September 2019
Dear friends
This last month, we have made many trips to our local hospital to be with family or friends. One particular day, while sitting in the ER for hours, the Lord opened the door for Jay to share Scripture and pray with many others also sitting in the ER. We simply never know where the Lord will open doors for us to share Him with those in need and who have an ear to hear.
We all face difficulties in life. And when we do, many times we need the reassurance that God still loves us. Inmates, certainly, are no different. At a service this month, Jay preached on the parable of the prodigal son, the loving Father, and the jealous self-righteous older brother. Though he elaborated on each character in the story, his main focus was on the loving Father. Many men in prison have never known the love of an earthly father or the affirmation of an older male role model in their lives. So as a result, in their mind’s eye the picture of a heavenly Father is very much skewed. They have a hard time comprehending how God the Father can be so different from what they have known. In the parable, the father placed himself in harm’s way to protect the repentant son when he returned. In their culture the community had the right to stone the son to death for the way he had dishonored the father. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, placed Himself in harm’s way for us, by giving His life on the cross for us. As the men listened, many were teary and longing to feel that kind of love. When the Lord’s invitation went forth for them to come to Him, 13 men raised their hand for salvation and 11 raised their hand for rededicated. Many other Christian brothers were also teary and thankful for being reminded of how much God the Father loves them and still loves them. John 16:27 says, “For the Father Himself loveth (tenderly loves) you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”
Our dear friends, we thank you for the way you stand with us in prayer and/or financial support. Every opportunity the Lord opens up for us you have a part in. We need each other as we seek to serve the Lord together.
We give Him all the praise for it is…...
For God’s Glory Alone!
Jay & Elizabeth
August 2019
Dear Folks,
It has been an interesting month....more trials…yet more opportunities. There have been more opportunities for growing closer to the Lord as well as more opportunities for serving Him.
It is some of these opportunities we want to share with you. After one service, one of the inmates approached Jay in tears and quivering voice, simply wanting to say “thank you” for the Psalm 37 study. He told Jay, “You have a way of explaining the Word to us that shows us how we can apply It to our everyday lives.” And before he walked away, he said again, “thank you”. In three other prison services, Jay preached on “Taking up our cross (Mark 8:34) and being Salt (Matthew 5:13)”. In taking up our cross, we are dying to ourselves – giving up our wants, our desires, our way of doing and being, we die to us, to sin, and to the world – and instead, we choose to follow Jesus – His way of living and being- to do whatever He chooses and assigns for us. In essence, I die to me and live for Him. With salt, when it has lost its savor, it means that it maintains (or keeps) its identity. You can still see it. It does not dissipate or disappear into whatever it is in. At the end of the message, he asked these questions: 1. How salty are you? Do others see Jesus or do they see you? {And} 2. Who’s living your life? You or Jesus? Many of the men, in response, simply went, “Hmmm!” Questioning and contemplating within themselves what their answer would be.
One incident that was not anticipated was, after one of those services, the guard that was assigned to stay in the room, stopped Jay as he was leaving and asked him what the verse was he talked about from Matthew – the one about salt. They talked for over 20 minutes about Jesus and the guard would have continued talking and asking questions, but another guard came looking for him because he forgot to report in. The guard told Jay that he has heard a lot of different religious groups that come in and he openly told Jay that he was searching for answers and direction in life. Before Jay left, the guard thanked him for taking the time to talk with him about the Bible and answer his questions. Not only were there these opportunities, but the Lord also opened to us the opportunity to minister to folks in our community.
We try to keep ourselves available for the Lord’s bidding, for we never know where or when that will be. Luke 17:10 Jesus says to the apostles, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded (assigned to) you, say, ‘We are unprofitable (bond) servants: we have done that which was our duty to do’.” With your prayers and/or financial support, you help us stay available to do what the Lord has assigned for us to do. Thank you. What we do is not for us but…..
For God’s Glory Alone!
Jay & Elizabeth
For Tax-Deductible gifts make checks payable TO: Salt and Light Ministries FOR: Roberts. If you do not need a tax receipt you can make checks payable directly To: Jay Roberts
July 2019
Dear Friends,
In each of our monthly updates, we always want to report to you what the Lord has done and is doing. So, we want to share with you how the Lord is answering your prayers since last month.
As you recall, last month we requested prayer on behalf of a couple who had retired from prison ministry and were the victims of a shooting. In way of an update, the woman who was in ICU was released from the hospital. We were told that the police do not think it was current or former inmate related, nor did they think it was prison ministry related. Though a motive has not yet been determined or disclosed (as far as we know) three arrests have been made based on the ballistic match. We were also told that the couple is doing well considering what happened. The Lord is answering your prayers. Thank you!
