Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 55

The Strange, the Meek, the Inheritors of the World

Some Bible verses are harder to trust than others.

Especially when people shoot Christians inside their own houses of worship

Especially when it’s natural to want to retaliate, to talk revenge, to plan self-defense

Especially when others exploit the grieving moment to spread lies about us, to try to divide, to further their agendas, to stir hate.

I read Psalm 37 and draw instruction but it requires faith for me to rest my heart in these verses:

“In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” Psalm 37:10-11 (ESV)

Hard to trust this passage knowing it was penned thousands of years ago. God’s idea of “in just a little while” is far different from mine.

Hard to trust these verses knowing just how wicked the wicked are, that we live in a time where people will invent ways of doing evil, that my loved ones are in the line of fire.

Hard to trust when from what I see, the only way the meek will acquire anything is by inheritance, from what I see the meek are disrespected and reviled, from what I see the meek live without power and with a promised future their only comfort. Hard to think it wise to enlist with the meek.

Still, God is still God. His Word is true. Others have trusted Him before lions, blazing fires, Nazis, killing fields, communist regimes, slave hunters, and world powers. I choose to trust Him now.

It is a costly trust and yet, in the end, when I receive my inheritance, it will seem a small thing.

So, you know we must brace ourselves for these days. We are the weird ones. We are about to seem weirder still. These are times Peter wrote about when he penned these words:

“In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” 1 Peter 4:4-5 (ESV)

People who indulge in sinful practices, who reject the living God, who unite in their shared worldview that is opposed to Christ will think us strange. Therefore, we must embrace the strangeness of our condition and wear it like a gold star sewn to the sleeves of our souls for we belong to Him who was also thought strange when He walked this earth.

And Peter bids us gird our selves to act according to our calling:

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. I Peter 4:7-9 (ESV)

This is our preparation. Like buying batteries before a storm. Like filling the bathtub with water before a hurricane. Like locating the exits on the plane. We should be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of our prayers. Clean lines of communication, people, we’re going to want them open.

And love. We are to love one another earnestly. If you don’t love the people in the next pew or beside you in bed or in the cubicle beside you or who have a different skin color, now is the time to learn. Now.

And welcome one another into our homes, our churches, our perspectives with grace not grumbling.

That’s right, people, no grumbling. Let’s just see if we can practice that one thing. For one week. Okay, start with twenty-four hours. Baby steps.

And trust. Trust that “in just a little while, the wicked will be no more.” So, you know, don’t be one of the wicked.

Better to stand with us, the strange, the meek, the inheritors of the world.

**Remember to join with other believers in prayer midweek, Wednesday,June 24, to intercede for Charleston, SC, for the families of those who were killed, and for our country. Pray also that the killer and those who believe as he did will repent and turn and trust Jesus Christ with their lives. Where nine have fallen, let nine hundred rise to take up the baton of prayer they dropped when they were shot down as they stood up for Jesus.

The Strange, the Meek, the Inheritors of the World, http://t.co/Dv9U7OovNb, grace not grumbling in these times #Psalm37 #CharlestonShooting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 23, 2015

Where Nine Have Fallen, Let Nine Hundred Rise

How to honor the fallen – that is the challenge for those who survive this violent planet that rages against those who love the Lord.

These nine who have fallen were my brothers and sisters in Christ. Scott Pelley of CBS news referred to the victims of the Charleston shooting as “mid-week” Christians. He said words to the effect that they were the backbone of the church, people who find the distance between Sundays too long to go without stopping for worship. What a beautiful testimony to these faithful souls who understood the power of God’s Word and of prayer.

Any of us in the Body of Christ would have welcomed this young man to our prayer table. We would have been loving him in the name of Jesus. We would have been praying for God to work in his life and in his heart. To have him stand and gun us down as our hearts interceded for him before the throne of the Almighty God would have been the ultimate of betrayals.

And yet, our Lord, too, was betrayed by those He came to serve. These nine were ushered before the throne of grace because they lived and died in the presence of Jesus Christ. They are home. For them, the battle is done.

Let us honor them by picking up the baton of their prayers – interceding for their families, their community,

CHARLESTON, SC – JUNE 18: The Rev. Sidney Davis leads mourners during a community prayer service for the nine victims of last night’s shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, at Second Presbyterian Church June 18, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, who allegedly attended a prayer meeting at the church for an hour before opening fire and killing three men and six women last night, was arrested today. Among the dead is the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator and a pastor at Emanuel AME, the oldest black congregation in America south of Baltimore, according to the National Park Service. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ***BESTPIX***

and our country.

This young man’s desire was to start of race war. Let this be, instead, the moment the church of Jesus Christ rises up and says no to hatred. No to division. No to conflict based on skin color, national boundaries, or geography.

When others speak of war, we shall stand for peace. When others fire hatred from loaded weapons, we will speak love, forgiveness, and grace. Where others tear down, we will build up. Where others separate, we will unite.

Let us honor these “mid-week Christians” by worshiping the Lord on weekdays with our prayers, our service, and our very lives. Ours is not a Sunday God, He is a God for every day, for every people, for every sorrow, for every need.

Where these nine have fallen, let nine hundred rise up to take their place in prayer.

