jarrodroberts.com » What I’m learning

Hip Check

Jarrod Roberts — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:19:40 +0000

Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to give you an update on how I’m doing with the new hip. God is healing like crazy. He has just amazed me at how quickly He has worked in me and healed me. No, He is not completely done yet. I am still doing my rehab and feeling some good quality pain every once in a while. However, I am moving forward quickly and God is the one Who gets the credit. I also have to brag on my wife for a while. She has done a superb job of taking care of me. She has done everything in the world for me and I am totally blessed to have her in my life. She rocks!!

So, that’s how the hip is doing. I will be back preaching Sunday morning at West Rome. I can not wait to get back up there and see what God has planned. Chris Lodge has done a terrific job the last two weeks and God has done some great things. I’m just FIRED UP to be back!

Kris Pyle will be speaking at XL Sunday night. That is not something you want to miss.

Have a great week. See ya Sunday.

Jarrod

16 Hours to Surgery

Jarrod Roberts — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:25:45 +0000

Well, it’s about 16 hours now until the good Dr. replaces my hip. Fun times are ahead. I’m focusing on tomorrow morning, but can’t stop thinking about what God did today at West Rome. Seriously, you do not want to miss what God is doing each week around here. I recommend you bring all of your friends back next week to hear Chris Lodge bring the message God has placed in him. It is going to be a great two week series. I am sorry that I will have to miss it. However, I’ll be listening on the web.

Now, if you have any wisdom on how to heal the hip quickly, just send your comments. I’m gonna have to blog a list of these things so you can all use them when you get your new hip. I’ll be spending the next couple of weeks at home so you should pray for Tiffany most of all. She might need a break pretty soon. Just kidding. To be honest, she’s the best in the world and I know that she’ll take great care of me through this whole process. I’m sure God has something to teach us both through this time.

Have a great week.

The Challenge of Pride

Jarrod Roberts — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:14:38 +0000

We learned a lot this morning in our study of King Solomon. We all know that Solomon was the wisest man in the Bible. We’ve heard how God gave him the opportunity to ask for anything in the world and he asked for wisdom to lead God’s people well. Yeah, that’s what I would have asked for…! HA! I must say, I think we all learned something about ourselves by seeing Solomon’s choice that day. However, the one thing we really learned this morning is that “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” See, Solomon started strong and made some great decisions up front. But, at the end of life, he’s writing books like Ecclesiastes where we learn that everything seemed meaningless to him. What was it that took Solomon from having everything that we could all want or dream of, to sitting on his porch as an old man talking about how meaningless life was. Here are the four things we saw today that took Solomon down the wrong road:

1. He began to forget where all the blessings came from.
I think this is where the “slow fade” toward pride began in Solomon’s life. He began to think that some of the great things that God had done for him were actually his fault. We must be very careful to remember the blessings of God.

2. He decided he could handle things on his own.
When he started marrying the daughters of the Kings of rival nations, he was going directly against the command of God. At first, it’s a slow fade. Then, we are going directly against God’s direction for our lives. Be careful!!!

3. He surrounded himself with people that did not support his love for his God.
God specifically told him that, if he married these foreign women, they would turn Solomon’s heart against God. And, that’s exactly what they did. Learn from this. You cannot surround yourself with people that do not support you, and expect to grow toward Christ. They WILL have an affect on you.

4. He actually began to worship other Gods.
Anytime we allow the slow fade toward pride in our lives, if not stopped, it ALWAYS ends up with us worshiping something other than our God.

I was challenged this week that the story of Solomon reminds me of a lot of men in our churches today. We begin to think the good things we have accomplished in our lives have something to do with us. We move from there to trying to handle our lives on our own, and in our own way. Then, we find ourselves spending most of our time with people that WILL influence us against God. And, then, finally, we end up worshiping things (cars, houses, jobs, money) other than God.

Where are you on this scale? Are you fading slowly? Stop it now. Are you already worshiping things other than God? Repent today, and get back on track. You don’t want to end up like Solomon, looking back on a life that ended up meaningless. REMEMBER, it’s not how you start, but how you finish!

Have a great week.

