Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 57

Does Love Burn in Baltimore, Too?

When my son was a child, he delighted in watching me build up block towers so he could knock them down. In that simple game was an important lesson: Destruction is child’s play. To build takes maturity and skill.

It is easier to tear down than it is to build up. This is true of rioters who tear down a city and true of the spectators who, the next day, tear them down on social media.

It’s easy to say that rioting and looting is bad. No kidding.

The challenge is building up. How do we build up a city? How do we build up a people under duress? How do we create a constructive dialog that will encourage the people of Baltimore? The work of the church is to further, to build, the kingdom of God – what does that look like as we respond to Baltimore with the heart, the eyes, and the mind of Christ?

The power is in the building up not the tearing down.

Step one is, like the mother trying to stop her son from rioting, we look to our own houses. What words will I choose to speak about what’s happening? What comes out of my mouth in response to the riots in Baltimore and what do those words say about the condition of my heart?

Will I condemn those who riot and let others call them animals in my presence or will I remind myself and others that the rioters are also made in God’s image? Do I see the rioters as somehow different that I? What do I think makes that difference?

What if that was my son or daughter in those news shots? What if those were my children on the streets? How, then, would I want the world to respond? Certainly, I could understand condemning their actions but wouldn’t I pray there were people willing to see the person I love standing there? Know the pain of my heart as a parent or a grandparent or a pastor or a loving neighbor?

Will I speak words of condemnation igniting more fires on Facebook and Twitter or will I seek to listen to the people who live in Baltimore, the Christians there who are seeking solutions, and ask how can I pray, how I can I support, how can I represent Christ beside you.

Am I brave enough to ask, not only what these riots say about Baltimore but what they say about the salt and light of the church in Baltimore and other cities around America? My city? My town?

Do I love the people of Baltimore enough to interrupt my schedule today to intercede for them?

And what of the young people around me? Have I lived in a way that they turn to me to ask for guidance in understanding Baltimore? Do the young adults in my world feel they can come to the church to ask questions and to seek answers? Or are they turning to the alter of social media for their counsel? When they do, will they find any voice from believers others than the voice of condemnation?

And what about justice? What does justice look like in Baltimore? We’re sure we know what it doesn’t look like – again, that’s the easy part. What does it look like for justice to live on those city streets? For reconciliation to happen in the ashes? For all of us to say what can I do where I live to build up and not tear down.

If you are a believer in Baltimore, please comment here, please reach out and let us know how you’d like the rest of us to respond to the crisis in your streets. If you live in other places where there is unrest, educate us, please, in how to serve you. If that is one of your children rioting, know that you are loved and that there are people who see beyond the angry faces to know there is more to every story. Let us know how to pray for you, love you, serve you through this time.

The anger of humans does not produce the righteousness of God – not anger on the streets nor anger on the airwaves. So, we need to move past the anger to a place where love and mercy rule. Love is stronger than death – even on the streets of Baltimore – and we who believe this need to live and speak as if we know it’s true.

Neither do we need a bunch of Chicken Little Christians taking this moment to fill the airwaves with cries that the sky is falling and that Baltimore is just a sign of how bad everyone is. Yes, the world needs Jesus. Yes, we need to watch the signs of the times. But how do we use this moment to speak light into a dark situation? How do we build up as others tear down around us?

The question isn’t why do fires burn in Baltimore – the important question is does love burn in Baltimore, too?

My heart has been unsettled by the love of Christ. Curious about that? Check out My Heart.

Does love burn in Baltimore, too? http://t.co/fd4FqYtouf #BaltimoreRiots #BaltimoreBurning #riots #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 28, 2015

Twisting Truth for Our Own Purposes

I’ve done things I regret.

I have. So, I’m always curious when I meet someone who purports to have no regrets. Especially, when that someone made choices that hurt me.

It happened once in a casual public setting, an innocent conversation in a coffee shop. I ran into a former shepherd, one who, when faced with pressure and attacks on the flock, chose to hold sheep up in front of himself as a barrier from fire. I had been one of those sheep. It took years for me to heal from those wounds.

And here he was, responding to coffee shop banter. The question posed: “Do you have any regrets?” I kept my eyes focused on my book but my heart listened for his answer.

He laughed. “Regrets? Nah, I don’t waste time on regrets. Everything happens for a reason. Sure, I’ve made some bad choices – everyone has – but all those choices made me the person I am today and I like who I am, so what would I possibly change?”

Faces came to mind. Faces of the wounded. I wasn’t the only one who had suffered from his selfish and duplicitous decisions. But, he likes himself now so, it’s all good, right?

As I watched him walk from the shop and up the road, I released the old hurts over to God again. Forgave again. Asked, again, for God’s love to offer this shepherd who had abused his position. Prayed, again, for the casualties. Thanked God for the healing He’d brought about in me and others.

Then, I thought about how casually we say things without considering what we really mean.

Everything does happen for a reason but sometimes that reason is that sin and evil reign in parts of this world and in some of us. Christians and others mistakenly distort the passage “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord” to mean that all things are good.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Translation? “after this, therefore, because of this” A Latin fallacy that because something came before, it caused the thing that came after. Because God works good from all things in the lives of those who love Him does NOT mean all things are good.

If a drunk driver kills someone I love and the Lord uses the testimony from that to bring others to Christ and to save others from driving drunk, it doesn’t retroactively make the drunk driver’s choice a good one.

If a terrorist group attempts to exterminate an entire people and because of it, the gospel spreads in that region and many come to Christ, it does not ordain terrorism as a method of evangelism.