They loved the Lord and desired that their community would come to know Him. Let nine hundred of us commit to intercede next Wednesday for the people of Charleston. Let nine hundred of us commit to pray next Wednesday for the families of these nine. Let nine hundred of us commit to intercede for our nation, for racial reconciliation, for the furthering of the kingdom of Jesus Christ mid-week next week, June 24th, 2015.

Let it be known everywhere that if you take out one of our prayer warriors, one hundred will rise in their place. If you shoot down one who loves God’s Word, one hundred will pick it up and begin to read. If you murder nine, nine hundred will rise in the name of Jesus Christ.

Let us take up the prayer baton of these nine. Who will join me in prayer on the evening of June 24th? Gather in your churches for mid-week service. If your church is locked that day, gather outside. Gather in your homes. Gather in the center of town. Demonstrate to all who choose hatred and violence that the church of Christ will not be bowed down by bullets.

We do not bow our knees to those who bear weapons but only to the One who bears nail marks in His hands.

Who will commit to pray? Comment below if you will commit to be one of the nine hundred who will intercede on June 24th for Charleston, SC, for the families of these nine, and for our nation. Intercede, too, that this one who chose hatred will repent of his evil doing and bow his knee to Jesus Christ alone. Will you be one of the nine hundred who rise? Encourage others by sharing this and by adding your name to the comments below.

On the evening of June 24th, I will find other believers and gather to read Psalm 37 and to pick up the prayer baton of my fallen brothers and sisters of Charleston, SC. Who else will take up this prayer?

 Please share this post with everyone you know so the families and loved ones of those who have been cut down will know they are loved and their deaths will not be in vain. Maranatha, Lord Jesus, Come.

Where nine have fallen, let nine hundred rise http://t.co/NSKLVvirkQ #CharlestonShooting #AMEShooting #amwriting #ampraying

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 19, 2015

Here I Am, Out on This Limb

Overlooked. Unnoticed. Unappreciated. Passed over. Invisible. That kind of overlooked.

Is there a more uncomfortable position?

I’ve experienced this recently, being the mother of a beautiful young woman. I’m no slouch but my daughter is gorgeous so she draws attention. So much so, I believe I could commit crimes in her presence and no witnesses would be able to describe me.

My daughter has never experienced a dry water glass in any restaurant. The moment her glass is half-empty, an eager waiter is there to top it off. I, sitting across from her, have sometimes had to resort to switching glasses with her to obtain a refill. (This is true!)

See, this is her . . . just sayin’

We passed through a drive-thru once to get her an iced coffee. The boy in the window noticed my daughter in the passenger seat

just as he was placing the lid on her cup. He was so flummoxed at her appearance; he crushed the cup, drenching me with her coffee. Keeping his eyes on her, he apologized profusely – to her – as I brushed ice chips and coffee off my arm and neck. He was too busy making her a new coffee to hand me napkins.

Being overlooked is not usually that funny. It can be a source of unimaginable pain to feel invisible, unnoticed, or passed over.

You work hard, faithfully, for years only to watch others receive the promotions or the awards.

You serve a congregation faithfully only to have them tell you it’s time for a change.

You care for your home, your children, and your spouse with all your heart but his heart wanders to an old classmate he met on Facebook.

You long for a spouse, a child, a home, a miracle but you watch as others receive what you desire – never you.

You try so hard. You work, study, pray, serve, and wait but it feels as if it’s never your turn. Your time never comes. You’re always the one waiting and maybe, just maybe you won’t find a spouse, earn a book contract, get a job, be appreciated by your parents, win the election, or be the hero.

It can make you wonder if even God notices.

Maybe you’ll just have to take matters into your own hands. Maybe you’re just supposed to manipulate things on your own. You’re invisible, after all. No one notices you, so they won’t notice if you do what it takes to get a little piece of that something you deserve.

You’re tired of waiting. Maybe, you’re supposed to do more than what you’ve been doing. Maybe those things that others have done to get ahead – a little gossiping, a little lying, a little stealing, a few dates with a non-Christian, some well-timed self-promotion, a little backstabbing or compromising or indulging in bitterness, self-pity, and the occasional fit of rage. Other people throw fits and they get their way, right? Other people withhold affection and people do what they want. Other people cheat a bit on their taxes and their bills are paid.

Feeling overlooked can lead to terrible temptation. Ask Zacchaeus.

Hard to be a man of small stature. Warriors are tall. Leaders loom large over others. Strength is measured by the inch. But, there are other ways to tower over ones’ neighbors. Other ways to rise to the top.

Like setting aside your loyalty to work for the oppressors. Like charging exorbitant fees to process their taxes. Like threatening to whisper about neighbors to Rome if they don’t pay up. No one’s looking down on you now, right? Power doesn’t go unnoticed. No one overlooks a guy holding all the cards.

Deep down, though, you know you’ve lost a piece of yourself, a vital part that made it easier to sleep at night. Now, you’re the one who’s overlooked something – your integrity, your sense of honor, your wholeness with God.

Then, you hear He’s in town – God that is. And you think you just want a glimpse of Him. Maybe seeing Him will answer that nagging question of what’s missing inside of you. But there’s a crowd. It’s a tight crowd and no one cares that you want to see.

So even though you’re powerful now, you remember that as a child, you could get a better view from the trees. Before you can think, you’ve climbed the sycamore and even before you lay eyes on Him, you hear your name – Zacchaeus.

