Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 7

The Secret to the Battle You’re Waging

How do we keep our hearts in a world determined to rob us of them?

King David knew the secret.

Goliath stood threatening the armies of God until this kid brother of some warriors arrived, fresh from tending sheep.

“David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” (1 Samuel 17:32 esv)

We smile with condescension at David’s bold pronouncement. Ironic since we know he does secure victory for God’s people! Still, we smirk and deem it youthful zeal.

The crime is that we do this, also, to our own hearts.

When our believing hearts say, “I will reach this nation for Christ.” Or “I will intercede for this addict until he is freed.” Or “I will write books that transform lives.” Another part within looks down and hands that faith-filled part of our hearts King Saul’s armor.

That armor looks like “Managed expectations.” “Realistic hopes.” “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” “Who do I think I am?”

David is unselfconscious against Goliath.

The men around likely snicker, scold, or sneer. But he remains focused on the affront to God’s name. On what he knows God can do.

Wisdom and discernment are essential in the Christian life, but guard against worldly versions lest they smother your believing heart with a pillow. Remind your worldly self (the one labeling David’s words naïve) that David did defeat Goliath.

Sometimes, within us, a battle wages between the disciple inside still trying to figure Jesus out and the believing child running to His arms.

Don’t let your inner disciple block that child from Jesus.

Have a heart after God’s. Nurture that believing child-like faith that is effective against giants.

Mourn the world’s brokenness. Believe God’s greatness. Hurt stones at giants. Keep your heart.

 

**Dear Readers, This week, I’m introducing shorter posts. Let me know your reaction. Also, join the conversation. Buy the book. Continue the work we share of demonstrating His kingdom come. Mercy and grace, Lori

I know your secret battle. Here’s the key. https://t.co/qr2ep2Um8e #amwriting #Believe

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 14, 2022

The Lie of the Divided Church

Don’t buy the divide.

The enemies of God want to exploit every sign of division in the Body of Christ, but we must remember the truth that in Jesus, “all things hold together,” including us. (Colossians 1:17 ESV)

God, in His generous wisdom, called us to Himself and to one another. It’s good not to be alone.

I cannot make my Christian identity about NOT being like “those other Christians” because that is one of those unending snares our enemy devises (Kobayashi Maru). We must recognize it for what it is and avoid the trap.

The longer I live and the more Christians I meet, the more I see I am like every one of them.

I get this life of faith wrong so often. I barely apply a fraction of God’s wisdom that I know and there’s so much that I don’t yet know. I do many right things for all the wrong reasons. And occasionally, by a miracle of grace, I reflect Christ.

Honestly, my biggest problem isn’t the parts of the Bible I don’t understand. Instead, it’s the vast portions I do understand but fail to live out in my daily life.

But, my Father always loves me and sings over me, so I won’t frown condescendingly on brothers or sisters on whom He is also smiling because we are in Christ.

Yes, Jesus is in my heart, but I am also in His and when I look around the great banquet table in His generous heart, I am not alone. And praise God for the variety of souls He’s gathered to Himself and praise God that I am one! All beggars made adopted sons and daughters of the King!

How can we not just look at one another and laugh with joy that we, misfits and miscreants all, have landed in the home of our most generous God, carried in on the open arms of Jesus?

Don’t buy the divide. It’s a snare.

When conflict in the church arises, lean into it with the power of the cross and the hope of the resurrection because it is our calling to maintain the unity we have in Christ.

But, that requires something of us. Humility. Investment of self. Vulnerability. Seeking God for His love to give to others. Setting ourselves aside for His sake. But, look around. What do we have of worth aside from Him? Let all else fall away and invest all in Him and His people.

Live in hope. Work with diligence. Apply grace in great dollops. Speak truth like children—confidently and without any measure of shame, but with wonder.

Receive His great love for you and believe it, ask Him to help your unbelief and then, know it’s true for the rest of His family, too.

We will be together forever. Let that forever breakthrough now.

Live now in the forever of His kingdom come.

We can fell giants, my brothers and sisters! Dry bones can rise!

We, the people who stand outside an empty tomb, have every hope that we can mend what’s broken and seek our Father as one.

Our greatest problem is not that our lives don’t matter, it’s that they do. It isn’t that we aren’t significant. It’s that our significance has been hidden from us.

But the light of Jesus reveals the incredible impact He can have through each and every one of us. Let us live in His light and not in the darkness of headlines that have no clue what we’re about.

Don’t buy the divide. Live in the unity He died and rose to provide.

The Lie of the Divided Church https://t.co/PcD5GExdx8 #ColorfulConnections #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 8, 2022

How Can You Call Yourself a Christian and Believe That?

Christians are free to disagree.

We’ve forgotten that.

The church was born on a battlefield. Ultimately, the victory is ours but there are still battles to fight until we Jesus comes again.

