Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 61

Behind the Scenes of 50 Shades of Grey – Way Behind

I wasn’t at the original development meeting for the novel and film 50 Shades of Grey but I believe this is a fair representation of the discussion that likely took place:

Satan had been stewing all day, frustrated at his inability to rob God of joy, so he called a board meeting of his high-ranking officers.

“Ideas. All of you. I require ideas. What have you devised for humans that will bring me pleasure and rob the Almighty of His?”

After exchanging nervous glances, those gathered tossed out ideas:

“A new war in the Mid-East.”

Satan frowned. “Sure, but not enough. I’m bored already. Give me more.”

The others piped up: “Inspire terrorists to shoot down passenger planes.”

“Mildly interesting take on an old thought. Next.”

They babbled over one another in an attempt to please. “Kidnap. Murder. Betrayal. False teachers. Ebola. Sex-trafficking.”

“Blah-Blah-Blah. It’s like I’m reading a newspaper in ancient Rome. Can’t even one of you delight me with something new?”

That’s when the she-demon sitting beside him leaned over and whispered in Satan’s ear.

Satan smiled. “Yes. Yes. That’s perfect. Finally, I am impressed. Why don’t you share it with the room?”

She narrowed her eyes and spoke in smoky tones. “Quite simply, I have set a plan in motion that will stab at the heart of the Almighty. A simple twisting of what was intended to be good for humans into something they’ll now use against themselves for evil.”

The other demons were enrapt as she paused to inhale and then continued. “Now that we have millions of modern females rebelling at any notion of submitting to the Almighty or anyone else, I’ve created a plot to have them clamoring to submit, longing for it, declaring that submission is freedom.”

The others leaned back shaking their heads as they reacted:

“What?”

“No, way?”

“Women submitting? Not these women.”

“We’ve done our work too well for that. They rebel at a hint of the word submit. No one even remembers that the scriptures speak of mutual submission. Women have succeeded in making everyone terrified of the very word!”

The she-demon placed her palms on the conference table. “That’s the beautiful part, isn’t it? The sheer power we have over their puny minds will be clearly demonstrated when these empowered females who refuse to even hear the word submission now plead to be overpowered, restrained, and abused all in the name of modern romance.”

Everyone agreed that would be perfect but how exactly did she plan to accomplish this feat?

She crossed her arms. “We’re just going to tell them a story. A superficial, slick, façade of a story that will draw them into a world where there is no black and white, where everything is grey. In that world, they’ll be lulled into a false sense of safety, a quagmire of lust, and a game of power they believe they can play and not lose. And if the novel version doesn’t capture them, the feature film surely will.”

“Oooo. Nice touch. That just may work.”

Satan pounded the table. “Work! Of course it will work! It’s brilliant. And won’t that just churn His butter. We incite them to rebel against submitting to Him, and then entice them to develop an insatiable appetite for my version – my per-version – of submission. I love it when they line up to participate in their own destruction.”

One of the junior demons scribbled some notes. “What’s the timeline for the film?”

She sneered. “I’ve planned its release for Valentine’s Day 2015.”

The demon looked up from his notes, “A date movie where modern women flock to view their own enslavement? That is brilliant.”

“Date movie?” Satan guffawed. “More like the perfect date rape movie.”

The demons rejoiced at his joke, happy to see him in a better mood.

Satan lit up a Cuban cigar and put his feet up on the table. “As always, since you all seem to have lost your creative powers in the fall, the best evil is a twisting of His creative plans. Women who refuse to submit to their Creator now fighting for the right to submit to their own destruction. Bee-u-tee-full.”

“Interesting,” said the junior demon, his pen hovering over his notes.

“What?” said the demon beside him.

“In the Book, His Book, there is a passage that illustrates what’s about to occur, ‘The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.’ Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)”

The listening demon shushed the junior, “Don’t let him hear you quoting that!”

“Do you two have something to share with me?” Satan growled.

They shook their heads.

“Fine, then. Get on with it. Let’s watch the women who think they’ve thrown off their chains weigh themselves down with bonds from which they’ll never be free. They’ll have no hope.”

The junior demon muttered, “Well, unless they see through the deception and turn to . . .”

The demon beside him clamped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t speak that name in here, you fool! The sheer power of it will fell most of those congregated at this table.”

The junior demon shrugged. “I’m just saying. He can end their deception in a heartbeat. There’s no shade of grey about His effect on those chains if they remember who they are in Him.”

*Author’s note: I’m not always certain about some things but I am certain this movie is one that will cause pain and destruction in the lives of both men and women and it will be up to other women to sound the alarm. The women who buy into this book and then the film as a way to find sexual freedom are walking into a trap from which the only escape is the truth of Jesus Christ.

