2020 newsletters

Dec 2019

Our Dear Friends,

We wish to start by expressing our heartfelt gratitude to each one supporting us whether financially and/or in prayer! Ministry is a team effort for: “How shall they call upon Him whom they have not believed? How shall they believe upon whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? How shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:14-15) We are going and you are sending us.

Recently we received a very precious letter in which an inmate, who regularly attends our service, expressed what this ministry meant to him. We cannot think of a better way to express our thanks to you, as well as convey the importance of this work, than to let his letter speak for the service you help make possible for him. Please accept our gratitude, his gratitude and the hundreds of others at the many facilities we go to. Sharing the gospel with the lost and feeding God’s sheep is our goal and assignment from the Lord. The men know that other brothers and sisters, who care, are behind us – sending us to them. Here is his letter:

12-30-19

Brother Jay:

The aim of the overwhelming majority of those confined to prison is ultimately to get out and to be reunited with loved ones. And yet, I find it most intriguing, and heart moving, that there are such people (out there) who have made it their purpose in life to go into prison, that they might be united to those who abide in the love and the body of Christ. To you (and those who come with you)… I say: Philippians 1:2-11 Brother Jay: I thank God the Father for you, and like-minded men, who are good stewards of this GOSPEL which has been entrusted to them. Today, there is much personality, charisma, and intellect…painting pictures for us with words and wowing us with fantastic renditions of dramatized theology. But you…you use the light of the entrusted GOSPEL to highlight not man and his gifts – but to highlight the greatest gift to mankind…our LORD and KING, Jesus Christ. You perform very reasonable service, and your preaching, testimony, and witness has power. Many serve, but they venture alone. However, you, like Moses, refuse to lead…unless God accompanies you (Exodus 33:14-15). Thank you for your openness and honesty. Thank you for not watering down the gospel message to please man. (Gal. 1:10, II Thess. 2:4). I love you Brother! Continue to walk (and serve) in a manner worthy of the Lord, being fully pleasing to Him, as you bear much fruit and increase in Knowledge. May you be strengthened with all power according to HIS glorious might…...that you endure with patience and Joy (Col. 1:10-11). I end with II Thessalonians 3:16. I love you (in the LORD) and lift you in prayer. It is an honor to know and serve with you!!! Your fellow Brother and Laborer IN CHRIST, Charlie”

Again, we say thank you. Your gifts and prayers are making a difference in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus.

For God’s Glory Alone!

Jay & Elizabeth

November 2019

Dear Friends,

As the Christmas celebration begins, one thing we enjoy doing is riding around at night to see all the bright lights. In a prophecy regarding Jesus, Luke 1:78b–79 says, “…the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” We live in a spiritually dark world. Jesus came to bring us Himself – the Light. He has “called us out of darkness into His marvelous Light”. (1 Peter 2:9)

In our previous update, we requested prayer regarding one of the facilities we go to. To date, the administration has said nothing further about the situation, so on our regularly scheduled day, Jay once again went to proclaim the marvelous Light to those sitting in darkness. He told the men, “This is a church service and the Bible is the textbook we study here….If you do not want to hear what the Bible has to say about sin, you do not have to stay. You have the right to leave if you wish.” He went on to say that if he believed people were condemned to hell with no hope, he would not waste his time preaching. It is because he personally knows and has experienced the love and forgiveness of God that he comes….proclaiming that they too can experience this same hope, love, and forgiveness. He read multiple Scriptures about sin and the need to be born again. How the Bible is plain and clear that there has to be a change in direction….we cannot just say a prayer and continue living a habitual sinful lifestyle. After the service, the guard on duty, came to Jay with one of the men and said that this man wanted to talk with him. Jay asked the guard to stay and listen to everything that was being said. The man told Jay, “I do not know who accused you of such a thing and I can’t believe someone would go that far in saying what they said about you. I do know that there are a couple of men who come to the service who are offended by your personal testimony, because they do not want to change.” Jay responded to the man that he “hit the nail on the head”…..”You just said, ‘they do not want to change’…..It is not on the transmitting end, it is on the receiving end.” The guard spoke up and said, “There is only one sin that cannot be forgiven.” Jay said “Yes, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.” He repeated what he said in the service by saying, “If they want to claim they are born that way, Jesus still says, ‘You must be born again’.” It is because God loves them and we love them that we come here to proclaim the Truth. The man thanked Jay for taking the time to talk with him. And Jay thanked him for approaching him to convey his concerns. A second man came up and said, “Thank you for not being like the ones in Timothy that tell people what they want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3&4) You tell us not what we want to hear, but what we need to hear.” A third man approached to say, “Thank you for the message today. I have been struggling with some of the very things you talked about and I needed that.” “…to give Light to them that sit in darkness…” that is what the Word of God did that day. Thank you for praying.

