Lori Stanley Roeleveld's Blog, page 8

God in Uncertain Times

An Ode to All We Do Not Know

This morning I thought back to one year ago.

I started the day at my desk after some Bible reading and prayer. Worked my job. Enjoyed a sense of self-determination and well-being. At 1, I left to meet a client.

By 3:30, I was in the back of a rescue, torn and bleeding with injuries that would take months to heal. Wounds that still ache after a long day of writing. An attack that continues to ripple through my life with consequences and still uncertain outcomes.

There was another morning, years back.

It was a Sunday and I worshipped with my church family—sitting behind a couple I enjoyed but only sort of knew. I thought about asking them to dinner some time.

By evening, we got word that the husband’s small plane had crashed. He had received a greater invitation—to a table awaiting all who believe, but he wouldn’t be invited to mine. That opportunity exploded on a wide, green airfield.

Life is uncertain and don’t we hate that! I know I’m not alone.

We can all think back. To the week in 2020 before we went into lockdown. To a month in early 2022 when most of us would struggle to find Ukraine on a map. To the decision that changed everything or the phone call that came in the night or the announcement that arrived out of the blue.

Why? Why? Why? When our souls long for certainty, safety, and peace does God leave us to lives where we can be blindsided?

I believe there were generations who handled this better than we do. Generations, cultures, and personalities better equipped to navigate uncertainty. People living under expansive starry skies, dependent on weather and community and favorable crops just to survive a winter—who understood their own frailty, their smallness against the universe, the fragility of existence that is like a warm breath in the cold air. People who embraced humility as the truth rather than as a spiritual exercise requiring supernatural imagination.

We are the most narcissistic generation I imagine that has ever walked the earth.

Believing we can see, predict, plan, chart, determine, and decide all our ways to eliminate risk, fear, loss, and everything we don’t want to enter our carefully mapped lives.

Perhaps because we stare at screens rather than stars and see ourselves reflected there, larger than we truly are. We live surrounded by mirrors, images, and control panels so we gauge that we have greater control than we do—mastery over our worlds and the ones we create.

So, rather than cling to God in grateful dependence, we resent Him when life breaks in and reminds us we belong to the breakable, easily obliterated human race like every generation before us. Rather than hit our knees and ask for help, we shake our fists and rebuild our towers, determined that next time the flood waters won’t reach our heights.

We are a stingy generation. A people struggling to schedule God into our days, collapsing at night with only the fleeting memory of intending to read His Word, speak His name, or exhale a prayer. We determine tomorrow will be the day but right now, we deserve a break—this drink, this workout, this episode, this update. Right now, we must be informed, of course, and rested and fed and relieved.

Stingy toward God but generous toward ourselves in ways we don’t even see because our narcissistic certainty has blinded us to the collapse of our own perspectives inward.

Jesus told a parable about us once:

“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:13-21 ESV

I detest the uncertainty of life and yet, I see the hidden gift of it, too. I don’t know where I’ll end up later today. Perhaps disaster will revisit my life or perhaps I’ll cook dinner and watch a show. Remembering that I wasn’t prepared last year, but God saw me through, reminds me to be rich toward God today.

Not to lay up plans and choices like a hoarded treasure I can count on to keep me warm but to lean into God, knowing He sees what’s coming and is present there as He is now.

There lies a gift in all we do not know. It strips us down to all we can know. We can know Him—and He is enough.
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God in uncertain times – An Ode to All We Do Not Know https://t.co/gCULKT15O6 #amwriting #JesusChrist

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 9, 2022

How to Love People Who Hate You (Or Going from Different to Dangerous)

It used to be that you just disagreed.

You were the “Jesus” person. He was your “thing.” No biggie. Their parents talked about Jesus, or they grew up going to church or they knew others who were “religious.” You were still cool.

They just saw life differently than you. They didn’t need that “crutch.” They weren’t into the Bible. They had other things to do on the weekend. They were spiritual but didn’t believe in organizing it into a church box.

Besides, you did nice things for people in the community. You represented Jesus and He’s all about love. You could be trusted. You worked hard. You forgave. You listened. You seemed to really care.

You were different but that’s okay. Everyone has different ideas. You could still be friends, family, coworkers, partners, community.

Then one day, that changed.

Not you.

But something.

Because now, you’re not different, you’re dangerous.

Now, it’s not okay to disagree.

Now, you’re what’s wrong with our country—maybe the world.

Now, they’re sure they understand Jesus better than you do.

Your understanding of Jesus makes people feel bad to the point they want to give up. Your understanding is archaic. It causes wars—probably even racism, sexism, abuse, and everything else the world hates.

Now, you’d better stop talking. They don’t want that kind of talk in their home, business, community, world. They won’t tolerate it. Not even for a moment.

Really, they wish you would just get on board or go away.

So, you do what you do. You open God’s Word and hit your knees asking for direction.

That hasn’t changed.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28 ESV).

Now it’s getting real. Now, you experience an unfamiliar dimension of the gospel.

Suddenly the splintery wood and the piercing nails of the cross don’t feel like a concept you want to dip in gold and hang around your neck. You can hear the hammer on the nail head. You feel the thorns on His brow. You hear the taunts of His neighbors, coworkers, friends—people He’s healed and set free—shouting “Crucify.”