Wait. He knows your name.

You haven’t been overlooked. You haven’t gone unnoticed. Everything. He knows everything. And in that moment, you regret every second you didn’t wait for Him.

He saw you all along.

He sees you, too, loved ones. Let that be our comfort and our guide. Let that be our strength and our guardrail. Our light on the path and our watchword.

Of course our love, our faithfulness, our talents, our service, our hearts will be overlooked by others. The world overlooked the Son of God. Every day He goes unnoticed. Some of us will share in that suffering. We will know Jesus through the pain of being overlooked, unappreciated, underrated, trampled on, or hidden.

We will not go unnoticed forever. This is a phenomenon of this world alone.

The moment Zacchaeus knew He was known, He let go of everything else he’d been clutching. He regretted everything he’d snatched for himself. He remembered there was only one thing he truly needed.

Feeling overlooked? Go out on a limb with me today and catch a glimpse of the truth. The only One we need to notice us is the One who always sees.

Amazon is running a sale on the Kindle edition of Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus). Only 99 cents right now! Great time to send it to a friend who’s struggling. If you plan to use it for a small group, you can get the free Hints and Helps for Small Group Leaders HERE.

Here I Am, Out on a Limb http://t.co/kR7ddOhTxg Join me, won’t you? #overlooked, #invisible #amwriting #doesGodseeus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 17, 2015

This Isn’t a Moment for Mocking

Our world has become one large Colosseum. Individuals are released (or release themselves) before the masses in the stands and await judgement.

Will they receive thumbs up? Be cheered on? Become heroes? Will people toss laurel wreaths at their feet and boo all who oppose them in the ring?

Or will the crowd mock and jeer? Will people turn thumbs down at their existence? Cry for their demise as entertainment? Will tomatoes and stones sail from the stands? Will others watch them fade from this world, the sound of scornful laughter ringing in their ears?

Amazing how we justify cruelty when the crowd silently agrees to share the burden, allowing it to rest on no individual. Sad how the crowd can turn. Yesterday’s hero is today’s lion lunch.

People’s pain is no bloodsport. People of God shouldn’t mock Caitlyn Jenner, who has publicly transitioned from male to female or deride Rachel Dolezal, the head of the Washington NAACP who identifies as black despite her Caucasian birth parents.

It’s cheap to mock. Common to laugh at other people’s attempts to make sense of their lives. From ancient times to now, it’s been the choice of the masses but God’s people are called to a higher standard. We are to value human life from conception to beyond the grave.

My psychology professor took seriously his job of preparing us to work with every sort of person. He warned that we would find ourselves, often, sitting across from damaged or twisted souls with whom we could find no common ground. Since it would still be our job to minister to or to help that person, we best make a habit of seeing beneath their accumulated wounds and weirdness.

“Look,” he advised, “for the thumbprint of God. Just as every painter signs his painting, so does God leave His mark, His signature on each soul created in His image, like an indelible watermark. Find that mark to remind yourself that God values that life, has a vision for that soul. Reach out to the person God created, and you won’t lose your way.”

The struggle common to Caitlyn, Rachel, and so many others in the headlines is the struggle of every person – who am I really? What am I? Who or what defines me? When all else is stripped away, what is the name of my soul?

Names are pivotal to identity. What we call ourselves and how we are known are critical claims upon our person. Our name reveals who we are. In some cultures, people guard their names because to reveal it, is to relinquish power to another.

Parents labor over the names of their children – seeking to choose precisely the right one, knowing it will play a powerful dynamic in communicating to that child the vision for their life. A child handed just any name begins life knowing they weren’t worth their parents’ effort.

Often people settle for false names simply to end the stress of the search. Like choosing the least ugly dress in the store because you’ve lost the will to shop anywhere else. They celebrate relief more than the compromised identity.

What we call ourselves, the labels we embrace, carry power. In fact, the power to name someone or something generally rests with the one who created that someone or something, or who discovered it (like stars), or who has authority over them.

The more the world rejects the knowledge of God as Creator, the more we are left to create our own names. To define ourselves apart from the vision our Creator had when He formed us. It’s like removing an infant from the loving arms of its parents in an effort to free the child of their vision for him or her. Setting the infant in an empty room with no name or direction so she or he may discover his or her identity apart from “parental pressure.”

That’s not freedom, that’s chaos. That’s cruelty of the highest order. It’s madness. The child will certainly grow into something and will eventually claim a name but will likely be without essential dimension, depth, or direction. A soul adrift, willing to tether itself to any identity to free him or herself from the pain of having none.

We are complicated, nuanced beings. We are the work of a Master Creator who designed intricacies and complexities beyond imagining. If my skin color is white but I feel most at home with those who are of color, who am I? If my physical design is male but I most identify with females, who am I? If I am a woman but cannot relate to other women, who am I? If I was broken and damaged as a child, before I could choose my own perspective, how do I find who I am beyond the scars?

This is the work of a soul in a fallen world. All souls. To learn our own names. The name given our souls when they were first conceived in the mind of Christ.

The sooner we respect this work in others, the sooner we can be about the business of the ministry to which we are called – that of reconciliation, of connecting each soul with the God who knows his or her true name. Those who invited Jesus into the process early shouldn’t mock or scorn those who have yet to find that He is the nexus of human identity.