For those of you who argue that it’s harmless fantasy, let me just remind you how bad we are at mimicking what we see demonstrated. Just one look at 42 attempts to copy crafts and baking ideas from do-it-yourself pages will help you envision the epic fails that will occur as people attempt to recreate what they see in this movie. These failures won’t make for funny Internet posts but, instead, will result in psychological damage and relationship nightmares.

One thing the church can do to prepare is get over its discomfort with discussions of a sexual nature. We need to be prepared to counsel people who fall prey to this shades of grey deception with the love and the freedom of Jesus Christ. To do this, we need to remember that sex was God’s idea, a gift for married couples to enjoy, and an area of life that can be redeemed when it’s become distorted. The power of Christ to reclaim us and to heal and restore us is unlimited but it is best to avoid willingly walking into harm in the first place, is it not?

WOMEN, speak up to your daughters, your neighbors, your sisters, your aunts and mothers who think this movie is harmless entertainment. Refuse to join the mass delusion. Ask them, when have chains ever been the path to freedom?

If you’ve been offended by mention of this movie on this site, I have to tell you, I worried about offending you. I don’t want to cause distress to the tenderhearted or disturb people needlessly but there is a need to cause a disturbance over this movie. Its power to harm men and women is clear. It is out of love for those who might be harmed and the hope of preventing their harm that I am willing to cause some of you mild offense.

This post originally appeared in July but the movie is due to release on Valentine’s Day so we need to spread the word NOW. Share this post, email it to friends, take a stand. You just may save a woman, a man, a couple from a soul-damaging mistake.

Do you know my prayer for all my readers? I talk about it here in the Know My Heart section of the website.

Behind the Scenes of #50ShadesOfGrey – Way Behind http://t.co/x9HzJk2oT0 Peek inside the development of the movie #ValentinesDay #Christian

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 16, 2015

One Fear to Rule Them All

I’m a little angry right now so factor that in as you read this post.

Today’s entry was nearly titled, “Vous n’êtes pas Charlie,” which loosely translated means “all of you announcing on Facebook from your living rooms or from behind safe news anchor desks in America that ‘I am Charlie’ might want to catch a reality check. Most of you don’t have the stomach to tell the truth to your neighbor never mind risk the wrath of armed gunmen to stand for what you believe. You are so not Charlie.”

There I said it. But, I don’t feel better. It’s a sad state of affairs, these times in which we live. Gas prices are dropping but the cost of courage is on the rise.

Most of us don’t have what it takes to be as brave as these days require. I know I don’t. I was born scared. The list of things that frighten me grows by the moment and includes things that would make you snort with laughter.

Fortunately, one fear rules the rest. Because of that, I sometimes appear courageous to others when the truth is, I just have my fears properly prioritized.

That’s not true for everyone.

Recently, I spent hours embroiled in a crisis that didn’t have to happen. A family’s situation reached a heart-breaking boiling point because for months (years, even) well-educated professionals, decent citizens of the family’s community, even Christians chose to stay silent rather than find the courage to say and do hard things to protect a child. There was a lot of tongue-clicking, head-shaking, self-righteous whispering, and scornful stares but no one prioritized their fears enough to do the right thing.

I didn’t want to do it either. Funny how often “the right thing” is painful, complicated, hard, and requires a measure of sacrifice. It took self-control (compliments of the Holy Spirit) to keep silent when the others who should have acted thanked me and assured me they’d seen the problem growing for a long, long time.

????????????????

Which is how I know that most people would not have the courage to do what the cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo have routinely done. Whether I agree with all their opinions or not, I respect that they have the courage to communicate their convictions. To go public. To take a stand.

It reminds me of a passage from Revelation 3:15-17, “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.’”

That verse helps me keep my fears in proper order. Such proper order that I appear to have courage.

There’s a little girl in Sudan who has her fears in proper order. At 13-years-old, she was more afraid to take life than to risk her own by refusing to detonate the bomb vest strapped to her by Boko Haram soldiers. They tried to make her a suicide bomber but she took a stand.

It boggles the mind.

Most Americans won’t have to face that kind of choice and most of us won’t be called to communicate our convictions on an international stage. That’s a relief since most of us struggle to simply state controversial truths to the person across the lunch table at work or across the living room of our small group or over the pot roast at dinner.

We suppress basic truths that should be stated such as “I’d rather you didn’t share that with me as it feels a lot like gossip.” Or “Your lifestyle is affecting your child and either you need to make a change (which I’m happy to help you make) or I’ll have to speak to the authorities.” Or “No, I don’t believe there are a lot of paths to God. I believe there is only one and His name is Jesus.”

Ever stumble over words like these? Vous n’êtes pas Charlie.

Which of my fears rules the others so that I pass as brave? It is my fear of the Lord, my holy reverence for Jesus Christ. I may fear saying hard things, the disapproval of others, causing discomfort, or social leprosy but more than that, I fear letting down the One who laid down His very life for me.

