, it’s easy to lose track of the true enemy.

I’m angry. But, I’m angry enough to stay focused on the direction in which God’s Word points, not on the sleight-of-hand misdirection the prince of darkness is pulling. The woman in my story is like someone facing mustard gas without a mask. She’s helpless and if no one intercedes for her, no one covers her in prayer, her spirit is likely to remain in the dark.

How about you? Are angry enough to direct your energy towards the true enemy? It’s not Josh Duggar. It isn’t Planned Parenthood. It’s not Hilary or Donald or Obama or even ISIS. It’s not the woman who’s angry at Christians.

It’s the powers lurking behind the curtain pulling the smoke and mirrors levers, pumping the air with gaseous deception, and playing music with an alluring backbeat the draws people into a dance toward their own destruction.

Like every master magician, Satan tries to tell us where to look but God’s Word directs our eyes, our minds, our hearts, our strength, our prayers, our activity according to God’s plan:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, agai nst the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:10-20 (ESV)

Have you been intending to spend more time in God’s Word? Have you been meaning to invest more time in prayer? Are you feeling like you ought to get more serious about your faith?

Now. It’s now.

Put down this blog post, open your Bible, and hit the floor in prayer. I don’t know what you should be praying but God does. I don’t know where you should be reading but God does. I don’t know what changes you need to make but God does. In the midst of this firefight, in this present darkness, it won’t help you that I have my armor on, will it? I pray for all who read this blog, I intercede for you, but in the middle of a battle, every person is needed. I rely on you to intercede for me, loved ones.

Maybe it’s time to say less on Facebook and more in the war room of our own prayer closets. Wa it, did I say maybe? Scratch that. Now. Now is the time. We live in the times that matter.

You who love the Lord and are shocked at the world’s disobedience, are you ready to obey Him in this and sacrifice time to pray light into this present darkness? My prayer is that you are.

What Light in this Present Darkness? http://t.co/7hy4ppmyyf Are you angry? #angry #Prayer #spiritual #amwriting #faith #joshduggar

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 23, 2015

Catch-and-Release Evangelism

Do you know people who spread the gospel for sport?

I’ve been guilty of this.

Practicing a sort of catch and release mentality in the process of fishing for men. A process whereby one snags a live one, reels it in, weighs it, adds it to the tally, but then tosses it back. The soul valued only for the mark on the catch column, a bragging right, a blog post, a testimony meant to direct the spotlight toward the apostle-for-sport.

Stories emerging on Planned Parenthood repel us, as well they should. Human beings are not stock inventory for body parts but neither are they collections of souls to mount like trophies on the walls of the fellowship hall or register like the number of burgers served on the golden arches of your local church.

A baby Christian soul needs a warm place to hide, a refuge in which to mature, a sanctuary where they can develop until God determines the time for them to cut the cord. Even then, he or she needs guidance, direction, milky servings of Biblical truth, tending, educating, and lots of love as they fall down repeatedly taking their first steps.

God surrounded us by things that grow – flowers, trees, vegetables, chickens, children – to demonstrate the process so we wouldn’t miss the point

And yet, we blind ourselves, don’t we, whenever we glimpse a process that might require work, diligence, discipline, persistence, patience, or steadfast love. Fishing for men is such a task.

Serious fishers of men don’t drop their line into the waters unless they’re prepared to commit, unless their ready

for the long haul. They know it’s work but for them, there’s nowhere else to be but out on the waters fishing with their Father.

Catch-and-release, that’s something for the sportsman, the weekend camper, the child at play. Fishers of men know a soul deserves more even if it means their numbers do not impress. Fishers of men aren’t gauging your reaction to their tally, they’re listening to the wind, watching the sky, and waiting, waiting, waiting for the first gentle tug.

This isn’t, to them, a game. This is survival. This is the calling. This is their Father’s business and they are on board. To them this is no sport but they are the ones to whom He reveals the true adventure.

“Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” Psalm 107 23-32 (ESV)

Do you hear His call to be fishers of men? Are you in it for the long haul, loved ones? He doesn’t do catch-and-release or we’d all still be adrift, wouldn’t we?

We all have our part to play in the work. Some plant seeds while others tend and still others, reap the harvest. But we must always remember a soul is a soul, not a number, not a project, not a notch on our belts. Souls, like children, need care and feeding to grow up properly in a world committed to their demise. Catch-and-release works with fish but never with souls.

