The Roger Bothwell Feed

All About Preparation

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-10T20:02:21-04:00

The expression “You get what you pay for” very much applies to wild bird seed. If you buy the cheap (cheep - cheep) seed you will attract just a few species. If you spring for the good seed you get a much larger array of birds at your feeder. My problem is we have a pair of chipmunks who are carrying it away. I wouldn’t mind if they were merely getting breakfast but Chip and Dale are storing up for next winter. Somewhere underground is a treasure of really good seed. I wish they were more like the grasshopper than the ants. These guys arrive with hollow cheeks and leave looking like they have melons in their mouths.

It is difficult to fault them for their instinctive preparation. Preparation is a virtue. Learning to read is a preparation for an informed life. Going to school is a preparation for being able to care for a family. Daily time spent with God’s Word is a preparation for being a great human being. After Jesus’ baptism He went into the wilderness to prepare for the beginning of His public ministry. After Saul was knocked off his horse he spent extensive time preparing to be Paul. Jesus’ parable about the ten virgins was about preparation.

Often we hear preachers advocating that we prepare for the second coming of Jesus. Interestingly the answer isn’t storing boxes of dried fruit, etc. in a bunker. Beneficial preparation is accepting the free gift of eternal life and spending time with Jesus each day. As we do so our characters transform into something so fine we will be like Enoch who walked with God and became so much like Him, God took Him home.

On Receiving

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-09T21:18:42-04:00

This afternoon one of my sister’s neighbors was walking his dog past her home when he noticed a dangerous electric line connection to her home. He works for the electric company and made arrangements for an immediate repair. We are our neighbor’s keeper. And who is our neighbor? Sound like a familiar question? It should. It’s right out of Jesus’ parable about The Good Samaritan. It’s most likely one of the most important stories ever told. We need each other. There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. We all benefit from the care of others.

You might think that I am about to advocate for you to reach out and help others. And while that is important, one of life’s great lessons is to allow others to help you. Sometimes when things aren’t going so well others want to help but often our self-pride and self-resilient resists that help. A wonderful avenue for ministry is to allow others to give and care. On the way to the cross some women offered Jesus a painkiller. He refused because He needed to stay as clear headed as possible. But after being hours upon the cross and about to die He cried out, “I thirst.” Scripture tells us that a Roman soldier ran to offer him a drink of soldier’s wine and Jesus drank. He died almost immediately after that. Why did He take it? It was His act of love and ministry to the soldier. Even at the end Jesus was always considering the feelings of others.

Being a good neighbor works both ways – giving and receiving.

What We Think We Understand

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-08T21:21:04-04:00

We all know the expression “Let sleeping dogs lie.” This evening it took on added meaning for me in a literal sense. Our dog was (I thought) sound asleep when I said to my wife, “At 8 let’s go for a walk.” An electric prod could not have gotten that dog to her feet any faster. Instantly up, ears perked, eyes wide, dancing feet were just part of a demonstration that would have had added, “Well, let’s go. Get out of that chair.” if she could talk.

She heard what she understood and added her own interpretation. Ah, behold the principle of human Biblical interpretation. With our limited base of knowledge, with our biases and desires, with our conceit that we are smart, with our sinned dulled senses we read a text here and there and concoct all manner of strange ideas about what God has said. We do it in all honesty. We are just not as smart as we think we are. However, there are those who deliberately pervert God’s word to their own financial gain. Just watch some television preachers and you will know what I mean as we watch them fleece the gullible.

Jesus’ disciples were so sure Jesus was going to establish His earthly kingdom right then and there. James and John’s mother came and boldly asked Jesus for the ranking positions in the new kingdom. There was so much Jesus wanted to explain but He knew better. Once He said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” They were like my dog. They heard words and phrases they thought they understood and they added to that their intense desires. Judas went so far as to try to make some money on the side so he could laugh at the authorities when Jesus established His kingdom.

Dedandelioning

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-07T23:27:12-04:00

While dedandelioning my yard I was smitten with how beautiful they are. Not only do they have that lovely yellow blossom, the white orb of seeds is great fun to blow into the wind. If it were not for those not so beautiful leaves and the plant’s veracious hunger to consume our lawns we would most likely purchase packs of seeds each spring. They remind me of the alcohol commercials I see during football games. Beautiful horses pull spectacular looking wagons down gorgeous country roads. Handsome young men are shown singing and laughing as they mingle with incredible looking women. It looks so good and so inviting. We are enticed to believe we too can be like those happy people if we would only drink their product. They, of course, never show the destroyed lives and livers, the broken homes, the abused children, the smashed cars and the lost careers.

Solomon nailed it when he wrote, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Sin is anything that ultimately harms us or others. Many activities start off looking so very good. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be an issue. However, they do look good. Especially when we are young and adventurous we don’t understand why we cannot experience all that life seems to offer. In defense of teens I must point out that the frontal lobes of our brains, where we do our best logical thinking in regard to right and wrong, don’t actually fully mature until our early twenties. Often by then our behaviors are already in place and most difficult to change.

But we must not despair. There is nothing too difficult for God. He will, upon our request, struggle with us to dedandelion us.

The Lord of Glory

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-06T21:56:03-04:00

In I Corinthians 2:8 Paul calls Jesus the Lord of Glory.   The dictionary defines the word “glory” as awesome splendor and astounding beauty. When something is glorious it is supreme. The physical glory of the North American continent has to be Yosemite Valley. The glory of political philosophy is without a doubt the American Constitution which has become a model for so many other nations. The glory of the English language is the King James Version of the Bible and the works of Shakespeare. Each arena has its best, its glory. Jesus is the Lord of Glory. Garner together all the items of glory one can imagine and then Jesus is the Lord of all that. He is the glory of the Father. He is the glory of the universe.

Angels sang the night He was born in Bethlehem. They marveled that the creator of the universe would become one of His created. The idea is gloriously staggering to the mind. After Adam and Eve fell the plan of redemption was announced to heaven. Angels objected and volunteered themselves. But that was not to be. Jesus created us and Jesus would personally take responsibility for us. When He breathed His last breath upon the cross the universe was stunned into silence. How could it be? How could such glory be so debased by humans?
Our imaginations cannot plumb the intellectual depths or ascend to the emotional heights of the glorious chorale anthems sung with passion and counterpoint when Jesus rose from the grave.

“Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
    The LORD Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.”    Psalm 24

The Whole Truth?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-03T20:38:35-04:00

I am about to reveal how uninformed and unobservant I am. While I was staring at the keyboard on my laptop I saw something new to me. There is a small number 1 on the j key and a 2 on the k key and a 3 on the l key. I have had this laptop for five years and use it daily. I never noticed this prior to now. If I hold down the fn key while pressing one of those keys with the little numbers, that number appears on my screen instead of letters. Duh! They are right there before me and had you asked me about it I would have insisted there was no such number pad.

So, how many other things are right before me that I have never seen? Am I uniquely unobservant or could this be a shared human trait? I don’t know what I would say if asked in a court to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I don’t know what the whole truth is. I can only say what I know and what I know appears to be very limited.

So many churches are convinced they are the repositories of truth. Members knock on my door and have been very definite that I will be lost because I am not one of them. That is so fascinating because that is salvation by being right. Paul is so very clear that we are saved by faith in Jesus. Truth for them has become the avenue to heaven but is there anyone with the truth? How much is right in front of us and we have never seen it? I am most anxious for the day when Jesus will say to us, “You all were wrong. Let me now tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

Time for a Reread

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-02T22:14:18-04:00

At the Connecticut/Massachusetts border on I-84 there is a unique restaurant that not only has good food but also allows you to browse shelves of books and take a book home – free. It’s one of my favorite places. This past week I found a treasure. Before my eyes was a copy of Conrad Richter’s Trees. I was ten years old when I read it. I could hardly wait to get home to once again lose myself in the forests of Pennsylvania and Ohio when Indians roamed between the walnut and oak trees. Soon I was absorbed, not in the story as I was as a boy, but this time in the quality of writing. Richter’s descriptions are awesome. After the first ten pages I left my dictionary on my lap because I kept getting up to look up a word. Did I really know those words when I was ten or did I just skip them? If I knew them I have a terrible memory.

If it’s been a few years (decades) since you read one of the Gospels maybe it’s time for a reread. You have matured and you are bringing a different mind to the text. Authentic reading is a mental dialog in which you bring to the page just as much as you take away. A careful reread will surprise you with ideas you did not find there the first time around. Your more mature mind gives the Holy Spirit so much life with which to work. Try David and Goliath, Daniel with the lions, and other stories you think you know. You are in for a surprise. Many of the proverbs will make you smile.

The Gift of Reading

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-05-01T21:07:15-04:00

Recently I met a man who cannot read. He doesn’t know I know. It took me quite a while to catch on. He is very skilled at covering. When eating out he will browse the menu and then always say to the server, “I’ll have what he’s getting.” If outside he will say things like, “The sun is in my eyes can you tell me what that sign says.” He is an excellent listener. He has honed this skill and never needs something to be repeated. I have tried to imagine how very challenging life must be for him. Use of the Internet must be very limited. I spent some time in Russia and I remember feeling handicapped because I could not read signs. That was for a short time. It must be most unpleasant for it to be like that all the time.

Moses must have been frustrated over and over because so very few of those he led out of Egypt could read. Visuals are very important to us. We are judgmental and hard on the Children of Israel for building the golden calf. But Moses was gone. They did not yet have the Ten Commandments and even if they did they couldn’t read them. We are blessed to have our Bibles. We can read and reinforce our faith when we have moments of doubt. We can delve into the treasures of God’s wisdom in His word. We can use our imaginations and walk with Jesus through the crowded streets as we read the Gospels.

We must not take the gift of literacy for granted. Even today there are millions of people who cannot read and cannot feed on the riches of God’s Word. If you were able to decode the words in this devotional you are, in the history of the world, very special.

Boston Strong - Help Wanted

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-30T21:13:44-04:00

As I drove past a pizza place this afternoon I saw a sign that said, “Boston Strong.” There is a lot of that around here since the marathon bombing. What was interesting was underneath was another sign that said, “Help Wanted.” So, much for being strong.

But wait. If I look past the irony of the sign there is much truth here. Really strong people who know they are strong are not threatened nor are they hesitant to ask for help. Strong people aren’t afraid to say, “I don’t know” as opposed to some people who stutter around trying to come up with something so they don’t look stupid or uniformed. The best answer is, “I’ll see if I can find out for you.” Strong people can stand back and let others shine without having to interrupt to tell “their” story. There will be another day to tell “their” story.

Jesus had much to say about this. His parable in Luke 14 is just one example. “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor . . . take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.”

If we are called to be of service to others, and we are, than one of our responsibilities is to make others look good and shine. I am preaching here to myself because I have a bad tendency to want to jump in with one of my stories. But if we gently bite our tongues we will do so much better. We can be strong. Jesus Strong.

Jesus Swiped His Hand

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-29T21:47:24-04:00

Last summer a sea gull tagged the top of our car with two large white deposits. Much to my distress they would not wash off. I tried different kinds of auto polish and WD 40 and gasoline, all to no avail. I exhausted my repertoire of solutions and finally resigned myself to the fact that they were permanent. This Thursday while getting in the car I inadvertently reached up and wiped my hand across them and presto they came off.   I didn’t rub. I didn’t polish. I merely swiped my hand and they were gone.

While driving down our hill I remembered Lady Macbeth lamenting her grave sins and crying, “Out damned spot.”   It is a powerful passage regarding the futility of human efforts to atone for sins. We can shower, we can chastise ourselves, we can try to buy forgiveness but the spot is still there. We have not the power. We have not the means. We have not the competence. If it were not for Jesus and the gift of forgiveness we would be most miserable.

This is why the first four books of the New Testament are called Gospels. They are the incredible good news that there is a way. Someone with the power, and the means and the competence loves us and does it for us.   The Old Testament system provided for a Day of Atonement. The New Testament provides us with 24/7 atonement. It is available any moment we need it. One of my friends once said to me, “Someday in heaven I am going to check your records and find out the truth about you.”   He is going to be so disappointed because all the dirt vanished when Jesus swiped His hand across my account.

Wealth Beyond Reason

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-26T21:52:23-04:00

True value and real riches are not what appear on a balance sheet. I don’t want to devalue the luxury of having one’s bills paid. But we can only wear one pair of shoes at a time and one shirt and one pair of pants. (Well, I guess you can wear more at one time but why?) Real wealth is all about people. Having friends who call us when we are not feeling well, having people who need us, having family surround the dining table on special occasions is what life is about. After eating someone often says, “Let’s go to a more comfortable place to sit.” But, that cannot be. There is no more comfortable place than that table where you can interact face to face. To get up breaks the spell.

In the Old Testament God is a fearsome warrior who fought for His people. In the New Testament Jesus tells us we should pray to Our Father. Jesus talks about being our friend. Paul speaks of us becoming sons and daughters of God. As the centuries rolled on God continued to reveal Himself to us and each picture was clearer than before. The clearer the picture the more exciting.

I can understand why it is difficult for some people to believe in God. The universe is so vastly endlessly filled with literally zillions of suns. The very idea of a God who controls all of that and who at the same time wants to be our personal friend is truly outrageous and preposterous. It seems as if we would believe that we could be accused of being the ultimate egoists. Go ahead call us names. That’s okay. Because with a friend like Jesus we are really really rich.

Under My Fig Tree

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-25T22:58:14-04:00

This afternoon I was sitting outside in the sun watching Spring happen. Right before my eyes the buds on the trees were opening. It was so perfect I was reminded of Micah 4:4, “Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.” I am beginning to grasp the wonder of this idea of sitting under one’s fig tree. (Mine are mostly birches and maples.) Micah had a utopian dream of a time of peace and prosperity when all would be well for everyone. Thousands of years have passed and it still hasn’t happened. We still live in a world filled with wars, revolutions, famines, earthquakes and societal problems.

It seems there is plenty of bad news to make us all miserable. But, we do not need to be constantly concentrating on the dismal. I am not advocating putting our head in the sand and pretending all is well. However, we have been given the option of choice. We can choose with what we want to fill our waking thoughts. We can have a really good day or a really bad day depending on our own choices of thought. If we fill our minds with good memories and good wishes for others, life takes on a glow. I know I sound like Pollyanna but none-the-less this is true.

So, find your own personal fig tree; it can be anything or anyone who makes you happy and love it. Jesus often said the Kingdom of God begins now. We don’t have to wait for some future heaven.

Closer

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-24T22:34:47-04:00

I used to sit in church in Africa and wonder how many people could sit on a pew. I finally decided the answer was “One more.” It filled me with awe. I would be sure a pew was full and then someone else would come and somehow he fit. The need for personal space seems to be cultural. I’m sure it has something to do with an entire family living in one or two rooms as opposed to most of us growing up with our own room.

Have you ever had someone keep invading your personal space when talking to you? They press in and we keep backing up, but, to no avail. They just keep coming. And it is doubly bad if they had garlic for dinner. Now I say this in contrast to my wanting to be really close to the people I love. The closer the better. Most cars today have bucket seats, which are nice, but the best time was when the front seat was a bench. It was always so wonderful when your sweetheart slid over into the middle instead of hugging the door. Love overrules our normal personal space need.

It reminds me of a hymn I grew up singing. “I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me; but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee.” We are told that John pressed in close to Jesus at the last supper. Some might say it was because he was politically ambitious but I think it was so much more than that. John was a teenager and Jesus was his idol, his role model, his messiah and John couldn’t get close enough.

Four Strips of Bacon

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-23T21:09:50-04:00

He was seventeen. (He told me his age in a later conversation.) But that isn’t the interesting part of the story. Over the weekend my wife and I stayed in one of those motels that includes breakfast. I watched this young man come into the room while I was enjoying my Honey Nut Cheerios. He was Jewish and he headed straight for the bacon. Hurriedly he downed four strips knowing his father was not far behind. By the time dad entered the young man was standing there smiling and holding a nice plate full of fruit.

Now I could have been really mean and have thrown him under the bus by telling his father what I had witnessed. But why? One of life’s few lessons I have learned is, it is not important to tell everything one knows. However, I am telling you. But that can’t get the boy into trouble. Only in court do we swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Other than that we really shouldn’t tell everything.

Have you ever been in church or a prayer meeting when someone started confessing everything they had done wrong and how it related to the wrongs others have done? That’s a bad situation. Secret sins are to be confessed to God secretly. Jesus definitely talks about closet prayers. (Matthew 6:6) Unfortunately many people’s reputations have been ruined by some well-meaning (I’m being generous.) soul who never learned not to cleanse their personal conscience in public. Don’t fear the last verse of Ecclesiastes about God bringing every secret thing into judgment. That’s only for those not saved. According to Jesus in John 5:24 the redeemed get to skip judgment. Oh how grand!

He's Ringing

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-19T21:31:47-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I inadvertently discovered our doorbell was not working. I wondered how long it had been dead. Who came only to think we were not home or worse that we were hiding from them? (Well, maybe that isn’t so bad. There are some people I would hide from.) Doorbells, the electronic equivalent of knocking, are important.   If Revelation 3 were being written today it would most likely read, “Behold I stand at the door and ring.” I love what follows, “Open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

It is important to note who is ringing. Jesus is coming to us. It is the great difference between Christianity and all other religions.   Other religions have man in pursuit of God. Christianity’s uniqueness is God is in pursuit of man. Right from the beginning we were God’s idea. “Let’s make man in our image.”   When Adam and Eve failed it was Jesus who immediately announced the plan for restoration. It was the Father who sent His only Son. It was Jesus who cried out, “It is finished.”   It was Jesus who assured us “I will come so you can be with me.”

Don’t you just love being a Christian? The work, the forgiveness, the justification is God coming to us with incomprehensible love. The cross was not Pilate’s idea nor the Sanhedrin.   The cross was thought of prior to creation itself.   We have always been His project. No, not project. Children. That’s much more like it. He’s ringing.

(Sorry, I have to go now. My dog is barking at the door.)

Jumping the Gun

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-18T22:14:49-04:00

This Wednesday afternoon CNN and the other news networks were broadcasting the capture and arrest of the Boston Marathon bomber. They were united in error. While it is true authorities now have a picture of the bomber placing his deadly packet on the sidewalk, as of this afternoon they still did not have him in custody. Sometimes we are so anxious for something to happen we rush to judgment. Email, Facebook, Twitter and all the other forms of media communication have made it so easy to almost instantly disseminate stories and rumors that feed into what we want to hear. There is such an array of available information, true or false, it makes “cherry picking” super easy. We can Google our way through hundreds of thousands of sources of so called truth, picking out what fits what we want to believe and ignoring anything else that might cause us to rethink.

For a great part of my ministry I loved to preach about the soon second coming of Jesus. I subscribed to Time, Newsweek and U. S. News and World Report specifically looking for anything that would support what I wanted to believe and preach. It was something congregations love to hear. However, about halfway through my career I wearied of crying “Wolf, Wolf” and shifted to an emphasis on the glory of the cross and its fruit in our lives. The important message is not inheriting the Kingdom sometime in the future but becoming a citizen of God’s Kingdom right now. If we love Jesus and allow Him to be in control of our lives He will come when He knows all is ready and we are secure.

"Yes, Dear."

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-17T18:01:01-04:00

The following happened in front of my eyes this noon while I was waiting for my wife to come and pick me up. (I like it when she picks me up. She started over 50 years ago.)

He looked all of 80, thin, shuffling, a bit bent over and gray. She looked to be a bit younger and was round, like a ball. She would have been just as tall lying down. She had bright, bright red lips and wildly coiffed brown dyed hair.

He said, “I lost my wallet.” She said, “Where?” He said, “If I knew where, it wouldn’t be lost.” She, “Don’t get smart with me. I told you to put it in your front pocket.” He, “I did.” She, “Well, if you put it there it would be there.” He, “It’s not there.” She, “Don’t you ever listen to me?” He, “I try not to.” She, “Someday, when I am gone, you will wish you had me.” He, “I truly doubt it.” She, “Life would be so much easier if you just listened to me.” He, “Yes, dear.” She, “Don’t you ‘Yes, dear’ me.” He, “It’s easier that way.” She, “Go look in the car.” He, “Yes, Dear.” And off he went to the parking lot. She then turned to me and said, “Don’t you agree that life would be easier if he just listened to me.” I said, “Yes, Dear.”

He shuffled back a few minutes later with his wallet. As he passed me he winked. The lost was found. There must have been great rejoicing in heaven. It’s a panicky feeling to lose one’s wallet. I wonder if God ever says, “Life would be so much easier if they would just listen to me?”

Now It's Personal

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-16T21:08:10-04:00

It is difficult for us not to be the center of the universe. Self permeates our actions and attitudes. As long as crime is committed on the other side of the tracks we are fairly comfortable. Bombs go off almost every day on the other side of the world and we barely take note. But today it happened here. Now it is personal. Now the networks are continually telling the story over and over. It is us. Recently a senator completely reversed his position on the gay marriage issue because his son announced that he was gay. Suddenly it was personal. Suddenly it wasn’t some stranger. It was family.

One of my favorite authors wrote, “There is no self in God.” That sentence intrigues me. How can it be that an intelligent being has no self? My dog has a sense of self. When elephants have a patch on them and look in the mirror they touch the patch with their trunk. They know what they are seeing is self. When a tiny ant dares to enter our kitchen and I frighten it, it runs away. Is that a sense of self or merely an automatic survival reflex?

The Bible speaks of God’s love, God’s wrath, God’s joy and happiness. In my limited understanding those are indicators of self. I think the thought that there is no self in God refers to selfishness. God is totally committed to all that He has made. He is totally committed to you. He sees and understands your fears and loves. His relationship to you is personal. Paul assures us we are His sons and daughters. That is about as personal as it gets. Each day I wait for the phone to ring hoping it is one of my sons. It’s personal.

When Time is Meaningless

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-15T07:34:14-04:00

It’s Patriots Day in Massachusetts. It’s a day more noted for the Boston Marathon than the farmers at Concord Bridge. Over a half million people will watch either from roadsides or their televisions as 26,000 plus runners will challenge themselves to complete a lifelong goal. For most it will be the pride of finishing but for others it will be life changing. Young people from the Kenya highlands will run not to just finish but to win. Since 1988 20 of the 25 first-place men have been from Kenya. Winning transforms their lives and the lives of their families as they return home as heroes.

The fulfillment of a lifelong dream is a heady experience. One does not know if one should celebrate or mourn. After the ecstasy of accomplishment comes the thought, “What do I do with the rest of my life?” The brevity of life rarely allows us time to start over with a new dream. There are a few fortunate individuals who wear many crowns but for most it is a singular experience. This is what makes God’s gift to us so remarkable. There will be ample time to achieve over and over again; not in the same field but in multiple fields.

I once knew someone who was convinced the moment they are in heaven they will be instantly gifted in any desired area. How horribly boring that would be! Challenges to grow are the spice of life. To learn, to practice, to err, to finally do is what eternity is all about. If not, it would be one boring hell. I have so many friends who intrigue me because of their gifts. I can only imagine how much more accomplished they will be when time becomes meaningless.

Secrets of the Kingdom

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-12T22:04:07-04:00

Children love to taunt each other with “I’ve got a secret.” Secrets are fun to hear and fun to tell. They spark our curiosity and whet our appetites to know whatever the hidden information might be. The Bible contains secrets. According to Deuteronomy 34:6 the location of Moses’ grave was a secret lest the people turn it into a shrine. When the Babylonians came to destroy Jerusalem in 586 BC the priests hid the Ark of the Covenant in a secret location lest it fall into pagan hands. In Job 38 God reveals to Job just how little Job knew about the secrets of nature.

In Matthew 13:11 Jesus said to His disciples, “The secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to you, but not to them.” In I Corinthians 1 Paul speaks of the message of the cross being foolishness to those who do not believe. It is because they do not know the secrets. To comprehend the power of the cross is only possible when the Holy Spirit whispers understanding. It is heard only by those who want to know. To those who want to mock there is no dearth of human logic to bring to bear. The cross is insane. How could one individual atone for all the sins of this world? How could God care so much as to send His only Son here in human form? The story is not logical. And those who do not believe look at those of us who do believe and think we are a bit addled and have very low IQ’s. However, it is just the opposite. You see we know a secret. It is the secret of love. It is the secret of eternal life.

If We Could Understand

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-11T22:07:11-04:00

Peter and John were able to get into the courtyard during Jesus’ trial that fateful Thursday night. The horror of the incredible abuse being heaped upon Jesus filled them with almost uncontrollable emotions. How could it be happening? This was their Messiah. He silenced furious storms on the sea. He put new fingers on the hands of lepers. Surely He could escape. They had on past occasions seen Him escape death. In Nazareth His relatives and neighbors tried to throw Him off a cliff. He just vanished. So why not now? They did not understand. Their feelings soared and plunged as they witnessed the incredible cruelty. With each blow they must have thought, “That’s enough. Now He will stop it.” But He didn’t He just continued to take all the vileness Satan could inspire in those sorry individuals who really had no idea with whom they were dealing.

We also have moments of not understanding the vicissitudes of life. One day all is well and we are filled with thanksgiving and the next day things are not well and we doubt if God is in control or if He really cares. If He is God why can’t He stop the pain and make things go the way we think they should go? We are just like His disciples. We do not understand the larger scenario. There are forces battling for our souls. What is intriguing is God has to play by the rules. His nature dictates fairness and love while the enemy deceives, lies, steals, causes pain, etc. It seems like it is not a level playing field; however, the really good news is God will ultimately win if we continue to trust and He will help us trust if we ask.

Recycling Parties in Heaven

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-10T21:36:52-04:00

If our household is in anyway normal Americans are recycling more than we are trashing. At least it appears that way by the fullness of our trash container verses our recycling container. While recycling might seem to be a product of the last decade or so, it has been around for a long time. God is a recycler. He started with Adam and Eve by promising them a return to their lost garden home. He has been recycling ever since.

One of His great recycling projects was David the adulterer and murderer. The really great thing David had going was he was an excellent repenter. The man knew how to be genuinely sorry. That’s what God is looking for.

Another great recycling project was Jonah. One cannot run away from God. He will chase you down merely for the joy He gets from recycling you.

Many of Jesus’ disciples were marvelous examples of recycling. There was Matthew the tax collector, Simon the Zealot, James and John – sons of thunder. Peter the betrayer is most likely one of the most poignant examples of Jesus’ recycling someone.

Actually all of us are recycling projects for God. There is no one righteous. No not one. Romans 3:10. So just in case you are feeling a bit discouraged about your poor performance be of good cheer. Be like David and be a good repenter. As Jesus said, “There is great rejoicing in heaven when someone repents.”

Years ago I remember people used to have Tupperware parties. I doubt if there is any Tupperware in heaven. God really doesn’t need it. No, the real parties held in heaven are recycling parties. There is a party for you and one for me and that makes heaven a very happy place.

The Beauty in Others

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-09T22:37:35-04:00

Both Margaret Thacker and Annette Funicello passed away today. One is known for her iron-like leadership of Great Britain for eleven years. The other is known for her wholesome Mickey Mouse Club/Disney beach movies of the 60’s. Could any two people be more different? Yet each left their very distinctive mark on our world and culture. It takes many different kinds of people to make a world. We are an amazing hodgepodge of variables and together we make a pretty good whole. Not that the world is perfect. It is a long way from that. But if we could learn to appreciate the differences of others instead of hating them, what a wonderful world this would be. We used to turn on the news from Northern Ireland and hear about Catholics and Protestants killing each other. That has now been replaced with Sunnis and Shiites killing each other.

Why is it that we want others to be like us to the extent that we will kill them if they are not? Could it be a basic insecurity that is only compensated for by having others join us, thus telling us we are right? What seems to be basic is we are the product of time and place. I go to church where my mother went to church and so on for most people.

How grand it would be if we could learn to value the beautiful things about others. If we could see the richness of others’ differences and perhaps learn to incorporate them into our own experiences, how much better we would be. Paul certainly understood this when he wrote to in I Corinthians 12:25, “. . . there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”

In Need of Rescue

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-08T21:23:27-04:00

In our home in Africa my wife heard our littlest calling from outside “nake nake.” Looking out the window she saw him running across the yard, not away from, but after a snake. Before she could get outside she saw one of our students, who was working in our yard, tear across the grass and swoop up our little guy and continue running – away from the snake. It was a spectacular rescue, considering our boy didn’t know he needed to be rescued.

This is pretty much the case for most of humanity. God has provided a spectacular rescue and most people don’t know they need one. Jesus said, “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” Matthew 24 When the end comes life will be going on as usual. Jesus also said, “Then will appear the Son of Man in heaven. And all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

If we believe that Jesus is who He said He is and that He tells us the truth, we have to assume things will not always be as they are now; thus the need for us to avail ourselves of His rescue plan. So what must we do? It really is very clear. Please read John 5 for details.

Progress

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-05T21:34:08-04:00

My tanks were full as I lifted off from the Redlands airport. I had more than enough fuel to carry me home to Pacific Union College. But something strange happened after crossing the Mojave Desert. I was a comfortable three thousand feet above the Tehachapi Mountains as I sought to slide over the top and drop down into California’s central valley. However, I wasn’t making any forward progress. As I looked down, not only were cars passing me, but I continued to be over the same pile of rocks. My airspeed indicator read 140 mph but when I tuned into the weather report I quickly learned that I was heading into an over 100 mph head wind. I wasn’t going anywhere. I was just burning fuel and I needed to stop in Bakersfield for a fill-up if I was going to get home.

I have seen many college students not really going anywhere. They were just burning up tuition. It seemed they were in college merely because they didn’t know where else to be. No matter what we are doing we need to be making progress. It can be a career. It can be mental growth. It can be building better relationships. It can be developing character. Whatever it is we should not just burn up life. The days and years are too precious to let slip by.

Being a Christian is not just about living forever. It is about growth. Stagnation just doesn’t hack it. Stagnation is a waste of brain power. Stagnation is a waste of life. God’s gift of eternity is for us to become more and more with each passing century. Note it is not to have more and more but to BE more and more.

Dupe, Duped, Duper, Dupee, Dupable, Dupability

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-04T22:36:14-04:00

I called the 800 number to order a new batch of checks. The nice man on the phone told me he was going to give me a nice leather checkbook holder. When he finally stopped adding on this charge and that charge I complained and told him I was going to shop around. “Oh,” he said, “I can subtract $10 from your total. But, I can’t send you the leather checkbook holder.” “Wait just a moment,” I said. “Then you really weren’t giving me the checkbook holder. You were selling it to me for an additional $10.” I really should have hung up at that moment but I didn’t.

Don’t you just hate it when it becomes apparent that you are being duped? And when we object the duper plays innocent. Nobody enjoys being a dupee. How often in life are we dupable? We have dupability and I hate it.

Let me assure you that when Jesus promises us eternal life as a gift He means it. There are no take backs. No, not once saved always saved. We can give it back and so often we are foolish and do so. But I repeat. He never takes it back. If God is anything He is honest, forthright, and open. When Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive” He is transparent and telling the truth. Satan is the great duper. He is the liar. He is the one who lures us with things that look good but are filled with death. He puts the cyanide in Kool-Aid.

Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” That is rest from the worry and stress about our future. Once He says it, it is signed, sealed and delivered. For sure!

Sated

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-03T21:22:45-04:00

This evening my wife baked a dozen muffins. I ate one. It was really good. So I had another. At this point my head said, “Fine. Good stuff. However, that’s enough.” But my nose and eyes kept looking at the tray saying “Just one more.” My head said, “Okay. But that’s all.” I don’t know how to explain the next half hour. I must have taken out my brain and put it on the mantel because after that I ate three more. I don’t feel so well. Why did I eat until I was on the brink of ill?

Why do we do all manner of “pleasurable” activities when we know the results are not going to be good? God gave us brains to govern but we foolishly surrender to desire. It’s not that pleasure is bad. It’s a question of moderation. The very thing we so desired becomes repugnant. I really don’t want to see another muffin, at least not for quite some time.

There are the pleasures of the flesh but also pleasures of the mind. Why could I not be this very moment filled with the pleasure of knowing I had allowed reason to prevail? The mental joy would not have left me nauseous. I would sleep better tonight and be more refreshed in the morning. Alas.

The battle of reason over desire has been the bane of human progress. What is very disconcerting is often we allow desire to distort our reason and we deceive ourselves into thinking we were reasonable when all we do is create excuses to feed desire. Listen carefully the next time you hear an argument. Note how each side invents spurious ideas to defend a passion. It is not easy being human.

Shame

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-02T22:27:58-04:00

This past Easter weekend at least 16 individuals in the Philippines submitted themselves to actually be crucified with real nails through their hands, while others beat themselves raw. All was done in an attempt to atone for their sins. One was a woman who has now been crucified 15 times. Shame on any church that teaches a theology that obviously misses the point of the Gospels. Jesus was the atonement for our sins. To so desecrate one’s body not only denies the gift of God but completely devalues what Jesus did for us. Church leaders encourage these people to do something less extreme. But that misses the entire point. Anytime anyone does even the simplest and most benign act to atone for sins they are rejecting Jesus by saying what Jesus did was not enough. Be it a gift of money to the church, a meal for the poor or not eating certain foods, if it is not done for love and gratitude for the forgiveness we have already received, it is spitting on the cross.

I feel very sorry for those people in the Philippines. God will bless them because they “know not what they do.” The real fault lies with their teachers who do not share with them the truth. It is no mystery hidden in encrypted code. It is as plain as God can make it. “The wages of sin is death but the GIFT of God is eternal life.”

It is easy for me to sit in the comfort of my home and be critical. I did not choose to be born where I could hear the wonders of God’s love. I am thankful and I ache inside when I see the pictures of these unfortunates who just don’t know.

In Defense of Hypocrisy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-04-01T21:35:06-04:00

This evening while watching a perfect picture in Hi-Definition I remembered the first television my Dad brought home 65 years ago. It was an amazing 12 inch black and white picture filled with snow. If the picture wasn’t rolling like a scroll it was slanted sideways. We thought it was wonderful. A few years passed and our next door neighbor started bragging that he had color television. It was a piece of plastic attached to the front of his screen. It was tinted blue on the top and green on the bottom. It wasn’t too bad for outdoor scenes but looked rather ridiculous for the inside of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s apartment. I guess it was fun to pretend one had color television.

We define the word “hypocrite” as one pretending to be something they are not. Usually it is someone pretending to be better than they are; however, I once knew a student who really was a good kid but he pretended to be bad because he thought it would make him popular. Traditionally we have been very hard on hypocrites. Jesus really took them on in Matthew 23. But I would like to speak in defense of hypocrisy. By pretending we become. If we assume a persona or a role and work on being that, we are slowly transformed. I am aware in Jeremiah 13 we find the following, “Can a leopard change its’ spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” But that is the point. If we become accustomed to doing good, ever so slowly we do change.

No, I am not preaching humanism. We still need Jesus for righteousness. However, we can be better people by consciously practicing being good people.

Beautiful Old Homes

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-29T21:35:23-04:00

Our little city is peppered with beautiful old homes. Victorians and other styles reek with elegance. Many of them are impeccably maintained with elaborate paint and manicured lawns while others show their years. They are like people. We are incredible mansions which God’s spirit wants to inhabit. Paul calls us temples. Just like old homes some are well cared for and others have been neglected. Some are well groomed and exercised and others have spent way too many hours on a couch with a remote control in hand.

As spring comes and dirty snow piles slowly vanish winter’s broken branches and other refuse litter lawns. Any day now we will have a seventy degree weekend day and snow shovels will be replaced with rakes, edgers and mowers. Daffodils and crocuses will decorate walkways. It is a grand time of the year.

As for us we can begin to undo the ravages of the blizzards that gave us a legitimate excuse for not going for that all important daily walk. After all it really wasn’t safe with the snow narrowed streets and icy footing. However, those excuses as good as they were have melted away. God’s temple, you and I, need to vacuum the floor, wash the windows and dust out the cobwebs. We need to move.

For those of you who live in warm comfortable climates, I know you can totally ignore this because I know you have not allowed yourself to go to pot and you have impeccably cared for yourselves. The definition of sin is doing anything that is harmful to others or to self. We definitely don’t want to sin against ourselves let alone the others we live with.

Righteous Positions

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-28T21:42:43-04:00

The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus healing people on the Sabbath. There is no question that the religious authorities thought Him to be a heretic. In Mark 3 after Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath we find this verse. “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.” They were convinced that He was not only a heretic but a hypocrite. He pretended to be good by healing people but was in fact destructively violating their customs.

In Matthew 23 we find an interesting account of Jesus calling the Pharisees hypocrites. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” And so it was that each was calling the other hypocrites and neither was lying. They both were convinced they were right and the other wrong. Of course, we believe Jesus was right but we must not discount the moral integrity of some on the other side.

I pastored a church once that when I arrived there was deep division. The conservatives and the liberals were really at each others’ throats. Needless to say they desired the new pastor to be on their side and thus I had delegations from both sides come to my office to make a case for their cause. Both were convinced they were morally right. I heard the words “heretics” and “hypocrites” freely used to describe those who did not share their righteous position.

I learned a very important lesson. We must, until proven otherwise, believe that those who do not agree with us are just as ardent as we. Perhaps someday we will hear Jesus Himself tell us we were both wrong.

Why We Obey

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-27T21:33:34-04:00

When I was really little things were right or wrong depending upon the pleasure or pain I experienced from particular behaviors. However, it did not take long before I would begin negotiating with my parents. If I was a good boy, what would I get? Maybe I could get three stories before going to bed. When I was a teen things were right or wrong depending upon the rules of the school. No matter how inane the rules, it was wrong to disobey. They did not have to make sense. It was very much like a line from Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” “Theirs is not to reason why. Theirs is but to do and die.” That works in the military but not in civilian life.

Unfortunately some Christians obey merely because they want to go to heaven. They want the treat. Or worse they don’t want to be punished. Many Christians operate on the next level of morality. A common bumper sticker reads, “God said it and that’s good enough for me.” That’s the Tennyson level. But what about the brain God gave us? He did say, “Come and let us reason together.” Moses argued with God.

A higher level of morality is for us to understand the reasons for rules and laws. Often we discover the rules no long fit our present culture and our human laws sometimes need to be amended. God’s laws do not change because God’s laws are based on reasons and principles which do not change. Ultimately we understand that we obey because it is the right thing to do. Or we disobey because it is the right thing to do. Enter onto the stage Thoreau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Jesus.

I Could Hardly Believe

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-26T20:59:37-04:00

I couldn’t believe it. There was a freezer in the supermarket with half gallon containers of ice cream for 85 cents. The sign read “Being Discontinued.” Really? This was good stuff. It wasn’t a cheap brand or some weird flavor like “Tuna Fish.” I could barely contain myself for my good fortune as I picked up Chocolate Chip for me and Butter Pecan for my wife. I am going back tomorrow for more. But I really doubt if there is any left over.

I couldn’t believe it. We just switched over to FIOS and I was having serious issues getting my email to work on my laptop. Just then the phone rang. It was a technician from Verizon asking if everything was alright. In less than five minutes he had me up and running.

I couldn’t believe it. I found gasoline on sale for a dollar a gallon. No, not really. I was just kidding. (Wishing)

However, I still have a difficult time believing that the Creator of the Universe became one of us and suffered as horribly as He did so we can live forever. I do believe it but it pushes my faith envelope. I just don’t understand our value to Him. Then it is that I look at my wife, my sons and grandchildren. Would I do the same for them? Absolutely yes. But there is a disturbing text in Romans 5:10. “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.” We aren’t talking about dear ones. We are talking about enemies. Hard to believe but none-the-less true.

Humpty Dumpty

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-25T23:09:17-04:00

It was one of those “Oh, No” moments. While picking up a dozen eggs I dropped the container before getting it into the basket. There it was; six of the twelve eggs broken on the floor. I felt like I was one of the “king’s horses or king’s men” not able to put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again. How many times in life I have tried to fix the things I have broken. Some things I can fix. But, eggs and often relationships with others can never be repaired no matter how often I apologize. There is an old saying that is so true, “You can’t unring a bell.” Once the words are spoken people, unlike God, remember what we said. They can forgive but the relationship is never quite the same. The bloom is off the rose.

Sometimes in the heat of an argument we are tempted to call someone a not very nice name. Don’t do it. If we feel ourselves losing control, please, retreat until we can govern our words. If we are in a car and can’t get away, just say nothing. I realize there is a school of thought that says. “Let it out,” it will take off the pressure. That is bad advice. You cannot unring the bell. It is time for some serious silent prayer. He is able. We just have to be open for Him to take over.

Humpty Dumpty isn't just for children. It is very much for us at any age. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men” can’t put the pieces back without cracks and scars. In James 3 we read, “No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” We can’t but God can and will help.

Tools and Talents

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-22T22:07:28-04:00

During the last few years of my father’s life, he loved to go to Sears and buy tools. Therefore, one would assume that he was a handyman. He wasn’t. But he surely had all the tools necessary to be one. After he passed away I inherited some wonderful Craftsman saws, grinders, wrenches, screwdrivers and drills. Neither am I a great handyman but I have managed to use them through the years and pass some along to my sons, who are very handy. So ultimately the tools have found good homes.

Jesus’ parable of the talents is one of my favorites. To one servant the master gave a lot money. To another he gave some money. To another he gave a small amount. You know the story. The first two multiplied their talents but the one with a small amount, who had limited ability, buried his much to the master’s displeasure.

So what are your tools? I know some of you and some of you that I know are very talented. Tools, talents, are made to use. Singing in the shower doesn’t hack it if you are really good and never sing for others. We have so many research tools at our fingertips. In a few moments we can access all manner of information. What do we do with it? Do we merely satisfy our curiosities or do we turn that information into ways to help people?

My dad had a beautiful brand new hammer that I am sure never once struck a nail. But he did not bury it. He shared it with me. One of the best things we can ever hear is what the master said to the servants who multiplied their talents. “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

Beyond Our Senses

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-21T22:55:04-04:00

I’m still trying to figure it out. My black lab was sleeping by my chair in our front room. Suddenly she exploded. She was on all fours, intensely alert, hair on her back that would have made a ridgeback proud. Fiercely she barked and ran to the back of the house. Wanting to know what this was about I accompanied her but without all the bluster. I saw nothing unusual. There was no disturbance of the fresh layer of snow. It was as smooth as if it had just landed. Then I saw it. A beautiful deer was standing at the edge of our woods. But how did she know? It had not been in the yard nor near the house. We had been in the front of the house with music playing.

It is obvious that she has enhanced senses of which I am totally ignorant. I wish I had thought of a Bible text but instead I could hear Hamlet saying, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” There are times that we are tempted to think the only things that exist are what we have seen or heard or felt. And then there are occasions like this when I am reminded of just how limited we are. There are times when walking with her that she has found something really great to smell. When I tell her it is time to go she looks at me as if to say, “Let’s linger. This is great. What’s wrong with you? Can’t you appreciate it?” Actually I am glad I can’t.

I was thinking of angels. I have never seen one. (At least that I know of.) Yet the Bible is very clear about their reality. See Hebrews 1:14.

Seven More Years

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-20T21:24:35-04:00

If I had a pill that would guarantee one would add seven years to their life I would soon be a wealthy man. It would be a big seller. For most of us life is precious and we would pay a lot of money for such a pill. But since I don’t have such a pill I will, for free, share what research says adds seven years to our lives. Join a church and attend once a week. Really. That’s it. Research shows that such persons live seven years longer than people with no faith affiliation. And if you do volunteer work for your church you will add even more years. Some of the factors that surely contribute to this phenomena are the security of the group which reduces stress and one is less likely to indulge in alcohol and drugs and other risky behaviors.

Now we might be tempted to think, “Yes, but how dull is that?” It is only dull if we remain passive and come late and leave early. But should we become active and become involved, our talents are stimulated and we soon find ourselves doing things we never thought we could do. There resides in each of us unused gifts; gifts that would never have been discovered if we didn’t become an active part of a community.

Research reveals that this is the best way to live and to live long. Someone once asked me if I would be disappointed if after 70 years of living the Christian life I learned it was a sham. The obvious answer is absolutely yes. However, upon looking back over those 7 decades I would see that it was the best way to live. It might not be flashy but it is certainly fulfilling.

A New Pair of Glasses

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-19T21:14:32-04:00

I started wearing glasses when I started going to school. They not only enabled me to clearly see the blackboard but were also an instant cure for my headaches. It is estimated that about 64% of Americans wear glasses and 11% wear contacts. If we add to that number the over 5 million that have had Lasik surgery, we can deduce that only a small percentage of people naturally have excellent vision. It leaves us wondering how different history might have been if ancient kings, queens and warriors had worn glasses.

Occasionally I misplace my glasses and I bumble about the house searching for them. I wish they were like my cell phone. When I misplace it I merely have my wife call me and soon I hear it ringing from under the couch or some other such obscure place. If only I could call my glasses and have them ring.

In terms of people understanding the true nature of God, the birth of Jesus was like heaven sending us glasses. Never before had we ever had such a clear picture of His loving care, His grace and His concern for us. Before Jesus came God was blamed for all manner of bad human behavior. There was the idea that if one was successful in something then it had been God’s will. The Old Testament is filled with stories of evil being blamed on God. It must have delighted Lucifer to no end. But Jesus opened our eyes, cleared our vision, took away the blurriness and said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” Lucifer can still try and blame God for bad things but now we know better.

Diversity

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-18T21:20:57-04:00

It is obvious that God loves diversity. There is no end of the differences in people. We are made in His image but there are an infinite number of combinations of DNA producing an infinite number of unique beings. Our modern world enables us to feast on diversity. Our supermarket provides us with so many different kinds of vegetables, fruits, breads, breakfast cereals and juices. No matter the uniqueness of our tastes there is something there for almost everyone.

So how is it that we have such strong desires to make others think and believe just like we do? Religion and politics are just two arenas that create “others.” “Others” are those who do not walk in mental lock step with us. We create labels like “heretic” or “liberal” or “conservative” and we use them for reasons to not trust “others.” We create organizations, clubs and parties to make ourselves feel right and thus deem “others” wrong. “Others” are welcome to visit but not belong unless they convert and conform to us. Somehow we only seem to appreciate diversity in arenas that do not affect thought.

Is it possible we do this “birds of a feather” thing because we are insecure and need the presence of others who think like us to bolster our doubts and reinforce our biases? In John 14 Jesus said something very interesting. He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” Was He only speaking about buildings in the sky or was He perhaps opening the door for His Father to extend grace to an infinite number of His children? Revelation 7:9 says, “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

The Luxury of God's Fatherhood

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-14T21:26:22-04:00

Tonight one of the top ten contestants in American Idol was sent home. The person with the fewest votes ceased to sing. While in college I participated in a few oratorical contests and thus have an appreciation for the anxiety of standing on stage, knowing that you did your best, and fearing you will hear your name as the person who didn’t make it.

Through the years I have known many Christians filled with anxiety and fear about their eternal destiny. It is like standing before God’s throne waiting for the horrible news that you did not make it. When you ask them if they are saved they respond with “I hope so.” Somewhere along the way they have confused assurance of salvation with spiritual pride and they want to be humble. Assurance of salvation has nothing to do with self but has everything to do with Jesus. To live and rejoice in the promises of Jesus is all about praise to Him and not ourselves.

Paul wrote, “I know in whom I have believed and He is able.” II Timothy 1:12. We might be tempted to think, “Well, that was Paul and he was special.” We need to remind ourselves that God doesn’t play favorites. Acts 10:34. What was good for Paul, Peter and even Jesus is good for us. Both in Galatians and Romans Paul assures us that we are co-heirs with Jesus Himself. That is so beyond belief; if it were not in Scripture I would say it was totally crazy. Chase away the anxiety and fear and live in the luxury of God’s Fatherhood. Accept the promises of Jesus and know that should you so choose you are a winner and will never hear that you have to cease singing. Live we shall. Inherit we shall. Sing we shall.

The Ancient of Days

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-13T22:09:14-04:00

Ecclesiastes 12 is becoming more and meaningful. I can feel its cold breath on my neck. I have been in denial. But the latest sign could not be denied. It was simple and yet dramatic. I got out of the car and was halfway to the supermarket when I heard a horn. A friendly sounding man called out, “You might want to close your car door.” As I twirled around I saw it. There it was standing wide open. I had opened it, gotten out and just walked away.

I am so thankful for Isaiah 49:15. Isaiah assures us that God will never forget us. We need that verse because in Daniel 7 He is called The Ancient of Days. Apparently God handles His age better than we do. Unlike some gray bearded old guy on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel He is eternally young. Before there was anything He was. Abell 1835 IR1916 is His creation and is over 13 billion light-years from us. Our telescopes are time machines showing us not what is but what was. The name Ancient of Days doesn’t even begin to describe Him. He always was, is and always will be and He will never forget us.

When times become difficult and they will He remembers you. When you’re feeling down and you will He remembers you. When you seem to be forgetting everything and you will He remembers you. He knows what you need and in His infinite wisdom He will give you what you need. What I needed was someone to tell me to close my car door. Maybe it was Him.

Joe Btfsplk

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-12T21:16:50-04:00

If you are old enough to remember the cartoon strip Li’l Abner you might also remember Joe Btfsplk. Joe was a regular character in Li’l Abner and always had a dark cloud over his head. Wherever he went the cloud was sure to be there to cause trouble. It had no silver lining. For almost six hours this afternoon I felt like Joe. This afternoon we drove from Philadelphia to our home in central Massachusetts and it rained hard the entire trip. The storm moved up the east coast at the same rate we moved up the east coast. We managed to stay right in the heart of it the entire way fighting our way through the blinding clouds of water generated by hundreds of semis. Needless to say it wasn’t a pleasant trip.

While crossing the George Washington Bridge at New York City I remembered a church member I had in my very first pastorate. She was Joe Btfsplk in the flesh. There was nothing in her life that was right. After visiting with her I would have to go home and eat ice cream or do something to lift my spirits. I have to give it to her she was gifted. She could take any blessing and turn it into something bad. I would try to point out good things to her but she always bested me with her gloom and doom. One of her horrors was none of her children ever became Christians. Really? I wonder why?

It is just as easy to find the bright side to something as it is to find the dark side. Happiness is a choice. Sharing Jesus with others is a happy choice. If it isn’t a call to a better more abundant life then it really isn’t a choice at all.

So Much to Learn

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-11T21:50:36-04:00

Daniel is the only significant Bible character for whom we have no mention of his personal failures. Then I remember that it was Daniel who wrote the book of Daniel. Perhaps his failure to mention any personal fault was his personal fault. However, I should be careful and not sit in judgment. It is easy and wrong to judge persons in different times and different cultures by our cultural standards and values. We do have the tremendous value of hindsight. We are inundated with and privy to information, scientific research and knowledge of God Himself that was not available to those who preceded us.

The revelation of God’s nature and character wasn’t clear until Jesus came. Paul wrote, “The Son is the image of the invisible God.” Colossians 1. The advent of Jesus was the most dramatic presentation of deity ever given to man. Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” John 14. We have been so blessed but with that blessing comes great responsibility. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12

A small child today, hearing the stories of Jesus, has more information regarding God than did the Bible greats. I sometimes forget that Old Testament characters were not Christians. I do them and myself a disservice to read their stories looking through today’s glasses. Jesus was so right when He admonished us not to judge others. We only know what we know and we do not have the right to judge others by the abundance of our light and also by the limitations of our light. Surely we are not as smart as we think we are.