And Scripture comes alive on your front porch, your cubicle, your boardroom, the school committee meeting, or on the evening news:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

 

But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 

Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 

But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’”

John 15:18-25

You inhale His truth and exhale all that used to be true about the world around you.

You wish you had learned to love better when it was easier to love.

Loving people who tolerated you wasn’t all that difficult. Loving people who wish you were gone, who whisper lies, who consider you “the problem,” is a whole other can of worms. You can’t do that.

And Jesus draws you close and in the pages of His Word You hear Jesus say, “Of course, you can’t.”

“You need me. You always have but now you see it even more. I love those who hate you. Just as I loved you when you hated me. I loved you when your sin nailed me to the cross. I love you now and will love you into eternity. You can’t offer them what you don’t have but what you do have is Me. Offer My love, even when they reject you, mock you, laugh at you, silence you, or shut you out.”

So, You dig into His Word and remember everything you know about God.

You remember truth. You put on love. You remove all the emotional and social armor you first threw on when the threat appeared and replace it  with His armor—knowing it can be pierced on this side of glory but cannot harm you into eternity.

On the day you went from different to dangerous, nothing really changed except the scales fell from your eyes.

You’ve always been dangerous. You are light in a world that loves darkness. Light will prevail.

 

Now, let’s get out there and love our neighbors. It will never be easier than it is today.

BONUS post: 10 Hymns about Freedom We Can Sing Today

How to love people who hate you. (on the day you go from being different to dangerous). #amwriting #Jesus https://t.co/BOtv5fhBIc

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 1, 2022

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Abusive Christian Leaders and Our Role in The Cover-Up

Let’s be crystal clear:

It isn’t the revelation of abusive leadership that is the problem, it’s the fact of the abuse.

The headlines aren’t the problem for the church—the abuse and the cover up are the problems.

This time, it’s a report that the Southern Baptist Convention failed to address myriad sexual abuse allegations against pastors and church staff, despite having a secret list of those who had been accused.

It’s incomprehensible that those charged with representing Christ in a leadership role, especially in a denomination that preaches headship with such fervor, should so recklessly disregard the victims of those entrusted with their care.

In one documented case, a girl of 14 was repeatedly sexually abused by her pastor. When it finally resulted in a pregnancy, she was forced to apologize to the congregation ALONE with no mention of the father.

This is injustice. This is abominable behavior. It doesn’t serve God or the church to pretend it doesn’t happen or to deal with it under cover of darkness. It must be confronted in the light.

Here are my warnings to you, my friends, about areas in which we must wake up as a church to do better at eliminating this kind of abuse and cover up:

GOD DOESN’T NEED OUR PROTECTION, and neither should our leaders. Anyone telling victims they are responsible to be quiet to protect the ministry or the work of the leader or the outreach of the church should reject that as a lie. When we engage in cover-up in the church, we’re employing self-protection. Don’t even pretend we’re not. In Isaiah 46, God warns Israel that idols need to be carried. Idols cannot save themselves and need protection. Idols are a burden to the people. God, on the other hand, carries US! ““Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” Isaiah 46:3-4 ESV We must not make idols of our leaders. They are accountable to God like everyone else. The sheep don’t protect the shepherd! When that’s happening, it’s a giant red flag that something is wrong. If there is sin in the church, the sin is the problem, not bringing it to light. Full stop.We MUST GROW UP about having hard conversations. It’s incredibly uncomfortable to confront a false teacher. Especially when we love, admire, and rely on them. Especially when they’ve done a skillful job of only abusing one or two in our midst. It’s unbearable to listen to details of abuse. It’s exhausting and gross to have to confront an unrepentant deceiving leader repeatedly until the truth emerges but guess what? It must be done. So, let’s grow up, grab the tools God has provided for this and do the work. Not in fear of public shaming but out of LOVE for innocent victims whose souls are being battered and trampled by someone representing Jesus Christ. Yes, there are false accusations sometimes made against godly men and women. I know the pain of this from experience. But this is why we must become comfortable with and experienced at doing what is uncomfortable and working through these conversations with humility, gentleness, and love but also tenacity and commitment to revealing truth. 

When we talk about this in the weeks ahead, we should do so without defensiveness, with humility, and with lament for those who have suffered. Sin is sin and when it comes to light, God is at work. Yes, there are abusive leaders in the church and covering up their abuse is a crime against humanity.

Every individual involved—the victims, their families, the congregations, the abusers, and those involved in the cover-up, are people made in the image of God for whom Jesus died. Victims can find healing in Christ. Families and congregations can find wisdom in Christ. Abusers who sincerely repent and demonstrate the fruit of repentance in their lives over time will know forgiveness in Christ.

But, those who play at repentance, who feign sorrow and reach for rapid restoration, those who wrap false repentance around themselves like a fireproof cloak and demand others buy the cheap grace their selling so they can get on with their public ministries and their private violations, they will reap from God what they sow. And the church must heed the warnings in God’s Word that these wolves in sheep’s clothing exist among us and be wise.