What form of evangelism are you practicing?

Catch-and-Release Evangelism http://t.co/zbvFTkxWsh How to treat a newborn soul. #spreadingthegospel #fishingformen #amwriting #faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 21, 2015

I Write to Rouse the Rabble

Crowds will gather everywhere this week.

To worship – To spectate – To dine – To consume – To partake of entertainment

It’s America, after all.

 

There will be crowds at churches, in football stadiums, restaurants and family dinner tables, malls, and movie theaters.

The crowds will gather and they’ll judge.

Was it the right choice of worship music, did the preacher inspire or sedate, were the musicians appropriately attired and on key?

Did the coach make the right call, was the quarterback up to snuff, did the defense pull their weight?

Was the entree cooked to specifications, was the vegetable spiced properly, was the waiter attendant to our needs?

Are the sales sufficient, the merchandise relevant, and the cashier pleasant?

Did the flick live up to its trailer, did the hero deliver, were the graphics worth tweeting?

It’s America after all and the crowd is the robed in black and seated at the bench – all rise, court is now in session.

 

Jesus never ignored the crowd. The crowd was why He came.

I am in the crowd, watching Him, and deciding. Is He for real?

Because I don’t need another preacher/teacher/reacher/star. I don’t need a show.

I don’t need a sham. I need God – full of power, mercy, love, and grace

Capable of saving me from evil and from myself.

If He is God, I’ll follow Him even for a stroll on the high seas.

So, Jesus never ignored the crowd. He was aware the crowd was deciding.

Even so, the crowd never dictated His agenda. He didn’t need their vote to be God

Didn’t fret when He knew He was the subject of debate.  The debate was important.

As they muttered among themselves, He waited. He knows us. Is completely aware that

Crowds mutter – and grumble – and divide. And some choose to follow, while others scoff and some choose quickly – while others need longer.

 

The Bible says He had compassion on the crowd

And I am standing in that crowd

And He hears me muttering

But He has compassion on me

Even when I grumble my skepticism

Or doubt.

 

And so, on the main stage of the Passion play we see Jesus,

The Pharisees, Mary, and the other Mary, The twelve, and the rulers of the day.

But we stand with the crowd

And Jesus even when He was betrayed, even when He was arrested, mocked, beaten, and marched through the streets, even when He was nailed to a tree, He never lost sight of the crowd.

 

I am in the crowd

and so are you.

He died for the crowd, the huddled, unwashed masses who stand back and quietly decide. He died knowing some would choose Him and others would walk away. He’s never surprised by the crowd and the actions of the crowd don’t dictate His.

He is King and God and human and broken and risen and alive.

 

So, I write for the crowd.

Because they are still with us

Deciding.

And I write from the crowd because that’s where I stand.

And I love the crowd because they are my people.

 

There are still players on the stage – politicians and preachers and celebrity believers and skeptics who write books and devise cons

but my writing isn’t for them because they have their own part to play for the crowd.

 

Sure, some in the crowd will be swayed by them and ignore Jesus but some will hear my voice – Or yours – And they will decide to follow

 

Then their voices will join ours and we will be a crowd within the crowd. Sheep of His pen. Sheep with pens.

 

 

If you spend time reading the gospel

You, too, will notice the crowd.

And if you switch your perspective,

You’ll see that the players on the stage

Aren’t really what the show’s about

 

Because even Jesus joined the crowd, turning the tables on Satan who covets the spotlight.

And so, He gave it to the old boy all the while He was stealing the hearts of the crowd right out from under Lucifer’s arrogant nose.

 

And it cost Him everything, but that is what He came to give because God so loved the crowd and I am in the crowd and so are you.

What will you decide?

 

I rouse the rabble because I am the rabble. Who else should rouse them to recognize God when He joins us where we stand?

“At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.” John 7:30-32

I Write to Rouse the Rabble (and why you should, too) http://t.co/PV9OMhkOMF #amwriting #amrousing #faith #compassiononthecrowds

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 18, 2015

Why Didn’t We Believe More when it Mattered?

Tears streamed down the face of the woman coming toward me.

“Lori, can you come help the man in my office?”

As we walked down the hall, she explained that he had lost the right to see his family and hadn’t even been given a chance to address the things that caused the problem in the first place. He clearly needed help and support but no one had offered it. It certainly did sound like a tragedy.