Something else we wanted to let you know about is in regards to some changes going on in the Department of Corrections (DOC). Based on the new laws coming down from the Justice Department, prison facilities have to accommodate all 42 recognized “faith groups”. Up until last month, the only way for the inmates to have a particular religious service was for a volunteer from that faith group come in to facilitate it. Now, according to the new law, if any 2 inmates request a certain religious service, DOC has to allow them. Another change is, for many of the men we see, they had the privilege of attending multiple services, such as the Sunday night church service as well as weekday Bible study. This is no longer the case. Almost all of the midweek Bible studies have been completely stopped and of the few that may remain, the men now have to choose which one they wish to attend. They can no longer attend both. These changes have affected us in that a couple of our services have been dropped completely and other services are less attended because the inmates cannot attend more than one.
Though we are disappointed, we are not discouraged. We are thankful that the door is still open for us to go into the prisons and proclaim that Jesus is the only Way. And while we can, our proclamation and focus remains that of: 1. The need to have a genuine life changing encounter with Jesus and 2. The teaching of Biblical doctrine for the spiritual growth of the men. Thank you for your prayers and/or financial support.
As always, it is all….. For God’s Glory Alone!
Jay & Elizabeth
PS If you wish to see the list of recognized religions approved to operate in DOC, you can go to the following website: https://vadoc.virginia.gov/files/operating-procedures/800/vadoc-op-841-3-a3.pdf
June 2019
Dear Friends,
Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” We had planned to go to the Blue Ridge Parkway, to one of our favorite secluded spots, to get away from distractions, be alone with the Lord, and prepare for one of our services. When we arrived, we saw that someone was already there. We asked her if she was going to use the picnic table. She said, “No”. So, we took our Bibles down to the table and then walked over to the creek to begin getting our focus on the Lord. Once we sat down at the table, the lady spoke up and said that she had come to that spot to be alone with the Lord. One thing led to another and we ended up sitting there for over 2 hours talking to her about the Lord and answering her many questions from the Bible. She wiped the tears from her eyes many times. Before we left, she told us, “I was planning on going somewhere else but Something told me to turn here…..The Lord sent you here for me….He knew I needed you today….This has been so refreshing….” She was smiling when we left.
We praise the Lord that He had us at the right place at the right time to minister to a “stranger”. We had our own plan, but the Lord directed our steps. In our prison services we see many reactions to the preaching of the Word. We see men sleeping; we see men disinterested and talking amongst themselves; we see others raising their hands and nodding their head saying “Amen!” Or “Yes!” It is a wide and varied range. In one of our services, Elizabeth was so blessed by one of the men. As Jay was preaching and expounding on Psalm 37:40, Elizabeth could hear a man just a few feet away (very softly) carrying on a conversation with the Lord with everything Jay was saying and reading from the Scripture. When Jay read and expounded on 1 Peter 5:5-7, Elizabeth could hear him (still softly talking to the Lord) saying, “Lord, help me cast all of my care on You!....Thank You for loving me….Keep working on me Lord…” Wow! What a blessing! Our dear ministry partners, “Thank you!” Your gifts and prayers help keep us going. May we each be sensitive to follow the Lord’s direction and let our prayer be the same as this inmate’s. Lord, help each of us cast all of our cares on You. Thank You for loving us. Keep working on us Lord.
For it is all….. For God’s Glory Alone!
Jay & Elizabeth
Prayer requests:
1. We need to replace our vehicle
2. A couple we know who retired from prison ministry were victims in a shooting in our area recently. The man was not harmed but the wife is in ICU and her mother was killed. Your prayers for both of these requests are very much appreciated.
May 2019
Dear Friends,
Though we have been in ministry for over 20 years, we are still amazed at how the Lord orchestrates “divine appointments”. We received a letter from an inmate requesting a “spiritual counsel visit”. While the request was in process, we set up the date to go so that we could stay after the “spiritual counsel visit” to do the evening church service for the rest of the men. (This was at a facility that we do not go to on a regular basis.) As the date approached, Jay contacted the chaplain to see if the inmate’s request had been approved. The chaplain responded that the inmate had just been transferred to another facility. Since it was already set up for us to do the church service, we still went. And yes…it was a Divine Appointment! Jay preached from Matthew 7, “by their fruit you will know them”. It does not say you will know them by their “profession” but by their fruit. As with other facilities the men responded. Out of the roughly 50 men who came to the service, 6 responded for salvation. Two more divine appointments (a few weeks apart) were with men in their 70’s – veterans who were struggling with the guilt of the lives they took in war time. One of them (though he was a Christian now) felt like God was punishing him all these years later because of all the hard circumstances happening in his life. The other man (who became a Christian only a year ago) had been made to feel that he could not be forgiven or set free from past hatred in his heart. Jay was able to share many things from God’s Word with each of them. Jesus said that The Truth (He is Truth) can and will set people free. God’s Word brought comfort and freedom to both of these believers.
As we remain open and flexible in the Master’s hand, He truly does open up “divine appointments” to us. You, our prayer partners and / or financial supporters have a part in His divine plan. We are a team and with you standing with us, the Lord continues to open doors to proclaim Him to others.
Thank you. For God’s Glory Alone!
Jay & Elizabeth
