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.
august: A reminder of his peace
I wrote last month about friends and board games, and right now I’m hurriedly jotting down these thoughts to paper before our house is filled with a crew of young adults all coming over for coffee and games. I know, weird, huh? And then tomorrow morning, we’re off to Nashville to pick up more friends at the airport and spend a vacation week together filled with…coffee and board games. What did I spend my afternoon doing today? Roasting coffee beans for friends (sorry, no board games). This week has been a flurry of activity getting ready for another year of homeschooling (we’re graduating another senior this year!), and while I’d love to give this monthly update the full treatment, I’m going to humbly ask for your grace as I wrap this up quickly and promise something more proper next month.
Tom is having back surgery today, so we’ll be off the prayerwalking route for a couple of months while he recovers. But the extra time at home has been great for building relationships with friends and neighbors, and it’s much easier to hang out when I’m not traveling all across the country! I’m sure we’ll be back at it again before we know it, but God’s well aware of all these situations and has things in store for us to both DO and RECEIVE if we’re willing. So I’m trying to be willing in all the ways He’s stretching me.
Amidst all the activity and busyness that so easily seems to steal much of my time, the Lord has been reminding me of His peace pretty consistently. Here’s a recent SOAP from my current walk through Isaiah:
———————————————
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” - Isaiah 57:21
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22) “The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.” (Isaiah 59:8) I’ve SOAPed on this several times in Isaiah, and it’s shown up more than once as I’ve prayed with people for the things they’re dealing with. There is a DIRECT connection between the peace of God and my walking in righteousness. The absence of Your peace means that SOMETHING is wrong. And it’s true every single time, without question, no exceptions, as faithfully true and absolute as You are Yourself, Lord.
It may not always be attributed to my own wickedness or lack of righteousness (in You, Jesus, I am the righteousness of God - 2 Corinthians 5:21), but could simply be the product of circumstances that are not in alignment with Your good, pleasing and perfect will. When Your peace is absent, I need to stop and take notice, just as Isaiah’s words were a warning for Israel to heed as well. And the other side of that issue is that no matter my circumstances, I’m able to be at rest and in perfect peace if my mind is stayed on You (Isaiah 26:3) and I am dwelling in Your presence (Luke 8:22-25), receiving life and peace and comfort as You provide it (John 14:27).
Paul lists peace as the third fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Sure, he’s just making a list, but given what Scripture says about love (1 John 4:8) and joy (Psalm 16:11), it’s understandable that peace being listed before many of the other qualities in his list is intentional on Your part, Holy Spirit. Your peace really is that important, and You’d have me walk in it and know it regularly, not just situationally. That’s where I need to be, and stay, and rest, and serve, and minister, and follow You. Your peace should be a guide for me, a continual reminder of Your presence and a check against everything that would oppose You or distract me.
———————————————
People have repeatedly told our family about how peaceful they feel in our home. It really is a ministry to others in-and-of itself, something sorta intangible and yet directly connected to the presence of God welcomed here where we live and spend so much of our time. That is meant to be a blessing, a witness, an encouragement and an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work deeply in the hearts of those who share life with us right where we live. His peace rests here not because we’re special, but simply because He is welcome. Coffee and board games may be fun and enjoyable, but they’re really just the access points to experiencing His peace in our midst as our home is filled with family and friends.
And yes, that is absolutely an open invitation to y’all who are reading this. I know Barstow is a hot minute away, and our friends in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and other places don’t always get to visit often, but please know you’re always welcome here. We love how the body of Christ is connected through so many unique relationships. He moves in and through those same relationships and does supernatural things in very natural and organic ways. Being a part of that work is pretty awesome.
Okay, I seriously have to wrap this up and get the house ready for company. Thank you everyone for the love, support, financial blessings, texts and emails. And thanks in advance for the visits, coffee chats and board game fun! We love y’all lots. As always, if you’re sending donations you can give through New Life Fellowship in person or online by designating it “Missions: The Roberts” or something similar (https://newlifebarstow.com/give). I promise next month’s update will be “better”…unless this one’s actually better, then that would make next month’s…less than better. Oh well, time to clean the house!