One, is the battle for one another. Not WITH one another, but FOR one another. In Jesus, we were reconciled to our Father God, and we became adopted into a family that consists of people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and walk of life.

We were adopted into different!

He unified us and our calling is to maintain that unity—not uniformity, but unity. Like any family, we have varying perspectives but still sit around our Father’s table and share a meal.

There will be important, life-changing issues on which Christians may not see eye-to-eye.

It’s everywhere right now. The questions about what Christians should believe on all kinds of political and societal matters, for example:

Is it more Christian to agree that college debts should be forgiven or more Christian to believe that puts an undue burden on others?Is it more Christian to vote Democrat or Republican?Is it more Christian to attend a gay wedding or to affirm your love but not attend?Is it more Christian to vote for choice around reproductive rights or to legally restrict abortions?Is it more Christian to create a refuge for people who enter our country without permission or to support enforcement of border laws or to do both?

These are not small questions and they’re becoming lines threatening to divide us from one another. We don’t have to buy the divide.

Of course, it’s unsettling when we determine an opinion on a situation based on our understanding of God and His Word only to learn that other believers have studied the same Bible but formed an opposite opinion. Unsettling, threatening, scary, concerning, cause for some alarm—absolutely, I resonate with those feelings.

But justification for name-calling, condemnation, public shaming, or raising suspicion about someone’s salvation? Proceed with extreme caution.

There are false teachers at large. There are wolves among sheep. There are people who say they’re Christians who aren’t. This is true. The apostles lived during a time when Christians were persecuted, arrested, imprisoned, and sometimes killed, and yet the threat they felt the need to warn most about in their letters was false teaching. It is a serious issue in our times and when we encounter false teachers, false teaching, or heresy, we are right to speak the truth in love.

Be proactive. Support sound teaching. Promote sound teaching. Sit under sound teaching. But, remember Chicken Little. The sky of our faith isn’t falling because others have different opinions than we do.

What are some ways to wisely navigate differences with an eye to maintaining the unity of the Body of Christ without compromising truth?

First, Jesus walked this world in love and truth. So, can we. Believe this, promote this, and pray for help with your unbelief. Jesus laid down His life for the church. Pray for that kind of love.Second, know what you believe and why you believe it. What is the biblical basis for your opinion? It’s good to dig into God’s Word and apply it to life in this world. That doesn’t always happen in a single Google search. It can take significant reading, study, thought, discussion, and prayer.Third, know what are essential truths of the faith on which you cannot, must not, compromise. Like Jesus. There is only one way to the Father and that is through His Son, Jesus.Fourth, be wise and speak with love-infused, humble, wisdom. When others of the faith disagree, reaffirm that you share agreement around the essentials of the faith. Reaffirm your love. Double-down on love and commitment to those brothers and sisters. Speak your understanding of the truth without apology but with gentleness, always with a listening heart. Ask a lot of questions. Seek to understand more than to be understood. Disagree without being disagreeable.Fifth, remind everyone that from the beginning of the church, reasonable Christians have formed different opinions they all believed were based on biblical truths, and yet, maintained unity in Christ. Christ has set us free. Free to love others with whom we disagree. Free to believe something different than another. Sometimes we do need to walk away or separate but invest effort first. Do the work.Sixth, pray for those with whom you disagree with fervency. Invest more time in prayer for their hearts and minds than on social media with scolding and shame. Pray, fast, study their opinions to learn how they think so you can better explain the truth, then pray more, listen more, talk more.Seventh, consider others better than yourself. See the truth, not as your weapon, but as the light that helps you find your way in love to them. Do the work family does for one another to stay together against all odds for Jesus’ name and be wise toward “outsiders.” Colossians 4:5-6.

Don’t buy the divide.

When critics point out to you that Christians “can’t even agree” reject shame and condemnation. That’s the trap. Instead agree. Yes, we certainly have more work to do as a family! I’d love to hear more about how this affects you, to hear Christians disagree! It will motivate me as I interact with other Christians.

Remain calm. Say something like this and invite the Holy Spirit in.

“Yes, I know what you mean. We certainly are a varied bunch that God has called together! You can see that Jesus isn’t afraid of a challenge! He’s so confident in His power to transform us that He is willing to save anyone who comes to Him, even knowing they’ll bring different opinions into His family. I love that you’re really paying attention to the church. I think that’s God calling to your heart. I’m happy to talk about the differences you’re observing. Which ones impact you the most? How can I help?”

Disagreement happens. The enemy will jump on it to tempt us all to fear one another or to lose heart.

Resist the devil and he will flee. Draw near to God. And to one another. Because of Jesus, we have nothing to fear—not even our own disagreements.