When we turned the corner to her office, I could see another woman nodding, patting the man’s arm, and reaching for tissues. The man had his head down and his hand over his eyes. As we entered the office, he looked up and our eyes met. When I spoke his name, his countenance changed immediately.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said with a scowl.

“Yup, it’s me,” I replied, “Have you been telling these ladies no one gave you any chances to change? No one offered you help or assistance? There was no way you could have seen this day coming? Is that what you’ve been saying?”

“Yeah,” glancing at the women.

“Would you like me to tell them the number of times you were warned this day would come? The number of services, supports, and help you were offered, but rejected? The number of people who reached out to you to convince you to take the warnings seriously before it was too late?”

“Hey! It’s not my fault I didn’t believe. Lots of people say things they don’t mean and promise stuff that doesn’t happen.”

“Well, except this time, these people did mean what they said, their promises did happen, and you did chose to ignore all the warnings. Isn’t that what actually happened?”

He nodded.

Would you like help now?”

“What good would that do? It won’t change anything.”

“It would be a change for you. It would start you in the right direction for a healthier life.”

“No, forget it. There’s nothing wrong with me, it’s you people,” he said as he walked out.

We all do this sometimes. We all ignore warnings. That’s how we get caught on the beach in thunderstorms or at retirement with no savings or in harmful relationships we could have avoided.

Sometimes, good people ignore warning signs because they’re too terrible to believe. Women who don’t want to believe their husbands could be unfaithful. Parents who don’t want to know their children have developed addictions. Patients who delay treatment hoping they’re just being overly anxious about early symptoms. Rumors of war we dismiss because the acts whispered in the wind are too terrible to imagine.

I think about this when stories emerging from Syria flit across my newsfeed. I don’t click on them because they look like supermarket tabloids, too horrendous to be true. When the same stories crop up from credible news sources, I cling to modifiers like “some reports say” or “unverified sources” and I tell myself that the truth will never be that horrible, surely it won’t.

Then, I remember how I used to judge Westerners who lived through World War II. There were early reports out of Germany. Unverified sources did tell of persecutions, relocations, Jewish ghettos, and even the camps but people couldn’t accept that the reports were true. How could they be? The truth would never be that terrible, right?

Except eventually we learned the truth was worse.

We tune out warning signs because we believe the lie there’s nothing we can do.

Now, if we had the ear of a world power, we wouldn’t feel as helpless, would we? We’d schedule regular conversations with this person. We’d advocate for action. We’d intercede for intervention. We’d petition for comfort and aid. We’d persist in making appeals until we saw results.

We do have the ear of a world power and those conversations we know by another term – prayer.

This is the age to believe what God says about prayer and about the spiritual battle raging around us.

One day we’ll stand with those who suffered and they’ll tell stories of miracles that occurred. God will connect the dots for us between those miracles and the prayers of others who didn’t even know those who suffered.

On that day we will cry out (until God banishes tears), why didn’t we pray more? Why didn’t we believe the warning, the calling to prayer? For the sake of our suffering brothers and sisters. For the sake of the threat marching toward our own door. For the sake of enemies who may have been converted before judgment day. Why didn’t we believe more when it mattered?

In 2 Peter 3, Peter writes about how the world scoffs at the warning that one day Jesus will return to judge us all. They ignore every warning.

Peter tells us God isn’t slow to act, He’s giving us a chance to bring as many aboard the ark of salvation as will come. Peter graciously instructs us how we are to live through these times, how we should hold on and not become unstable ourselves as the ship of this world lurches from side to side to side in the wake of the warnings God sends through His mercy.

Discover prayer, loved ones. Pay attention to the times. Heed the warnings found in God’s Word and intercede without ceasing for those who don’t. Wage war on behalf of the suffering through constant prayer. Press into Jesus.

The day will come and we will answer for what we did with times we were given. We’ll be whole because we’ll be with Jesus but heed this warning so others don’t miss the boat.

Let’s not be among those asking, why didn’t we believe more when it mattered?

Why Didn’t We Believe More when it Mattered? Questions for a #persecuted world http://t.co/DPb86XjaO6 #Syria #ISIS #amwriting #faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 14, 2015

Holy Failure – and what happens next . . .

I have this idea that if I’m filled with the Holy Spirit, whatever task I’m about will not only succeed, it will succeed beyond all expectations.

This is true and yet, it’s not.

Sometimes, my expectations are built on false foundations.

My idea of success and God’s are at odds on every day of the week ending with a y. I’ve followed Him over fifty years and I still usually don’t get it.

