Sid: I want you to know that my guest Roberta Simpson, I’m speaking to her she is a Jewish believer in the Messiah and what happened to Roberta Simpson and what happened to me is what is about ready to happen to Jewish people worldwide. You see in the early 70’s both of us were hit supernaturally by the Spirit of God. It wasn’t cerebral mental apologetics because none of that would have worked with us, but it was a supernatural encounter the living God. Roberta was married to a non-Jew that loved the Jewish people and she went with him to a Pentecostal church; did not like anything she saw, everything was strange to her. Roberta was at the end of the service, in the middle of the service that you had this encounter?
Roberta: At the end.
Sid: Okay, it’s over and as far as you’re concerned it’s really over you don’t want to ever go back to this Pentecost everything was strange to you, what are some of your memories of what you did not like that you saw there?
Roberta: Well, it was very strange and I felt very uncomfortable. It’s not that I you know had this big disbelief but I just didn’t like the service I don’t know what I expected mind you but I don’t remember anything I liked even about the sermon.
Sid: Okay, and so you’re getting your act together, your hoping the thing is over and what did you see and where did you see this?
Roberta: Well, all of a sudden I saw Jesus walking across the altar, not on the platform on the floor and He had this wonderful smile on His face and expression of love. I just knew that He was the one I needed in my life, I didn’t think I needed anybody or anything in my life, but I had a Baby that had died and I was very depressed about it and sort of saying “God you owe me” sort of thing and then I see Jesus and I just know God doesn’t owe me a thing, I need Him in my life.
Sid: And it’s been quite an adventure with Jesus ever since, you never looked back and I’m the same way I had an encounter with the Messiah and I don’t even, I can’t even understand backsliders once you’ve know His reality there’s nothing back there. Why would anyone want to go back there? But at age 70 God speaks to you; now before that occurred a pastor had actually told you that he didn’t think you had writing ability, tell me about that.
Roberta: Well, I use to write, the only thing that I only really did in writing up to that time and I did try to write some children stories before but it didn’t happen. But I use to write a lot of articles for the newspaper. If I saw anything to do with the Jewish people or Israel, any kind of anti-Semitism I would write an article in the paper. And that was about you know what I did, but there was is writers seminar that was coming up and I went to it and we all had projects to do. I really don’t remember what the project was now but it wasn’t my kind of thing you know it was some airy-fairy type thing. We had to write about and so I did and a pastor was put in charge of correcting my paper, but he scribbled it all up and I felt like I was a bad naughty girl at school again. And really what he said was “You can’t write there is just nothing in here.”
Sid: Did that crush you?
Roberta: It made me a little annoyed I think more than crush me at the time and he said to me, “Well, I hope I didn’t discourage you from writing.” I said, “What yes, you did,” but I had five children to raise, and it didn’t bother me too much, I said “Well, I won’t write you know.”
Sid: But yet you seem to have a gift as a storyteller, you’ve been doing that most of your life.
Roberta: Oh yes, I love telling stories I mean I told stories to my children, I told stories to my grandchildren. I just love sort of even if I told a Bible story I would put something with it or I’d tell them stories about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, but made up things, not things that I would read or see. And they loved my stories, they always enjoyed my stories.
Sid: And then at 70 you heard the voice of God. What did He say to you?
Roberta: Well, I was in my car and I was driving down the road and I just heard, not an audible voice Sid but into my mind “You can NOW write.” And the now was inside emphasized and a joy came up in my spirit and I just wanted to go home and write my first story and I went home, went straight to my computer and wrote the story of the little lost lamb.” That was my first story that I wrote.
Sid: Well, I’m holding a copy of your book here and it’s really a beautifully very attractive book called “Nana’s Bible Stories.” And the thing that I love about it is for the children and grandchildren of those that are listening right now to plant these seeds of courage and healing and Jesus and God has a plan for their life. And the love of God and even how to get saved, and Sheila Walsh narrates I have a CD which is including with every copy of the book of for those parents that don’t feel comfortable reading it. I’m going to play an excerpt from one of your stories called “A Father’s Miracle” this is from Matthew 8. Explain briefly what that’s about.
