Keeping Up With the Roberts Family
Each month Cliff and Denise Roberts write home to their high desert family at New Life Fellowship to share all the happenings in their lives and their new church community. We look forward to posting their spiritual insights as they continue walking with the Lord in Lakeland, Tennessee.
september: Demonstrate It
Let me begin with a personal confession of sorts: there’s an annoying tendency among many of us “reverend-ized” folks to conflate our personal devotions with ministry prep. Yes, I’ve done that more often than I’d care to admit. That’s not to say they’re unrelated (whatever God’s doing in me personally SHOULD express itself in ministry), but those two connected things are still distinct. A lot of what God’s speaking to me ends up in conversations with others pretty naturally. After all, we’re talking about life, about what God’s doing and saying, about how we’re navigating whatever season we’re in—so sharing His input into my heart is pretty natural because that’s exactly what all of that stuff is about. But the Lord still has to remind me at times, “That was just for you, son.” I’ve chuckled with other pastors as we both confess our moments during devotions: “Oooh, that would make a great sermon!” or “Wow, that was good. I’ll preach on that next.” Oops! Yeah, that wasn’t the Holy Spirit prompting the next sermon, but Him speaking directly to us!
Even without a consistent preaching and teaching schedule, that same habit still shows up in my SOAPs occasionally. Part of it is because the teacher in me is always drawing lessons from whatever I’m learning. And part of it is just old habits I’m still reminded to break. It’s funny, but that kind of stuff even happens just between me and the Lord. I’ll be reading through Scripture and notice something, or sense the Holy Spirit drawing my attention to a story, illustration, teaching, etc., and my first thought is, “Yeah, that’s probably a good point for me to spend some time talking with You about, Lord. Maybe doing some study too. Yeah, I can already see some stuff there just in my first read.” And by the time I’m barely into the “Observation” portion of my S.O.A.P., He’s opened up my eyes to something entirely different and taken my study time in a totally unexpected direction. Wanna see what that’s like? Keep reading…
“Demonstrate It”
Here’s a glimpse into part of a recent SOAP the Lord walked me through:
After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. - Luke 6:10
Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and there’s a guy present whose right hand is shriveled. Luke doesn’t give any further details except that his hand was withered and all the Pharisees wanted to know was whether Jesus would “violate the Sabbath” by performing a miracle. Fully aware of what they were thinking, Jesus brings this man to the center of the group and asks everyone there about the Sabbath. “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” The point Jesus is making is abundantly clear: the Sabbath was intended for man’s GOOD. So, He simply tells the guy to stretch out his hand. No more discussion, no debate, no committee meeting. Jesus had asked a simple question and then He DEMONSTRATED the answer.
That was pretty much my “Observation” take on this passage as I spent time studying it. And the whole time I’m journaling my way through this verse, I’m thinking about my own faith. Jesus was so direct, so straightforward and made the miraculous so simple. I want to do the same. I want to do this in my prayer life, in my prayers for others, in my conversations, etc. I don’t want my faith to be burdened with all sorts of external considerations, but to be firmly planted in His Word alone—simple, direct, like Jesus. But in the middle of doing my devotions on this verse, the Lord quickened my heart away from the potential “faith challenge” aspect and instead focused it on Jesus’ DEMONSTRATION of His answer.
Jesus hadn’t asked a rhetorical question, and He wasn’t looking for a deep theological debate or someone’s policy statement explaining contrary positions. This man’s need was obvious: he needed HEALING! And the nature of meeting that need was obvious too: his healing was a GOOD thing! The only “debate” present here was the silent protest of people who had really strong opinions about how things should/shouldn’t be done, and what was/wasn’t allowed on particular days of the week. I smiled to myself as I thought about the many debates I listen to and read about on a regular basis. I routinely hear arguments over government regulations, national fiscal policy, our courts’ judicial activity, various legislative proposals—lots and lots and lots of talk, but with very little demonstration of actual solutions. And then came His BOOM! moment for me—His Church should stand out in that regard. We should be noticeably different in addressing needs, with actual tangible results and less policy discussion and consideration.