The Gift of Imagination

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-08T22:06:42-05:00

I have never been to the Holy Land. Through the years I have resisted the urging of friends to accompany them on a tour of walking where Jesus walked. It is a desire to allow my imagined vision of Galilee and Jerusalem to remain intact. Bible stories have been a part of me for as long as I can remember. I have elaborate mental pictures of Jesus in the temple, on the sea, dining with His friend Lazarus, walking amid the street vendors and tax collectors. I don’t want them replaced with Jerusalem’s present day McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food outlets. I don’t want to see the building that is now atop the stable in Bethlehem nor see Fords, VWs or Mercedes traveling the streets where Jesus walked. I am aware that I can be accused of living in a fantasy world that denies reality but I like my fantasy and do not desire to have it polluted with modernity.

Imagination is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. We are made in His image and His entire creation is the fruit of His imagination. Before there was anything there was Idea culminating in “Let us make man in our image.” Birds, fish, and mammals with their great displays of variety must have given Him great joy to bring His fantasies into reality. Alas, His dream quickly turned into a nightmare but He was not caught unaware. Even this He had imagined and He quickly made provision for His new human family to come back.

Crucifixions were common in the Roman Empire. How many times did Jesus walk past men nailed to crosses? Surely His imagination chilled His spine and elicited the prayer, “Father, help me.”

Our Biased Filter

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-07T21:43:32-05:00

My wife came home with the words that every man wants to hear. “The car is making a strange noise when I turn.” Now being male, (just by genetic endowments all men immediately know what is wrong with a car) I headed for the garage to check the power steering fluid level. To my disappointment it was fine. So the next thing was to drive it so I could hear the noise and then make my instant diagnosis. Men are good at that. However, I turned this way and that and could hear nothing wrong. So she rode with me and said, “There. Don’t you hear it?” Only then did I hear a slight creaking sound. It was not what I was listening for. I was so predisposed with my analysis without evidence I could not hear what she heard. I was listening for something else.

So there it was. I was like the rest of humanity. I allowed my preconceived ideas to interfere with reality. We do it all the time. We come away from a situation and say, “Did you hear the nasty thing she said?” And our partner says, “No. I never heard that at all.” We run our religion and our politics and our relationships with others through our biased filter. We hear the things we want to hear and are deaf to what we don’t want to hear. If we don’t hear what we want we alter the truth to make it correspond to our preconceived notions.

I have had people accuse me of saying things in a sermon I know I never said. But they were so sure. They heard with their own ears. But I still never said it. When Jesus said, “Let him who has ears hear.” I think He was talking about dispensing with the filter.

We Won

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-05T22:21:49-05:00

Sunday evening with less than a second on the play clock Khalil Edney hurled an impossible 55 foot swish basketball shot to win the game. That was amazing. But something much more amazing then took place. Fellow students from his school ran onto the court yelling, “We won.” What an interesting use of the word “we.” For the duration of the game they were in the bleachers.

My first reaction is, “No you did not win.” Khalil Edney won. Then I remembered Romans 8:37. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Paul was not hesitant to use “we” when speaking of Christ’s victory. We are included in the glorious victory. The Father is so anxious to give to us He even makes us joint heirs with Jesus. With all this inclusiveness one might think we would someday forget who it was who won and think we saved ourselves. However, there is no need to fear. Revelation 5:13 says, “I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!’”

We could never forget because every time we see Jesus we will see that the sacrifice was not for 33 years but was eternal. Paul wrote to Timothy, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Tim. 2:5. Note the present tense. This never-ending mystery will fill our minds with wonder when we assemble for praise services. There He will be. God and man – wonder of wonders.

Fidgety Dogs

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-06T21:11:01-05:00

Elementary school teachers tell me they know when the weather is about to change. They don’t need a barometer because the children get fidgety. I wonder if that is also true with dogs. Our weatherman is telling us a large storm is heading our way and today our dog has been fidgety. Every little sound created an explosion of raised hair and ear piercing barking. If the volume of ruckus roused had anything to do with it when the mailman came, one would have thought he was a terrorist. While channel surfing I paused for a few moments on the end of Family Feud. When the correct answer came up on the board there was a ding. I do admit that it sounded like our doorbell and you can guess what happened.

Through the years I have known people who must have been aware that the weather was changing. Every war, every earthquake, every natural disaster made them start barking that the end is near. Our fervent desire for the second coming of Jesus sometimes clouds our better judgment. The continual “wolf wolf at the door” has a dulling effect on our young people. Soon they turn us off and discount everything we have to say regarding faith. Our so very relevant message for vibrant living isn’t heard because of our not paying attention to Jesus Himself. He said, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”

It’s popular for preachers to focus on end time events because they get lots of rave comments at the door after church. It’s an easy sermon prep. All they need do is recap the week’s news. But let’s beware we don’t become fidgety barking dogs. Be pastors and care for the flock which so often need to be reminded that Jesus loves them.

Who Was He?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-04T20:57:20-05:00

While sitting in a waiting room I was drawn to the face of a man my age. There was something about his eyes that said, “You know me.” My internal computer was running on high capacity as it searched for someone, somewhere in times past. Was he once one of my best friends? Decades part us from childhood pals and we add pounds and wrinkles and lose hair that is no longer the same color. Just as I was about to approach him and ask who he was a lady returned to him and they left. Now I am haunted. Regularly we see people who remind us of another, but this was different. I could not identify who that might be and of course it might have been a once close friend.

I must confess the very human trait of being extra nice to people who remind me of people I love. As a teacher I have to be very aware that I do not do the opposite of not being kind to someone who reminds me of someone I don’t like. Sorry, I am not Will Rogers. I don’t like everyone. I’m not sure God likes everyone. He loves all of us but there is a difference between liking and loving. Loving is wanting others to do well and be happy and healthy. Liking is wanting to be with them. I doubt very much that Jesus liked Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas and company that terrible Thursday night. The stench of stupid hatred in the room was so foreign to His nature He had to be repulsed by those who were torturing Him. Yet there was a place in God’s Kingdom for each of them; if they so chose.

Living on Automatic

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-03-01T19:44:28-05:00

It isn’t rare for us to live our lives in automatic. We have routines so familiar and so well practiced that we don’t need to pay keen attention to get them done. Have you ever driven home and once in the driveway realized you cannot remember any details of the trip? We get busy thinking about work or what we are going to say when we see someone so our subconscious takes over and drives for us. I was in automatic this morning. I brushed my teeth with hydrocortisone cream instead of toothpaste. Without looking I picked up a tube, squeezed its contents on my toothbrush and yuk! It didn’t take long to snap to attention and start spitting.

Unfortunately we sometimes go into automatic with our families and forget to focus on them. We fail to comment on their achievements or don’t mention how nice they look today. We take for granted that the house is clean or that there are always clean socks in the drawer. Elves did not put them there. Often times we are nicer to strangers than we are to the people we love merely because we have gone into automatic. It isn’t malicious. It is just forgetting to focus.

It is the same with our worship experiences. We sing hymns and never notice or think about the words. We pray the same prayers over and over as if they were a mantra. Being aware and reacting accordingly is a secret to a full and happy experience for us and for those about us. It intensifies life and creates memories we would have missed. I can guarantee it is much better than having a mouth full of hydrocortisone.

Zacchaeus - Social Pariah

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-28T21:47:25-05:00

The Mylar balloon was caught in a tree a full half mile away yet was visible and bright as it reflected the slanted rays of the evening sun. As we passed it I found myself wondering how far away Jesus was from Zacchaeus when He, Jesus, first spotted him. Zacchaeus was a pathetic situation. He was simultaneously rich and poor. He collected taxes for the hated Roman Empire and was despised by his community.

The news spread that Jesus was coming through Jericho and Zacchaeus, along with the entire town, flocked to the roadside. He never had a chance of seeing Jesus. He was a small man and perhaps that had been a factor in his grab for power and wealth. There he was most likely the richest man in town deliberately being jostled to the back. Surely there were many that took extra delight in elbowing him into an impossible situation.

His small size did not get in the way of his cleverness. Spotting a tree with branches overhanging the road, he cared not for his Hart Schaffner and Marx robe; he climbed that tree. Surely he had to push some children out of the way. Then it happened. Jesus was there and He stopped and He looked up and He called Zacchaeus by name. Rapture must have swept over him when Jesus asked to come to his house. I doubt if Zacchaeus ever remembered climbing down. Jesus was coming to his house! No one came to his house except other tax collectors. He was a social pariah. When Jesus saw him He knew Zacchaeus’ need. He knew above all things Zacchaeus needed someone to love him. Jesus loved him.

Two More Miracles

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-27T20:06:25-05:00

Most commentaries list about 32 - 35 miracles of Jesus. But we should not forget such interesting verses as Matthew 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” And of course there is the end of the Gospel of John, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

One of His more interesting miracles isn’t in the lists. In John 8 Jesus met His foes with some very interesting information. He knelt down and with His finger wrote in the construction dust on the temple floor. He was very specific. Generalities would have had no impact. He looked to see who was there and then wrote their names along with detailed times and places of their sins. It must have been horrifying to these righteous men to be so publicly exposed. Jesus was taking no prisoners. They were fair game. Many must have tossed and turned that night wondering how He knew. The miracle was He knew. Many fled before He got to their names. If today’s press had been there they would have had a media feast.

However, it ended with Jesus and a frightened woman who soon learned she had nothing to fear because of who she was with. Surely to her dying day she never forgot His rough carpenter’s hand helping her to her feet and those words, “Neither do I condemn you.” Aha, yet another miracle – the miracle of grace. We can add two more miracles to the list.

The Uniqueness of Jesus

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-26T20:25:45-05:00

“Requite injury with kindness. Keep behind, and you shall be put in front. He who is great makes humility his base. To know, but to be as one not knowing, is the height of wisdom. To the good I would be good; to the evil I would also be good, in order to make them good.” Sound familiar? If we were asked to identify the writer most of us would say Jesus. However, they are just a few of the sayings of Lao-Tse, a Chinese philosopher who lived 600 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This is just one small sample of the vast treasure of wisdom literature written prior to Jesus.

Jesus’ moral teachings and life lessons were not new. What was new about Jesus was something far more significant than the Sermon on the Mount and other such passages. Along with His great wisdom Jesus revealed His divine identity to us by saying such things, “I and the Father are One.” “Before Abraham was I am.” And Thursday evening before the cross He said, “I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

He is totally unique and He left us with some very specific promises regarding our eternal futures. Via Paul, Jesus left us with the understanding that our righteousness is the fruit of our relationship with God and grows out of our gratitude for His lifting from us the burden of the Law. Christianity is unique because it is the only religion ever that has God pursuing us for the sole purpose of giving us salvation. Every other requires works.

Life Lessons from Scripture

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-25T19:54:03-05:00

Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” City managers in Massachusetts need to read their Bibles. According to our newspaper local towns have exhausted their snow removal budgets for the year and are going in the red. It is true that we have had a fair amount of snow and more is coming. However, last year we barely had any snow and they used very little of their snow budgets.

Even as a little boy I knew the story of Joseph in Egypt. They had seven fat years and seven lean years and they filled the storehouses during the seven fat years. It’s a great lesson. When you have a windfall don’t spend all of it. Alas, they must have been tempted to fatten other parts of their budgets, much to their now regret.

Scripture isn’t merely useful for training in righteousness. It teems with life lessons. Jesus’ parables are a great source of life wisdom. There is everything from not building on sand to not hiding your talents. Many years ago I saw one of His parables play out in a committee room. One eager fellow came and sat in the chairman’s seat. When the chairman arrived he was very kind and sat with the rest of us. During a break someone quietly moved the eager fellow’s papers to an appropriate seat. The best part of the story is when he came back he picked up his papers and again sat down in the chairman’s seat. How much better it would have been if he had remembered Jesus’ counsel to take the lowest seat. Life is interesting.

Happy Wife

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-21T19:44:43-05:00

Once upon a time there was a man with a thousand wives and this is the gained wisdom he shared with us.

“Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Proverbs 5:18.

“A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day;” Proverbs 27:15.

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.” Proverbs 21:9.

A jeweler here in Leominster, Mass put up a billboard and summed it up in just four words. “Happy Wife – Happy Life.”

Moods are very contagious. They spread through a room like a virus – happy or gloomy. Sometimes we have had a miserable day at work. We had to pretend to be nice because we need the paycheck. But when we get home we think it is safe to spill our vile on our families. Beware – It isn’t safe to do so. We end up poisoning the one really safe place we have. If we need the catharsis take your dog to the basement and dump on him. He will reward you with lots of licks. I once knew a very attractive couple who were skilled in the art of verbal barbs. They were better than Don Rickles. We all howled with laughter until one day they announced their divorce. Bite your tongue when that ever so witty putdown comes to mind. At the time it might not seem like it made a difference. It did! It was one more straw.

Tell her how wonderful she is. Tell her how beautiful she is. Tell her what a great mom she is. And it will come to pass. It’s the way we are.

Priceless

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-20T21:20:38-05:00

Don’t you just love those TV commercials that offer a $10 pan for $19.99. And if you buy now, this $100 value can be yours plus they will send you another pan free, but you have to pay the shipping and handling, which is most likely $10. And if you call within the next ten minutes they will include a plastic knife, a $30 value, absolutely free. Its real value is most likely ten cents and I am making a generous estimate. Who said the pan was valued at $100? They did.

Whence cometh value? A cup of water in my hometown is almost free. A cup of water in the middle of the Sahara could cost someone their life. Some of my favorite commercials are the “Priceless” ones for Master Card. Two tickets to the ball game, two boxes of popcorn and sodas, one autographed baseball and spending the day with your son; the last one on the list is priceless.

Proverbs 20:14 is an interesting verse that describes us buying a car. ‘“It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer — then goes off and boasts about the purchase.” We all want to think we got a good deal. Part of good salesmanship is making the customer think they got real value.

Isaiah 53, the suffering servant chapter, says, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.” When we meet face to face with our Redeemer and He looks into our eyes He is satisfied. It was worth the cross. It is an issue of value. There is no possible price tag to be attached to us. We are worth it. We are priceless.

President's Day

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-19T18:27:40-05:00

Hopefully a lot of people bought a new car yesterday. It was President’s Day and the sale price on new cars looked pretty good in the morning’s paper. Most of us grew up without a President’s Day. That didn’t happen until the mid-eighties. Most of us had a day off school on February 22, George Washington’s birthday. Here in Massachusetts state law directs our governor to issue a proclamation on May 29 which is John F. Kennedy’s birthday. It’s important for us to have special days. It reminds us of our roots and gives us a national identity and pride.

Traditions help ground us. They give us a social and cultural anchor. God knew how important this was to us right from the beginning. In the heart of the Ten Commandments we read, “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20. Not once a year but once a week God wants us to be reminded of where we came from. It gives us an anchor. We are not here by mere chance but by very careful design.

In Hebrews 1 Paul says, “In these last days He (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” Paul wanted us to know that it wasn’t just a god who came to die for us but it was The God – The Creator God. He made us and He took responsibility for us. To keep us spiritually grounded He told us in the heart of His commands to remember His day, the Lord’s Day, once a week.

Come and See

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-18T21:40:08-05:00

An icy wind cut into us this evening as we entered Friendly’s for ice cream.   It was almost cold enough to make us go back to the car. Almost – not quite. Once inside we were rewarded by a precious four-year-old little girl with brown curls surrounding her pink cheeks. She hurriedly bounced up to her family and exclaimed, “Come and see. I found where they keep the ice cream.” Grabbing her daddy’s hand she led him to a glass covered refrigerator and said, “See. There’s even cake in there.” She was wonderful.

There are two similar events in John I.   When Andrew saw Jesus he hurried to his brother Peter. “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’”   The second event followed. “Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”

“Come and See” is the best kind of evangelism. Year after year we spend huge amounts of money paying for series of meetings and get limited results.   Often it seems like efforts in futility. Why is it that we continue to repeat the same activity and continue to expect different results? However, there is another more effective kind of evangelism. Nothing works better than bringing a friend to share in the joy of what we have. When we love Jesus and when we radiate excitement and exhibit a quality of life we can say, “Come and see.”   It certainly worked in John 1. Simon Peter became a disciple along with Nathaniel.

Gifts of Love

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-15T19:37:45-05:00

I received an email from Popular Mechanics making Valentine’s Day gift suggestions. Popular Mechanics! Would they recommend a new ratchet and socket set or a new chain saw? How about a new set of bits for her power drill? We all know they get dull or snap. Fortunately, I had already been to the turtle store. My wife loves turtles. No shells, just lots of pecans covered with caramel smothered in chocolate. But what would she get me? I saw a really great looking ¾ ton four wheel drive turbo boosted pickup truck. Alas, I guess not.

In reality I woke up last night at 1:00 A.M. to discover she wasn’t in bed. Had I been snoring and chased her to another room? Apparently not because soon I heard her coming up the stairs. She muttered something about forgetting something she needed for work. It wasn’t until morning when I smelled the then baking apple pie. She actually waited for me to fall asleep and went downstairs and peeled the apples and made the crust and got it all ready for the oven. I had a great breakfast. I got my fruit and grains with a touch of cinnamon. It was better than a pickup truck that I don’t need.

Love inspires us to do amazing things. One of my all time favorite verses is in Ephesians 2. Paul wrote, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace.” God wants to save us so in ages and ages He can continue to shower us with gifts of love. Now that is just plain exciting.

Ode to Cats

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-14T21:14:41-05:00

Since I have been accused of never speaking about cats and therefore being biased against cats, I felt the need to speak in defense of the feline creatures in our midst. After all there has never been a Broadway musical entitled “Dogs” and “Cats” is the second ever longest running musical. Cats are amazing creatures with the incredible ability to redesign our furniture. They are generous animals who allow us to live in their homes. They save us huge amounts of money by keeping the bird population down and away from our bird feeders. They had starring roles in the historic Salem Witch trials; something for which a dog never had an opportunity to audition. God made dogs and cats on the same day of Creation and the King of the Jungle rules on the Serengeti Plain. The dogs on the plain wisely stay away from those splendidly maned creatures. In Africa cats rule!

I, personally, have been kept from visiting friends because their Siamese cat defended the porch and front door with all the fierceness of any guard dog. If I were a poet I would surely write an “Ode to Cats.” They are worthy creatures. My city wouldn’t even force me to buy a yearly license if I had a cat. My expensive dog costs me seven dollars a year.

There isn’t any verse in Scripture more frightening than I Peter 5:8. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Many sermons have been built upon this text. So I want my dear friends to note that I am not in the least biased against cats. They are wonderful snuggly bundles of purring fur.

The State of Being Address

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-13T20:36:37-05:00

The President delivers the State of the Union Address. Our Governor delivers the State of the State address. Our Mayor delivers the State of the City address. I was wondering if God delivers a State of the Universe address. Perhaps, and if so, we should get to hear it someday. It will most likely finish with the classic lines, “The state of the universe is strong.”

What if we, each year, were required to write a State of My Being address? What would we include? Surely we would write about our physical health, our social situation, our economics, our intellectual health and our spiritual situation. We are complex beings and it would be most difficult to yearly update all of the above in a thousand words or less. Taking inventory, which is what this is about, is healthy. It forces us to evaluate just how we are doing and what we might change to enhance our state of being. Sometimes we grow complacent and think things are so great we need not change anything. However, thoughtful change is good. Sometimes chance is thrust upon us and we have to react but most of the time we can be in control and hopefully we can guide ourselves to an even better state next year.

The truth is, because of the ageing process, change is happening whether we want it or not. We can’t stay the same. We need to be preparing for the coming years. We need to be preparing for eternity. Fortunately Jesus has plans for us and if we allow Him via His Spirit to reside in us, we can move in a direction that will not only make us strong but fulfill our wildest dreams. See Ephesians 3:20.

The Westminster Dog Show

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-12T20:46:05-05:00

Over 2600 dogs are competing in this year’s Westminster Dog Show. We love our dogs. They afford us unquestioning devotion, protection and companionship. They are therapeutic for the ill and of aid to all manner of occupations. Several years ago we had Russian visitors and when they went to the supermarket they were astounded upon seeing an entire aisle dedicated to dog food. When I read the nutrition contents on the dog food bag I wonder if she eats better than I do.

Dogs don’t fare well when mentioned in Scripture. Even the last book of the Bible reads, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” That isn’t an honor roll in which one would like to be included. Considering shepherds are mentioned and dogs are used to care for sheep one would think there would be one nice comment on dogs. But then again shepherds were near the bottom of society.

I doubt very much that God has such a poor attitude toward dogs as did people in Biblical times. He did create them for us. They were on Noah’s ark. Our stewardship of God’s creatures is an important measure of our characters and I am sure heaven notes our care or lack of for our canine friends. I have often been asked if we will have our dogs in heaven. While there is nothing in inspired writings to aid us with an answer and while I do not believe Jesus died for dogs. I do think heaven is to be heaven and if our specially loved dogs would make it a better place for us than we will see them again.

The Grammys

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-11T21:23:01-05:00

This weekend’s Grammy Awards reminds us of how important music is to us. It can make us cry or fill us with overwhelming joy. Surely there hasn’t been or isn’t a culture anywhere that does not have its music. Billions of dollars are spent each year celebrating life with harmonies and tunes. We have our particular tastes in what music is beautiful and is not. Music fills our cars, our homes, our malls and our churches. Almost always what we like is what we have heard in our youth. Often when we hear something strange and new we object. When churches began to sing the hymns of the Wesley brothers multitudes were scandalized. Along with Fanny Crosby’s hymns, the Wesleys’ hymns dominate church hymnals and used to dominate our worship experiences.

The longest book in our Bibles is a hymn book. The Psalms were not written to be Scripture but were the songs of worship. Many of them were written by King David almost a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. Three thousand years later we still thrill to their beauty. David was a rock star in his youth. When he played girls swooned and danced. I Samuel 16:23 speaks of him giving private harp concerts to King Saul to soothe Saul’s wits of depression.

There will never be a time without music. Revelation 15 speaks of the redeemed playing harps (guitars?) and singing “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.” Some of us lament our lack of musical talent and envy those gifted ones in our midst. But surely there will be a time when we all shall lift our musical gifts up in praise before the One who has redeemed us.

Just Wondering

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-08T19:18:57-05:00

Our storm has begun. As I sit down to write fine tiny crystals of snow are decorating the curled rhododendron outside our front windows. The mountain across the road has disappeared behind a wall of white. Outside the back windows four doves have yet to take shelter as they hunker together under the bird feeder. The governor has declared a curfew and there is a 500 dollar fine for driving in Massachusetts.

Fire is dancing behind the front glass of the woodstove. Soft music fills our rooms mixed with the warm fragrance of baking brownies. It’s a nice place to be. Yet I miss the ferny frost patterns on the insides of the window panes. Double-paned windows have made them relics to be remembered. It was fun to place your finger in the beautiful patterns and watch the ephemera melt away only to return when you finally withdrew your hand.

I find myself amidst all this comfort and yet unsatisfied. While I am here with my very best friend I still miss my mother, father, sisters, sons and grandchildren. Oh to have them all here on this white winter night. Why is it that as blessed as I am I hunger for more? Astronomers now tell us there are over 5 billion potentially inhabitable planets in our galaxy. Will we ever see them all and if so will we still want to see more? We are made in God’s image. Is He also in want of more? Surely He longs for us to be rescued from this place of death and sorrow. Yet is there a quality about Him that wants to make more and more and more. He is a Creator. Will He ever forget those not saved? Will He always miss them? I was just wondering on a cold snowy winter New England evening.

Union with Glory

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-07T21:32:36-05:00

Walden Pond is frozen over this evening and by tomorrow night it will be covered with more than two feet of snow. We are in for a big one. Weathermen are using the “Blizzard” word. Tomorrow will be a different kind of day than when Henry David Thoreau drifted across Walden’s gentle waters and opined, “Sometimes as I drift idly on Walden Pond, I cease to live and begin to be.”

It is such a satisfying experience to have a mystical moment when we experience knowing that we are not just an entity but part of something much larger and more meaningful than merely our own body. To exit now and become, even for a moment, part of eternity is more pleasurable than a banquet of the finest food.

“It was at this time that He (Jesus) went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12. These were not times of going through a prayer list. They were times of being. Such experiences are the rarest of joys we can experience. These are the times when we are lifted out of our human shell and know we are part of something much grander. They are a taste of citizenship in our Father’s Kingdom. They are epiphanies of light, wisdom and rapture.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior and become one with Him we become part of something so much bigger than our worldly achievements. Jesus experienced nothing that is withheld from us. We are co-heirs with Him. (Romans 8) “The glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27. Heaven is not indulgence in things. It is union with glory.

The Problem of Self

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-06T22:10:31-05:00

Selfishness pervades my being. Try as I might, all my attempts to be kind, generous and thoughtful of others lead me to an examination of my motives. Through the years I have learned that like begets like. “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1. Since I do not like confrontation I do everything I can to ease a tense situation. I do it for my comfort. I do not steal because I realize stealing tears away the fabric of our civilization and leads to chaos. I do not steal for my comfort. I can go through a list of supposed virtues that I seek to maintain and each ends with “I do or don’t do it for my comfort.”

A friend of mine said to me, “An apple tree produces apples because it is an apple tree and not to become an apple tree.” When I first heard that I heartily agreed and espoused it as great theology. However, I am no longer sure. I produce apples because I don’t want to be useless. Being useless makes me feel as if I have no value. I want to have value; therefore, I produce apples. I do it for my psychological comfort. I give to the poor because it makes me feel good. It is no wonder Paul cried out, “Woe is me for I am undone. Who will rescue me from me?” Romans 7.

Since I want what I do not seem to be able to achieve I will put my trust in Him who promises to save to the uttermost. Hebrews 7. I Corinthians 15 is amazing. We are promised this corruption will be taken away and for the first time ever do something purely for love.

Old Fruit Loops

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-05T20:29:32-05:00

For supper this evening I found one of those little boxes of Fruit Loops cereal in our pantry. It must have been left over from a time when the grandchildren visited. I can’t remember when I last had Fruit Loops, maybe in the 70’s. I didn’t know how long these particular Fruit Loops had waited to be eaten. They were so bad that after I spit out my first bite I gave them to the dog. Now this is a dog that will eat anything – I thought. She spit them out and walked away! Maybe someday I will try fresh Fruit Loops – maybe. I then looked for an expiration date but couldn’t find one. They must have been so old they were pre-expiration dates.

Each day I drive past a nursing home and I have wondered if the patients are past their expiration dates. It is then that I realize my perverseness. Surely there can never be an expiration date on a human being – at least in God’s eyes. Each of us is treasured long past when we have breathed our last earthly breath. Our personalities, our memories, our likes and dislikes are all stored in His parental brain waiting to be used once again on resurrection morning. The only thing about us He doesn’t remember is our sins. They have been blotted out. Acts 3:29

My mom taught me when shopping at the supermarket to take bread and milk from the back of the shelf. The older food is at the front so it will be sold first. I have also discovered it’s not a great idea to stop at a donut shop in the evening. How grand it is to know that we – you and I – don’t have expiration dates.

On Being Perfect

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-04T22:19:55-05:00

On our way to Philadelphia yesterday (safely back home tonight) we came up behind a car being very poorly driven. The driver changed lanes several times without signaling and when we passed him he was on his cell-phone. The real surprise was the business name on the side of the car was Farmers Insurance. So much for being a role model. I realize not one of us is perfect but this was excessively bad.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” That could be a source of major discouragement. It is setting the bar so high we can’t even see it let alone get there. Perhaps the issue is one’s definition of perfection. John Dewey, the great American philosopher, urges us to understand that perfection is a process. He proposes that no matter how good someone has been if he ceases to grow he is a bad person. And a person with a morally unworthy past, who is moving to be better, is a good person. I like this concept but fear for the elderly. I have watched some very kind, generous people age into someone not nice to be around. Surely we can take comfort in the knowledge that God knows the condition of their aging minds and treats them with love and understanding.

For those of us who think we are still mentally running on all eight cylinders our challenge, our goal, our destination is to be a better person today than we were yesterday. A comforting promise is found in John 15. Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will abide with and in us so we do not have to do it alone.

Zero to Two Hundred

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-02-01T18:13:29-05:00

It’s called a Hennessy Venom GT Spyder. Believe it or not this is a production car that does 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds and 0 to 200 in 15.3 seconds. It takes me that long just to get out of my chair. This incredible acceleration is possible because it has 1244 horse power and only weighs 2473 pounds. On top of all that it is beautifully designed. It can be yours for only 1.1 million dollars. They made 6 this year. I’m not sure about the gas mileage but if you can pay that much for a car who cares about the price of gas.

What would one do with all that power? “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases . . .” Luke 9:1 Probably there isn’t a pastor in the world who has not dreamed of having that power. It’s part of our nature. Little guys put on capes and pretend to be Superman. We want to do spectacular things. We want to help people. There is so much need.

Perhaps the issue is trust. There is an old axiom about power corrupting and absolute power absolutely corrupting. We would most likely start off being controlled and generous but soon we would start doing little things for ourselves and then bigger and bigger things. Then there is the issue of the adoration and affirmation one would receive. I have been fascinated by the verses that tell us that often after doing something incredible Jesus would slip away to be alone. We need power but too much power is dangerous – dangerous to others and mostly to ourselves.

Love to be Loved

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-31T21:50:30-05:00

The award season is upon us. There are the Grammy’s, the People’s Choice Awards, the Country Music Awards, the Golden Globes Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Academy Awards and on and on. I wonder why we watch them. I’m guessing we have a vicarious experience with all the glamour and affirmation. I am a tad amused when the winner says to the audience, “I love you.” Really? What is really happening is we humans love to be loved. Receiving adoration from the masses is intoxicating. Few can resist the euphoria of the moment.

In Acts 12 there is a scary story about Herod Agrippa I. “On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” He obviously didn’t receive a lifetime achievement award. Or maybe he did.

The fact is God created us to be loved – primarily by Him and then by others. The whole purpose of our being is for us to be part of His family. Many years ago I received a phone call telling me one of my church members was on a twelfth story hotel ledge. I spent most of an hour trying to get him to come in. Finally in desperation I said, “You have to come in because I love you.” It was magic. All of his pain seemed to wash away as he reached out his hand and came in. Surely there is no more important message for us to proclaim other than, “Jesus loves you.”

Standing on Shoulders

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-30T20:37:15-05:00

When one walks about in Westminster Abbey it is difficult not to be awed by those buried there. We can start with Chaucer and work our way through the centuries. Poet laureate Ben Jonson is buried upright. Henry Purcell, Isaac Newton, George Handel, Charles Dickens, David Livingstone, Charles Darwin, Robert Browning, Rudyard Kipling are just a sampling of the greats. Many are below the floor and one finds oneself standing on a great person’s marker. When I was a boy my Dad taught me that it was disrespectful to walk on people’s graves. However, one cannot avoid doing so in Westminster.

While walking from marker to marker I realized that all of us stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before. Those individuals would be shocked to see our modern technology but we are not smarter than they. We just have more information. That information came by building on information we inherited from them. Our children will know more than we because we teach, they learn and they build upon it.

Recently I heard a foolish person talking about being self-made. It is a completely ridiculous thought. It is impossible to be self-made. We are the product of all the learning and wisdom of those gone before us. Carl Sagan once wisely said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe.” And so it is with our salvation. We are not self-saved. We have no righteousness to bring before God. Eternity is built on the sacrifice of God Himself. He made us. He took responsibility for us and died for us. We are the product of love and it doesn’t get any better than that.

Solomon and Macbeth

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-29T21:36:26-05:00

Solomon closes Ecclesiastes 11 with an appeal for young people to look around and enjoy the things they see but to remember actions have consequences – judgment will come. Chapter 12 is a poetic description of getting old. It really isn’t a pretty picture despite the flowery language. He speaks of silver cords being severed and golden pitchers breaking. He is talking about death. He then says in verse 8, “Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” He sounds like the passage we read yesterday from Macbeth. Neither of them had much hope nor satisfaction. The problem was they didn’t know Jesus and the joy of salvation.

To know Jesus changes everything. To know Jesus is to understand all these years on Earth are prelude. The real life, the eternal life, the never-ending growing life has begun now but the best is yet to come. “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” Solomon did not have the Gospel of John to savor. Shakespeare’s fictional Macbeth obviously never read it. If all we had was John we have more than enough to fill our lives with joy. How grand that we have even more than John. The riches of the other Gospels and the letters of Paul chase away the despair of our human walk and fill us with a knowledge that surpasses anything Solomon ever dreamed.

Of all people who ever walked this earth we are the most blessed.

So Very Significant

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-28T21:16:35-05:00

When Macbeth hears of his wife’s death he says, “Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” How very opposite this is to Jeremiah’s call from the Lord. “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’”

In Ephesians 2 Paul wrote, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Jeremiah was not privileged above you and me. God has a plan and purpose for each of us. There is something unique for each of us to do. Each of us has characteristics and talents unlike any other person on earth. In the grand scheme of things there is something that needs to be accomplished and only you can do it.

It gets even better. How wonderful it is to know “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” We are not merely servants to be used and then cast aside. We are members of the family who are joint heirs with Jesus Himself. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8

Sorry Hamlet but you are wrong. Our lives signify much more than we can now imagine.

To Be Ready

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-25T21:00:19-05:00

One of our many chipmunks ventured out unto the snow this morning. Perhaps he heard the rabbit above and came up to say hello. He isn’t a true hibernator like some of the other creatures. Mostly he stays below feasting on the fruits of his summer’s toil. There are lots of creatures still moving about. When I was a boy it was rare to see a robin in January but that has changed. There are deer and a rather ratty looking red fox mixing their prints in the snow with those of the squirrels. A few nights ago I was awakened by the hooting of an owl. I wondered if he was lonely and calling for some feowl company. It wasn’t long until he hooted me back to sleep.

Sometimes we give sleep a bad name because of the parable of the ten virgins. But sleep is a good thing. It’s a time for body and mind to refresh for coming tasks. In the parable the five were not chastised for sleeping. Their problem was they had not prepared properly. So what does it mean to be ready? Through the years I have heard many presentations telling me to stop eating this and that, to be sure all my sins were forgiven, to read my Bible every day, to be sure I was tithing properly, to store food and water for the time of trouble. Oh the list goes on and on.

However, my list grows shorter and shorter as the years wane. I keep crossing things off and what I end up with is “trust Jesus.” He is able to as Paul says, “. . . to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” II Timothy 1:12

Jesus Wins

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-24T20:00:15-05:00

We are fortunate enough to have the DVDs for the third season of the wildly popular and excellent PBS drama of Downton Abbey. We now have to be careful when we are talking to our friends who are watching it each Sunday evening on PBS. We know how it ends and we don’t want to spoil it for them. While walking my dog this evening in the almost zero degree night I was thinking how very opposite this is from knowing what Jesus says about the end of the world as we know it. We should tell it to everyone. Jesus tells us to tell.

Jesus said, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Matthew 24

Paul adds his input in I Thessalonians 4. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”

Sometimes in our eagerness and zeal we add a lot of details from our imaginations and give the impression we know more than we really do. The centuries have not been very kind in bearing out our man-made details. To be safe I have learned to stick to the basics. Jesus wins.

My Bad Haircut

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-23T20:51:35-05:00

I got a really bad haircut today. For reasons unknown to me my regular barber wasn’t open today so I went just down the street to a new place. I should have known better. The place opened just a month ago and didn’t look overly busy. Going to a barber is like going to a diner. Don’t go if you never see any cars parked outside. Maybe going to a church is like that. Go where the parking lot is full. Something is happening inside.

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is found in Matthew 8. A man with leprosy was looking for Jesus. Jesus wasn’t too hard to find. The leper just went where the crowd was. Getting to Jesus would have been a problem for some but not for a leper. As he came near the people were repulsed by his appearance and smell. Everyone got out of his way lest they be touched by him. “He knelt before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.”

What I love about this story is that Jesus touched him prior to taking away the disease. That is so much like Jesus. No matter what our problems, our sins, our mistakes, our lousy past, Jesus is willing to first touch us and make us clean.

The crowds aren’t always right. To the contrary history teaches us the crowds are often wrong. But the crowds that found Jesus were very right. The man’s leprosy was gone never to grow back. Fortunately for me, my hair will grow back. It’s a great life.

Ever So Silently

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-22T22:34:23-05:00

I just came in from walking my dog. We didn’t stay out very long. It’s a breezy 10 degree night and I wondered about her feet. The moon is busy painting shadows on the snow cover. It would be impossible to sneak up on someone because the snow is creaky and crunchy. When I was a boy I read lots of stories about Indians walking silently through the forest. I thought that was wonderful and used to try to do it. Carefully I would avoid stepping on a stick that would snap and echo through the trees.

God is very good at moving silently through the forest. He could even cross our creaky, crunchy snow without a sound. He is excellent at sneaking up on us. Frankly speaking, He is a stalker. He cannot help Himself. When one loves someone they want to see them, be with them, and share with them. Psalm 139 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

I used to think the prodigal son’s father went out to the road each day watching for his son. But now I think differently. With the resources he had I am sure he had people watching his son everyday and reporting back to him. With great joy he heard that his son was on his way home and he ran to meet him. There was never a day he did not know where he was.

The Fine Art of Receiving

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-21T18:04:14-05:00

Try as hard as I could, I could not remember what my wife gave me for Christmas. Finally, as carefully worded as possible, I asked her what she got me. Do not. I repeat. Do not ever do this. I will be hearing about this for years to come. Ringing in my ears are comments like “Well, I remember what you got me” and “I can tell it made a real impression.” Ouch. The fine art of receiving is more important than giving.

I once heard a student proclaim that no one ever gave her anything. I asked if she still lived at home. “Well, of course,” came the response. “I’m only 15.” “And do you pay room and board” I asked. “Of course not, I don’t have a job” was the answer. To which I said something very pithy. “Hum.”

Perhaps Psalm 100 is the second best psalm. “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations.”

We are receivers. Each beat of our hearts, each breath we take are gifts. When we learn to give thanks, we understand our place in this vast universe. None of us are self-made anything. What we give is minuscule to what we have received. Try to remember so someday you will not have to say to God, “I can’t remember what you gave me.”

He is Calling You

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-18T16:53:25-05:00

I wasn’t feeling very good when I got out of the car at Murchison Falls in Uganda. As we climbed to the overlook I continued to feel worse and worse. Finally I moved off the trail a bit so I could lie down and throw-up. While waiting to gather my strength a strange but very friendly face peered into mine and he said, “I’m Doctor David Livingston, may I help you?” Even in the midst of my nausea I managed to skeptically say, “Sure you are.” We quickly learned that he really was Doctor David Livingstone. He was the famous African explorer’s great great grandson. He worked at a hospital in southern Africa and was on holiday. Fortunately for me, he was able to help with malaria medication. We saw him again with his family that evening in a nearby lodge.

Ever after I have wondered how many times God speaks to us only to have us skeptically think, “No, not really.” He spoke to Samuel only to have Samuel think it was Eli calling. He spoke to Elijah, but not in an earthquake or fire, but in a still small voice. There are some who are like Samuel and hear a voice. However, most of us are on the still small voice channel. We wait for some horrific event to occur on earth or to us thinking God will be in the big events. He is, but most of the time He is whispering.

And what does He have to tell us? For each of us the communication is unique because each of us has different needs. Your needs are not my needs. You are special. God’s message to you is especially for you. Listen carefully. Because He is whispering sometimes we need to turn off our noisy electronics.

Hedging Will Not Work

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-17T20:31:07-05:00

You might think I spend a lot of time behind cars and trucks. I do. And I suspect you do also. Today I pulled up behind a car decorated with contradictory symbols. There was the traditional fish symbol for Jesus next to a cross. However, there was also a pentagram and a bumper sticker promoting Satanism. As this mixed message drove off I remembered the witchdoctor that sat under a mango tree in front of the dispensary by our school in Uganda. It was there that I discovered that the witchdoctor was a good guy. He sold things to counteract curses from witches. He was the doctor.

One afternoon while waiting my turn to see the nurse at the dispensary (I had fallen off my motorcycle and needed an antibiotic ointment.) I noticed people coming from the dispensary also purchasing things from the witchdoctor. I recognized one of them and I asked, “Why?” His logic was interesting. He told me he was covering all the bases. Modern medicine was fine, but just in case, a good charm from the witchdoctor might do the trick.

Jesus once said we cannot serve two masters. We can’t play both ends against the middle. We are either with Jesus or we are not. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24. I wondered if the person in the car in front of me was trying to hedge his faith. If so Elijah would have a few words for him. “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." I Kings 18:21

Assets

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-16T19:16:22-05:00

The sign on the back of the semi read, “Our most valuable asset is sitting 62 feet in front of this sign.” Wouldn’t it be grand if all companies/organizations felt that way about their employees? Things can be replaced. People should not be replaceable. Heaven certainly doesn’t think people are replaceable.

Just how do you place value on something? Sometimes we see TV programs where people bring in their questionable treasures for evaluation. They are thrilled to discover some old piece of junk out of their attic is actually worth millions. At least that is what they are told. However, something is only valuable to the degree that someone will purchase it from you. We can say it is worth a million but if no one wants to buy it then it really isn’t worth anything other than its aesthetics.

So if you are a valued asset, just how much are you worth? Calvary!

Scripture indicates one third of the angels were expelled from heaven with their chosen leader. Were they, are they replaceable? One of the worst things we can say to any parent who has lost a child is “Well, you have two other children.” Or “Thankfully you are still young and you can have more.” Each child has a unique place in our hearts. Another child creates their own space. The already existing place will always be empty. While God is thrilled beyond words to have us in His family, there is no possible way we can fill the emptiness in His heart for His lost angels. Love builds bigger houses with more rooms. It doesn’t fill up the old. Value is in the eye of the beholder. What an asset you are!

Watching From Above

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-15T19:47:25-05:00

Our son’s office is in a high-rise in southern Connecticut looking down on I-95. Yesterday on our way to Philadelphia (we’re back home now) my wife texted him that we would be coming by his building in a few minutes. As we came in sight of his glass structure we opened the sunroof and my wife started to wave. A few seconds later she received the text, “Saw you waving.” Not much of a visit as we whizzed by a wee bit over 65 mph.

I used to think that God watched us from above. As a little guy I learned a song about God looking down in tender love. Only instead of catching just a glimpse He got to watch everything all the time. Later in life I read Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” This certainly changes everything. God is not watching from above. He is inside! We have no secrets. Now comes the amazing part. He still loves us. How can this be? I don’t even pretend to know. I just take Him at His word. “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” That’s the rest of Galatians 2:20.

We are invited to participate in a very intimate relationship. Not only is He aware of our thoughts, He longs to share His thoughts with us. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom---if you want to know what God wants you to do---ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.” This is so much better than waving out the top of a sunroof.

Stumbling Block

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-14T15:09:54-05:00

It started in the gardens behind our home in East Africa and ended in the front seat of our Ford Cortina. Somehow in my youthful foolishness I caught a seven foot long cobra and asked my wife to drive me to our school’s biology room. I was pretty cool about it until, there in the small confines of the car, it began to struggle with me. While holding it behind the head with one hand I tried to stop its thrashing about on my lap inches from my wife with my other hand. As we pulled up to the school it relaxed but I did not. Beads of anxious sweat ran down my face. It was only when putting it in the biology room box did I understand its battle. It was dead. It had been thrashing for the precious air I was not allowing it to have. It was the only thing I have ever strangled. But perhaps not the only thing I have ever deprived of life, at least eternal life.

Paul speaks of being a stumbling block. “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” I Corinthians 8:9. So often we talk about people approaching us in heaven and thanking us for encouraging them. But what of those we have discouraged? As a teacher I wonder how often I flipped off a causal remark to be funny but actually deeply hurt a student. What persons decided they didn’t want to be in heaven if we are there?

I once heard someone say if he had to live his life over again he wouldn’t do anything differently. I thought, “What a fool. He learned nothing along the way.”

So Very Special

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-11T21:28:15-05:00

When God finished each day of Creation He said, “That is good.” That was until the end of the 6th day. Then He said, “That is very good.” He had just created Adam and Eve. They were magnificent. Angels sang and Lucifer complained. For the Psalmist wrote, “You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:5. At least that is how the King James Version of the Bible is translated. The translators could not bring themselves to translate the Hebrew word “elohim” which is usually translated “God” and so they substituted “heavenly beings” or “angels.” Some translations render it with the usual translation. It seems there was something special about Adam and Eve. They had something the angels did not. Until then Lucifer had been the most glorious fruit of God’s handiwork.

I looked in the mirror this morning. How very depressing. Sin has more than taken its toll. The bloom left the rose a long time ago. I just now noticed. Years ago one of the saints, H.M.S. Richards, was asked if it was morally right for women to use makeup. His response was classic, “If the barn needs painting, paint it.” We do need a lot of care. Clothing covers a multitude of flaws. Glasses on older people distract us from the bags and wrinkles about our eyes. Hair, if we have any, can be stylishly coiffed to enhance our plainness. We can even grow it long by our ears and comb it over the top holding it there with lots of spray.

How very grand it will be when the promises of eternal life made to us by Jesus will come to fullness. Forever young. Forever in full bloom. Forever in His image.

The Wisdom of His Thoughts

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-10T17:39:37-05:00

I heard someone say God speaks and things come into being. They used Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” It is a beautiful text written in marvelous poetic style. As the person went on, he inferred that God was some kind of magician, who merely spoke and the worlds were made. Albert Einstein once said, “God is a scientist not a magician.” Einstein and Jeremiah shared a similar thought. Jeremiah wrote in 10:12, “God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.”

God does not casually sprinkle magic dust nor does He speak secret cryptic combinations of words to bring about order and life. Our world and we are the product of His thoughts. The complexity of our environment and the wonder of our eyes, minds and hands are the fruit of careful design. When He announced that He was going to make creatures in His own image He had pondered every aspect of our being and spared no detail to keep us from continual growth. He was, is, will be ever giving. He is not parsimonious but prodigal with His gifts. Each gift is specifically designed to be beneficial.

He said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah was no more special than you or me. God has plans for us far beyond our dreams. We are not an accident nor are we an act of magic. We are specially designed for special tasks. We are the wisdom of His thoughts.

Wintertime Shadows

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-09T20:46:47-05:00

Some of my favorite things are afternoon shadows on snow. Gray imitations of the real are cast upon the snow accentuating the whiteness of the ground cover. Shadows like all things come in many forms. Some shadows are depressing as they hide reality. Some shadows artistically reveal an impressionistic view of the real. Sometimes we forget that shade, so welcome on a hot afternoon, is but a shadow protecting us from the sometimes harshness of direct sun and heat. Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Shadows so often are depicted as harbingers of the night but they also herald the dawn as day moves across our place in the world. As nice as they are in summer there is something special in winter as they lay upon the snow. They make paths which draw our eyes to the trees or better yet to a person we love who is standing in the snow.

The “shelter of the Almighty” mentioned above promises us security and comfort from the challenges of our daily routines. We can step in the shadow and know there is someone very real with us. We are not alone. And when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we have nothing to fear. God has invested decades in growing us. He will not waste the time, energy and effort He devoted to our becoming like Him. Just as a great artist would not trash the work of a lifetime neither will our Creator waste the care, the tears and the laughter He has poured into us. We are way too expensive to ignore.

Scanned

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-08T20:00:35-05:00

In the morning I will be scanned. No, I am not going through an airport but instead to a local hospital. The intrusive rays of the giant donut-like machine will peer into my inner parts and show all the flaws and irregularities that have resulted from so many decades of life. I cannot help but think of Psalm 139 which begins, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” Ah, now there is something the scanner cannot see – my thoughts. Those are private between me and my Creator/Savior.

Verses 13 and onward read, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

That is spectacular. We are watched and known prior to our birth. According to this Psalm there is nowhere we can go that He does not watch and care. Finally, the last two verses say, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

If the doctors see something strange on my scan hopefully they can fix it. When God sees something strange in my thoughts, He promises to fix it. There is no “hopefully” about it. It is for sure.

No Leftovers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-07T18:17:34-05:00

Our dog tries to be a good dog. When there is food in the room, she patiently waits. Often she gives us that tilted head sad-eyed look pretending to be a poor starving waif. It works. It has to be tough to be a dog. Humans eat really good things, but they eat sitting at a table and all a dog can do is smell the goodies. It’s tough not to salivate on the floor. Humans don’t like that. If you are fortunate they will have just the right amount of leftovers. The desired amount is enough to taste great but not too much because then the humans will put them in the fridge for another meal. But sometimes humans leave really good things on the counter and leave the room and the temptation is overwhelming.

Last week my wife made a great, I mean really great, apple pie and left it to cool on the back of the stove. Remember I Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.” That text is definitely for humans and not for dogs. Our good dog just couldn’t resist. We heard a noise and when we entered the kitchen her nose was right down in it. Oh, the shame! She obviously knew who made the pie because she hid behind me for the rest of the evening.

Remember that great verse in Psalm 23, “He prepares a table for me.” There are no leftovers on that table. We are not dogs. We are sons and daughters. We eat at the table. How grand!

The Life Raft

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-04T19:58:56-05:00

Gloucester, Massachusetts is America’s oldest seaport. One of its main points of interest is the famous statue of a fisherman guiding his ship through a storm. It is dedicated to the more than 10,000 fishermen from Gloucester that have been lost at sea. It is inscribed with the words from Psalm 107, “They that go down to the sea in ships.” This week it seems that the sea has claimed yet two more fishermen. The Lady Fox II left Gloucester Saturday morning and the two man crew has not been heard from since. Their life raft washed onto shore – empty.

There are few things more disheartening than an empty life raft. Its very name “life raft” perfectly describes its purpose. When it arrives on shore empty it has failed its purpose.

Two thousand years ago God provided a life raft for a lost humanity. Jesus personally died a horrible death to provide a life raft of justice and mercy for mankind. This life raft is huge. It is big enough for all who want in. There will be no choosing who is worthy. It will not be women and children first and some worthy men if there is room. There is room enough for all. Fortunately I can report that millions will take advantage. Revelation 7:9 is one of my favorite verses. It reads, “I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”

Can you imagine? So many redeemed we cannot count them. So just in case we thought we were alone in the raft it must be because we didn’t open our eyes.

The Burning Log

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-03T17:31:04-05:00

This past Christmas Eve our woodstove added its cheer to our home. It was most pleasant to watch the flames move behind the glass window. It was especially nice to push in the damper and watch the flames slow down to a graceful mesmerizing dance. When it was time for more wood I picked up a nice piece of hardwood and placed it beside another already burning log. If I placed it near but not touching the burning log I wondered how long it would take for the hardwood to blaze. It took several minutes but finally the hardwood could no longer resist and it added its warmth to the room.

I thought of hardnosed people living in the same home with gentle loving people. How long can the hardnosed folk resist? Who becomes like the other? Perhaps it is the gentle person who changes? Is it possible for both to co-exist and neither bow to the atmosphere created by the other?

During the years when I was a pastor I saw many people want so much for their spouse to join them in coming to church. Unfortunately I saw some people just give up and they lost their walk with the Lord. Fortunately I also saw it work the other way. Little by little I saw husbands and wives (usually husbands) come to church on special occasions at first and then sporadically and then regularly. The burning love and care of the spouse and others welcoming them into the church family ultimately caused them both to blaze. It is an endeavor by more than one, but the main person is the one burning brightly in the same home. No pressure, no nagging, no preaching, no urging, just loving seemed to work best.