Our prayers for the victims should be full of lament, requests for God to search our hearts, and intercession for healing, justice, and restoration. Our prayers for those around them—their families, their congregations, and all who have become secondary victims—should be the same.

We should also pray for those who abused and for those who covered up abuse that they would come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent (with the fruit of repentance evident over time). We should also pray that those refusing to repent or feigning repentance be brought to light as the false teachers or hypocrites or agents of evil or wolves that they are and that those dealing with them would have the Christ-centered courage required to protect the sheep from them, even at great cost.

The message of the gospel is love. The truth of Christ is that He died for us sinners, He paid the price for our sin, and through the cross, we can receive forgiveness and grace. Christ also taught that we would be spreading this truth in a fallen, broken world where spiritual enemies sow weeds among the good seeds and send wolves in among the sheep.

Loving Christ means we live in the full truth of what He taught, and we grow up in Him enough to hold our leaders accountable, exercising discernment to eject those who prey on the sheep they’ve been called to protect.

Pray for your pastor and pastoral staff today. If they are godly people, let them know how dearly you appreciate them and support them with words and actions. There are wonderful men and women of God shepherding God’s people with Christ-like character and integrity. Thank God for them today and pray for their hearts, minds, souls, and strength to be always fully yielding to Christ alone.

**If your church or your leadership need help using the tools God has provided to have hard conversations, please reach out to me. I’m available for coaching, for support, and for training. My book, The Art of Hard Conversations: Biblical Tools for the Tough Talks that Matter, is also available. If you can’t afford a copy, reach out to me at lorisroel@gmail.com.

The report of sexual abuse in the church isn’t the problem-the fact of its existence is the problem. How will we respond? https://t.co/1WyAQlbf3F #SBCReportChat #SBC

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 24, 2022

 

 

Five Ways to Love Pro-Choice Women

The country is one raw nerve and me along with it. How about you?

The temptation to join a screaming, raging, angry camp is hard to resist.

But then I remember Hebrews 13:12-14 (ESV), “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

So, here I am—abiding with Him outside the camp, knowing I’m a sojourner in this “city” that is not my home. Outside the camp is an unpopular, uncomfortable place but it’s where we’re most likely to encounter God.

I am a die-hard, pro-life woman called to love pro-choice women who see me as the enemy, a gender-traitor, a barrier, a stone in the movement’s shoe, misinformed, or misled by the patriarchy.

And I wonder how best to love them, these women I defended when they were still unborn. These women who are angry, fearful perhaps, but decidedly vocal. These women marching for and demanding rights (for me) that I reject because they are wrong.

These women promoting a summer of rage and promising to be ungovernable. These women who feel justified in their indignation because, after all, what person willingly gives up any rights, let alone rights that are so intimate and personal? I get that. I don’t like giving anything up that’s mine.

And I wonder how Jesus would have me love these women, some of whom are friends, relatives, colleagues? I do love them but really, how do I love them in a way they can hear?  He loves them, as surely as the sun rises each day but how does He want it demonstrated as they demonstrate?

I can think of five ways today:

First, I can refrain from calling them names or treating them like a mob, a voting bloc, a madding crowd. This dehumanizes them. Makes it easier to dismiss them or worse, to vilify them. Individually, they are deserving of respect because, like me, God made them in His image.

The God I worship formed their inward parts and knitted them together in their mother’s wombs. Their frames were not hidden from Him when they were being made in secret. His eyes saw their unformed substance and in His book was written, every one of them, the days that were formed for them when, as yet, there were none of them. Before a word is formed on their tongues, He knows it altogether. (Psalm 139).

They are not an angry mob for me to abuse with my rhetoric. They are fellow creations of the Almighty God loved by Him with a love that went to the cross, deserving of my kindness, consideration, and respect as fellow humans trying to navigate a broken world.

Second, I can hear them out. Sure, I’ve been around for decades, and I believe I’ve heard all the arguments, but I haven’t heard all these women—their stories, thoughts, longings, fears, histories, and hurts. Some are new to the planet, others new to the conversation, and some have been around as long as I, but have I truly listened to them?

God commands me to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). When I obey Him, I have nothing to fear. Nothing to fear from being quiet while they speak, from refraining from interrupting, from not forming my thoughts as they share theirs, from reading their editorials and the signs they carry, from slowing down the exchange and daring to hear. It’s what I want from them, to be heard out, not shouted down, ignored, or interrupted and God tells me to treat others the way I’d like them to treat me. So, I can listen without agenda.

Third, I can love and exercise compassion and mercy. Compassion for how hard it can be to be a woman. For young professionals competing with men who can have the joy of children without taking time out of work. For victims of abuse, incest, rape, poverty, failed birth control, pressure from dismissive partners or overbearing parents, unplanned pregnancies, mental health challenges, a doctor’s best counsel that their child is better off not born, and more.

I can have compassion, too, for women who have been taught to take charge of their lives, futures, plans, bodies, wombs and who have been raised in a culture that considers them lesser if they allow the unplanned to undermine their goals, who find no support in their circle for a pregnancy that came in under their radar. Who hear, instead, Deal with it quickly. There will be a better time, after all. Certainly not now.