If I lie and gossip (which I have) and people are damaged by my words, torn down, wounded, but through the process of growing in Christ, I write the lesson I learn into a blog post that touches many lives, it doesn’t mean my lies and gossip were “meant to be.” My lies and gossip did happen for a reason. They happened because I chose to sin rather than to access the power of Christ not to sin. God has forgiven my lying and my gossip in the name of Jesus but I do regret the times I’ve gossiped or lied.

God does not bless my sins and bad choices, He redeems them. There’s a difference. And it’s an important one. Jesus died to pay the price for my sins (and my former shepherd’s sins) and to free us from the power of sin. His death, however, freed us FROM sin, not TO sin.

Too many of us still cling to the guilt of past sin and that’s not God’s plan for us at all. We receive forgiveness and move forward in Christ – free. But, I believe we always should remember that our freedom came at a price – a price that was paid by someone else – Jesus.

Regrets don’t cripple me, but I certainly do have them. The knowledge that past sins have had long-ranging consequences in my life and in the lives of others reminds me to access the power of Christ to avoid sin going forward. The fact that Jesus carries the weight of my sin, in many ways, frees me to own up to it in ways I couldn’t bear on my own. I can acknowledge the damage resulting from my poor choices knowing that Jesus has the power to transform and will give me the strength to make amends where I can.

The cross is not a cover up or whitewash of the nature or severity of our crimes. Jesus didn’t pretend my sins didn’t happen or minimize them as “no big deal,” He paid the price for them Himself. The cross is a signpost of the enormity of sin and its shadow falls on each of us. I have regrets, the cross testifies to that, but it also testifies to the truth that my regrets don’t need to own me because Jesus Christ does.

That is freedom without hiding. Freedom without selective memory. Freedom without revisionist history.

When Jesus works all things together for good for those who love Him, the point is God’s amazing power to redeem and to transform. It amazes precisely because the sinful choices made in this world have such far-reaching power.

God’s power to overcome is just that much greater.

Imagine the healing that could happen in the body of Christ if, instead of dodging our mess ups, we said to one another, “I want to tell you I know that my choice to sin in that situation caused you harm. I’ve received forgiveness from Christ but I’d like to know if there’s any way I can make amends to help you heal. And please know I’ve taken these steps to hopefully make better choices in the future.”

What about you? What are your thoughts on regrets and on how all things work together? Have you seen this truth twisted? What’s the remedy?

**Did you know that the Kindle version of Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus) is only 99 cents right now? Click here to buy it for a friend.

Also, I’d love to have you join me as I speak at the Women’s Event at First Baptist Church of Narragansett this coming Saturday, May 2nd at 9am-10:30am! I’ll be speaking on Jesus and the Beanstalk – how to avoid being ineffective as a follower of Christ.

Twisting Truth for Our Own Purposes http://t.co/R3pnhXojBh Why is that such a bad thing? Find out in this post. #amwriting #regrets #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 26, 2015

Love on the Frontlines: Loving our Military Families

Love on the frontlines. That’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it? We get the idea of love but it’s when we’re loving others underfire that the process falls apart.

In the months ahead, I’ll post, on occasion, ways to employ (or deploy) love in our daily lives. Today’s guest post from Edie Melson is a powerful and practical instruction on ways to love the military families in your community.

Tips for Loving and Praying for the Military Families in Your Community

Loving someone in the military is tough. It brings its own set of struggles, fears and challenges. Until our son enlisted in the Marine Corps, I had no idea just how tough, and I was just the mom of a soldier. The spouses and children of our service men and women have an even more difficult journey.

As a faith community, we do a pretty good job of supporting one another during difficult times. We bring food to the family who’s lost a loved one. We rally around those facing serious illness. We even know how to reach out when there’s a new baby.

Military families need the same kind of support and outreach. Unfortunately these heroes at home often fly below the radar, hiding in plain sight. A lot of us don’t even realize they’re among us. But with over 2.3 million active duty and reserve military personnel, they are in every community in the country.

As a group, they can sometimes be hard to reach out to. They all seem to have a stiff-upper-lip mentality that hides the struggles they face. So I’m going to share some things that anyone can do to help. These suggestions include things for the times when a loved one is away on deployment as well as when the family is all together. A lot of these tips work during both scenarios.

First and foremost, we need to pray for these families and the soldiers they love.

Here are five specific ways to pray for our soldiers:

Pray for protection. I’m not talking about just physical protection, but also for their minds and hearts.


Pray for wisdom. Ask God to give them the mind of Christ and the ability to anticipate and avoid dangerous situations.


Pray for comfort. Being away from everything—and everyone—you love is difficult. It’s even harder when they’re in an unfamiliar situation.


Pray for strength. The men and women serving in our military need a special kind of strength. They must have strong hearts and a firm foundation, in addition to physical stamina.


Pray for peace. I’m not just talking about the global peace that can bring them home safely, but the type of peace that transcends any circumstances.

Here are five specific ways to pray for their families:

Pray for peace. Fear is one of the biggest things military families face. Pray for God to grant them the peace that passes all understanding.


Pray for faith. These families fight uncertainty. Pray for their faith to grow as they find their foundation in a God who never changes.


Pray for courage. Ask for God to give them what they need to meet each day victorious.


Pray for joy. It’s so hard for someone in these circumstances to experience joy. But God can give them back the daily joy so many are missing.


Pray for protection. One of the biggest fears a soldier faces is worry for those he’s left behind. Praying for the family’s safety benefits them all.