Jesus’ words are recorded in Luke 12:4-5, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”

What about you? Are your fears properly prioritized? Does fear of the Lord rule your other fears? If so, you will find courage in the moment you require it. If not, vous n’êtes pas Charlie and stop claiming that you are until you’re prepared to take a stand.

One Fear to Rule Them All http://t.co/4EcagGHKps #CharlieHebdo #BokoHaram #lukewarmfaith Find out why Vous n’êtes pas Charlie

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 15, 2015

Mark Zuckerberg, Jesus, and Charlie Hedbo Instruct Me on Power

If you know me, you know I’m power-hungry. If you read this blog, my desire for power screams out from every sentence. It’s not the power to control, I seek, (well, not openly) but the power to influence. I hunger to influence readers (you) to go deeper with Jesus.

Which is why I chose to do something trendy this week.

Trendy isn’t my norm. I only JUST acquired my first smartphone and my clothes are a tribute to decades past. But, when I saw that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, was kicking off his book club with The End of Power by Moises Naim, I was intrigued.

Zuckerberg’s book club, A Year in Books, in itself is a remarkable display of power. Moises Naim’s book sold out within hours of the announcement that it was the club’s first read. That’s power!

Not far into the book, I came to understand that I think about power more often than I realized. I don’t believe I’m alone in that. You probably wouldn’t consider yourself someone always seeking power but ponder Naim’s definition: According to Naim (pg 15) “Power is the ability to direct or prevent the current or future actions of other groups or individuals. Or, put differently, power is what we exercise over others that leads them to behave in ways they would not otherwise have behaved.” If you’re a parent, you think about power hourly. Relationships on this planet are all about power.

The world witnessed more aggressive displays of power this week than Zuckerberg starting a book club. Most notably when terrorists killed 12 in an assault on writers and cartoonists at the French satirical publication, Charlie Hebdo. Violent terrorism is the ultimate grab for power over another human.

But a more subtle type of assault on free speech, a political power-play, happened when Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired from his job despite a stellar career with no complaints by those he oversaw.  Instead, the mayor fired him for writing a book for use in teaching Bible studies at his church. A book that teaches a Biblical position on marriage and sexuality. Ironically, like Zuckerberg, the mayor’s action sent Cochran’s book flying off the shelves.

Both displays of power against free speech, the one with guns and the one with political klout, are chilling.

Clearly, power is important currency on this planet. Yet, in Christian churches this weekend, people preached, sang, and taught that all power belongs to God. Jesus doesn’t command Christians to seek power in this world but to seek Him and to live in faith that true power rests in God alone. Talk about counter-cultural!

Jesus demonstrated this when he faced Pilate. Bloodied and beaten from His time with the Roman soldiers, Jesus stood before Pilate hearing the crowds outside call for His death. “When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,  and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” John 19:8-12

The Son of God, able to access all power, yielded it, for a time, because He trusted His Heavenly Father. Puts quite a perspective on the phrase, “what would Jesus do” in the whole discussion of power, doesn’t it?

It’s fascinating that in The End of Power, Naim observes that the world has shifted from a place where a minority of world leaders hold all the storehouses of power to a place where power is enacted by smaller groups or individuals exerting grassroots influence.  Interesting to me because God has operated this way since He sent His Son to this world.

It could be argued that the Flood was a global display of power by One who held all power in His right hand. Yet, His plan with Jesus, God’s own right arm, was for Him to lay down His life, to submit to a human death. Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, God sent His Holy Spirit into Jesus’ followers and empowered individual believers to do “even greater things” than Jesus did! As if the resurrection was the hammer strike on a great anvil, sparks of Holy Spirit sent flying into all who follow Jesus.

I have always marveled at the energy Jesus displayed during His time on earth but now, I think I understand why He had so much to give. Jesus wasn’t wasting any trying to grab at or hoard power. He abided and rested in the Father God knowing that the power He needed would be present at the time He needed it.

I’m mulling this over now. How will my life look different if I stop grasping for power in my relationships both intimate and global? What if John 15 is the key to connecting with greater power than Mark Zuckerberg, Moises Naim, terrorists, and the mayor of Atlanta ever dreamed of obtaining? What if that power resides within me – and you – right now?

I’m going to study power now too, not how to obtain it, but how to yield to the only One who truly has it. Are you ready to do greater things?

 

 

 

#Mark Zuckerberg, #Jesus, and #CharlieHebdo Instruct Me on Power -all the world forces work together on one message http://t.co/EhqUgoVPgk

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 12, 2015

The Year is Already Ruined!

Seven days in and the New Year is already ruined.

That’s how many people perceive their lives.

These are the same people who, when they make a stray mark on their paper, have to start over. These are people with well-documented Januaries. Somewhere in the back of their closets lurk boxes of journals or diaries completed for one month, maybe two, but then abandoned when a week passed without an entry. These same people could easily sweep a Jeopardy category based on Genesis but would falter if the category covered 1 Kings.