Many of these women don’t need my arguments or my position, they need my compassion and God’s mercy demonstrated one-on-one. Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” His mercy is over these angry, ungovernable women. His compassion. His tender mercy. This, I can offer, because I am His ambassador here. To me, to live is Christ. I will reject condemnation that they have become exactly what this culture is designed to create. Without Christ, I wouldn’t be swimming upstream either.

Fourth, I can speak truth with confident humility, gently, and with kindness. The unborn have no voice and so they deserve to be defended, but God calls us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12). That doesn’t sound like someone screaming names or coolly pronouncing judgements. I can speak with fervent passion without communicating shame because my sins nailed Jesus to the cross, too.

And patience. God calls me to be patient, even in persuasion over life and death. I believe in a culture of life, and I renounce solutions that lead to death, but we live in a fallen world. I don’t believe in killing but I have supported wars. I don’t believe in murder, but I have spoken for the death penalty. So, I can be patient with arguments for abortion, not because I agree in any way, but because the fog of deception that permeates our world is real and makes navigating choices, all choices, a challenge. Abortion is different than war or final justice because the unborn are completely innocent and fly no flags, but still, sin has complicated our thinking so surely, we can be patient as we work together through the tangled knots.

Fifth, I can use every spiritual weapon God provided to protect all women—the unborn and those who have survived the womb—from evil. Because, let’s be real. There is honest-to-goodness evil that abounds both in the spiritual world and in the hearts of some people. Leaders who order genocide. Wealthy businessmen and women who purchase virgins on the dark web. Policymakers sitting in back rooms writing position papers with no heart for the innocent lives snuffed out by their politics. False teachers pretending to be shepherds of the flock all the while exploiting the trusting sheep. Women and men who don’t care about women or rights but who thrive on disruption, on defiance, and on promoting death.

So, I can engage in warfare. Intercessory prayer. Speak and write God’s Word into the marketplace of ideas. Serve women in need and minister to those who suffer. Care for unwanted children. Be the church. Defy evil. Out-persist those who wish only to destroy.

Refuse to wage war as the world does. Refuse to harbor hate or speak condemnation or add darkness to already dark situations. Live in the light. Resist the temptation to take cheap shots but follow that narrow path that always takes the long way home to the heart of God.

There is no shortcut, no fast track, no quick cure into people’s hearts and minds. It’s idolizing speedy solutions that led to the deaths of over 63 million souls since Roe v Wade.

Those tiny lives are in God’s hands now. We cannot bring them back, but we can love their mothers.

And knowing they are gone, so many little souls, may persuade others to stop exercising the choice that leads to death.

We have people to love, truth to tell, and a kingdom of light to advance against the darkness one match strike at a time. We must continue the work, but we must do it as ambassadors of Christ in the way He would work—enacting justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.

We cannot bring back 63 million souls, but we can love their mothers. https://t.co/N6t9qJUgNB #prochoice #ProLife

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 18, 2022

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Christians and Roe v Wade

Why is Roe v Wade such a concern for many Christians? Why is this an issue on which we’re passionate? Does our interest stem from a form of fascism that seeks to impose our faith beliefs on others? Not at all. Fascism is the antithesis of faith in Christ. Faith in Christ cultivates humility, compassion for others, and a focus on change from the inside. External imposition of change isn’t faith, it’s force. However, in a democracy, where citizens have a voice, it is the responsibility of Christians to advocate for the protections of those who cannot speak for themselves. The unborn are vulnerable and voiceless but they are human. They deserve the chance to survive the womb.

Today on Christianity.com, I was asked to share my thoughts on the history of Roe v Wade. Here is the article where I write about the need for Christians to respect and demonstrate compassion for women in their reproductive choices but to reject the death of vulnerable child as a viable solution for complex problems. The deaths of an estimated 63 million souls should give us pause as we ask ourselves if we can’t make better choices going forward as a society that values all life.

Christians and Roe v Wade https://t.co/QjEqllEVx8 #RoeVWade #RoeVsWade

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) May 4, 2022

The Reality of Being in the Family of God

The family of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ.

To some, those are inviting and amazing phrases. To those of us who have experienced less than wholesome family life or real siblings, those phrases can be a mixed bag.

But then again, so is the church. God extends His grace through Christ to anyone, even me!

Which is why I’ve been chuckling all week about a line in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 9:3 ESV says this, “But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.”

I am sending the brothers.

What thoughts or emotions did that stir up in the believers at Corinth? They’ve been going back and forth with Paul over a corrective situation. There’s been tension but now, things are turning around. Repentance has occurred. Forgiveness extended. The ship is being righted and all is well.

But now, Paul is sending the brothers.

Think about some famous siblings. John and James, Sons of Thunder. Peter and Andrew, two of Jesus’ first followers. If these brothers arrived, it would be a rich time of fellowship.

But, then consider Jacob’s twelve sons – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin plus their sister Dinah. Sending brothers in that family didn’t work out well for either Joseph or Dinah.

Sending the Kennedy brothers— John, Bobby, Ted— might suggest help was arriving and a little fun but sending the Corleone brothers — Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Tom would not suggest a good time.