In another facility, Jay continued his series on Psalm 37. He recapped verses 24 & 25 on the importance of walking hand in hand with the Lord. Then he went on to verse 26 preaching that as we walk with the Lord we should be taking on His character more and more. Again, the Dayspring from on high gave light to those sitting in darkness with three men responding for salvation. Yes, the lights of Christmas, shining brightly in the darkness, remind us of Jesus, the Light of the world. He illuminated our darkened hearts with His Light and we in turn are to let Him shine out of us to others still sitting in darkness. We proclaim in love and humility the Truth of God’s Word, without compromise, and He lights up the darkness.

Thank you for your prayers and/or support. We together, partnering with the Lord, are still impacting lives for Jesus sake. He is still moving in the hearts and lives of people today. We are thankful and give all praise to Him.

We pray your Christmas will be filled with a fresh awareness of His Wonderful Presence and Marvelous Light. Merry Christmas to you all!

For God’s Glory Alone!

Jay & Elizabeth

October 2019

Our Dear Praying Friends & Ministry Partners,

In way of a quick personal update…..These last couple of months have been more difficult than normal for us. We have been caring for three “parental” figures – Jay’s dad (since 2012), Elizabeth’s mom (for the last year and a half) and her mom’s husband (for the last couple of months). Between the three of them, we have been running back and forth to multiple doctor’s appointments as well as hospitalizations. Yet, we praise the Lord for His sustaining strength and presence, for Romans 8:26 says that the Holy Spirit helps us (comes to our aid and bears us up) in our “infirmities” (weakness).

In our car situation, the Lord continues to keep it going. Jay told the inmates that the Lord is using this situation to teach us more about patience. When we looked up the definition of patience many years ago, one of the definitions was: “ the ability to wait without complaint”. We cannot take on a car payment, so we are learning to be patient in waiting for God’s timing and His provision. This goes right along with James 1:2-4 in letting patience have her perfect work to help mature us even more. Jay has also told the inmates for the last couple of years that he has always been one who did not rejoice in seeing the trials in the windshield – coming our way. But, one who rejoiced when they were in the rear-view mirror. Yet, he knew, based on Scripture that the Lord wanted to mature him in this area. So, the Lord continues to work.

We are currently waiting to see if we will be allowed back in to one of the facilities we go to as they have threatened to ban Jay from coming back. Here is what happened….A couple of weeks ago, as Jay was preaching, one of the Scriptures he read from was 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (which he has done many times over the years at this same facility). This passage is a list of people not going to heaven – not by name but by lifestyle. Verse 11 clearly states, “ such WERE some of you but you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God”. People can be changed by the power of God. As Jay simply read the passage, two men got up and left. They reported to the administration that Jay was condemning people, from a particular lifestyle, to hell. The other men in the service that day told Jay the two who walked out openly flaunt their lifestyle, and one of the guards on duty told Jay as he left, “ Good message pastor!” The administration called the director of Hope Aglow (the prison ministry we work in cooperation with) saying that the facility’s head psychologist there, tells these men they are born that way. Then they asked that that particular subject not be talked about in the church service. The director told them that all the volunteers with Hope Aglow believe what the Bible says about it and we all preach from the Bible. Plus, this is a church service and the men have the right to choose to come or not come to the service. The other men who do come believe what the Bible says as well. The administrator understood the ministry’s position on the subject and they are discussing it. The spiritual battle is great.

In way of an uplifting report…..those who have eyes to see and ears to hear are still being ministered to, instructed in godly living, and encouraged to keep pressing in and drawing closer to the Lord. And, there are others who are responding for salvation. We hope the following excerpt from an inmate’s note to Elizabeth will be a blessing to you, since you partner with us. “…The love and the sacrifice that you have showed us has ministered grace and hope to us here beyond measure. Many days while harboring a heavy heart, your heavenly voice with song gave me hope. Nothing that this world may send us can be compared to our life with our Savior….to many of us here you are a mother, a sister and a friend….We love you….”

There are more changes happening within the Department of Corrections and if these changes continue their present course the prison doors may eventually close to us going in altogether. However, for now the Lord continues to allow us the opportunity to be like spiritual parents / guides to many. We are humbled yet grateful for this privilege.

It is with your help (financially and in prayer) that we are able to continue to go to them. We and the inmates say “Thank you”.

For God’s Glory Alone!

Jay & Elizabeth

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

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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