In essence, humanity was kidnapped at birth, taken from our true home and our true father by the evil one who enslaved us to sin. We were given names by our captor but those are not our true names. We function under slave names, slave identities, slave parameters. Our work is to access our freedom, to find our way home to the only One who knows the name given us at our birth, and learn to walk in our original birthright.

Those of us who have found the way to freedom shouldn’t mock or scorn those who have not. We should shine like stars and form constellations so bright they guide others home so they, too, can know their righteous identities and inhabit their true names.

To say my soul is female, white, and middle-aged, or male or black or purple is to terminate the search for my identity short of the all-encompassing truth. It is to settle for my slave name.

Only Christ knows my intended name, my given identity, my whole truth.

I’ll settle for nothing less – and neither should you. This is a moment for mocking, it’s a moment for ministry.

This isn’t a moment for mocking http://t.co/ZFYT82fmwm It’s a moment for ministry #CaitlynJenner #RachelDolezal #amwriting #whoamI

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 14, 2015

The Care Less Gospel Jesus Preached

I’m tired of people who don’t know Jesus telling me about Jesus.

The biblically illiterate masses are vocal on social media and they purport to tell Jesus-followers we don’t know our own God, we’re ignorant of our own gospel.

Shame on us, if we let them get away with it! We have access to Jesus. Why would we let anyone else tell us what He would do or say?

Contrary to this counterfeit Jesus they describe, the Jesus of history, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus who was there at creation, who was born of a virgin, who lived in the flesh, who died on the cross, who rose from the dead, who ascended to heaven, who is active in the world today, and who will come again, did NOT teach that everyone should live and love however they feel. That’s not the gospel Jesus preached.

They (the posers who pretend to know) tell us that Jesus was all about love; but they’ve let the darkness define love for them (not Love Himself). I’m afraid they’d be shocked to find that, in fact, contrary to the “love guru” they describe, Jesus commanded us all to care much less.

The truth is that modern-day Christians care too much and that’s impeding the work of furthering the kingdom of God.

Why does that matter? It matters because the work of furthering the kingdom of God is the work of bringing the dead to life,

of rescuing prisoners from eternal chains,

of facilitating the deliverance of slaves to freedom

of reclaiming from the kingdom of darkness what rightfully belongs to Jesus.

It’s not about filling pews, keeping a religion alive, or voting the right person into power. It’s not about paying pastors’ salaries, maintaining traditions, or protecting a fading culture or way of life.

It’s about slipping prison-door keys past demonic cell guards. It’s about distributing bread and living water to famished souls. It’s about retrieving the walking dead from the places they’ve wandered and infusing them with new life. It’s about restoring sight, hope, relationships, and God’s true vision of our humanity.

To do this, Christians everywhere must follow Jesus’ example and heed the scriptural call to care less.

Care less what others think.

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

Care less about being comfortable.

“And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Matthew 8:19-20 (ESV)

Care less about momentary happiness.

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)

Care less about hurting feelings.

“ Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” John 8:47 (ESV)

Care less about being right.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” Matthew 23:23-24 (ESV)

Care less what the gospel looks like or sounds like to others.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16 (ESV)

Care less about what you will eat tomorrow or what you will wear or where you will retire.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25 (ESV)

Care less about appearances.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV)

Care less about using the right words or the cleverest arguments.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV)

Care less about protecting, maintaining, and furthering our own lives.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV)

When was the last time you read one of the gospels? If it’s been awhile, take an hour and read one. The words and actions of Jesus are shocking compared to how He is portrayed by those who would remake Him in their image.

We have a call, a responsibility, to represent Him as He revealed Himself – not to spin Him so He’s acceptable to the masses, not to airbrush Him so we can fill His house, not to market Him so He has curb appeal.

Yes, Jesus called us to love but it’s love that hung on a cross so it’s no easy thing, no whitewash, no recliner chair, no kum bah yah if you aren’t willing to deny yourself and follow the real Jesus into real love. Love that submits. Love that sacrifices. Love that dies.

The love that is stronger than death. The love that prevails. The love that endures.

The first step for most of us will be the hardest. We’re going to have to learn to care less.

The Care Less Gospel Jesus Preached http://t.co/X8KptKnmER are you living the biblical call to care less? #amwriting #Jesus #Christianliving

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 11, 2015

When the Time Comes for Heroes

Here’s the thing.

There are a lot of encouraging blogs out there. It’s not usually this one. I mean, I want to be encouraging but usually the message God’s designed me to deliver is about how hard the times are, how much worse they’re likely to get, and about how much we need to rise to our calling.

When people share my blog, they usually include a warning.

That’s okay. God’s idea of me is something I embrace even if it takes me out of my comfort zone to invite others out of theirs.

But today, I feel as though we need a collective pep talk. You know what I’m talking about. You’re discouraged. Overwhelmed. Headline fatigued. Aware of your own limitations. Frankly, so am I.

We want to join the great adventure but we’re so tired at the end of our day, so brain dea d, so soul weary, we can barely climb the stairs to bed.