**Sometimes you write a book because there are things you want to say. I wrote this book with Saundra because there were things I DIDN’T want to say, but knew God wanted me to say (and hear). Join us. Order your copy today and find out what we’re all NOT saying.

When Christians disagree – https://t.co/uLpHCBWYtx Reject shame and scolding, embrace what is true. #amwriting #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 6, 2022

You Are So Loved (Blog Post and Big News!)

You woke up today with the week heavy on your chest.

Like life is one long To-Do list and there are never enough boxes checked.

You scrolled through your newsfeed and scanned a couple articles about salvation through de-cluttering and simplifying your life, but you just don’t have time to read to the end, so you saved them to your endless “To Be Read” pile. The irony did not escape you.

De-cluttering sure sounds like a miracle remedy but it won’t rescue your lost child, resurrect your damaged relationship, pay your overdue mortgage, or reverse your diagnosis.

It can’t roll back the years—months—days and it can’t fast forward you through this trial.

Boy, if all it would take was a clean closet, you’d have sprung to your feet today without lingering here in your thoughts.

You’re thinking you didn’t expect to still be in this place at this age.

You’re stifling regrets because you know that’s wasted emotional energy.

You’re wondering how you’ve ended up so alone so often.

You’re reflecting on how hard you’ve tried, how much you’ve prayed, and how intentionally you’ve lived but there were curveballs, miscalculations, and a host of things you never saw coming—plus, you know, you’re a sinner, so, there’s that.

This line of thinking needs to be silenced so you hold a pillow over its face until it’s quiet.

There are people you can call who will tell you it’s all going to be okay, but they don’t really know. They just want it to be as badly as you do.

You need someone with power. Someone with authority. Someone in a position to offer actual reassurance.

Right. You know that guy.

And a Bible verse springs to mind, “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

It’s been a long time since you were a child. But for a moment you think, wouldn’t it be great? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have someone to run to right now? Someone who would hold this aching part of my soul and tell me that I won’t be alone through this?

Here’s the truth.

Jesus hears the part of you that will never grow old. That child within that loves the crisp smell of fall, the glow of a campfire, the sweetness of pie, and a reassuring hand on your shoulder. He sees that child you’ll hold forever in your soul.

Let that child go to Him and do not hinder him or her. Because that’s where you find the belief, the faith, the hope to face the day knowing you’re not alone.

It’s not just something we say.

It’s not religious wishful thinking.

He does redeem.

He does rescue.

He does save.

He does have all power and authority.

And He loves you.

You don’t even know how wide, how high, or how deep that love goes because the disciple trying to be grownup in your soul is holding back that child in your heart from running into His arms.

Let them both run to Jesus. He wants all of you. He adores you. He gave everything for you so there’s nothing good that He’ll withhold now.

There is no limit to His love or to what He will do.

Believe again.

It’s okay. Believe again today. Because it’s all even more true than we can take in. We all forget. We all let it fade, but He is ever ready to refresh, to renew, and to revive us again.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV

“Oh what can be done for an old heart like mine?”

**THE BIG NEWS!**

Dear Readers, If you’ve been burdened by the division in our nation around skin color and ethnicity and are looking for tools to further the kingdom work of reconciliation, I invite you along on a new adventure.  Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and I have co-authored a new book, Colorful Connections: 12 Questions about Race that Open Health Conversations that releases on September 20th.  It’s time for us all to believe again that we can make a difference, no matter what skin color God has given us. Join us! Please help spread the word and further the conversation of what Jesus can do to repair all of our relationships by helping us with our launch! 

Joining the team will give you a chance to: Begin reading the book before it’s available to the public. Discuss the book with me, Saundra, and other team members during live group discussion times. Be entered to win weekly fun giveaways for your participation. Pray and actively participate together in opening ourselves to more colorful connections and conversations to envision what healthier relationships could look like for the church and for all other areas of our life.Just click HERE to learn more and to join the conversation!

You are so LOVED! (Blog post and BIG NEWS!) https://t.co/F4zQoBG5x4 #colorfulconnections #NewReleases

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 30, 2022

Are You Still Trying to Beat the Kobayashi Maru?

Do you manage your expectations?

Do you hold back from good that comes into your life because you just know the universe will find a way to balance it out with something bad just around the corner?

Do you withhold all of yourself from relationships, friends, congregational involvement to protect a heart that’s been disappointed too often?

Recently I asked someone if they’d heard news about a new job. “I’m trying not to hope—managing my expectations so I don’t get too disappointed.”

I ran into another person at the wake of a friend. She worked briefly with this friend and told me, “I’m glad we didn’t really get close. She was clearly a wonderful person and I’d hate to have experienced the grief others here are feeling.”

Living life at arm’s length is certainly one way to go about it but while we’re busy protecting ourselves from the bad, we’re missing out on truly immersing in the good. And there is much about life that’s good.