Roberta: Well, it’s a story of this leper who went to Jesus and said, “If you can you can heal me.” And Jesus healed him. But why I wrote the story the way I did is because you hear about these people like lepers, they were outcasts, they weren’t allowed to live in the houses, they were separated from their families and I wanted to get to the heart of a leper of that day and what it would be like and what it would be like for a child to know that his father had an incurable disease and has to leave home and probably would never be seen again. And yet there is hope because Jesus was around and…
Sid: Well, let’s hear a little excerpt from “A Father’s Miracle” right now.”
Sheila Walsh narrating from “A Father’s Miracle.” “How could Yahweh let this happen?” Nathan wondered. And then he remembered the story of Yahweh parting the Red Sea, healing his father seemed like such a little miracle compared to that. Nathan promised himself that he would pray every day until his dad came home. Months went by and Nathan was soothed by his mother’s words “Yahweh will take care of us” and indeed He had. The money for the table had come just in time, but what would happen when that money was gone? At the edge of town Nathan’s dad was getting worse, sores covered his body, he wished for his family and his home, he missed the smile of his wife and hugs from his children, he was afraid and sick and so lonely. One day he heard about someone performing miracles in Galilee, the deaf hearing, the blind were seeing, and this man Yeshua was the reason for it all. Many people said, “He was the promised Messiah. Nathan’s dad set out toward Galilee, it was hot and he had to avoid traveling near anyone on the road. When evening approached he saw a crowd of people, “Had they caught sight of him? With looks of horror and disgust some shouted “Unclean” before he could even get the words out, one man even picked up a rock and would have thrown it if Yeshua had not stopped him. Instead of turning away Yeshua walked toward Nathan’s dad dropping to his knees, Nathan’s dad knew in his heart that this was the person with the power to heal, with all his strength he said to Jesus “If you are willing You can make me clean.”
Sid: Roberta you said that when God spoke to you and told you to begin writing He actually said, “To begin writing now.” He actually said, “How much time did you wait until you actually started?”
Roberta: Oh, I started immediately.
Sid: You know we have a lot of parallels because God spoke to me in a dream to write a book and He said, “More Jewish people would come to know him through that book than anything I had ever done.” And I started the next day on that book, and history now proves that that dream was from God and it’s in six different languages right now. But as I was saying at the beginning of this broadcast you’re life and mine life as prophetic lives of what God is about ready to do in so many different people. But what does it feel like now seeing how magnificent this book is I might add, there is a forward by the Duchess of York, Sarah Fergusson, and the beautiful art work and the CD and the book and these stories you’ve been telling your children and grandchildren. And seeing it actually happen, how do you feel?
Roberta: Well, you know I keep having to pinch myself to make sure that it’s happening. I honestly Sid I feel like I’m walking a dream the goodness of God has been so amazing. I’ve met the most wonderful people. I thank God for Steve Hill because he’s been encouraging me all along.
Sid: Well, I’ve known Steve for many years I met him the same place you did when he was the main speaker at the Brownsville Church at the Pensacola Revival. He called me on the telephone and he said “Sid you’ve got to meet Roberta” and then we realized we had met many years ago. But let’s hear what Steve has to say about your book.
Roberta: Okay.
Sid: Steve sometimes I wonder why someone with such a gift as Roberta didn’t start writing until age 70.
Steve Hill: Well, I would think that was God’s timing, here’s a woman who has decades of experience with children and now it’s falling on the printed page with incredible colorful illustrations. You can feel the maturity, I believe that Robert Simpson at age 70 is a literary treasure being launched into the world of children’s stories. I recommend everyone, don’t just buy one of these books okay, because you’re going to want a stack of them to give as gifts as months and years go by. Do what my wife Jerry and I did, we bought twenty right off the bat, be a sower, sow this seed, by these books and then sow the book into lives that could really use them.