And we wonder . . . if I can’t make it through a normal day, if I can’t achieve my potential with what I have now, how will I survive if things get tougher? We want to bring glory to God and we aim for that, pray for that, seek God’s Word for direction for that, but then, stuff comes at us and we avoid learning any more lessons because, frankly, we’re not employing even a quarter of what we already do know.

Plus, the Duggar scandal got under our skin. Not because we care so much about the Duggars but because of the feeding frenzy that resulted when they were exposed as imperfect. Sharks in the water, baby, and some of those sharks were brothers and sisters in Christ. Wow. So, that’s what it was like in the Coliseum when the Christians were served up to entertain the crowd.

Do you see that was the purpose – the darker purpose – in what occured? It wasn’t so much about that one family as it was a message from the dark side – a threat to all believers. Don’t put yourself out there. You know you’re a sinner, too. Watch what happens to people who get too public with Jesus. We’ll find your secret. We’ll expose your soft underbelly. You know it’s there. We’ll toss you like chum over the side of the boat. Don’t get too risky in the name of Jesus or you’ll pay.

Here’s the thing. I don’t say it enough but I do believe it. We’re going to make it through even the hardest times.

This isn’t my faith in humanity talking. I work with humanity. We have our glory moments but I’ve seen the inglorious ones in spades. Humanity is a mess. No, we’ll make it through even the hardest times, even the weakest one among us, because Jesus will see to it that we do.

Sheep don’t make it through treacherous terrain because they’re talented, nimble sheep. They make it through because they have a loving, wise shepherd.

Jesus knows all about our weakness, our dark side, our secrets, our limitations, our failure, and our fear. He isn’t repulsed by our humanity – He climbed inside it to show us He gets it. The world doesn’t need our perfection – it needs our Jesus.

In fact, if one of us managed to be perfect, we’d mess up the deal for everyone else. Jesus died because none of us can escape this planet without sinning. That’s not a secret we should hide. Yes, I sin. That was my starting place. That was the schoolyard that made me aware of my need for Jesus. Happy day, it led me into a relationship with Him.

No one in the Bible who became anyone for God did it because they were so amazing. Most of them failed and stumbled their way to God. God is the amazing factor. Jesus is the power behind every heroic act. And He is the One who will empower us in the moment we need it if we trust ourselves over to Him.

We’re going to make it, loved ones. Keep moving forward in Christ. Rest when you can. Encourage the weary. Corral the straggler. Abscond with joy when you find it. But don’t give up and don’t listen to the dark whisperer lisping lies into your woundedness.

Jesus knows all your secrets and He chose you, still, to travel with Him in this adventure. He’ll see you through to the end. He spoke the world into being – brought light into darkness and created every good thing.

He will say the word and we will be heroes when the time comes for heroes. He will say the word and dry bone soldiers will rise from sofas, dust off potato chip crumbs, and become warriors of faith. He will say the word and He will be glorified through the least of us.

We make it, loved ones, because He is the One who writes our story. He gave us an appetite for happy endings because it’s His plan for us, for all of us who follow Him, even if we crawl and gasp our way across the finish line to glory.

So, hear this from the blogger whose job it seems to be to make you uncomfortable – be comforted. We’re going to make it. The smartest sheep amongst us is still –well – a sheep but our Shepherd won’t leave a one of us behind.

We will be heroes when the time comes for heroes so keep walking.

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When the Time Comes for Heroes http://t.co/jbOq6ZzCoh an unusual post for the disturber of hobbits – find out why! #amwriting #Jesus #Christ

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 10, 2015

Trusted with Suffering

You’ll think I’m insensitive and hard-hearted when you’ve finished reading this post.

Or you’ll think I’m much tougher than I actually am.

Today’s blog rant is in response to the whining and hand wringing I see scrolling through my social media pages or bannering conservative headlines. Christian after Christian boo-hooing with shock and indignation about unfair treatment because of their faith.

What? Unbelievers are just waiting for us to slip up so they can mock, call us hypocrites, or condemn the gospel as worthless?

What? The world is disapproving, stone-throwing, and oppressive the moment a Christian dares publicly step on the current third-rail of political correctness? By opposing gay marriage? Challenging transgender surgery? Daring to suggest that women shouldn’t abort the baby women residing in their wombs?

What? You say? The Bible and it’s description of these times is proving true? Well, boo-believer-hoo. Time to get over ourselves, people, and put on our grown-up souls.

Don’t think I’m someone eager for social martyrdom. I don’t like it either. I pray carefully over every word on this small blog – not only because I want to honor the Lord but also because I don’t want to throw myself under a bus unless God clearly calls me to do it. There’s nothing fun about having a world of people rejoice in your downfall. Nothing glamorous about being circled by people carrying large stones.

Still, we can’t possibly be shocked by what’s happening and we need to remember we are called to faith, not moaning and whining.

God has not only warned us about these days, He’s instructed us how to respond:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” 1 Peter 4:12-19 ESV

I’m going to tell you something and I want you to listen carefully. Building the kingdom of God is not a board game. We are in a battle for souls with an enemy so clever, so beautiful, so deceptive that God sent His only Son to defeat him.

We have lesser enemies. We will come under fire. Some of us live on the front lines. We’ll get hurt. Deeply wounded. Suffer to the point of deep despair. But whatever happens to us is witnessed by God and within His power to limit. He will trust some of us with great suffering that we may share in the sufferings of Christ. We will be glad for what we’ve endured on the day Christ returns. We will be glad then.