It all has the appearance of wisdom but it’s a worldly wisdom that keeps us living small and tends to reinforce itself with self-fulfilling prophecies because when we do attempt to break out, we hedge our emotional bets.

 

By not committing fully to whatever we attempt, we’re more likely to experience what we expect to experience.

Jesus said this: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV)

There is a thief in this world and he’s not only out to steal our souls, he’s also set up systems to rob us of joy, of living in the abundance God has provided, and of destroying our hopes of ever getting out of life what it appears to promise.

Conversely, Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly.

Abundant life can be had. It doesn’t consist in an abundance of possessions, achievements, or dreams come true, but it is available to us.

Abundant life has riches, joys, pleasures, and possibilities. It also has sorrows, pain, hardship, and trial. To try to dull ourselves to the pain, we numb ourselves also to the joy.

Jesus set us free to experience it all with His presence, His Holy Spirit, living within us, guiding, guarding, healing, and freeing. With Him as our protector, we can open ourselves to life in living color and escape the endless gray of half-living.

We can love deeply. Get our hopes up and survive if they’re dashed but rejoice, all the more, if they’re realized. We can celebrate one day and mourn the next and celebrate again with a depth of spirit that lives with Jesus in the gift of every present moment.

But, we have to hack the loop. We must recognize the fault in the test the world presents us every day.

Like the Kobayashi Maru test on Star Trek.

Yes, God spoke to me this morning about the Kobayashi Maru. In the fictional Star Trek world, every Star Fleet officer had to take the Kobayashi Maru test and every officer failed.

They were told it was a test of leadership—of character. They were told it was mandatory. Some tried many times and each time they failed.

There was one problem with the test—it was designed so that everyone who attempted it would fail. It was a no-win test. No matter who attempted it or how they responded, the test would ensure failure.

So, one man reprogrammed the test.

He hacked it. He cheated. Which doesn’t say a lot about one aspect of his character but one thing it does tell us is this—he opted out of the endless no-win loop. He called out the deception. He bought a ticket off that relentless ride to failure. He recognized the futility of it and decided not to play.

We can do that, too.

Satan has set up countless no-win loops in this world. We endlessly replay childhood trauma, church trauma, relational failure, career failure, broken dreams, broken hearts, and dashed hopes.

These are all realities in a broken world but the devil whispers to us that the only option we have is to keep repeating the same test, over and over and over.

Jesus calls out the deception. He beckons us off the loop. He promises that He has beaten the test by losing His life for us and rising again so that now, when we lose, we win.

Matthew 16:25, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Jesus invites us into love that will break our hearts. He calls us into ministries that will sometimes dash our hopes. He walks with us into congregations of people who will irritate us, disappoint us, and frustrate us along the way.

But, love will also delight us. Ministries will engage us. Congregations are full of people who will also surprise us, support us, and love us back.

If we hold ourselves back hoping to save our lives, we lose. Self-protection is a lie. Jesus is our guard. Jesus is our deliverer.

He provides armor that protects us, not from the bumps and scrapes of living for Him but from the real enemy—the deceiver who wants us to spend forever on the treadmill of muffled existence.

This is how we become like children. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4 “’Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”

If we meet a child who holds back from life, from trying, from loving, from dreaming, we worry about that child and wonder what harm has come to them. We invest great effort to draw them out so they don’t miss out.

Stop trying to keep the child you are inside from running to Jesus and experiencing the full life He wants you to know. He’s invested great effort to draw you out so you won’t miss out on all He’s sending your way.

The test is fixed. Get off the loop. LIVE.

Are you stuck in the endless loop? Want to escape the no-win life you're experiencing? There is a way. https://t.co/g8HjTIJhEU #Jesus #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 16, 2022

Holding onto Faith Despite the Pressure to Let Go

It’s getting harder to hold onto faith. 

It’s a long way home and we’re tempted to wonder if we’ll ever make it–if home ever really existed anywhere but our imaginations.

I remember learning about Tokyo Rose in WWII. Women broadcasters who spouted propaganda over the airwaves to discourage the Allied troops. “Give up. All hope is lost. You have no chance of winning. Your country is evil and your leaders have abandoned you.”

Words like this played on like white noise against a backdrop of war as they stood their ground, holding out what could seem like the impossible hope to soon return home to their loved ones.

This is not unlike the spiritual forces at work against us now. The spirit of the age erects strobing lights and disheartening deceit played on a loop – Why don’t you just give up on Jesus? He’s not coming back. He’s certainly not coming for you. Why continue to hold out hope? Why continue to minister, to labor, to care? None of it matters.

But it does. You matter. You matter to Jesus.

The looped white noise is a lie. Perseverance is the call of our age. Persevere in love, in hope, in faith, in calling. And we may be a pivotal generation.