Segue

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-02T22:07:01-05:00

The dictionary defines the word “Segue” as a smooth imperceptible transition from one state, situation or subject to another. Sometimes we hear talk show hosts use the word “segue” as they move from one topic to another. Segue is a good word to describe a Christian. Hopefully we are in a continuous state of transition from our selfish nature to something way more generous.

It is so important to understand that this is not an instant transformation. It is the work of a lifetime. If the thief on the cross who accepted Jesus had come down from the cross to continue his life, he had a lot of growing to do. He would have sinned. He would have hurt people. He would not have been very Christ-like – at the beginning. But he would have started a journey, a segue, to a much better person. So often we expect too much from ourselves. We start a new year like today and make resolutions about being better but by tomorrow night we discover we are still us. Hey, that’s okay. It’s a journey. I wonder how many people just gave up. Don’t.

It takes time to build quality. Architects, contractors, construction workers, steel workers, masons, electricians and other craftsmen have been working an entire decade to rebuild the world trade center. When it is finished it will be stronger and more spectacular than what was previously there. It takes time to build something great. You are so much more than a building of steel and glass. You are a son or daughter of the King of the Universe and it takes time to segue to be all you can be. Best of all we will go from one segue to the next – forever.

Who Was That Masked Man?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2013-01-01T20:51:09-05:00

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful with a brand new layer of eight inches of snow. However, one of my most unfavorite persons is the city snowplower. While our driveway has eight inches of soft fluffy snow the end of my driveway has what seems like a two to three foot wall of icy compacted cement. But this Sunday morning was different. When I opened my garage door our driveway with the Berlin Wall at the entrance was completely cleared. There were tracks of a snowblower in the little snow that was left. We have a secret Santa. It is now Monday night and I still do not know who was this incredible gifter. My wife says she saw someone with a scarf over his face. Who was that masked man?

Recently I have become the recipient of many nice things. After church this weekend I was offered a load of firewood. He was not wearing a mask.

The news is so full of terror and horror it is easy to forget that our communities are filled with caring, generous people. Brian Williams, the news anchor for NBC, finishes each evening’s broadcast featuring something good. Last week as he closed he said, “The world is full of good people. We just need to tell their stories.” So I thought I should share two of them.

Then, of course, there is the greatest gift of all. Paul tells us in Romans 6:23, “The gift of God is eternal life.” Let us not be overwhelmed by stories of evil and horror perpetrated in the name of God. He is good. Let the terrorists chant “God is great.” We shall instead show the world that God is also good. How grand.

Marvelous Combinations

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-27T21:23:43-05:00

Combinations of people, things and foods can make for the most wonderful experiences. Abbot and Costello doing “Who’s on First?”, children and dogs in snow, apples and cinnamon baking in flaky piecrust are just a taste of life’s great combinations.

When it comes to the richness of our inner being the greatest combination is spoken of by Paul in Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Imagine that. Christ in you. No longer you, alone, in the world, but you combined with Christ Himself, His thoughts becoming your thoughts, His responses to others becoming your responses, His love and generosity becoming your love and generosity. The very idea is exciting, challenging and possible.

Let’s make yet another wonderful combination. Colossians 1:19. “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” All the fullness of the Father dwells in Jesus and Jesus dwells in you. The possibilities are astounding. The fruit is beyond our imagination. Have you ever seen someone you admired because of their goodness? You need not look from afar. You can join the group. It is not an exclusive group but inclusive of all who desire to belong. He knew you would be here in 2012/13 and He wants to change the world by having all His fullness dwell in you via His son.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20.

Without Blemish

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-28T21:16:12-05:00

Most of us have seen interviews of people released from prison because DNA testing revealed they were innocent. The exhilaration of freedom and exoneration must be like waking up from some horrible nightmare to discover it is a new day and the sun has come out. It is bad enough to be found guilty when you are guilty let alone being judged guilty when you really didn’t do it. There is a wonderful verse in Colossians 1. Speaking of God’s love for us Paul wrote, “He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Once we accept His grace we are not just forgiven, the scars, the blemishes and the ravages of sin are so completely gone no one can even accuse us of anything.

Paul, as Saul, had the blood of martyrs on his hands. Here is a man who experienced so much grace and he wants us to share his joy. To the Romans he wrote, “With God on our side, who can be against us.” He then goes through a list including everything in heaven and hell and they are powerless to accuse us of anything. Revel in this passage. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Did you really read it? Or once you recognized the passage did you sort of skip over to this paragraph? Often we do that. But this merits a very slow reading. Let it pour over your brain like maple syrup on pancakes.

One More Present to Unwrap

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-26T18:24:26-05:00

By now most of the presents for Christmas 2012 have been opened. The wrapping paper has been discarded and trash cans are filled to overflowing. Some of you might have new books to read or DVDs to watch. Some children will be a bit disappointed to have discovered that some of those packages contained socks and underwear. I have one for you. It will take a while to unwrap. It is one of those gifts that has layers of wrapping and the deeper you wade into it the more wonderful the treasure it holds. It is found in Colossians chapter 1. “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

Note that it is only one sentence. If Paul had had my high school English teacher he would have been thoroughly chastised for creating a “run-on” sentence. Didn’t Paul know about periods? Actually he didn’t.

It is a glorious sentence filled with weeks of thought. So please don’t just glance at it saying, “Okay now I read it.” That would be like walking through your town library and saying, “Okay, I’ve been there.” No, no. This sentence is like a miracle box that once you get to the box inside, you discover it is bigger than the one it came out of.

Like Never Before

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-25T21:48:47-05:00

Clichés have a life span. Hopefully, “Like you have never seen before” is approaching old age and will soon disappear. I weary of rogue emails toting something “like we have never seen before” and when we open it we find something as old and gray as the cliché. Even television commercials are using it. In a way it is true for everything. Everything is in a stage of flux. What you see in the mirror tomorrow morning is something “like you have never seen before.”

Being that I have such distaste for the expression I find myself on this Christmas day wanting to use it. When Jesus was born in that cattle stall it truly was something that the entire universe had never seen before. They were in a state of shock and disbelief that their Creator who ruled the universe in regal splendor would be so abased. Surely Lucifer himself must have thought there had been a horrible mistake. This could not be. He knew the promises of the Old Testament. He knew Jesus was coming. But this scene in Bethlehem was not only something like he had never seen it was beyond something he even imagined.

For the next thirty years the universe watched unfold a drama “like they had never seen before.” Finally we get to the Garden of Gethsemane, the portal to the death. Lucifer poured on all the darkness and horror possible. He never could imagine such love that motivated Jesus to keep going, bloody step after bloody step. Surely he could make Jesus give up. No man, no being, no angel ever endured such horror. Not only was Jesus’ body mutilated but His very inner being was plunged into hell as He paid the price for our sins. It was something Lucifer and the entire universe had never seen - such love.

Happy Christmas.

Grand Time

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-24T21:49:41-05:00

I’m exhausted from watching my wife work. We are incredibly blessed to have a house filled with my sons and their families. I am loving every noisy moment. There are the sounds of video games, table games, older children on their iphones, dogs barking when someone comes to the door (yes, they brought their dog) and 14 hours of nonstop cooking sounds coming from the kitchen. There are the smells of pumpkin and apple pies mixed with the scents of baking macaroni and veggies. That is the exhausting part because somehow my wife does it all. This very moment she is repairing a broken table.

Proverbs 31 comes to mind. Blessed is the man who gets a Proverbs 31 wife. Of course when I read Proverbs 31 I wonder what the man is supposed to do. She does it all. So I guess men are supposed to watch football while listening to and smelling the activities of the house. Please don’t chastise me for this. I know better! Maybe? Most of the time. Well, some of the time. I keep the woodstove going and keep the trash emptied.

Eventually the house grows silent as one by one people cave in for the day. The sun will rise and it all starts again. How grand! But soon it will really be over as we watch red lights on the back of cars disappear. Then it will really be quiet as Grandma and I (Grandpa) head back inside with just one dog who must wonder what that was all about. Now she can once again sleep her twenty hours a day. And maybe Grandma will also catch up on some well deserved sleep. As for me I will get more non-deserved sleep.

Merry Christmas.

The End of The World

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-21T18:31:25-05:00

I was asked if I was ready for the world to end tonight. It is the 21st of December 2012 and the end of the Mayan Calendar. I asked just when this would occur. “At midnight” was the answer. So I asked, “Will that be Eastern Standard Time or Pacific Standard Time? Or perhaps it will be Greenwich Mean Time?” He looked a bit puzzled and said, “Whenever.” Ah, that was the right answer. Whenever God decides, it will not be a moment before or after. It has nothing to do with calendars, eclipses of the sun or moon or earthquakes or global warming. It has everything to do with His will governed by His wisdom and His love for us. Whenever it will be, it will be designed to save the maximum number of people possible. God is not to be trifled with. He will make sure the sacrifice of Jesus will save as many as He can possibly squeeze into the Kingdom. Satan be dammed. Satan will not have one extra soul that God knows shall be His. God has put up with Satan’s wars, genocides, diseases and other horrors perpetrated upon mankind. He will not tolerate the loss of one soul that His wisdom, logic and grace knows belongs with Him.

Zechariah 3 is one of the most exciting chapters in Scripture. “He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

That is us. We are brands plucked from the fire. Saved for eternity. How grand!

Paper Shredding

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-20T19:49:46-05:00

Twenty-four years of old bank statements filled our cupboard. It was time to shred. Year after year of long useless information disappeared into jagged bits of paper.   “Ah,” I thought, “just like my sins. If Isaiah had known about paper shredders surely he would have used the word shredded instead of blotting.” But just then while disposing of year seventeen the shredder broke. There I was with seven years of bank accounts left on my lap.

Maybe blotting would have been better. One big splash of ink and they would have been gone. The metaphor is not adequate unless all the records are gone. When Jesus forgives us He is not selective. Sins are not categorized into benign and malignant. There are no white lies and gross injustices. Sin is sin. And just one can and will keep us out of the Kingdom. But please do not despair. Keep reading. Please. John, Jesus’ disciple, a son of thunder, wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   I John 1:9. Please do not miss the word “all”. Heinous crimes are included. He saves to the uttermost. Hebrews 7:25.

The truth is there is no metaphor adequate to describe what is given to us. It is beyond language and imagination. When we see the glories of eternity and see with our own eyes just what it was that Jesus left behind that He might be born in a fly-filled, maggot infested cattle stable only then will the light really come on in our minds.   Perhaps the most difficult thing about this is our pride. We want so much to do it ourselves. We can’t. Therefore this Christmas season accept His gift to you.

So Much Love

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-19T18:03:39-05:00

At noon today while coming home from Philadelphia we were traveling north in Southern Connecticut when on the opposite side of the highway coming toward us were six black Suburbans laden with flashing red, yellow and blue lights. They were occupying both lanes and were followed by nine motorcycles with flashing lights. The motorcycles were in a tight formation also occupying both lanes. Then came over a hundred cars followed by six more black Suburbans with flashing lights filling both lanes so no other car could get by and desecrate the moment. Using her IPad my wife quickly learned it was the funeral procession for one of the six-year-old little boys killed last week in Newtown.

It was a very impressive display of care and love by the people of the State of Connecticut. While there is little that can be done once such horror happens the least we can do is to express our love. This was such a display. Often after such a horror we get to thinking we live in a violent world where no one cares. That is not true. Millions care. Very few who are as old as I would hesitate even for a second to give our lives in exchange for one of those children. We have had our lives. Those little guys were just beginning.

‘Tis no wonder Jesus looked at us and said to His Father. I will go. I will do it. I have been alive forever and they have had so little. There is so much they have not seen. There is so much they have yet to learn and understand. We must give them eternity to begin to grasp the love that we have for them. And so it was that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son and now we will live and learn.

He Will Come In His Time

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-14T21:49:51-05:00

What I ate for breakfast this morning traveled much more than I ever have. My orange juice came from Brazil. My banana came from Central America. My shredded wheat came from Canada. The sugar I put on my shredded wheat came from the Dominican Republic and my mandarin oranges came from China. I think my milk was local and came from here in Massachusetts. As each week passes, our little planet gets even smaller. Our technology and transportation have made people in India our neighbors.

Not that long (a few decades) ago when my wife and I were teaching in Uganda we relied on flimsy blue air mail letters to communicate with our family in the States. Once each eighteen months we made an appointment to go to Kampala to have an operator place a three minute telephone call for us to our families. Today teachers in Uganda daily use Skype or Facetime, not to just talk, but to see their loved ones in the States.

When Jesus gave His disciples the Great Gospel Commission to take the Gospel to the world they had no idea how far they had to go. When I was a little boy there was a world map in our church with countries marked that had a Christian population. I remember a large number of countries that were not marked. I doubt if there are any nations left without Christians. So what is Jesus waiting for? Why does He not return? We don’t know. He will come in His time. He will come when His infinite wisdom says it is time. In the meantime our task is to allow Him to work out His life in us that we are ready to be with Him whenever.

For Goodness Sake

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-13T22:10:41-05:00

My car radio keeps playing Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. It leaves me conflicted. I hate the idea that Santa is keeping a list because it reflects much of the theology I learned as a child in church. Good little boys got to go to heaven and naughty boys didn’t. I tried to be a good little boy but even as a little guy I found it difficult. As I passed into adolescence the problem became acute. As much as I wanted to do good, I kept getting into trouble at the Christian boarding high school I attended. It left little hope in me about my eternal future. Finally I got old enough to understand Paul’s letters to the Galatians and Romans. It made all the difference in the joy in my life. I finally understood that bad little boys got to go to heaven if they trusted Jesus. Heresy? Not at all. Relief? Absolutely. Joy in living? You bet.

The good part of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town is the line “so be good for goodness sake.” Ah – there it is. The real reason to be good. Be good because it is the right thing to do. Imagine there was no heaven or hell and wonder what kind of person we would be. Would we still want to be good? Would we do good because it was the right thing to do regardless of some heavenly judge watching us? If all there is, are these few decades, could we understand being good is the best way to live? Helping others, making life better for those about us produces the finest kind of life that one could ever hope for. Being good for goodness sake leads to the very kind of life Jesus wants for us.

He Knows Our Name

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-12T21:08:44-05:00

Because of an international cancer conference this past weekend the news yesterday was filled with stories about the exciting new T-Cell technology. Last evening ABC and CBS news broadcasts spoke of it and yesterday the New York Times ran an article that actually mentioned me. How exciting. But don’t go looking for my name. It wasn’t there. While speaking of the ten adults who are part of the leukemia t-cell study they reported on the health of the first nine and then said, “and one was treated too recently to evaluate.” That’s me – number 10. My granddaughter wrote from college that she had seen it and she wrote “a.k.a. my grandpa!” She was right. After being treated with the T-Cell technology in Philadelphia we are now waiting for the magic cells to complete their work of assassinating the bad cells. So I have had my moment in the sun and nobody knew my name.

But that’s okay because the people who count do know my name. The researchers and technicians, (They emailed today.) My family knows my name, one of which is “grandpa.” My wife knows my name. Jesus knows my name. He knows a lot more than that. He knows things about me I don’t know. And it isn’t just me. You also are known, very intimately. “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Luke 12. Not only does He know our name He is quite capable not to mix us up with others who have the same name we have. He even has a special brand new name to give us. “They will be citizens in the city of my God. I will write on them my new name.” Revelation 3

Safe With Dad

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-10T20:20:15-05:00

Last evening my wife and were on the Polar Express train in Conway, New Hampshire. On the return trip to the Conway train station everyone was given a shiny bell. The train was filled with children and the family sitting nearest us had four little ones. Before we disembarked the dad said, “Everyone give me your bell. I will keep it safe for you and return it when we get home.”

There it was. The perfect illustration of II Timothy 1:12. “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” It doesn’t get much better than that. Paul had entrusted his eternal future with God. It would be safe no matter what happened and finally when home it would be given to him. Not one child objected to their father’s request. Not one had to be told twice. Until they got home the safest place for their bell was in dad’s pocket.

I had visions of each child that night crawling into bed with their bell safely clutched between their tiny fingers. I have visions of you standing safely standing before God’s throne truly knowing and understanding what it means when Jesus told us to begin praying, “Our Father, which art in heaven.”

Those children knew their dad was reliable. Paul knew our heavenly Father is reliable. He was convinced. Once in a while we meet people who are fearful of their eternal future. One of the finest gifts we can share with them is to help them know just how reliable God is and once He promises us something we can count on it. When we get Home everything will be safely there just as promised.

Expensive Gifts

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-06T20:02:06-05:00

Tis the season for catalogs – lots of catalogs. It is the major part of our mail each day. My favorite is from The Vermont Country Store. It is full of nostalgic items from decades past. While it is enjoyable to browse it isn’t something that fits my wallet. A bar of Lifebouy soap fills me with childhood memories and would be fun to have, but not for $11.95. I love chocolate covered cherries and they look scrumptious but for $1.53 a piece I can close my eyes and remember what they taste like. That works just fine and better yet it is a calorie free way to enjoy one.

While wondering who buys, who pays for, these delights I think most people purchase them for presents. Rarely would we spend so much for ourselves but if something would bring joy to a loved one then we go ahead. We look at our Christmas list and ask, “What will bring a big smile on the face of ….?” Our love for that person will motivate us to go ahead. We are not really buying the Lifebouy or the chocolate covered cherries; we are using the item to say, “I love you.”

That is the message of the cross. God sent us His only Son because of His love for us. It was the ultimate gift to bring to us not merely a smile but an eternity to feast our eyes and minds on the wonders of God’s kingdom, a place filled with endless wonders. When we see the smile on a loved one’s face upon opening a gift we don’t think of the cost. When Jesus looks over the sea of the redeemed He will surely exclaim, “It was cheap enough. It was worth every stripe from the lash, every thorn and every nail.”

Regarding Talents

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-05T17:36:19-05:00

In all fairness and full disclosure regarding my wife’s plumbing abilities it apparently does not transfer to electrical skills. This afternoon I found her changing a light bulb because the light didn’t work. So I remarked maybe it would work if she plugged it in. She did and it did. So there it is. Nobody can do everything. However, I must add that she lights up a room when she enters.

Paul certainly understood this. In Romans 12:6 he wrote, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Churches and other organizations work best when people are aware of their limitations and do not over-extend. I’m sure we have all served on a committee at one time or another when there was one person who had an opinion about everything. These know-it-alls drive the rest of us crazy yet we need to listen because once in a while they do come up with a great idea. Happy is the workplace where people know their gifts.

Paul was not only a scholar and evangelist, he was also a tentmaker. “Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.” Acts 18. However, we should add we don’t know if he was a good tentmaker. He was a great scholar who understood salvation by grace and that really is enough for any one person.

Then there are those who don’t think they can do anything. They need our help. We need to affirm them and help them find their gift. Everyone has one. Our gift might be aiding others to find their gift. If you know someone who is good at something, affirm them. They will do all the better because of you.

Showers of Blessings?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-04T21:13:46-05:00

I came home tonight to discover water coming out of the kitchen ceiling. I can assure you it was not showers of blessings. I had visions of tearing out the ceiling and remortgaging the house to get a plumber here after hours. Then my wife came home and instantly said, “Oh, I know what is wrong” as she headed upstairs. She knew! She fixed it. I am one lucky man. (She even likes football!) A few towels and a bucket had us back in order. On reconsideration of life professions I should have been a plumber.

It was a seriously leaking valve. I knew it wasn’t showers of blessings because God doesn’t leak good things on us. He is prodigal. God is a big spender. He can be. He has unlimited assets. When He promises He comes through. “I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26. Note that the showers will come in season. They will come when we are ready for them. There is no point in giving a five-year-old a new car or an eighty-five-year-old a Harley. When the time is exactly right He will see to it that we are cared for.

What is great is He knows exactly what to give. We are Christmas shopping for our grandchildren. That is not easy. We don’t know what they are tuned into. In Macy’s today there were pictures of Macy’s Stars all over the place. I assume the grandchildren would have known. I have no idea who those people were. Stars? Really? They could have been people that worked in Macy’s accounting department for all I knew. But the Good News is we have a Father who knows all.

Satisfied

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-12-03T21:31:54-05:00

Satisfaction is defined in the dictionary as “the feeling of pleasure that comes when a need or desire is fulfilled.” Millions of us pushed back from our Thanksgiving table with satisfaction. One of the cooks probably said, “How about another piece of pumpkin pie?” And we said, “Oh my, no. One more bite and I will explode.” As a pastor who has conducted many weddings I got close-up views of many satisfied faces. Sometimes it was the groom, sometimes the bride and best of all sometimes both of them.

There is an interesting story in John 4. Jesus’ disciples had gone to buy food. But upon their return Jesus was no longer hungry. They asked, “Where did you get meat?” And He responded, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” He was so satisfied by sharing eternity with the Samaritan woman His physical hunger was abated.

One of my favorite authors in describing our redemption wrote, “Then Jesus looked upon His redeemed saints; their countenances were radiant with glory; as He fixed His loving eyes upon them He said, ‘I behold the travail of my soul, and I am satisfied. This rich glory is yours to enjoy eternally.’”

In order to be satisfied one has to begin with a need. And what is Jesus’ need? His need is the need of a parent longing for his child to be healthy and safe. It can be a strange idea to ponder the Creator of the Universe needing something. He needs you. He made you with incredible freedom to respond or not to respond to His love. He needs us to give Him permission to save us. When we say yes He is satisfied. The cross was worth it.

The Air We Breathe

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-30T21:13:14-05:00

We enjoy our woodstove on these chilly nights but I could not get it to work. It would not draw. Instead of the smoke going up the chimney it filled the house as the fire quickly burned out. I exhausted my repertoire of ideas as to what to do and finally called a chimney sweep thinking some squirrel or something had during the summer plugged up the flue. The sweep opened the stove reached in and pulled a plug of newspapers out of the flue. He fixed the problem in less than thirty seconds. So how did the newspapers get plugged up in the flue? For a few days while we were gone some friends from overseas needed a place to stay so we allowed them to use our home. Need I say more?

Fire just like people cannot exist without air. Without adequate air we don’t last very long. Without Jesus we don’t and cannot last very long. This world is under His constant care. In the Gospel of John Jesus calls Himself, the water of life, the bread of life, the light, the door, the resurrection and the life. I found myself thinking He should have also said He is the air we breathe. Some might be tempted so say, “What about people who care nothing about Jesus. How do they live?” In Matthew 5 Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” The He He is referring to is His Father. But since He and the Father are one in purpose and in Hebrews 1 we are told that Jesus is the Creator, we can safely say it is His care that gives life and breath to all. Take a deep breath and then thank Him for the privilege.

All About Food

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-29T22:11:36-05:00

Blessed is the man whose wife can cook as good as his mother. We learned what foods where supposed to taste like at our mother’s table. Our taste buds were trained to the idiosyncrasies of our mother’s stuffing, pies, lasagna and cream of wheat. Later in life it is rare to find something just as good as what was on our childhood table. Really good pie crust is a gift. Can you believe what you get from a store bought pie? Most of the time it is two pieces of cardboard covering up something dumped out of a can. And pumpkin pie has to have that just right amount of whatever it was that our mothers used.

I’m sure you have noticed how important food is in the Bible. We started off with fruit from a tree in Eden and end with a wedding feast spoken of at the close of the Book of Revelation. In between there are Psalms about the Lord preparing a table before us and Abraham feeding angels on their way to Sodom. Jesus was not only a feeder of thousands He was also an attendee at banquets. Matthew had one for Him. Simon of Bethany had a feast honoring Him. The disciples ate food from fields they passed and hoped for figs from a tree by the road. Of course we must mention the Last Supper on that fateful Thursday evening before the cross.

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.” Revelation 22

Missed Opportunties

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-28T20:28:03-05:00

We missed the 2012 autumn in New England. While in Philadelphia for two months we saw maybe six trees that were really pretty. The sweeping vistas of red maples, yellow birches and rusty oaks just were not there. When we left Massachusetts the leaves were green and now when we have returned the trees are bare. But that’s all right. There is a marvelous beauty in seeing the structure of the trees. Bare branches will soon catch a layer of snow outlining themselves with splendor against gray December skies. 100 years ago Massachusetts was 80% cleared land with only 20% forest. Today it is just reversed. It is now 80% forested. The farmers moved west to the more fertile rock-free fields of Illinois and Iowa allowing the land here to return to its native Mohegan and Wampanoag environ.

Much more tragic than our missing an autumn of which there will be another are the parents so busy they miss their children’s childhoods. Modern life often necessitates getting them off to preschool and daycare so early that it is strangers who see those first steps and hear those first combinations of two words. Way too soon it is graduation from 8th grade and then high school and then they are gone. And we wonder what happened.

We miss a lot of opportunities in life. We miss times to tell people we love them. We miss little league games. We miss getting to know our neighbors. In Jeremiah 8:20 we read of the greatest missed opportunity of all time. He wrote, “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." We have no guarantee of another summer or even of another tomorrow. But we do have now. We can still seize the day.

The Honey Wagon

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-27T20:13:26-05:00

When my wife’s parents retired they moved back to her father’s birthplace farm. It was a grand place to take our children in the summer and at Christmas. One year we found the old manure spreader in the woods. We thought it was wonderful and got the tractor and pulled it out into the yard. We thought it would be beautiful once filled with flowers. Her uncle who had lived there all his life and had used the spreader thought it was horrible. Things like that belonged out of sight and not in the yard for all to see. Needless to say it disappeared back into the woods.

Sometimes in church I remember that “honey wagon” and my wife’s uncle’s reaction. It comes to mind during prayer request time when people publicly tell things that should remain in the woods. God knows the secrets of our hearts and there is nothing to be gained by telling salacious tales for the voyeurs in the congregation. We should not utter embarrassing details that only God should hear. Actually we can permanently harm ourselves or others by being overly forthright.

But someone might say James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins one to another, that you may be healed.” There is a significant catharsis when we get something off our chests. It is healing to have a burden lifted. If it is a public sin then public confession is very helpful. However, there are certain things that should only be shared with Jesus, especially when it involves others who could be damaged by our saying too much. One thing that is wonderful is those secrets we tell Jesus will be blotted out and He will choose never to remember them.

The Fraudulent Ornithologist

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-26T21:19:09-05:00

I used to enjoy taking weekend walks with people so I could show off my prowess in identifying the birds we saw. It was great for my ego when people would say, “Wow, you sure do know a lot about birds.” Actually they could not have been more wrong. While I did know the bird’s names, I knew nothing about the birds. All I knew is what we call them in America and if I had been in another country often those birds are called something else. I was a fraud. We can know the names of lots of people and not know anything about the people themselves. A name is merely a random identifier attached to someone by their parents before their parents really knew them.

The same is also true about some people’s knowledge of Scripture. They can quote all kinds of verses and be very impressive. But once you really get to know them you realize they don’t know much about the author of Scripture. God is merely a name of a being who is to them a stranger. Jesus talked about these people in Matthew 7. “By their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” They know the name but they don’t know the attitude, the love, the passion to be like the one they speak of so freely. They are as fraudulent a Christian as I was an ornithologist.

James, Jesus’ brother, wrote, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

Of Lawrence and Leopards

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-21T18:31:26-05:00

When one is not home and has too much time on one’s hands one tends to watch way too much television. In the last two months I have seen more “I Love Lucy” and “Bonanza” programs than I ever did when those characters were still alive. I can’t believe I did this and am admitting it but I even watched an old Lawrence Welk program.  Please turn off the bubble machine. What was fun about watching was a moment when he invited ladies from the audience to come and dance with him. About a dozen blue-haired ladies rushed to him. The camera caught one literally elbowing two other ladies so she could get her moment. I’m not sure she fit the definition of the word “lady.” So much for growing up.

One of the classes I teach is the psychology of human development and I am compelled to ask, not just because of this incident, but by daily behavior of most people, “Does our basic nature ever change no matter our age? Or do we just become more sophisticated about how we get what we want?” Jeremiah wondered, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”  Jeremiah 13:23

Hopefully the answer to this is “Yes.”  If not, educating our children or going to church or moral discussions would be useless.  In Matthew 5:48 Jesus exhorts us to perfect.   Apparently He believed we could do better or He would not have bothered.  We can do better.  It might not be easy but with the help of the Holy Spirit “the leopard” might not change its spots but neither will it eat us.

The Orphan of Dorado

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-20T20:40:18-05:00

Astronomers have discovered an orphan planet.  It is a large round mass of gas not circling a sun.  It’s just drifting through our galaxy. They are calling it the orphan of Dorado because it is near the constellation Dorado. It’s dark and doesn’t reflect any light from a sun.  But wait.  In school I was taught that a planet was defined as an object that orbits a much larger object. So when is a planet no longer a planet?  Ask poor Pluto to answer that one.

So when is a Christian not a Christian?  If we define Christian as someone who is Christ-like, then 99 percent of us are automatically disqualified, merely by definition. I feel like poor Pluto. I want to be but no longer qualify, if I ever did. Am I a Christian when I have just finished praying and have all my sins forgiven?  By definition I guess the answer is “yes.”  Probably about five minutes later I become disqualified by definition.  This is crazy.  I want to be but can’t be.  Maybe I should redefine Christian the way astronomers are redefining the word planet. Perhaps I can be a Christian if I want to be like Jesus and stop concentrating on my poor performance. He knows my heart and accepts me as I am.

Have I stumbled into Romans 7 along with Paul, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”  I know this experience is not mine alone.  So please take heart.  Being a Christian isn’t being Christ-like.  It is wanting to be.

By Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-19T15:48:09-05:00

I have this friend who wrote to me, "My dog sends regards to your dog (and could beat him in a fair fight).” My response is "Oh, yeah. Bring him on. My 90 pound black lab will lick him to death."

I love being a human. We are so competitive. It is fun listening to children try to up each other. Being that we are staying in a lodge for people with cancer my interest in macabre conversations has been tweaked by such conversations as, "I have stage 2 cancer." Which elicits from someone, "I have stage 4 cancer." Then there is the "I have the better doctor than you" comments. "My doctor is the best in his field." Then we hear, "My doctor is world renown." This is natural. We wouldn't want to trust someone with our life if we didn't think he/she was the best.

We play this same game with denominations. "My church is God's church." "My church was established by Jesus Himself." "We are God's remnant." "God speaks to our pastor." Don't you just love it? Welcome to humanity. If we can't be the best at something else then the disease we have is the worst ever.

Surely God must smile at our responses considering how little we really do know about each other. Thankfully He knows all and treats us with the same love and care. As much as we want to believe differently, the truth is He has no favorites. Jesus died for everyone. One of my all time favorite texts is Hebrews 7:25. "Where he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them." Uttermost means you and me.

By the way. Just in passing so you will know. My grandchildren are smarter and better looking than yours.

Bad Cookies

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-16T19:46:34-05:00

Since food is not allowed in the sleeping rooms of the lodge where we are currently staying, the common area kitchen/dining room is a popular place. The lodge is exclusively for people with some form of cancer so there is a lot of group therapy each evening. Most want to speak of their day's radiation and chemo treatments. We each have a spot in the fridge for our food but some bring food for everyone. It is put on a "For Everyone Counter." Last evening someone put out an array of cookies. Sounds good. Looked good. But never in my life have I tasted so many different kinds of horrible cookies. How can it be? How can someone make a cookie taste bad? It is beyond me. Were they sugar-free? Were they HEALTH cookies?

As I rinsed out my mouth with orange juice it occurred to me that some people have been able to make the Gospel repugnant. Unfortunately it is often their own children who find it so. They take this marvelous story of Good News and turn it into a bad cookie. They suck the goodness and the joy out of it and turn it into a ritual of have-tos and don'ts. They become judgmental and frown on those who don't measure up to their miserable standard of conduct. They must make Satan laugh with delight.

The Gospel in its unadulterated goodness is the greatest story ever told. It is one of graciousness, forgiveness, and tolerance. Instead of requiring obedience it makes one want to obey because we see the logic and love behind each of God's commands. Obeying isn't a task. It's a joy. The next time someone's brand of Christianity leaves a bad taste in your mouth go back to the Bible where you will find the good stuff.

Poetry in the New Yorker

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-15T20:26:51-05:00

I tried to read the poetry in the current New Yorker magazine. I have absolutely no idea what any of them mean. Obtuse is not a strong enough word to apply either to the poems or to my dullness. Can it be that the editor really understands what he has published? I have talked with people who find passages in Paul's writings to be obtuse. I'm sure he didn't mean them to be but he is dealing with the most urgent, most important issues facing mankind.
Some of the concepts are deep and challenging. Even Peter, who had listened to Jesus, admitted having trouble understanding Paul. II Peter 3.

One of the great joys of Scripture is there is always another intellectual mountain to climb. If someone says he understands it all, he just hasn't spent enough time reading Hebrews or the middle of Romans. Thankfully there are passages us commoners can grasp. Each time the light bulb goes on we find ourselves illuminated with joy over God's love for us and inspired to keep on seeking. Jesus did say, "Seek and you will find." It's a matter of patience.

One of the unintended benefits of such a pursuit is the actual increase in our mental abilities. We don't search Scripture for the purpose of becoming smarter. It's just one of those extra blessings that results from spending time with God. We do become like our associates and God is really smart.

Life's Greatest Comfort

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-14T19:04:53-05:00

This afternoon we watched a little girl in a supermarket shopping basket thoroughly enjoying her thumb. I have to say it looked very comforting. Best of all it was calorie-free. How much better it was than a lollipop or some other sugar filled treat. I once had a college student who sucked her thumb during class. It was fascinating that not one of her classmates even seemed to notice. They accepted her as she was and if she felt a need for comfort that was fine with them.

Life can be very stressful and each of us needs some form of comfort. Enjoying one's thumb is much to be preferred over the bags of chips, Oreo cookies or even worse alcohol. When I was a little guy someone in church sang "There is a balm in Gilead." But what I heard was "There is a bomb in Gilead." You can be sure I was fairly distressed and wondered how a bomb could heal a sin-sick soul. I was quite relieved when my father explained to me it was "balm" not "bomb."

Life can really heap it on with mortgages, car payments, insurance bills, utility bills and those wondrous credit card bills. If we add to that getting the kids to soccer or hockey practice and church or PTA responsibilities there just aren't enough hours in a day. What's your source of comfort? It can be family, food or relying on your faith. If we don't have to be concerned about guilt and eternal life we can eliminate one of life's greatest stressors. There really is a balm in Gilead and He is life's greatest comfort.

The Extra Piece

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-13T20:22:04-05:00

Most of us have had the experience of spending hours on a jigsaw puzzle only to discover that one illusive piece we so desperately needed was missing. This afternoon my wife and I had the opposite experience. We ended up with an extra piece. I don’t know how many times we picked up that piece and tried to find its place but when all was done it didn’t fit anywhere. It didn’t belong.

As I toyed with it I thought of people who don’t fit. Often we think of it as a child’s problem, especially adolescents, but I know many adults who feel isolated and alone. It can be a horrible experience to sit home alone or worse be surrounded by others and still feel alone. They envy social bugs who seem to attract friends. They feel awkward and unable to do anything about it. They try to enter into conversations only to say something stupid and wish they had said nothing. Sometimes they even go to church and feel ignored. They are an extra piece that doesn’t fit.

Sometimes they are those whose clothes are not very fashionable or they don’t have the best grooming. Whatever it is, it is a challenge for the rest of us to reach out and bring them into our circle. Some of the most moving verses of Scripture speak of Jesus having compassion for the masses and going out of His way to touch lepers and to eat with social outcasts. Two of the twelve disciples Matthew and Simon the Zealot were not welcome in many circles but Jesus took them in. Let us not only mingle with the somebodys but let’s make sure we include “The extra piece.”

Always Never All Every

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-12T20:23:49-05:00

Over and over in some form we hear something like this. "All ..... are ...." You fill in the blanks. You can use any names that describe political parties or religions or races or any way we lump people into batches and then paint them with a broad brush. If we want to be correct about something we can safely assume what follows such a blanket statement will be wrong. Not anything is like the others with which it has been lumped. Each of us belongs to a group of some kind but each of us is also an individual with our own special characteristics. The world is full of people who seem to thrive on passing their biases and sometimes vitriolic hatred to the rest of us. Using words like "all," "every," "never," and "always" are one of their favorite tactics. We must not believe them and pass on their distortions.

There are an extremely few cases where those inclusive words do reflect the truth. One of the times when we can safely use those inclusive words is when we are referring to God's incredible love for us. God always has and always will love us. He will always forgive us when we ask. One of my favorite authors wrote, "There is one prayer that will always be answered. Lord, save me." He will never forsake us. He will always keep all His promises. In every case in this area we are on very safe ground.

Ignorance Never Glorifies God

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-11-01T18:31:26-04:00

A 50ish looking man from India came into my hospital room each evening to take my blood pressure. On the way out he would always say, “Is there anything I can get for you?” So one evening I responded, “Yes, Matthew, I would like a new Cadillac.” To which he said, “What’s a Cadillac?” He was serious so I asked how long had he been in America. “Twenty-three years” was his astounding answer. So I said, “Okay, I will take a new Buick.” Again he claimed he had no idea what I was talking about.

How is it possible for someone to be in a culture for twenty-three years and be so unaware? I found out he drove back and forth to work in his Toyota. Did he not see other cars around him, especially when waiting for a traffic signal? What about commercials on television? He told me he had a TV and watched it.

I know that in John 17 Jesus spoke of being in the world but not of the world, but this seemed radical. In Matthew 10 Jesus told us to be wise as serpents. One cannot be wise if one is ignorant. God is not glorified by uninformed servants. If we are to be useful servants we need to be discerning of culture, especially if we have young people in our families. They are immersed in their culture of clothes, music, etc. We must understand people’s needs and know what to say and what not to say in troubled times. Real wisdom is a knowledge filled head dedicated to understanding rules and the principles under-girding those rules.

The Women of Romans 16

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-29T18:50:08-04:00

What do Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’s mother, Julia and Nereus’s sister have in common? Each is mentioned in Romans 16. There are probably more women mentioned but I was unsure of the gender of some of the names. A reading of the last chapter of Romans plus other passages of Scripture highlight woman’s role in the foundation of the church. Having been a pastor for over twenty years I could not imagine trying to pastor a church without the sacrificial efforts of the women.

I also remember sitting on a host of organizational committees with only the scent of aftershave in the room. It seemed obvious that the Holy Spirit’s gift of high level management skills were only given to the ordained, a rite limited to men. The good news is that despite the sloth pace of change, the winds of change are in the air. It seems that we have finally discovered Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ.” We are slow but ultimately we catch on.

While not being a prophet nor a son of a prophet I will predict that should we linger long enough on earth, someday churches’ highest positions of leadership will be equally gender shared. How grand to be part of a tradition that allows women to go to school and drive. Equality in Christ should be an identifying characteristic of God’s people.

Paul's Maleness

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-30T18:43:21-04:00

Students of language usage know that males, no matter their age, use language to best the other guy. It’s a form of verbal combat. One little boy will say, “My daddy has a million dollars.” Another will then say, “My daddy has five million dollars.” And a third will say, “My daddy has all the money in the world.”

The eye of the hurricane coming ashore near Philadelphia has motivated most of the hospitals in the area to cancel patients’ radiation and chemo treatments. So Hope Lodge, where we are staying, is full of old guys sitting in the common areas. They are little boys with grey hair. “I was in the Navy.” “I was a Marine.” “I was in Nam.” “I was in Korea.” “I have a bronze star.” “My brother has a silver star.” If you don’t have it yourself you call on your brother’s accomplishments.

Even Paul fell victim to being a male. Read II Corinthians 11. It would be very difficult to top that list. However, Paul also said in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” so we can forgive his moment of maleness.

I enjoy the humanity of Bible characters. They are not perfect, except in Christ, who also generously offers His perfection to each of us. Paul will be an interesting person to get to know in God’s Kingdom. Maybe, if we are fortunate, we can get him to tell some of his war stories. However, one thing we can count on all the glory will go to Jesus.

The Koi Pond

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-31T20:41:21-04:00

There is a pretty little koi pond nestled in beside the University of Pennsylvania hospital. It's a popular place for parents with small children. It is also a nice place for this old couple to pass a quiet afternoon. It was wonderful watching a 4ish little boy with a bag of bread calling the fish. "Here fishy, fishy." I had to smile as I imagined Jesus' very manly disciple Peter standing in his fishing boat on Galilee saying, "Here fishy, fishy."

That was a pretty rough group of men who Jesus invited to follow Him. They would not have followed just anyone. They had families and commitments. Jesus knew that and would never call anyone to irresponsibility. It is no coincidence that Luke 5 fills in the fascinating details of what preceded that call to follow Him. They had fished all night with extremely disappointing results. Jesus then told Peter, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink."

If we follow Jesus there is never a need to call, "Here fishy, fishy." He already knows what we need and takes good care of us.

Of Hook and Ladder Trucks and Wonder

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-26T20:53:00-04:00

It started out as a simple tour of Philadelphia’s City Hall, the tallest inhabited building in the world until 1908. And then we really got our money’s worth. The fire alarm went off. In a few moments we were outside watching the fire trucks arrive. Never before have I seen six hook and ladder trucks in one place. There were also four pumper trucks with open fire hydrants and lots of water on the street. I enjoyed it all with the abandon of a five-year-old. Fortunately it was just a fire in a trash container in a bathroom. But I was disappointed the ladders on those big trucks were not raised high above the street.

So the question is will I ever grow up? And the answer is I hope not. We should never lose the wonder around us. Have you as an adult ever gone back to see something that impressed you so much as a child? Unless it is a tree it is smaller and you wonder how it was so big in your memory. One of life’s challenges is to never stop marveling at the birth of a baby or the power of a thunderstorm.

Paul wanted us to wonder at God’s love for us. In Ephesians 3 he wrote, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Wonder of wonders.

The Tennis Players

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-25T20:31:27-04:00

I watched a dad playing tennis this afternoon with a 6ish little boy. The little guy was actually pretty good handling the racket. Of course, Dad was dropping gentle shots within easy reach of those short arms. One of my all-time favorite verses is Matthew 7:11, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

When you combine this with I Corinthians 10:13 life’s challenges fall into perspective. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Just as that father could blast tennis balls at his son so God could allow horrific events to completely destroy us. In His infinite wisdom He either shields us from horror or gives us strength to meet the challenges that come. I realize sometimes we think it is the latter because of overwhelming events in our lives. But we could not know, thankfully, what He did not allow to come.

Psalm 91:1 should never be forgotten. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Anything now beyond our understanding will be made plain. We will see the love. We will understand.

The Best is Yet to Come

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-24T19:45:53-04:00

The University of Pennsylvania has an incredible antiquities and anthropological museum housing over one million artifacts. This afternoon we saw a handful of the collection. We saw everything from mummies to human jawbones dug from the heartland of Africa. While the information provided by the museum tried to make a case for evolution, it was very evident from looking at the specimens that there is not just one missing link but thousands of missing links. Some scholars would like us to believe they have a smooth uninterrupted chain of mutations linking us to other species. Nothing could be farther from the evidence. Genesis 1:24 is still unrefuted. “God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds.”

There is no question that there are mutations within species. The evidence is overwhelming but it is leap of faith and logic to span from one species to another.

The museum is a record of human history spanning thousands of years of growth in agriculture, architecture, warfare and art. By searching through the remains of the dead we piece together a record of advancement in all manner of sophistication. I could not but think that each group thought themselves advanced just as we think we are advanced. The record shouts at us that there is so much more to come. More than we can fathom. The best is yet to come.

Taking Things for Granted

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-23T20:03:15-04:00

It almost seemed sacrilegious. While we were listening to magnificent organ music people were shopping for shoes. It used to be Wanamaker’s Department Store but is now Macy’s and it has the world’s largest in use pipe organ. Every weekday at noon shoppers and tourists like us are overwhelmed with the rich, deep sounds of an organ concert. However, in the midst of a Bach fugue people were trying on shoes and looking at themselves in the mirrors. I doubt they were the tourists. The natives get used to it and take it for granted.

Life is filled with awesome things that surround us each day and we barely, if at all, notice. The autumn leaves are starting to turn here in Philadelphia and we do notice them. But what about the green leaves in June and July? Each one is an oxygen factory supplying us with life itself. Rarely do I hear people say, “Just look at all that green.” Well, if you are visiting from Southern California you might.

Our hands, our eyes, our taste buds, our sense of balance, our ability to love and be loved are awesome things. The story of Jesus’ incarnation and sacrifice rarely moves us because we have grown up with it. Someday when we use those eyes to actually see the glory He sacrificed for us, then we will be filled with awe. “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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Detailed Memories

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-22T20:22:33-04:00

We drove past the Tastykake factory, a Philadelphia tradition. Having grown up in Harrisburg I was filled with childhood memories. My father's idea of a great meal was a Lebanon bologna Wonder Bread sandwich with a Pepsi and a Tastykake. This in addition to Philly cigars made it a miracle that he lived more than his three score and ten. As we passed the factory my memory could smell the mustard on the bologna and I could taste a Butterscotch Krimpet Cake.

I continue to marvel at our brain's ability to reproduce decades old sights, sounds and smells. Sometimes I dream about my sons when they were little boys. The dream comes complete with their little boy voices. All of life's experiences are stored in that remarkable organ in our heads. When God said, "Let us make man in our image" He gave us the finest minds in creation. He gave us the opportunity for unlimited growth and retention. It is never full. It performs amazing leaps of logic and understanding.

Considering all this the promise of Hebrews 8:12 is incredible, wonderful and remarkable. "For I will forgive their wickedness_and will remember their sins no more." It is quite obvious that God can remember but it is His unbounded love for us that eradicates our sins. Awesome!

Ninety-Pound Weakling

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-20T19:24:00-04:00

I felt like the proverbial ninety-pound weakling who couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag. Except this time it was trying to get into a cake wrapped in cellophane. It was just a thin clear layer of cellophane sealed to keep the cake fresh. First I tried unsuccessfully to tear it from one of the ends. Then I held it with both hands trying to pull it apart. Next I tried to bite it. The problem was if I pulled too hard it would explode and the cake would fly across the room. I couldn’t find that magic point of applying too little or too much power.

The fine use of power has always been a challenge. It can be so easy to overdo. We have all had occasion to shake hands with a frail little lady’s arthritic hand. Ever so delicately we barely hold it. How different this is from shaking the hand of a burly construction worker.

God would love to shower us with power but the problem is obvious. The potential for misuse is inherent. However, the promise is there. Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; . . .” We can be glad we have a heavenly Father who knows exactly how much we can wisely use and He dispenses it accordingly. Jesus said, “If we humans know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more so does our heavenly Father.” Matthew 7:11

Good Things are Worth Waiting For

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-18T20:25:33-04:00

If you didn't see it on the news you could watch it on YouTube. But really who would want to watch? For one dollar a teen licked an entire stair railing at a New York City subway. Talk about stupidity and the want of instant gratification. If he is fortunate enough to have a good immune system he might get away with it. Though twenty years from now he could come down with something that has been harbored in his system because of his antic.

How very human of him. At first I was tempted to say something about modernity and our want for instant gratification. The truth is people are people and our nature hasn't changed since Eve. She was promised to be as smart as God. I wonder if she licked the fruit before biting into it? At least she was looking for more than one dollar.

It is a difficult thing to look long range and avoid the pleasure or reward of the moment. Perhaps it is part of wisdom, which human developmentalists believe is very rare in teens. Jesus certainly took the long view when He gave Himself for us. Hebrews 12:2. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Good things are worth waiting for. Really good things are worth waiting a lifetime for.

Shipwrecked

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-19T20:05:04-04:00

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is featuring Homer Winslow's magnificent masterpiece "The Life Line." They have surrounded it with a host of other great paintings of shipwrecks. While looking at them this afternoon I could not but think of Paul being shipwrecked on the Mediterranean not once but three times. According to his account in II Corinthians 11:25 he spent a day and a night in the water before getting to shore. While looking at the extreme violence of the sea in storm I realized just how strong Paul had to be. When I think of him I usually think of his scholarly side. He was a master theologian and an expert in both Hebrew and Greek culture. In addition to all this the man was, how shall I put it, physically strong. He survived three beatings and a stoning.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of Paul to Christianity. Without his understanding of the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus we would be left in the dark on so many important points such as Jesus' high priestly ministry, Jesus' forever retaining His humanity and Jesus' vulnerability to temptation, just to mention a few.

Paul challenges the finest minds when we seek to understand the deep things of God and His love for us. There is no question that this special man was a scholar's scholar, a preacher's preacher and a man's man.

Late for the School Bus

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-10-01T19:23:25-04:00

Thursday morning I got stuck behind a school bus. It was a treat. An abnormally amount of children were late. At several of the stops children came running from their houses with backpacks dragging and parents running after them with forgotten items. One time the bus started to pull away and the door of a house burst open. It was like Dagwood running over the mailman on his way to work with Blondie chasing him with his lunch.

As I watched I wondered how many people rushed to Noah's ark when it started to rain. Much to their dismay it was too late. An angel had closed the door and Noah couldn't open it. There is a haunting verse in Jeremiah. Chapter 8 verse 20 says, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jesus very clearly tells us in Matthew 25 there is a time coming when everyone will be divided into two groups: the saved and the lost. And just what is it that will determine who is in what group? Listen to what Jesus says, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: . . ."

Jesus is not primarily interested in how much doctrine we know. He doesn't care how many Bible texts we can quote. He cares about whether or not we are a caring person. Someday we might rush to help someone and it might be too late. Thankfully there is still time. Let Jesus in your life and caring will become second nature.

A Fifth of A Second

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-27T20:30:10-04:00

I am sitting here looking at an advertisement for a $7,000 watch whose makers brag that it is accurate to one fifth of a second. Now, let me see. Should I purchase this one or the one advertised on another page that is designed to intrigue? It is intriguing why it should cost $5,000. Do I or do I not need to know time to the fifth of a second? I can’t think that fast. As for intriguing, well, my wife tells me I already am. I think I shall pass and continue to rely on my faithful $19 Timex. When I first got married I had a $12 Timex. But it died after a decade or so. As I recall I tossed it in the garbage pit behind our home in Africa.

Recently I heard a preacher quote Revelation 10:6 saying “time shall be no more.” His point being that if we have all eternity to live then keeping track of time would be pointless. I wanted to ask him about meeting someone somewhere. If we are to see each other surely it will not be merely random encounters. We must be able to know when and where. Alas. There is so much we do not know. What time system would we use? Surely not something tied to the rotation and orbit of Earth. If we think so we are really conceited.

Sometimes we use the expression, “I am running out of time” indicating we are pressed to accomplish something necessary. I have students who are constantly running out of time. However, it is truly exciting to think about eternity and the life Jesus promises. Light years and relativity will surely take on a whole new meaning and I am anxious to understand.

NFL Referees

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-26T20:14:27-04:00

If you don’t watch or enjoy football you probably have not noticed (nor care) that the 2012 season has been marred by some of the worst-ever calls by the referees. Because of contract negotiations with the regular referees, replacement referees have been on the field. This year’s records need to require an asterisk indicating an abnormality. Accurate, fair and unbiased judgment is essential not only in sports but in all manner of life activities. Putting or not putting someone in jail, firing or retaining an employee, disciplining the offending child and not the sibling, purchasing for the right price the right car are just a few things requiring good judgment.

Unequivocally the most important judgment of all time for all of us pertains to eternity. Will we or will we not live forever? What is fascinating about this is historically people have usually thought of this in terms of earning God’s favor building a record of good deeds. If we can do enough good things, they can outweigh our misdeeds. For the honest of heart this can be a most discouraging concept. Those who speak the truth to themselves know it just can’t be done.