But beyond prayer, we can also offer practical help.

Tips for Spoiling Military Families

Give them a gift card for a favorite restaurant. Living under the kind of stress that military families face is exhausting. Some days that means cooking is an overwhelming prospect. On those days, the gift of a meal out is priceless.


Drop by a labeled and wrapped freezer meal. Along the same lines as #1, having a meal ready to pull out of the freezer is a huge gift.


Give them a movie theater gift card. Military families—like a lot of families—struggle to make ends meet financially. That often means there’s nothing left for extras, like a night out at the movies.


Offer a night—or even a weekend—away. If you have access to a cabin in the woods or a condo at the beach, offer them a much-needed break. If you don’t own something like that, come together with several others, and pick up the tab so they can get away.


Help with transportation and events. Even if the serviceman or woman isn’t on deployment, they still may work odd hours or have weeks when they’re gone for training. This can leave the other parent coping with multiple kids, going multiple directions. It’s hard for a parent to have two kids scheduled for two events at the same time. Offer to step in for transportation and even a little surrogate parenting.


Put together a family night basket. Depending on the age of the kids, this could include games, puzzles or a DVD. Don’t forget to include special snacks like candy or popcorn. Help them take advantage of time together by making it a special event.


Hire a military spouse. There are a lot of programs that educate businesses about the advantages of hiring veterans. I’d like to suggest that the same advantages come with hiring the spouse of a service person. This is also a great way to show your support to the sacrifices these families are making to keep us safe.


Offer your hotel points for a free stay. Especially for moms and dads of active duty personnel, this can be a huge expense. The leaving or returning from a deployment happens from a distant military base, and hotels are expensive. The cost can keep a family from saying hello or goodbye. If you have frequent stay points, offer a couple of nights at a hotel close to base.

These are just a ways we can come together as a community and support the military families in our midst. I’d love for you to share your ideas in the comments section below.

As the mother of a frontline infantry Marine, Edie Melson lived this book before she wrote it. Edie understands what it is to face adversity and come out triumphant on the other side. Her years as a wife, mother, and ministry leader have given her a unique perspective to reach out
to others facing the same struggles.
She’s the Military Family Blogger for Guideposts.org, social media director for several writing websites, and a popular ministry and conference speaker. Connect with her on her blog, The Write Conversation, Twitter, and Facebook.

If you care about military families, I encourage you to check out Edie’s new release: While My Soldier Serves.  Thousands of families send loved ones off to fight on a daily basis. These families spend a lot of time living in a world out of control. This kind of stress can take an incredible toll, but there is hope. When we feel helpless, we can take our fears to the One who loves us more than anything and holds the universe in His hands.  In this book you’ll find the words to usher you into His presence. These prayers are a place to visit again and again as you take your own fears to God. They’re just a starting point, written to help you find your own voice as you call out on behalf of the one you love.

Love on the Frontlines: Loving our Military Families http://t.co/7QYrhKf4IZ #EdieMelson #amwriting #WhileMySoldierServes #Godislove

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 24, 2015

God’s Delivery System of Choice

“Nobody cares about me.”

The little boy, barely six, looked at the cracked tiles on his kitchen floor as he spoke, swinging feet that didn’t reach the floor from the dining table chair.

“I care about you,” I replied.

“You get paid to care about me,” he answered. Then, looking straight into my eyes he said, “I want someone to love me for nuthin’. Do you get that?”

Yeah, I nodded. I get that.

Love for no reason.

Love when there’s nothing in it for you.

Love because I’m worthy of love.

Love me for nothin’. The whimpering cry of a billion young hearts beating alone. Children and teens who sit at a kitchen tables piled high with junk mail, collection notices, applications for assistance, summons from court, everything but warm food or a clean space for homework or a game of Go Fish.

In the days when Jesus walked the earth, the children of Israel suffered from bitter oppression.

Beneath the heavy boot of Roman rule

Beneath the taxation and corruption of their own people who sold them out to their oppressors for silver

Beneath the unjust, loveless religious rule of men who loved full bellies and flattery more than they loved the God they represented to the carpenters and shepherds who paid pennies for pigeons to sacrifice for their common sins.

Evil was systemic. Corruption epidemic. Despair rampant.

Still, God’s answer wasn’t an army, a coup, a political takeover, or a flood. He didn’t create a program, a system of care, or a political party

His answer was a man

one man

one man who came and loved us.

He loved us – face-to-face, hand-to-wound, eye-to-eye, bellly-to-the-table-sitting-and-sweating-with-us close.

He loved with words. With actions. With truth. He loved large. He loved small. Out of love for the Father and for us, He died to Himself every minute of every day.

Hands-on God. Personal relationship God. One soul at a time you matter because you were my idea in the first place God.

When the Pharisees tried to trick Him into instituting policy, He told them a story about a man they would hate, a Samaritan. This Samaritan found a stranger, robbed and beaten in a ditch, and went out of his way to tend his wounds and provide for his care – personal attention, inconvenient-costly-individual treatment. Love in motion.

Love your neighbor, Jesus told them, is the second greatest command. Love God. Love others.

It’s likely that Heaven celebrates when a program instituted by someone on earth provides care and comfort to thousands of needy people

but I believe there are bells, songs, roaring laughter, and parties when one person walks next door and offers to mow the elderly neighbor’s yard or play catch with the son of the single mom from the small group or bring coffee and a fan belt for his car to the man who just lost his job.