In response to what He was stirring in my heart, I started to journal about our community impact as His people, about reaching our cities, and about how effective the body of Christ can be and often is (especially compared to government programs and bureaucratic efforts). But the Holy Spirit interrupted me AGAIN to remind me of the disciples in Acts 4. “For there was not a needy person among them,” Luke writes in verse 34, “for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” They lacked nothing, because they cared for one another. Their focus, the same focus that Jesus said would distinguish His followers as actually being His followers, was on their love for one another (John 13:35)—it was DEMONSTRATED in the way they met one another’s needs.
There are so many things clamoring for my attention, my time, my prayers, my efforts, my finances. And while my God has infinite supply, I only have so much time in a day, or mental capacity, or money in my bank account, or strength in my physical body. I can’t do everything, and thankfully, He’s not asking me to. So I’m trying to notice the man with the withered hand who’s sitting across from me in synagogue. What would You have me do to DEMONSTRATE Your love to Him, Lord? How do you want me to DEMONSTRATE Your power? How can I DEMONSTRATE Your goodness toward my brother in Christ? Those are the questions I feel Him challenging me to ask Him.
I know there are needs present in the lives of other Christians around me, but I’m not always aware of them. That’s why relationships are so vital. The more engaged we are with one another, the more we’re able to keep our fingers on each other’s pulse. We had friends without power recently and once we found out about their situation, we were able to open up our home, offer our laundry room, share a meal together and follow-up with them until their electricity came back on. Another friend shared with me about his financial struggles and the Lord immediately confirmed that we were supposed to help. I had a buddy ask if he could come over for coffee, just to talk, and guess what? I just happened to have plenty of delicious coffee and an early morning hour to share with him! But these aren’t casual acquaintances—they’re friendships.
Who asks you for help when their power’s out and who would be your first call (besides the utility company) when you lose electricity as well? Who shares with you their financial difficulties and who knows about your own? Who calls you for coffee chats and whom do you reach out to in the same way? All of those friends are probably sitting in synagogue with you, shriveled hand and all, not looking for good policies, warm wishes, well-designed plans, or meticulous Sabbath observance. They’re waiting for a DEMONSTRATION of how we love one another. Oh Church, if we do that well, it will reshape entire cities with the most powerful witness people have ever seen. I guess “simple and direct” is still kinda my takeaway from Luke 6:10, just not in the way I was expecting it to be. Yeah, I’m laughing at myself too, God got me again with that one. Welcome to my morning devotions!
Tom and I are headed to Dallas this month, although neither of us knows exactly what the Lord has in store for us while we’re there. So, “availability” remains the focus during our travels, and we plan to connect with numerous folks to pray with them and encourage them too. It’s often a somewhat thankless job being a governmental leader, representing constituents, running for office, and communicating biblical truth in “kitchen table” terms. Pray for our leaders, Church—they need strong encouragement.
School is now in full swing for the Roberts kids. Wisdom is navigating life at UofM, Truth is neck-deep in welding certification, Justice and Honor are both chugging through high school, and Life is facing new challenges seemingly everyday with his classes. It keeps us busy, but also sets a good routine for our family and our many schedules. It makes meal times together that much more enjoyable, and we often find ourselves cherishing the conversations that extend a good 30+ minutes after we’ve already finished dinner. Sitting and talking about life, about what heaven will be like, about plans and ideas and silly whatever—it’s family staying connected and Denise and I both absolutely love those conversations. (There’s probably a reason why the early church emphasized sharing meals together, huh?)
So if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, you’re always welcome to share a meal with us…and if coffee and board games happen to be involved at some point, even better! These monthly updates are regularly posted on New Life Fellowship’s web site (https://newlifebarstow.com/keeping-up-with-the-roberts), but for those of you reading this via email, thanks for your continued patience while we discover a more permanent hosting service than the generic one generated by our email client. The regular support we receive from y’all, whether financial, prayerful, conversational, relational or all of the above, is a tremendous blessing to our entire family. Thanks for loving us so well. Giving is still through New Life Fellowship in Barstow, CA at newlifebarstow.com/give (Missions—Roberts Family). Why do it that way? Because we love our connection to family and friends who’ve been such a huge part of our lives for so many years. We love you, Barstow family! Well, I’m gonna wrap here and grade some math assignments before working on stuff for Pentecost Walk. Love y’all lots and lots.