Knowing Who You Are

Jarrod Roberts — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:57:27 +0000

One of the most amazing things that God has taught us during our fast is to remember who He has made us. We talked two Sundays ago about how big God is and that was just amazing. It was so awesome to look at God telling Moses that His name is “I AM”. He always has been, always will be, and is today I AM!!! That is so cool to me. Along with that, this last Sunday we talked about what that makes us as His children. We spend too much time thinking we’re nothing when God has made us His children. We think we are helpless and weak when God has told us we have total access to Him. We think we don’t have value when God sent His only Son to die on the cross to “purchase” us and make us His own. The enemy would like nothing more than to steal your identity and convince you that you are not who God says that you are. Today, fight off the enemy by reminding yourself of all the great things that God has made you. He chose you, bought you, and loves you completely. Don’t let anyone tell you anything other than that.

Peace!

21 Day Fast – The Day After

Jarrod Roberts — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:24:26 +0000

Good morning everyone. I have to say, it was a beautiful day getting up and eating some stuff that I haven’t had for a while. I know many of you are too busy drinking your fourth cup of coffee to read this right now, buy you’ll get to it later. We had a great day, yesterday, celebrating what God has done in our lives over the last 21 days. Relationships are being healed, people’s financial situations are being corrected, and people are being saved. How awesome is that?!!! God has come through on His promises that He always blesses our sacrifice. However, I still don’t think He’s done. I know that He has even bigger things planned for His church and it really fires me up that He allows me to be a part of it. There is no place in the world I’d rather be.
My prayer now is that we will all step up to the challenge and allow God to continue to work in our lives as He has over this time. The last thing I want to do is starting eating more and stop spending my time with Him. He must remain the priority. He has reminded me through this fast that He is the sustainer, not what I eat. I pray that our whole church family is never the same again.

21 Day Fast – Day 18

Jarrod Roberts — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:25:51 +0000

Well, we’re nearing the end of our 21 Day Fast. However, I believe God still has some things He wants to do. I am really looking forward to seeing what He has going for the next four days. I am fired up for all of the people in our church that have taken part in the fast and have persevered through the tough stuff to get where they are today. I just know that God is going to bless our efforts and He is going to show off in our lives. I also know, for many of you, that you might not have been as “successful” with your fast as you had hoped. You need to know that fasting is not about perfection and God is honoring every minute that you spend trying to honor Him through this time. Allow God to remove those mistakes and ask Him to help you finish strong. I know He will come through for you.
For myself, this has been an amazing ride. God has spent time walking through my life pulling out some junk that didn’t need to be there anymore. Then He took a while to show me who I am in Him. I think He knows that, when you have to deal with all the junk, you need a reminder of who you are. He’s good like that. Anyway, He’s also shown me great things about what a blessing my family is and how to lead them to be even more like Him. Taylor and Jordan have joined Tiffany and me during the fast. They have done a super job and are learning about what God did in Daniel’s life and how He can do great things in theirs. I’ve also learned a lot about our church. Things about what He has planned and where we’re headed for the future. I’m looking forward to the future as He clarifies all of His plans and shows us the specifics of how it all works. This is going to be amazing.
One thing that is just so cool is how clear God’s Word becomes when you’re fasting. When you really do get rid of all the stuff that gets in your way and just listen to Him. Know wonder He tells us to “be still, and know that He is God.” There just might be something to that after all, huh!
God is so awesome!! He’s already done great things with more to come. Keep going strong and we’ll celebrate together this Sunday. I would recommend, if it’s at all possible, be here this week. You don’t want to miss it.

21 Day Fast – Day 11: A Big God

Jarrod Roberts — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:32:08 +0000

Man, I was just reminded tonight that this fast really isn’t just about me. It’s not just about God pulling stuff out of me to make me more of what He wants me to be. It’s not just about me getting closer to Him. It’s not just about our church seeing Him more clearly for direction in the future. It’s really ALL about Him! It all is all the time. I have noticed as I worked through some issues, God has always been there. It may be through one verse that someone mentions. It may be through a statement that I hear from someone that doesn’t even know what they’re sharing with me. It may be a song on the radio that was at just the right time. The truth is that God is HUGE!!! He really does have all the power and all the strength to get us through whatever we may face. He really does love us enough to do what’s best for us. He really does have a great plan for my life. I am learning to take my mind off of what I am dealing with and place my focus TOTALLY on Him. Scripture says, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” If I truly just seek Him, all the other stuff will be taken care of. How cool is that?!! I challenge you as we continue the fast to transition from seeking different answers for your own needs to seeking Him for Who He is. I bet we’ll find out that He has more answers than we gave Him credit.