Sending the sisters from Little Women— Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy would suggest lovely support and maybe some tea. While sending Cinderella’s stepsisters would imply a necessary makeover but served with some serious backstabbing.

Sending Jake and Elwood, the Blues brothers, would mean trouble but trouble accompanied by a rockin’ soundtrack!

I’m joking a bit but this phrase from Paul made me consider what God wants for us as family.

We are family— you and me. Family with all who know Jesus. We have family expectations—traits and behaviors that set us apart from other families. God’s Word is full of statements about how brothers and sisters in Christ should think of and act toward one another. Here are some to consider.

Eight truths about this brotherhood/sisterhood in Jesus.

We’re stuck with one another by the blood of Jesus. That’s right. You and I don’t get to decide who’s in or out. (Romans 12:3-5, 1 Corinthians 12:14-15). I got you, bro and you got me through eternity, so we should get on board with this family situation.Our primary command is to love one another as Jesus loves us because that is how our family is known in the world, by our love. (John 13:34-35) And, we’re not allowed to fake it! (Romans 12:10) Plus, Paul defines it, so we know if we’re doing it. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) The only way to love this way is to allow God to change us from the inside out.We’re to honor one another as greater than ourselves. (Romans 12:10) We need to distribute this honor equally – not showing favoritism to those who are rich or to those most like us. (James 2:1-6, Galatians 2:11-21)We’re to accept one another, not comparing ourselves to one another but celebrating differences. (1 Corinthians 12:18-25)We’re to instruct and challenge one another. That’s a very sibling thing to do. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Paul told the Roman Christians, “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” He tells the Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,” and the writer of Hebrews tells us “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” We are supposed to be in one another’s business just like biological siblings. This is part of being in the family of God so we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. We will get in one another’s faces. We can learn from one another, push one another to excellence, and correct one another in ways that people outside the family can’t. Sometimes we won’t do this part well but that’s why our sixth way of being family isTo Bear with one another and forgive one another. (Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:12-13) What’s implicit in these commands to forgive is the notion that we will sin against one another, hurt one another, have misunderstandings, disagreements, and conflict but we are to work through them as family, as siblings who are together through life.We’re not to complain about each other. How hard is that, right? I hear that Amen! James (James 4:11, James 5:9) and Peter (1 Peter 4:8-10) make points of instructing on this and they would know!Finally, just like an earthly family, we are called to do life together. To share meals, sorrows, joys, and triumphs. We’re to pray for one another, cheer one another on, witness one another’s lives, and watch out for each other. Paul says that “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:25 ESV) This is how God’s family operates.

We are family. Because Jesus died on the cross, defeated death and sin, and rose again, we have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High God making you and I brothers and sisters. Like it or not.

And, like Jake and Elwood Blues, we’re on a mission from God.

Be grateful that we’re not alone. God, in His kindness and mercy provided us one another to travel with on that long road home to eternity. Be grateful today to God and to the brothers and sisters God has sent to you!

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What does it mean to have "brothers and sisters in Christ?" What is the reality of the family of God? https://t.co/VuaMSPNZzh #faith #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 29, 2022

Maybe Disney Isn’t the Only Problem – Maybe the Real Problem is Us

People don’t like preachy stories.

That’s what Christian writers hear all the time. Avoid preaching! Focus on telling a great story!

Beware of agenda-driven writing! If you want to make a point, write an essay or a non-fiction book but keep your stories pure. Your biblical worldview will infuse them organically so leave the message to the Holy Spirit. You focus on excellent creative writing and truth. Nothing drains creativity faster than preachiness.

Over and over, leaders in the Christian publishing industry drill these types of messages at conferences, workshops, and in private audiences with aspiring Christian writers.

Apparently, some of the writers at Disney didn’t get the memo that people don’t like preachy stories. And this fear of draining creativity is lost on them.

That doesn’t, however, make it less true. There’s no faster way to lose your audience than to preach at them.

There has been uproar in the past few weeks related to a report that some writers at Disney have been given carte blanche to insert LGBTQ characters liberally throughout their stories. There is a danger in using children’s stories to promote an unbiblical agenda but it’s not as if this is the first step Disney has ever taken in this direction.

I’m reminded of a time decades back when a friend called me, outraged that the sitcom Cheers had introduced a gay character. This would be the end of her watching Cheers, she assured me.

I enjoyed watching Cheers, but it wasn’t lost on me that the show was set in a bar and revolved around a narcissistic lothario with no sexual boundaries – hardly upstanding biblical material even before this development. I understood my friend’s dismay but seriously, if we’re going to get self-righteous about it, shouldn’t that have kicked in earlier than the gay character?

We should be concerned about the stories we tell our children and just as concerned about the stories we tell ourselves. The problem is that Satan is crafty and disguises himself as an angel of light. Our discernment needs to kick in long before the obvious offenses to the biblical message appear.

Is the focus of a story (movie, TV show, novel) the benefit of riches, the joy of pursuing self above all else, or the celebration of skill over character? Are the evil characters more fascinating than those that choose good? Is the hero willing to lie, steal, or engage in other nefarious behavior to achieve her goals? What emotions does the story evoke? Dissatisfaction with life? Shame? Anger? Self-righteousness? Judgmentalism? Are the Jesus-loving characters respected or mocked? True-to-life or caricatures? Representative of Christians you know or of negative stereotypes?