Now comes the good part. The judgment call is ours. That’s right. We get to choose whether or not we live forever. God woos. We choose. God longs for us. God desires us. And so it is that He opened the door via Jesus. Jesus even calls Himself “The Door.” John 10:9. We need never fret over God’s good judgment. He will always do the right thing because He knows and sees everything. Therefore, we are judged to be unworthy. Then Jesus steps up and says, “I paid the price for (put your name here).” And the Father says, “Wonderful. (Put your name here) is coming to our house.”

Wac-A-Mole

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-25T20:43:24-04:00

Recently we entertained house guests with small children by going to Chuck E. Cheese. Not being able to resist I gravitated to the Wac-A-Mole game. I have to brag I am very good at beating those little guys on the head with the mallet. Suddenly I realized why I am good at it. I have had seventy years experience. I have been playing this game all my life. Just as soon as I have settled one issue two more pop up. I can never remember a time when there wasn’t a least one sticking up. I would like to propose that we rename Wac-A-Mole to “Life” and let the people with the “Life” game rename their game to something more benign.

I know that I am not speaking only of my experience. It is the human experience. Life is a series of challenges. Whether we consider our life a success or something less depends not only on hitting the mole on the head but also on whether we allow ourselves to grow as a result of the combat. This evening I listened to an interview with the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. There is a good reason why he is not in his twenties. He was realistic and knew what needed to happen between now and the end of 2014. It’s called experience.

What is reassuring is we are not alone in this. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you.” We all know what that means. A yoke works best with two side by side. In John 14 He promised to send us His spirit. We never have to be alone. If we can’t whack that mole, ask for help. He will whack it for us.

Luke 7:47

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-24T18:28:21-04:00

Translating New Testament Greek into English on occasion leaves us with a text that is difficult to understand. Such a verse is Luke 7:47 in the King James Version. Jesus is being feted by Simon, the Pharisee, when a woman with a forgiven past bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears of love. “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: . .” Because we sometimes use the word “for” for “because” the verse can leave us with the idea that her love gave her merit, thus qualifying her for forgiveness. The error here is that nothing we can do can merit God’s grace. If so then grace would no longer be grace but wages. The wages we have earned is death but the gift of God is eternal life. Romans 6. It is a gift from the beginning to the end. Ephesians 2.

The New English translation makes Luke 7:47 more understandable. “. . . her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven.” Her love was the fruit of her experience with Jesus not the cause. He loves us before we love Him. While we were yet sinners He died for us. Romans 5:8. We are saints because He declares us so.

Not all adages are true. Remember “birds of a feather flock together.” Of course you do. Jesus defies that supposed truth. The religious elite wanted it to be true so they could fault Him. He spent His time with anyone from the elite Nicodemus, to the dregs of society, the woman who wiped her tears from His feet with her hair. If we so desire He will even spend time with us; not because we merit it, but because He wants to.

Not a Big Bag of Blood

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-21T20:27:19-04:00

This morning I watched a nurse dig around in the back of my hand trying to get a needle into a vein. If I had been five or six years old I would have been deeply puzzled. How can this be? Every time I fell off my tricycle blood would come out my knees or arms. Wasn’t I a bag of blood held in by my skin? How could she puncture me and not get any blood?

As wonderful as is modern medicine it still has a long way to go. Just as we look back on George Washington’s death because his caring doctors bled him to death, we will look back at chemotherapy as crude and primitive. How was it that we thought the best way to treat cancer was by filling one’s body with bags of poison? Fortunately those days are soon to end. Genetic engineering and stem cell research are making quantum leaps forward in understanding cells and how to alter them and make them right again. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139. We are amazing creatures, complex and filled with a host of various systems, each symbiotically causing the whole to thrive.

“And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image” has to be the most amazing sentence ever spoken. He made birds and fish and other orders of life. But to make a creature in His own image was the most unselfish act of all time. He wanted to share all the wonder of His universe. Creatures in His image would be free to learn, grow and experience everything good. And now He invites us to fully participate. Jesus said, “Come ye blessed of my Father and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the earth.” Matt. 25:34.

The Days Grow Short

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-20T20:25:46-04:00

Shadows are growing long. We are just a few days until the sun quietly slips across the equator into the southern hemisphere. Night temperatures are pushing into the forties. The hummingbirds are gone. Chrysanthemums are everywhere taking the place of lilies and petunias. Nurseries have piles of pumpkins. There are little ones for table decorations and big ones for the front porch. Acorns crunch under foot and squirrels are planting oaks all over the yard. Yellow buses haul our most precious bundles back and forth to math, spelling and home. Small New England towns are advertising fall festivals and political signs decorate the roadsides. Shorts are disappearing and hoodies are appearing for reasons of temperature. There is a tinge of color in the maples making the nearby white church steeples look like postcards. It’s a grand time. If and when I die I want to die in March but never in September or October.

A few weeks ago my wife and I celebrated our fiftieth anniversary. I remembered Jimmy Durante singing The September Song.

Oh it’s a long, long while, from May to December
But the days grow short, when you reach September.
When the autumn weather, turns the leaves to flame,
One hasn't got time, for the waiting game.

Oh, the days, dwindle down, to a precious few.
September. November.
And these few precious days, I'll spend with you.
These precious days, I'll spend with you.

When I was forty I used to preach that going to heaven was merely a change of address. I didn’t realize then how much truth I was speaking. Each year has gotten richer. How can we possibly imagine adding yet another millennium? Jesus has made it not a hope but a reality.

Soul Soaring Chapters

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-19T20:23:46-04:00

Some of the most interesting chapters of Scripture are found in John 14 to 17. They are between the Last Supper and Jesus’ arrest in the Garden. More than once in these chapters He tells His disciples, “In a little while you will see me no more.” He also said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” I have the feeling that even now two thousand years later that is still true for us.

There are some wonderful texts in these chapters. 16:23 says, “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Verse 24, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” Knowing of the agony that was about to descend on Him and His disciples He is extremely reassuring. Verse 33 is wonderful. “In this world you will have trouble. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”

If we focus on world events we could easily be very disheartened. However, Jesus would have us filled with joy. Fretting about the world’s troubles doesn’t fix them. We have instead this marvelous savior who wants us to instead focus on the joy of salvation. He has overcome. In Him we overcome. This is not a journey that we walk alone. In these very chapters in John He assures us of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 14 He tells us we are not orphaned. In verse 27 He said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you…Don’t be afraid.”

If you are in need of a picker-upper I will not tell you to take two aspirins. Instead read these four chapters. Your soul will soar.

God is Not Only Great He is Good

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-18T19:53:20-04:00

It just occurred to me that I am as old as King David when he died. That is a startling thought. While he made his three score and ten he didn’t make the four score Moses spoke of in Psalm 90. As he neared his three score and ten he pondered what was coming. He wrote in Psalm 71,

“Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?”

And so is our task to proclaim the goodness of God. Surely the last great message needed in the world is the goodness and righteousness of God. We are inundated with religious hate. “God is great” is so often followed by a heinous act of harm to others. While it is true that God is great it is just as important for the world to know that He is good. He is righteous and He wants more than anything for us to also be righteous. While our perfection is a growth process so we can model to the world “God is Good.”

The Geese Feeder

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-17T19:37:44-04:00

Yesterday was idyllic. In the ides of the afternoon we found ourselves sitting by a city pond watching swans, geese and one particularly loudmouthed white duck. Across the pond was a gazebo occupied by a couple much more fascinated with each other than where they were. Behind us was a sign, “Please do not feed the geese.” In front of us was an eighty-year-old lady feeding the geese. I was fascinated by her blatant action. She must have reasoned, “What can they do to me if I am caught?” The answer would be very little. Authorities are not going to put her in jail. They could fine her but she could refuse to pay it. They are not going to put her in stocks which could have occurred here in Massachusetts three hundred years ago.

Basically she was immune. Which raises the question, “Why do we obey laws?” Is it merely because we fear we will be punished or could it be possible that we are more noble than that? Might we be responsible enough to inquire as to why the law? What are the reasons for not feeding the geese? There are many. The consequences of feeding the geese have health, civic and environmental results. Is it possible that as humans we might see the larger cause beyond our own immediate gratification, punishment or lack of?

In the 18th Century Immanuel Kant proposed that he could not morally act in any way that would not be permissible for all to act. True morality is the foundation for universal behavior. Thus the old lady was a great offender because catastrophe would ensue if everyone came and fed the geese. Her action was selfish and destructive. Alas, great-granny was/is a sinner.

We are God's Treasure

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-14T20:07:24-04:00

Recently I reunited with one of my best ever students who is now working on her Master’s degree. When I asked her how she was, this very bright Christian young lady lit up and joy flowed from her as she related to me her story. When she was two-years-old her parents fled Columbian violence by working their way to the United States via various ways through Central America. They were never documented. She went to elementary and high school in California. She was my student at Atlantic Union College here in Massachusetts. Her joyful news is she can stay in America. She said, “Oh, Dr. Bothwell, I grew up here. I don’t know any other place. I was only two when my parents brought me here. This is my home. I am an American. I want to teach here. English is my mother tongue. I want to give. And now I can.” I wish you could have seen the tears as she was telling me, “This is my home.”

“Wow,” I thought. “What a waste of our precious resources if she had had to leave. She is a treasure.”

Knowing that Jesus understands our tremendous potential and knowing because of Ephesians 2 that God has a plan for us, He must weep when He sees us throwing it away. We have an eternal future with possibilities to match our potential that we cannot conceive. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”? II Corinthians 9:8.

What joy to know that we are “home” in God’s love with an unbounded future. There is no fear of ever being sent away. He treasures us.

Gorgeous

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-13T18:04:36-04:00

Three times today I heard the word “gorgeous.”   My dictionary tells me it means “outstandingly beautiful or very pleasant.” The first time was at dawn as we rose above the earth in a hot-air balloon. It was stunningly clear. We could see Boston, the Atlantic Ocean and north to Mount Washington in New Hampshire. One of the people riding with us kept saying, “It is so gorgeous.” It was.

The second time was in the Dunkin Donuts we stopped at after the balloon ride. After a thirties looking man left, the girls behind the counter started in with, “Wasn’t he gorgeous?” I will not finish what they said next regarding what they wanted to do to him.

The third time was my auto mechanic. As I entered to pick up our 170,000 mile old car he looked up and said, “What a gorgeous day!”

So I concluded that I also need to use the word “gorgeous.” Let me begin with John 3:17. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” That is gorgeous. How about Ephesians 2:4 through 8? “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

If you don’t think that is gorgeous you need a new pair of glasses.

Ephesians 6:14

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-12T19:49:53-04:00

My dog is lying beside me and a low deep guttural sound is emanating from somewhere deep in her. Sometimes this happens when she is dreaming but she is not dreaming. She is sensing something outside that I do not. I have come to respect her senses. They are much keener than mine. I know that even if I had the senses of a healthy twenty-year-old there are things above and below my senses I cannot perceive. I mention this because so many of us are sure things are true only if we can sense them.

Then there is our ego. Many years ago at our college a Christian magician displayed some of his wonder. Many of our students were convinced he was in league with Satan because they couldn’t figure out how he did it. After all they “were so very smart they could figure out anything!” It was a case of pure intellectual conceit.

This morning my wife and I stood in a field waiting for a hot-air balloon ride. There was not a cloud in the sky. We thought it was perfect. Then the pilot released a small child’s balloon. Once it got about fifty feet into the air it quickly took off in the direction of Boston. Obviously we did not fly this morning. We couldn’t see them but the air currents would have taken us where we didn’t want to go.

There are many forces in this world we cannot see or are above our intellects. Many want to take us where we don’t want to go. The things we read, we watch, we listen to have more affect on us than we can imagine. Ephesians 6:14 is a great admonition for all of us.

Smile When the Sun Shines

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-11T21:42:21-04:00

I have this friend who is really a nice guy and really loves the Lord. He is anxious for Jesus to return. It seems that it should not be difficult to be around such a dedicated person. But it is difficult. Because he believes the world will be in a ruinous condition prior to Jesus’ second coming and tribulation will befall God’s people, he doesn’t want to hear any good news. To tell him good news is like telling him you have become an unbeliever. Every day he pours through the news literally searching for the worst stories he can find because they reinforce him. When he hears news of an earthquake or hurricane that killed thousands he almost receives the news with glee because “the end is near.”

This is not a case of the glass being half empty. This is a case of the glass only have a few drops in the bottom. Jesus does speak of tribulation and hard times. We would be foolish to be Pollyannas and think all is well when it isn’t. But where is the abundant life promised by Jesus? He said He came to bring us the abundant life and it is to begin now not merely at the end of time. It is true that hard times come and if we are patient and can survive them they usually pass giving us respite and peace.

In the 23rd Psalm we pass through the valley of the shadow of death and our Shepherd leads us by still waters and presents before us a bountiful table. Let us not borrow troubles from the future but rejoice when there are rejoicable events. God created us with the ability to smile. Let’s use it.

A Weekend with Isaiah

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-10T18:14:15-04:00

I spent a quiet weekend with Isaiah. The imagery of his prose is powerful. As I read I realized how proper we have become in our puritanical church vocabulary. English provides us with ample synonyms that we might soften the prophet’s language with acceptable verbiage. If I ever preached with the harshly descriptive words of Isaiah and the other prophets I am sure I would never be asked back again, that is if I was even allowed to finish just one sermon. Depending upon which translation one uses one comes across words that I would not use in this devotional. But the meaning of Isaiah’s message was and still is overwhelming with his sincerity and passion.

Isaiah 53, the suffering servant chapter, is most likely the best known of his writings. But there is plenty more there for the interested reader. Chapter one reeks of his disgust for God’s people’s immorality. There is barely any sin he does not cover in his blanket condemnation. And yet there in chapter one there is also one of the most gracious of all verses of Scripture. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; . .”

Isaiah is so vastly different from the stories of the Gospels and the theology/philosophy of Paul. The scope of Scripture and its diversity of styles and themes has something for everyone. If today you are hungry for poetry there are the Psalms. If tomorrow you are hungry for intellectual challenge there is Romans.

Don't Fake Knowing Something

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-07T21:19:57-04:00

I was fascinated today when I asked an extremely well educated man to read a few sentences from John Dewey, twentieth century American philosopher and educational reformer from the university of Chicago and Columbia. Before reading the passage he asked, “Who is John Dewey?” I was startled for a moment and then realized just how focused one can become. His many years of education were obviously not in liberal studies but very honed in the sciences. I was also impressed that he did not hesitate to ask what he did not know instead of faking it.

When other people do not think as we or see the same things as we, often we are quick to think less of them. However, life is so very full of things to learn and we have but a short time in which to do so. Some people are amazingly informed and bright about a few things, while some of us know a little about a lot of things. I am one of the latter. There is no area in which I can claim to be an expert. But I do so enjoy having a nodding acquaintance with a broad spectrum of things.

When I was a pastor I soon learned my congregations were filled with people who knew enormous amounts of things about topics I barely knew existed. It is why when I talk to young pastors I counsel them to do a lot of fact checking before they say something from the pulpit. People do not think less of you when you acknowledge you do not know something. But you can lose a lot of face by pretending to know when you don’t know.

Jesus has always fascinated me in that as God He knew all. But He sacrificed all that to be human. Luke 2:52 speaks of His growing in wisdom. When He took on humanity He took on beginnings as we. So often when we speak of Jesus’ sacrifice we think only of the cross. It was so much more than that.

The Value of Adversity

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-06T19:48:17-04:00

Very often we hear parents say they want to do well so they can give their children the things they, the parents, did not have. Usually when said they are referring to material items they want for their children and the struggles of life they wish to keep from their children. Yet wise men tell us that the law of growth is struggle, stress and storms. No pain – no gain. Body builders know that repetitions and making muscles burn is what makes them stronger. Material things do not grow character. Joseph was sold as a slave. For forty years Moses fled Pharoah’s wrath. Jacob wrestled with the angel. Daniel was taken from his family to a conquerer’s land. Each mountain to climb is an opportunity to be a better person. The history of our world is the history of struggle.

How ironic this is so often the very thing we want to keep from our children. Love is not pampering. Love is doing that which will make our children better people. There are very few, if any, pleasures or satisfactions more gratifying than accomplishment. To do that which is hard and to learn to do it well is why we are here. Adam and Eve were to tend the garden. They did not have angels coming to be their gardeners.

Heaven is not a place where we will instantly do all things well. Heaven is the time it takes to learn, to practice, to struggle, to press our limits no matter how many centuries it might take. God is glorified when His children accomplish, just as we applaud like crazy when our eight-year-old little leaguer finally gets a hit.

A Season for Half-Truths

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-05T20:13:18-04:00

I begin with a quote from Shakespeare instead of Jesus or Paul. It is from Romeo and Juliet whose families saw only wrong in each other. “A plague on both your houses.”

This is the season for half-truths. Could the speakers, defenders and promoters of their political views really believe the rest of us are so stupid we cannot see through their feeble intellectual attempts to manipulate us? Perhaps that is what upsets me. My vanity is at stake when I am taken to be a fool. Perhaps twelve years from now when my mental faculties have waned will I be taken in by the transparent foolish grabbing for power? But not this time around.

But as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” This has been going on for thousands of years. The two most powerful contending political parties in Jesus’ time were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. One positive thing about the ministry of Jesus was He brought unity to the Sanhedrin. Both sides hated Him. He stomped on both sets of egos. If you want some very interesting reading try out Matthew 23 before going to bed this evening. Jesus was neither meek nor mild. And just as now the underlining issues were financial. Jesus cleansed the temple twice during Passovers. He cost them huge sums in lost revenue.

How grand it is to know that our real leader, our Heavenly Father, will never lie to us nor try to feed us half-truths. Hebrews 6:18 tells us that “it was impossible for God to lie.” By His very nature He is the Truth. It is Satan who is the father of lies. John 8:44.

It Isn't About Miracles

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-04T20:08:18-04:00

“A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.” John 6:2. So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” John 6:30. In John 11 He raised a man back to life who had been dead for four days. Did they believe? No. Miracles really don’t work. They are in some fashion a show that can easily be fraudulently duplicated by charlatans, magicians and false prophets. Miracles never have been the proof of someone in whom we should believe.

The power of Jesus was His message. It was truth about His Father and their nature. The authorities did not crucify Jesus because He preformed miracles. They crucified Him because of what He was saying. The authorities were not stupid men. They quickly saw the implications of Jesus telling us to call God, Our Father, and to go into our closets to pray. With a single sentence Jesus eliminated the middle man. Each person became their own priest. An entire economy built around the priesthood, sacrifices and pilgrimages was jeopardized. God was not a divinity to be bought off with gifts. He was a personal friend who cared for the poor just as much as the rich.

No one in history had ever spoken the truths for personal living that Jesus outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. He revolutionized religion. No longer were we unclean because of what went into our mouths but because of what came out. It is the vomit of the heart that fouls us. Look not for miracles. Look for truth and you will find it in Jesus’ words. He is the Word.

My Backward Haircut

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-09-03T17:58:42-04:00

Putting my glasses in my shirt pocket I said to my barber, “Number four on top and finger cut on the sides.” Just then her cell phone rang. I didn’t mind as I waited. I enjoy the smells of a barber shop. With a “Good-bye” she turned to me and began giving me a four on the sides and a finger cut on top. I didn’t say anything because it was too late and I was curious if she would ever catch on. She did and fortunately my wife likes it.

As I was thinking about my backward haircut I was reminded of the Sermon on the Mount. I think about the Sermon on the Mount a lot because it seems to be such a challenge. It is backward living from my normal impulses. When I get hit I want to hit back – harder. Jesus tells me I am supposed to “love my enemies.” I know. How could I have any enemies? I am such a nice guy! (I sound like Jerry Seinfeld’s mother when she talks about Jerry.) But I am a realist and know there are people who cannot stand me. When I think about them I don’t want them to prosper. But Jesus is powerfully emphatic about this very issue. I must pray for them and long for them to do very well. Being a real Christian is so very backward to my nature.

The last shall be first. The poor in spirit will inherit the Kingdom. It is no wonder Paul exclaimed about himself, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Praise God for the answer to his question. Romans 8, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

If Solomon Had Known Jesus

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-31T09:30:21-04:00

When King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes he was obviously tired, discouraged and disheartened. It is the thoughts of a man worn out and satiated. He had used his enormous wealth to glut his whole being with the things of the world. Nothing brought him pleasure anymore. He had grown useless to himself and his people.

Listen as a read just a few verses from Eccl. 1:8, “All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.”

Solomon needed to sit down with the apostle Paul who would have argued with him. Paul says, 1 Cor. 2:9, “However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him -- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”

Solomon was not the wisest man who ever lived. Paul was head and shoulders wiser than Solomon. Maybe they both had the same IQ but Paul knew something Solomon did not. Paul knew Jesus Christ. It made all the difference. Solomon had seen everything the world had to offer. Paul knew Jesus offers us so much more than this world. Solomon fed off the world. Paul fed from the deep things of God because of His walk with Jesus.

If we want to be really rich, if we want an endless experience of growth into the deep things of God and His universe, Jesus is the abundant never-ending source of truth and happiness.

He Delivers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-30T18:19:15-04:00

Close your eyes and visualize this scene. We are the only customers in Papa Gino’s. We are patiently waiting for our pizza when a loud voice echoes past all the other empty tables. #78!! While picking up our order from the counter I noticed the sales ticket had printed at the bottom, “We deliver.” So I called to the manager, “What is your minimum delivery distance?” “Minimum?” he said, “There is no minimum. We would deliver across the street.” So I asked, “Then why didn’t you bring my pizza to my table which is fifteen feet away?” Much to his credit, I have to say, he apologized. I expected guff.

On my way home I thought of Psalm 50:15 where God says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver . . .” Now, I am sure while Papa Gino’s has no minimum delivery distance they have to have a maximum distance unless they use Fedex. How grand it is that God has no minimum or maximum delivery distances and best of all there is no waiting two or three business days. As a matter of fact He does even better. “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” Isaiah 65:24. Can you imagine going to Papa Gino’s and as you walk in the door they are standing there with your order before you had even placed your order?

This is a great family to belong to. Our Heavenly Father is the best. He knows our needs. He anticipates our prayers. He will supply us with all our needs. Philippians 4:19. He delivers.

Extremism is a Vice

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-29T20:31:46-04:00

Just a few days ago, in the 21st century, seventeen people in southern Afghanistan were beheaded by religious extremists. Their sin was attending a social event attended by both men and women. In 1964 Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.” Extremism in defense of anything, whether it be religion or liberty is a vice. Ends rarely justify the means. Lest we justify ourselves by thinking, “Oh, those people are not like us” we need to beware. It is easy to be beguiled by the rhetoric of those with a personal cause.

Through the years I have attended some metaphoric beheadings in church board meetings, church business meetings and conference committees. Somehow we fool ourselves into thinking if we begin with prayer than all we do will be God’s will. Those who crucified Jesus were sure they were doing God’s will. The Taliban were “doing God’s will.” Religious people can at times be much more frightening than criminals. If someone thinks they are doing God’s will they will do anything. While a criminal just might let us go, “Holy men” will not.

Jesus was revolutionary. When struck we are to turn the other cheek. When we see our enemy thirsty we must take him water. When we see someone living in error we go to them in a spirit of care trying to help. God has called us to be proclaimers of His character and love. If there is vengeance to be had, God assures us He is capable of handling it. One thing we can be sure of He will always act in love. If we must be extreme about anything let it be in love and care and forgiveness.

My Character Flaw

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-28T20:37:27-04:00

Throughout the years I have been most unsuccessful in dealing with a major character flaw. I do not react nicely when someone tells me I have to do something. I bristle and my immediate response is, “No, I will not do it.” This occurs when I get emails that tell me if I am a good Christian I will pass this on to twenty people or I am not patriotic and don’t care about our troops if the email stops with me. This overt pressure that judges me based on another’s standard makes me not do it.

One of God’s characteristics that I admire is His willingness to work with us. “Come now let us reason together, says the Lord.” When He told Abraham about the coming destruction of Sodom He actually negotiated about saving the city. When He made us He gave us the power of choice. Yes, there are negative results if we disobey. However, the negative results are the fruit of the action and not His kicking us if we don’t heed Him. When Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments” He is telling us that we will break His heart when He has to watch us reap the fruit of our foolishness. When a child follows a path of destruction they are not only hurting themselves but a host of others who love them, especially mom and dad.

Some parents foolishly say, “My way or the highway.” Our heavenly Father says, “My way is the smart way. But if you insist by bristling just remember I will always be here to help you pick up the pieces.” We just missed out on some good things had we obeyed.

A Snarling Rat

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-27T20:48:10-04:00

Many years ago late in the evening in western Uganda, we came upon a mother lion with three cubs. Unfortunately she was on the other side of the road from her cubs. As we slowly moved ahead we were between her and her little ones. With a roar and huge teeth she attacked the front tire. I was sure she was going to puncture it and leave us in a precarious situation. Fortunately that did not happen and we were able to move on.

This afternoon here in New England, we had a new but similar adventure. A large rat was positioned in the center of a two lane street. As we slowly moved past, it bared its ugly teeth and leaped at the car. Amazing! I have never before seen anything like that. However, I am thinking of revising I Peter 5:8. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I think it should read “the devil prowls around like a snarling rat.” The lioness was far too beautiful to be compared to the devil and she was doing her motherly duty. The rat was being just plain mean and nasty as can be.

Whatever, the truth of the text is important to remember. How often do we play with sinful behavior thinking we are very smart and know how to navigate lest there be any negative results. That is so egotistical and ignorant. We have lived a few decades. The devil has lived thousands of years. Do we really think we are a match for his treachery? However, the good news is though we might have to suffer the natural consequences of our foolishness, Jesus will still and always forgive us.

Doing a Few Things Well

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-24T20:37:39-04:00

Last April two workmen came to my house to measure for a new 96.4 inch by 64.3 inch window by our dining room table. This morning they arrived to install the new window specially made in Maine. I have seen windows replaced prior to this and usually there are shims to compensate for deviations. I think my mouth dropped open in amazement when they slipped it into place. It was a perfect fit. No shims needed. No light seeping through the edges. I’m not sure there is room for caulking. Needless to say the workmen were quite pleased.

I should be so good in all the aspects of my life. When Paul wrote to a young pastor he said, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. Realistically speaking we can’t be excellent in all things. We only have enough time to do one or two or if we are brilliant three things well. So many of us don’t even try things because we know we can’t be perfect at them. However, life is about growth. It is not about singing like Caruso or playing ball like Jeter or painting like Homer. It is about trying and retrying and slowly learning. Life is about getting better and better each time we try. And when we fall down we get back up and walk a bit farther.

It is the same with “rightly dividing the word of truth.” Understanding the Bible is very simple and yet amazingly challenging. Paul is not for children. Moving from living by rules to living by principles is scary but ever so rewarding when the light bulb comes on. Doing something really well takes time.

Living on Autopilot

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-23T20:34:21-04:00

Have you ever followed a vehicle on an interstate highway for miles and suddenly realized it is gone? It has been replaced by another and you have no idea when and where the first vehicle went. You look for the first but it is nowhere to be seen. How could this happen? You were watching the entire time. It is then that you realize you have been on autopilot. You were listening to the radio or rehearsing what you were going to say when you arrived at your destination.

Unfortunately some of us live on autopilot. We just go through the motions with little or no thought. We do things because this is the way it has always been. If there is any original thought it is because we heard someone else say it. Some of us are Christians merely because we were raised in a Christian culture. We belong to a particular denomination merely because our parents did. We consider others who are different than we to be misguided, wrong or just plain stupid. And yet we have no real rationale for who and what we are.

I Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you.” Conscious thought and serious questioning of what we have been taught is part of the abundant life. It is why God made us in His image. To think is to be like God. If he did not desire this of us He would have made us with built in unalterable software. But what or where would be the joy in that?

The Painted Face

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-22T20:10:03-04:00

When I entered the room I noticed a very attractive elderly (older than me) lady sitting with an old geezer. As I neared her it became very obvious that her face had been painted on. She had done a good job but on closer examination reality was still there. The passing of decades had carved out their damage.

I fear scrutiny. Scrutiny enables others to see flaws, exterior and interior, that we wish were not. We try to paint over them and are fairly successful as long as someone doesn’t cross the room and begin to scrutinize. God is a scrutinizer. He sees underneath our pitiful efforts to look good. In Matthew 23 Jesus really went after a painting crew. He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

What is frightening about this passage is I am sure most of them believed they were good men. Most of them were not maliciously treacherous. They were furious with Jesus not so much because He outted them to the masses but to themselves. They were scrupulous tithers. Jesus even told them so. But it didn’t compensate for the fact that they were human. Jesus and Darwin were in total agreement regarding the basic nature of humanity. We are climbers over the weaker.

Mercy. Grace. Forgiveness. These are the key ideas to real Christianity. Without them we are just sophisticated monkeys.

A Good Tithe Story

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-21T20:37:40-04:00

I just love good tithe stories, especially when they happen to me. When we were young and poor they were easy to see. God promises in Malachi 4 that He will be faithful with us if we are faithful with Him. Even now His blessings are spectacular. This past Friday afternoon while strolling through a mall in Philadelphia I realized my navy blue blazer was not going to look very good in church. I have lost about thirty pounds and I look like a little kid putting on his father’s clothes. So when I saw a men’s clothing store in I went. Much to my horror they wanted $500 for a blazer. That wasn’t for me. So off we went to Sears. Upon entering we discovered they had one blazer – just one. It was my new size. It had been $150 but was marked down to $40.00, less than a tenth of the other. Now I know what you are thinking. Cheap quality. No – it really is very nice. When I took it to the counter the man asked if I had a Sears card. “No,” I responded, “I don’t want another credit card.” “Well,” he said, “how about I take $35.00 off this blazer if you get one?” I wasn’t a math major in college but I quickly figured out this one. $5.00! I asked if I waited until tomorrow would he pay me to take it. So there is my tithe story. I got my blazer for 1/100th of what they wanted across the mall.

There is no question that we are watched over, cared for and guaranteed a future beyond imagination. Join me - please – accept the Gift.

Rummage

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-16T20:37:23-04:00

We don’t stop at yard sales anymore. We used to enjoy rummaging through other’s discards. One never knows when they will find a million dollar Rembrandt for a dollar. But our house is full and at our age there is little point in adding more to the bounty of fifty years of marriage and the passing of our parents, whose things abound in our rooms. There are things in this house that I know not of. I am not speaking of spiders and chipmunks. I am talking about drawers full of things from our parent’s homes that I have never opened. I hope our children will treasure what we have treasured. But I must be a realist and recognize they only have so much room.

Instead of rummaging at other’s yard sales I think I shall rummage in my own house. Who knows what is here.

Sometimes I rummage in my Bible. I pick it up and just read a bit here and a bit there. There is no organization or plan. I realize this is not a very scholarly activity but it is certainly pleasant. A rereading of a passage from Paul or David can be a serendipitous event. I know I have read this before and yet brand new ideas leap from the pages and stun my brain with freshness. If I did not know better I would think it was written this week instead of thousands of years ago. Modernity has changed how we live and travel but has not changed our hearts. Humans are still the same perverse, caring, evil, righteous creatures who walked across the Red Sea or stood on Calvary. Give yourself a treat. Sit in your favorite chair and rummage about in God’s Word.

Mistakes and Sins

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-15T21:41:36-04:00

I overheard a man say that Jesus never made any mistakes. He went on to quote Hebrews 4:15 that tells us Jesus never sinned. Apparently this fellow never looked up the definitions of mistakes and sins. There is a huge difference between cutting a board too short and offending a moral principle. Surely when Jesus was learning the fine art of carpentry from Joseph there were mistakes. If not then He wasn’t human and we are assured of His humanity. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:52

Dr. Luke informs us that not only did he grew taller as a child but He grew intellectually. He didn’t know everything as a child nor was He perfect in everything He attempted. His perfection was moral. He tripped. He fell. He scuffled with His siblings. He got splinters in His fingers and sawdust in His eyes. He read the prophets and memorized what He was to do. The Book of Isaiah was a Messiah Manual that He sent ahead of time so He would learn and know what a Messiah was to be. He grappled with our human issues and learned the difference between violating His Father’s law and burning breakfast. Mistakes are stepping stones to a better man. The problem with a mistake is not so much the mistake but what we then do about it. Do we learn? Do we also grow in wisdom?

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. Wise is the person who understands that all sins are mistakes but not all mistakes are sin.

A Clean Heart

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-14T19:55:06-04:00

In addition to a CAT scan today I also had an echo heart examination. (Researchers are preparing me for experimental treatment beginning in Philadelphia next week. They are eliminating variables in me, their white mouse.) I thoroughly enjoyed the heart examination. I got to watch the image of my heart on a monitor and listen to it sounding like a Maytag washer. Not only was there the regular beat but the whishing sound of blood being pushed through chambers and arteries. How grateful it was to hear the technician say, “There is nothing here that will get anyone excited. It’s a clean heart.” What she meant was it was normal and routine. But that excited me. Those were good words. Obviously she wasn’t speaking of David’s Prayer in Psalm 51. “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” There isn’t anything in a medical laboratory that can do that.

There is no injection or detergent that can touch what David was talking about. He said, “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. And cleanse me from my sin.”

Our God is a fabulous God who doesn’t require us to accumulate merit points. The only act of contrition is that of our heart. If we want it and come with a repentant attitude, it will be done. I do need to mention the importance of the repentant attitude. He will not absolve us if we come to Him with no intention of change. The entire process is all about desire, intent and a willingness to become His temple. His clean temple.

The Scanner

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-13T22:18:43-04:00

I’m getting a Computerized Tomography, CAT Scan in the morning. This thing takes pictures of everything. When they are finished my insides will be an open book. My heart, liver, kidneys, etc. will be public. I’ve had a scan before this and remembered Psalm 139:15 which speaks of God, The Scanner, “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.”

In this age of terrorism we are becoming accustomed to being scanned. If the airport security people deem it necessary we are scanned if we want to get to our destination. We have no secrets. My metal knee and hip make great pictures.

Thinking about tomorrow morning’s procedure awakens thoughts of David praying, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” Now that’s a scan. Frankly, I don’t mind physicians looking at my aorta but I would be very uncomfortable if they could record, probe and ponder my thoughts, passions, and ambitions. That would be way over the top. But then there is God. There isn’t a random thought He doesn’t know. He actually knows more about me than I know about me. Each of us have layers of consciousness and only have total access to the top layer. Once in a while we have stunning breakthroughs and catch glimpses of our subconscious. But, He has total access to all our thoughts and the seeds of our thoughts. That’s okay. It is nothing to fear because He loves us so much.

Our Heavenly Father is the ultimate therapist, who not only knows, but understands and treats us with incredible compassion because He and He alone really knows us.

Common Sense

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-10T20:28:19-04:00

This morning’s Leominster/Fitchburg newspaper just spoiled one of my favorite things. I love to sit outside in the evenings and feel the cool air push away the afternoon shadows as dusk closes another day. Alas, it seems that our mosquitoes are now bearers of more than an itchy bite. Some of those trapped by Mass Public Health Department are carrying West Nile Virus, not something one puts on their bucket list. I can still walk my dog but I can’t just sit still and soak in the glory of an evening in New England. Our newspaper counsels don’t panic just use common sense.

That is pretty much the advice we receive in Psalm 1:1 regarding sinful behavior and its horrible results. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” It’s the company we keep or should I say don’t keep. It’s a matter of common sense. However, now that I have said that Jesus kept some very questionable company. It is amusing that when he met with Mr. Respectable, Nicodemus, He met him in secret. When He met with publicans, sinners and tax collectors He did it in the plain light of day. Jesus can indeed confound us.

But really, most of life is using common sense. Unfortunately it takes a few decades of living to acquire it. Too bad we aren’t born with it. (In the middle of writing this I stopped and took my dog for our evening walk. Can you believe it a mosquito flew right into my ear? How can that be?) I crushed her because she obviously didn’t have much of any common sense.

"I was to be the Rain"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-09T08:33:01-04:00

Oh, I am in trouble. My wife has been gone for three days and the last thing she said to me was, “Don’t forget to water the plants.” This afternoon as I walked past a drooping hanging basket of flowers I thought, “We sure could use some rain.” Then it hit me. I was supposed to be the rain. The only hope I have for some kind of redemption is that they will recover if I soak them. She will get home tonight after dark and won’t see them until morning. Maybe, just maybe, they will be perky in the morning and she will never know. Perky would be good.

As all good farmers and horticulturalists know growing plants need adequate water. Deprive them for just a short amount of time and they will wither up just like people’s spiritual lives if deprived of a daily watering from heaven. Like plants we are dependent upon external essentials. If we long to thrive we need daily supplies of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual food and water.

On the mornings of the annual Feast of the Tabernacles a priest carried a vessel of water to the altar to represent the Rock that had supplied the children of Israel with their daily supply of water while in the wilderness. On such an occasion Jesus stepped forth and said with a loud voice, “Whoever thirsts let Him come to me for I am the water of life.” It was an amazingly bold declaration of His identity and power. Position, power and pomp were inadequate to satisfy the spiritual hunger of the people. Nothing has changed. It is still Jesus, the Creator of all things, who can satisfy our thirst for real life and real growth.

Red Kleenex

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-08T20:43:31-04:00

Many years ago the wizards who make Kleenex marketed red Kleenex especially designed for use by hunters. No hunter in his right mind pulls out a white Kleenex, wipes his nose and thereby makes himself look like a white-tailed deer. Red seemed ideal. No one would shoot at the color red. Alas, that year more hunters were killed than ever before. No one knew why. So there was no more red Kleenex.

Hunters have become very skillful in looking like trees and bushes. I have often wondered how many hunters I have walked by when I take my dog for a walk in the forest. We try to look like a canine with her human and so far so good. Have you ever wondered if you are or have been a camouflaged Christian? Is it possible that some people who have known us for years would be shocked to discover our commitment to Jesus? Sometimes we see pictures in the news of so-called Christians carrying hate signs. Not only are they not real Christians I am not so sure they are real human beings. “All in the name of Jesus.” Surely He must weep.

There is no question about the fact that Jesus called it correctly when He said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” You can hide. You can pretend. But ultimately, one’s true self will be revealed to family and colleagues. We can only pretend for a certain amount of time. Now that I have said all this, I have to admit that I have pretended all my life to be a Christian. I mean a real Christian, one who always loves, forgives and cares about others. Sometimes I meet people I just don’t like.

"My Six and a Half Foot Tall Son"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-07T20:59:21-04:00

While at the mall today I overheard a conversation that went something like this. “My six and a half foot tall son who goes to Harvard . . .” I didn’t catch the rest of what was said because they moved out of my ear range. But I found myself smiling because I am quite sure my mother never said to anyone about me, “My five and a half foot tall son who goes to Andrews . . .” What is it with being tall? People speak of it as an accomplishment. Hey, they grew, okay. They didn’t have any more input on the subject than I, except maybe they selected parents from a taller gene pool. I have compensated through the years. In school my roommate was six five and even now one of my very best friends is about the same. I mentally average our heights and we are both six feet tall – peers – twins.

Revelation 3:5 is a marvelous verse, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” I can hear it now. Jesus is standing in the courts of heaven and says to the Father, “Your five and a half foot tall overcoming son is my friend.” I like the sound of that. Or how about “Your five and a half foot tall growing son is becoming more like us every day?” There is a terrific ring to that.

There are many ways to be a giant. One can have tall parents or have an extraordinary capacity for spiritual growth. Oh, this is going to be good.

Psalm 23

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-06T20:38:44-04:00

Our day began at 4 A.M. this morning. At 6 A.M. I dropped my wife off at the Manchester NH airport for a not-so-long flight to Nashville, Tenn. At 8 A.M. she called me from a bus on her way to Boston. The plane in New Hampshire was leaking fuel. At 1 P.M. she called from Cincinnati while waiting for a plane to Detroit. At 6 she called from Detroit waiting for a flight to Nashville that would not leave until 9 P.M. Hopefully someday this week she will make it to Tennessee.

I believe it was Robert Burns who wrote something about the best laid plans of mice and men. I sometimes smile at young people who have their entire lives laid out with college, internships, residencies and careers. Does it ever work out the way we planned or dreamed? There is this thing called life that persistently interferes and says, “No, this way.” Accidents, illnesses, career breakers are not the sole property of a few. Even though we are praying and God longs to answer our prayers bad things do happen to good people. Then there is the reverse. Good things burst into our lives filling us with more joy than we could have imagined. It is the stuff of life. We can treat the random events as an adventure or allow them to ruin the journey.

Sometimes the plan we have for our lives is so very different from God’s plan for us and we interfere and cause Him to switch to Plan B. Then we interfere with His Plan B and cause Him to go to Plan C. But the joy of it is knowing He is there caring and doing His best to lead. If only we would follow. See Psalm 23.

Bazalel

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-04T21:59:29-04:00

All of his young life Bazalel Katz hated his name. He had to spell it for everyone and his father refused to allow him to change it. In 1938 he fled Europe and moved to what is now Israel. When at his port of entry he gave his name to the immigration inspector who without even looking up kept on writing. “Can you imagine that?” Bazalel said. “He just wrote my name. I knew I was home.”

There is a place where everyone knows our names. If we have accepted Jesus’ gift our names are written in His Book of Life. Note Revelation 3:5, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Can you imagine? Jesus, Himself, the Creator of all things confessing our name – vouching for us. In Revelation 20:12 reads, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” Some people think it is a list of all our deeds but for those who accept God’s grace there is only one thing written by our name. “Redeemed.” There is no point in a list of the bad stuff we have done. That’s why they are blotted out. Acts 3:19. Inquiring minds don’t want to know.

“Is our name written there on the page white and fair?” Absolutely yes. We would be pretty stupid if it was any other way.

I Was Hungry

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-03T22:25:59-04:00

According to the latest Scientific American Mind, “When people feel safe and secure, they become more liberal, when they feel threatened, they become more conservative.” This helps explain one reason why elderly people tend to become more conservative as they age. As we age and realize we are not as strong as we were at thirty we begin to feel vulnerable. That’s why Granny has more than one lock on her door. If what Scientific American says is true, Christians should be the most liberal people in the world. And why not? The mightiest being in the universe has promised to care for us. He is our Rock and we abide in the shadow of the Almighty. We are eternally secure. Yes, bad things could still happen to us here. But God knows and He will more than make it up to us. Another reason for Christians being liberal is Jesus’ story of the sheep and the goats where He says to the sheep, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed me.” We are our brother’s keeper. If we see our enemy in need we must offer Him aid. This is Jesus’ way. Matthew 25:31.

It comes down to trust in the one who gave Himself for us. I love Romans 8 where Paul writes, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” One of the great messages of Scripture is for us to fear not. If we really understand and believe how can we not but want to share, want others to rise to our level of comfort or rejoice if they surpass our level.

God is on our Side

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-02T21:19:56-04:00

The evening network news aired a clip of a reporter interviewing a Syrian rebel. The reporter asked him how concerned he was because the rebels were incredibly out-gunned. “God is on our side,” responded the fighter. A minute or so later a member of the government was interviewed. When asked about the rebels he responded, “God is on our side.” And on and on it goes. Each group, religious and political, no matter what the cause believes God is on their side. I realize God is omnipresent and multifaceted but I’m sure God is not schizophrenic.

It is natural for us to feel like we are special. But we are not special if that means others have to be demeaned. When we read something like this we think, “Those poor deluded people. Only we are really special.” Our specialness is usually the fruit of our Biblical interpretation. The Bible texts we have selected to support our belief structure can only mean what we say they mean and others misinterpret them. If they would only let us tell them “The Truth” then all the world could believe as we. The problem is if that would happen then how could we be special anymore. I’m sure we would find a way.

Perhaps the accuracy of our beliefs is not nearly as important as our love for God and the sincerity with which we approach Him? Perhaps it is the heart and not the head that ultimately matters. Please do not misunderstand me. I do believe understanding is important. I am speaking of priorities. When Sir Thomas Moore was about to be beheaded he said to his executioner, "He (God) will not refuse one who is so blithe to go to him."

To Retaliate or Not To Retaliate

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-08-01T21:41:38-04:00

There is a haunting quotation in Paradise Lost by John Milton. He wrote, “Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe.” To retaliate with force is a natural human reflex. If someone strikes us, if we do not pause to think, we hit back. Should we vanquish our enemy by superior force we still have to deal with the person we see in the mirror. What is even worse, often our victory reinforces our native response and we are brutalized by our own prowess. We are internally worse than before we began.

Jesus’ message in the Sermon on the Mount to turn the other cheek is foreign to our nature. If it had not been for what happened to Him from Gethsemane to the Cross we would have been tempted to say His teaching was mere idealized wishful thinking. But it wasn’t. For Jesus it was real. He could have at any moment called legions of angels to come to His rescue. (Legions would not have been necessary. One angel would have been sufficient to wipe His foes from the face of the earth like we swat mosquitoes.)

Our literature, our films, our entertainment(?) is replete with tales of revenge and retaliation. We feed on this. It makes us feel good when the bad guy gets his due. The challenge for our characters is to truly become like Jesus and to respond as He. The close of the Book of Revelation presents us with the final destruction of evil and Lucifer. We are tempted to think it will be a moment of great joy and personal satisfaction for Jesus. However, as grand as it will be to have sin no more, Jesus will weep. Lucifer was a dear old friend.

February 30

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-31T20:16:50-04:00

Officially it is July 31. In actuality it is February 30. Dear old Julius Caesar, this month’s namesake, decided his month should have an extra day. To steal a day from February and add it to the end of his month was a safe political move. Caesar Augustus did the same for August and poor February got fleeced twice. The keeping of time is a fascinating topic. Other than the seven day week all other forms of time keeping are man-made. There is the Julian calendar, the Hebrew calendar, the Chinese calendar and this is the year the Mayan calendar runs out of days.

Time is important to us. Each passing year increases its value. Jimmy Durante’s September Song closes with the poignant reminder words,

“Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September.

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I'll spend with you
These precious days I'll spend with you.”

I can’t imagine how precious time must be to those without Jesus. Value is relative and often correlated with quantity. The fewer of something the more precious. However, those with an endless supply of days are rich and they might not pine over the aging process. Jesus, the author of time itself, has made us some extremely powerful promises such as John 5:24, “"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life . . . he has crossed over from death to life.” You can only give what you have and Jesus has an endless supply to give each of us. How very grand.

"No Swimming"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-30T21:06:03-04:00

In today’s Sunday cartoon episode of Calvin and Hobbes, a philosophical little boy and his toy tiger, Calvin ponders the morality of the universe. After not receiving a sign that he should not throw a water balloon at a little girl, he, of course, throws it. After she beats him up he wisely exclaims, “Why does the universe always give you the sign after you do it?” And there it is. Great theology and great philosophy all wrapped up in one insightful comment. While most religions espouse lists of taboos, real morality is nothing more than avoiding that which will produce negative results. God forbids us from stealing because the consequences are ruinous to us and society as a whole. The same goes for killing and each of His commandments. There is not one thing that God forbids that has a positive outcome. If it’s good for us God encourages us, within balance, to do it. Even good things in excess have bad results.

How sad that most of us don’t learn this until later in life when it is too late. After the damage is done we look back and say, “If only.” That combination of two words is one of the saddest in our language. What follows is usually a rueful description of an event that didn’t turn out the way we wanted. God is not some great avenger of sin. He warns. We disobey. We reap the harvest. Perhaps sermons should instead of being filled with hellfire and brimstone, focus on the art of logic and good thinking. Many years ago a Pogo cartoon showed a pond with a sign “No Swimming.” The last picture in the panel gave the reason. The water was poisonous.

Who Can We Trust?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-26T22:49:01-04:00

The green gecko promises me I can save 15% on my auto insurance if I will go with Geico. State Farm promises a 40% saving on car insurance. But I am not sure it is 40% of what. Allstate promises 45% savings for safe driving and 30% if I bundle my car and home. I’m sure that doesn’t add up to 75%. And Flo, the lady with the bright red lips, promises me the cheapest insurance is with Progressive. I believe them with the same measure of trust as I do the political ads that fill our screens.

Who to trust is one of life’s great questions. Corporations, institutions and individuals are primarily self-interested entities. We can’t help it. Self-interest is at the heart of our being. Last weekend 12 people in Colorado were heartlessly slaughtered. It has dominated, rightfully so, our airwaves. It was a horrible national tragedy. But I could not miss the fact that last weekend 1200 people were heartlessly slaughtered in Syria and I heard one fifteen second mention on our news. They were not us. They were them. As I mention this I do not wish to distract from the loss in Colorado. It was beyond horrible. I merely want to illustrate our humanness, our self-focus.

It is no wonder that Paul says in I Corinthians 15 “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven.” Fortunately he goes on to explain that we will be changed and this corruption will put on incorruption. It is the only way God can trust us. As we are, we are not fit for eternity. We must trust Him to do it for us. I know you have a sweet grandma but even she is not trustworthy until she is changed.

Our Tents

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-25T08:41:15-04:00

Paul was a tentmaker so it only follows that at some point he would use a metaphor from his secular profession. We find it in II Corinthians 5:1. “We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” The earthly tent he is referring to is our human body. No matter how carefully we eat and exercise we can only delay the inevitable. Eventually this tent will be taken down and folded away. By careful temperate living we can often delay when that day comes, but even Jack LaLanne passed away last year. And who would want it any other way? The tent fades, thins and tears. The day of folding is necessary. To live forever in an ageing body would be hell.

But the joy in Paul’s message is we exchange the tent for a building designed and constructed by divine hands. To live forever in the new building will be heaven. To assure us that God means what He promises regarding this new home, Paul tells us in verse 5 that God has sent the Holy Spirit as a deposit. When we make an offer on a house we are required to submit a deposit to verify our serious intent. Should we change our minds we have to walk away from the deposit. This metaphor is rich. God made us an offer via the sacrifice of His Son. Lest we think He is fickle or insincere the offer comes with the deposit of the Holy Spirit, something God is never going to walk away from. The entire Godhead is involved in replacing our worn out tent so we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This is beyond “how grand.”

Think about It

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-24T22:38:49-04:00

Decades ago the then president of Columbia University posited that we should extend adolescence because so many new facts were being discovered we needed to keep students in school longer that we might fill them up. In a strange way his idea has come to pass. Adolescence is the transition time from being a child to being an adult. Developmentalists now suggest that adolescence can extend into one’s early thirties. However, he could not have known that someday we would carry devices that instantly supply us with any fact we need. While there is still a need for a foundation of facts such as times tables and phonics, some things are no longer needed such as cursive which is no longer taught in many states.

Curriculum gurus today are rightfully stressing there is no need for fact stuffing but instead the need to teach children to think. Thinking is not something to take for granted. Thinking like so many things in life has degrees of quality. There are some who self-deceptively think they are thinkers but instead allow others to think for them. Then there are people who understand the pitfalls of poor logic and recognize how easily they can be swayed by mistaking relationships with causality and other fallacies of logic.

In Isaiah 1:18 God says, “Come thou, let us reason together.” God does not desire mindless obedience. He wants us to understand the whys of His wisdom. This week as a parent was dropping off his children, we heard him say, “Remember, before you act. Think about it.” This is what God wants from us. Books are not smart. They are only filled with facts. Being smart is what we do with them.