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
Even without a consistent preaching and teaching schedule, that same habit still shows up in my SOAPs occasionally. Part of it is because the teacher in me is always drawing lessons from whatever I’m learning. And part of it is just old habits I’m still reminded to break. It’s funny, but that kind of stuff even happens just between me and the Lord. I’ll be reading through Scripture and notice something, or sense the Holy Spirit drawing my attention to a story, illustration, teaching, etc., and my first thought is, “Yeah, that’s probably a good point for me to spend some time talking with You about, Lord. Maybe doing some study too. Yeah, I can already see some stuff there just in my first read.” And by the time I’m barely into the “Observation” portion of my S.O.A.P., He’s opened up my eyes to something entirely different and taken my study time in a totally unexpected direction. Wanna see what that’s like? Keep reading…
“Demonstrate It”
Here’s a glimpse into part of a recent SOAP the Lord walked me through:
After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. - Luke 6:10
Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and there’s a guy present whose right hand is shriveled. Luke doesn’t give any further details except that his hand was withered and all the Pharisees wanted to know was whether Jesus would “violate the Sabbath” by performing a miracle. Fully aware of what they were thinking, Jesus brings this man to the center of the group and asks everyone there about the Sabbath. “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” The point Jesus is making is abundantly clear: the Sabbath was intended for man’s GOOD. So, He simply tells the guy to stretch out his hand. No more discussion, no debate, no committee meeting. Jesus had asked a simple question and then He DEMONSTRATED the answer.
That was pretty much my “Observation” take on this passage as I spent time studying it. And the whole time I’m journaling my way through this verse, I’m thinking about my own faith. Jesus was so direct, so straightforward and made the miraculous so simple. I want to do the same. I want to do this in my prayer life, in my prayers for others, in my conversations, etc. I don’t want my faith to be burdened with all sorts of external considerations, but to be firmly planted in His Word alone—simple, direct, like Jesus. But in the middle of doing my devotions on this verse, the Lord quickened my heart away from the potential “faith challenge” aspect and instead focused it on Jesus’ DEMONSTRATION of His answer.
Jesus hadn’t asked a rhetorical question, and He wasn’t looking for a deep theological debate or someone’s policy statement explaining contrary positions. This man’s need was obvious: he needed HEALING! And the nature of meeting that need was obvious too: his healing was a GOOD thing! The only “debate” present here was the silent protest of people who had really strong opinions about how things should/shouldn’t be done, and what was/wasn’t allowed on particular days of the week. I smiled to myself as I thought about the many debates I listen to and read about on a regular basis. I routinely hear arguments over government regulations, national fiscal policy, our courts’ judicial activity, various legislative proposals—lots and lots and lots of talk, but with very little demonstration of actual solutions. And then came His BOOM! moment for me—His Church should stand out in that regard. We should be noticeably different in addressing needs, with actual tangible results and less policy discussion and consideration.
In response to what He was stirring in my heart, I started to journal about our community impact as His people, about reaching our cities, and about how effective the body of Christ can be and often is (especially compared to government programs and bureaucratic efforts). But the Holy Spirit interrupted me AGAIN to remind me of the disciples in Acts 4. “For there was not a needy person among them,” Luke writes in verse 34, “for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” They lacked nothing, because they cared for one another. Their focus, the same focus that Jesus said would distinguish His followers as actually being His followers, was on their love for one another (John 13:35)—it was DEMONSTRATED in the way they met one another’s needs.
There are so many things clamoring for my attention, my time, my prayers, my efforts, my finances. And while my God has infinite supply, I only have so much time in a day, or mental capacity, or money in my bank account, or strength in my physical body. I can’t do everything, and thankfully, He’s not asking me to. So I’m trying to notice the man with the withered hand who’s sitting across from me in synagogue. What would You have me do to DEMONSTRATE Your love to Him, Lord? How do you want me to DEMONSTRATE Your power? How can I DEMONSTRATE Your goodness toward my brother in Christ? Those are the questions I feel Him challenging me to ask Him.