The problem isn’t really with Disney. The problem is with our acceptance that the passive consumption of stories as entertainment is innocent and without consequence. And that we leave our children alone with stories that are not representative of the greater truths but that imaginatively engage them in the lesser stories of this world.

As I’ve perused multiple streaming services lately, I can assure you that Disney isn’t the only production company weaving condescending, agenda-driven messages into their stories. If I want to hear a culturally-informed agenda-driven sermon, I can turn to Netflix, HBO, Prime, or Hulu any hour of the week.

And nothing has proven to me more that preachiness drains creativity and reduces even highly produced stories to stale, dry sermons.

But, we’ve lost our appetites for richly woven kingdom-infused stories and choose to satisfy our souls and minds by munching on the junk food of modern media believing one weekly worship service will rid our minds of a week spent consuming dark lies disguised as light.

So, don’t rail at Disney. Disney will only produce what we’re willing to buy.

I’m not rigid and prudish about my story consumption. I don’t limit myself to only clean fiction or only Christian programming by any means (which the range of streaming services to which I subscribe should testify).

But, I do ask questions as I watch. I do check in with myself about what emotions the story is evoking. When I catch myself passively consuming, I ask what thoughts or feelings are rising to the surface and if those are thoughts and feelings I want to cultivate. If not, I change the channel.

We are hard-wired for stories. There is incredible power in the stories we tell our children and the stories we tell ourselves.

Disney writers themselves will testify – storytelling is serious business. It’s certainly not child’s play.

I believe in freedom of expression for all people and wouldn’t restrict others from telling the stories they dream of telling any more than I’d welcome restrictions on my freedom to tell the stories bursting from me.

In fact, if you’re paying attention, you’ll see that even “secular” storytellers are sometimes telling the truth. The TV show Scandal had few redeeming qualities but its central message, marvelously illustrated week-after-week was that sin always leads to death. Powerful biblical truth will emerge from the most unexpected stories.

So, while storytellers have certain powers, consumers of stories can enhance or reduce these powers by being discerning listeners and by encouraging biblical storytellers and creators.

Demand stories full of truth. Insist on stories that reflect the actual nature of God, evil, humanity, and the wonder of redemption in Christ.Know God’s story – from beginning to end and pray for discernment for you, for your children, and for your grandchildren.Support great, true storytelling with your money, time, and your words. Ask for wisdom, creativity, and a gentle, Christ-like spirit when reviewing lesser stories, lest you drive the creators further from the gospel.Set high expectations of Jesus-loving storytellers. Don’t settle for stories with the Christian label slapped on them but look for those that are clearly informed by sanctified and biblically informed creativity and imagination.Teach your children well. Help them engage with great stories and discuss lesser ones together to root out the lies and half-truths. Cultivate children with discerning story palettes and appetites for truth well-told.And look for the storytellers in your midst. Pray for God to raise up great and godly storytellers. Then, take seriously their gifts in the work of the kingdom and invest in them, pray for them, and support their work, even in its unpolished infancy.

It’s right to take a hard look at what Disney is producing right now but it’s also right to take a look at ourselves.

We are the people entrusted with the greatest story and full of the Holy Spirit, empowered to deliver His truth.

What effort are we making to create the best stories? And what are we allowing to capture our imaginations and the imaginations of our children?

This headline is our opportunity to rise to our calling and elevate not only the stories we’re consuming but also the one we’re living.

Maybe the problem isn't only #Disney – maybe it's also US. https://t.co/B8NqsOXI4m #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 21, 2022

Perseverance – The Loneliest, Most Underestimated Virtue

Perseverance.

Such a lonely, uncelebrated virtue.

And yet, like an unassuming seed that falls to the ground with no witness to its burial, perseverance does its work deep within our souls and then suddenly bursts forth from the earth of our lives with the power of life to break through death and produce beautiful, rich, nourishing fruit.

Jesus persevered.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV

Fix your eyes on Jesus.

He left everything. And His everything is nothing we can even imagine. The everything of Heaven. The everything of one-ness with the Father. The everything of being fully God.

He left it all to be born one of us. To a poor family. Hunted by evil forces at His birth. Rejected by those He created. Unrecognized as the author and perfecter of the faith story He came to fulfill. What He endured for us is unimaginable still.

All the weight of all the sin of all the world was on His shoulders on the cross. Think of the evil that ravages the world in our times. He took on the weight of every headline and every crime or sinful deed hidden in darkness, and He paid the price for all that.

But after He tasted death, He defeated it and rose to everlasting life. And He did not keep this life to Himself but offers it to us. We can join Him in this life.

And when we do, we too, will be called to persevere.

This story of perseverance is the thread of the gospel story God tells through my life. I know this and yet, I still sigh when another trial appears, another challenge, another hurdle to clear.

But God’s faithfulness is the greater story He breaths into my soul and He is ever present, ever true, ever steadfast.