I was once one of these people.

That’s back when I, unwittingly, believed in a theology of the Flood. Like God in the days of Noah, I felt that once something in my life was broken, marred, or imperfect, the best plan for dealing with it was to wipe it out and start over.

Believing in the theology of the Flood was the source of much angst in my early married life and my initial parenting years. What’s a Flood theologian to do when a stray mark appears on her marriage or her children show clear signs of imperfection that reflect flaws in her novice parenting?

It took one of those stray marks in a journal to revolutionize my theology.

One January, I sat in a local coffee shop writing in that year’s precious and pristine journal. I’d managed to write every day and so far, had only entered thoughts worthy of recording. A friend passed by my table and remembered I’d asked for a certain phone number. Without thinking, she leaned over and penned the seven digits in my open journal!

As she floated out the door with no thought to the devastation she’d just wrought in my perfect little January world, I stared, forlorn, at the ruined journal. I had been on such a roll! I loved that journal. The cover was brown leather embossed with a Celtic tree. I didn’t want to abandon it but how could I continue now that it was ruined? My theology of the Flood almost won the day.

Then, God spoke to me through the ruined page.

Suddenly, I could see how all this theology of the Flood was only leading me to frustration, waste, and needless ruin. The journal was mine, so it was within my right to abandon it now that it was destroyed. However, what if, I thought, what if my journal could be redeemed?

I decided to see if my prayers, my reflections, and my creative ideas could co-exist with my grocery needs, to-do lists, and stray phone numbers. I decided not to panic at stray marks, coffee stains, or scribbles. The freedom to be imperfect inspired a consistent creativity that continues some twelve years later. Better still, the freedom bled off the page and into my daily life. As I learned to redeem my journal, I saw better God’s redemptive work in my days.

Theology of the Blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, teaches us that the mars, the ruinations, the deepest stains of sin don’t have to doom a person to destruction. We can be redeemed because of Jesus Christ. Of course, it’s best if we don’t sin but which of us doesn’t sin? Redemption is the plan, a plan with which we can live. A plan that doesn’t leave us gasping beneath floodwaters with no hope of rescue.

My journaling was not the only thing revolutionized that day. I have not only kept journals bursting from cover to cover with life since that day, I also learned a purpose for those stray marks. Each “mistake” in my journal reminds me to turn my own “mistakes” over to God and watch what He does to work everything together for good for those who love Him.

Any year lived without Jesus Christ is ruined before it began. It’s doomed for destruction – fire this time, not flood. But every year turned over to Jesus, no matter how marred, can be one that testifies to the power of redemption.

What about you? Are you operating under a theology of Flood or a theology of Blood? Revolutionize this year by asking God to spend every day teaching you what it means to be redeemed and fill your journal with imperfect adventures spent following Jesus.

Redemption journaling. Let me know how it works for you – in June.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” Ephesians 1:7

 

The Year is Already Ruined! http://t.co/TA7b6lkWQ8 What to do with a year that's broken as soon as it's begun. #redemptivejournaling

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 8, 2015

Thou Shalt Pray Like Sheldon Cooper

I’ve learned something about prayer from Sheldon Cooper, one of the quirky main characters of The Big Bang Theory. It happened today when I knocked on heaven’s door and realized I sound just like Sheldon:

Knock, Knock, Knock, Jesus?

Knock, Knock, Knock, Jesus?

Knock, Knock, Knock, Jesus?

In case you’ve never seen it, here’s a clip:

Sheldon is as irritating a character as you’ll come across and yet, he’s so relentless in his persistence he frequently moves others to help and support him out of sheer exasperation.

Social relationships baffle Sheldon and he seeks to manage them by creating contractual agreements with his friends. Hence, he has his roommate, Leonard, sign a magnus document referred to as the “Roommate Agreement” and even he and his girlfriend have a 31-page relationship agreement. When petitioning his friends for aid, he frequently refers to specific clauses in these agreements inspiring even reluctant friends to yield.

This concept works both ways as these friends often convince Sheldon to step outside his comfort zone (to attend an birthday party or to apologize for a wrong doing) when people explain that such action is necessary as it is a “non-optional social convention.”

God brought Sheldon to my mind throughout the week as I meditated over various Bible passages. I marveled that after Cain brought an unacceptable sacrifice to the Lord and then murdered his brother in a fit of jealousy, that God granted his request for protection from being killed by others. It appears that God answered his request simply because he asked. (Genesis 4)

Later in the week, I re-read the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. A cranky judge gives into a widow’s plea for justice simply because “she keeps bothering me.” “I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.” Jesus applies this parable to our prayers to the Lord saying “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? “

God brought another passage to mind from Luke 11. Jesus is teaching on prayer here and describes a man asleep in bed whose neighbor bangs on his door asking for bread. Jesus says the man doesn’t want to rise, doesn’t want to help “yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.”