Our Endless Journey

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-23T18:16:25-04:00

The surety of salvation is incredibly satisfying. Not to fear the future and to rest in the promises provides an incredibly rich life. However, that is not the endgame. Upon receiving the gift of salvation we enter into a new experience. A new challenge is presented. With eternity secured we now embark upon an endless journey to grow into the likeness of the One who saved us. It is a maturation that will never ripen to its fullest. The more we learn the more doors for further exploration appear before us. There are so many doors we have to choose from we think once finished with one we will return and take another. However, each door opens to us ten more doors from which we will select yet another.

Blessed is the one who is never satisfied. That is the one who will eternally quest for more intellectual, spiritual and artistic horizons. Each challenge obtained not only whets our appetites for more but in the process transforms us more into the likeness of the One who made us, saved us and who knows all things. I once knew a man who maintained he was fully satisfied with himself and life. He felt that he was mature. I felt sorry for him. In a certain sense we will not (should not) ever reach maturity. I once heard a man posit that should he live forever eventually he would become bored. That is because he does not know what he does not know.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” Yes, filled with righteousness but never quite filled with knowledge of the secrets of God’s universe. Our diplomas and degrees are but decorations from kindergarten.

Bison Dog Food

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-20T21:55:28-04:00

How quickly the world changes; when I was a boy we bemoaned the fact that the great herds of bison were gone. Bison had become so rare I never saw one outside a zoo until we visited Yellowstone. It was a big deal to see one standing by the road. I say this because yesterday I bought a bag of dog food which had for its primary ingredient bison meat. She loved it. She scarfed it down so quickly I thought she had inhaled it. So much for all those cornmeal based foods.

When we lived in Africa the primary ingredient in dog food was elephant meat. One of our mission families had a little boy who loved the elephant meat. He would come home with elephant breath after sneaking over to the neighbor’s porch to gobble up the contents of the dog’s bowl.

What we eat and don’t eat is a fascinating topic. I have friends who are very omnivorous, while others are vegetarians and others vegans. In Leviticus God gave the children of Israel a list of eating dos and don’ts. Because He is the creator of our bodies He knows what is best for us. Unfortunately, instead of being health laws they turned them into religious taboos. And there are many people who still treat them as such. In Mark 7 Jesus addressed the issue by saying, “There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.” It is no wonder the leaders felt Jesus had to go. This was in direct conflict with centuries of belief. For Jesus, how we speak and how we treat others is everything.

The Big Stuffed Bear

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-19T19:06:14-04:00

My rejoicing event occurred today when the driver of the natural gas company stopped at my home to collect a street barricade. Monday and Tuesday they put a natural gas line into my house. As he was putting the barricade on a rack on the front of his truck he had to remove a large weather-worn stuffed bear. I asked if the bear had a name. “No,” he said. Three years ago while putting in a gas line a five-year-old little girl handed him what was then a beautiful bear and asked if he would take care of it for her until she got better. She was receiving chemo and was finding temporary homes for her stuffed animals. He didn’t know what happened to the little girl but ever since he has driven about with the bear on his radiator hoping she will see it and stop him to take it back home.

There are still really great people in the world. They don’t have to have titles in front of their names nor letters behind their names. Those things don’t really say anything about the character of the person. Character is revealed by our actions, our speech and our behavior toward others. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” While Jesus also told us not to judge others it is very difficult to ignore the fruit hanging from their branches.

In Galatians 5 Paul wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” I have always loved that Paul points out there is no law against such things. We can grow as many of them as we desire.

Looking for a Rejoicing Event

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-18T22:45:26-04:00

So far this has been an interesting week. On Sunday afternoon while driving on a country road for several miles behind three cars, the lead car suddenly stopped to turn left. The car behind him successfully swerved out into a beautiful patch of day lilies on the right. With no place else to go the car in front of us swerved out to the left successfully avoiding the car that wanted to turn left. Unfortunately at that point he lost control and smashed really hard, head on into the guard rail. That was the end of that car. As for us? We had good brakes.

Today on my way back from the dentist (always a treat) I waited for a traffic light in the heart of our little city and watched some lady stealing flowers from the town triangle. She was picking the best of the best and putting them in her basket. Hopefully she was taking them to a shut-in.

If God kept a journal it must be filled with amazing things that He has seen. Each day events just on Earth would fill pages with saga-like stories. Living is just plain interesting. (An oxymoron?) I was tempted to quote Psalm 118:24. “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.” However, the events I witnessed didn’t really inspire rejoicing. I almost saw a rejoicing event. Today I saw an old lady in a wheelchair (not motorized) trying to get herself up a grade so she could get into Denny’s. A man came out and walked toward her. I was so glad thinking he would push her. He walked on by.

Tomorrow I shall watch for a rejoicing event. You watch too.

Looking for A Good Read

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-17T20:11:34-04:00

So often we are admonished to read our Bibles in search of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. However, sometimes we can read just for the sheer pleasure of the content. Some of Paul’s adventures are as exciting as Indiana Jones’. There are shipwrecks, mob scenes, a snake bite, escaping a city in a basket. There is the awesome beauty of the Psalms and of course the narrative of David’s many battles.

Ecclesiastes is filled with great ideas. Chapter 9 alone is full of entertaining thoughts. Solomon tells of a poor wise man, surely an oxymoron, who saved his city from a siege by a strong king. The problem is he never tells us how. But I want to know. In verse 7 we read, “Eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.” That drives a teetotaler like me just a bit crazy. In verse 8 he said, “Always be clothed in white.” White was worn to festivals. Some paraphrase this as each day dress beautiful and fancy. Verse 11 says, “Time and chance happen to them all.” The “them” is us. Good times and bad times come to us all. Accidents happen. The last verse says, “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”

I think before I go to sleep tonight I will reread one of my favorites. In Acts 12 Peter is in prison and an angel aids him in a great escape. It’s an awesome story that should fill all our hearts with courage and hope. As Paul said, “With God on our side, who can be against us?” Do you want some really great reading? Your Bible is full of good stuff.

My Captain - My Captain

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-16T19:06:14-04:00

Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century English preacher, once used the following wonderful story. It seems a particularly loud-mouthed know-it-all boarded a ship. After a few days at sea with the obnoxious one telling everyone, even the captain, what to do, a severe storm arose. The captain was very busy trying to keep everyone safe when the unbearable man started getting in the captain’s way. The captain took him to the front of the deck, handed him the end of a rope and instructed him to hold very tightly and to talk to no one. After the storm subsided and all were safe the man stepped forward expecting to be hailed a hero for saving the ship. As he insisted on recognition for his great feat, he forced the captain to speak. The captain then revealed the other end of the rope the man clutched was not attached to anything.

Spurgeon’s point was all who think they will earn heaven by their wondrous feats and righteous lives will someday discover they were only holding a rope connected to nothing. If we long for salvation there is only one way. We have to trust our Captain. Jesus and only Jesus will be able to take us safely to the other side. Paul put it so well in Ephesians 2. “Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.” The Message Paraphrase.

Life is for Living

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-12T22:01:56-04:00

It is often said that the journey is the destination. Probably like most catchy sayings it is sometimes true and sometimes not. Taking a road trip with the family can indeed be the destination. The journey coming home to loved ones after a long absence is not the destination. The destination is the envelopment of loved ones in your arms.

Life is a journey. However, some folks are so heavenly oriented they have lost sight of now and they only live for the future. I can indeed understand that for people who have lost loved ones. It is natural that they are living for resurrection morning and reunion. However, there are those with no such motivation. They live in a fantasy world; imagining all kinds of science fiction type experiences they think will occur in heaven. They almost stop living now.

Life is for living. Life is for growing and sharing and cultivating relationships. The wider our social circle the richer we become. The more people we reach out to the wiser we become as we watch their reactions to our unselfishness. One of many reasons for going to church is to meet like-minded people and enjoy their friendship. Forgive me for likening it to the old television program Cheers. But we want to go (need to go) where everybody knows our name. When we are absent we are missed.

While I certainly do not want to discourage people from looking forward to the second coming of Jesus, I do want to encourage us to look around at the now. Reach out to others. Last evening while walking my dog a teen passed me with his head buried in texting. When I said hi he was so startled he almost dropped his precious phone.

Our Guard Dog

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-11T22:14:56-04:00

Our black lab is a marvelous guard dog. Each morning she sits by the breakfast window calmly watching chipmunks and squirrels come and go. There is no reason to be upset because she knows they are harmless. But when the monster comes she reacts with all the fury a one hundred pound dog can muster. Growling begins like lava from a volcano. Hairs from the back of her neck to the tip of her tail stand erect. Lips curl and sterling white fangs appear. She will at all cost defend those she loves from this formidable creature that dares hop from the rhododendron unto the flat stone patio. Her Leviathan has tall big ears and a fluffy white tail boding terrors and destruction unheard of. That wiggling nose and those long whiskers can mean nothing other than yes you guessed it – a bunny.

There are many real horrors in the world. But often we seem preoccupied with bunnies. We allow small fears to grow into Leviathans and we lose the quality of life. Jesus promised to bring us the abundant life. He has promised to care for us and should bad things come our way He has promised to someday compensate us a million times over for our loss and pain. Fear is a healthy reaction. It warns us of impending harm. People who have no fear of anything are foolish. But like most things in life fear should be balanced by reason and knowledge of the past. Sometimes I hear people speaking of current events as if they were the worst things that have ever happened. They must have slept through history class. A good life is one that is aware of the difference between lions and bunnies.

Perspective

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-10T20:15:45-04:00

I have this friend who doesn’t like to ride with me. He thinks I drive too fast and it scares him. (That’s not a nice feeling. We rode with a man in Russia one afternoon who terrified me as he passed buses and cars while climbing hills.) So we now ride with my friend. This is interesting. I watch very carefully to see how fast he drives and it is exactly the same as I. Yet I think he drives too fast and he scares me. One afternoon it dawned on me what was going on. Perspective. When one is on the passenger side the trees, bushes and mailboxes are much closer than when you are driving. When we are on the passenger side things whiz by filling our peripheral vision with a greater sense of speed than when we are sitting in the driver’s seat.

I should have figured this out sooner. Perspective is important in almost every aspect of our lives. Have you ever seen a mother interviewed on the Today Show who says, “Yes, my son is a monster serial killer and should be executed.” Rather it is usually, “He is such a kind sweet boy and would never do such a thing. And I believe him when he tells me he didn’t do it.” Perspective. Our side is the good side. Those guys are the bad guys. We have the truth. God loves US. How can those other people believe such craziness? Don’t they read the Bible?

I am so happy we have a God who is able to understand where we came from and what experiences we have had. There isn’t a perspective He can’t understand because He is the God of all. How grand!

The Fly

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-09T19:51:57-04:00

It was the end of a full day. The dog was tucked in for the night. Jay had finished his monologue. My wife was done reading. The window was open and the only sounds of the night were a few romantic tree frogs. The room was dark except for the red lit time projected on the bedroom ceiling. Closing my eyes I slowly allowed my head to sink into my pillow. This was good. And then I heard him. I’m not sure where he had been hiding or why he had to appear now. He came down the hall and into the room with his buzzing whirling wings that built a crescendo like an approaching B-52. This was so wrong as he swished in over the bed. And then all was silent as I felt him land in my hair. Few they may be but somehow he used them as a landing strip. Horrible beast. Were there flies in Eden or were they a mutated form of something much nicer? As I swung at him all I managed to do was slap myself on the head. That was really stupid. I’m not sure what happened next because the next thing I knew it was morning.

In John 3 Jesus compared the appoachment of the Holy Spirit like the wind in a tree. But sometimes He comes like a fly in the night. He pesters. He annoys. He keeps us from sleeping. He avoids our slaps and continues to woo us with promises of freedom from guilt and the luxury of eternal life with eternal health. If we manage to fall asleep He will be back tomorrow night. God is that way. We are way too precious to ignore. So if you want a good night’s sleep just surrender.

Kingdoms of Love and Fear

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-05T19:32:50-04:00

There are only three things by which kingdoms are governed – love, fear or wealth. For many years my wife and I lived in a land governed by fear. Men do bad things in the night. Mornings bring new revelations designed to keep people in their place. Most of the world’s population is governed by fear. Whatever we might think of it on a moral level, it works - for awhile. At least until it is replaced by another fear monger who promised better.

When we examine the universal controversy that rages about and in us, God’s Kingdom is governed by love - and that is His dilemma. While being all powerful God will not and cannot, because of His basic nature, apply the tactics available to His enemy. If we want to know what God is really like all we need do is look at Jesus. Even though He could command the armies of heaven to come to His aid, never once did He allow such, to do so would have given His enemy the right to say, “See you are no different than I.” While winning a battle God would have lost the war. This entire struggle has been about the character of God and the contrast to His enemy who hates, destroys, tortures and lusts for ultimate control.

Can you imagine the horror if Satan wins? The good news is he has already lost. When he spearheaded the crucifixion of Jesus, he was so sure Jesus would give up thinking we were not worth the sacrifice. Jesus did not give up and Satan was horrified because he knew Jesus won. His primary goal now is to deprive God from having you and me. That will not be.

The Tyranny of Freedom

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-04T19:33:40-04:00

The bumper sticker read, “Freedom isn’t free.” I think it refers to our Flanders Fields and Arlingtons. However, there is yet another meaning to that bumper sticker – the tyranny of freedom. Freedom isn’t free. It comes with responsibility. Freedom means if we are adults with the right and power to choose we cannot blame our parents for what we are. Real freedom means stepping up to the plate and saying, “I did it.” The tyranny of freedom is we were forced by no one other than our own passions and will. If we did it, we do not hide in the bushes and blame another. Adam, our noble ancestor, hid in the bushes and attempted to blame both God and Eve. What a man! If there is shame to be had we will acknowledge our failures or overt acts of transgression. This is freedom.

It is the fourth of July and for these 24 hours we hear the words “freedom” and “liberty” over and over. The first half of 2012 has been fascinating to watch peoples in the countries of the Middle East protesting and dying for the rights we have taken for granted. Rights we were so quick to give away after 9/11 because we do not know what it is to live without them. Ignorance is a fearful thing. Galatians 5 is Paul’s great appeal for us to take the freedom Christ offers and to use it for righteousness. To do otherwise is to give it away and to become slaves to ourselves and our self-deceptions.

Righteous living, righteous choices expand our freedom. Each victory by our choices and behaviors prepares us for the ultimate freedom of roaming the universe as God’s child with never a fear that we will pollute those we shall meet. Ultimate freedom awaits those who choose wisely.

Friends in High Places

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-03T20:18:12-04:00

Our good news is my blood cooperated in the University of Penn labs and so I will be white mouse number nine in a research study that so far has had a 100% remission rate for those with my type of leukemia. When I mention that there are only fourteen slots in the study, I am most always asked how did you get in? The answer is “I have friends in high places.”

It never hurts to have important powerful friends. I grew up with this one particular friend. I first met Him when I was very small. I sang a song about Him. “Jesus loves me this I know.” Soon afterwards I learned another song about Him. “What a friend we have in Jesus.” Talk about friends in high places. It doesn’t get any higher than that.

Christianity is especially unique in its core doctrine of developing a personal relationship with God. While He indeed is one to revere, worship and hold in awe there is this friendship issue with Jesus and His insistence that we call His Father “Our Father.” Sometimes people miss this and say such things as, “Other faiths also have high moral codes.” That is very true. They do. While morality is indeed extremely important it is not the core belief. The core is God is a Father who pursues us, woos us and sacrifices self for us. Christianity is a love story. It is about a heaven filled with caring beings who want the best for us. It is about grace and forgiveness and personal growth. It is restoration to the perfection of Adam and Eve when God said, “Let’s make man in our image.” He wants us to be His friends as well as His children.

The Price of Gas

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-07-02T16:01:26-04:00

I paid $3.29 cents for gas today. The price of gas is mysterious but I am told it is connected to the old law of supply and demand. If that is the case you can thank me for the price reduction. It is because of my GPS. Prior to the age of global navigation by satellites I always added thirty minutes to the time needed for a trip. This covered the time I would be lost wandering about trying to find my destination. During those thirty minutes I would be sure to use an extra two gallons of gas. But now I just get in my car and bingo I get where I am supposed to be. If I came to a fork in the road I always took the wrong way. It got so bad that after I would decide which way I should go I then would take the other way thinking that would work. Those were the times I had initially decided correctly.

Aren’t you glad that Jesus declares Himself to be the Way? John 14:6. Prior to Jesus, mankind wandered about in a corn field maze. There was a seemingly endless array of religions offering everything from hedonistic gratification to ascetic self-denial. If you can imagine it, it was on the menu. The tragedy is the menu is still there and people are still hungrily browsing.

Jesus doesn’t show us the way. He is the Way. His promises are plain and powerful. “I have come that they might have life.” “He (who believes) does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” The Way is not convoluted. It is simple enough for a small child to grasp. Perhaps that is the problem for those who delight in cryptics.

Finders Keepers - Not Always

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-29T22:12:26-04:00

As I pulled a shopping cart out of the BJ’s bin in the parking lot what to my wondering eyes did appear but a box of Hershey bars with almonds. Someone must have been in a hurry to leave behind such a treasure. This was “my” day. It was Friday and it was like getting double manna. This was meant to be. I purchased my very first car in Hershey, Pa. My stepfather worked at Hershey for 40 years. Obviously this was meant to be. I triumphantly showed it to my wife and she said, “Oh, someone will surely come back for it. We have to take it in to the desk.” “What?” I thought. “The person at the desk will take it home tonight. This is mine. Finders keepers. That was the rule I grew up with.” But as I looked her in the eye I knew better. There was no use in protesting. Now I could never eat one of those wonderful treasures without feeling guilty. We took it to the lady that checks baskets by the door.

I will never know how many times in the past fifty years this agent from heaven has kept me on the straight and narrow. When we were in high school one of the teachers told her not to date me lest she spend her life picking me up out of the gutter. Really! You can tell I made a good impression on him. Even my mother maintained my wife kept me out of jail. I do believe God in His infinite wisdom does send us the people we need and if we are smart we will not let them go. I was smart. At least about this.

Over the Top Parents

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-28T18:20:45-04:00

My wife and I stopped at a 50’s Diner this afternoon. It is great fun to listen to Chubby Checker, Little Richard and the Beach Boys, while looking at pictures of Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio decorating the walls. A few booths away there were two small children being children. They were no problem. The problem was the mother. She was yelling at them and honestly making far more noise and a greater hubbub than the children combined. She was way over the top.

Over the top parenting is not new. Many groups unwittingly make God an over the top parent. They say a person can be lost for the smallest of sins and they have God, Our Father, burn them in hell forever and forever. Talk about being over the top. If this were the case there should be some way of arresting God for child abuse since we are all children.

But are they not merely teaching Scripture? The close of the Book of Revelation speaks about the never ending torment of the lost. Once again it is unfortunate that we have to rely on translations such as the King James Version, etc. The Greek expression means with everlasting results. Once they are burned it is forever. They will be no more. Jude helps us in verse 7 regarding Sodom and Gomorrah. “They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” We know Sodom and Gomorrah were located at the north end of the Dead Sea. They are not still burning. If so, more people would visit than go to Disney Land. No, they are not still burning, but the results (death) will last forever. God is not an over the top parent.

I Was Profiled

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-27T18:24:10-04:00

My dog and I were walking down our hill when I heard the lyrical sounds of the neighborhood ice cream truck. Turkey in the Straw is one of the finest pieces of music ever composed. Much to my delight it was also coming down the hill. I easily could have been one of the five unprepared young ladies in Jesus’ story but this evening I was fortunate. I had my wallet with me. Pulling it from my pocket I was ready for a goodie. And then tragedy struck. As I was raising my hand he swept past me, totally disregarding me as if I were just some balding old man who no longer cared for ice cream. He never even looked in his rearview mirror. I must have been taller than his usual customer.

I wonder how often we stereotypically profile people, sometimes granting them more status than they merit or just the reverse. Last week at a graduation in an affluent neighborhood I saw a tall elderly man standing as straight as an arrow. He wore a very expensive looking suit with a white handkerchief protruding from the upper suit coat pocket. His black French-toed shoes shone like glass. His subdued red tie gave him an appearance of one who had wielded power. Perhaps he still does. Even though he appeared to be in his eighties he was still very much intimidating. Wouldn’t I have been shocked to find out he was a retired college teacher? College profs cultivate a frumpy look.

I wonder how many times I have written people off when it comes to sharing Jesus with them. Underneath all the trappings of culture and class there often reside hungry souls just waiting for the Good News.

James and Paul on Law

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-26T20:19:43-04:00

In the year 2012 we are far removed from the contested battles over what letters should be included in the New Testament canon. We open our Bibles and give little thought that the book of James was contested not just for centuries but for over a millennium. It was not until Council of Trent in 1545 to 1563 that the issue was settled for the western church. Martin Luther (1483 -1546) would have been very happy to exclude this “epistle of straw.” Luther objected because he did not feel it was strong enough in presenting Jesus as our Savior. James presents the law as a “law of freedom” in contrast to Paul calling it a “law of slavery, wrath and death.” See James 1:25, 2:12 and Romans 4:15, 7:10.

It is fascinating to think of both James and Paul being correct. If one is seeking God’s favor the law falls far short because we fall far short. When Paul was Saul, he was a law keeper’s law keeper and found no joy only condemnation at his personal failures to measure up. When he became Paul, he discovered the gift of grace and the happiness of knowing eternal life was not to be earned but accepted.

However, for those of us who live in a nation of “freedom under the law” we understand an umbrella of law provides us with the freedom to live reasonably safely from those who do not have the law “written on their hearts.” If everyone were like Paul filled with the Holy Spirit we would not need black and white cars with blue lights. Paul understood grace. James understood that even with the Holy Spirit in us we often need the guidance of written law for our behavior.

Jesus is Truth

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-25T20:09:08-04:00

Truth is not just a what but a who. Paul wrote, “I know in whom I have believed and He is able.” In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am . . . the truth.” Jesus did not say, “I know the truth.” Nor did He say, “I speak about or of the truth.” It is a struggle to grasp the sheer enormity of this. He also said, “I have meat to eat that you know not of.” John 4:32. In John 14:10 Jesus said, “The Father dwells in me.” Truth in Jesus is not some abstract philosophical idea for super intellects. It is personal. Where did the galaxies come from? Hebrews 1 says, “. . . by whom He made all things.” How is it that we are so beautifully complex? Genesis 2 says, “. . . let us make man in our image.” This is personal. This is about a being and not something out of nothing.

When Jesus was with Pilate that terrible night, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” He was looking at Him. The things I think are true are so often different from the things you think are true. Note I used the word “things.” Jesus isn’t a thing. He is personal. Peter says in his second letter, “We didn’t follow cunningly devised fables. We saw with our eyes.” John wrote, “We touched Him with our hands. We touched Glory.” It doesn’t get much more personal than that.

Some of the best New Testament scholars in the world treat the story as if it were a historic tale. They talk about Jesus. When you listen you soon realize they know about Jesus. But, they don’t know Jesus. For them it isn’t personal. For them it is not a “how grand.”

The Seesaw

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-22T17:20:48-04:00

The children were having such a grand time. They both weighed nearly the same so the seesaw was balanced just right. As one went up and the other went down it dawned on me that this is the faulty formula many people practice hoping to succeed in life. In order to rise they mistakenly think they must push others down. It is much like a presidential campaign. Please don’t dare say anything good about your opponent lest you are perceived as being weak and endorsing them.

In reality when we disrespect another we disrespect ourselves. We cannot fling mud and stay clean. Rarely can we say something behind someone’s back that it does not eventually reach their ears. Life and success does not have to be a seesaw. As we lift others we also lift ourselves. The Golden Rule does work. Jesus did know what He was talking about and He should. He made us. He is the master psychologist. However, it is second nature for us to play the seesaw game. This is where we need help. When we catch ourselves indulging let’s lightly bite our tongues (we would be stupid to bite them hard) and back up and start our sentence again.

Paul tells us to be inventive in hospitality. (Romans 13:12 in The Message paraphrase.) Let’s be inventive in saying nice things about others. But we might object and say we shouldn’t lie. But when we don’t say nice things we are lying because people aren’t as bad as we make them out to be. Well, most people anyway. There are a few sociopaths around, but not very many. Most people are just like you and me. They play the seesaw game.

The Dangling Horsefly

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-21T16:42:35-04:00

Suddenly our garage door would not stay closed. Once it got to the bottom it promptly reopened. Over and over I checked to see that the light beam was properly aligned. It was. There wasn’t any stick or stone to cause the safety feature to reopen it. When it was open I did see a dead horsefly dangling overhead from a spider web filament, but thought nothing of it. After an hour or more it finally dawned on me. When the door reached the cement floor the dead horsefly was lowered just enough to dangle in the light beam and thus reopen the door. Duh! So why did it take me so long to catch on? Sometimes I am so dull. The door wasn’t broken. It was functioning the way it was designed.

Sometimes we have little peccadilloes that annoy other people and even if we know they are there, we think nothing of them. Maybe we wonder why we didn’t get a promotion we wanted and we never make the connection that we are annoying. Sometimes we have a habit of eating something we really know we shouldn’t but, “Hey, it’s nothing big.” Perhaps we make rolling stops at stop signs but, “Hey, I’m almost stopped.” They are little things that we know are there but we rarely make the connection regarding their impediment to a better life.
The process of life-long development is often paying attention to little things; stepping outside ourselves and looking at ourselves from an exterior perspective. I often wonder how God sees us since He sees and knows everything. I must confess that sometimes I wish He did not know what I was thinking. But the alternative isn’t that great. I’m glad He’s there.

No Cryptograms in the Bible

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-20T20:38:45-04:00

Just recently I have discovered the joys of cryptograms. One that I worked on this morning was a quote from Solomon. As the letters fell into place I remembered a man who was besotted with the idea that the Bible was a book of cryptic messages from God. He spent hours each week playing with numbers and the first letter of each verse in various chapters. What is fascinating is Psalm 119 is a poem where the first eight verses begin with “aleph” and the second eight verses “beth” and so on through the Hebrew alphabet. But it is not a secret code. It is a literary device and only works if you read Hebrew.

The Bible does contain mysteries. Many times Paul speaks of mysteries. See Ephesians 3 as an example. However, Paul is not speaking of secret codes. Instead Paul is overwhelmed by the wonder of God’s love and God’s selection of him to be an apostle. God’s messages to us are not hidden for the entertainment of those who enjoy puzzles.

The Bible is God doing all He can to help us understand Him and His plan of salvation. Hebrews 1 says it so clearly, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” It doesn’t get any better than that. We serve a self revealing God who is not hiding in some encrypted text. Instead He sent us Himself in His son that we might see He loves us and will indeed rescue us from ourselves.

The Blessing and Curse of Pain

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-19T21:19:02-04:00

Suddenly I discovered a brad embedded between the outer corner of my thumb and my thumbnail. The pain was exquisite. Our hands are so finely crafted with protective growing coverings. But there is a very fine vulnerable line and the piece of metal was deeply in. For a moment I had visions of prison camps. That was three days ago and I never thought much about how often I use the corner of my thumb for a multitude of tasks. Some are as simple as opening a letter or hitting the spacebar on my computer keyboard. Ouch.

Pain is an amazing gift without which we would do immense harm to ourselves. It reminds us to take our hand off the stove as quickly as possible and to wear shoes. But, it is a mixed sensation of blessing and curse. As it increases in intensity we begin to describe it with words like agony, misery, torture and anguish. It is not limited to our physical nature but is experienced mentally and emotionally. Often the only way not to feel it is to have it be overwhelmed by a worse pain elsewhere.

Jesus’ experience on the cross was such. When He cried, “Why have you forsaken me” to His Father, the horror of the spikes in His hands, His raw skinless back resulting from the beatings and the crown of thorns became irrelevant when compared to the mental anguish of paying the price for our sins. The innocent one took upon Himself the disgusting horror of our rebellion and was dying separated from the holiness of His Father. While He could never be responsible for sin, He could and did pay the consequences. His pain was far beyond the physical.

The Wall of Roses

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-18T22:09:25-04:00

We saw a lovely wall of roses this afternoon.   Yet as we drew near enough to see individual roses it became apparent that each rose by itself wasn’t that good looking. Each had been beaten by the weather and chewed on by whatever eats roses. They looked better from afar when they were part of an array of thousands of roses.   How like people. Most of us look better from afar. When we get well acquainted with people we soon see their physical, personality and character flaws.

Some years ago we invited someone to our home for dinner. Afterwards I was told he said regarding me, “He’s not the person I thought he was.”   The brief time spent with me took off the shine he thought was there. Actually, I am sure it was even worse than he thought. Alas, familiarity often does breed contempt. The lesson is if you want to keep admiring someone, keep them at arm’s length. Don’t get too close. Televisions are like that. If you get too close you see the pixels instead of a smooth picture. I just got up and went and checked to see if that is also the case with high definition television and it is still true.

There is only one person in history we can thoroughly check and not find flaws, that is Jesus. The worse thing his enemies could say was “This man eats with sinners.” He touched lepers. He befriended Roman soldiers and harlots. If “birds of a feather” was always true we could write Him off.   But wait just a minute Jesus wants also to be friends with you and me. Forget the soldiers and harlots. Being with us would be bad enough. Somehow He doesn’t mind. He loves us as we are. How grand.

Wearing Christ

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-15T19:30:48-04:00

“U.S. Olympic track and field athletes will wear uniforms at the London Summer Olympics that Nike says could shave up to 0.023 seconds off 100-meter sprint times — a difference that could have elevated Walter Dix from bronze to the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.”* SAMANTHA CRITCHELL | Associated Press

How could we not now read Romans 13:14? “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Dressing properly is very important. One does not wear a tuxedo to the beach and one would not wear a t-shirt and jeans to visit the President. Neither should one dress like that to come to worship the Lord of the Universe. But often young people do and that is something that totally amazes me. The problem is one of teaching respect and apparently the failure is ours that we have not educated our youth. However, I notice it spills out into many areas of life. Very few young people will hold a door open for an elderly lady or drop the adjective “elderly” and it is still true. I realize this is an “old people’s gripe” and most likely every generation says the same thing about the generation following them.

But back to the real issue. Dress up with Christ. With the aid of the Holy Spirit endeavor to be as much like Him as we can. Each day we should not only be polite onto others but do battle with the desires of our sinful nature. And should we soil the garment, what shall we do? Put it on again tomorrow and notice something amazing. It is clean again.

"I Didn't Know I Knew That"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-14T21:28:39-04:00

I read a great story today about the poet Southey who was so proud of the fact that he never wasted a moment. He studied Portuguese while he shaved. He translated Spanish before and during breakfast and on and on. One day a Quaker lady said to him, “Friend, when does thee do thy thinking?” I love this story because I was early educated to believe that God would hold me accountable for every waking moment. Perhaps so, but just quietly being still counts; watching the leaves move and shadows crawl across the lawn is so enriching. Earlier this week I drove 900 miles on our concrete jungle of intertwining interstates on the East Coast. There is not much time for thinking about anything other than how not to be involved in an 80 mph accident. How sweet it is to be quietly back home watching those leaves and shadows.

We must never miss the fact that God placed Eve and Adam in a garden. I wanted to use the adjective quiet but He might have put jays and mockingbirds in Eden. I am suspicious that some of you might be thinking I am now going to use, “Be still and know that I am God” so I won’t do that. There is no point in telling you something you already know. Instead I want to encourage you to put pen to paper or these days I should say fingers to keys, and write yourself a letter. “But why.” you might ask. Wouldn’t I already know everything I would write down? The answer is, “No, you don’t.” Writers often say when they are finished writing, “I didn’t know I knew that!”

Reward Cards

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-11T21:30:41-04:00

The drug store wants me to carry a rewards card so I get a discount on some things. The auto parts store wants me to carry a rewards card and so does the pizza shop, donut store, hardware store, grocery store, and barbershop. Now my wallet is already fat with a credit card, driver’s license, health care card, library card, gift card to Barnes and Noble and my AARP card for discounts of which I have yet to use after carrying it for five years. If I were to carry all those reward cards surely I would need to use a hand truck. In all fairness I must state that most of them will give me the rewards if I tell them my phone number which verifies I do have a card. I just refuse to carry it.

I unabashedly ask for my “old people’s discount” everywhere. I get my tithe back. I love rewards. It is a characteristic that strongly contributes to my following Jesus because Hebrews 11:6 clearly states, “He is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him.” I don’t have to carry a card. I don’t even have to give Him my phone number. However, I do have to diligently seek Him. But wait a minute. In Revelation 3:20 it says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Apparently I have to diligently find my way to the door. That shouldn’t be too difficult. But there is something more here. If I diligently spend time studying His word there is no doubt that the rewards are rich, satisfying and endless.

Nexium

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-08T19:58:52-04:00

If you watch any television you most likely have seen the heartburn medicine commercials that feature a female physician trying to play a violin in a string quartet or a male physician trying to use a jackhammer on a construction project. The physicians are not doing well. The voiceover says, “If you don’t want your doctor doing your job why should you be doing his?” It struck me that many of us are trying to do God’s job. We are trying to save ourselves. And we are lousy at it. Selfishness is embedded so deeply within our being that we make a dozen or so selfish decisions everyday without even being aware. Paul was a law-keeper’s law-keeper and he finally cries out, “Who will rescue me from me?”

Romans 7, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” If Paul couldn’t do it, neither can we.

Many of Jesus’ parables were stories about things people saw every day. The genius behind this was each time they saw those things they were reminded of His teaching. Since most of us see many commercials it would not be surprising if Jesus was physically among us that He would tell parables based on television commercials. I am hoping the next time you see a Nexium advertisement you will remember that Jesus is our savior and we don’t have to do it ourselves.

The Inner Kingdom

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-07T21:44:52-04:00

Luke 17:20 -21, “When he (Jesus) was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Jesus also said in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Hebrew nation was waiting for the establishment of a political kingdom with the overthrow of the Romans. For them God’s Kingdom was not yet. For many Christians today there is the expectation of a physical kingdom established in the future. For them God’s Kingdom is not yet. Two thousand years ago John the Baptist preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Was he, the one Jesus declared to be the greatest of all the prophets, wrong? It seems not. God’s Kingdom is not only something in a future time and place, it is also a present experience. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we share with God the glories of His presence. There is security, hope becomes a present reality, guilt is taken away, eternal life begins, spiritual understanding grows, compassion for others takes root and flourishes, self is nourished as it recognizes its value by looking at the cross, creativity blooms, intellect expands, patience becomes a mainstay, and our love encompasses those who do not love us.

Contrary to what many television evangelists teach this does not necessarily include bigger bank accounts. The real Gospel of Prosperity is the prosperity of the soul. Are we looking for the Kingdom of God? With a heart open to God let us look in the mirror.

Living on a Leash

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-06T19:47:44-04:00

I watched a lady this afternoon walking her toddler. He was on a leash, just like a dog. At first I mentally objected but the longer I thought about it, it seemed like a really good idea. He might as well get used to it because he will be on a leash all of his life. While we think we are big people making decisions for ourselves, reality is most of our decisions are made for us. When we are children our parents tell us what to do. When we are teens our peers collectively tell us how to dress and what music to like. Our teachers tell us what to read and our churches tell us how to behave. As adults society tells us how fast we can drive and politicians tell us what to think. We are acculturated and the New York Times tells us what books to read. People in Russia get up in the morning and watch “The Today Show.” Teens in Iraq, Iran and Panama all watch the same programs made in the USA and beamed to them by satellites. Everyone wants a pair of jeans. The world is becoming homogenized. We sometimes wonder why the ayatollahs hate us. They recognize they are losing their youth to western culture. Our young people aren’t watching television programs from Baghdad.

I sincerely believe that God has a dream for us to ultimately be off the leash. He created us in His image with incredible minds to think, create and discover. Eternal life is about freedom to think and do. Please read Galatians 5. The only restriction in God’s Kingdom is to do no harm. There is but one law and it is golden.

Dystopia

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-05T19:39:28-04:00

Yesterday we were talking about the National Spelling Bee and uncommon words so I thought “dystopia” is a word we should know. We all know “utopia” an imaginary place where everything is perfect. “Dystopia” is just the opposite. It is an imaginary place where everything is dysfunctional like Lucifer’s kingdom.

I was tempted to say that this world is dystopia. If I focus on the world and local news things don’t look very good. If I listen to the politicians trying to get our votes, things seem horrible. And of course each one is the solution if we believe what they say. But there is another side to our world. There are flowers, warblers, vistas and a whole array of truly beautiful things to capture our attention. This is my Father’s world.

And there is the dilemma. Is this my Father’s world or is this Dystopia? It seems that it can be either depending upon our focus. This is a world filled with suicide bombers and missile-laden drones firing out of the sky like lightning. The world is filled with good people who daily sacrifice for the benefit of others. The world is filled with sadistic psychotics. It would be easy to go on listing examples of the dichotomy in which we live. That would be useless because we know both are here. Whatever we look for we will find. There is a plethora of either. Jesus knew very much of what He spoke when He said, “Seek and you will find.” The quality of our lives is the fruit of our choices. If one wishes to live in a dystopia, it’s here. If one wishes to live in our Father’s world. It too is here.

The National Spelling Bee

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-04T20:54:17-04:00

Can you spell “chionablepsia?” How about “schwanoma?” Now you can because you can see the words. However, if you were a contestant last Thursday evening at the National Spelling Bee you would not have had the luxury of seeing them. You would have only heard the words from the official pronouncer. The first word means snow blindness and the second means a benign nerve sheath tumor. It was remarkable to watch these brilliant children, no older than 14, make 99% of us look stupid. I would not want to play Scrabble with any of the fifty contestants. It certainly inspired me to be a better student and to be more aware of words.

However, one soon learns the quest is rewarding but never satisfied. Solomon wrote, “My child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.” There needs to be balance in our lives. Study and play, worship and exercise, sleep and family time, work and vacation are all needed for a good life. Furthermore, we need to remember we have eternity to study. Sometime in the far flung eons of time you and I will be reading and writing essays that will make Einstein’s work kindergarten material.

Our goal right now is to be sure to seize the opportunity for such a future. Be sure to accept the gift offered to us by Jesus and the vastness of space and time and knowledge will be ours. The incredible Teddy Roosevelt, multi-learned man, wrote, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” He wasn’t putting down on college. He was reminding us not to forget the best.

The Real Wonder Bread

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-06-01T12:50:46-04:00

Long I stood in the bread aisle of our supermarket. There was multigrain bread, oat bread, flax bread, whole wheat bread, white bread, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, raisin bread and cinnamon bread. But what I wanted was Wonder Bread. Enough with the healthy bread, I wanted bread you could squeeze into a ball and bounce off the wall. When I was a kid watching the Howdy Doody Show, Buffalo Bob told us Wonder Bread advertised that it built strong bodies in eight ways. Later it became twelve ways. It has been decades since I have had a piece of Wonder Bread. It now sits in my pantry awaiting the right moment. I am trying to decide if it will be with PB&J or lettuce, tomato and fake bacon.

Jesus made several references to bread. He actually called Himself “The Bread of Life.” Jesus is “The Real Wonder Bread” He builds healthy bodies in 10,000 ways. He also talked about yeast and how pervasive it can be. He warned His disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees. Often I have seen congregations infected with the yeast of works. They are fed a diet of grace and along comes a smooth talking preacher who so subtly and probably ignorantly talks about grace and then adds the poisonous word “but”. Beware of the word “but.” It comes like this, “We are saved by grace, but …” It works its destructive force so subtly we barely notice it. A dear friend of mine recently said, “I am so afraid I will be lost for one little sin I don’t know about.” Ouch! I wanted to cry.

Jesus is the wholesome Bread of Life. He nourishes. He sustains. He gives us life evermore.

He Had Character

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-31T17:55:40-04:00

I am sitting here drooling over a picture of a 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby CT 500. It has 650-horsepower, will top 200 mph and will do zero to 60 in 4 seconds. It is deep red with black strips. It is gorgeous. It is a long way from the 1964 1/2 Mustang we had in 1964. Now some of you are asking, “Why would you want something like that?” And the answer is “you are obviously not a guy.” This is a heart-pounder for anyone who shaves or will someday shave his chin.

But how would I use it? Where can one drive 200 mph other than in Wyoming and that’s a long way from Massachusetts. One could have great fun at traffic lights embarrassing every teenager in his wannabe. It’s an ego thing for an old guy.

Often I have prayed for great spiritual power. But how would I use it? The correct answer should be to win hundreds of thousands for Jesus. The real answer would most likely be to feed my ego that “I was God’s man of the hour.” I could pretend to be humble and do the talk show circuit, but would most likely come to ruin and eternal loss loving all the attention and the limelight of the networks.

With great privilege (power) comes great responsibility. Great responsibility needs great character. Jesus always used His power for others. While He said He could have called thousands of angels to come to His side, instead He touched lepers and blind people. He would never have done what I would do and figure out how to get a 650-horsepower chariot. He walked. He went into solitary places where He could spend time with His Father. He had (has) character.

Multiple Calls

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-30T19:58:43-04:00

We had a great problem this evening. While talking with one of our sons in New York on our land line our other son in California called on our mobile phone. It’s a good thing God gave us two ears. Actually it was an amazingly easy problem to solve. But it did get me thinking about God receiving our calls. Just what does He do when not two, but two hundred million of His sons and daughters call at the same time? Does He have to put us in line according to the priority of our needs? When I just want to talk and He gets a call from someone in a dire emergency does He have to put me on hold? Of course I know better.

Psalm 91:15 promises, “He will call upon me and I will answer.” There is no hold with angels providing the elevator music so we know we haven’t been disconnected. There is no “if you speak Spanish press one.” There is no menu. “If you are calling for forgiveness, press 3. If you are calling because you are ill, press 4. If you are calling on behalf of someone other than yourself, press 9.”

Something more amazing than getting instant answers is the promise of Isaiah 65:24, “Before you call I will answer.” That’s great, but does raise the question, “Why bother to call? He knows. He loves. He answers.” We don’t call to inform Him. We call because we need the personal interaction. It feeds our souls and reinforces our human need for fellowship. The next time you call comprehend the miracle of it all. He is interacting with you, one on one, at the very same time He is doing the same with five hundred million others not even from our planet.

Normal Schools

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-29T19:40:54-04:00

We live on top of James Carter Hill. No not Jimmy Carter. We don’t live in Georgia. (We used to and another story for another day is when my wife rounded a corner and barely missed running over Jimmy Carter’s son.) At the bottom of our hill here in Massachusetts there is a small memorial stone noting this historic place. In 1838 James Carter was responsible for urging the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pass legislation establishing a normal school. (We wish all the states would have schools as normal as those in Massachusetts since our children rank third, not in the country, but in the world in science and math scores.) However, that is not the use of the word normal in relationship to James Carter. A normal school was a school designed to train teachers. Mr. Carter would be happy to know that two teachers, who used to teach in the Education (Teacher Training) Department at Atlantic Union College and now at Fitchburg State University, reside on his hill.

They were called normal schools from the Latin word “norma” meaning “model.” Model schools were supposed to produce excellent students who became model teachers. Wouldn’t it be grand if “model” was normal? What if all our normal children were model children and all the normal people around us were model neighbors and model citizens. What if all normal church members were model Christians? Alas, that is way too much to hope for. Actually, that’s okay that we are not. We, being normal, are a hodgepodge group of sinners, each at a different stage of development. Just as there is no one size tree in the forest so there is no Christian like another. Variety is indeed the spice of life.

Yet Beyond Our Horizon

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-28T18:23:14-04:00

In Romans 1 Paul speaks of knowing God by seeing the things He has made. In Hebrews 1 he speaks of knowing God through the ultimate revelation – Jesus. In Ezekiel 36 we read, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” God in nature – the Father, God in history - Jesus, God within us – the Holy Spirit.

The concept of a Trinity taunts our finite intellects and reminds us of our limitations. Our feeble attempts at a cogent explanation fall so short we have invited unbelievers to accuse us of polytheism, of which we are not. The problem is our inability to see through Paul’s dark glass. God is a revealer of Himself and in His good wisdom He has chosen to remain a mystery. While He could He has not removed grounds for doubt. There must be something to be gained by intellectually grabbling with His existence, the nature of His being, and His purposes to be a good God and yet tolerate acts of despicable horror on earth. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrew 11:6

Does growth only come at the expense of careful exploration of ideas so near to understanding that we are motivated to stretch just a bit more and thus receive the rewards promised above? Is one of life’s great joys the discovery process? If God answered all our questions, would that turn us into nothing other than intellectual rubber stamps. Jesus promised us in the Sermon on the Mount that we will see God, but somehow I think there will always be something just beyond the horizon of our thoughts.

The Panic Button

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-25T22:31:43-04:00

What witchdoctor decided it was advantageous to stick one’s head into a small dark box and beat on it with sledgehammers? I refer of course to an MRI or magnetic resonance imaging. A few weeks ago this happened to me for thirty minutes. The top of the box was about an inch from my nose. There was no music, just the sadistic voice of the operator who would occasionally stop the pounding to announce to me three more minutes. After which he announced eight more minutes and then five, etc. He gave me a panic button which he promised if I pressed it he would immediately extract me. But my manhood was at stake. How could I press the button and declare that I was a wimp? For thirty minutes I kept my eyes closed and took journeys to the beaches of Mombasa, I climbed Mt. Shasta and spent an evening enjoying The Nutcracker in Atlanta, Ga.

What a marvelous mind we have. With enough determination and concentration we can bear almost anything. In no way do I even begin to hint that having an MRI is anything like what Jesus endured. But in that box I did think of Hebrews 12:2. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross. . .” There it is. This was why Jesus did not press the panic button. He could have. He said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:52. And what was that joy? It was having you and me with Him for eternity. Awesome!

An Outrageous Story

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-23T22:11:35-04:00

While waiting for my wife to select the perfect potatoes from the mound of potatoes in the grocery store my eye caught a beautiful sliced in half watermelon. There it was lusciously red and juicily smiling at me from under its clear plastic wrap. I was tempted until I saw the $7.99 price. Obviously the grocer also thought it was tempting. But really now sixteen dollars for a watermelon!

I tried once to tell one of my grad classes about being a boy and going to the Giant Supermarket where there were a hundred or so watermelons stacked inside the door. There was a large knife on the pile and before you purchased one you could plug it and taste it. If it didn’t suit your palate it was tossed aside. They were ninety-eight cents apiece. I could tell from their expressions they did not believe me. How could anything so outrageous really have been?

The Gospel is like that. It is an outrageous story. The universe is filled with a billion galaxies. Why would a Creator of such wonder come here to save us? It sounds so provincial. Surely it is the product of our ego-centricity. We begin the story with our being made in the Creator’s image. Really? The story begins focused on our conceit and it gets far more worse when we get to the cross. Just who in the universe do we think we are? In Romans and Galatians Paul tries to tell us we are the adopted sons of that Creator, princes and princesses destined to, according to John, sit with Him in His very own throne.

It is no wonder so many don’t believe us. It is just too wonderful. But as surely as I watched my dad plug watermelons at the Giant so will our heavenly Father fulfill His promises to us.

To Do Justice

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-22T18:13:03-04:00

We have been very blessed with a rich array of birdlife around our home. We have a pair of wrens nesting in a box by our patio. Goldfinches and hummingbirds decorate the view outside our window. However, yesterday morning a wood thrush and one of the wrens decided to wake up the world at 4:15 A.M. This morning a cardinal made it a trio. I don’t want to sound like an old humbug but as lovely as they sound, 4:15 A.M. is not appropriate at all. Solomon said it so well in Ecclesiastes 3. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: . .” Not outside my open window at 4:15.

In Ecclesiastes 3 Solomon has challenged ethicists, moralists and the rest of the thinking world with “There is a time to kill.” “A time to love, and a time to hate.” “A time for war.” Someone might ask but what about “Thou shall not kill.” It does appear that God would, instead of having us act like robots, have us think and ponder justice. Laws are but simplified expressions of principles. To live by principles often requires agonized hours of decision making. How easy life would be (and how wrong life would be) if all we had to do is blindly follow statutes in stone.

“To everything there is a season.” “God hates lying lips.” Yet, we lionize with honor those who saved the lives of thousands in Europe during World War II. Those lives were saved by the use of many lies. When God made us in His image He gave us minds, minds to ponder, minds to, with His help, do that which is loving, fair and just.

Nose Art

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-21T18:06:19-04:00

There is so much truth in the axiom that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This afternoon my wife destroyed some of the most beautiful art I have ever possessed. She washed the inside of the windows of our car. She destroyed fantastic nose art painted by my beautiful black lab. Those windows were covered with wet nose prints unduplicated anywhere in the world. It was like setting fire to a Rembrandt. Alas. They are gone. However, I still have the artist and we are going for a ride! Speaking of going for a ride, last week we stopped at a Dairy Queen and the artist got a baby cone. Does anyone know if dogs get brain-freeze?

My wife thinks I’m crazy. I wonder if Satan thinks God is crazy. God actually thinks we, you and I, are beautiful. How can that be? I know a few people who are so very good looking I could almost understand the “made in His image” thing. But really now. Most of us are pretty common looking. It isn’t till we get to know a common looking person that they become beautiful. It’s in the “eye of the beholder” thing.

Then there is the aging process. The only reason I would ever choose to go to a high school class reunion is to comfort myself that everyone else also looks pretty bad. Which brings me back to our Heavenly Father who loves us when we are babies, teens (wow – really), young parents and finally grands. There is no other religion in the world with such a wonderful message. God so loved the world. God so loved you and me. How grand.

Identity

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-18T18:10:54-04:00

Thursday evening my wife was standing in a line of faculty waiting to enter an auditorium for a summer graduation, when the lady behind her said with an air of superiority, “I got my doctorate at U.C. Berkeley. Where did you get yours?” “U.C. Berkeley,” said my wife. You could almost hear the hiss as the air went out of the woman’s balloon. So much for being special. You just have to love people.

Last week while at my infusion clinic I stopped to give a word of encouragement to a newly diagnosed leukemia patient. As I told her I had been diagnosed 5 years ago and she could look forward to many more years of life, she had to tell me she was a doctor, academic not medical. I merely smiled. Was that really important for her to share? I guess so or she wouldn’t have done so. How about I’m a mother or a grandmother? Those are so much more important. But maybe that was all she had. If so I am very sorry because we are a dime a dozen. All it really means is we have spent more time and more money in school than others. It doesn’t make us smarter, just more focused on one thing.

Since I have never met a prince I wonder if they have to make sure we know? Since I am prince of the King of the Universe, maybe I ought to begin making sure people know that when I’m introduced. But that is so “In your face.” Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” If I have to tell you I’m a Christian I must not be much of a Christian.

Of Awards and Crowns

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-17T21:15:46-04:00

On May 16, 2012 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery and courage in action in Cambodia in 1970. The passage of time never diminishes gallantry and honor. Receiving an award and recognition is a heady experience. Watch the expressions on the faces of Oscar winners. How much more so it must be to be honored for bravery in the face of extreme danger.

Paul looked forward to receiving his reward. He wrote to Timothy, “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” One thing Paul knew for sure was his crown was a gift. In Romans he clearly speaks of his continual struggle with sin. His crown, our crown, is not something he or we have earned.

Have you ever received an award that you knew you did not deserve? In 1963 in college I won an oratorical contest. I was delighted because I very much needed the one hundred dollar prize. However, it was tainted. Another contestant was better than I was. I knew it and he knew it. This brings me to the crown of which Paul speaks. We don’t deserve it. Yet, it will not be tainted because we all know the worthy One wants us to have it. We all know that Jesus is the one worthy. We are the recipients of His love. When a gift comes from and with love it is forever special. His gracious gift to us does not take from Him but only adds to the illustriousness of His person.