Programs and ministries do good things for people. Professions, politics, and Biblical policies are vital in moving forward the work of Christ on earth –

But nothing demonstrates the love of Jesus to someone better than being loved for nothin’.

Face-to-face

Ball-to-glove

Coffee mug-to-listening ear

Open heart-to-bleeding heart.

Game of Go Fish. Let me check your homework. Love.

Pharisees love the hands clean, hands off, systematic, programatic delegation of love. Love distributed neatly through the proper channels.

Jesus lived an interrupt your day, break into your agenda and stop the presses for a stranger kind of love. Love that was in the way and out of the way. Love that found a way and showed the way. Love that was dirty at the end of the day. Love that got sweat and blood on it.

Love that was in your face and out of the box. Love that touched the loved one in a way that He felt the power drain from Him when it happened.

When was the last time you felt the power drain from you from loving someone?

That little boy is sitting in his kitchen right now waiting for someone to love him for nothin’. What are you going to do about it? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

Are your tired of funneling love through the proper channels? Are you ready to love someone for nuthin’? You are God’s delivery system of choice for the only thing the world needs . . .

How has love touched your life and made a difference? How did one other person love you in a way that made you see Jesus?

God’s Delivery System of Choice http://t.co/lGCR5dd05C #amwriting #learningtolove #GodisLove Have you ever felt the power drain from you?

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 22, 2015

The Day I Realize I Don’t Love You

Dear Unbelieving Friend, Coworker, Person in my Daily Life,

I had an epiphany today. Does that ever happen to you? It sounds like a religious term but I’m sure people who don’t follow Jesus also have epiphanies.

Okay, I just Googled, “epiphany” and I’m right on both counts. An epiphany can mean a Christian festival commemorating the manifestation (appearance) of Christ to the gentiles. That’s the religious term and not what happened to me today.

OR an epiphany can be a sudden, intuitive perception or insight usually sparked by something commonplace. THAT’s what happened to me today – and what I’m sure could happen to you, too. (although, Jesus might appear to you, which would be cool and then you would have BOTH kinds of epiphanies, but I digress.)

Anyway, it happened as I sat around a conference table at work only half-listening to the presenter. As I surveyed the other meeting attendees, I realized something horrifying. Really, it bothered me. It occurred to me that I don’t love these people. Not any of them.

I like them. They’re nice enough. I wouldn’t wish any of them harm but I’m not losing sleep over their eternal destination. None. I see them at work. I interact with them at work. I leave them at work. Done.

I follow Jesus. I’m heading to heaven. The people close to me are going to heaven. Apparently, I’m good with that.

That’s not good.

The epiphany followed me through the day. Hello, coffee barista. I don’t love you. Hey there client, nope, no love for you either. Checkout clerk at the pharmacy I visit every few days? No. I don’t love you. Neighbor with whom I share daily pleasantries. Not an inkling of love for you at all.

In the past, I would have spent this day knocking my ability to witness, perusing books on evangelism, maybe looking up local workshops on sharing my faith. I might have prayed for boldness, courage, or confidence.

Today, though, because of the epiphany, I saw the real problem. It’s a crisis of love.

I’ve made sure that the people I love know the truth of Jesus Christ. My kids. My parents. My husband. My closest friends. My inner circle. My readers. My love for them is so great, I ignore fear. I would walk through fire to make sure they knew the truth of Jesus Christ.

And I’m not satisfied with them just “getting the gospel.” Oh no, I pray for and seek every opportunity to encourage them to go deeper with Jesus.

Anyway, that’s what I do for the people I love.

Not you people.

I’m apparently blissfully at peace having no concern over your eternal destination. You don’t know Jesus? You’re destined to be separated from God forever? Whatever.

Man, that’s cold. I am cold. Without love. Not a pretty picture. Charles Spurgeon once said, ““Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” I looked in the mirror today and did not see a missionary. And that was my epiphany.

My love is not enough. I cannot serve as your ambassador to Jesus on my love alone. That’s why my evangelism runs on fumes. It’s not for lack of skills, it’s for lack of love. It’s the result of an empty love tank. It’s a love lapse.

If I loved you, I would rock as your missionary. If I loved you, I would scale the mountain of my fear, my insecurity, and my lack of confidence, to tell you about Jesus. If I loved you, my love would build a bridge from my heart to yours and the gospel would roll like a tank across that bridge to breach your walls. Oh yeah, if I loved you, you’d be hearing about Jesus.

So today, I prayed a new prayer:

 Lord, fill me with Your love for the people in my daily life. My love is a pathetic counterfeit. My love pales. My love is afraid of its own shadow. Give me Your love and let Your love loosen my tongue and free me to witness from a place of strength – the launch pad of Your great heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

And, I know you don’t know Jesus but you may want to pray, too. Jesus is the Only way to eternal Life. The ONLY way. And if you lived in some other country, there would be missionaries who love you devoting themselves to communicating that truth to you.

You? You’re stuck with me. It’s not looking too good for you, my friend.

But, fortunately, today I had an epiphany and I prayed that prayer. Watch out now, because God’s love is coming after us both and His love never gives up.

Love (well, asking Jesus for love and expecting Him to answer),

Lori

This clip from an old episode of Seinfeld is meant to be funny but it remains a goad to me, a reminder that love acts, love speaks, love reaches out in the name of Jesus.

This was originally posted in June of this past year but with the current blog discussion, I felt it was apropos to repost. What are your thoughts on love? What is your love crisis? Is it over your love for the Lord – love for your neighbor – love for your enemy – love for the lost? Is  your church teaching on love? What are you learning?  I’m scheduling speaking engagements in June and beyond so reach out to me if you’re interested!