Jesus continues His teaching with these words, “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

When I was younger, I didn’t understand this whole persistence in prayer issue but I’m beginning to have a glimmer of understanding now. There are trials, circumstances, and challenges in life that arise from deeply embedded spiritual issues – an individual in long-term bondage to sin, a country smothered under spiritual oppression, a heart blinded to Jesus by the idolatry of unbelief. These matters require persistent prayer assault.

Many of us abandon our prayers when God doesn’t produce immediate results. How childish and immature are we that we do that? (and I am guilty of this all the time.)

God has told us in His word that there are times when we must petition Him in prayer over and over and over and over. Why? I don’t always know but I believe Him when He says it is true.

This persistent petitioning demands faith and the evil one capitalizes on it to mount a counter-attack of whispered accusations against the Lord. He’s not coming. He won’t answer you. He doesn’t care. Give up, you’re being foolish. He answers other people’s prayers, not yours. You’re asking too much. You’re not worthy. He’s not there.

All lies but the effective response to these lies is to pray and not give up.

So, we should pray like Sheldon. Knock, knock, knock, Jesus. Knock, knock, knock, Jesus. Knock, knock, knock, Jesus.

And we, too, can refer to our relationship agreement. “Lord, in Luke 11, paragraph 3 you said to knock and ask so I’m knocking and asking.”

But don’t be surprised if God responds back to us to keep praying using a Sheldon-method. When we ask “why should we keep praying” He’ll likely answer, “It’s a non-optional Biblical convention.”

We should respond like Sheldon Cooper in that moment, too, and reply, “Oh, then by all means, I’ll keep praying.”

This video is just for fun and to remind you to be persistent in prayer:

**Please note: The Big Bang Theory sitcom does have some sexual humor. This post is not an endorsement of all episodes of the show. Use discretion if you choose to tune in.

Thou Shalt Pray like #SheldonCooper. http://t.co/wKtezcPyhN What I learned about prayer from Sheldon of #TheBigBangTheory #prayers #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) January 3, 2015

Klingon Christians Don’t Whine on Facebook – It’s the New Year Post!

Listen up, loved ones! We’re about to embark on a brand-spankin’-New Year and I expect it will be another 365-day wild ride of trials, troubles, and tribulations interspersed with fleeting moments of joy worthy of celebration.

How do I know this? Jesus promised it. “In the world, you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33b) THAT’S a verse you can take to the bank. God’s people will experience trouble until Jesus comes to take us home.

Early Christians understood that right out of the gate. You know, because deciding to follow Jesus in the early days frequently led to a face-to-face with hungry lions or expulsion from the local temple followed by social leprosy.

Imagine that. People chose to follow Jesus NOT because Christianity was promoted as a life-enhancement program but because they recognized their need for a savior, for forgiveness, for redemption. They were willing to endure suffering because Jesus was worth it.

He still is.

We’re emerging, now, from a brief season in the life of the Western church where the world offered Christians widespread acceptance and relative peace. The fat lady is singing an aria on that opera, people. 

I don’t have to have the gift of prophecy to predict that in the year to come, Bible-believing Jesus-followers will be misunderstood, misrepresented, scoffed at, mocked, ridiculed, caricatured in the media, derided, shunned, snubbed, and hated. In some areas of the world, we’ll be shut out of good paying jobs, forced into poverty, publicly harassed, arrested, beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and even killed.

You know what that means, don’t you?

We need to get over ourselves and fast. Those of us who love Jesus must develop the habit (and I’m sure the Holy Spirit is more than willing supply the strength for this) of not whining, complaining, or otherwise bellyaching about our lack of popularity or disfavor with the public at large.

Yes, it’s important to alert one another to news of persecution. It’s worthwhile for some of us to keep an eye on the culture and interpret the times for the others. It’s beneficial to advocate, where we can, for fair treatment of our brothers and sisters. But there’s no place in our faith for self-pity. There’s no place for entitlement. There is no place for acting like victims.

Jesus was no victim. No one took His life – He laid it down – for us. As followers, we lay down our lives, agendas, plans, reputations, and preference for popularity – for Him. What’s more, He’s so amazing, He supplies us with the power to do it.

None of us should seek suffering. People who seek suffering or martyrdom have, you know, issues. In Gethsemane, Jesus pleaded to be spared the suffering ahead. (Hobbits have it right. Life is good. Comfort is lovely. Peace is desirable.) Jesus laid out His desires before His Father. (Which is where we should air our concerns – not on Facebook.) But, when His Father answered that suffering was the only way, He moved forward in faith.

In 2015, we will suffer. Some of us, unimaginably. We will also know Jesus better and we will have company even through the rough patches – each other. If we moan, whine, and complain, keeping our eyes focused on ourselves, we will compound our suffering. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, speak words of encouragement, and celebrate joy when it appears, we’ll take part in the adventure.