Know that there will be a last generation, one that will face unimaginable testing. Consider that they will need role models who demonstrated faith that hangs on, faith that leans on the power of the Holy Spirit to persist, faith that clings to love by its fingernails and ignores the temptation to let go.

Imagine a generation of older saints who model life, hearts flowing with the river of life, bearing fruit in old age, eyes set on the hope of heaven and hearts of flesh, not stone, willing to be broken by what breaks the heart of God persevering against all odds in love for others, in obedience to God’s Word, in showing mercy to the outcast and compassion for the brokenhearted. Imagine that we are those saints.

Let it be our mission to leave no weary brother or sister behind, gasping for air on the side of the narrow road having yielded to the lies that slip in over the transom of faith. Let it be our practice to rely on Jesus, Jesus who is in our hearts, to refresh us, moment by moment, with truth and grace.

Daniel prophesied that the evil one would “speak words against the Most High and wear out the saints.” But we will not wear out because the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The fullness of Christ is sufficient to sustain us even in these times. From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

Speak words of grace today. Words full of life and light. Encourage one another. Persevere in the faith.

If you are empty, if you’re succumbing to the false narrative filling the air, go to Jesus and receive.

He can refresh you, restore you, remind you who you are and fill you with renewed hope.

And even into our graying years, we will be signposts for those who come behind us for we are the veterans who will come to their minds in battles to come.

Persevere. Persevere. Persevere. We will get home. He is coming. He is love. He is true. Jesus.

Holding onto faith when everything tells us to let go. https://t.co/cIgvBBQrvw #faith #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) August 5, 2022

The Problem of Pain-When It’s Mine (or Yours)

I arrived home exhausted today. Like I’d run a marathon or climbed Everest, both things I’d never even attempt because that’s not really my design.

But what I did today is normally in my wheelhouse. I worshipped with people I care about. I attended a long lunch with a subset of those same people. All wonderful—kind, godly, caring individuals prone to saying the right thing. They did nothing wrong.

It’s my life that has changed.

Have you ever experienced such a string of losses and life alterations that you survive, only to realize maybe you haven’t as well as you initially believed?

Until suddenly it exhausts you to answer the question, “how are you?” or to respond to the invitation to “catch me up on your life.”

Have you ever felt a desperate longing to be “fine?”

I used to despise the word fine. It’s non-descript, commonplace, a cliché. I’m a writer after all and we eschew cliches’ but today, I would have given my left foot to be fine.

Instead, the losses, changes, transitions—good, bad, expected, traumatic, chosen, unwanted all caught up with me and every conversation snowballed into the next like a cartoon avalanche, an unfunny cartoon or one that’s only funny if you’re not the one in the path of the careening snowball.

Authentic. It’s always been important to me to be authentic and vulnerable. To refuse to protect myself and let God be my protector.

Today, that just seemed like a crazy idealistic notion best left to fictional characters. Who needs authentic when it seems more like drama? Like stuff no one wants to hear? Or makes you sound like maybe you don’t trust God to work all things together for good.

I do. After over sixty years of following Him, I do. But, there are paths I’d have preferred not to be walking and choices I wish other people had rejected and incidents it would have made my life easier if they hadn’t occurred, but here we are.

And Jesus is definitely with me, but I would rather be lying down in green pastures.

Ever hear yourself answering questions about what you’re doing and suddenly not recognize your life? That was me today.

And maybe this is too real to share—it probably is—and maybe it makes you uncomfortable to read—it probably does, but as it turns out, one thing that hasn’t changed is my commitment to authenticity, to God in real time, to standing in truth—

Even if that means I’m up to the top of my waders in personal pain.

And even though I trust that God is my shepherd and that He works all things together for good and that He is always with me, even though I believe all that to my core,

I wish that some things that were lost were not, and I wish some things that have changed didn’t and I wish when people ask how I am, I could just say that I’m fine.

Still, even though I can’t say that I’m fine, here’s what I can say: God is with me, and I am with Him. That hasn’t changed.

Worshiping Him today was bliss. Talking about things that matter to Him was unbridled joy. Sharing a prayer and a meal with others who know and love Him was heaven this side of glory.

And that will tide me over through the exhaustion and the pain.

And there will be a mountaintop on the other side of this valley, but somehow, I felt like it was important for someone to hear what it’s like during the climb, because much of life is the climb.

Much of life is lugging the pack where the air is too thin and heels blister and it’s hard to breath and you wonder why you even began this trek in the first place

So, be sure that your climbing companion is Jesus

That will make all the difference.

I suspect some of you wish you could say you are fine. And you are, because you know Jesus is with you, but you’re walking a stretch of road you wish hadn’t come up. I hear you. Please know, you’re not alone.