Have a great day! 10 more days to go!!!

21 Day Fast: Day 9

Jarrod Roberts — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:42:29 +0000

I hope those of you that are taking this journey with me are enjoying all the great things that God is doing in your lives. However, if you’ve not figured this out, it’s not always a ball of fun. It is easy to preach to other people about letting God pull the junk out of your wells and clean you up. It is not so easy when God begins to deal with you. God is calling things out of my wells from years past and helping me deal with them as I need to. Phil. 3:13 says, “forgetting what is behind and straining to what is ahead…” What I have learned over the years is that word “forget” doesn’t really mean to never remember. It means to learn from, deal with, and move on. That is exactly what God is calling us to do with the junk that He has pulled out of our lives. We must not give the devil a foothold into our hearts by continuing to dwell on the things that God is no longer dwelling on. We must accept God’s forgiveness and move ahead. We must remember the we are His children, that there is no condemnation in Jesus, and He has freed us from all that we USED to be. I pray for you, as I learn myself, that you will experience a freedom over these days that you have never known before. God promises that He will bless our sacrifice and I know He will bless the one you and I are making right now.

I really wanted to share this part of my fasting experience because these are not usually the stories that we hear. We just hear how great thiings are and how much God is blessing people’s lives. That is so true and I never want to stop hearing that. I just want some of you to know that it’s ok if this is a tough time for you. If you are struggling to remember who God made you. If you’ve forgotten that you are no longer guilty of the sin that God has already forgiven. You are not alone. Many people are going through that feeling. The good news is that God is using this time to show us who we are. This will serve as a reminder for you that you are God’s Child! There is nothing you can do that is going to change that in you. He will always love you. He will always forgive you. And, yes, His plan really is always better than yours.

Have a great day. And, don’t forget who you are!

Jarrod

21 Day Fast, 1-4

Jarrod Roberts — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:06:38 +0000

Wow, this is amazing. God has really shown me some cool things over the past 4 days. If you don’t know, West Rome is undergoing a 21 Day Fast that started on Monday, April 6th. That makes this day 4. God is showing up in people’s lives like crazy. He is really walking through my life making sure all the wells are cleaned out so that I can experience the living water that is God! It’s not always pretty, but it leads to a wonderful end. We know that, if we go through the tuff clean out stage, the end result will be more of God in our lives. That makes the whole thing worth every minute.

One thing you learn when fasting is just how little control you have over food in your everyday life. For me, these first few days have not been so much about the hunger, which is there by the way, but it’s been about the habit. Since I’m not eating anything at all like I normally do, the habits are showing up pretty regularly. I notice at certain times of the day I would just get up and begin looking for something to eat. I stop at the Sonic about every morning on the way to work to get a 44oz Diet Coke and then head to work. I’m usually planning lunch with Mick, Wes, and whoever is in, by 9:00am. (You never want to be too late) Then, that 10:00pm hour when you’re watching tv and eating everything you can find. That’s a tough one. So, I’m really learning what it means to control my body and take control away form “King Stomach”. I pray that God really changes me and my habits through this time.

I really believe I, my family, and our church will all be changed as a result of this 21 days. If you’re interested, go to www.westrome.org and jump in. We’d love to have you on board.

Remember, God will come through. Just trust Him for your strength and energy to make it. He will not let you down.

Peace,

God is showing off!

Jarrod Roberts — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:14:57 +0000

It is just simply awesome to see all that God is doing right now at West Rome and XL. Sunday night we baptized 7 people at XL and this Sunday morning we’re baptizing one more at West Rome. This past Wednesday night a young man gave his life to Christ in one of the offices at West Rome. I get REALLY fired up when people give their lives to Christ and it’s not even Sunday. I don’t know why, but that just does it for me. I just have to brag on God for a while. He is blessing the ministry way more than anything we could ever deserve. He continues to poor out His Spirit on the church in an amazing way. I am so thankful for a church family that understands what God has called them to do. It really is amazing how much God will do through you when you line up with what He has planned. Our people are learning that and God is blessing them for it. Amazing!! I just pray that we will continue to seek after Him and allow Him to work His plan through us.

Peace,