I know there are needs present in the lives of other Christians around me, but I’m not always aware of them. That’s why relationships are so vital. The more engaged we are with one another, the more we’re able to keep our fingers on each other’s pulse. We had friends without power recently and once we found out about their situation, we were able to open up our home, offer our laundry room, share a meal together and follow-up with them until their electricity came back on. Another friend shared with me about his financial struggles and the Lord immediately confirmed that we were supposed to help. I had a buddy ask if he could come over for coffee, just to talk, and guess what? I just happened to have plenty of delicious coffee and an early morning hour to share with him! But these aren’t casual acquaintances—they’re friendships.
Who asks you for help when their power’s out and who would be your first call (besides the utility company) when you lose electricity as well? Who shares with you their financial difficulties and who knows about your own? Who calls you for coffee chats and whom do you reach out to in the same way? All of those friends are probably sitting in synagogue with you, shriveled hand and all, not looking for good policies, warm wishes, well-designed plans, or meticulous Sabbath observance. They’re waiting for a DEMONSTRATION of how we love one another. Oh Church, if we do that well, it will reshape entire cities with the most powerful witness people have ever seen. I guess “simple and direct” is still kinda my takeaway from Luke 6:10, just not in the way I was expecting it to be. Yeah, I’m laughing at myself too, God got me again with that one. Welcome to my morning devotions!
Tom and I are headed to Dallas this month, although neither of us knows exactly what the Lord has in store for us while we’re there. So, “availability” remains the focus during our travels, and we plan to connect with numerous folks to pray with them and encourage them too. It’s often a somewhat thankless job being a governmental leader, representing constituents, running for office, and communicating biblical truth in “kitchen table” terms. Pray for our leaders, Church—they need strong encouragement.
School is now in full swing for the Roberts kids. Wisdom is navigating life at UofM, Truth is neck-deep in welding certification, Justice and Honor are both chugging through high school, and Life is facing new challenges seemingly everyday with his classes. It keeps us busy, but also sets a good routine for our family and our many schedules. It makes meal times together that much more enjoyable, and we often find ourselves cherishing the conversations that extend a good 30+ minutes after we’ve already finished dinner. Sitting and talking about life, about what heaven will be like, about plans and ideas and silly whatever—it’s family staying connected and Denise and I both absolutely love those conversations. (There’s probably a reason why the early church emphasized sharing meals together, huh?)
So if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, you’re always welcome to share a meal with us…and if coffee and board games happen to be involved at some point, even better! These monthly updates are regularly posted on New Life Fellowship’s web site (https://newlifebarstow.com/keeping-up-with-the-roberts), but for those of you reading this via email, thanks for your continued patience while we discover a more permanent hosting service than the generic one generated by our email client. The regular support we receive from y’all, whether financial, prayerful, conversational, relational or all of the above, is a tremendous blessing to our entire family. Thanks for loving us so well. Giving is still through New Life Fellowship in Barstow, CA at newlifebarstow.com/give (Missions—Roberts Family). Why do it that way? Because we love our connection to family and friends who’ve been such a huge part of our lives for so many years. We love you, Barstow family! Well, I’m gonna wrap here and grade some math assignments before working on stuff for Pentecost Walk. Love y’all lots and lots.
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
Justice and Kate have now put together TWO separate “escape room” type of games for our family.
This second one had all of us dressing up for our individual roles, then solving a series of puzzles, then combining our clues to discover the plot to a very imaginative story of intrigue, betrayal and nefarious activity. It was awesome! I’m a bit worried though, that if it continues to get better, they’re gonna start charging us all money to play!
This second one had all of us dressing up for our individual roles, then solving a series of puzzles, then combining our clues to discover the plot to a very imaginative story of intrigue, betrayal and nefarious activity. It was awesome! I’m a bit worried though, that if it continues to get better, they’re gonna start charging us all money to play!
Wisdom still loves being with the babies in the nursery during services. She’s a regular feature there and her heart continues to grow with more and more love for the littlest ones among us. Her sponsored internship at the Memphis Morning Center is such a perfect fit for her, and I’m so proud of her willingness to follow the Lord into every set of new and sometimes unfamiliar surroundings. You go, girl!
Honor turned 15 years old on August 30th! He didn’t want a party, or a big event, or any sort of special outing. He wanted pizza, board games and video games to celebrate his special day. Is he his mother’s son or what? Ha!