I guess that’s all I wanted to say, really. So, I’ll close with words from two writers who saw some dark stretches of road and understood about life when fine had gone missing in the fog:

“Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”–J.R.R.Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” C.S.Lewis, The Problem of Pain

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The Problem of Pain – When It's Mind (or Yours) https://t.co/sBuzKcJapu (When you're not fine). #Jesus #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 16, 2022

Speaking Truth to People Who Won’t Listen – The Jeremiah Generation

The Jeremiah Generation.

Is that us?

We’ve been entrusted to speak truth in our times.

We are to speak of God’s boundless, reckless, lavish love.

Love that brought Jesus from heaven to the cross. Love that cries out to those who deny its very existence and that waits with open arms, scanning the road for all who will come. Love we receive through Christ alone.

We are also to tell the truth that God will not allow creation to be held hostage forever—judgement will come.

There is a time, known only to God, when Jesus will return to enact final judgement. He will end evil, sin, and death. They will no longer be allowed to wreak havoc on humanity and God’s breathtaking creation. In love, Jesus will end the conflict. Those who haven’t chosen to access love and forgiveness through Him will be separated from God forever.

These truths may appear to be in conflict. Sometimes, even to those who know Jesus. That’s because love displays itself in different forms.

We may always know love to look one way from a loving father. He may, for our entire lives, appear kind, calm, patient, peaceful, wise, and reasonable.

 

Until one day, an intruder appears intent on destroying our family. Then, we see our father defend us with appearance, words, and actions that don’t look like love but that are, indeed, fueled by love. This is the Jesus who returns.

He will come.

And so, we speak this truth—that God is love and that God, in love, will judge and end all suffering. We pray that our generation will listen, walk into the waiting arms of Jesus, and be saved. That is our call.

It is our call when they listen.

It is our call when they refuse to hear.

It is our call when they scoff, mock, or laugh at us for saying such things.

It is our call when they rage at us, reject us, and hate us for saying such things.

And the closer we get to the end, the more like Jeremiah we will be.

The less they will listen.

The more they will refuse to hear.

The more they will scoff, mock, laugh, rage, reject, and hate.

But we must still speak.

This is what God told Jeremiah. ““So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.’” Jeremiah 7:27-28 ESV

The call on Jeremiah’s life was nearly unbearable. To be the lone voice of godly reason in a lost generation, knowing you won’t be spared the earthly consequences of your neighbor’s choices is an incomprehensible weight.

But this earth isn’t forever. There will be a new earth.

So, there are two truths, seemingly in conflict, that our generation must embrace.

First, that we must speak truth about Jesus’ relentless, lavish, sacrificial love and about the coming judgement to our generation. We must do it gently, humbly, and tirelessly—powered by the Holy Spirit.

Second, many will not listen. Worse, they will try to silence us.

What does that mean played out?

It means the citizens of our country may cry out for freedoms, laws, and rights that conflict with God’s laws.

As citizens, we have a right to make our case and as Christians, we have a moral obligation to speak truth without compromise.

There is a way the world works. Biblical truth is as true as the laws of gravity. There are consequences for ignoring the way the world works. We must continue to warn others about this. In gentleness, in humility, with persistence and power.

When the laws of the land conflict with God’s laws, we live in conflict with the land. But we continue to live with gentleness and humility so that as we share His truth from person to person to person, they may be moved by our delivery and come to willingly obey these higher laws.

The Jeremiah generation grows. Some nations are already there. Some believers already know this truth too well. America is late to this spiritual hardening.

It will never be easier to share the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ than it is today. Doesn’t matter what day you read this. The coming times will be increasingly harder.

And so, we must embed with God. We must bury our hearts with Christ on the cross and rise with the resurrection power that brought Jesus back from the dead so that He now lives.

We must trust He is on His throne. We must put no barrier in our lives to the power and the flow of the Holy Spirit in us and through us.

They may not listen, but we must still speak. With humble certainty, with gentle confidence, with loving passion, with sacrificial lives.

Whining will just make life harder and decrease our effectiveness.

Complaining about those who won’t listen will just dilute our message and diminish our internal resources.

Delivering the message with harsh arrogance will not reflect the heart of God.

Yielding to despair denies the truth of eternity.

We need Holy Spirit power to keep going. We need one another. We need Jesus every moment of every day and lives fueled by prayer and a regular infusion of biblical truth.

In Jesus, we have everything we need for life and godliness—even as the culture hardens. Even as hearts become stone to the gospel. Even as the truths that lie at the core of our lives are outlawed.

We are not alone. Even as more and more, we become the Jeremiah generation.

Jesus knows. John 1:11 ESV “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

His strength abides in us as we abide in Him. Keep speaking truth. It will never be easier than it is today.