But not now. Now, there will be scrutiny by oafs and ingrates just waiting for us to mess up so they can scoff. Now, there will be headlines, lawsuits, derision, and social isolation. Now, there will be characters in movies and television to make us look like fools. Now, there will be pain.

For some, there is much worse. Loss of jobs. Loss of freedom. Loss of physical comfort. Separation from family. Torture. Imprisonment. Death. All inflicted on those who claim to follow Jesus. ALL UNFAIR. ALL barely endurable if it weren’t for the faith and grace He provides.

In the moment of suffering, we may have few choices left. We can choose how to carry ourselves in suffering and how to respond. We can whine like the Israelites in the wilderness or we can walk into fiery furnaces with honor, remembering those who emerged without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.

One day, the suffering we endure right now will be a fond memory, so today is when we should practice responding with honor, faith, grace, truth, and love. Not whining like those who don’t know the truth. Not complaining like those who haven’t been told the full story. Not dragging our feet as if our Lord did not walk willingly to Calvary for us.

Alert one another to trouble, yes. Share stories to receive comfort, indeed. But remember that cowardice is a sin.

I am the scaredest of all scaredy cats, loved ones, but I believe what God says and He says love will cast out all fear. I trust this and will trust this in the days to come.

When I was forty, I’d never done a push-up. When I was forty-four, I did seventy in order to earn my black belt. I started by doing one. We must begin to endure suffering and persecution with faith, grace, and courage. And remember, there’s NO WHINING in Jesus!

So, go forth, loved ones, and whine no more. If God trusts you with suffering, how will you respond?

 

 

Trusted with Suffering: a rant about all the whining http://t.co/ARqwtc4CSC #persecutedchurch #Christiansunderfire #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 6, 2015

Deceived by Design

She thinks she can set herself free with a change of pronoun.

She believes a surgeon carved her salvation with his knife.

A specialist sold her on salvation through pharmaceuticals and prescribed her perfection with his pen.

Channeling Grable, Monroe, and Madonna, the artful photographer wrapped her in silky reassurances as she midwifed her rebirth with soft lighting, wine, and a gentle airbrush.

Transformed now into everywoman, she imagines that seeing her face on a magazine cover will facilitate her deliverance.

She’s absorbed like a lotion the notion that beauty will set her free because, why, after all, shouldn’t she be beautiful? She’s used her means to purchase only the best of manufactured perfection and she should know because she’s spent a lifetime loving women.

She offered her hair, throat, and heart on the razor, laser altar of fame and stands exposed, sensing the select cocktail of preferred hormones coursing through her veins as she stands in the Coliseum, trusting the crowd to raise their thumbs and approve her freedom. They’ve assembled to cheer her ascent as she climbs her stairway to heaven.

They will carry her, like a golden idol, on their shoulders through the streets, the airwaves, the supermarket stalls and checkout lines, the blogs, the chat rooms, and the twitter feeds. Confetti will fall wherever she walks like paper rain showering her with the acceptance she imagines will pave the path to her redemption.

Talking heads bobble in sync and call her groundbreaking, progressive, a pioneer but there’s nothing new about her. She’s older than Babel, she predates the Ark, she’s as ancient as the serpent loitering beside the forbidden tree. She’s just another human sensing her need for salvation and trying to find it on a road that isn’t Jesus.

Sadly, others will raise her up on darker wings and she will become a siren luring other broken, aching, lonely souls into a labyrinth of caves where strategic mirrors help darkness masquerade as light. She thinks it’s about her and it is but really she’s bait in a bigger trap which isn’t freedom at all, is it?

She speaks the truth we all know. We were born damaged and wrong. We live most of our lives trying to hide, living in fear that someone will expose our secrets, fearing a greater rejection. We crave release from our mistaken identities. We long to know our true nature and step into the freedom of our true names.

But she hasn’t freed herself with this transformation, which is unfathomably sad. She has only traded one prison for another. Why do the masses smile at her self-deception and call it love? Fine, become another person if that’s what you think your life is about but don’t imagine it’s the path to freedom, honey. It’s just another stairway leading nowhere.

We cannot save ourselves. We can’t save one another. Not even with all the applause and every pill and not even if we cut out our hearts and say our secrets aloud. The towers we build only reach so far but they always end just short of our salvation.

Who will love you enough to tell you the truth? Who will have compassion for the pain you’ve endured, the discomfort, and the sense that something is terribly wrong but not smile while you cut yourself and bleed for attention? Who loves you enough to take the knife from your hands and say there’s someone who loves you just the way you are and who died to grant you a freedom no one can take away, a freedom that is independent of your reflection?

Freedom is available. We can step into our true identities. We can know peace this side of glory even while we inhabit the imperfect vessels that house our immortal souls. But we don’t find it by falling through the looking glass, we find it in the arms of Jesus Christ who has the answers about ourselves no one else can give us, not even our mirrors.

For all the Caitlyn’s and all the Bruce’s and all who agonize with secrets and private agonies and fears, stop listening to the answers you learn from a dark world that has no vision of who you were truly designed to be.