The Day I Realize I Don’t Love You http://t.co/Izpr20h1tR #loveisfromGod #GodisLove #amwriting #amwritingfaith #Jesus #evangelism

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 19, 2015

Don’t Make Me Pull This Blog Over!

My young son accused me of being a “Klingon mom.”

Klingons are a warrior race on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Zack meant it as an insult. I wore it as a badge of honor.

Initially, I wasn’t good at loving my firstborn. I loved him and enjoyed receiving his love in return, so much so that I would back off my discipline and not set the clear boundaries a child needs in life. God graciously enlightened me, however, the day my toddler asked his father and me a serious question from the back seat of the car: “How come you guys never bow down to me?”

Clearly, a Gibbs slap from God. I was doing something seriously wrong.

But I learned because God is a good parent. By watching Him, I matured in my understanding of love.

My initial love for my son was immature and selfish. I soaked in the affection he had for me, but because I was insecure about losing the return on my love investment, I backed off from risking it, even for a short time of discipline.

That changed.

Fast forward two years. My little guy saw a package of stickers at the grocery store and WANTED them. I said no. He pushed me with both hands in the store aisle and insisted, “Yes!” That shove not only ended our shopping, it also lost him every toy in his room. That afternoon, we boxed up each action figure, stuffed animal, and Lego, items he was allowed to earn back one box at a time until he learned to appreciate what he had and not imagine he was entitled to more on demand.

“I don’t like you!” he shouted mid-process. “You hate me, don’t you? You’re like a Klingon mom! I’m gonna go live with another mom. A mom who really loves me.”

It’s not fun when your child doesn’t like you. It’s frustrating when he questions your love for him because you’ve set a line, stuck to your guns, or haven’t yielded to a demand. But, here is a true statement that may sound downright revolutionary in this day and age: Children do not know how to love.

Children are born with the capacity to love but they must be taught about love as they grow just as they must learn about all other aspects of life. Toddlers believe love is when someone gives them everything they want when actually, love gives them what they need while teaching them to want the right things.

Daily, I see the result of parents who offer their children only an immature, selfish love. Years ago, one father had young children who were so unruly that no one liked them – not even him. We sat with a worker from the state. “Do you realize, sir, I’m going to remove your children from your custody if you can’t get them in hand?”

The dad hung his head, “I just can’t be tough on them. I love them so much.”

The worker continued, “You’ve allowed them to get to a point where no one wants to be around them. Not even you. They’ve becoming mentally unhealthy and dangerous to others and they’re only in elementary school. Are you willing to work with someone to teach them to behave or will I have to remove them from your care?”

He wouldn’t look us in the eyes as he said, “Take them.”

That’s not love. Not the mature, healthy, full-grown love a child needs and deserves.

Too many of us expect God to love us the way this father “loved” his children. Giving us everything we want, turning a blind eye to our failings, repeating warning after warning about behavior but never following through with consequences.

Like spiritual toddlers, this is also the love we want to receive from one another. “I can’t be with Christians who don’t accept everything about me.” “I can’t worship with people who talk about hell, sin, or right and wrong.” “Jesus was all about love. I just want to be with people who love others and forget all this nonsense about sin.”

My son thought that he knew what love was. To him, love was me giving him whatever he wanted and letting him act the way he felt like acting. There were times when he, in his immaturity, withheld his affection from me to “teach me a lesson.” I learned to endure those times for his sake. The love I learned to offer him was a love that was willing to suffer – to make him uncomfortable for his own good. It was love with backbone. A love that can survive in a crazy world. A strong love that he knows will be there for him always.

He knows I love and accept him but he also knows that doesn’t mean I accept behavior that is beneath him. Neither does Jesus. He set us free FROM sin – not TO sin.

Jesus was clear that He didn’t come to abolish the law, He came to fulfill it. In the Sermon on the Mount, He essentially tells His listeners that Moses went easy on them! Moses told them not to murder but Jesus told them that if they’re angry with their brother, they’re already guilty. Moses told them not to commit adultery but Jesus said that if they lust after a woman, they’re already in sin. There was nothing accepting or inclusive about His statements. He died for us all but He demonstrated redemptive love not love that looks the other way.

I’ve received private messages and unsubscribes worried that because I’m blogging about love it may indicate I’m ready to waver on Biblical truth. Seriously, loved ones, don’t make me pull this blog over.

Clearly, we need to have a conversation about love. Love tells the truth. Love sets boundaries. Love is fierce, strong, powerful, and redemptive. Love doesn’t indulge or give its children away. Love stays and does the hard work of raising them.

It’s easy to talk tough about the call to love our enemies but if we can’t love the person in the next pew, maybe we’re clinging to a lesser love than the one to which we’ve been called. How will you love a terrorist when you can’t love that weird lady who scowls or that kid who smacks her gum?

Love is our thing, people! God is love. Love comes from God. Love is His idea. Let’s talk about this and recover love from the hands of darkness. To know God is to know love – why aren’t we the go-to experts on love?

Does the topic of love make you nervous? Pay attention to that. Love – true love – is downright unsettling. What does that say about where we are as a church if it’s controversial to talk about love? We need to have this conversation – now.

Maybe I will pull over. Let’s talk.