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Are we the Jeremiah generation? https://t.co/9CW3UnRq03 Speaking truth when others won't listen. #Jesus #gospel

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 12, 2022

Faith and Life–It’s Complicated

Spare me your tweets and memes. Truth matters but so does delivery of truth. Ask Jesus.

Fans of social media.

Divisive people.

Evil forces.

What do they have in common?

They like to create camps and convince people there are only two choices on every issue impacting humans and society—and we all must choose one now. Our choices, they demand, divide us into those two camps, and we must never stray or suggest there is any nuance or complexity to be explored. In fact, what is most important to say, they contend, can be said in a meme—a tweet—a soundbite.

It’s a lie.

The truth is, there is often a world of biblical options—a third, fourth, maybe a tenth but that doesn’t fit neatly in a tweet or clever meme.

Here’s what faith and life have in common—they were simple and straightforward until sin entered the world. Now, they’re complex.

How do we know great truth is complex? Because Jesus didn’t send us a bumper sticker but a Bible. It’s an extensive, rich, multi-layered work of Holy Spirit-inspired literature that changes lives and transforms hearts. It isn’t consumed in a single click but is meant to be ingested over a lifetime.

We know God didn’t think redemption was as simple as educating, training, disciplining, or rewarding a soul. We know this because He sent His only Son to show us how to live and then die on the cross in our place before raising Him from the dead to live forever. That’s a drastic move full of complexity, worth contemplating for a lifetime.

We know this because we are changed when we enter a relationship with Jesus but over a lifetime, we experience transformation one truth at a time—truth in our innermost being. There’s nothing simple about that.

If your faith and life are simple, easy, and create beliefs that fit easily on a meme, then you’re just not paying attention.

Yes, the truth is that we must choose to worship Christ or be separated forever from God. There is no third option for salvation. But, God is at work in us in a million ways and we must treat one another with kindness, gentleness, and self-control as we speak this truth into one another’s lives.

Yes, the truth is that life is precious and needs to be protected in the womb, but don’t think tweeting about it is the answer. Sit with a young woman raised in a culture that demands she insist on her rights and let nothing interfere with her goals or she’s failing all those who came before. Listen to her confusion about abortion with the compassion Jesus had and discuss your convictions confidently but with humility and gentleness.

Yes, it’s true that no one should force their religious beliefs on anyone else, but don’t stick that in a meme. Instead, sit with a young man who survived his mother’s botched attempt to abort him and ask him about the impact of the public debate, the posters, the rhetoric on his soul.

Yes, the culture is straying from God and young people are leaving the church in droves. Don’t just update your status with a wagging finger. Instead, invite some young adults to your home and ask about their lives. Listen to their experiences with Christians and the understanding they have of Jesus from what they’ve heard. Listen and speak with gentleness and humility.

Yes, the church has gotten a lot wrong. Yes, there have been some breathtakingly awful public scandals and failures. But before you rant against your brothers and sisters online, sit with a woman whose life and marriage and children were transformed when an imperfect Christian businessman shared the gospel using a tract with her alcoholic husband and attended AA meetings with him for two years.

Yes, the Bible condemns homosexual behavior but instead of railing against the pride rainbow on your social media wall, sit with the mother in your congregation who prays every night for her son. She would love to invite him and his husband to church but she worries that rejection or a sermon on homosexuality would send him running from God. Get into this with her, not with cliché and pat answers but with a heart that beats like hers for these two young men she loves. Explore and honor the pain experienced at the intersection of love and truth as Jesus did on the cross.

Yes, sometimes the church communicates in legalistic ways and some messages are delivered with unyielding defiance of cultural norms. But, rather than update your status with all the ways the church should change, sit with a young woman who was delivered from a homosexual life by the same message that sent another running for the doors.

When we know God, we know His truth and His law is good, true, and unchanging. We also know He is full of compassion. We know He didn’t run after people who ran from Him or change the truth depending on the person in front of Him. But we also know His love is relentless and waiting at the top of the road like the father of the prodigal son.

Life and faith—it’s complicated.

Modern culture and social media tempt us to skim across the surface of life and faith. We think it takes courage to retweet someone else’s meme or to “like” a status on Facebook. It stretches the imagine to believe Jesus died on the cross so that we would have the courage to click.

Jesus left His throne and became one of us. He offered a face-to-face, sit across the dinner table, face the stones with the adulterous woman kind of love. He delivered hard truth in person. You can respect a God like that.

He could have come today and done it through a Messianic blog but instead, He came to a time of grimy feet and dusty robes, of fish and loaves, of Pharisees and droves of oppressed souls longing not for a message but for a man who was God made flesh.

And He lives in us. We’re supposed to be free to do more, not less.

So, spare me your memes. Delete your tweets. Get out from behind your finger click and invite someone who disagrees with you to share a meal. That’s when you’ll see God at work changing the world—starting with yours.