One day, your Creator had an idea and it was you. It was a beautiful, amazing concept and so we were all conceived in love because He loved us before our cells were formed. His transformative power goes beyond gender. It goes deeper than DNA. It changes us on a soul-ular level. If we enter into relationship with Jesus, we step into the glory of our true selves.

No one’s putting that on a magazine cover but it’s art, baby, it’s true art.

Loved ones, let’s not waste this moment decrying the morality of the age or wallowing in self-righteousness. Let’s fall to our knees and ask Jesus how we can die to ourselves and be more transparent so that He shines through. Let’s fast and pray, petitioning God to make us useful in communicating to a world of hurting souls that Jesus is. Let us be students of love and mercy and truth. Lord, give us ears to hear, hearts to love, and tongues that speak truth. Let us be moved by the pain of the lost – moved not to judge but to serve Jesus all the more so that He is glorified and His gospel is spread even to those who will not hear. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Deceived by Design http://t.co/5HzaZnP46s can she find freedom on a magazine cover? #CaitlynJenner #transgender #brucejenner #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 3, 2015

The Command You’ll Break in Bed Tonight

I had a very productive time of worrying today.

Truly, it was a work of art!

I spent an hour or two worrying about my children and their lives have definitely shown improvement. I spent another hour fretting over our finances and, guess what? Big difference in our bank account, baby!

Finally, I invested quality time getting worked up about my weight, health, marriage and my husband’s career. I can now report that I’m thinner and stronger, and my husband’s business prospered. Tonight, I’ll put in another hour or two of quality worry in bed. My husband even promised me a romantic evening in gratitude for all the worrying I’ve done on our behalf.

Okay, that’s not really what happened, but, you knew that. Because you’ve spent precious hours of your life worrying, too, and not a moment of it has served to produce one good thing.

In fact, if you’re like me, worrying has resulted in insomnia, backache, stress eating, and acid reflux to name a few unhealthy byproducts. Not to mention the toll that voicing my worries has taken on certain relationships in my life that will go unnamed in order to protect – well – me.

God tells me (and you, too) not to worry. He says it clearly, too.

You’re familiar with the direct command not to worry in the Sermon on the Mount (“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry!” Yup, it’s clear even in the original Greek!). There’s also a precursor to this command in the Old Testament where God repeats throughout Psalm 37 “Do not fret,” as if we didn’t hear Him the first six times.

Hmmm, wonder why?

So, we know God commands us not to worry. We know it produces unfavorable results in our lives and relationships. And we know it doesn’t change a thing so WHY DO WE WORRY? What’s the payoff? There must be something in it for us or we wouldn’t keep at it, right?

First, let’s blame Satan. That’s a no-brainer. None of you will argue with me here. Satan whispers in our ears from the moment we wake up until the moment we can’t fall asleep – reminding us of all that can go wrong in life and offering the sweet temptation to fret about it.

Of course, God’s given us weapons that work to silence Satan – namely an assault rifle loaded with the ammo of truth known as Scripture. We could defend against temptation with that. It is, after all, the weapon utilized by Jesus in the desert. So what’s good enough for Him should really work just fine for us, right?

Secondly, we can blame the media. You’re all with me on that. From morning shows to commercials to late night, television aims right at our guts, the heart of our insecurities, our sleepless, waking pit of fears.

Have we got enough insurance? Are we emitting offensive odors? Are our teeth white enough? Has a cyber-stalker targeted our daughter? Are we missing signs of serious illness in our loved ones? If we didn’t have family dinner every night when they were growing up, does that mean our sons will eventually commit violent crimes? Could place-mats have kept our kids off drugs?

And it isn’t just television spreading the worry virus but all forms of media. NPR has a news report about the risk that old age could lead to death! The magazine you pick up at the doctor’s office says one of the ten easiest ways to pick up a virus is from touching magazines in doctor’s offices. The novel you’re reading tells the harrowing adventure of a woman trapped by her own fears – wait, no, that’s your journal. Never mind.

So, we can be more selective about our media consumption and more prayerfully aware of the daily assault of these messages on our spirits. Yeah, that could help.

But, the third problem is the hardest to overcome. We lack role models for living a worry free life. Most of the people we know are plagued with this same problem, as if we’re all in training for an Olympic medal in anxiety, and the others are – well – men –so that doesn’t help. (I’m kidding! Of course, I’m kidding! I know men who worry – plenty of them.)

Living free from worry is so counter-cultural, so revolutionary, so rare, we can onlyconclude that it must be Biblical!

This means, freedom from worry can only be obtained through supernatural means like the kind of power it takes to get a camel through the eye of a needle, to make a blind man see, or to raise the dead. It requires the kind of devotion to Christ we see in the book of Acts.

That just makes me want it more and shows me, too, that it’s hard but not impossible that we could become a generation of non-worriers. Since we know the Creator and Commander of the Universe, shouldn’t we be among the most relaxed people on the planet? And wouldn’t that get some attention.

I’m declaring war on worry. Step one is to fortify my arsenal with Bible verses to use as defense. Step two is to remain aware of the messages coming at me during the day and the deception inherent in them.

Step three is . . . well, I don’t know step three yet but I’m NOT going to worry about it now. That’s right. You heard me. I’m stepping out in the name of Biblical living, a personal Jesus revolution. I’m inviting the Holy Spirit to stage a sit-in in my mind.