I love to meet readers of the blog! If I’m speaking near you, come on out and let’s chat in person! I’ll be at the Christian Author Meet and Greet in Methuen, MA on Saturday, April 25, at First Baptist Church of Narragansett Women’s Event on Saturday, May 2nd, and at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference May 17-21. More events to be announced soon! I’d love to visit you.  I’m booking now for June and beyond. Visit my speaking page and we’ll chat!

Don’t Make Me Pull This Blog Over! http://t.co/gFONWATFJn #Godislove #loveindangeroustimes #amwriting #amwritingfaith #Jesuslovesme

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 18, 2015

I Have Been Marked as a Hater

I went to bed one night, a loving person but woke up a representative of hate. What happened you ask? It is time that we asked, isn’t it?

The teenage boy in my Sunday school class brought a newspaper photo into class.

The day before, there had been a gay pride parade in a nearby city. The photo was of one of the more colorful floats as it passed a group of scowling, shouting protesters holding signs proclaiming that God hates gays.

Pointing to the photo, the young man asked me, “I don’t get it. Which side are we on?”

Three years later, a tenth grade girl in my high school Sunday school class asked if we could chat privately.

“Mrs. Roeleveld, I’m worried that I’m not really a Christian.”

“What’s causing you to doubt?” I asked.

“I love all the wrong people at school and I don’t feel as though I can hate anybody.”

These teens were absorbing the deception Satan set off like a bug fogger on this generation. They actually believe that Christians are haters. That the world sets the best standard for love. And that we have to choose between truth and love, ergo those who dare to speak unpleasant truths are filled with hate.

And where are we?

Backing down. Retreating. Staying silent. Watching evil abscond with love. Inhaling some of the fumes from the getaway car. Knowing truth cannot be compromised, we assume love can be, so we turn it over to Satan without a fight. Making Christians who speak the most about love suspect.

We do not have to choose between truth and love. Jesus never did and His Spirit lives within us. Why have we believed this lie?

As my father gets older, he has more to say to those of us he loves. He feels the press of time. His conversations are urgent – full of what he feels is important to impart.

Jesus felt this on the night He was betrayed. More than this. He KNEW the time of His death was drawing near. So, in His last precious hours with His disciples, what is the theme of His conversation?

“Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:33-35

He doesn’t say – All people will know you’re my disciples because you’ll turn out to be right.

He doesn’t say – All people will know you’re my disciples because you won’t compromise on what’s correct.

He does say – All people will know you’re my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Love is our shibboleth. Our password. Our uniform. Our code. So when we allowed it to be hijacked without pursuit, we messed up big time.

So now, the next generation believes they can’t be believers if they can’t find it within themselves to hate.

We must wage a recovery mission for love.

We should be hosting conferences and workshops on how to love. Our pulpits and airwaves should be blaring messages on the Scriptural instructions to love. Love discussions should fill our small groups and we should have weekly love check ins – how are you doing loving God? your neighbor? Your enemies? What creative ways have you found to express love to your coworkers? Your church family? Your unsaved loved ones.

We should scrap our To-Do lists and replace them with To-Love lists!

We should have love seminars. Christian artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and choreographers should collaborate on vehicles for the message of love. Love which is the greatest, hardest, least compromisable truth of all truths.

If they will know we are His disciples by our love and we let that be stolen and counterfeited, how will they see Him in us, and find Him, and open to His love for them?

Every generation has mission in furthering His kingdom.

Could ours be to recover love?

Thank you to everyone who has been sharing the love by sharing this blog! I write for God’s glory and to encourage believers. Do you know someone who might enjoy the blog? Share it and encourage them to subscribe! Send them this link I’m In,  about readers who belong at this blog. I love the community we’re creating here. How about you? Thank you, again.

I’ve Been Marked as a Hater http://t.co/5WIlHuWhC5 #recoverlove #amwriting #amwritingfaith #Godislove

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 15, 2015

The Day the Church Grew Bored with Love

Ever been snagged in your own follies?

I arrived early for worship one week and the music team invited me to join them up front. It’s been a while since I sang with a praise team so I agreed. As the service began and we sang the first song, I put my hand behind my back but when I went to raise it in praise, my bracelet became snagged on my sweater.

There I was, worshiping before the congregation, handcuffed to myself.

Trying not to panic and to continue to sing the actual words, I held the front of myself as still as possible while behind my back, I wriggled, twisted, and yanked in a song-length attempt to extricate myself from myself.

There you have it, loved ones, my spiritual life in a nutshell.

We all get snagged on ourselves and it messes with our heads not only during worship but also through our days as we maneuver around our self-imposed incapacitation, trying still to keep our eyes on God.

One way we get tangled up is by ignoring love.

Stop reading.

Ask yourself how you reacted when I mentioned love.

Were you a little disappointed because you hoped this post would be about something new? Are you anticipating that you won’t learn anything in the next lines because you have the love thing in hand? I imagine you think the rest of this piece is going to be non-specific fluff with no takeaway like you’ve heard a million times on the topic of love, right?

The day Christians became bored with love, the day we stopped being students of love, the day we relegated love to the greeting card aisle at CVS and Nicholas Sparks films, is the day we snagged ourselves on ourselves and wondered where our freedom went.

I heard a preacher say, “Well, this passage is about love and there’s only so many sermons one can preach about love so I pulled out an old one.” WHAT? Kudos for being honest and I’ve felt that way myself but God’s emphasis on love in His Word indicates there’s more to it than we’ve allowed ourselves to see. There are endless facets to God’s love.