Clearly, it’s desirable to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to be ruled by God and God alone. I want the Spirit of Christ to inform my thinking, choices, and behavior. Stories abound in the church of healings, revivals, and miracles that resulted when people were full of the Holy Spirit so, yeah, I want in on that.

Then, as I’m thinking about being filled with the Holy Spirit, I reread the story of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:2), and I suddenly have a fresh perspective.

Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. It says so right in chapter 7 verse 55 – “but Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit.” This filling inspired Stephen to speak to the people, to appeal to them to turn to Christ.

Was it a success?

God would say yes, it was a success. Reminds me of a line from The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Because, the crowd turned on Stephen.

The ESV says they were “enraged.” They “ground their teeth at him.” That’s some fierce fury. That’s downright animalistic anger. As the crowd became an angry mob, Stephen was so full of the Holy Spirit he gazed into heaven. In fact, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. His eyes were open to Christ. He was full of the Holy Spirit. His focus was on heaven.

What resulted from this filling? What happened next?

The crowd united in crying out against him. They held their hands up to their ears in order not to hear him any longer. They rushed him. They cast him out of the city. They hurled stones at him until he died.

As he died, Stephen continued to see Jesus. He cried out for Jesus to forgive the crowd for their actions. This was his final request this side of glory.

Perhaps, you’re thinking, as Stephen breathed his last, the murderous crowd saw the error of their ways. They repented. They fell to their knees and they saw Jesus, too.

No. Nope. That would seem like a success wouldn’t it?

The passage continues: “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

If this were the only testimony given about the outcome of being filled with the Holy Spirit, I doubt the request for an infilling would lead my morning prayers. The immediate results of such an experience don’t always spell success the way we define it on this side of glory.

In fact, the truth is, we use the word, but I don’t think WE know what it means.

Because we know that from this initial persecution, the infant church was scattered – not to its destruction – but to its dissemination throughout the earth – a ripple effect that continues to this day. God will raise success from the six-foot deep grave of failure when His people yield themselves to the filling of the Holy Spirit.

The verse following the story of Stephen’s death and the resulting distress is this one, “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” Acts 8:4

Such an unassuming, pedestrian verse, we forget we are the fish that were hauled up into the net of salvation from those fishermen who scattered from Jerusalem in the wave of persecution and arrests.

Did the fact of Stephen being filled with the Holy Spirit result in success? Yes. But it also resulted in martyrdom, suffering, torture, imprisonment, and distress for many who love Jesus. The operation was a success but the patient died until God raised Him to new life.

God sees success because He knows the end of the story. He welcomed Stephen home with open arms, a blessed, Holy failure.

Jesus doesn’t pull any punches with believers. He warns us outright what to expect – “‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.’” Mark 10:29-30 (ESV)

Did you catch those two little words – with persecutions?

Persecution will come, loved ones. For some, it will result in martyrdom. But, from the holy failure of those deaths, imprisonments, tortures, distresses, and grief, God will reap a successful harvest of souls who will share glory with us forever.

I still pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Along with this, I also now pray for the strength to receive whatever comes of this filling and that my eyes would always see Jesus.

May God prepare us all for His version of success.

Holy Failure, and what happens next . . . http://t.co/K69kAmvrmn Are you ready for God’s success? #persecutedchurch #amwriting #faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 13, 2015

I Want You to Think about Uriah the Hittite

I was thinking today about Uriah the Hittite.

Specifically, I was thinking about the moments just before his death – moments when a smart, seasoned soldier would suddenly realize his king had set him up to die.

God recorded Uriah’s story in 2 Samuel 11. We aim the spotlight on King David. You know, because he’s the hero. And this chapter is not the end of David’s story. He falls down here – way down – but he rises through God’s redemptive love.

It is, however, the place Uriah’s story ends. (At least, it’s the end of the only part of his story we’ll know this side of glory.)

Uriah’s actions are those of a man with a soldier’s honor. He fights for Israel. He’s one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39). When his king calls him from the frontlines and indulges him with rich food and wine, Uriah must have been flattered but remained on guard. This wasn’t protocol.

Rather than enjoy the comfort of his wife, Bathsheba, Uriah camps out with David’s servants. His comrades-in-arms are not enjoying comforts this night, he reasons, why should he? He’s in the middle of a war – it’s no time to go soft. He’s conditioned himself to go without comforts during seasons of battle.