Who’s with me? Ready to escape from worry? I’m not talking Zen, people, this is way beyond Zen, we’re talking Christ-like, we’re talking Kingdom come, we’re talking full-throttle trust in Jesus – Are you with me?

You don’t have to have been raised in the sixties to be counter-cultural. The revolution is here now.

Talk to me, fellow adventurers. Am I a lone worrier or one of a tribe? Anyone else seeking deliverance? What’s in your arsenal? Are you a fellow revolutionary? Let’s have a conversation . . . (now I’m worried no one will comment . . . no, I’m not . . .yes, I am . . . not giving up)

Let’s be in this together. Share below the ways you combat worry and anxiety in your own life – the Bible verses, the activities, the prayers, the defenses you employ. Truly, let’s create a community of peaceful followers beginning here and now.

The command you’ll break in bed tonight http://t.co/jlerGnh4Sm #amwriting #anxietyhelp #trustingHim Are you free to join the revolution?

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 1, 2015

We’ll Start Seeing More Miracles When . . .

It had been a long time since he’d seen a miracle.

You could just tell. It was the way he held back. Placed his cards on the table slowly – studying you through narrowed eyes between each reveal. Gauging your reaction to his story.

Like a game of chicken, you kept the cards coming by not flinching. Not at the alcohol. Not at the drugs. Not at the abuse. Not at the jail time. Same as stalking a deer it is, this ministry of fishing for men, where the skill of holding very still for long stretches buys you more time in the open, greater opportunity to draw trust out from the deep soul-pockets into which it’s been shoved.

“I’ve made a career out of disappointing people,” he says. “I’ve been in lots of programs. They don’t usually work, you know?”

You nod. You do know.

“I get frustrated. I blow off at people or tell them they’re wasting their time. They don’t stick around long. Always send me on to the next program. Then, I’m still here, dealing with my kid with no help, you know? I’m all he’s got. The state lady tells me I’m doing it wrong but no one else knows how to do it either. At least, I’m trying to figure it out. That should count for something.”

“It does,” you reply.

“My kid, though, he doesn’t need someone who gives up fast. He – well, we – need the kind of help that will stick around until we figure this out. We don’t have easy problems. I don’t expect miracles but . . .”

He doesn’t expect miracles, no, but he does need one. And you have to decide about investing in a situation with little hope of success.

You think about the file in your hand. Family case history. The notes from the last program that closed because the family wasn’t responding to interventions quickly enough. You read between the lines – they got out before the family failed big enough to mess with their statistics. The family was high risk. Not unsafe enough to be dissolved just always walking the high wire. Rats always abandon a sinking ship and there are programs that model themselves after these rats. You can’t judge them, too hard. Resources are dispensed based on success so everyone invests based on the numbers

But that’s why no one sees miracles anymore.

We stake everything on the numbers. We only play games where the odds are stacked in our favor. No one wants to call it wrong. No one wants to stick their necks out for the long shot. Failure hurts – personally and statistically. You know. You’ve faced it many times

But you’ve also seen miracles. Lives changed. Families healed. Marriages repaired. Prodigals turned around and strays taken home.

You used to wonder why God let you see miracles when others don’t. You’re starting to understand it’s because others worry too much about getting it wrong, about messing with their stats, about trying to pick winners. Others call the “game” before the final play. They’re smugly warm in their cars beating the traffic so they miss the miracle throw that turns it all around. If they worried less about being right, less about being smarter than the rest, and more about being like Jesus – they’d see miracles, too.

Don’t you think people talked about Jesus behind His back because He let Judas get so close? Judas was pilfering money. Others had to know. And here was this guy, claiming to be God, claiming to know people, but right in his inner circle was a guy with serious issues. And you know what? They turned out to be right and Jesus paid the price for counting Judas among the twelve.

But Jesus never worried about being right. He focused on being like His Father.

Jesus invested time and energy in people who were long shots – sinners, failures, screw-ups, disappointments, repeat offenders, habitual bad choice makers, deniers, and betrayers because His Father had sent Him to give everything to save them.

He wasn’t worried about being right. He wasn’t worried about padding the stats on numbers of people He was able to turn around. Jesus didn’t care if people thought He was blind to Judas’ shortcomings. He didn’t care what it said about Him as a leader that He allowed Judas into His inner circle. Jesus didn’t care what others thought of His choice of disciples – He cared about His disciples.

When we take our eyes off the numbers. When we resolve to be like Jesus. When we’re willing to love someone who might never turn around, who may disappoint us forever, who may break our hearts and betray us in front of others – when we forget about being right and focus on being like Jesus –

We’ll all start seeing more miracles, too, baby.

Kingdom building – fishing for men – these are activities for men and women who gave up the numbers game the day they buried their own lives in Jesus Christ. We don’t love winning. We don’t love being right. We don’t love the pride that comes with always choosing winners. We love Jesus and we love those Jesus loves.

Jesus loved long shots. Jesus invested in people others condemned. Jesus loved Judas so well the disciples didn’t know which one of them was the betrayer until it happened. That’s the stuff of miracles, baby, that’s the stuff.

We’ll see more miracles when . . . http://t.co/hMo6xyTWPH #needamiracle #amwriting #miracle #longshot Why don’t we see more miracles? This.

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 29, 2015