Stereotypes and PC

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-16T20:00:34-04:00

We live in the age of being politically correct - PC for short. One of the understood rules of being PC is not to stereotype people. Each person is an individual with a unique character. The worn out axiom “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a good rule to guide our social behavior. However, there is another side to the issue. Stereotypes develop because the people in certain groups do copy each other. We learn our speech patterns, manners and behaviors from the people around us. Native Bostonians have a particular sound as do Mainers, Canadians, and people from the Great Lakes Region.

Marketers are successful if they pay attention to demographics. If you watch the 6:30 evening news on any one of the major networks, you have to notice that most of the commercials are aimed at older people. One medicine after another is hawked for its potency. These ads are mixed with a few spots by investment companies telling us how to prepare for retirement. I doubt if these are the ads that run on the Disney Channel.

It’s true that each of us comes with cultural luggage and we should celebrate it. It is important to belong and not be alone. We live in a land that celebrates individuality. That’s great. However, no one exists in a vacuum. We can only be successful if we acknowledge that we build on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. There is no such thing as a self-made person. That is a myth that plays to our pride. Now that I have said this I have to admit that I grew up singing the song Dare to Be a Daniel. Some of the words of which are “Dare to stand alone.”

Stale Bread

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-16T19:10:29-04:00

When we go grocery shopping my wife and I always buy a loaf of bread. I am not sure when we got a loaf ahead. But the new loaf cannot be used until the old loaf is gone. That means this week we will eat last week’s bread while this week’s bread will wait until next week to be consumed. The end result is we are always eating semi-stale bread, while the fresh bread ages in the cupboard. Couldn’t we, instead of eating the semi-stale bread, put it out for the birds? We must have inherited this compulsion to be frugal from our parents who lived through the Great Depression.

One of the many remarkable things about Scripture is there is never a need to read stale stuff. Because God’s Word is imbued with His Spirit, who knows us better than we know ourselves, God is able to continually feed us fresh ideas. One could spend their entire life just feeding off the Gospels and still be overwhelmed by the story of God’s love for us. However, in addition to that we have the wonders of the Psalms and the wisdom and humor of the Proverbs. Romans, Galatians, Colossians and Ephesus can challenge the greatest of scholars no matter how many doctorates they have accumulated. It is like a spring of fresh water, each time you come there is new water.

What would grow stale is rereading these devotionals. I am delighted to know that people read them once. My point is not to denigrate myself but to point out if all we do is listen to another person’s sermons or read their books we are reading second hand material. The really fresh bread is in Scripture.

Gracious Words

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-15T22:14:40-04:00

Luke 4:22 reads regarding Jesus, “(They) were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” The Jews were so sure they were the chosen people there was no room for others in God’s Kingdom. It was often said the gentiles were born to be fuel for the fires of hell. It was Sabbath and Jesus was in the synagogue in his hometown. The gracious words Jesus spoke were words of grace for the surrounding nations. He spoke of Elijah with the widow in Sidon and Elisha healing Nathan, a Syrian. It was a radical idea that God’s grace might be extended beyond their closed world. It was so foreign they became so angry they tried to hurl Him off a cliff. How could God love anyone but them?

Paul became the apostle to the gentiles. In order for that to happen not only did God have to knock him off his horse but also had to reeducate him at the expense of three years of study in Arabia. It is most difficult to unlearn the myths of our childhood.

It seems that for us to be like Jesus we also need to amaze people with our gracious words. It is easy to be gracious when others around us are also being nice. The challenge is to be gracious when we are not being treated so kindly. To be gracious when others are taking advantage of us is beyond a challenge. At least it is for me. But when we are gracious it is amazing, both to others and probably to us. When Herod was mocking Jesus, dressing Him in an old royal robe and crowning Him with thorns, Jesus never said a word. Amazing.

Fly at My Window

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-14T18:59:20-04:00

There is a fly at my window. He can’t get out. He must be puzzled. He can see the outside. There are trees, azaleas, blue sky and squirrels right in front of him, but try as he might he can’t get to them. There is this invisible barrier that keeps him from buzzing off to freedom. He is so much like us. In First Corinthians 13 Paul tells us we see through a glass darkly. So the fly is better off than we. His glass is transparent. God has shared so much of Himself to us. Yet there are still so many questions, so many mysteries. Sometimes we think we almost grasp some eternal truth only to have it fade back into our pool of unanswered questions.

Jesus once said to His disciples, “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now.” John 16:12. It was their last night together. He would be dead the next brutal day. They were struggling with their dream of a physical kingdom. He wanted them to understand the bigger picture. I am not so sure we are much different than they. When we speak of heaven we speak in such physical terms. But there is much beyond the physical. The physical is only a part of our being. We are also spiritual beings. It is there so many of the unanswered questions reside. What does it mean to be the temple of the Holy Spirit? Why the necessity for so much suffering? What is eternity and what does it mean to never stop growing? How far away is heaven? Is it light years from here or already here in another dimension? How can I live according to the Sermon on the Mount?

We are flies desperately trying to be free. See Galatians 5.

Our Neighborhood Thief

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-11T19:17:51-04:00

We have a thief in our neighborhood. While I have not seen him, each morning I see what he has taken and I think he wears a Lone Ranger mask. Each night he carefully opens our bird suet basket and carries off the suet and seed cake. I hope he is storing this and not eating it. If he is eating it surely his arteries will plug up sometime this coming weekend and Mrs. Coon will have to call 911. I think I will leave my cell phone out for them. They are going to need it.

Which brings me to the issue of how well we take care of ourselves. Last week I commented to my oncologist that I never smoked, never drank alcohol and have been a veggie most of my life and yet I have Leukemia. I loved his response which was, “And that is why you are still alive.”
In the Old Testament God gave the children of Israel some very specific dietary laws. Don’t eat this and that. God gave them these instructions because He is the Creator. He knows what is good fuel and what is not, just as the manufacturer of our cars tell us what octane fuel works best for our specific car. Unfortunately the children of Israel turned them into taboos instead of what God wanted them to be. They turned them into tickets to heaven. Do and live abundantly.

Paul also reminds us in I Corinthians that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and just as we would not defile and destroy our house of worship so we have an even greater responsibility to care for our bodies the best we can.

Me First

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-10T20:41:09-04:00

There were a few people waiting for the elevator to arrive when a small group of young people suddenly appeared and pushed their way to the front and rushed in as soon as the doors opened. I had to smugly smile to myself as I got on last. They were now trapped in the rear while I was first to get off. “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”

For many it always is “Me first.” I get the same smug feeling when someone cuts me off in his car as he rushes ahead only to be stopped by a traffic light. As I pull up alongside and once again he leaps forward only to have me slowly pull up alongside at the next light, I want to look and laugh. So the question is “Who has the problem?” Is it he or me or both of us? Do I have the same “Me first” complex? Is it just that I have learned to play the game a bit more wisely? Perhaps the issue is my smugness. The human heart is a deceitful thing. Perhaps we never get better just more subtle. We just learn to play the game.

Paul’s words in Romans 7 bounce about in my mind, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” I am so thankful he answers his question in Romans 8.

We Humans are Strange

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-09T20:12:36-04:00

It’s a funny thing about human beings. If we hear one hundred positive compliments and just one negative comment, we will obsess over the one. Tell someone you love them many times but just once say you don’t, it will be almost impossible to convince them that you do. Tell a child they are stupid and it will mold their self-image and they will most often not try challenging tasks. They will concede to the negative. Perhaps it is easier to take that course than trying hard. I am talking about most of us. There is the reverse response in some who will say, “I’ll show them.” But they are far outnumbered by the first group.

Perhaps we are our own worst enemy because we know our own dirt. No other human can more accurately accuse us than us. Sometimes we try to honey coat our faults and make excuses but deep down inside we know the truth. We choose.

This is why it is so difficult to get people to accept the Good News. Jesus loves us. He will forgive us. He will help us improve and overcome. That’s a message for others but not for “me.” But it is for each of us. Despite the fact that God knows the truth about you and me He cares for us as a father loves his errant child. I believe the prodigal son’s father always knew the whereabouts of his son. He was rich. He could pay people to report. How thrilled he was when he heard his son had started home. And when his son tried to tell him all his wrongs the father would not listen. All that mattered was his son was home.

Banners

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-08T20:59:07-04:00

The hospital I was in is on a hill. I was on the fifth floor looking out over a still darkened city. Dawn approached and little by little the shapes of church steeples, domed buildings and electronic towers crept out of the night. Suddenly a beam of morning sun caught a star spangled banner flying high in the midst of the soon to be busy city. It was magic. That cloth flag illuminated as if it were neon. There against the dark backdrop was this brilliant symbol of the ideals of a land for everyone to speak and think and worship as they may. That magical moment was the highlight of my day.

How could I not think of Song of Solomon 2:4 which wonderfully proclaims His banner over me is love. For thousands of years peoples, armies, churches, and nations have used banners to proclaim their identity. During the Civil War each side bravely carried their flag into battle. During one of the battles in Virginia the Union flag was held high by five different men. As each man fell another brave soul raced to retrieve the banner to hold high.

Is it possible to think of any banner for God’s government than love? His banner over us is love. Love displays itself by its behavior. John 3:16-17 says it all in regards to God’s behavior. He withheld nothing in order to redeem us. Jesus was the most valuable gift ever conceived. He was the Creator. The idea that such a being who is responsible for unnumbered galaxies should voluntarily experience the Cross has to be true for who could invent an idea so outrageous. His flag over us is love.

The Feeder

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-05-07T21:09:50-04:00

One of the heroes of the past weeks for me was a wonderful Greek lady who was determined to find something I would eat. Swallowing was very painful, so days went by without my eating. Three times a day she came to talk about food, any food that sounding tempting. Meal after meal she got me what I wanted only to see it go untouched. She would not give up. Finally she found something soothing that I could drink. She was amazingly patient and persistent.

The analogy here jumps off the page. Of all the miracles Jesus performed the feeding of the 5000 is the only one mentioned in all four Gospels. The Messiah was to feed His people. I am amazed that the resurrection of Lazarus, a man dead for over three days, is only mentioned in the Gospel of John.

Jesus has a nourishing message of hope and life and His challenge is to find ways to make that message palatable for each of us. Just as we have different physical tastes so we have different spiritual tastes. As each of us is unique so is the necessity of making the appeal unique. What touches the heart of one means little to another. So it is that we have an all knowing God who alters the appeal to fit the person. The miracle of Pentecost and languages was not so much the disciples speaking French and German as much as the miracle of ears. People heard, were fed, what appealed to them.

Impressive

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-17T20:43:14-04:00

Maybe I am being less sophisticated as I near my three score and ten but events of these last few days have really impressed me. I was duly impressed that there were 135 tornados in less than 24 hours in the Midwest. Eighteen elite runners in the Boston Marathon were briefly hospitalized because of the day’s record heat. Over 1200 people were rescued. In the midst of that heat local military cadets in full battle dress with 35 pound packs marched the 26 miles in that heat to finish in 3 hours. When their commander was asked if he was impressed he responded, “Somewhat.”   Last fall my wife put her outdoor goldfish in a closed container in a corner of the garage. This morning she opened it to find a batch of very healthy fish ready to go outside.

I could add to my day’s list by setting up a telescope this evening and peer out from earth to the wonders of our Father’s house and plunge my mind into the heart of Andromeda.   I could remind myself that my wife has kept me for 50 years. All of these things really impress me.

I am impressed by Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, . . .”   Really?   Now that is more impressive than the entire list above. It is more impressive than any list any of us could write because the power of God’s love and grace totally overpowers everything. In Ephesians 3 Paul wrote, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, . . .” Impressive. Very impressive.

Marathon Day

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-16T20:02:46-04:00

It is Boston Marathon Day. World Class, elite runners are gathering from all over the planet. However, because the temperature will be near 90 degrees and for the first time in 116 years officials are advising many not to run and to defer their applications fees until next year. Over 1,000 people have been trained in the art of CPR and will be stationed along the route from Hopkinton to the finish line in the city.   In 2007 in Chicago when the temperature hit the mid-eighties the race was stopped at 3.5 hours. It was just too dangerous.   However, the winners will cross the finish line in just over 2 hours.

Racing is as old as people. Who is the fastest is something we want to know. It drives us. In New Testament times reference is made to crowns that fade. For a short time it sits on top of the winner’s head but is very short lived.   In Boston in 2011 there was $806,000 prize money to be awarded so the motivation is a bit more than just olive leaves.

Lest we feel left out because our physical prowess does not rank us in the money winners there is another crown waiting for us. Paul wrote, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” I Corinthians 9:25 and Peter wrote, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” I Peter 5:4.   In Christ we are more than conquerors. What great verses!

No Plug Needed

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-12T21:46:00-04:00

I know I am going to regret sharing this story with you but what would life be without suspense. I received an email from my sister telling me she couldn’t call me because her phone wasn’t working. Today I heard the rest of the story from my other sister. It seems because her phone wasn’t working her daughter purchased her another only to discover when exchanging the phones that the old one was just fine. It just wasn’t plugged in! As a dutiful, caring brother I have no comment whatsoever.

At first I was going to use this as an analogy that for us to be able to contact God we have to stay plugged in. However, on second thought I can’t do that. God is always there. No prior contact needed. No plug ins necessary because whether we are aware or not, He is listening. There is no 3 G, no 4 G or cloud needed. Jonah was well out of service range when in that giant fish, but God was in there with him. If you ever feel that your prayers bounce off the ceiling that’s okay because He’s already in the same room with you.

“While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” Jeremiah 33

Don’t you love that promise? Once you start talking to Him He will tell you great and unsearchable things. I can’t wait.

Oops!

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-11T20:13:31-04:00

My wife just asked me if today she told me she loved me. Let’s see. I had clean clothes to put on this morning. Breakfast was ready for me when I came downstairs. She drove me to a doctor’s appointment and sat with me for an hour. She filled the bird feeders so I could enjoy the Goldfinches already in all of their summer splendor. I just finished a great supper she prepared. I don’t actually recall hearing the words but she told me over and over and over. There is a song in our church hymnal that ends with “How much do I love thee my actions do show.”

One of Jesus’ stories was about a father who asked his sons for help. One said, “Sure, Dad.” But he never did anything. His other son said, “Sorry, Dad. No way.” But after leaving he had second thoughts and went and did what his father wanted. Matthew 21. This is so plain there is no need for an explanation. Love shows. Love grows.

Jesus also said, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me.”

Now that I have said all this, I have to confess while fruit is nice, words are so sweet to hear. Oops – she just reminded me that she had on the way to the doctor. Uh-oh.

Walking

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-10T18:18:27-04:00

This past weekend my granddaughter was off from college and spent the weekend with her two old grateful grandparents. Saturday evening we went for a walk. The weather was truly delightful. My granddaughter commented on how strong the dog looked and how hard could she pull. So I handed her the leash thinking she would get quite a workout. I cautioned her as I remember many years ago I handed my sister a leash connected to a much smaller lab. That experience ended with my sister’s face on the ground. But this time it was completely different. My present lab just stopped walking. She gave me a very pitiful look as if to say, “What did I do wrong? Don’t you love me?” The walk would not continue until I took back the leash.

In John 1 Andrew first found Jesus and immediately began to follow Jesus. On that fateful day he couldn’t even begin to imagine what he would see and hear in the coming months and years. He went from the ecstasy of seeing Jesus and his very own brother walking on water to the raising Lazarus from the dead. He went from the confusion of seeing Jesus’ relatives trying to throw Jesus over a cliff to the hatred of the establishment. He went from Jesus’ cross to his very own death on a cross. One should pause before quickly choosing to follow someone. The consequences are most often eternal.

My loving lab would only walk if connected to who she thought was the right person. In her case it was a matter of loyalty and I imagine that should also be our reason for walking with Jesus. However, I was thinking the reason should be, it’s the smart thing to do.

The Fight

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-09T20:58:11-04:00

Student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt. Student loans have filled me with mixed feelings through the years. While it has opened the education door for many who otherwise couldn’t attend college, it has also burdened graduates with mortgage size debts before they ever have their first jobs. Something else that bothered me through the years is too many students flippantly borrowed as if there never was going to be a day of reckoning. That flippant attitude then spilled over into a lack appreciation for the education itself. Often times we only value things for which we have worked. I have seen parents give cars to their children only to see nice cars quickly trashed. I have often advocated that loan moneys must be matched with wages from work study programs.

So why am I speaking of this? Occasionally I hear people speak of cheap grace. Jesus saves. Eternal life is a gift. Is there a problem that humans do not appreciate that for which they have not worked? Maybe this is why so many churches have developed works theologies? Paul wrote to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight. I finished the race. I have kept the faith.” So there is some kind of battle. It isn’t accepting the gift and going on with life as usual. There is something else involved. One issue is character development. The obligation of love draws us to be like our Savior. Another issue is to continue to abide in grace. If one has come from a works environment such as Paul there is this constant lure, a pull back to the theology of the past because the story of grace seems way too good to be true. Keeping the faith for Paul was just that. Hang on. Don’t get sucked back in.

Margaret

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-05T09:26:44-04:00

I have no idea why I thought of Margaret just now. I haven’t seen Margaret since fourth grade. She was taller than the rest of us and sat in the back left hand corner. Every day Margaret wore the same faded simple cotton dress. Perhaps that’s why she sat where she did for the room steam radiator was there. Winters can be cold in Pennsylvania especially when she had no socks, just a bad looking pair of boy’s shoes on ends of her pencil legs. Today Social Services would intervene but this was sixty years ago. Her long unkept hair was extremely unattractive. Some of the kids called her “Cooties.” I don’t think I ever did. But neither did I tell the others to stop. We can be most cruel.

When Christmas came we drew names out of a hat for a present exchange. I think the teacher brought a present for Margaret to exchange. We were all high as kites the afternoon before Christmas break. Most likely it was a sugar high from all the sand tarts. The room was electric when two little girls started passing out the presents. Then our eyes grew large as something wonderful started happening in the back left hand corner. Margaret got one present and then another and then another and then another. They just kept piling up. As my fading memory can recall there were thirty children in the room and Margaret received over twenty-five presents. The teacher took her home so she didn’t have to try to ride the bus.

I also remember that for the rest of the school year no one ever again called her “Cooties.” Every once in a while something happens to tell us that humans aren’t all bad. How I would love to know where she is today.

Give Up

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-04T21:08:03-04:00

Dagwood Bumstead and I have a common interest in life. We love naps. Also like his dog Daisy who comes and awakens him, I can be completely unconscious on the couch when I feel hot breath enveloping my space. I have learned not to open an eye, not even to peek. From six inches away she stares waiting for the slightest flicker of an eyelid. To flicker is to get a gigantic red tongue swash over my nose and mouth. Yuk. This is followed by 100 pounds of nuzzling and cuddling and pushing. The nap is over.

In 1893 Francis Thompson first published his poem “The Hound of Heaven.” God is the relentless hound that once on our trail with His gift of grace, continues the pursuit. From inches away He watches us, waiting for the faintest flicker of an eye or raising of our brows. Any signal that the time is right will be capitalized upon. We can’t run away. Jonah tried. Psalm 139 reads, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

If you have felt the nearness of His pursuit, give up. I promise you He will not. He is extremely patient.

By the way if you ever have the opportunity to hold a lab’s ear lightly crunched in your hand, do it. It is one of the softest things you will ever hold.

For a Limited Time Only

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-03T20:59:40-04:00

Don’t you just love it when television commercials, for whatever product, inform us their offer is for a limited time only? Just how dull do they think we are? Of course it is for a limited time only. Everything is for a limited time only. When we are born “for a limited time only” should be printed on our birth certificates. Even the rock of Gibraltar is there for a limited time. One would have to be very unobservant if one looked at a map of the Atlantic Ocean and didn’t notice South America and Africa used to fit together.

Of course I understand they are trying to motivate us to hurry in and open our wallets. They want us to think their March Madness Sale will never be repeated. However, it will. It will become the April Shower Sale which actually might be better because not enough people showed up for the March event.

Preachers do this. The offer to come to Jesus is available for a limited time only. They are right. When we stop breathing the offer goes away. Now that I have said that I do want to point out that Revelation 22 indicates there will be a time when the offer is no more. Just as the door of Noah’s ark was ultimately closed Scripture indicates this existence that we now know is for a limited time only. Some might be tempted to think, “Okay, I can wait.” True, but why? Why live a substandard life when Jesus offers the best to begin now. The benefits of citizenship in God’s Kingdom are not just a future thing. They begin now. And best of all they are for an unlimited time.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-04-02T20:50:05-04:00

When I was very small my father was a high school principal. On Saturday nights he brought home a 16 mm Bell and Howell projector and films that had been ordered for his school. This was before television so I was wowed and very excited. He hung a bed sheet on the wall and we were living on easy street. One night we saw Walt Disney’s Fantasia. One of the segments was The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” A little Mickey Mouse was totally overwhelmed by a magic process he began and then could not control as brooms continue to bring in buckets of water.

Being so little I did not comprehend what it meant other than to entertain. Now I understand. Great power in the hands of the uninformed can bring great disaster. The huge lottery this past week reminded me that money is power. Suddenly, someone, most likely with little understanding of what that much money can do, will hold in their hands the power to do great good or do great harm.

When I was a young pastor I earnestly prayed for power to heal. I would leave hospitals and cry in the parking lot because I could not save some small child’s mother from breast cancer. What kind of useless servant was I? Now it is slowly dawning on me as to the havoc that would have wrought. In Ephesians 3 Paul wrote, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, . . .” The power is there but in finely measured amounts. A power surge can destroy our computers. A divine power surge could destroy souls.

The Pearl Earring

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-30T11:14:26-04:00

It was quite blustery yesterday as we walked through Boston Common with friends from Sweden. Stopping to retie my shoe we noticed a lovely pearl and silver earring on the path. Not being Vincent Van Gogh one earring would not be sufficient for me. We left it perhaps with the hope the owner would retrace her? steps and recover the treasure. As we walked on I wondered was it a pearl of great price?

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13. Just about everything I have ever read about this story tells us Jesus was teaching us that eternal life is so valuable we must not hesitate to sacrifice all to be sure it is ours. I have never been totally comfortable with that. There is way too much focus on us and our labor. Therefore, I find another meaning that seems so much more in harmony with the Gospel. We are the lost ones. And God, the great lover and pursuer of sinners, sees us as the pearl. He was the one who made the great sacrifice. He is the one who will not let us go. He is the one constantly moving silently among people in search of ones who will respond to His wooing.

I look in the mirror and ask “How can it be?” Everything I see is withering away. Where is this value He sees? Those are questions I need not answer. All we need to do is be thankful and accept. Go and look in a mirror and repeat after me. “I am a pearl of great price.” Oh what jewels He has!

Gifts

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-29T21:43:47-04:00

My wife has a much better sense of smell than I do. When we go to the market she literally sniffs her way through the fruits and vegetables. Her nose scans the melons and boxes of tangerines. She makes sure we get good produce. Yet, at home I can open the pantry and pick up the faintest sweet scent of an onion going bad and she does not detect it. I shouldn’t be puzzled regarding this because I know that each person has unique qualities. The world would be a very uninteresting place if each of us had the same talents and gifts. Can you imagine how dull conversations would be?

A football team would be a pretty sorry organization if everyone was a quarterback. It needs those guys who look like refrigerators just as much as it needs runners who can make a hundred yards seem like a stroll in the park. Churches need an endless array of gifts from hospitality to scholars, pastors and evangelists. Churches even need administrators because roofs will leak and furnaces will get old. That is where we come in. Each of us has something to contribute. No one is giftless. I have a friend who cannot see. You should read some of the wonderful poetry that flows from her pen. She is really good.

One thing that breaks our hearts is when we see gifted youth wasting for whatever reason. Sometimes it is because they have yet to recognize their value. That’s where older people need to step in. Remember Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Too often we only apply this verse to moral issues. It has a much vaster application.

Hostas

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-28T20:06:15-04:00

A few years ago we brought home a few hostas from our son’s yard. Being a botanical ignoramus I had no idea what was going to happen in our yard. Two years ago we dug up half of them and put them in the side yard. Last year we dug up half of them and put them in the back yard. This year we will dig up half of them and give them to a local greenhouse; if the owner will take them. I knew about squash but had no idea these things could be so prolific. Hostas must be the rabbits of the plant world.

There are two ways I can go with this. I can speak about one really little lie multiplying to keep up the cover story. Little sins grow into big sins. But that is so negative and while true it’s not what I want to write. I would rather focus on good deeds multiplying. There is a bank currently running a commercial where a lady uses the cover from her coffee to stop a table from teetering. Next she helps a dog get untangled from a tree by giving him a treat. Next she puts tin foil on a man’s radio antenna increasing his reception. Goodness can be just as infectious as evil.

Paul wrote in Romans 12:20. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." We can do this on an individual basis. We can do it in our communities. We can do it internationally. The challenge is there and the results could be more stunning than the reproduction of hostas.

Gelert

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-27T20:18:05-04:00

There was a very popular story in the Middle Ages about a dog named Gelert. One night his master returned home to find his child’s cradle overturned and Gelert was covered with blood. Immediately his master killed him only to turn around and see the body of a dead wolf that had attacked his child and had thusly been killed by Gelert. It was then that he found the baby still alive under the cradle. There are several variations to the story but the message in all of them is the same. Wise people do not act without gathering as much information as possible. How fortunate we are that our heavenly Father knows everything about us.

In a time of edited media clips and sound bites it is relatively easy to make one’s opponent say anything we want them to say and then watch the masses rise up with so little real information. We do it in the arena of politics, in the world of religion with one group pitting itself against another, and we do it in our personal relationships at work and at home. Have we ever been riled because someone told us a certain someone said something we didn’t like to hear? We were not there. We did not know the context. And we did not hear the tone of the voice which can actually reverse the meaning of a sentence.

Revelation 12:7 speaks of war in heaven; an almost impossible thing to imagine. Lucifer, the master of sound bites, the subtle raising of an eyebrow, tonal inflection, and outright lies had attacked the throne.

The Gelert legend continued that the master buried Gelert with great fanfare and honor. But he never smiled again.

Trash-Talking Nerds

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-26T20:19:03-04:00

The local chess club meets in a classroom near my classroom at our local university. I had to smile at some of the “trash-talking” going on in the hallway. These were nerds. Their “trash-talk” wouldn’t hold a candle to that of NBA players. One of them said, “Come on and play with the Big Guys. We’ll teach you.” See what I mean?

What I thought was amusing was that I never thought of Jeremiah “trash-talking” but 12:5 raced through my mind. He wrote, “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses?” If we can’t be honest with the little things how can we expect to be honest when it’s big money? It is the little things that reveal the depth of our character. It’s tax time. I don’t need to say more about that.

When we are born God has plan A for our lives. It is to run with the big guys. But our failures, while forgiven, causes Him to change to plan B and then to plan C etc. For some of us He must be working on plan triple Z. He can’t trust us to run with the horses. Lest this sound way too discouraging and dismal please let me add that accomplishing any plan for our heavenly Father is a privilege and He loves us so very much He will never let us know about plan A. After all He loves us and never wants us to be disheartened or discouraged. And the greatest reward of all, eternal life, isn’t the fruit of some great accomplishment. It is a gift of His love. Please read the Ephesians 2 where Paul speaks of God’s plans for us.

God is -

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-23T20:20:31-04:00

It was Samuel Coleridge who wrote, “Water, water every where; nor any drop to drink.” This morning I felt like his ancient mariner as I surfed through 900 television channels. In desperation I stopped at an old Perry Mason drama. There was Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale in all their prime. It was the late 50’s. I think we had three channels and Perry dominated his time slot. Have we really changed so much? I think the dialogues must have been written by eighth graders during recess. (I say that with reservation because I am aware that some might think the same of my devotionals. Alas.) After the guilty party broke down in tears under his clever? interrogation, I decided to try out an old western on the Xfinity On Demand. I found one filmed in 1949. During this one I think I had to award the writers of Perry Mason an Oscar.

We do change. Languages change. Styles change. Even “truth” changes; at least what we thought was truth. The scientific theory of a geocentric universe held sway for thousands of years until Galileo. However, there are some truths that are so eternal they will never change. The morality of the Ten Commandments is timeless because they are based on just two principles; love God and love others. And just how do we love God? Jesus said, “If you have done it to the least of these you have done it unto me.” So there it is. There is only one truth. Love. I John 4:8. God is love. Don’t ever let people tell you all religions are basically the same. Every time members of a particular religion call out, “God is great.” We should call out “God is love.”

Theological OCD

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-22T21:16:59-04:00

Usually we associate Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with people who repeatedly wash their hands or check door locks. However, there is a category of OCD that just might be the fruit of one’s theology. These people are doubters and are afraid that if everything isn’t perfect or done just right they will be punished or worse lost for all eternity. It has been my lot to have known many such people through the years. Perhaps it was birds of a feather.

One has to tread lightly here because it would be so easy to leave the impression it doesn’t matter and we can be saved in our sins. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are saved from our sins and the legal consequences. With that as a preface I want to assure each of you that Jesus telling us to call God, Our Father, has enormous implications. Parents are so delighted to see their children grow. (I always wished it would have taken twice as long. They left way too soon for me.) There was never an expectation that once they started to walk they would never teeter and fall. Getting up and falling down is just part of the process. Our heavenly Father is so pleased that we want to walk. And just as we did not disown our children when they fell, neither does God disown us. He knows our capabilities. He knows our weaknesses.

We are saved by grace from our past and our future. Ephesians 2 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega of our salvation. Dump the OCD.

A Slap on the Back of the Head

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-21T20:36:50-04:00

There are some people that really need a slap on the back of the head. This evening I saw three adults who really should be at the head of the line with all of us lined up to do the deed. First of all it was dark. Second, it was a really very busy intersection with rapidly moving cars. Third, they were crossing the street against the light. Fourth, they were pushing two baby strollers. Fifth, they were just strolling.

As I drove away literally seething at what I had seen I unfortunately remembered a few really dumb things I have done. Perhaps I should get a slap on the back of the head before those folk. I doubt if I am really out of place here to think that perhaps you too can remember deserving a good slap. Even if it is just a matter of taking all our blessings for granted and not remembering to be thankful.

A lifetime ago I was a pastor in Calhoun, Ga. One morning the word got out that I was ill. Before the day was out I had three separate house visits from three separate physicians. We had called none of them. Today my primary care physician told my wife he prays everyday that I will be well. Last week my specialist told me he loved Ian and me. If ever once you hear me complain about my lot in life I want you to come to my house and slap me on the back of the head.

I think of people who don’t positively respond to the wondrous gift of eternal life; especially those who have heard it over and over. I wish the only result of that would be a slap on the back of the head.

Stage Fright

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-20T21:32:05-04:00

If you have ever been asked to make a public presentation you most assuredly suffered prior to the presentation; cold hands, weak knees, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat accompanied by a pain in the pit of your stomach. I once had a friend who when pastor of a very large church said he often threw up the mornings he was to speak. Psychologists tell us stage fright is the number one fear ranking above snakes, heights and spiders. So you can imagine my delight when I read I Corinthians 3 where Paul says, “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” Ah, ha. Paul was one of us. How could it be?

Actually, I am being very generous to place us in any category with him. None of us have been, “Five times I received the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea.” II Corinthians 11. I have heard people mock John Mark because he quit during Paul’s first missionary journey and went home. I wonder how many of us would have stayed. It was dangerous to be near Paul. But let’s get back to his stage fright. Jesus had promised, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” We really have it so easy.

Of Hypocrites and Oscars

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-19T08:17:23-04:00

Our local public library is presently featuring To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This Sunday afternoon the National Endowment for the Arts sponsored an actor to portray Atticus Finch. It was splendid and much to my pleasure during the hour he morphed into Scout, Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Ewell merely with voice and facial expressions. Skilled actors can move us and manipulate our feelings with their talents. As I watched I pondered how easily we can be affected by other’s manners and demeanors.

When Jesus called the religious leadership hypocrites, He was using the Greek word for actor. They pretended to be something they were not. In Matthew 23 He accused them of being white-washed tombs; pretty on the outside but rotten inside. However, I’m not so sure it’s so bad to be a hypocrite in the Greek sense. In the morning I determine today I will be as much like Jesus as possible. That takes some acting. It isn’t my natural reaction to the day’s irritations. I believe Jesus’ problem wasn’t the acting on the part of the establishment as much as inwardly they weren’t trying to change. As soon as the crowds were gone it was business as usual.

In Jeremiah 13:23 we find the old question, “Can a leopard change its spots?” Many people contend that what we are we are and we will ultimately revert back to that. I do hope they are wrong. If so there is no hope in trying. We might as well adopt Popeye’s philosophy “I yam what I yam” and be done with it. Paul certainly thought we could change. He devoted a good share of the book of Romans to the task. Today I’m going for an Oscar.

He Waits and Watches

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-16T19:32:01-04:00

Because I was not at the top of my game I stayed in the car while my wife got groceries. My eye caught a couple very engaged in conversation; so much so they pushed their cart of groceries into the parking lot shopping cart bin leaving all their food behind. As they drove away I tooted my horn; but, to no avail. They were gone. I was sure they would be back so I would be a really good guy and guard their things until they returned. Not five minutes passed and they were back. It’s a standard human response to laugh when one is embarrassed. They laughed.

Not wanting to paint myself as wonderful because I really didn’t do anything but toot and that was too late, I did think about having someone to watch over us. There are times we too become very engaged in something; so much so we also forget important things. Life can be most engrossing and full of things; so much so that we neglect the important thing of remembering to maintain our relationship with God. I don’t want to say that’s okay. However, He is very understanding and He doesn’t go away. He waits and watches and knows when we regain reality we will be back. What I love about this is He doesn’t toss us out when this occurs. He’s a good Father and though we don’t always act like it we are still in the family.

In the meantime He “sends His angels to keep us in all our ways.” Psalm 91:11. I wish that meant nothing bad would ever happen to us. Alas, we live in a world where bad things do happen to good people. But it does mean He will always make it right.

Inspiration not Exhortation

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-15T21:12:50-04:00

On our way into a Friendly’s I held the door for a family on their way out. As a little guy passed me I heard him say to his dad, “I want to come back here again.” Too bad Friendly’s didn’t have that on camera. It would be a great ad. I found myself wishing we could figure out how to get the same reaction from our youth regarding coming to church. During church we have a children’s story and a mob of little kids flood the front pews. But where are the teens? Something happens during adolescence and we rarely hear, “I want to come back here again.”

I realize it does have something to do with being a teen. After all 4000 teens start smoking each day. That says a lot about their cognition. The truth is we are competing with media productions that spend hundreds of millions of dollars to capture their attention. It’s pretty hard to preach an eye and ear catching sermon without the visual fade ins and outs, the finely tuned music and the built-in laugh track. Lest I sound totally pessimistic I do want to point out we do have something on our side the other side doesn’t have. God promises to send His spirit to attend us. Should we be wise enough to seek that help we will have something on our side no amount of clever, eye-catching media production can ever match.

One of the things every one of us needs to understand is “preaching” at them and “exhorting” just doesn’t work. They react to it like it was smallpox. Telling people not to do something usually elicits just the opposite response. Inspiration is the key. We must inspire them. We must make them want to do what is best for them and love is the magic potent.

Swayed by the Wind

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-14T20:13:56-04:00

While waiting for my wife to come and get me I sat on a rock at the side of a parking area watching the world go by. It was warm and breezy – perfect. Just then a woman came across the parking area toward her car. She was carrying a good sized framed picture. What followed should have been part of an old-time Abbott and Costello movie. The breeze was just enough to turn the picture into a sail. I kid you not. She was blown from one side of the lot to the other twirling in the breeze. At one point she needed to pull her dress down but that would require letting go of the painting which she would not do. I should have rushed to her defense but I do have to admit, insensitive as I am, I was having way too much fun watching. Only when she finally got to her car did I think that I should have videoed her with my cell phone.

Surely Paul would have enjoyed it with me and included it in Ephesians 4. “Henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, . . .” Almost every day I get emails filled with some ridiculous twisted thinking and they often end by demeaning either my loyalty to Jesus or my patriotism to my country if I don’t pass it on. I’m not concerned about that. I am concerned about my friends believing the incredible stuff anyone can so freely disseminate on the web.

A really good policy to follow is to believe that others are as trustworthy and reasonable as we, until they prove themselves otherwise. If ever, this is a great time to follow Jesus’ Golden Rule.

So Much More

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-13T19:07:48-04:00

I spent a lion’s share of the day connected to bottles and needles being filled with lots of interestingly expensive stuff. Because it was 72 degrees (that is fascinating prior to the ides of March) when I came home I sat outside enjoying the warmth. A mosquito landed on my arm and I watched her drink. (What’s one more needle?) As she tanked up it occurred to me that she was getting far more than she thought she was getting. Along with the blood she also tanked up on all the other stuff that was put in this morning. I wonder how she will respond to her exotic meal. Remember Peter Parker? He was altered because of a spider bite. Maybe this will be the reverse. The mosquito will be altered because she bit me.

In the midst of my ridiculous musings I remembered Eve. She bit and she got ever so much more than she thought she was getting. Satan did not lie when he told her she would learn much. She did. She learned about death, disease, hatred, etc. When a teen decides to start smoking they too will get much more than they think they are getting. They are getting bad breath, stained teeth, tarred up lungs, premature wrinkles and finally an early death. Sin is that way. It looks good. Often it starts out nice but once past the sweet part comes the payment.

If only we could trust God and understand He always has our best interest at heart. God has a reason for the don’ts. I have a grandson who once stood in front of our woodstove. Long he stared and then he did it. He touched it. He got so much more than he had imagined.

The Undiscovered Country

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-12T20:56:55-04:00

For most of my life I thought I Corinthians 2:9 was about heaven and what treasures and wonders await us. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." I believed this text was all about our eternal future. However, I have come to believe there is a dual meaning. Please note the verses that precede verse 9. “We speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.”

God has given us incredible minds and via the indwelling of His Spirit He seeks to share with us wisdom and mysteries not open to the intellectual rulers of this age. There are things to learn, know and understand that Nobel Laureates would pay anything to grasp. It is not for them. It is only to be shared with His children. There is so much more than what is found in doctrinal statements and commentaries. Often we fear going deeper. We fear we might learn something that would shake the foundations we learned as children. We seek comfort in the now and find change to be unsettling and frightening. Shakespeare said it so well in words he placed in Hamlet’s mouth.

“The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?”

It is time to venture forth into the undiscovered country of God’s wisdom. Open His Word. Pray, read and make the journey.

Where is Atlantic Union College?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-10T17:07:49-05:00

Where is Atlantic Union College? It is an address in South Lancaster, Massachusetts but I went there and all I found were empty buildings. Buildings are not a college. Buildings are buildings. A college is a hodgepodge of students, faculty and staff harmoniously blending into a vibrancy. A college is classrooms filled with some bored and some interested students. A college is faculty trying to comprehend just how to present the next lecture as to engage young minds. A college is dormitories filled with noise, lots of noise until the wee hours of the morning. A college is a café filled with co-eds hoping to catch the eyes of that certain young man. A college is people mowing the lawns and shoveling the snow. A college is musicians practicing their next recital with music floating out the windows and across the campus. A college is chapels, worships and weekend church services. A college is people figuring out life and what to do with it. A college is a gym full of basketball and volleyball games. It is couples sitting in the sun. A college is students trying to figure out how to make an essay look like ten pages by making bigger margins and bigger fonts. A college is caps, gowns and tassels accompanied by proud parents with video cameras. A college is proud faculty watching what once was a hopeless student become a young man venturing out into the world. A college is engaged couples. It is struggling single moms bettering their lives. A college is a place of mission, hopes and dreams.

Where is Atlantic Union College? It isn’t in South Lancaster. It is all over the world in the hearts of all who grew at that wonderful place.

Never Lost

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-08T15:13:42-05:00

Can you believe it? I was ten miles away from home and I threw away my car keys. I had not eaten since breakfast. No, it wasn’t 9:30 A.M. It was 3 P.M. I was driving past the Taco Bell where we usually ate lunch when teaching at Atlantic Union College, so I stopped. I put my car keys on my tray and unwrapped my burrito. Not thinking about the keys I unconsciously covered them with paper wrappings and napkins. The next time I thought about keys I was in the parking lot. While going through the ritual of checking every pocket I realized what had happened. I groaned as I thought about going back to the trash bin and sorting through half-eaten burritos, smashed tacos, yucky chicken bones (It is also a KFC.) and cups of soda that had been dumped. This wasn’t going to be pretty. Can you imagine the electronic key being saturated with diet Pepsi?

While digging deep into other people’s orts I thought about Jesus doing this on a daily basis. In the yuck of earth He and the Holy Spirit continually rummage about seeking lost souls. This is so much more important than me looking for lost keys. Actually they weren’t lost. I knew where they were. I just had to soil my hands to retrieve them. It’s the same way with Jesus. People aren’t really lost. He always knows where they are. He just has to convince them there is a better life waiting for them.

I like the idea that no one is ever lost. God isn’t careless. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks of His Father knowing about the death of a small bird. How much more does He know where we are. Always!!

The Allure of Science

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-07T20:54:03-05:00

There is something very tempting about completely adopting a completely logical frame of mind that only relates to that which can be proven scientifically. For several hundred years the scientific method has served us well; with it we have unsecreted knowledge and built modernity. Our cars, our planes, our homes, our medical care, our computers, our phones, our weather forecasts are a product of an ongoing quest to learn more and more about our world. Science serves us well; thus the allure to think it is the end all. But when all is said and done, there remains an emptiness in the human soul that science cannot satisfy. It is no accident that existentialism is the prevailing philosophy of the twentieth and so far the twenty-first centuries. Prior to WWI it was rare for people to ask “who am I” or “why am I here” or “where am I going.”

There is the temptation to assume that people have always thought as we; not so. The world had a blanket of comforting mythologies that soothed all such inquiries. However, modernity and science have stripped away much of what was, even though mistaken, reassuring. The problem for us is we can throw away the baby with the bathwater. Amidst what we no longer regard as relevant truth was relevant truth. Paul’s incredible letters to the Romans, Ephesians and Galatians are eternally true. We are the children of God. We are here to be redeemed and bear witness to His love. And we are going to grow more and more with Him forever becoming what Paul said, “something far more than we could ever think or dream.” Science has served us well but it is not, and I repeat, it is not the satisfier of the angst of the human soul.

Not Yet Like Jesus

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-06T20:08:59-05:00

There was an inscription on the inner wall of the temple forbidding any other than a Jew to pass inside on the pain of death. Jewish midwives were forbidden to aid any woman but a Jew lest they were responsible for bringing another gentile into the world. Once we begin to grasp the incredible depth of enmity between Jews and the surrounding nations we gain a much clearer picture of the revolutionary Jesus and one of the reasons He was so hated by the establishment. Not only did He feed 5000 Jews in Galilee, He also feed 4000 gentiles on the east side of the Jordan. He healed the child of a Canaanite woman. He asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. He healed a Roman’s servant. This was way beyond eating with publicans. At least publicans were Jews. I am often amused that conservative Christians seem to think they have a monopoly on Jesus’ values. It was the conservatives who killed Him. Jesus was a radical.

The Gospel of Matthew closes with a message so radical that it took years before the disciples began to heed to it. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: . . .” Peter had to have a special vision of the animals in the sheet before he would accept an invitation to a Roman’s home. (Acts 10) After Saul was knocked off his horse and became Paul he still needed years of prayer and visions before he was up to taking the Gospel to the gentiles.

Dare I say, can I be brave enough to venture, that until we see beyond our “kind” we are not yet like Jesus?

Different Values

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-05T16:08:59-05:00

There are three different values for your home. There is the market value; for how much can you sell it. This is based on the selling prices of the other homes in your neighborhood and the size and condition comparison with those homes. Then there is the tax value. This is set also in relationship to the market value but usually is lower. That gives the community room to raise your taxes if they are in dire straits. Finally there is the replacement value of your home based on square footage and how much per square foot it would cost to rebuild. That is usually much higher than the first two and for which we should insure.

The question arises how much are you and I worth? There is market value. Since we no longer sell each other at slave auctions we could say nil. There is our tax value. In America we do not have a head tax but in many countries that does exist. When we lived in Africa each year I had to pay a “poll tax” even though I did not qualify to vote. It was a head tax for breathing Ugandan air. I was worth seven dollars a year. Finally there is replacement value. What would it cost to replace you or me? This is a life insurance issue for a man who wants to be sure his family is cared for if something bad happens. How much money can we earn in a year and how many years do we have a wife and children to care for. That number can get very high.

But wait there is a fourth value. It is related to eternity. Satan says we are worthless. Human life is dirt cheap for him. However God says, “Wait a minute. My child (you or I) is worth everything. They are worth the cross.” Awesome!

Buckets of Mercy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-02T21:45:26-05:00

It is difficult to find a more powerful passage in Scripture than Ephesians 2. “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins. . .” Somewhere in our youth we lose our innocence. Does it happen at birth, or when we first disobeyed our parents or at puberty when passion rages through our almost every thought? I don’t know. That is a theological debate filled with theory and isms. For those of us who are adults it doesn’t matter when it occurred, what we know is we are not innocent. Just as God cares for us so he will care for children; with buckets of mercy. The point is we were dead in our sins. We earned death. We cannot compensate for our behaviors and attitudes. The only answer for us is grace; lots and lots of grace.

Grace removes our guilt. God looks at us as if we had never sinned. However, as wonderful as that is we still remember our sins. It is fascinating that we remember things God doesn’t remember. I haven’t yet figured that one out. But I rejoice in the fact. God declares us innocent but our brains are not yet erased. The feelings, the emotions, the memories are all still there. And they stay there until as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15, “this corruptible shall have put on incorruption . . .”

One of my students told me he often deliberately sinned because he knew God was a God of mercy and would forgive him. Really? Well, that’s another discussion. My concern was that even if in God’s great love He did forgive him, the fruit, the scars, his lost innocence would mar the rest of his life on earth. He would not be the man he could have been.

"Wait. Don't Kill Yourself."

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-03-01T19:54:21-05:00

It finally snowed here in New England. We’ve had barely a flake from November first until now. It’s a heavy snow and the city snowplow built quite a barrier across the end of our driveway. Grabbing the snow shovel I headed out to the barrier to do battle. As I was digging in for that first heavy load a man with a pickup outfitted with a plow saw my task. “Wait,” he called. “Don’t kill yourself. I’ll be right there.” In a few moments all was clear. Needless to say I was grateful and even more so when he adamantly refused any money.

I wanted to pass this along just for the sake of saying not all is bad with the world. The news is usually so gruesome. We hear all manner of horror from self-annihilating walking bombs to weapons powerful enough to destroy our planet. Murders, robberies and rapes fill our evening news broadcasts. It’s the bad stuff that makes the news while everyday millions of good people do millions of good things for others.

The Golden Rule has not been lost in the mire of humanity. The Silver Rule says, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you.” That’s not bad at all but the Golden Rule is so much better. “Do to others what you want them to do for you.” In Romans 12:13 Paul tells us to be “inventive in hospitality.” We should not just wait for an opportunity to do something nice. We should be creative and make opportunities.

The world isn’t totally bad. Who knows maybe he did save me from killing myself. As we all know old guys shouldn’t be shoveling heavy snow.

Nyjer Seeds

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-29T12:22:33-05:00

We have a flock of gold finches that are just tanking on our thistle feeders. For days now they have devoured so many Nyjer seeds we have to refill them every day. While I am happy to provide sustenance to these lovely creatures I fear we might be doing more harm than good. If we were not feeding them they would be foraging and thus getting a variety in their diet. What we are doing is allowing them to stuff themselves on something that is good for them but it seduces them into a one item diet, which I am not so sure is healthy.

I once had a church member who would not read anything except his Bible. That is a pretty hard thing to condemn without looking like a pagan but I worried about his balance. He knew very little about current events. He was not conversant in things that were for most of us just common knowledge. Perhaps I am the one in error but I think we need to care for the whole person, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. God made us multi-faceted beings and each requires our attention if we are to be healthy. Every good parent wants their children to be healthy and God is a good parent.

I once heard a committed vegetarian say, “I would die before I would eat a piece of meat.” Obviously she was not a vegetarian for health reasons because the last time I looked it seemed that eating a piece of meat and staying alive was healthier than dying. Alas, it can be difficult to strike a right balance in life, but I do believe it is a quest God desires and expects from us.

Algorithms

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-28T19:59:18-05:00

This morning I watched a 7th grade math teacher instruct her students how to solve a ratio/proportion problem using an algorithm. At the end of the lesson, after the students were gone, I mentioned that there is a much easier way to solve the problem. She laughed and agreed. She explained that the algorithm was for students who didn’t know what they were doing. It is a menu. Do a logical step-by-step process and one will get the correct answer. However, she said, “Some of the students look at the problem and know how to solve it without the algorithm. I give them credit for that.” Good for her.

Through the years I have sat through some very complicated, complex presentations on righteousness by faith, sanctification and justification, predestination, free will, etc. My conclusion is these presentations are akin to algorithms. They are explanations for people who just don’t get it. Or perhaps it’s the presenter that doesn’t really get it. And just what is “it?” “It” is the simplicity of the Gospel. Jesus created us and took responsibility for us when we failed. His righteous life, death and resurrection makes it possible for us to be adopted into the family and receive eternal life. We are no longer under an obligation to the law but instead are obligated by love to be as much like our savior as we can. The only real mystery here is why He loves us so much to do this for us.

No algorithm needed. Perhaps there is another mystery and that is how come something so simple can sometimes sound so complicated? Perhaps the fault is in the old saying, “If something sounds too good to be true. It is.” But “it” is true!

"Who are you wearing?"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-27T19:29:36-05:00

On the way into the Kodak Theater for the Academy Awards people dressed in their finest walked the red carpet, being interviewed for their moment in the spotlight. Robin Roberts from ABC was one of the interviewers and when referring to their clothes she said to one of her interviewees, “I’m being paid to ask you, “Who are you wearing?’” Each person responded with the name of some famous or semi-famous designer. The question, “Who are you wearing” stuck in my head. Should there be a red carpet to walk before we someday enter the throne room of the King of the Universe there just might be an interviewer from some far off galaxy asking, “Who are you wearing?” The answer, the only answer, for all of us will be Jesus, for it is His and only His robe of righteousness that will be appropriate. All other answers just will not work.

“For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10 It is an expensive garment; much more than anything on the red carpet Sunday evening. This garment came at horrendous cost and we are the most blessed to be adopted into the family so we can wear it. “For we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8

It’s a wardrobe that will never be out of style.

Jealous vs. Zealous

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-24T19:54:12-05:00

The King James Version renders Exodus 20:5 as follows, “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.” I remember sitting in church reading my Bible, often it was much more interesting than the sermon, I was puzzled by this verse. I thought, “Wow, that’s bad. Jealousy is not nice.” Little did I know that words tend to change meanings as the decades pass. Scores of words used in the KJV have since altered their intent. Take Matthew 19:14 for an example, “Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: . .” I doubt if many little children would understand the word “suffer” in that context. And so it was for me with “jealous.” “Jealous” and “zealous” come from the same roots. Since 1611 “jealous” has taken on great negativity. Most likely those same translators today would possibly render the verse, “For I the LORD thy God am a zealous God.” It certainly has a more positive feel.