Wait? You don’t know any of these people I’ve listed? You don’t know anyone who disagrees with you? Wow. Get with Jesus and listen to His directions. He’ll guide you in the right direction.

**Dear Reader, have you experienced a setback, obstacle, or challenge in pursuit of your God-given purpose? Here a free download for you of 7 Steps to Overcoming a Setback. It includes scriptures, journaling space, and prayers as you move through the 7 steps. Need more one-on-one support? In the climb of your life, you deserve an experienced guide. Check out my coaching and email me to schedule a free “Do-We-Fit” session. Even if we don’t decide to continue coaching, we’ll work out your next step in this session.

Faith and Life-It's Complicated Let's cut the memes for complex issues and return to face-to-face conversations. https://t.co/lck6qvs7ye #Jesus #faith

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 6, 2022

God and Guns and Idols Revealed in the Aftermath

In the wake of tragedies like the deaths in Uvalde, Texas, people talk. They throw lots and lots of words at the pain, mostly because that caliber of pain cries out for answers. The crying out part is biblical.

When Cain murdered his brother Abel, God told Cain: “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10 ESV)

In Genesis 9, when Noah and his family emerged from the ark, God told Noah, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.”

The outcry of the blood of those lost in the tragedy and the need for a reckoning is as ancient as humanity. Of course, we must consider what must change. Of course.

But understand this, the immediate scramble for answers reveals our shared idols. Let’s not miss that part. What is the first place we looked for salvation from this shooting? Was it our politicians and legal authority? Was it mental health providers and pharmaceutical salvos? Was it educators? Security and alarm systems? Hollywood? Video games? Media? First responders?

None of those things are bad when viewed in the right perspective. But elevated to the place of ultimate protection from evil turns the dial beyond what these agencies and ideals were designed to provide.

When the Psalmist wrote Psalm 121, the hills around him were places of idol worship. Altars and poles were erected on the high places for worship of false gods. This is the context of his opening words, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (vs1-2).

The Psalmist is facing trouble and all about him are the places that others seek answers. He redirects his eyes to the One True God for help. And so must we.

That doesn’t mean that part of our response to societal problems doesn’t involve new laws or political influence, changes in mental health, new security measures, or new increased training for first responders. But where we turn first, where we find wisdom, from where we draw strength, comfort, and direction makes all the difference. Reflection on our gut reaction is instructive to areas where repentance and change will bear better fruit.

As we lay down our idols and turn toward God, some of those things we broke or twisted by making them into gods, suddenly become useful tools when rightly perceived as instruments, not superpowers against all evil. This isn’t Gotham city and the mayor doesn’t have a beacon to elicit help from a mythical hero.

In the aftermath and the fallout, there are reasons to believe this horrific event was a perfect storm of multi-system failures in our society. There is no single answer. There is no solitary solution. But that doesn’t mean we sit back and wait for the next gunman.

Those outside the church will go about their process and they are free to do that. Let them stake their poles on all the high hills. Jesus-followers, though, must seek Him first.

“‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:6-10 ESV

In this, we can all make a difference. When there is a clear and evident societal failure, the church must take responsibility for failing to be salt and light. Every believer in that culture must consider James’ words and seek God. Then, wisdom from on high enters our souls, our thinking, and our words. It informs our decisions and actions. We become more effective advocates for the right change.

And God may surprise us. He sees what we don’t. He knows what part each of us can play. We have more power than we realize when we rightly place God above all other idols.

He sees every solitary gunman currently listening to the wrong voices, quietly planning the next disaster, and silently eluding every alert system we currently have in place. God sees. And we are God’s people. More reason to consider pauses in our words to listen and really hear what He is saying even if your home is miles from Uvalde. Your neighbor may be at the epicenter of the next headline and God may have already tried to get your attention.

God approached Cain and this was their exchange. “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

Yes. Yes, we are. Our greatest problem is not that our lives don’t matter—it’s that they do, but our significance is hidden from us from the great deceiver of our times. Still God can cut through that deception and lead us into right thinking, right beliefs, and right actions.

Guns. Laws. Security. Counselors. Training. Media reform. Political action. Social Change. Tools or idols? Instruments of wisdom serving the God who sees or idols that blind us and divide so that we continue to fall prey to the same trap over and over.

Seek Him first. Sounds like an antiquated cliché along the lines of thoughts and prayers. It becomes that when we don’t do it.

You and I have access to the highest power. Are we living and moving toward that access or looking to the hills for answers? Their blood cries out. Will we listen?

**Next week, my website will be down for some time for necessary maintenance. There may be no post then but feel free to connect with me through email (lorisroel@gmail.com) or over social media. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

Where we look for answers in the aftermath of tragedy matters. https://t.co/KpQ2qYMLHG #UvaldeMassacre #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 15, 2022