Beverly Joy Roberts

Thank you for following my weekly devotionals this year.  It is a spiritual discipline for me to write these each week, and I appreciate that you are following my journey. I'm looking forward to a great year with you in 2020. As we focus on the  best gift ever,   I hope you will have a blessed day with your family! For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.    Isaiah 9:6   King James Version (KJV) Merry Christmas!

I know what you’re thinking.  Has she lost her mind?  What in the world is she thinking--talking about fasting the week before Christmas?  And--my answer is, what better time to talk about the self-discipline of fasting?   When King David and Bathsheba’s newborn son was slipping away, this is the first time in scripture that fasting was recorded.  David abstained from food in an attempt to change God’s mind about the life of his child.  Even though he fasted, the baby still died. There are many reasons that will cause a person to fast.  It could be for revival, the salvation of a loved one, protection, health, or demonic activity.   Jesus said, “When you fast…”  His words imply that it is something we should all do. In 2 Chronicles 20:2-3, King Josaphaphat was facing a crisis of war in his nation.  The first thing he chose to do was call the whole nation to fast. Messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead

Christmas is known as the season of giving. Much of our giving at Christmas time is expected.  I wouldn't dream of not giving my children or grandchildren gifts on their birthdays or at Christmas time.  That has become a built-in part of who I am.   But when I give unexpectedly, things get fun.   In most cases, the person receiving the gift is excited by the surprise.  A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of giving a surprise gift to m y stepmom who has dementia.  This past summer, she and my father moved back to Michigan to be near my sisters and me for the next stage of their lives.  My stepmom didn’t remember that she had given all her jewelry and jewelry box to her daughter before moving up north.  She was asking what had happened to her things and we tried to explain, but she would soon forget.  My sisters and I decided to go through our jewelry boxes to give her some items we thought she’d enjoy.  Then a friend had a floor style jewelry box that she was giving

Many years ago, I was a camp counselor for elementary girls at our church campgrounds.  My group of twelve girls went crazy for a camp competition to find these toy army men that were hidden all over the campgrounds.  Or it is possible that I may have totally surrendered to my competitive spirit and drove those girls like a team of mules.   In truth, the camp director later said that he had never had a team search with so much enthusiasm.  At the end of the camp, he gave me one of the army men as a souvenir   That was when I realized, I may have gone a bit overboard.  A sense of power took over me as I worked with my team to collect those army men.  The first one, then the second and so on until our team had the most men.  I remember checking in with the director throughout the week to be sure we were winning.     Something powerful was taking place in me each time the director reinforced to me that my team was in first place.     Me and my campers walked around that cam

Most people’s views can be summed up in one of three colors; black, white or gray.   Black or white referrers to how we interpret right and wrong.  It’s either one or the other with no place in between unless you find yourself in the gray zone.  (...and you know who you are.) Choosing to be firmly rooted and unmovable in your views can be a very happy place if you are the only human being living on the whole planet.  But, as soon as another person arrives, there will be an opinion different than yours--sooner or later.   ...and how are you going to handle that? Here's how Adam, the first person on earth, handled it.   God said, "It’s not good for you to be alone," So he made Eve for Adam and he was ecstatically happy with his gift.  Until he made a bad choice.  Then Adam said to God, “This woman YOU gave me, made me do it.”  (My paraphrase.) Hum?  It sounds like Adam was neither black or white when it came to his own disobedience.  By blaming Eve, he w

I know it's rude to ask how much something costs, but it's a curiosity that we all have.   Most of us have the decorum to hold back, but sometimes in the right situation, I've been known to ask this question, "How much did that cost?" Recently, I bought a new (to me) old desk off of Facebook Marketplace.  I didn't want to pay any more than the budget I had set for myself.  Then the negotiations began, I ended up paying $10 above my budget because I saw potential in the old desk.  I knew I could clean it up, repair it, and the desk would be beautiful.  It turned out to be an easy job with the help of Old English and some wood glue.  I bet you'd like to know what I paid for it! When you are the one paying for something--you tend to value it differently.  Don't get me wrong, f ree stuff is great,  but when you put down your hard-earned money, that purchase is all the more precious. King David understood this principle.  In 2 Samu

Have you ever looked at someone's outward appearance and made a determination based on that? I have.  Not proud of this--but it's true. I've looked at people who were dressed poorly and decided they were lazy and choose poverty over hard work. I've seen married couples or those dating and wondered what does he see in her or she in him.  What brought them together? I've met people in group settings and made a snap judgment that she's too loud or he's too bossy.  Come on, I know, I'm not alone in this. Actually, if you have felt as I have, we're not alone. In 1 Samuel, David was passed over by his own father.  Jesse, the father of David, called all his sons to be examined by the Prophet Samuel as the possible successor to King Saul.  But guess who was overlooked?  Jesse's youngest son, David, remained in the fields tending the sheep.  His father and brothers didn't even consider him a worthy contender for the job. David was un

Election Day was yesterday. I hope you voted!   In my circle of influence and from my own perspective, I can see things that are wrong.   I may not have a perfect solution for making everything better, but I like to think I try to do the right thing.   The book of Ruth was written during the times of the Judges.  This was a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  That sounds like our society today.  In the time of the Judges, this question was seldom heard,  How can I make this better?    Then the book of Ruth appears as an oasis in the desert--a story of hope, in times of spiritual darkness.  Ruth's story shows us that in spite of what we saw in the book of Judges with the evil and wickedness, there are people of principle and faith to be found.   For the sake of keeping this short, there is one thing that I want to look at in this book--the kinsman-redeemer.  Even though scripture does not record it, I believe Boaz could have easily asked this

I hate shopping with indecisive friends.  They can't seem to make a decision about what to buy, and they keep looking and looking and looking.  They refuse to settle for less than what they want.     Once I went shopping with a friend who was looking for shoes.  It was unbearable.  After two hours, we left the mall without shoes.   My favorite pair of shoes are from a garage sale for .50 cents.  I love those shoes.   Some people are unwilling to settle for anything except exactly what they are looking for, or in other words—they won’t compromise.   I’ve compromised plenty in life.  I shop at secondhand stores, dumpster dive, Craigslist, Marketplace and on garbage day I'm super excited at the thought of finding some free trash at the curb that I can repurpose.  After I haul the broken thing from someone's garbage home, two weeks later, it's back out to the road because--IT WAS TRASH!  Of course, I would rather have new and perfect, but I’ve learne

In June of 2000, we bought the house that we live in now.  Once the ink was dry on the dotted line, we took possession of our property.  It felt good to walk into our home all those years ago, knowing it was ours.  I can still remember unpacking dishes, putting them away and saying, "I don't ever want to do this again."   At that time, we had moved, I'm estimating, over 20 times.  These moves took us places like Florida, Boston, North Dakota, Missouri, and different locations in Michigan on the westside, eastside, south, and north.   That number doesn't even count the moves we made during our seven years in the Philippines. Now, the very thought of packing up a house and moving actually sends a lightning bolt of fear coursing through my veins.  Over the past 20-years, we have discussed downsizing, but nothing ever materialized from the many discussions except the inner panic I felt at the very thought of it. In Joshua 1:11, the children of