I very much like the idea that God is zealous for us. That word means actively and unreservedly enthusiastic. I certainly like enthusiastic people. It’s awful when we are waited on in stores by unenthusiastic people. When they fail to smile and mumble I really don’t ever want to return. Oh, there was that word “awful” – talk about a word changing meaning. It used to mean wonderful, full of awe. My wife would hardly be happy if I told her she looked awful.

And so it is that we have a God who is an enthusiastic fan; so much so that He gave His only Son that we might have everlasting life. Now that is zealous.

Truth is -

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-23T19:50:02-05:00

It is an outrageous thing to be a teacher. It assumes that someone knows something others don’t know. That is not so difficult to conceive when someone knows how to read or do math, but once we advance past the fundamentals it isn’t so clear-cut. History especially is and should be regarded with care. Just because it is in a book or a newspaper doesn’t mean it really happened and if it did everything has nuances that appeal only to some. The writers of textbooks, just like the rest of us, have agendas colored by their personal experiences and opinions. I have to laugh at people who claim to “tell it like it is.” All they can really do is tell what they think they know and what they think they saw or heard. Everyone thinks they know the truth and yet few of us can stand in mental lockstep with another. In many ways truth is but an agreed upon set of assumptions.

When I say Jesus died and rose again I am speaking out of my hopes, aspirations and biases resulting from where I was born, who my parents are, where I went to school and what books I have read, which were written by others like me. I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it happen. Yet I believe from the depths of my heart that it is true because it makes good sense. It doesn’t seem like a cunningly devised tale. (See II Peter 1) All of the disciples but John suffered a horrible death. They would not have done so if it was a contrived tale. Jesus said, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” That’s us.

Debris

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-22T20:08:02-05:00

Millions of tons of debris from last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan is making its way across the Pacific to our western shore. It will be yet another year before the bulk of it arrives. Needless to say, it will be unwelcome as it clutters our coast. It seems like a long time to wait but it will arrive. It is much like the fruit of bad decisions we often make. Because there is no immediate detection or results we think we got away with it. However, the debris will someday surface. A rotten diet, lack of exercise, burning the candle at both ends, smoking, alcohol, etc, erode away years at the end of life. The only advantage to that is you don’t have to make as many payments to the life insurance company before they have to pay your heirs. Too bad you won’t be there to see them enjoy it.

Our God is a very sensible God. He has good reasons for the lifestyle instructions He gives us in Scripture. There isn’t one thing He asks of us because He is arbitrary. He always has our best interests at heart. Recently I was challenged about this by a student who wanted to know just how it benefited us not to take His name in vain. Well, the answer is if we reduce His name to an exclamation point we lose the reality of who He is. If He is only a word to express surprise or glee or shock, He ceases to be a loving caring parent interested in our wellbeing and we will not access the blessings that come with a close personal relationship. It isn’t that He is offended. He is way too big for that. We are the losers. Actually, He also loses. He loses us.

Life - Good and Bad

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-21T22:36:24-05:00

This past weekend my wife and I had the splendid opportunity to visit one of our former students. She is teaching in a one room school in Vermont. What we observed was idyllic. Nestled in a rural environ surrounded by the glorious Green Mountains is a place every parent should desire for their child’s educational setting; a well-trained caring Christian teacher, modern media and a committed constituency provide an experience beyond what we had hoped to see. We are so very proud. Her parents must also share our feelings.

As we were returning to our home in Massachusetts I could not but reflect how our heavenly Father must feel about us when we excel. When we do good surely there is great joy in the courts of heaven. Alas, I also remember that Job was doing very well. God was very proud of him when Satan came and ventured that Job only did well because he was so blessed. I think we all know the rest of the story. We do live in a world that does not seem to relish good fortune and as the old saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.” It seems to be the nature of our existence.

But we should not forget the end of Job. After Satan has been proven wrong and was duly chastised Job spent his later years once again blessed. Even then he must have had moments when he missed his children. My sons are alive and well and make me proud on a daily basis and yet I do miss those little boys that chased each other around the house and squealed with delight when I came home. There is a sweet sadness even in good times. What must it be like to live for a thousand years?

Deappetizers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-20T21:33:22-05:00

Have you ever gone to Olive Garden and totally stuffed yourself on the breadsticks so by the time your meal arrives you couldn’t eat another bite? Other restaurants bring you chips and salsa or chips with spinach and artichoke dip. They call them appetizers. Are they not more appropriately called deappetizers? Now some of you might respond to me with a lecture on self-control and that I should pace myself by just nibbling on those tempting morsels and of course you would be right. But I can’t just sit there and stare at them for the twenty minutes or so it takes for one’s meal to arrive.

And so it is with so many things on a mental menu. While I want to feed on God’s Word and other materials that will contribute toward a healthy spiritual walk, I become distracted by spiritual deappetizers. Life is filled with an endless array of books, films, television programs and video games. Just like the chips and salsa they are good. The problem for me is they sate my mind with so many interesting ideas and facts that I find I lose my appetite for Ephesians, Colossians and Luke. When I pick up what should be the main course I am just not hungry.

Three thousand years ago Solomon wrote, “. . . of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” What would he say if he could walk into a Barnes and Noble or pick up a Kindle? Paul told Timothy to study to show himself approved unto God. I doubt if that could have been done on a steady diet of Netflix.

Oh To Be Brave

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-17T22:30:45-05:00

The last words of the American Declaration of Independence are, “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

Eighteen of the 54 signers had their homes burned and looted either by loyalists to the throne or British troops. Two of the signers lost sons in the ensuing battles. Rarely does one put his or her name to such a dangerous document.

One of my favorite of Jesus’ disciples is Thomas. He has gotten a bad rap in history with all that doubting business. Seldom do we note John 11 where Jesus announced He was going to Bethany because Lazarus had died and Thomas said to the others, “Let us go and die with him.” Apparently it was very dangerous for Jesus that close to Jerusalem. Thomas, brave Thomas, was willing to give all for His Lord.

If one does not have something in one’s life valuable enough for which to die one has not yet lived. We read stories of bravery and courage and we wonder how we would respond to danger. The older I get the easier it is to be brave for with each passing day I have less life to give. The richness and quality of one’s life is the commitment we make to something good and pure. How sad for those who have never discovered this secret.

And what happened to Thomas? He did survive crucifixion weekend in Jerusalem but according to tradition he did die for His precious Lord. As for the doubting? All the others had seen Jesus that Sunday. He had not. He loved Jesus so much he couldn’t understand why he had been left out. He wasn’t. Jesus told Him to come and touch. He does the same for us.

A Grape Jelly Stain - I Think

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-16T22:43:14-05:00

I am sitting here looking at a purple stain on my shirt sleeve. I have absolutely no idea where it came from. It looks like grape jelly but I haven’t been near grape jelly today. This is very much like character stains – flaws. Some of them we know of and there are others we don’t even know are there. We are so much in love with ourselves we are blind to them. If anyone should hint of their presence we are quick to rationalize and cover; not just from the people who spotted it, but mostly from ourselves. I am fearful if we should know the old Jack Webb thing, “just the facts and nothing but the facts,” we would despair and jump off a bridge.

Many years ago I was waiting for my car to be repaired when I heard someone say, “Call the stain man.” About twenty minutes later I saw a man arrive with a small case. I have always wondered what he had in there because a few minutes later he walked out with a big smile and some green pieces of paper folded in his hand. He must have been good. Oh, how many times in my life have I had to call my “stain man” and I have to tell you He is good – really good.

I have always loved Isaiah 1:18. “Says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” What is so grand about this is the promise isn’t only for the stains we know about, it is for the ones not yet known. Only Jesus knows them and what I love best is He will remove them and never tell us about them. We don’t need to know.

One Spiffy Guy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-15T20:23:58-05:00

While observing a student teacher in a third grade classroom this morning, I noticed one very spiffy young man wearing a dress shirt and tie. He had his hair slicked down and wasn’t wearing socks with his shoes – very preppy. I asked if he always dressed that way. The student teacher, a very good one, smiled and said, “No, it’s Valentine’s Day.” What a classy guy. I wonder if there was a specific lady he was trying to impress or was he just making a statement?

Many years ago I was invited to a Presidential Prayer Breakfast with Ronald Reagan. When I received the invitation the first thing I did was buy a new suit and new shoes. When I arrived I noticed there wasn’t one person in a t-shirt and jeans. Everyone was spiffed up. When we knelt for prayer I wanted to look at the bottom of people’s shoes to see how many were wearing new ones. However, I was a good boy and only peeked to see if the President had his eyes closed. He did. The secret service did not.

I realize what I am about to say is very old-fashioned but I wonder how people would dress when they come to church if they really believed they were having a meeting with the King of the Universe. Perhaps I should not be judgmental; perhaps that fellow with the t-shirt and jeans in church just might be wearing the best he has. Jesus told a story about a man who went to a wedding feast without the proper garb. He was tossed out. Of course the lesson of that story was about trying to get into heaven wearing our own righteousness. It will not work. Only Jesus’ righteousness is sufficient to save.

Our Yankee Treasure

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-14T20:22:43-05:00

In 1978 our older son played for the Yankees. I don’t recall ever missing a game. I was very proud. His uniform is part of our family treasure trove. When we moved to New England we proudly displayed it on the stairway wall. Often I stop and admire it and him. However, this afternoon as the sun was sinking behind our western mountain, I was standing out on the street and to my horror I saw the sun shining brightly through the window illuminating his Yankee shirt to all who drive by. There it was with its big white letters on that field of blue right there in the window. Folks, you have to understand this is Red Sox Country. People drive around New England with nasty bumper stickers reviling the Yankees. No wonder the neighbors rarely speak to me. All this time I thought it was modernity with its busy demands on people’s lives.

Have you ever discovered that you have been offending others by your unintentional behavior? As a teacher I used to respond to students’ questions with “Oh, that’s easy.” What I meant was I can answer that for you. My wife pointed out what I was saying was, “Its easy, stupid. Why did you have to ask?” Needless to say I stopped.

Sometimes I hear people tell of how they witnessed for the Lord. They proudly tell stories of rudely correcting people who they think are not being nice. They refuse gestures of kindness because what is offered doesn’t comply with their dietary restrictions. It is so important for us to see ourselves and our behaviors through other’s eyes. Often it smarts because as Jesus said a two by four is hanging out our eye when we are speaking of another’s speck of sawdust.

The Yellow Light

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-13T20:55:01-05:00

We’ve all been there. We are approaching a traffic signal when the light turns yellow. We have less than half a second to decide a. to press hard on the brake, b. press on the accelerator to get through the intersection before we see red, c. just maintain because we are okay to make it. The human mind is amazing. It processes distance, speed, coming traffic, presence of a patrolman, braking power and horsepower. It does it all in less time than it takes to say “one ten thousands.”

I wish I could make all my decisions so quickly and with such a good record of success. But, life is full of decisions that require serious ponder time. Who should we marry? Where should we go to school? How long should we stay in school? How many degrees are too many? What regimen of diet, rest and exercise will best serve me? What career should I seek? Should I take time for religion? If so, where should I go to church and what tenets should I accept as authority? None of these should be decided in less than a second.

At the close of Deuteronomy Moses exhorted, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, . . .” I do hope that one doesn’t take too long to decide. Finally, how grand it is that God chose us. He decided to send us His son. He once said to Jeremiah. “Before you were born I choose you.” What an awesome thought. Since He doesn’t play favorites that means you and I were chosen from the beginning of eternity itself.

Pigs

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-10T18:27:16-05:00

It just occurred to me that Jesus’ story of the wise man who built his house upon the rock is the same story as the three little pigs. Instead of the floods coming up it’s the big bad wolf blowing lots of hot air. It is very much the way life is. People, like two of the pigs, make lots of bad decisions and need to be rescued by those who made good decisions.

I sometimes hear people complaining about having to help people on welfare. We jump to the erroneous assumption that they all have chosen that path as a way of life. It is true some have. But most are in their predicament because of unwise decisions or just plain old misfortune that also happens to people who make good decisions.

I know you are expecting me to say we need to help them because it’s the Christian thing to do. It is. However, it is also the smart thing to do. When people get very hungry they grow desperate and desperate people can become very dangerous. We really don’t want to live in a city with hoards of hungry people. No matter how many wise decisions we have made in life, those who have, will become prey. That’s not a good thing!

Our assets, our talents, our education, and our good fortune are the fruit of good decisions and God’s blessings, which He bestows on us to see how well we handle them. Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes. If I recall the story correctly I believe the pig with the brick house gave shelter to the other two. It’s also good to remember they were all pigs.

Puzzled

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-09T19:51:32-05:00

I’m sitting here with a piece from a jigsaw puzzle I picked up off the street while walking my lab this afternoon. Somewhere in my neighborhood there is a puzzle that cannot be finished because I have the missing piece. There are so many theological and philosophical puzzles that are an enigma because we do not have all the pieces of the puzzles. The problem of pain, a loving God in a world of suffering, did dinosaurs and men live on earth at the same time, who wrote Hebrews, if Jesus is coming again why is He waiting; these are just a few. Paul says we are looking through a glass darkly. He’s right. We, with our finite minds, continue to try to understand the mind of an infinite God and we don’t have all the pieces.

Throughout the ages God, a self-revealing God, continues to share a few. In times past He spoke through the prophets but then He revealed Himself via the birth of Jesus. Jesus was and still is the finest vision of God’s true nature. Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” Our continued problem is we see Jesus through the eyes of a tax collector, a fisherman, a physician and a homesick missionary. Each of them were limited in their ways to express what they saw and remembered. Therefore, we continue to see God through a foggy glass.

As we grow, as we seek, God is delighted to find opportunities to give us glimpses and insights. Hopefully, I understand more now than I did when I was forty or fifty. Note I didn’t say twenty because then I knew it all. Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given.” I’m asking.

A Book of Cultures

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-08T21:00:49-05:00

Like most American cities Leominster, Massachusetts is a rich blend of a variety of cultures and occasionally there are some misunderstandings as each group makes adjustments to accommodate the others. The more we understand each other the more we live in harmony. Nothing causes more difficulty than one group wanting everyone to be like them. I have noted similar problems when reading the Bible. We sometimes err by thinking the writers of the Bible were like us when nothing could be further from the truth. Not only do we have the cultural differences of various groups of people but horrendous differences in chronology. Just as our great grandparents would suffer culture shock if they could resurrect now, so we think far differently than people that lived two and three thousand years ago.

Often we err by looking at the Bible as one book written at one place in one time. There are over 1500 years between Moses and John. Also it is easy to project Christian values upon Old Testament characters. But to do that falsely colors the stories. Abraham and company were not Christians. They weren’t even Jews. The Jews were the descendants of Judah, the grandson of Abraham. There is the issue of the occidental mind and the eastern mind. Paul was an extremely unique individual educated in both arenas of thought. His letters are an amalgamation of two worlds, two cultures, two philosophies and one very special way to salvation.

How fascinating that God chose to reveal Himself to us via shepherds, politicians, fishermen, farmers, tax collectors, historians, warriors, a philosopher, a physician and a scholar. And the sum of it is an amazing story of God’s love for all cultures, all people and not just our little group.

The Creator

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-07T19:50:54-05:00

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: . .” “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” In my dictionary the definition of create is “to use imagination to invent things.” In His likeness God gave us the power to create. We are constantly producing new things and new art. We are continually creating knowledge and literature. It is the hallmark of the human race. Without the power to create we would have no freedom. We would be confined to the ancient paths set out for us with no power to really think or choose.

God is a creator. If He only made the things that He had made before, He would be a manufacturer. Life and planets would be nothing more than clones. God would be a prisoner in the universe bored by thinking the same old thoughts over and over. He would be reduced to a fabulously complicated computer program. He is so much more. He is a lover. He is a nurturer. He dazzles with His creations. It is we who have uglified His handiwork. Yet we also create beautiful new things. I live near an amazing art museum. When I first enter I think I want to stay all day but after an hour or so I need to leave. It is not because my feet hurt. There are plenty of places to sit down. It is my brain that hurts. It is over stimulated by the richness of ideas and beauty.

I am doubtful about God’s physical appearance being very much like us. But I have no doubt regarding the gift of creativity that He has shared.

Reservered Premium Seats

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-06T17:42:16-05:00

One of our friends invited us to his high school drama production. Each year he works diligently with his students preparing a really great production. We went a bit early to be sure to get good seats. We need not have hurried. When we walked in the door there were two premium seats with signs that said in big letters, “Reserved – Bothwell.” How grand. We felt important.

In Revelation 14:9 we understand that a third of the angels of heaven accompanied Lucifer when he left heaven. That certainly left a lot of empty seats in God’s throne room. And how will those seats be filled? I cannot but think they are now reserved for the redeemed. Just as Jesus said there is a place for us in His Father’s house (John 14) it makes good sense to follow that with an understanding we also have a seat in the throne room – a reserved seat with our names engraved for eternity.

I have a friend who for the past several years has served in the House of Representatives in Washington. He does not have to search for a seat each time he attends. His seat is well marked. It is his. Just so we need not fear there will not be a place for us. Our seat is well marked and we will use that seat each time we attend one of God’s events.

Unlike today where my reserved seat partially blocked the view of a little guy behind me there will be no blocked views in God’s throne room. Some years ago upon entering a large room I asked the attendant for an unobtrusive seat in the back. He stared at me and said, “We have no such seats.”

Discipline Wins

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-03T18:28:44-05:00

It’s Super Bowl weekend. I realize for some of you that means little of nothing. You don’t care. But please excuse me and bear with me. I do live in New England and this is the fifth time in eleven years that the Patriots have won the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. So there will be no surprise as to what I will be doing this coming Sunday evening.

You would expect me to raise a biased voice about the Patriots being the best team. However, the Patriots have a saying we in New England hear over and over. It is, “The team that wins will be the team that performs the best.” Victory is not necessarily the team with the best athletes. If we disregard the fact that misfortune could strike in the nature of an injury to a key player or the bad bounce of the football, which sometimes determines the outcome of a game, the real issue will be discipline. This is not something limited to football but to life itself. Disciplined people with a clear focus and a studied purpose are those most likely to succeed.

Discipline manifests itself by understanding no matter how good you are at something you can always improve. After last week’s division win, Tom Brady, the Patriot’s quarterback, spent a day with a passing coach. Success is not so much what is behind you but what is still ahead. In Luke 16:12 we read, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” The development of character is disciplined determination to continued growth. No resting on laurels allowed. Prepare for tomorrow.

"I 'yams whats I ams"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-02T22:57:10-05:00

Our brains are most amazing memory organs. From the moment we are born, daily it stores billions of bits of data. The challenge of those first years is for our brains to sort the enormous intake. Little by little as the years go by it gets very good at categorizing stimuli. Soon it begins to form the story of a life. That’s why there can never be another like you because even a twin with the same DNA will experience different stimuli thus forming a unique person all its own. Decades later when we try to remember our childhood experiences we will unconsciously select the memories that harmonize with the self we have become. That is why it is most interesting to listen carefully to the stories people tell of their youth and childhood. It tells us much about who they now think they are. Events that cannot be synchronized are not discarded they are just not remembered even though they are there.

Other than God’s miracle of mitosis over which we had no control we are self made. There is no one to blame other than the person we see in the mirror. No amount of resurrecting repressed memories can excuse who we are and what we do. When we come to God for grace, forgiveness and salvation there is no room for excuses. There is no blaming moms, dads or uncles. The joy is we don’t have to blame anyone. God isn’t looking for shared responsibility. He is looking for a contrite heart and an openness to begin anew. He is looking for a heart that cries out Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

And the answer is (no drum roll needed) “Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Verse 25.

"Them"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-02-01T22:10:09-05:00

The English language abounds in four letter words. Some are not so nice but there are others that are wonderful like “glad,” “hope” and “love.” There is one that increasingly bothers me more and more. It is “them.” “Them” as in “those people.” I guess it is not so bad when we want to say something nice about “them” but it seems more times than not it is not that way.

“Them” are not “us.” “Them” are “those guys” who are not quite as good as we are. “Them” usually have sinister motives and are not quite as “human” as we are. “Them” are outsiders who can only be trusted if watched carefully.

Paul grew up in a “them/us” culture. He has much to say about this human disease. “. . . He (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household . . .” Ephesians 2:17-19 In Colossians 3:10-11 he wrote, “. . . (we) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

Who are the “them” in our lives and what can we do to make them “us.” Could it be the change needed is not in “them” but in “us?” Jesus fed two crowds. The one was Jewish and the other was gentile. They both got the same meal.

Dog Treats

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-31T22:45:28-05:00

I bought my dog a bag of beef sticks for snacks. I had planned to keep them in a drawer in my desk but when I opened the bag a cloud of garlic aroma wafted from that bag with such intensity my eyes rolled back into my head. I gave her a couple and later decided to play Dagwood Bumstead by taking a nap on our couch. I wasn’t too long zoned out to the world when I was startled to consciousness by an overwhelming foul cloud. Opening my eyes I found myself staring into two dark eyes a few inches from my nose. She wanted more as she gave me that “cocked head, pathetic, adorable, poor me” look. When you love someone or something, people and pets take on a completely different perspective. I got her another one.

You know the old saying one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Well there is a corollary saying, “One man’s stench is another man’s perfume.” Just stop at a perfume sample counter at the mall. Some are great and some are, well, not so great. We are not very consistent about smells. If we are hungry almost anything food smells great. If we are nauseous the best smells in the world make us even sicker.

I am sure sometimes our behaviors and attitudes reek in the courts of heaven. Yet, His love for us enables Him to continually reach out to us. He does not offer perfume to mask our odor. Instead He offers a transformation of being. By His grace and with His power we are enabled to do sweet smelling acts of love as we become more and more like Him.

Cliffhangers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-30T16:55:41-05:00

Sundays were wonderful when I was a boy. It was my day with my dad. When the weather was nice we headed for the mountains with our dog. When it was cold and messy we went to the movies. Those were the days when they screened cliffhangers. For quite a while I thought they were awesome. The hero would be left dangling in the most precarious situations possible with no way of escape and the film would end. We had to come back next week to see how he got away. As I got older I caught on that the beginning of next week’s episode was not nearly as frightening as had been portrayed.

In the years that passed I have met innumerable people who are cliffhangers. They say they are Christians but refuse to accept the gift of salvation. They are still trying to earn it and are never sure if they are good enough or have done enough. If you ask them if they are saved they respond with “I hope so.” What a miserable way to live! They want Jesus to come but are scared they will be left behind. So where is the joy of salvation? Where is the peace that Jesus promises?
Life is one great cliffhanger.

Why is it so difficult just to trust Him and take Him at His word? He promised, “He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” It’s a promise the enemy doesn’t want us to think about. If we really do accept it, life ceases to be a cliffhanger. We don’t have to come back next week to know what is going to happen. We know and it’s great.

The Pretty White Pickup Truck

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-26T22:07:25-05:00

I have a neighbor with a really pretty white pickup. As my dog and I were on our daily walk we passed his house and a man was in the driveway. I assumed it was the owner so I stopped to comment on the pickup. “No,” the man said, “I’m a repairman. That’s not my truck.” Now the truck was unusually dirty. It was covered with salt and sand – winter road grime. So I said, “It’s a shame to have such a pretty truck be so dirty.” The repairman laughed and said, “If you think the truck is dirty you should see the inside of the house.” Oops. I guess it’s true we shouldn’t judge a book (house) by its cover.

One of Jesus’ more powerful metaphors is found in Matthew 23. He thundered, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

My temptation here is to do some thundering of my own about television evangelists who are constantly begging for money and promising outrageous things. Last night I heard one say if some poor soul out there would send him money their mortgage would be canceled. But I will resist the temptation to go there and instead focus more on us normal people. Society expects us to be polite. We really shouldn’t go around revealing all our inner nastiness. Instead we need to become inside the way we project ourselves outside. We can do that. Paul promises us that Christ will strengthen us and help us clean house. Let’s do it.

Saved From the Mailman

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-25T22:12:24-05:00

The only sound I hear this evening is my dog snoring. It’s not a harsh raspy snore. It’s a very soft gentle sound that says, “I like it here. I feel safe here.” She is curled up about a foot or so from my desk and her snore is music. It’s a totally different sound than when the mailman comes. I don’t know why she hates the mailman. She hears his truck two mailboxes away and starts to growl. By the time he arrives she is often in a frenzy that instantly dies the moment he pulls away. She looks at me as if to say, “There. I saved you one more time.”

I have heard those words before. I have heard them innumerable times from Jesus. “There.” He says to me, “I saved you.” (He doesn’t say “one more time.” He doesn’t rub it in.) The problem isn’t Him throwing me out of the Kingdom. It’s me drifting away and suddenly waking up to my need to come home again. Then it is that I hear, “There. I saved you.”

Will He ever stop? No. The issue is me making Him say it. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to leave you with the idea that He is capricious. He is so stable. I also don’t want to give the idea that heaven has a revolving door. Not at all. It’s a solid place. I don’t believe every time I disappointment Him He throws me out. He would be a horrible Savior if that happened. It isn’t a matter of individual acts. It is a condition of my not caring and my getting so focused on other things that I am the one who opened the door and left. The wonder is, like my dog, He is always there to save me from the mailman.

Really? Yeah. Really.

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-24T20:14:11-05:00

In his letter to the Philippians Paul wrote, “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Really? Really? What about the day he was stoned and left for dead? What about the night they secreted him out of a city by lowering him in a basket? There were shipwrecks and finally prison. Maybe the key to this statement is the word “learned.” Perhaps he wasn’t so content the day a snake bit him. What about the disagreements he had with Peter and some of the other brethren? This has to be something he learned and I am guessing it was later in life.

He also says two verses later, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” None of us are born this way, especially when he was Saul running about the country killing Christians. The truth is Jesus made an enormous change in his life. The change was so great we don’t even call him Saul any more. He is Paul, the man who grew in Jesus.

If Jesus can do that for someone so impassioned we need to take heart for ourselves. If we think life isn’t working for us Jesus can change our perspective and teach us contentment. Do we think we aren’t getting the recognition and appreciation for how great we do our job? Surely one of the most difficult arenas is getting along with stubborn people who continually irritate us. We wish we didn’t have to be near them and yet we do. Jesus can teach us contentment. And just how is this possible? Jesus will strengthen us for the challenge. We can do all things. Really? Really? Yeah. Really.

If I Were a Bell

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-23T20:32:59-05:00

When I was very little before we moved to the country I loved Sunday mornings. One of the local churches rang the bell in their steeple to call people to worship. It was so beautiful as it echoed through the neighborhood. I have loved church bells ever since. Sometimes while waiting for a traffic light in town church bells begin. I quickly open the car windows to get the full effect. Bells can be pealed for joyous occasions such as a wedding. Bells can be tolled for sad occasions. One of the famous lines in literature is by John Dunne, “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Or bells can be rung just to tell us it is noon.

If I were a bell I would peal instead of toll. On occasion I hear sermons filled with gloom and doom. Instead I would peal the love of our Jesus and the transforming power of His grace to make us better people. We have so much to peal. Why burden people with bad news? They get loads of that from CNN, NBC and FOX. Sometimes we wonder why attendance at church is low. Could it be that people come weary and leave even more so? The Gospels are the GOOD NEWS.

Recently I read an interesting article about ten ways the world can come to an end. It covered everything from volcanoes to nuclear war. However, the best way wasn’t mentioned. So let us peal it out loud and clear. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

The Hypocrite

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-20T22:17:49-05:00

I was sitting in a waiting room this morning that had one of the machines that makes almost instant hot coffee. You take a small container and insert it in the top, close the lid, press a button and almost instantly coffee flows out. A very tall old guy came over to use it and my wife said to him, “Pretty amazing machine.” To which he responded, “They are wasteful. They are not good for the environment and contribute to the destruction of our world. That is one expensive cup of coffee.” He then made himself a free cup of hazelnut flavored coffee. If I had been up for a confrontation I would have, should have, called him a hypocrite.

We shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways. If we want to complain about something we should live accordingly. Jesus certainly had words for such people. Matthew 23 is full of Jesus’ indignation over such. Here’s a sample. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are liken unto whitewashed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

One of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines comes from Hamlet. “The lady doth protest too much.” In psychology we call it a reaction formation. It is defined as when a person is guilty of something and yet strongly crusades against his or her problem. Preachers need to be careful about denouncing something over and over because it soon becomes apparent they have a related problem. While we should not fear to call out sinful behavior that is harming someone, we also need to understand ourselves and why we are saying what we are saying.

The Donut Store Hold-Up Guy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-19T22:15:17-05:00

The same man held up the same donut store in our town three times in two weeks. He was finally captured when the employee with the headset asked a drive-up customer to dial 911. Either this man needs to go to jail or to a learning facility. Then again perhaps he is smarter than we think! It is very cold here. Winter has arrived and jail is a warm room, a bed and three meals a day. His clothes are provided and he doesn’t have to get up in the morning and go to work. Humm? The more I think about it the more I think he wanted to get caught.

I wonder what the judge will do with him. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to judge righteously and fairly. It seems it would be difficult not to become calloused to all the nonsense and evil. Why would someone want such a job? It is something we need and thankfully there are some willing to do so. Then again I know many people who do a lot of judging when they really should mind their own business.

In I Corinthians 6 Paul speaks of us judging the world and angels. Considering the fact that Jesus will judge the world I have to conclude that Paul means we will have an opportunity to evaluate Jesus’ decisions regarding people we know. Should we discover someone we love is not with us in heaven Jesus gives us the opportunity to check the records and thus understand His judgment was righteous. Difficult as this would be, it hast to be lest we spend eternity thinking Jesus made a mistake. That would have awful consequences.

I hope the donut shop holdup man enjoys his warm accommodations.

A Governmental Issue

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-18T21:40:31-05:00

The esteemed historian Will Durant wrote, “Since men love freedom, and the freedom of individuals in society requires some regulation of conduct, the first condition of freedom is its limitation; make it absolute and it dies in chaos. So the prime task of government is to establish order; . . .” The statement echoes Paul in Galatians 5. In verse 1 Paul declares that we have been set free by the sacrifice of Jesus. As he continues on he warns us not to use our freedom foolishly or we will end up consuming ourselves. “For you, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another.” 13-15

Christ has set us free from the obligations of the law. Instead of the law being a standard of conduct to earn salvation, it has become an instructional tool for those of us who need to be taught how to behave in a loving manner. If I love you I will not steal from you. If I love you I will not tell bad stories about you. It is for us who are conduct challenged. In II Corinthians 5:14 Paul wrote that “the love of Christ compels us” to do the right thing.

Freedom is not license to feed out lower nature and harm others. As we can see from the above quote from Will Durant, this is not just a spiritual issue. It is a governmental issue both in kingdoms of man and also in God’s.

Safe to Save

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-17T22:22:48-05:00

She looked to be about ten years old and her maternal instincts were soaring as she came out of the pet store. Cradled in her arms was a plastic bag filled with water. I never did see the fish because she was doing her best to protect it from the single digit temperature in the parking lot. No mother hen was more attentive than she. How could I not but think of Luke 13:34? Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killed the prophets, and stoned them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

It was Jesus who led the children of Israel out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. It was Jesus who supplied them with water from the rock and manna each morning. For 1500 years He had cared for them and now when He came to them they would not have Him. He did not meet their expectations of what the Messiah was to be.

Often times our loving, caring God does not meet our expectations. When horrible things happen to good people we have to remind ourselves that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. He would love to save us from all pain and suffering but He is involved in a great war with evil. The ultimate victory will only come when we and the universe see where sin and selfishness take us. There are intellectual issues raised by Lucifer that must be resolved so sin will be ended forever. Only then will we be safe to save. We must never be allowed to carry our disease to the rest of God’s kingdom.

"That's All Folks"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-16T18:20:54-05:00

I’m going to guess when 99% of us hear “That’s all folks” we immediately think of the conclusion to a Loony Tunes cartoon. Usually it’s Porky signing off but occasionally Bugs has the honors. For a few moments the thought crossed my mind that we will never hear “That’s all folks” in heaven because there will be a never ending supply of life, health, learning, talent development, etc. No matter how skilled we get at a particular task there will be more time for more honing.

Then it occurred to me that we will indeed hear “That’s all folks.” When the topic of death arises we can safely say with no possibility of correction, “That’s all folks.” As for pain, “That’s all folks.” As for crime, “That’s all folks.” How about sickness and disease? “That’s all folks.”

When I was a little guy I loved cartoons (still do) and was always just a bit disappointed to hear “That’s all folks.” I wanted the cartoon to continue. I never got (get) tired of Bugs outwitting Elmer Fudd and hearing Elmer say, “You wascal wabbit.” There are certain things that are timeless and I have to disagree with Paul’s comment in I Corinthians 13. Now that I am a man I still have not put away all my childish things. Maybe it’s a male thing. My wife really couldn’t care less about cartoons. But I have occasionally seen her changing clothes on Samantha, her American Girl Doll. Often when I am visiting someone in a nursing home I see a little old lady holding a doll. Or is it a dolly?

I was going to close with “That’s all folks.” But I will write again tomorrow.

Winter Visitors

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-14T21:25:06-05:00

We have two visitors who seem to be comfortable in our woods despite our very threatened dog. They have been with us for almost two weeks. It’s hunting season. I think they feel secure close to a house. This morning upon seeing them and telling them this was her woods our black lab promptly squeezed in between me and the bathroom sink. Perhaps she should stay close to me. A few years ago when we lived in Northern California I looked out the window to see our cocker spaniel come tearing out of the woods with a large deer hot on her tail.

Tomorrow evening the temperature will drop into the single digits. I find myself wanting to invite them inside where it will be warm. However, I know they will be just fine. This afternoon I watched them experience a thirty mile per hour wind gust and they paid no more attention to it than they had the two gray squirrels that scurried between their legs earlier this morning. I’m still waiting to see a moose which my neighbors tell me they have seen.

God was very busy the sixth day of creation. Our world teems with a huge variety of life forms. It is no wonder He finished that day with the pronouncement, “That is very good.” Yes, it was. Now that astronomers are able to spot planets moving around suns thousands of light years away they have announced this week that there are more planets in the universe than suns. If only one ninth of them are as lovely as our earth we have many places to visit. As Robert Frost once said, “and miles to go before I sleep.”

Snowpeople

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-13T18:33:08-05:00

Winter has finally arrived. We awakened this morning to a lovely white blanket covering our brownish yard and the maple and birch branches were outlined in white against the backdrop of a gray sky. It is a heavy wet snow and perfect for snowballs. It packs nicely and has given birth to a new population. Here and there one will spot a portly fellow with a corncob pipe and long thin orange nose.

It’s a temporary population very susceptible to some promised 40 degree days. Like people going into a sauna they will rapidly lose weight, but unlike most people they will not regain it the next day. We also are a temporary population. Our 70 plus years are as fleeting as Mr. Snowman. We melt away and our molecules will most likely once again be used in another human or perhaps a snowman.

If all there is to life is this temporal experience one has to ask why. Of what use or value is this other than a few years of happiness if we are fortunate? I genuinely feel sorry for very bright people who have no hope beyond here. They learn many languages. They get many degrees. Then it all goes the same place Mr. Snowman went. Solomon speaks of its futility. I want so much for them to understand we have an incredible God who wants to build on what they have accomplished. There awaits a never-ending acquisition of knowledge and to speak a multitude of languages without Star Trek’s universal translator button. There is so much science to learn, so many poems to write, so many essays to study and so many places to visit.

Alas, without Jesus we are merely snowpeople.

Sometimes I Forget

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-12T21:40:23-05:00

Some years ago I was driving across the Indiana Turnpike and realized I was close to the university I had attended and if I tuned the radio to the university station I could hear the weekly church service. Much to my delight when the speaker was introduced I knew him. In the next few minutes my delight turned into keen interest for the sermon was one I had written. A year or so prior the speaker’s brother asked if I could help him out with a half dozen sermons. Apparently he had passed them on. As I listened I was sure somewhere in that sermon due credit would be given. It wasn’t.

Was I miffed? Yeah, I was. But the more I thought about it the more I understood how wrong it was for me to be miffed. Number one – I gave it away. Number two – I have never had an original idea in my whole life. Everything I have ever written or spoken has been taken from others. All I ever do is repackage the ideas with different words. And number three – the whole point is to bring glory to God for giving us Jesus and saving us. Why was I wanting the glory? I really needed to put things into perspective. It wasn’t about me. It was and always is about Jesus.

By the time I got halfway across Ohio I had it pretty much worked out. I remembered Revelation 5:12. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”

Many times since I have reminded myself that it isn’t about me. It’s all about Jesus. At least it’s supposed to be. Sometimes I forget.

Priorities

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-11T21:17:44-05:00

One of the enjoyable things in the Gospels are the miscellaneous details. An example would be the 153 large fish in the disciple’s nets in John 21. One of my favorites isn’t a number it’s an aside in Luke 8. Jesus had just raised Jairus’s little girl from death and He instructed her parents to get her something to eat. I realize it is no big deal, especially in comparison to her resurrection, but it tells me so much about Jesus’ care for people.

Real religion isn’t about taboos, food and ceremonies. Paul wrote in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Real religion is what Jesus’ brother James wrote in 1:27. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” I once witnessed one of the “saints” (?), who would die before he touched a ham sandwich, tell his daughter she had to get out of their home. Talk about missing the point.

Some are going to be so surprised to meet people in heaven who never ascribed to any list of doctrinal points. They “merely” loved, cared for and fed people around them. “Merely?” I wonder if WE also have missed the point with our list about the Trinity, baptism, state of the dead, etc. Lest I receive emails regarding this I do think beliefs are important. My point is priorities. Paul does say scripture is profitable for doctrine. It’s just how much importance we place on such. Obviously the historic church has thought it to be important. They burned heretics.

Extremism

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-10T20:13:02-05:00

Once again the hate-filled Westboro Baptist Church plans to dishonor another fallen American soldier with their bile laden picket signs. Their mantra is “Thank God for IEDs” as they call our military dead “fallen fools.”

On December 26 in Israel a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews spat on a little girl and called her a prostitute because they deemed her shirtsleeves to be immodest.

Each week we hear news of suicide bombers in the Middle East killing people who are not their flavor of Islam.

How is it that the one thing in our lives that should make us better people instead fosters extremism, hatred and cruelty? Extremism is a vice that eats away at our humanity and turns us into subhuman creatures willing to do anything. Often times religious people frighten me. If a man thinks he is doing God’s will by killing me he will do it with a smile on his face. They are more frightening than “bad people” who merely want my wallet.

It does not matter if one calls oneself a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, if one’s religious experience does not make one a more loving, more generous or more peaceful person they are deceived and are children of the disgraced one who was cast out of heaven. I am so happy I discovered who Jesus was when I was a child and was not yet aware of what is done in the name of religion. If I had not done so I am fearful I might never have been anything even closely associated with any group. How delightful it is to know that real religion is one’s personal walk with God and not dependent on human associations.

The Danger of Preaching

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-09T21:54:43-05:00

Preaching is something of which I have an acquaintance. This is a strange activity where a group of people assemble to listen to one person - hopefully speaking uninterrupted. I call it strange because in most of our life’s activities it can be difficult to get people to listen. Often when it appears we are listening we are really waiting for the person speaking to take a breath so we can jump in with our opinion or story. People go to counselors and pay a hundred dollars an hour so someone will listen to them. (Real counselors don’t tell people what do to. They listen and help people sort out their issues.) Yet once a week or so people gather to listen to one person for thirty minutes or so. Instead of paying someone to listen to them, the congregation pays to listen when the offering plate comes by.

In a college setting I meet many young people who aspire to the ministry and I wonder why. If I ask they will tell me God has called them. I believe He does call some. However, often I think some are not even aware of their personal need to be important and to have other people listen to their thoughts. Preaching feeds one’s ego and threatens one’s soul. Personal glorification slowly replaces one’s desire to glorify God. Preaching can be extremely dangerous as one believes the nice things people say to you. We forget that the unnice things are saved for when we are absence.

In 1 Corinthians 1:21 Paul speaks of the foolishness of preaching that people might be saved. Often I think the person who most needs saving is the preacher and not the congregation.

The Walking Sermon

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-05T22:33:07-05:00

Linus once said, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.” After we finish smiling the meaning sinks in and we realize the little guy was quite wise. When we are face to face with individuals we see their quirks and flaws and are annoyed by them. When we speak of people in general they are more than tolerable. I find myself wanting to give money to people far away but not to people downtown. I stood in line this past weekend behind a fellow who was covered with tattoos. I confess that I was not overwhelmed with feelings of warmth and care. It was then that I dropped my keys and before I could stoop down he had scooped them up for me. He was beaming a big smile as he handed them to me. It was then that I saw the tattoos covering his arms were Scripture. His right arm was the 23rd Psalm and his left arm was Romans 8:38 & 39. While I have never desired a heart tattoo with MOM written under it, I almost wanted to do what he had done. Alas, my arms would not have been as impressive as his large biceps. He was a walking macho sermon; so much for stereotyping and prejudging people.

I realize that while Jesus told us to love others He never told us to like others. Often I have used that as an excuse for my sometimes unlikeable behavior. While I don’t wish to discourage you from helping some small hungry child in Central America, I would like to encourage you to help a child nearby. Not only will it make Jesus happy, it will make you happy.

Uncle Charlie's Funeral

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-06T22:26:02-05:00

Just once I would like to attend a funeral where the pastor would say, “Even though Uncle Charlie spent most of his life as a lying, cheating, neglectful parent and someone who couldn’t always be trusted, he will be with us in heaven by the grace of Jesus.” The truth is all of us are Uncle Charlie in some fashion (just change the list of sins) and none of us will ever see heaven if it wasn’t for the grace of Jesus. How often we spout heresy at funerals by saying such things as, “Surely Uncle Charlie will be in heaven because he was such a good man.” Uncle Charlie’s goodness or lack of goodness is not the Gospel.

So often we believe Uncle Charlie was saved by grace but once that occurred he then had to “do all the right things” to stay saved. We are fearful that if we don’t take this stance then people will continue on in their rottenness and something seems wrong about that. Well, there is something wrong with that. Paul puts it so very well in II Corinthians 5:14. “For Christ's love compels us . . .”

There it is. After Uncle Charlie accepted Jesus, he ceased what he had been and what followed was a life filled with love for Jesus. When we love someone we don’t want to disappoint them. Continuing to be rotten would be very disappointing to Jesus. The point of being saved is for us to have a better life and that can’t happen if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to begin to direct us toward better behavior.

We try to be faithful not to be saved but because the “love of Christ compels” us to be so.

Negative Campaigning

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-04T20:58:50-05:00

Literally tens of millions of dollars are being spent by politicians telling us true and untrue horrible things about their opponents. The politically harassed people in Iowa are getting up to ten telephone calls a day from political action committees. Lest we have the false idea that negative advertising is something new, let us remind ourselves it has been around a very long time. Before Adam and Eve lost their place in Eden Lucifer had been actively smearing God’s good name. Revelation 12:17 speaks of it beginning in heaven itself. Then it continued in Eden when Lucifer told Eve God didn’t want her to grow and become wise.

Lucifer then became a campaign of horror and destruction blaming God for the resulting death and despair. Hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. are now called “Acts of God.” He has been very effective in blaming God for things. There is a huge religion in the world that proclaims all things that occur are the will of Allah. After all they say if God didn’t will something to occur He would stop it. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A million things a day happen that are not God’s will.

Jesus tried to teach us the truth. He told us to call God, “Our Father.” He was hoping we might understand that real fathers while disciplining their children would never ever do anything to harm them. Unfortunately even that doesn’t always seem true because some fathers do unlovingly harm their very own children. The next time we are barraged by negative campaigning just remember who started it. What is sad is that we seem to be gullible enough to pay attention and sometimes actually believe it.

The Key to the Abundant Life

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-03T20:31:12-05:00

I opened an old book this evening and found pressed between the crisp yellow-edged pages two violets. The book is very old and had belonged to my mother. Immediately a torrent of questions poured out of my mind. Where did she get them? Who gave them to her? How long ago did she so carefully spread those precious purple petals to perpetually preserve them? Did she ever return to see them? Were they from my father? One of my sisters? Me? Had I come running in from the backyard to present them to the most beautiful person I knew? Had she kissed me and kept them safely in that old book? I would like to think it was that way but I have no memory of such. I just know that most little boys think their mothers are God’s angels. I was no exception.

Had Jesus ever brought flowers to Mary? Surely He must have done so. In the Sermon on the Mount He speaks of lilies. While He spoke of them did He smile as He remembered their fragrance mingling with the scent of fresh wood shavings on their carpenter’s floor? Life is mostly a conglomeration of memories. Since the events of life are both good and bad the quality of our lives depends upon what we choose to remember. One of my friends once came to me and spilled out a horror story of how her husband had abused her. When I asked her when this occurred she gave me a date that was twenty-three years gone by. Need I say more?

The memories are ours. The power is ours. Forgiving and forgetting is the key to the abundant life He promised. What is left is quality?

Jesus Knows Us

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2012-01-02T21:35:37-05:00

One of the more intriguing verses of Scripture is Luke 2:52 which speaks of Jesus, as a child, growing in wisdom. When He was thirteen He wowed the scholars in Jerusalem with His expansive understanding of Scripture. Yet He lived in a poor village that could not have afforded an entire Old Testament. The scrolls were passed one by one from village to village. Time with each scroll was very limited. He must have had a prodigious memory. When He realized He might not see a particular scroll again for a long time He must have diligently applied Himself to committing it to memory.

Adolescence is a time for figuring out who we are and what are our gifts. When Jesus attended Jerusalem after His Bar Mitzvah, He was faced with the task of understanding His true identity. Filled with stories from Joseph and Mary and His knowledge of Scripture He assembled the pieces. It was an amazing secret to carry about during His teen and early manhood years. He couldn’t speak of it because the ridicule from unbelieving peers and others would have been vicious. The religious experience around Him was encumbered with a layer of rules designed to keep believers from transgressing the core commandments. The conflict with parents, local rabbis, siblings and within Himself had to be monumental as He sorted out the manmade traditions from the principles of Scripture.

Hebrews 4 tells us He experienced all our temptations. Those formative years were crucial to who He was. There is not a child, adolescent or adult anywhere He does not understand. The Word became flesh and He experienced everything except old age. We didn’t let Him get there.

Animal Crackers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-30T18:28:37-05:00

I sat in church watching a small child eat a box of Animal Crackers. I must confess I wish he had offered me one. I remember being his size and wishing I could have had Animal Crackers. I wasn’t allowed to eat in church. It would have been possible to have had them. They have been around that long. Actually, my parents could have had them when they were small. They have been around since 1902. I wonder how many billions of those little crackers (actually more like a cookie) have been consumed by grateful little kids. I remember trying to make a case for church consumption because they were made in the image of creatures God made on the sixth day of creation. My logic never prevailed. Maybe it was the circus pictured box.

I’m sure it never occurred to that little guy to offer me one. To him I must look like his vision of Methuselah. Surely old people couldn’t like Animal Crackers. They do. There are certain things for everyone. In I Corinthians 13 Paul speaks of putting away childish things. But he was speaking of ideas like being good enough to be saved and thinking we are His special children as opposed to everyone else. Those are childish ideas that need to be shed by mature minds that honestly look in the mirror and know they cannot be so, except for our dishonest conceit. Paul wasn’t speaking of some special childhood things. Dare I confess that I still have my teddy bear?

One evening I entered a hospital room to visit an old friend who wasn’t going to come home again. His wife was feeding him from a half-gallon container of Breyers vanilla ice cream. How grand!

The Game

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-29T22:57:32-05:00

My wife keeps a running Scrabble game with our older son. They do it electronically on their cell phones. It is a nice way to stay in close contact and it keeps him from forgetting he has parents who love him very much. The old adage that absence makes the heart grow fonder isn’t always true. Sometimes out of sight is out of mind.

It’s a good idea to keep one’s children aware of how much they are loved no matter how old they are. Being loved is essential to our health and vitality. Our heavenly Father is very aware of this and continually sends us gifts to remind us of how much He cares for us. Those gifts come in many ways. We only have to be aware of the things around us. When we are paying attention we receive all kinds of serendipities.

The onus is also on us to check in with Him. Even if it is a short “Good Morning, Lord” when we wake up or a “Good Night, Father” as we hit the pillow. Granted more contact than that would be most advantageous to the relationship but it’s something. It keeps us in contact and available for the bigger, longer experiences He wants to share with us. Reading His mail to us really helps – you know – those letters called Matthew, Luke, and John. They are filled with news straight from His heart to ours.

Maybe just as my wife keeps a game going with our son, we could keep a game going with our Father. It could be called, “Count the Serendipities.” See if we can find more than yesterday. I promise you, they are there.

The Needle

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-28T23:32:21-05:00

The burn is less than two seconds as the shiny slim steel needle skillfully stealthfully slips though my skin into a vein. A burst of red rushes into the clear tube then turns pink and then clear as the life-saving fluid flows into my hungry body. The bottle hangs over my head as its contents became part of me. Antibodies, battling antibodies will seek and destroy any foreign life they find. Only my cells will they ignore. Antibodies from over twenty thousand other people will course through my veins battling to keep me alive.

Tonight I am alive. Tomorrow night I will be alive. For the next thirty days I will be alive until once again that shiny slim steel needle will once again tear through my skin in search of a vein. For five years now this has been my ritual. For five years now I live because of the wonders of modern medicine. For five years now I am in debt to the thousands of people who share their antibodies that I can continue to celebrate life with my incredible wife, sons and grandchildren and write to you about the love of our Creator God who gives us knowledge of that wonderful thing He made that Friday in His very image.

Someday I will no longer need that shiny slim steel needle. In I Corinthians Paul promises that this corruption will put on incorruption, this mortal shall put on immortality and I along with you and millions others will exchange this form for an eternal tribute to His love. But until that day I shall write to you about the grandest God who ever could be – for He is the one who made Himself poor by giving us His only Son so shiny slim steel needles will only be a memory.

The Dark Time of the Year

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-27T17:48:31-05:00

Here in central Massachusetts the length of day between sunrise and sunset was 9 hours and 1 minute on the 19th through the 26th of this month. It wasn’t just the darkest day of the year it was the darkest week. It is grand to celebrate the birth of the Light of the World during this darkest of times. The European pagans celebrated Saturnalia during this same dark time recognizing the birthday of the unconquerable sun on the 25th.

Many of my friends grow just a tad uncomfortable when this topic comes up. Somehow it seems that we are participating in paganism because of these facts. But true meaning is what happens inside our minds. God gave us incredible minds with which to choose and create. The power is ours to make something mean what we choose for it to mean. We do not have to allow others to dictate to us what meaning we bring to something. It is part of the freedom of which Paul speaks so eloquently in Galatians 5.

Since we do not know when Jesus was born it is our prerogative to usurp this dark time of the year from the pagans and claim it for our Lord, who proclaimed Himself to be the Light of the World. He is the one who created the sun the pagans worshiped. The pagans lost this battle. Jesus won. The time is His. As the days now grow longer so we should also be more and more enlightened everyday with the light of Jesus’ presence in our walk. Solomon said, “The light shines more and more on our path.” That light is Jesus. He is the King of Kings. Just as He won the victory over death He wins the victory over all the meaningless pagan Gods of the past.

Seatbelt

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-23T21:26:47-05:00

My dog loves to go in the car. She is so happy when I tell her she can go along. Normally she rides in the back. But today my wife wasn’t with me so she happily moved up to the passenger front seat. The problem with that is I couldn’t get her to buckle up her seat belt. Not only is that a safety issue for her it is an amazing annoyance for me. She weighs 80 pounds and triggers the seatbelt reminder. Over and over and over the car goes ding, ding, ding and more dings. If I told her once I told her a dozen times to buckle up but she refused.