The creators of Star Trek imagined the Klingon race – a noble people with a deep sense of honor. A warrior race, always battle ready but lovers of poetry, opera, family, and adventure. There’s no whining on Klingon Facebook. They’re too busy embracing life to whine.

Klingon Christians don’t whine on Facebook. We embrace life – celebrating the joy and enduring the pain because we have the ultimate joy of following Jesus.

Let’s face 2015 and all it brings together – all of us and Him!

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:35-39 (ESV)

Are you coming? It’s going to be an adventure.

#Klingon Christians Don’t Whine on Facebook! http://t.co/zusGcLed7B It’s the #NewYear post. #Christianlife #Jesus Trouble’s coming, people!

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 31, 2014

Battling Bible Boredom

Sometimes the Bible bores me.

Yeah. I said it. (What do you want to bet this is the post that goes viral, right?)

Still, since we’re being honest on this blog, I must confess there are times when I open God’s word and get absolutely nothing out of it. Nada. Zilch. Zippo. Nix. No – thing.

Urgh. That used to make me panic. It’s God’s holy word, after all. How on earth can it be boring?

THE AILMENT:

That’s the key phrase, though, isn’t it: “How on earth?” Context is everything. Have you ever told a hilarious story to one group of people only to find it fall flat with another group? Or have you ever found a book or movie meaningful at one stage of life only to revisit it in later years and wonder what affected you the first time around? I’ve no doubt that when I’m enjoying eternity there will be no boredom but on THIS side of the end times, it creeps in like mustard gas and can pave the way for the enemy’s favorite weapon – discouragement.

I’m a lover of God’s word. What’s not to love about a book full of communication from the Creator of all life? As literature, alone, it’s mesmerizing in its scope, poetry, wisdom, history, prophecy, and uniqueness. It is a miracle of cohesion between inspired human writers spanning thousands of years to produce a singularly unified work. Beyond that, there is power in this book – the power of the living God to convert, to change, to transform, to heal, to counsel, to train, to correct, and to guide.

Since I was a child, I’ve devoured its pages, knowing the Biblical writers and characters better than I know my best friends. Still, on a regular basis, I can read a passage as familiar as Genesis 1 and find some new understanding that deepens my awareness of God. Verses I learned as a child take on fresh meaning as I age, experience a new tribulation, or hear the story of another believer exploring faith from a different perspective.

And then, some days, I get nothing.

These days, though, rather than panic, I’ve come to understand that boredom can be used for good in the life of a believer if we turn it over to God.

THE CURE:

You see, we humans love novelty, don’t we? We have a voracious appetite for the new, the trendy, the unheard, the untried. We see it in the church all the time – have you heard this new speaker? Read this new writer? Attended this new conference? Prayed this new way of prayer? We could patch together a life of chasing the next insight, piece of knowledge, or nugget of truth. There’s a danger in that, though.

Years ago I heard a story about Luis Palau, an evangelist who came to the US from Argentina. He was preaching week after week but no one in his congregation seemed to be changing much. He took a drastic step and announced he would only preach one truth at a time until people began to employ that truth in their daily lives. He started with “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” “Do this,” he exhorted his people.

That month, the congregation broke into small groups. They studied and discussed what it would look like to live that verse every day. Slowly, they began to apply it. Finally, Palau preached a second message, “Love your neighbor as yourself” and they began the work of learning to live a second verse.

From that story, I learned that when I open God’s word and find it boring, dry, or without savor, it’s an opportunity to invite God into my reading for a soul-check. I take my boredom to God and ask, “Are there things You’ve taught me that I’m not applying yet, Lord? Show me. Teach me, again, to always seek You more than I seek new insight and understanding.”

You see, we’re never, never, never reading God’s word in order to fill our minds with great thoughts and puff ourselves up with understanding. We’re reading it because it’s His side of our conversation and through it, we know Him deeper and deeper.

Many of us will start the new year with Bible reading plans and great intentions. Reading God’s word is always a good thing. Living God’s word, though, living it, is our calling. Maybe this year, we focus less on keeping up with our reading schedule and more on meeting God on those pages. When He wants to tarry in one spot, let’s not trudge ahead chasing our sense of accomplishment more than we chase after Him.

And when we get bored, rather than leaving the boredom out as a tool of the enemy to discourage us, let’s bring our boredom to God and ask, “Okay. I want You more than I want a thrilling new understanding. What’s the last thing you said and how can I start living it right now?”

I suspect if we start applying what we read as soon as we read it, life will get exciting fast.

What do you do when Bible boredom strikes? Share your cures in comments so we can build one another up!

Battling Bible Boredom http://t.co/cL1JxO000M #Bible #Biblereadingplan Before you start this year's Bible reading plan, read this! #NewYear

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 28, 2014

If a Christian Falls in the Woods – or in North Korea or Somalia or Iraq – Does it Make a Sound?