In fact, the apostle John makes this downright outrageous claim, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”( I John 4:8 ESV) If we want to know God we must be willing to know love. If we are disciples of Christ, then we are disciples of love.

The worst thing any of us can do, understanding this, is to go out and try to conjure up love out of our own hearts. We’re largely unloving beings. We love those who love us. We love when there is clear reward. We love intensely – for a time. But, humans are essentially love colanders. Love passes through us like rain through a leaky bucket and we require a continual filling. We need to go to the source for love.

One of the greatest ideas evil ever conceived was to hijack love and to create sort of a Frankenstein counterfeit that was rolled out to the masses starting in the fifties. Satan has no creative capacity but he can twist and mangle one of God’s ideas. If he can sell enough people a pitcher full of his mock love, they begin to believe they’ve tried love and found it watery, fluffy, too sweet, and unable to hold it’s own beside a serving of truth.

Sort of like carob. Have you ever been given a piece of this facsimile of chocolate and told it was real chocolate? If you’d always been given carob and were convinced it was chocolate, you might pass up a taste of the real thing even if you were sitting at a chocolatiers in Paris.

Satan’s campaign of pseudo-love has been wildly effective. The world now sees love as a weak thing, willing to compromise truth for sentiment. We’ve linked it primarily to sensuality and romance and made that the central goal of man. We actually have become so deluded by this false notion of love that some accuse the God of scripture of being unloving! They refuse to worship a god who “doesn’t know how to love.”

And where are WE, loved ones? The church. His bride. The recipients of His love. The vehicle for His love on this planet? We’re out looking for some sexier, sturdier idea. We’re sniffing the air and voicing suspicion of churches that promote love as their primary goal. We’ve allowed Satan to hijack love and we barely put up a fight.

It’s time to take it back. It’s time to reclaim love. It’s time we disentangled ourselves from ourselves and became disciples of love again. The Bible says that God is love. That the GREATEST thing is love. That the two greatest commandments are to love. That love is stronger than DEATH. I want me a holster full of that.

Think yourself a skilled practitioner of love? I often convince myself I’m good at it but then I read I Corinthians 13: 4-7 and I measure the love I offer others against that. Is the love I offer patient? Kind? Free of envy? Free of boasting? Is it humble? Does it lack rudeness? Do I insist on my own way? Am I irritable or resentful? Do I take any pleasure in wrongdoing or when others stumble? Am I always a friend to the truth? Do I offer a love that bears, believes, hopes, and endures? Do I offer a love that compels me to lay down my life for others?

A moment with God’s word and I see I am no master practitioner in the art of love. I become aware that there is more to know about love than my life shows. Lay down my life? I struggle to lay down my agenda for others never mind my life.

And you? What are your thoughts on love, loved ones. For too long, we’ve allowed the evil one to abscond with love without a fight. How do we reclaim it? How do we learn to love so that the world gets a taste of the real thing while there’s still time? Let’s start a conversation . . .

The Day the Church Grew Bored with Love http://t.co/l13d6gNBvI #reclaiminglove #jesuslovesme #amwriting #amwritingfaith #Godslove

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 12, 2015

What Hope When Murderers Reign?

When the world runs out of tears,

Because we can weep no more-

Because the body counts are becoming just more numbers-

Because those cut down are a different color, country, gender, politic, or faith-

Because one murder follows another and our hearts have no time to rehydrate-

When the world runs out of tears for the dead, You still know their names, the idea you had when you designed each one, their promise, Your potential within them

And you know where each one fell, and how, and by whose hand. They never really died alone or unwitnessed and the crimes against them, You recorded to be revealed on that day.

When the world runs out of tears, You still have compassion for the recent dead.

 

When justice is a punchline, a footnote in history, preserved for private viewing only in a museum of ancient history,

When justice is so rare it’s reserved only for those with the right skin, heritage, geography, connections, and cash,

When the people discard justice along the side of the narrow road and place their faith instead in mob rule, revenge, or power they were promised in the dark,

When the people tell their children justice is a fairy tale as they nurse them with bitter milk,

You remain the only righteous judge, the eternal process, the One who holds justice in His hands and You remember, better than we, every life that was stolen, every bone that was broken, every innocence penetrated, every womb violated, every tooth shattered, every blood splattered, every hope scattered

There will be a great gettin’ up morning when Holy Justice is the only item on the menu for the day.

 

When we finally blind ourselves because we cannot, will not, dare not see another blown up child, another kidnapped daughter, another young man shot through , another old man severed, another weeping mother, or orphaned babe

Because our hearts are fragile

Because our minds rebel against the horror

Because we can find no answers within ourselves

Because our eyes are scabbed from the scraping our hands across them in the agony of more front page art,

When we are finally blind, You will still see. Nothing escapes Your vision, Your scope, the reach of Your right arm. There is no darkness so dense that Your eyes cannot penetrate. Your laser focus sees them scurry like cockroaches from the True Light and You know where they hide. There will need be no other witness on that day of Holy Reckoning because You know where all the bodies lay and by Your power they will rise to testify against those who stole their light, their blood, their lives. You are the Eternal Irefutable Witness

 

When our love runs cold and we know longer have the heart to connect with another human who may die and leave us bereft,

When we are calloused and hardened from too many coffins,

When our arms no longer reach out to strangers, weakened by loss, by fear, by the weight of our cynicism,

When our minds, numbed by mass graves and headline tallies, lock up as if that were some protection from the pain,

When we are at risk of losing our own souls,

You will be our source, our wellspring, our ever-rich supply of Love Come Down, of Love Divine, of Love excelling, of Love never-ending, of Love that lays down its life, of Love that lifts, that amazes, that runs like a river from soul to soul, You will be the love we need to survive a murderous age and not just survive but to rise above and carry on

despite the fallen in Kenya,

despite the tortured in North Korea,

despite the beaten in China,

despite the exploited in Bangkok,

despite the kidnapped in Nigeria,

despite the beheaded in Syria,

despite the slaughtered,

the aborted,

the kidnapped,

the trafficked,

the gunned-down,

the poisoned,

the missing,

the murdered,

the silenced,

the dead.