Or maybe he knew the king had slept with his woman. Servants tell tales. Word travels. Uriah’s no fool.

Or perhaps he’s subtly reminding the king he shouldn’t be sitting behind castle walls while his army battles. David has misplaced his loyalty but Uriah hasn’t.

Uriah foils David’s attempt at a cover up. Had Uriah just spent one night with his wife, the child she carried could have been his and no one would ever know it was David’s.

If Uriah suspected he’d outsmarted David, he had to know that nothing lay ahead for him but danger. His king, his leader, his hero was making choices taking them all down a dark, dark path.

David then handed Uriah a letter for Joab, the head of David’s army. Uriah carried the orders for his own death sentence. This is how trustworthy Uriah was. David knew he wouldn’t open the letter.

At the king’s instruction, Joab sends his friend, his comrade-in-arms, one of David’s heroes, to the frontline. He implements a strategy known for its high rate of failure against such cities. Uriah had to have seen the folly of it but he followed orders.

Then, when the battle was at its thickest, Uriah’s fellow warriors pull back. That’s the moment I was thinking about today. Those precious minutes when Uriah saw his friends fall away leaving him without help against the enemy.

Did he retrace the last hours in his mind? Did the pieces fall into place like a gallows puzzle? Did he look at the other fighters who died before him knowing those men perished, not for the glory of Israel, but to camouflage his murder? Perhaps a soldier who displayed such loyalty and honor embraced the death that befell him knowing the survivors lived in a world where their king had lost his way.

I want you to think about Uriah the Hittite, too.

What happened to Uriah is what results when the people of God abandon their posts.

There is a time for every soldier (Christian) to rest. There is a time for Sabbath-taking. There is a day, even for warriors, for quiet reflection and retreat.

But, this story didn’t happen when it was time to rest. It happened when it was the time to fight.

2 Samuel 11 opens with these potent words: “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel.”

At the time when kings go to battle, David remained behind. He vacated his post.

There is a subtle whisper in the air during these times in which we live and it often lands on weary Christian ears. It sounds something like this: You’ve done so much for others. You deserve a break. No one is perfect, why are you trying to be? Don’t you trust God’s forgiveness and grace? You can indulge yourself a little. Look at King David. Why, he committed adultery but God forgave him. Ease up a little. You’ve been good for so long it would be completely understandable if you went a little crazy for once. Maybe you’re being harder on yourself than God wants you to be. Who do you think you are? You’re only human.

The voice comes when we’re weary. It often comes just past middle age when we’ve worked faithfully for years. It’s not obvious because we’d catch on to obvious. It’s the Trojan horse of temptations because it sounds a little like the wisdom of self-care and appears to come from within our own thoughts.

But, it’s a killer.

Unfortunately, the victims are usually others. Yes, God’s grace is vast and He forgives and redeems but in the season of our indulgent sin, others are left at the mercy of the enemy.

This isn’t about continuing a particular ministry; it’s about maintaining communication with Jesus and a Christ-like mindset. We can resign from chairing Christian Ed without abandoning the battle. Christian leaders often remain active at their ministry even as they retreat from Christ.

I’ll explore what it looks like to stay active in battle in modern times in a future post but in the meantime, I want you to think about Uriah the Hittite, too.

What happened to Uriah is what results when the people of God abandon their posts.

We’re at war, loved ones. Let’s unite in making every effort to reduce casualties. Let us spur one another on to love and good deeds. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

Today, I want you to think about Uriah the Hittite.

I Want You to Think about Uriah the Hittite http://t.co/AVF05J6vtU Tired of being good? Here’s your post. #temptation #amwriting #faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 7, 2015

Why God Loves Empty Prayers

I started praying and it sounded just like this: blah, blah, blah, blah.

Okay, if you had been with me, you would have heard this: Father God, You are holy. You are awesome. You have all power and might. You’re worthy of praise. Thank you for all you’ve given me in life. Thank you for Jesus.

But, if you had been sitting with God, you’d have heard what He heard: blah, blah, blah, blah.

It’s not because I was harboring any more sin than usual. It wasn’t because I was using the wrong words or starting at the wrong place in my prayer. It’s because while my mouth was uttering words, my heart was just, well, empty.

It didn’t take long for me to hear the drone of my own soul and I stopped. I made eye contact with God for the first time in the prayer (don’t ask how this is accomplished, just trust that’s what happened). All at once, I heard what He was hearing and I finally spoke words that matched my soul – “You’re right, Lord. You got me. Right now, I got nuthin.”