Here’s my question: Why do the agents of God’s enemy understand the power of His word more than many of His children do?

I think about that whenever I read reports from countries where persecution is rampant. Here in the US, shelves laden with Bibles collecting dust, we forget the power of God’s word but in North Korea or Somalia, possession of even a portion of scripture can cost a believer her life.

One report I read said that Somalia is second only to North Korea as the world’s worst persecutor of Christians. Somalis who are discovered to be Christians face almost certain death, not only in their own country but also in the neighboring countries where many Somalis flee as refugees. “In Somalia, they kill you if they just find a piece of literature.”

God’s enemies know there is power in those pages. Power that cannot be contained. Power that threatens kings and thrones. Power that turns humans into friends of God. Power to transform, to incite revolution, to free a captive soul.

Another story I read said this: “When another church leader, Pastor Wang, asked his neighbor to go to a gospel meeting with him, the neighbor declined, saying if he spent his time in church, he would not have time to do other things. Two months later, the neighbor became very ill and asked the pastor to pray for him. After the prayer, he asked for a Bible. The neighbor started reading in Genesis, and after finishing the Bible, his illness was completely healed. The man had not wanted to believe in Jesus, but after finishing the Bible, he told the pastor, “The God you believe in is a living God, and I will believe just like you.”

Recently, I went out to dinner with my husband, just the two of us. We sat across from one another, wrinkled and weary, but as we chatted about our days, we looked straight into each others’ eyes. In the quiet of the restaurant, I remembered the power of our love. I re-believed in us. Something I need to do at least once a week.

Likewise, I need to sit across the table from God every day, look straight into His word, and remember the power of His love.

I need to not only believe IN God, I need to believe God. Believe what He says. Trust His character revealed through His Word just enough to act on what I read.

I cannot let it be said on the day I am face to face with Jesus, that those in Somalia or North Korea who hunted and killed my brothers and sisters showed more understanding of the power of God’s word than I.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13

We will one day give account. I want my account to say, “Fearlessly, she lived the love she found written in His word and it not only set her free, it empowered her to incite others to read His love, too.”

What about you? Are you ready to join the revolution? Does it bother you more that there are countries where reading God’s word is a punishable offense or that in free countries, God’s word languishes unread, unstudied, and unlived? This is the word that spoke LIGHT and LIFE into being. On your shelf. Untouched. While your life gasps, panting for a single drop of living water reclaimed from the dusty shelves.

Read His word today. Not tomorrow. Not when your new devotional arrives from Amazon. Not on January 1st when you’re going to start all over.  Your body can’t go longer than three days without water. How long has your soul thirsted for His word? What will you say when we are united with our brothers and sisters who survived persecution when they ask what it was like to have free access to God’s word every day?

I’ll probably admit that sometimes, I took it for granted, but knowing there are those who long to read just one verse spurred me on to open it and relish every word.

There are barriers to opening God’s word – even for those of us who live free. I’ll write about some of those in the next post. But don’t wait for that. Open God’s word now. Right now. Thousands flocked to a foolish movie this week-end in the name of political freedom, we can certainly flock to God’s Word for the freedom of our souls!

What did one domino say to the other?  We don’t have to fall.

If a Christian Falls in the Woods – or in North Korea or Somalia – Does it Make a Sound? http://t.co/liYPaveDcY #NorthKorea #TheInterview

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 26, 2014

Lenny the Trucker and the Christmas Eve Rescue

Lenny Thomas had seen it all.

He’d been a big-rig trucker for thirty-five years and nothing surprised him anymore. He’d crossed the country more times than he could remember and run across every character you could imagine and some you couldn’t.

As he pulled up behind the break down on I-81 just outside of Bethlehem, PA he was not anticipating anything more than offering a lift to a stranded stranger.

The owner of the aging pick-up towing a horse trailer seemed like a regular Joe. “Thanks for stopping, Mister. I could really use your help.”

“Truck’s seen better days.” Lenny brushed snowflakes off his canvas coat. “Need a lift?”

“No, sir. It’s my wife.” He led Lenny to the horse trailer and shone his flashlight in on a young woman in obvious labor. “We’ve got no place to go, no insurance. Her time’s arrived right here, right now. I – I’ve never done this. I called 911 but that was 20 minutes ago. I think the baby’s coming now.”

The young woman screamed and Lenny figured he’d better grab a blanket from the truck. Ten minutes later, after much sweating and more blood than he usually cared to encounter, Lenny held in his rough mitts a squawking, squirming baby boy.

As the young father tended to his wife, Lenny wrapped the baby in an old flannel blanket and stared at the new life. The boy’s hand curled around his finger and Lenny felt something he hadn’t felt in years. Awe.