I sometimes pull, gasping, to the side of the narrow road and wonder how I will return to the journey. Having taken on this blog in 2008, I cannot hide from you, my friends, the consequence of these times. I cannot pretend to always rise above every trial. I cannot falsely claim to sail on wings of faith seamlessly through every challenge.

You see the stumbles in my writing – or my lack of it.

The war in Ukraine. The division in our country. The quarreling in the church. And upheaval in my own life (I am newly unemployed after 10 years in my job) nearly silenced me in these past weeks.

I tried to write.

When words failed me, I pressed into God in prayer. There is so much to learn about praying – more than asking for things, more than pleas for strength – remembering who God is and all that is ours through Jesus and praying God’s kingdom come, His will be done, and deliverance from evil in our times. I believe with all my heart that Ukraine has prevailed this far through the prayers of the saints and the perseverance of the people.

Perseverance. There it is again.

So, in these past weeks, I’ve spent my words on my knees and had none left over to share.

Please forgive me. It has been a time of remembering that God doesn’t reject my humanity or my frailty or my limits. His love never fails but I do.

And yet, He calls us to persevere.

Something in us rails against this virtue because it doesn’t shine.

Perseverance is permeated with sweat, scraped knees, frantic tears, bloody noses, bruised egos, battered hearts, and weariness that weighs more than we can bear.

Perseverance means getting up off the mat only to be knocked down again, and again, and again, but always rising with strength poured into us by God, remembering He, too, felt these blows.

To persevere is to practice a faith that worships while sirens warn that bombs may fall. To persevere is to practice faith that prays and believes God’s Word even when the world goes mad. To persevere is to fail, to ask forgiveness, and to start again.

Perseverance doesn’t shine but its beauty is undeniable. Look at Ukraine and the church there and the story of faith it speaks to the world.

And so, God has renewed my heart, too, to persevere in writing. Please forgive my absence and the shakiness of my prose. You, dear friends, are so precious to me but, more, you are precious to Jesus and so we are one.

Thank you for bearing with me. Pray for me as I pray for you for truly, we know in these times more than ever than we are just trying to keep our eyes on Jesus, our feet on the narrow path, and our hearts aimed toward home.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV

Thank you, again, for reading what I write. I offer it as all I have to offer in this great battle to be light in dark times. I was gone for a time, but I write again. Thank you for being here still.

**A word of good news: Colorful Connections: 12 Questions about Race that Open Healthy Conversations, a book I co-wrote with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, is available now for pre-order on Amazon (and at Kregel, Barnes and Noble, Christianbook.com, Target, and other places where books are sold).   

Perseverance – the loneliest, underestimated virtue but a game changer in #UkraineWar https://t.co/wMiIxbcXfL #amwriting

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 15, 2022

A Prayer for Ukraine

Oh dear Father, we cannot bear the news, the pleas, the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine, nor the isolation and bondage of the citizens of Russia.

We cry out to you with one voice to put an end to this war, to free everyone in the path of Putin’s destructive plan, and to release the resources necessary for Ukraine to prevail against its enemy.

Strengthen the hearts of the young men and women defending their homes, their families, their freedom. Turn the hearts of the soldiers coming against them to lay down their arms, to sabotage their own forward progression, and protect their families from retribution from this tyrant.

We know “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” In Jesus’ name, we ask that You bind these spirits and render them impotent in this fight.

Infuse our leaders with courage, wisdom, and determination to defend us all against evil leaders who would hold the global community hostage in pursuit of their own ends.

Hold the children of the Ukraine, the elderly, those who are sick or impaired, in Your tender hands and defend them now against the powers of darkness invading their land.

Embolden the church in Ukraine, in Russia, and around the world to proclaim Your truth, to spread Your light, and to call on Your name. Move on behalf of your people, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Prayer for Ukraine https://t.co/Dzi9ZUI5bj #UkraineUnderAttaсk #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) March 5, 2022

How Can We Handle All the Headlines and Hold onto Faith?

My dear friends,

We are under a deluge of headlines that threaten to dishearten us and weary our souls to the point of extreme faith fatigue! How our hearts break for the people of Ukraine and for the innocent citizens of Russia who are also victims of tyranny! My heart is also heavy for all of you, you with such sensitive hearts and spirits, feeling the burden of the world as it pours into our living rooms.

Today, allow me to remind you of these proven strategies for consuming today’s news without being consumed by today’s news. May God bless the innocent victims of war. May He bring about a quick end to the violence. And may we be blessed with peace and freedom in the Ukraine, in Russia, and in every land, so that the good news of Jesus may be proclaimed freely until He comes.