Why was I speaking then? I searched my mind for real words to express what was happening inside at that moment. Nope. Nothing.

“You know, I want to be near you, Jesus. I want to connect with You, but I’m running on empty.”

That’s when I heard Him. “Then bring me that. Bring me your emptiness.”

What? That’s crazy. What does that even look like? I thought. But, what choice did I have? I needed Him right then. Wanted Him. Craved His presence; but when a word person is weary, words leave the building – like Elvis, like “that’s all she wrote,” like gone, baby, gone. Empty is all I had.

I was reminded of the poor widow in the Bible. Creditors were coming to take her children as slaves so she went to the prophet Elisha and asked for help. All she had left was a jar of oil. Elisha told her to go to her neighbors and get all of their empty jars. Lots of them. Then, he said to go into her home, close her door, and begin pouring her oil. She poured until every jar was full. She had enough oil to sell to pay her debts.

No human would invent our God. Who could imagine a God who says, “Get a whole bunch of empty and bring it to me”?

It’s not easy to face my own emptiness. Empty is never something good. Empty gas tank. Empty bank account. Empty nest. Empty promises. Empty cupboards. Nope. Not good.

Imagine being invited to a party and offering to bring an empty bowl or an empty platter. The only table you’d be a welcome guest with that kind of contribution is the table of the Lord. But what other table matters?

So I sat with the Lord – empty. I didn’t keep talking because that was ridiculous. I just prayed this, “Fine. Here I am. I have nothing to bring you. Not even words. But I long for you so I’m not going to budge from You, even though I have nothing. I’m just going to sit here with my nothing and You.” I sat for a long time. It felt like – sitting. Being quiet. Still. But it also felt freeing. This was honest. Real. Home. A place I can show up empty and be welcome. God’s heart.

When I got up, I had no grand insight. I didn’t feel especially holy. But I knew I had been with Jesus – empty – and it had been okay.

So, here’s the cool part. A couple of days later, a friend posted a note on Facebook about the struggle of striving to work toward a God-given dream and feeling frustrated, weary, and confused. In the midst of the conversation that ensued, I talked about bringing God our emptiness. What I shared was meaningful to the other people in the discussion.

Yup. I hadn’t seen it when I rose from that time of sitting with Him but I’d arrived empty and I left so full, I had enough to share with my neighbors.

What had I done? Seriously – nothing.  I love watching God work. That’s what happens when I sit still and shut up– I get to see Him work and it’s beautiful.

Are you running empty? Let me know so I can pray with you. I’ll be one of your empty jars.

Why God Loves Empty Prayers – the surprising value of coming empty to God http://t.co/FYO5MxMmxv #amwriting #faith #AnsweredPrayers

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 5, 2015

Does Your Life Really Hug the Curves?

A few years back, my daughter and her tech-savvy friends ordered me a new laptop. It was a gaming laptop with amazing graphics, an extended screen, and powerful drivers designed to enhance the gaming/video/music experience.

I used it primarily to type Word docs.

An accomplished musician friend once picked up my twelve-string acoustic and played a stage-worthy rendition of several popular cover songs. His picking action and chord transitions were flawless. The instrument took on a life of its own.

I used it primarily to play D, A, G based choruses.

My dad owns a fully equipped high performance Ford Crown Victoria civilian version of the Police Interceptor. Until June, he used it for high speed driving along narrow, windy backwoods roads to respond to fires, accidents, and medical emergencies.

If I borrowed it, I’d drive it two miles to the grocery store and keep to five miles above the speed limit.

This is how we approach our daily lives.

God designed us to be high-performance custom-designed vehicles of endless creativity and high-definition communicators of His infinite truth, grace, and love. But, we hunt and peck at the keyboard of our lives like chimps who find an iPhone in the jungle.

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)

What if one day this week you woke up, hit your knees, and said, “Lord, I know that because Jesus’ Spirit resides within me, I am capable of so much more. What, say, today, we take this baby out for a spin and you show me exactly what a soul surrendered to you can do?”

Sound like fun?

Yeah, to me, too.

Let me know how it turns out on your end!

Does Your Life Really Hug the Curves? Isn’t it time you found out? http://t.co/g7CAjuy0YD #amwriting #surrenderall #jesusislord

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 3, 2015