Your love will fill us. Your grace is sufficient. The dragon roars and snuffs out as many as he dares before Your return but he knows too well that death will not win, that murderers will be called to account, that those who overcome will see Your face and live forever.

And when we are prostrate before You,

kneeling bedside,

standing hands raised,

seeking Your face,

we pray, O Lord, that You will search our hearts and pluck out the murderous seeds of anger against our brothers, seeds of unforgiveness, of selfishness, greed, of quarreling and lust before our hearts are hotbeds of murderous intentions that give rise to words that give thoughts to plans that give arms to action and we, too, fall prey to the murderous spirit of this age.

Without you, we would be found with blood on our hands when You return as well. But by Your blood, we are washed clean, even if we barely remember what that looks like surrounded by headlines that scream “Cain’s ancestors rule and Abel will never rise.”

We know the truth and we wait to rise at Your word, O Lord, at Your command. All who have fallen will rise on that day, at Your say.

Only say the Word and we shall be healed.

What hope when murderers reign? Just one. But One is enough. Jesus Christ, now and forevermore. Amen.

What Hope When Murderers Reign? http://t.co/wDsptHgHZk Just One – it is enough #amwriting #amwritingfaith #ISIS #murdervictim #KenyaAttack

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 9, 2015

Jesus and the Beanstalk

Life is full of giants.

Giants cast big shadows, win battles largely with the weapons of volume and fear, and they rule when we forget they can be toppled.

Atheists and skeptics consider the story of Jesus nothing more than a fairy tale. They mock those of us who have sold our sacred cows to purchase a few, boring beans with no apparent power or value.

As in the original fairy tale, they fail to see the potential these beans hold to slay giants.

Jack was feeling the effect of fruitless efforts. He and his mother planted seeds, tended fields, and worked hard but the land produced nothing to sustain them. In desperation, they sold the only thing they believed had value, their treasured cow.

This is proof that desperation can be a gift. It moves us to take actions we might otherwise dismiss and sends us into unexplored territory beyond our own barren fields.

Jack, however, according to all around him, made a poor trade for his sacred cow. Five, worthless beans. To small, to few, and to common to contain the key to sustaining life. Jack was a fool.

The wise men of this age shake their heads and scoff at those of us who, seeing the fruitlessness of our efforts at producing our own crop of righteousness, traded all that we once held dear for what Jesus had to offer. We saw the truth He offered to the world starting with Peter who wrote:

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,

through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,

so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:3-4

There’s power in those words. Divine power granting to us everything that pertains to life and godliness. How? Through knowing Jesus.

So, what are these boring, underestimated beans? Peter describes them in the next verses:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,

and virtue with knowledge,

 and knowledge with self-control,

and self-control with steadfastness,

and steadfastness with godliness,

 and godliness with brotherly affection,

and brotherly affection with love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

Eight boring beans. The world looks at these things with scorn. What could possibly result from planting one’s soul with these ancient, shriveled beans? What good is a handful of faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, or love? Toss them aside, the world taunts us! Try to retrieve your dried up cow!

But God promises otherwise. God promises that if we plant the fertile soil of our eager souls with these boring beans, we will find the strength and means to defeat giants.

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I ask you, what is more frightening than being ineffective and unfruitful? 2 Peter 1:8

The Holy Spirit not only promises reward for cultivating a soul planted with these characteristics, it warns what will happen if we neglect this work of the spirit:

“For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” 2 Peter 1:9 And that is why the world cannot see the value of these beans. The world is blind.

But you can see, loved ones, can you not?

The world is full of giants. When I was young, the giants were named Temptation, Ambition, Lust, Selfishness, or Rebellion. As I’ve felled those giants, others threatened me with names like Bitterness, Unforgiveness, Greed, Sloth, Worry, or Fear. No matter what, we are wise to remember we dwell in a land of merciless giants.

But we come from a long line of giant killers.

So the next time an atheist or a skeptic warns you not to believe in fairy tales, offer to tell him or her the story of Jesus and the Beanstalk. But, I caution you, the story will be more effective and fruitful if you’ve planted that handful of beans in a heart of fertile soil and allowed them to blossom in your soul.

We come from a long line of giant killers. This is your heritage. This is your inheritance. This is the abundant crop of a heart given over to Jesus and planted with the ancient beans of faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brother affection, and love.

Are you ready for the adventure? Have you reached the place of desperation Jack reached? Weary of waiting for your own crop of righteousness to appear? Go ahead, trade your sacred cow for a handful of living potential.

Go forth and slay those giants.

*I’ve loved hearing from the small groups using my book in their study time! I’m enjoying visiting all of the groups I can get to see! If you’re planning to use Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus) with your small group, be sure to check out my Hints and Helps for Small Group Leaders free if you click HERE!

Jesus and the Beanstalk http://t.co/I8G55CQn8q Ready to trade in your sacred cow and become a giant killer? #giantkiller #Jesus #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 8, 2015