Here are my best recommendations for facing the headlines without fear:

Wear your armor. Face the headlines equipped. Knowing God’s word, spending time in prayer and meditation on Scripture, and putting on the full armor of God as Paul instructs us in Ephesians 6, are daily habits that will keep us as up-to-date on eternal headlines as we are on the daily news. Schedule more time with Him than with the headlines.Secure your soul to the Anchor. Remember who God is. Have Bible passages at hand such as Colossians 1:15-20, Job 38-42, or Psalm 104. These verses remind us of the nature of the God we serve and of the power of Jesus. We can be undaunted by the daily news because in Jesus all things hold together. This is our anchor on the high seas of dangerous times.Inhale the headlines and exhale prayer. Consider it your role to translate the news into intercessory prayer. The believer is never helpless but neither did God design us to be superheroes righting every wrong. We’re conduits for intercession. Know that God is with you when you receive news and speak with Him about what concerns you as you watch. No need for fancy language. Tell Jesus what’s happening and ask Him to intervene. Use scripture to pray when you’re at a loss for words.Team up. Watch the news with others. Make the news hour an hour of fellowship and prayer. It can be empowering to meet daily and watch or read the news with others. Pray through the headlines together. Intentionally devote more time to prayer than discussing or sharing tragic details. Begin and end your time by worshiping through Scripture hymns, or praise songs. Arrange a virtual gathering by meeting online.Moderate your intake. A constant influx of world news or focusing on one world event for hours or days can paralyze your soul. You serve God but you aren’t God. Hear the news, let it pass through you to God in prayer, and then move on with daily life. Electronic devices have off buttons. Jesus knew better than we do the trouble in the world but when He was here, He ate, drank, loved, and slept. Take an occasional media fast in order to pray, rest, and refresh.Seize opportunities to act. There are times when God wants us to take action beyond prayer. In these times, the question “Who is my neighbor” can have international implications. Be ready to say “Yes” when God prompts you to speak out, reach out, or move out in response to a world or local need. He equips the called, granting faith and courage as needed.Engage in sharing cautiously. These days a rumor or lie can spread across the world with a couple of finger clicks. Before you pass on a headline, news photo, or story, pause to reflect. Have I prayed? Is this source reliable? Can people get this story from another source? Will this edify or build up the people with whom I share it, or am I spreading fear without acknowledging the truth of our hope in Christ? Be confident in Christ before you click.Love the world through the headlines. Educating yourself, doing personal research, or taking even a small step of action can reduce the vague anxiety or emotional paralysis that sometimes comes from just consuming the headlines. God so loved the world He gave His only Son and He calls us to love as He does. Beside your Bible and prayer journal, keep an atlas or reference book that give facts and information about every nation. Learn about the countries mentioned in the headlines or about the people involved in local news. Learn about the culture of the people. Seek out locals from other countries and ask them about their homeland. Write to a missionary from that area to ask how best to pray or support them. Visit the local police station, homeless shelter, or community center and ask what prayer or hands-on support is most meaningful to them.Be a role model. Some of us are comfortable dealing with the news, skilled at communication, gifted with discernment, or experienced in intercession. Seek opportunities to help others around you to process, especially during times of worldwide tragedy or local disaster. Encourage through social media, from the pulpit, in small groups, or even impromptu gatherings. Avoid criticizing people who are overwhelmed or uninformed. Offer to host a prayer time or information session, or even to visit someone one-on-one to minister to a heavy-hearted soul.Train the next generation of believers. According to Biblical prophecy, times will worsen the closer we get to the end of the age. Always be mindful that we are modeling behavior for the next generation. Be watchful for opportunities to teach and to train in regards to processing and responding to the headlines in a manner worthy of Christ. Actively listen to younger believers to understand their perspective on world events. Exchange ideas. Know that you can be a benefit to one another.Remember the watching crowd. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. Whether we’re public figures or shut-ins, people who don’t know Jesus watch how we Christians handle life. The way we respond to the daily headlines makes an impression of the Jesus-surrendered soul. Remember this truth always. Carefully, prayerfully consider your words. Be authentic, by all means, but there is never any call for Christians to run around like Chicken Little claiming that the sky is falling. Our security is always in Christ and our words and attitudes should reflect that even when we’re facing tragic or daunting circumstances. Colossians 4:5-6 (ESV) is a wonderful guideline: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”Circle the wagons. Sometimes a piece of news strikes us hard and puts our faith face down on the mat of this world. When that happens, we can struggle with discouragement, doubt, depression, or fear. At times, it’s not one piece of news that does this but a steady diet of tragedy or a relentless incoming tsunami of horrible headlines. God designed us to be in fellowship with other believers and it’s at times like this that we should seek them out. Maybe, we just need to chat on the phone or go out for coffee but some of us may need wise, trained counsel to overcome a tough headline. We’re engaged in spiritual battle. Wounds happen and the wise tend to them.Keep the truth ever before you. Jesus lives. Jesus reigns. Jesus is coming again. The battle is His and is already won. We’re beginning to experience the prophesied labor pains of the end as history surges toward the promise of eternal life for all who claim the name of Jesus. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus as never before in order to endure. The writer of Hebrews says it this way and we’d all be wise to memorize these words: “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 10:36-39 (ESV)

If you find these strategies helpful and would like to share them with other believers, you may download a copy for your use here: https://loriroeleveld.com/downloads/free-to-face-the-headlines/ 

These are just a few ways I have found the courage and stamina to face the headlines without fear. As you apply these suggestions and find more, please comment below. The words with which I close are true and worthy of our practice: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

Mercy and Grace,

Lori

Fighting faith fatigue. Holding on through the headlines. https://t.co/NpwZLpUmx3 #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) March 1, 2022