<><
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
Tom is having back surgery today, so we’ll be off the prayerwalking route for a couple of months while he recovers. But the extra time at home has been great for building relationships with friends and neighbors, and it’s much easier to hang out when I’m not traveling all across the country! I’m sure we’ll be back at it again before we know it, but God’s well aware of all these situations and has things in store for us to both DO and RECEIVE if we’re willing. So I’m trying to be willing in all the ways He’s stretching me.
Amidst all the activity and busyness that so easily seems to steal much of my time, the Lord has been reminding me of His peace pretty consistently. Here’s a recent SOAP from my current walk through Isaiah:
———————————————
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” - Isaiah 57:21
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22) “The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.” (Isaiah 59:8) I’ve SOAPed on this several times in Isaiah, and it’s shown up more than once as I’ve prayed with people for the things they’re dealing with. There is a DIRECT connection between the peace of God and my walking in righteousness. The absence of Your peace means that SOMETHING is wrong. And it’s true every single time, without question, no exceptions, as faithfully true and absolute as You are Yourself, Lord.
It may not always be attributed to my own wickedness or lack of righteousness (in You, Jesus, I am the righteousness of God - 2 Corinthians 5:21), but could simply be the product of circumstances that are not in alignment with Your good, pleasing and perfect will. When Your peace is absent, I need to stop and take notice, just as Isaiah’s words were a warning for Israel to heed as well. And the other side of that issue is that no matter my circumstances, I’m able to be at rest and in perfect peace if my mind is stayed on You (Isaiah 26:3) and I am dwelling in Your presence (Luke 8:22-25), receiving life and peace and comfort as You provide it (John 14:27).
Paul lists peace as the third fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Sure, he’s just making a list, but given what Scripture says about love (1 John 4:8) and joy (Psalm 16:11), it’s understandable that peace being listed before many of the other qualities in his list is intentional on Your part, Holy Spirit. Your peace really is that important, and You’d have me walk in it and know it regularly, not just situationally. That’s where I need to be, and stay, and rest, and serve, and minister, and follow You. Your peace should be a guide for me, a continual reminder of Your presence and a check against everything that would oppose You or distract me.
———————————————
People have repeatedly told our family about how peaceful they feel in our home. It really is a ministry to others in-and-of itself, something sorta intangible and yet directly connected to the presence of God welcomed here where we live and spend so much of our time. That is meant to be a blessing, a witness, an encouragement and an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work deeply in the hearts of those who share life with us right where we live. His peace rests here not because we’re special, but simply because He is welcome. Coffee and board games may be fun and enjoyable, but they’re really just the access points to experiencing His peace in our midst as our home is filled with family and friends.
And yes, that is absolutely an open invitation to y’all who are reading this. I know Barstow is a hot minute away, and our friends in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and other places don’t always get to visit often, but please know you’re always welcome here. We love how the body of Christ is connected through so many unique relationships. He moves in and through those same relationships and does supernatural things in very natural and organic ways. Being a part of that work is pretty awesome.
Okay, I seriously have to wrap this up and get the house ready for company. Thank you everyone for the love, support, financial blessings, texts and emails. And thanks in advance for the visits, coffee chats and board game fun! We love y’all lots. As always, if you’re sending donations you can give through New Life Fellowship in person or online by designating it “Missions: The Roberts” or something similar (https://newlifebarstow.com/give). I promise next month’s update will be “better”…unless this one’s actually better, then that would make next month’s…less than better. Oh well, time to clean the house!
<><
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
Yes, Denise also thought this was the coolest thing ever on the wall of the restaurant. Life’s rockin’ his shades, Jason’s chillin’ and Justice is just being beautiful.
This was a pretty big table and two families filled it quickly. Now just imagine when we get to Heaven
and we’re ALL feasting together! That’s gonna be a long way to pass the pepper.
and we’re ALL feasting together! That’s gonna be a long way to pass the pepper.
Or maybe it’ll be lots of little tables in Heaven with small gatherings of friends?
We can all rotate around for hours on end and share meals with all sorts of people. Just sayin’!
We can all rotate around for hours on end and share meals with all sorts of people. Just sayin’!