The horse trailer rocked as another rig sped by, too close for comfort, and suddenly the world seemed a most dangerous, dirty, terrifying place for one so small and so pure. Lenny didn’t even know this child but he cradled him close to his chest and silently prayed for his protection, his health, and his future.

Tears rolled down the old trucker’s cheeks, as, for the first time in years, he was awestruck that the God of all creation had chosen to send His son in such a vulnerable package to such a sinful world.

Lenny didn’t even know this infant’s name and already he’d protect him with his own life. The full-impact of the Father’s sacrifice for the sinners inhabiting this planet struck Lenny like a meteor in the desert.

“Sir, I’ll take him now.” The boy’s father reached out and Lenny reluctantly placed the little package in his arms. “Thank you for all your help.”

Lenny stood by the side of the road for a long time scanning the starry sky – half expecting to see a choir of angels.

Suddenly, another rig pulled up behind his and the driver shouted to him above the engine noise, “You need assistance?”

“Nope, I’m good.”

“All right, Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas!” Lenny shouted, meaning it for the first time in many years.

The Pennsylvania State police received a dozen calls that night reporting a crazy truck driver dancing by the side of the highway, waving at passers-by and lying on the embankment making snow angels.

Reclaim your sense of wonder and awe! God can do that for you if you’ve lost it. Ask Him and see what happens. He makes all things new.

Remember: Reclaim your sense of wonder and awe! God can do that for you if you’ve lost it.

Read: Luke 2:1-21, John 3:16

Pray: For yourself and for those around you to have a renewed sense of awe as you consider the gift of Jesus Christ.

Be blessed this Christmas, loved ones. Jesus is with us now and will be with us whatever the New Year brings. You’re all in my prayers. Be blessed.

Lenny the Trucker and the Christmas Eve Rescue http://t.co/UlilOfcqrc #ChristmasEve #Flashfiction #truckers #miraclesdohappen

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 24, 2014

The Snow Globe – A Christmas Story for Troubled Teens

For some people, the holidays only intensify feelings of isolation and separateness from others. This flash fiction piece tells Carly’s Christmas Story –

The Snow Globe.

The church counselor shifted forward in her chair as I searched for words. “Like a snow globe? Explain that for me.”

I tried to find words for how I feel. “You know those snow globes people pull out at Christmas?”

She nodded.

“The world inside that globe seems beautiful, perfect, but if I tried to touch it or become part of it – it would shatter. To become a part of that world I would have to destroy it and then I would see that it was all really, fake after all. It’s only beautiful if I leave it untouched.”

“That’s how you see God’s love for you?”

I nodded and stared out the window. She won’t understand. Church people never get me. At least I can tell mom I tried. Snow was falling but that just deepened the ache inside. There’s no hope for me. I know it and she knows it.

She kept trying. “Would you try something with me, Carly? Can you trust me with your imagination for just five minutes?”

Her face seemed kind. She hadn’t said anything stupid yet. She might actually care. I nodded “yes.”

“Okay. I want you to close your eyes and picture yourself trapped inside a snow globe. Only this isn’t a beautiful snow globe. Your snow globe world is a scary city full of dirt, trash, and violent people around every corner.

In your snow globe world, there are people who seem like they may become friends but then they take off their faces like masks and laugh at you, mock you and call you names.

The windows on all the apartments in this world are mirrors. When you look in them, you see only what is wrong with you, all the bad choices you’ve made, all the fear you feel, all the mistakes you’ve made.

There’s no snow in this globe, only a cold driving rain. You bang on the glass as hard as you can but it won’t break. You scream as loud as you can but you think no one outside can hear. Can you picture that, Carly?”

I’m crying but I nod “yes” again.

“But someone does hear you.

He chooses your snow globe and he finds a way in. He becomes part of this ugly, scary, horrifying world you inhabit and he finds you. The people in the apartments laugh at him and mock him, too. The men beat him up and kill him. Are you with me?”

Nod.

“Then, just as you are thinking it’s all lost, he moves. He’s alive and now he’s more than alive. He takes a bullet from his own chest, the one they used to kill him and he hurls it at the glass of the globe.

The globe shatters and you are free.

Suddenly, you are standing with Him in the perfect world of color and light and truth and the snow is falling around you both – pure and white. Are you there, Carly?”

I manage to whisper. “Yes.”

“That is God’s love for you, dear one. That is God’s love. That is Christmas.”

Jesus broke through every barrier to be WITH us. He can break through whatever barrier isolates you from experiencing His love.

Have you ever felt alone, separate, left out, forgotten during this holiday season? Do you feel that way now? What’s in your snow globe this season?

Remember: Jesus broke through every barrier to be WITH us. He can break through whatever barrier isolates you from experiencing His love.

The Snow Globe – a Christmas story for trouble teens – Carly's Christmas Story http://t.co/J9fYRKppiT #TroubledFamilies #depressedteen

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) December 22, 2014