She is just like people who won’t listen to God. He tells us what lifestyle is good for us. We pay little attention. He tells us we will be richly blessed if we tithe. Most people don’t. He tells us not to lie. Most people do. He tells us to remember His Sabbath day. Few people do. The list can go on and on. We just don’t pay attention; just like the seatbelt is a safety issue for my dog so all His commands are safety issues. Each command has beneficial fruit. One big difference is we don’t hear a ding, ding, ding when we don’t listen to Him. Maybe that would help. Maybe we would do better if He dinged us. But that’s not His way. We do get dinged (more like the dings in the car door – or worse) but He doesn’t do it to us. They are the fruit of not paying attention to Him.

The Psalmist says it so well. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” 119:105

It's This Way

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-21T21:19:25-05:00

While I was waiting in the parking lot of a big box store a car pulled in near me. The driver wasn’t in the store very long before he came out and started looking for his car. Thinking to help him I called to him while pointing to his car. “No,” he responded, “it’s over here.” I understood his problem. He had referenced his parking spot to the entry door of the store. The exit door was farther away. So, again I called out. “It’s over here.” Again he rebuffed my effort to help so I just sat and watched. Finally he pressed the alarm button on his key and sure enough the car I was pointing to started beeping. As he came over and drove away he never looked my way. I guess it’s not manly to be wrong.

In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way.” For two thousand years now people have rebuffed His directions. “No,” they call back to Him, “I know a better way.” Again and again He calls out directions until finally they can’t hear Him anymore. He’s still calling but their ears have grown deaf to Him. Maybe that’s why Jesus said so many times, “Let Him who has ears, hear.”

Perhaps part of the problem is that those of us on “The Way” have not made “The Way” a very nice place. I hope not. The early Christian church referred to themselves as “The Way.” It is frustrating to really know something and to not be able to communicate it. I have often wondered about the frustration level of the Holy Spirit. He is continually wooing people and is continually ignored. That’s tough.

Christmas Letters

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-20T21:50:44-05:00

It is such a grand time for catching up on friends. Each day the postman leaves us a handful of Christmas letters and photos. Contrary to some people’s complaints about reading about people’s cruises and brilliant grandchildren, I enjoy it. Life is about people and it is a joy to read about people who had ordinary children produce extraordinary grandchildren. Isn’t it nice to know that once upon a time we had grandparents that thought we were terrific?

One of the challenges of the season is recognizing just who sent the Christmas letter. Even though there are pictures in the envelopes I still look at them and have NO idea who they are. Men have gone bald. Woman have gone blond. Where there were two nice trim people there are now – humm – I don’t know how to describe what I see. I don’t recognize the names of the grandchildren since they are new to this world. Most of the time the return address on the envelope helps but sometimes it’s missing. I have one here in my hand that has me totally stumped. Anybody out there know a couple named Alfonso and Rebecca with grandchildren named Jose and Isabella?

What a relief it is to know that God never has this problem. No matter how much we change or how long it has been since we have bothered to contact Him, He still knows everything about us and our grandchildren. He even thinks our grandchildren are extraordinary; maybe not brilliant but very loveable. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus assures us God notes every sparrow. Now that is amazing since they all look alike. He’s just that way. That’s why Jesus told us to call Him, Father.

We Have No Idea

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-19T16:07:32-05:00

While visiting a second grade classroom my wife was asked to read the Bible story of the children of Israel crossing the Jordan. Afterwards a little girl came over to her and said, “You’re becoming a very good reader.” Considering the fact that my wife’s doctorate from U C Berkeley is in reading I figured that was about the best compliment she has ever received. That was a very discerning and sweet seven-year-old.

I wonder if our praise and compliments to our Father God cause Him to smile. He knows all the secrets of biology and physics. Chemistry and mathematics are some of His specialties. The intricacies of psychology are as open to Him as are the ABC’s to us. When we pray we tell Him how great He is. We have no idea how great He really is! Our perspective is so narrow and limited. The day we walk into the throne room of the Almighty our mouths will drop open and we will gasp at the glories and intricacies before our eyes. We will be overwhelmed to think that Jesus left all that to share with us the reality and horror of this sinful world. The Gift in Bethlehem was God making Himself poor that we could become rich. The problem for us is we have no idea what rich really is. We think in terms of things and bank balances. I doubt if those things are even in the equation of heavenly wealth, which is love and relationships and eternal life without the rotten fruit of sin.

Now that I have said all this I think I will make God smile and ignorantly say, “Thank you Father for being so majestic.”

The World's Greatest Preacher

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-16T22:57:43-05:00

I recently heard someone referred to as the World’s Greatest Preacher. As crass as this may sound that is as relative as pronouncing a flavor of ice cream or a particular brand of pizza as the world’s greatest. Different people like different foods. I chose food for the analogy because preaching really is a matter of taste – mental taste. Preaching is a very stylized form of communication laden with theological and cultural biases. A few years ago I preached to a large group of mostly Caucasians. It was well received; therefore, a few weeks later when I was invited to speak to a large group of African-Americans, I decided to use the same sermon. It was an awesome mistake. I began looking for the backdoor as I came to realize very few were listening to me. If I ever had their attention I certainly had not kept it; thus the importance of the blessing of Pentecost and the gift of tongues.

The gift of tongues can be speaking in a foreign language, but most likely it happens more often then we think when we preach to a group filled with children, teens, young adults and seniors. Each has a different need and each is listening for something meaningful and relevant to them. One of the best compliments a preacher can have is when a small child meets you after church and says, “That was really good.” You can take that one to the bank. Older people will tell you it was good because they don’t know what else to say and be polite.

The most challenging command Jesus ever gave comes at the end of Matthew. It is the Gospel commission. It needs not one preacher but a host because there isn’t one world’s greatest preacher.

Carpe diem

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-15T20:27:51-05:00

I’m loving being a senior citizen. I checked a videotape out of our city library and was told it was due on Friday. However, I happen to know that senior citizens don’t have to pay library fines. They don’t think we can remember to bring stuff back. So I’ll take it back whenever. I get my drink free at Taco Bell. That’s a real bargain. Last night while stacking chairs our conference president came over and offered to help me pick up a chair. Hey, he’s no spring chicken either. Then yesterday when I entered a barber shop the barber said to me, “What can I do for you?” “What?” I thought, “This is a barbershop. Why would I come in here? Do I need a lobotomy?” Last week, a teen passed me on the sidewalk and said, “Hi, Pops.” Yeah, I like this stage of life. I think I will revert to my childhood and start stating my age in fractions. “I am 69 and three quarters.” I told someone today I was 70 just for the fun of seeing their expression. They were shocked because I really look 80.

Even though I totally believe heaven is waiting for me I am in no hurry to check out of here. There is too much fun going on. I don’t want to miss what’s coming next. Just look at all the electronic gadgets we get to play with. Next year I’m getting a robot to be my valet.

Jesus wants us to experience the abundant life. He told us that is why He came. He is interested in our future but He is also interested in our todays. See John 10:10

Accidental Phone Calls

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-14T22:16:28-05:00

I have this teacher friend who kept calling me today. When I answered he didn’t. Instead of hearing his “Hello” I heard him teaching algebra. I would hang up and a few minutes later he would call again. This happened several times. It seems he had his cell phone in his pocket and unconsciously he kept tapping it. I was the receiver. This must have been payback because a year or so ago when I was in with my doctor I unawares called him. He wasn’t home and his answering machine then recorded my conversation with my doctor. It gives us pause to think of the possible consequences of such an event. However, if we only say nice things about others there is nothing to be concerned about. Record away.

Recently I heard someone say we should pretend Jesus is in the room and then our conversation would always be nurturing and kind. But wait a moment. Jesus via the Holy Spirit is always with us. We don’t have to pretend. See John 14. I am uncomfortable with the idea that we always have to be monitoring ourselves. That gets to be old very fast and we just give up. Wouldn’t it be so much better if we were the kind of person who naturally said and did the kind thing? No pretending. No monitoring. Just be natural and know we will say the right thing because we really care about others. Actually that might be asking a bit much. Even Jesus got angry at times and said some very harsh things. See Matthew 23. Wouldn’t we love to have a recording of that! I guess Solomon was right when he said there is a time for everything.

The Nutcracker

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-13T21:09:12-05:00

When Peter Tchaikovsky died in 1893 he never could have imagined he would someday sell everything from expensive horseless carriages to inexpensive toiletries at Kmart. Perhaps it’s because the music of his Nutcracker Ballet has become so associated with Christmas, or because it receives no copyright royalties, or just because it is so beautiful that merchants use it so often as background in their commercials. If Tchaikovsky could have received a nickel for every product he has sold he would be wealthier than Bill Gates. Then again we must not forget whose birthday is being used to stimulate the economy by getting us to shop.

Believing that Jesus voluntarily surrendered his omniscience when He became a man, then neither could He have known how many toys, autos, clothes and computers He would someday sell via His made-up birthday. There is so much irony in all this thing we call Christmas. It is a delightful time. The music is great. (Pretty much. I’m not so sure of the Chipmunks singing “Jingle Bells.”) Most people are a bit nicer. (Worried about that “list.”) And perhaps, just maybe, some people give a bit more thought to the real reason. I am of the opinion that anything that draws people’s thoughts to the gift at Bethlehem has some merit.

Therefore, during the day as I drive about I will enjoy hearing about partridges in pear trees and drummer boys. But my real thoughts, my solemn thoughts will be about the vulnerability of Jesus as one of us and His victory over sin. As happy as pretty lights and decorated trees make me, the real joy that brings tears to my eyes will always be about what happened in a filthy animal stall in Bethlehem.

Winter Moon

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-12T21:24:19-05:00

There is a silence settling over our New England nights. There are no frogs, crickets or other night sounds. Winter is creeping in on us. The leaves have layered the forest floor giving a blanket’s warmth to the salamanders that will not appear again until spring when the sun will again warm our fertile earth. As we approach the longest night of the year owls patiently watch for mice that have not yet filled their pantries for the coming famine. Squirrel’s inner GPSs have logged a map of buried acorns as they await the howling winds of January.

Tonight’s December moon drifts slowly across the sky in its appointed path. Silhouetted birch and maple branches web across my sky like the work of a drunken spider. In the morning there will be a glassy pane of ice across puddles. Until then our neighborhood coyote will roam through our yards enabled by the glow of that winter moon.

My dog sits close beside me staring into the darkness of our woods. This morning she saw a pair of deer. I think she is looking to see if they will again sleep near our house. I hear her soft breathing. I feel the hardness of her body press against my leg as if to let me know as long as we are together we are safe. All is well as winter settles in. The woodpile is high and ready for those wonderful days when schools are closed and one can sit all day by the fire with a good book and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Winter is a good time. It heralds the coming of spring. Spring always follows winter. But for now I will enjoy the slowly drifting winter moon.

Eternal Friendships

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-09T22:17:45-05:00

We went to dinner this evening with two of the most wonderful people in the world. Honest, caring people. We have known them for eighteen years and the only thing wrong with the relationship is we don’t share enough time with them. They are the parents of four sons. One of those sons gave me the opportunity to solemnize his wedding. It was a grand occasion. Smart fellow - he married a teacher. What more can I say about that? One of the saddest days of my life was when I spoke at one of their son’s funeral. I still feel the pain as I write. There is nothing more meaningful than to have friends and be with them at the high moments of life and during the lowest. Friends are for laughing and crying; thankfully more laughing.

Isn’t it grand to have friends? However, there is a sweet sorrow as the years pass. We watch each other wrinkle and gray. We know if it wasn’t for Jesus those friends will be gone someday. But, we can be so thankful in knowing that in Jesus friendships will never end. We will have dinner again and again as the millenniums roll by and how sweet it will be. There will be no graying or wrinkling. If anything we will keep looking better and better.

Jesus is our Friend. He said so and He never lies. He wants to have dinner with us. In eternity there is time for everything and that means each of us can have Jesus Himself home for dinner. Oh the stories we will tell. He will get to fill in details of things we did; details we had no clue about. Eternal friendships – that is what eternity is all about.

The Now Gift

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-08T21:54:59-05:00

We received a Christmas box from some very special friends. Now I have a dilemma. Do I or do I not have the self-discipline to wait until Christmas before opening it? There it sits on the kitchen counter taunting me. Each time I pass by it whispers, “Hey, I’m here. I have goodies inside. Come on. You don’t have to tell your friends you opened it. They live in Florida. They won’t know.” My wife doesn’t help. She opines that there might be something perishable in that box and to delay wouldn’t be a good idea. However, there is something to be said for waiting. This could be an exercise in character development. But then again at my age do I really need to build any more character? Perhaps I could excuse myself by asserting at my age the end could come at any moment and if I wait I might never know the contents. Then there is the issue of thanks. If I open it now I can express my thanks to my friends prior to the time when they will be inundated with thanks from others. I don’t want my thanks to be lost in the volume.

One of the wonders Jesus wanted us to understand is that His gift to us does not have to wait until some future time. He wants us to experience the joy and benefits now. Note John 5:24. “He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Eternity begins the moment we accept His gracious offer made possible by His sacrifice. The gift is now. The fruit of the gift is forever.

Many Mansions

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-07T17:58:10-05:00

When I was small the people in my church used to ask each other, “How long have you been in the Truth.” It was understood that to be a member meant you knew what the Bible taught, what life was about, what God expected of us and what we had to do to please God. One day two young men knocked on our door and as I sat and listened to their fervency it was as if I was looking in a mirror. Members from another group knocked on my door and once again as I took their pamphlet I was looking in a mirror. While we were living in Uganda a pope visited for the purpose of solemnizing a place where both Anglican and Catholic Ugandans were burned alive in lieu of renouncing their faith. Each group, including mine, has a worldview they (we) believe is consistent with Scripture. And yet each group is distinctively unique.

There is a certain kind of spiritual and intellectual arrogance in thinking our worldview is “The Truth.” One of the great lessons of Balaam is that God has His people in many places. The Children of Israel did not have a monopoly on God’s concern and revelation. Jesus once said, “Herein will men know you are my disciples that you love one another.” Strange that not one hint of doctrine appears in that command. (Or was it an observation?) Perhaps the important issue is not one’s worldview as much as one’s loyalty, faithfulness and commitment to their worldview. Jesus also told us to put our hand to the plow and not look back. Is not His appeal to us to commit with all our hearts and all of our talents? Surely in His house there are many mansions. John 14.

"He's Not Mine."

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-06T18:58:37-05:00

Rowdy children are great fun when they belong to someone else. Such it was this weekend. We were walking behind a couple with a preadolescent boy who was giving them a bad time. I have to admit I was enjoying the show. Finally the man turned to us and said, “He’s not mine!” Maybe that was one of the reasons the boy was acting up. He wasn’t loved enough for the man to take responsibility for him.

That is one of the most wonderful parts of the Gospel. No matter how bad we are God never quits caring about us. When Adam and Eve shattered God’s plan for Earth it would have been so easy for God to just wash His hands of them and say, “They aren’t mine.” But they were His. Never once did He contemplate proclaiming them to be on their own.

This is no license for bad behavior on our part that is unless we are preadolescent. We can’t just walk around abusing His grace and care. In Galatians 5 Paul talks about walking in freedom and warns us not to use that freedom to abuse ourselves and others. So much of being a Christian is being a grownup. When we are no longer preadolescent we should understand responsibility and respect. We respect others and we respect ourselves. We don’t do harmful things. We want to be like our Jesus and since He does not harm neither will we. It’s not about obeying a set of laws. It’s all about understanding the principles of the laws and being a respectful grownup with the confidence that our heavenly Father will never turn to the universe and say, “They aren’t mine.”

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-05T17:50:13-05:00

As you begin to read this the thought will most likely cross your mind, “Is he asking for money again.” I know this seems impossible but a whole year has passed since the last time I asked. I promise you that I will only do this once a year. Even though it seems like yesterday I can’t slow down the passage of time. It just races along. It is that most wonderful time of the year when every ministry asks you for money. It’s my turn. My reason for doing it now is the same as for all other ministries. People are getting their financial affairs in order before the end of the year. They want to be sure their contributions are in before December 31 so they can get their receipts for tax purposes.

For over twenty years now we have written 6,527 devotionals. About 66% of them are available in the archives on the Internet at this website.

Many of you are aware that the small college my wife and I teach at here in New England did not open this fall because of financial reasons. People are working very hard so we can reopen again next fall. When we do our student body will surely be as always. Almost 50% of our students come from families below the United States poverty level. Therefore, my wife and I are continually watching for worthy students who need assistance. We purchase textbooks and sometimes clothes, and help students go on mission trips, which does so much for them. We also send children to summer camp and help with medical expenses. All in all we try to do what Jesus would do. So we ask for your help.

At first I was tempted to ask people to contribute an amount equal to what they feel the value of the devotions are worth. But that is frightening because someone might send me a penny. My ego couldn’t take that. So I will ask you to contribute what you hope they are worth to others.

Thanks so much. We really do appreciate your care. And if you can’t give I want you to know I am grateful that you read the devotionals. It makes the almost daily effort very worthwhile.

Our address is:
Spring of Life
151 Old Farm Rd.
Leominster, MA 01453

Letters of Recommendation

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-02T21:50:18-05:00

Part of being a teacher is writing many letters of recommendation for my students. There are letters for employment opportunities, letters to get into grad school and letters for practicums. Sometimes because of the details that need to be just right, I ask the student to write the letter and send it to me for my approval and signature.

This evening I wondered what it would be like if we needed a letter of recommendation to get into heaven. Who would we ask? Mark Twain once said we should have our enemies write our letters of recommendation because they are the only ones who would tell the truth about us. Our friends put icing on the cake.

There is no question that our greatest foe, Satan, would only have to tell the truth. It would be one occasion when he need not tell a lie. The truth is damming enough. I grew up singing the song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” I cannot imagine that if Jesus would write a letter for us that He would ice the cake. He will tell the truth. We are not worthy. But then comes the good part. He is worthy to recommend us because He is worthy to give us eternal life. We get to live because He, our very best friend, who always tells the truth, vouches for us. The word “vouch” means to provide supporting evidence for the quality of somebody or something. He has kept careful record so He can show evidence that we trust Him. He has the data. He has the evidence. That’s what those books are for.

If we need a letter He will write it and He will sign it.

The New You

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-12-01T22:23:47-05:00

Over and over I hear people telling others to just be themselves. I’m not sure that is good advice. Maybe I am misinterpreting what that means but it seems like we are telling people to be content with who they are and not to strive to be someone better. Frankly I don’t want to be me. There is no challenge in being me. I’m already me. I want to be better. I want to be a better teacher, a better father, a better husband, a better grandfather. It is too easy to be me.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus challenges us to reach beyond what we are. He said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. Talk about reaching for the stars! That verse used to discourage me because I confused it with a requirement for salvation. I wanted to give up right then and there. But I was confused. This text is not about salvation. Salvation is a gift. This challenge is all about personal growth. This is about goal setting and being all that we can be. This is Jesus saying, “I will save you. Now, with your hand on the plow, don’t look back. Set your eyes on being the best ever you.”

If you are a carpenter, be the best carpenter ever. If you are a mechanic, a farmer, a secretary or a sales clerk, whatever you are, be the best ever. If you are, I promise you there will be some people who will hate you for it. Some people want everyone to be mediocre. Ignore those people because the rest of the world and heaven will rejoice in the new you.

Pride of Ownership

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-30T21:14:59-05:00

I grew up just north of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. As a boy we spent many Sundays driving through Amish country. I loved the farms and the Distelfink Hex signs on the barns. What I loved best were the horses. Since the Amish didn’t drive cars one could tell how much pride they took in their horses. I never saw an ill-cared-for horse. Those were the days when most of the cars we saw were made in Detroit and model years were very distinctive. As we drove we would call out the make and year of cars coming toward us to see who got it first. Just as we would shine the chrome on our 57 Chevy those horses were groomed to perfection. There was a pride of ownership.

I grew up in a religious culture that pretty much labeled pride as sin. Lucifer’s pride led to the first sin. “Pride goeth before destruction.” Proverbs 16:18. Yet I feel that someone needs to speak up for pride. A man needs to feel proud of his family and his wife and his children. I often tell my sons how very proud I am of them. A person without personal pride often neglects grooming and often fails to achieve all that they can be. A student who is proud of their grades will apply themselves and seek to do well to maintain that good GPA. A congregation that isn’t proud of their church allows the paint to peel and weeds to take over the lawn. I don’t think we want to live in a country that didn’t make us feel proud.

The word “pride” like all words needs a careful definition. It can mean having a proper sense of value and it can also mean being haughty and thinking we are better than others. Like most things balance and perspective are so important.

Witnessing??

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-29T20:18:20-05:00

The city put a wooden sawhorse-like barricade over an indentation in our street with a yellow light that flashes at night. The problem for the past three weeks is that the sawhorse-like barricade is lying on its side in the grass by the side of the street. The light flashes but you have to be almost standing over it to see it. It’s almost the light Jesus referred to in the Sermon on the Mount. That one you could stand over and not see.

The application here is overly obvious. We have heard it all our lives. “We have to get out there and witness.” The problem is “What do we mean by witnessing?” When I was small that meant standing on a street corner handling out pamphlets and then watching people toss them as they continued on their way. It meant being different by not eating certain foods when invited to someone’s home. That one always missed me as to how that made other people want to know our Jesus.

Some have told us witnessing is being the nicest, kindest, most honest person in our workplace, neighborhood or school. The fruit of that is people thinking you are the nicest, kindest, most honest person they have ever known. But does it make them want to know our Jesus? At some point it seems that we have to steer a conversation to a religious theme. But that is as dangerous as being a liberal in a group of conservatives. So how do we let our light shine? How do we witness? I have been to seminars trying to tell me how to do it but I have never been overly satisfied with the presentation. We all can’t be Billy Graham. So how?

Maturing Minds Want To Know

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-28T21:41:36-05:00

There are over 1.5 million geocaches and 5 million geocachers in the world. Just in case you might not be familiar with it, it is basically a game where people hide things for other people to find. Geographic coordinates are posted on a website and off you go for an adventure that can be as simple as finding a small container in a hole in a tree or as difficult as rappelling halfway down a cliff to find a plastic box in a crevice. It runs the gambit of being fun for families or challenging for thrill seekers.

Late this afternoon we found one that required three attempts. What was frustrating was the directions even told us it was beside a log and yet time and again we walked around and felt the very log with our hands to no avail. Finally my wife dragged a stick along the ground and suddenly heard a metallic clunk from under a bed of pine needles. There it was. Time and again my fingers had been a half inch away and I never perceived its presence.

There is a book that I continually read over and over. It is entitled The Desire of Ages, a biography of Jesus. The reason I keep reading it is because each time I discover something my mind previously missed. Suddenly something is there my brain failed to register in earlier readings. It has a lot to do with life and experience. Many things cannot be perceived if one isn’t yet ready. Our minds are like that. An artist can go to a museum and see a hundred things the rest of us don’t register. We aren’t ready. Reading Paul’s letters is like that. Treasure after treasure keeps appearing. There is no end to the maturing mind.

Being Rich

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-25T20:49:11-05:00

When we were little heaven was all about things. Mansions, streets of gold, tame lions and tigers were the big thing. As Paul says in I Corinthians 13 when I was a child I thought as a child. But now that I am a man all those things seem very unnecessary. Heaven is about family. Heaven is about having one’s loved ones safe and having eternity to grow, intellectually, spiritually and creatively. If I were given that I would be happy in a one room wooden shack with just one dog as my only animal. Actually I could do without the dog but it would be a nice touch.

Being rich is having enough. The cup running over really isn’t necessary. The widow’s barrel that never went empty was being rich. The little boy’s basket of bread and fish was being rich. The widow of Nain getting her son back was being rich. Even though Martha and Mary lived in the rich little town of Bethany I’m sure that didn’t matter when Lazarus died. Then Jesus came.

Recently there has been a plethora of articles questioning the value of a college education. If you are talking about the availability of job opportunities and the student loan debt, the value of a college education is questionable. If one talks about exposure to ideas, great literature, a greater understanding of history, a vaster comprehension of human development, a broader grasp of the sciences and more discernment of human behavior then the question really is mute.

For Christians being rich is being forgiven, having an assurance of being once again with loved ones who are waiting for the resurrection and knowing that our future has no end because we are loved by the One who made it all.

How Sweet It Is

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-23T22:39:49-05:00

As my dog and I were finishing our evening walk and approached our home I suddenly became aware that I could smell our house about three houses away. Lest I leave you with the wrong idea that we live in a pig sty allow me to explain. Yesterday after over a week of work, a crew of house painters finished painting all the outside wood on the house. Not only did the gallons of oil based paint beautifully cover the eaves, window frames and doors they also filled the atmosphere with their particular fragrance. I like the smell and hope my neighbors don’t mind until it dissipates.

This is a good week for smells. Lots of kitchens will be emanating wondrous aromas throughout homes as we get ready for Thursday’s feasts. Stores are anticipating Black Friday and making sure we are greeted at the door with vanilla or cinnamon or lilac scents. Smelling good things puts us in a good mood, and hopefully for the merchants, opens our wallets.

I have always imaged that Eden was filled with the fragrances of flowers and heaven will likewise be so scented. When I go to church I often smell lots of aftershave lotions and perfumes. That’s good because it compensates for the garlic lovers in our midst.

People have always loved to smell nice things. When the Magi came to visit Jesus in Bethlehem they brought some very nice smelling gifts. One of the best scents that God loves is described in II Corinthians 2:15. “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved . . .” As Jackie Gleason used to say, “How sweet it is!”

Duh

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-22T22:10:27-05:00

My sister, who lived with us for many years, moved to California to be close to her children. We have been forwarding her mail as we wait for others to get her new address. Last week we forwarded to her a letter from Dreyfus. When she received and opened it, the letter inside was an acknowledgment that they had her new address. After I got over the “duh” moment I realized the logic. They were checking to make sure someone had not, for fraudulent reasons, changed her address without her knowing.

So many times in life we jump to conclusions about the stupidity of what someone has done. Usually it is because we don’t know the logic behind the action. Because we have limited knowledge about what led up to a behavior we, thinking we are so intelligent, conclude the other person was stupid. Only when we learn all the factors involved do we understand what the person did was the right thing to do.

When Jesus found his disciples on shore after a night of fishless fishing and he told them to cast their net over the side of the boat, I’m sure some of them must have thought, “That’s stupid. We fished all night and got nothing.” Peter actually objected but finally did what he was told. The Bible says, “When they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them.”

Even when we don’t understand what God asks us to do, the smart thing would be to do it. He would never ask us to do something stupid. We just don’t understand all that is involved.

Blocking the Door

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-21T20:54:00-05:00

This evening as my son and family were leaving the baggage area at Logan airport they were blocked at the door by a man on his cell phone. Apparently he wasn’t coordinated enough to walk and talk at the same time. Neither did he seem to be aware that others needed to get by. Meanwhile we along with others waiting in cars were being urged along by some very intimating state patrolmen.

Unfortunately sometimes we have people blocking the door to our churches. I have seen well-meaning but poorly acting older people chase our teens away. They are made to feel unwelcome because of their dress or jewelry or makeup. Sometimes they are actually verbally assaulted that they are not representative of Christ by looking the way they look. But really now, when one stops to think about it, what real harm occurs to anyone because someone is experimenting and has purple hair? They will grow up and not look like that for the rest of their lives. Well, perhaps I should take that back. I have seen older ladies with purplish hair.

Our churches should be places where anyone is welcome. If a kid shows up with an arrow through his head and enough fake gold chains around his neck that he looks like Mr. T., who does that harm? Better that they are with us in church than home watching television or playing video games. Sometimes we excuse our behavior by saying we are holding up the standards. What standard? What about the standard of unconditional love. What about the real sins of us older people? I mean the vile ones we carry inside – the ones Jesus cares about.

Gouged

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-18T22:16:36-05:00

I bought a new pair of shoes yesterday and put them on this morning for the first time.   They were as perfect as only something new can be. As I started down the stairs my dog promptly stepped on one with her 80 pounds and one of her nails gouged into that fine finish. I think I had them on less than five minutes. Alas. It also seems that way when I buy a new car. That first ding seems to occur in the first few days and months go by before the second one appears.

Can we even begin to imagine God’s reaction to Adam and Eve’s disobedience? Eden was perfect. Genesis one finishes with God critiquing His own work. He said, “That’s very good.”   We have no idea how many millenniums of thought and planning went into this magnificent planet. It was here that He prepared a perfect home for a perfect couple made in His image. Angels must have been overwhelmed with the artistic design and scientific balance for life. Surely there were tears shed all over heaven when the news spread regarding the now flawed paradise. This was not a gouge mark. This was not a ding. This was destruction. Death had come to Earth.

God Himself would offer that first sacrifice as He explained to them what it represented. As graphic as that was I doubt if they really got it. No one really got it until that night in another garden.   Jesus clung to earth begging His Father for another way and if there was no other way to give Him the strength to do it.   He did it. Now we know. But do we? Surely we would be more motivated if we really understood.

Striking the Right Note

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-17T22:30:29-05:00

My exquisite art teacher reminded me this morning of something so true and very important. When you strike middle C or any other key on a piano all of the other strings on the piano harp vibrate with it. It literally sets the tone. It’s just like people. When we strike a tone others around us respond in kind. A few months ago someone entered my office to complain about the hostile environment. I had to admit my surprise. What hostile environment? I was surprised but not puzzled. All I had to do was look at the person’s face and demeanor to know they were telling the truth. As they moved about striking a tone others around responded in kind. Primarily we are responsible for what happens around us. I say primarily because never is something like this always true. There can be another strong person in the room who is spoiling it for all others. That’s why one of the most important questions to ask before hiring someone is “What was it like where you worked prior to this?”

Many years ago I had a similar conversation and that person said, “It’s like this everywhere I go. What’s the matter with people?” I do believe the key word there is “everywhere”. Who is the one person present everywhere she went?

Jesus certainly put out the right vibes. The crowds couldn’t stay away from Him. “The people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and out went them, and came together unto him.” Mark 6. We have within our power and even more so can have divine power to strike the right note, the positive note to make life better for all around us.

An Old Globe

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-16T21:40:31-05:00

One of the treasures I have from my father is an old globe he had in his classroom. It maps wonderfully exotic places like Siam, Rhodesia, Palestine, Gold Coast and Keijo. Holding a globe and turning it this way and that causes one to wonder about the way things are. I can untip the axis and do away with the seasons. There would be perpetual sunshine on the poles making it a very interesting place to live with the sun never rising high in the sky. I can turn the axis at a 90 degree angle and have the sun come up in the north and go down in the south or vice versa depending on which direction I spin it. Continents look very unfamiliar when oriented differently. North America becomes almost unrecognizable when turned on its side and has no state lines.

Perhaps the second most important text in Scripture is “In the beginning God.” We can be filled with a host of questions about rocks, continental drift and the ring of fire but as long as Genesis 1:1 is we have no fear for the future. Asteroids can go whizzing past us at 26,000 miles an hour and we know God is still there and all will ultimately be well.

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visits him?” Psalm 8. And the answer is we are the sons and daughters of this Most High God who but breathes and worlds come into existence. How grand for us. We are so blessed.

He Prayed for You

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-15T20:33:51-05:00

There are stone walls littered through the forests of Massachusetts. Decades ago people actually tried to farm in places that only grow rocks. Each spring before trying to plow they derocked and built these old fences just to put the rocks somewhere useful. There are still a few stone foundations now covered with vines and oak and maple trees growing where there was once a room. Sometimes I sit and listen. If I really concentrate my mind supplies the voices of family. It’s interesting what one can hear in the silence of the forest. Mixed in with the breeze one can hear the “teacher, teacher” of ovenbirds and the laughter and tears of those who struggled here.

We live in a noisy world. It is difficult not to hear an airplane or a chainsaw intruding on what should be our chance to hear silence. It is a treat to find a moment when we can hear the rush of blood through our ears. Even now as I write the computer is softly serenading me with Beethoven. Have we so filled our lives with sound that we have become addicted and find silence uncomfortable?

In Luke 6:12 we read the following about Jesus. “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” He had no iPhone to create a musical background. It was the silence of a Palestinian night that surrounded Him. How I have often wondered how He filled those hours. Did He pray out loud and break the silence or was it an internal meditation with the Father? Some night in the silence He prayed for you.

Human Trash?

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-12T19:56:50-05:00

There is a story in today’s news about a man who after accidently throwing away his wife’s ring went to the city dump and crawled through tons of trash and filth to find it. He found it. My first inclination was to equate this with God sending Jesus to paw through the filth of sin on planet Earth looking for diamonds. Obviously my ego saw myself as one of the diamonds. Sorry about that. I cannot help the self-love. It is endemic to our species. However, on second thought I realized how wrong I was. This is not a good illustration because it assumes the masses of humanity are trash. Not so. Each child, each person is, flawed though we may be, a product of God’s creative love. There is no such thing as human trash. As much as Jerry Springer and Maury Povich seem to find the worst of humanity to display on television, those people are but victims of ignorance and of our voyeurism. We look at them and gloat that we are not so vulgar. See Luke 18:9.

Then there are those horrific moments when we are overwhelmed by our unworthiness and think we are the human trash. That is such a depressing experience. Lucifer delights in those moments. He thinks we will just give up and not take what Jesus’ offers. Do not despair. Even though your community makes you feel ostracized Jesus never does. Even though decades can pass and people still look at you as a pariah, Jesus never does. You are the object of His redemptive love because He formed you in His image. I know it is difficult for us to believe but Jesus still loves His old friend Lucifer.

Paul's Illustration in Romans 7

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-11T21:58:44-05:00

It must have been a real struggle for Paul to explain to people who loved and revered the law that the law could not save them. In Romans 7 he tries by using an illustration of marriage. He says when one is married they are bound for life to their spouse. But when the spouse dies they are free to marry anew. Via the body of Christ we died to the law. We are then free to remarry. Our new spouse is the one who was raised from the dead. We have been released from the law so we can bear fruit by the Spirit. No longer are we obligated to keep the law in an attempt to be saved but now in a new relationship of love we bear good works because we want to and not because we have to. It is a brilliant and beautiful illustration. Once understood our walk with God becomes a joy instead of a fearful march that we might have strayed and unknowingly become lost.

Often I hear people pray that God will reveal to them what they need to do so they do not ignorantly come up short on judgment day. Paul would have us be free from this tyranny. Now we can pray that God will reveal to us what we should be doing for the joy that comes from doing it. This is not some subtle esoteric difference. This is the difference between living with the joy of salvation as opposed to living with a sword dangling over our heads being held by a thread.

Is the law bad or evil? Horrors no. Paul tells us the law educates us as to the nature of sin. But as good as the law is, it is weak. It cannot save us. Only Jesus can do that.

Thirty-Five Teams of Two

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-10T23:21:41-05:00

Usually we have a mental picture of Jesus and twelve men moving about Palestine. Then we come to Luke 10 that speaks of Jesus sending out thirty-five teams of two. These seventy were disciples that moved with Him. Add to that the women that cooked for them, etc. and we have a very large group. These seventy were given power to do mighty things and when they returned they were filled with stories of healings and great miracles. I am jealous. Surely everyone who has ever been a pastor has been jealous to do such wonders for our God. Their work had been so successful Jesus declared that in their work He saw Satan being cast down. They must have been high and rightfully so.

Then Jesus said something that put it all in perspective, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

For reasons that God understands we do not now go about touching the eyes of the blind and having them see. How I do wish we could. But as grand as we think that would be there is something more wonderful. There is something that should bring us to “Hallelujah” and “Thank you, Jesus.” Our names are written in the Book of Life.

Lucifer is a fallen angel. He could restore sight to the blind but his name is not in the Book of Life. I could only think of something grander and that would be if we sacrificed our place that others could have that privilege. The irony of that thought is the impossibility of it. For should we be so selfless to step aside for another, we would be so much like Jesus He would be sure our name was there.

Our Legacy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-09T21:23:01-05:00

A lifeless visitor from space just passed between our world and our moon. We can be thankful that it missed us by 210,000 miles. A direct hit would have been devastating. It would not have been the first time we have been hit. One of the more obvious hits was in New Mexico and the crater is very impressive. Years ago we stopped for a closer look and walked to the edge. While doing so my wife looked down and there was a very well formed arrowhead. We could hardly believe what we saw. How long had it been lying there? What ancient warrior or hunter had passed that way and left his treasure on the ground to be found hundreds (?) of years later.

I’m sure all of us have wondered what we will leave behind. What will be our legacy to our families, our communities, and our world? Some people leave books, some leave poetry, some leave children and grandchildren, some leave students, some leave family businesses. Whatever it may be I think we all want to be sure what we leave will be positive and make the world a better place. When I say “all” I am thinking of the mentally healthy among us, for there are those who for reasons unexplainable want to leave destruction and pain.

This past week the world’s population topped seven billion. It is difficult to conceive that God has seven billion different tasks that need to be accomplished. Yet that is but a small number for an infinite God who does have a positive task for everyone. See Ephesians 2. Most of us will not know until heaven exactly what it was, but that’s okay. Just so when we do find out we will have the joy of having been successful.

Reaping the Whirlwind

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-08T21:39:24-05:00

Hosea said it. “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7. I first heard that as a small boy but of course could not then comprehend the depth. Now I get. I should have connected it with Nahum 1:3, “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power: he will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.” How often we want to blame God for what has occurred but the real truth is we are but reaping. God’s punishment isn’t active. It is passive. Ever so painfully He sits back and let’s nature take its course.

He would like to intervene every time. His love is endless. But should He do so mankind would never learn. We would continue in our reckless ways believing there was always a bale out. The results would be sin continuing on forever. The only reason God hates sin is its results. He is not offended that we do not obey Him. He is hurt that we do not obey because all He ever asks is for us to stop harming ourselves and others. I cannot sit here in the evening drinking an arsenic laced drink and expect Him to negate its effects. He will forgive me but will allow the arsenic to do its work.

And so it is that the whirlwind blows its horrors upon us. Does this mean we are lost? Not if we genuinely repent. That door is open. But why should we desire to bring suffering upon ourselves thinking at some later date we will repent? Not only is that risky. It’s stupid. Hosea and Nahum were excellent meteorologists.

Our Bad Dog

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-07T22:02:05-05:00

She really is a good dog. She is very protective and jealous if anyone gives me too much attention. She is totally housebroken and very dependable. That’s what makes her action so despicable. We have house guests, who of course, are the source of much attention and conversation. This evening, after she had been outside to care for her needs, she obviously had enough of my talking to our company. She walked over and about two feet away from me she squatted on the rug. It was a despicable act of “Hey, look at me.” She was definitely tired of sharing. Getting attention for being a bad dog was better than not getting enough attention.

Children do similar things. Teachers see it all the time. Little kids often misbehave as to not be ignored. So I got to wondering if sometimes we adults act poorly because we want God’s attention. Actually, we always have it but sometimes we think He doesn’t care. I know we are often angry at Him because we don’t get all the things we pray for. When we have a very sick loved one we ask, we beg, we plead, we implore God to make them better and it doesn’t happen. Sometimes we actually lose them and our anger spills out with contempt that God would allow something so horrible. It is on such occasions we should be honest with Him and tell Him exactly how we feel. He appreciates our honesty much better than should we lie to Him and tell Him how great we think He is. As difficult as it is for us to understand, the truth is He always has our best interest at heart and does the best thing even though we just don’t get it. We have His attention. We really do.

Thaddaeus

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-02T23:07:09-04:00

His name was Judas. (In John) He was one of the twelve disciples. He was not the Judas who betrayed Jesus to the High Priest. He actually had three names. He also was Thaddaeus (In Mark) and also Lebbaeus. (In Matthew) He has one line in Scripture. It was during the last supper on Thursday night before the cross. Jesus said, “He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

Here comes his one line. “Judas said unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself unto us, and not unto the world?”

And here is Jesus’ answer. “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

We know this Judas (Thaddaeus, Lebbaeus) was a member of a political action group dedicated to the overthrow of Roman rule in Palestine. He loved Jesus. He knew what Jesus could do and wanted to know why Jesus didn’t use all His power to go after the Romans. Jesus had bigger plans. Jesus was going after Satan’s rule in all the world. And this is Jesus’ formula for victory. Love Him. Keep His words and the Father and Son will abide in that person and that person will manifest the glory of God to the world. That’s us. This is our task. This is our time. This is God’s plan for us. Love Jesus and keep His words and be amazed at what God can and will do with us. Satan trembles before such a man or woman.

The Milk-Bone Cookie Jar

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-11-01T18:12:17-04:00

I have a Milk-Bone cookie jar on my desk. I keep it stocked with what must be the greatest tasting treats in the world because I will come into the room and find my lab sitting there staring at the jar. She is a good girl and has never violated the “No” command. I wish I could have said the same for me when I was small. One of the great things about being an adult is being able to raid the cookie jar anytime I want. As I settle in at my computer with her Milk-Bone jar within my reach I see a small stream of salvia starting to drip from the side of her beautiful face. I should so desire to spend time in God’s Word.

The psalmist puts me to shame and at the same time thrills me with such verses as “The entrance of thy words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.” “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.” And “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding.” Psalm 119

Should we want, desire, long for, crave, yearn for, pine for a deeper understanding of Scripture I wonder what our lives would become. Ephesians 2 speaks of God’s plans for us. Had we prepared more, studied more, learned more, what might He have been able to accomplish with us. Each time I give my dog a treat I should eat a verse.

LEDs

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-31T21:34:38-04:00

It was a bit strange to have a foot of heavy snow cover our trees before they lost their leaves for the year. The trees bent low and branches started snapping so it was not strange that we lost our power for over a day. We are so blessed because a million people are still powerless. But at 5:30 this morning we were awakened to our house coming alive. The refrigerator and the furnace came on and little red and yellow LED lights (phones, clocks, computer and wireless modem) decorated the room. I was surprised by how much those tiny lights changed the room. Without them it was pitch black and one had to cautiously feel one’s way from place to place. But with those tiny lights radiating their warm glow it became fairly easy to move about.

Sometimes most of us feel pretty insignificant. The more we understand about infinity and look at a photo of distant galaxies we don’t just feel insignificant, we are insignificant. Our tiny little light is so small surely it can’t make a difference. But, it didn’t take much light to transform my dark house. A tiny light does make a huge difference. When your little light joins with my tiny light and other tiny lights we make it possible for others to walk out of darkness and find their way.

So regarding that insignificant feeling – I don’t think we are as insignificant as we first thought. According to Galatians 4 we are sons and daughters of the Most High. Humm? That’s pretty significant. Surely everyone must know the song, “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Going to Let It Shine.” God is counting on us to light up His kingdom.

It's All About Family

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-28T21:24:35-04:00

My last several days have been filled with digitizing very old slides of visits to Disneyland, Sea World, Yellowstone and other memorable trips with two little boys. I noticed something. I couldn’t care less about the pictures of these places that do not contain one of my boys or my wife. I have some really pretty pictures of things and I don’t want to keep them. If I want to see pictures of those things I can find them on the web. What I want to keep are images of my most precious ever people. These are the pictures I want to Photoshop and turn into computer screen wallpaper.

My sons are grown men now with their own precious people. They have no idea how I feel as I look at these old photos. They will some day. I have come to think that God has some great photo gallery filled with perfect pictures of us at every stage of our lives. He has videos of our first steps and audio of our first words. I think He must really love the audios of our first memory verses.

With God it is all about family. That’s why Galatians 4 contains such meaningful verses. “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” This is what it has been about from the beginning. Adam and Eve were His children. He wants us to be His children and thus heirs; not tenets but owners of those mansions. Heaven is not a place to visit. It is HOME. There isn’t anything better than home.

Tom Sawyer

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-26T21:42:24-04:00

It was a scene out of Tom Sawyer and I loved it. I had two thirty-something guys stop by my house today. They knew about my log-splitter and of course I wanted to show it off and tell them how much fun it was. They spotted a couple huge rounds left over from an elm that came down in an ice storm. The rounds were way too big for me to muscle around and I had wondered what I would do with them, but they jumped at the chance. So I sat down and watched them have fun. It was great. At one point I actually had to stop them from spending their day splitting all my wood. I think I am going to start charging admission. How grand!

One of life’s great secrets is how to get other people to do your work. It is the secret of success. It’s all about motivation. God motivates us to do His work here on earth. His motivation is love. It’s the best kind. The joy of working for God is because we want to share His love and the Good News. Considering how simple this seems I am somewhat puzzled when I hear preachers exhorting us to do good works. I’m not sure about you but that never works with me. Instead of exhortation, inspire me. Make me want to do it and you will not have to exhort. As a matter of fact, too much exhortation gets the reverse reaction from me. I won’t do it just because you said I had to. I know that is really immature but it’s the way I react. Are you different from me on this?

Not as Smart as a Sixth Grader

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-25T21:05:42-04:00

Today I heard about igneous rock. I learned about granite, obsidian, amphibole and pyroxene. I also learned I am not as smart as a sixth-grader while I was observing a science teacher working to upgrade her credential. The sixth graders were jumping up and down wanting to answer the teacher’s questions while I sat in the back of the room reading the glossary in their science text. I learned about intrusive and extrusive rocks. I also learned not to give much credibility to the next politician I hear harping on the quality of education in Massachusetts; especially since our students rank first in the United States and third in the world in science and math.

Having confessed my ignorance of sedimentary rock I do want to proclaim my knowledge of and confidence in the Rock of Ages. Paul wrote, “For other foundation no one can lay, but that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus.” (I Corinthians 3:11) And again Paul wrote, “. . . they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that rock was Christ. (I Corinthians 10:4) Peter calls Jesus the Chief Corner Stone. (I Peter 2:4) Also over and over in the Psalms we find the metaphor of God being the Rock of our salvation.

So I might not be as smart as a sixth-grader and be like those whiz kids who are able to answer questions about magna, but I do know the importance of putting our trust in the One who loves us dearly and might respond to the nickname, “Rocky”; then again probably not. He is far too awesome for such commonality. He is the Rock of the Universe.

Number 6500

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-24T20:54:10-04:00

This is devotional number 6500. That’s a lot of evenings sitting here staring at the computer screen. One would think about now I would run out of things to write about but life is so very interesting there usually is something. Someone asked me if I have ever repeated myself. I’m sure I have. I just can’t remember what all 6500 of them are about. Once in a while people ask me why I don’t write a book. I have. It has 6500 pages and adding.

I am excited that today’s devotional can be a celebration of something fun. Last week my wife and I were in a farm store. It is fun to look at all the things farmers use. On the way out my wife noted they were having a drawing so she filled out the slip and put it in the box. This afternoon they called. We won the grand prize. Now that is very awesome because this very week I was going to start splitting my pile of firewood for the winter. Guess what we won. A log-splitter. I couldn’t believe the timing and the blessing. This past week I put a new handle in my axe in preparation for a lot of swinging. That axe is going to feel neglected as I just push the button and watch. I hope we have a really cold winter because I am going to have a lot of wood to burn.

When I was very little I learned “my cup runneth over.” It does and with something so much more special than a log-splitter. I am surrounded by wonderful family and friends like you who once in a while read some of the 6500 devotionals.

The God of Opportunities

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-21T23:13:39-04:00

Do you ever feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football? Opportunities appear before you and you take a deep breath and go for it only to have Lucy yank it away at the last minute. So you pick yourself up, brush yourself off and keep on keeping on, waiting for, hoping for another opportunity. Maybe, just maybe, the next time Lucy will forget to yank the ball. Do you ever look at the news and see masses of people and wonder what opportunities they have or have not had? It is so easy to be critical of illegal immigrants but maybe this was their only chance.

Those of us who were born hearing the Gospel often smugly write off the billions who have never heard. Or if they did hear they heard it through us flawed messengers who failed to make it attractive. The Good News is so wonderful when rightly presented. However, our actions so outweigh our words, we nullify attempts to share with others. Instead of being the one trying to kick the football we become Lucy. We are the one who yank it away just when someone begins to consider.

During the time it took to read this far another thousand people died without hearing the Good News. Are they lost? Do they not have an opportunity to rejoice with us on resurrection morning? There is a text in Romans 1 that hints to us there might be many more opportunities in this universe than we know. God can’t be put in our small mental box. He is way too big and far more loving than we. I believe He is the God of opportunities. Lots of opportunities.

My Time Machie

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-20T22:41:39-04:00

I bought a time machine. It is a wonderful device by which I am digitizing 45 years of slides. Before me on my computer screen are these two very thin dark-haired people with two little boys. Who are they? They are very good looking and appear to be very happy. Oh! I know who they are. It’s us – my wife and boys. Wow. We looked good. So what happened?

Even though the slides have lost much of their original color and are often covered with dust spots there is the wonder of Photoshop. A few clicks of the auto color button and the pictures look like I took them yesterday. A few clicks of the replace button and the dust specks disappear. Oh, this is grand. I wanted to say this was as easy as getting the spots off my record in heaven. But this is much easier. This photo process cost a few dollars while the spots on my record required the cross of Jesus. That was the most expensive price ever paid for anything.

Hopefully, though we might not look as good on the outside as we did decades ago, we are much better looking on the inside. Hopefully our characters have been steadily improving and behavior-wise we are much nicer, much kinder, much more generous people than we were. Sometimes we shudder when we think of some of the things we did and said to others. Hopefully, should we be in similar situations we would react in a much more loving way. This growth is what life is all about. To be more today than we were yesterday and yet more tomorrow. Here’s looking forward to the day when we will never again need to be Photoshoped.

Colossians 2:3

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-19T20:02:17-04:00

One of my richest blessings in life is I have always been surrounded by very smart people. One of my aspirations has always been to be the least informed person in the room thus giving me the opportunity to learn something new and wonderful from each person around me. To be hungry to know is a great blessing. I have friends who are wonderful artists and some who are scientists and some who are theologians and some who understand psychology. It is a treat to be with them. There is so much to gain.

My father was a teacher and he would read to me. Perhaps that is what made me hungry to absorb all I could. We had a set of World Book Encyclopedia and I would take A or D or K, it didn’t matter which one, and turn each page looking at the pictures and wishing I could know all those things. You could imagine my excitement the day I first read Colossians 2:3. “In him are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” To know God, to spend time with Him, is the secret to an ever-expanding understanding of life and the mysteries of being. He knows all that is known and because He is a creator He continues to think new thoughts and create new knowledge. Spending eternity with Him means we get to share not only His old ideas but also His new ideas.

Someone once tried to convince me that God knows all that can ever be known or thought and I could not accept that. It would mean He would be bored. But He can never be bored because forever He will be thinking of new ways to bless us and shower us with His mercies. See Ephesians 2.

"It ain't over 'til it's over"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-18T21:45:37-04:00

I had lunch today at McDonalds and ended up sitting in a booth behind two quite elderly silver-haired ladies who were very engaged in a rousing discussion. It was very easy to hear and I was amused at the exchange. I can’t print much of it here but I will quote to you this great line. “I know the old biddy is trying to get him. But I won’t allow it. He’s mine!”

Ah, hope springs eternal. As well it should. As Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” Never stop living for the future and I mean both here and then. Unfortunately, I do know some people who have stopped living for now and have all of their hopes and plans in the “Then.” Everybody needs something to look forward to “now” and “then.” I think we start to run out of steam and can’t do as much as we used to. Okay. We understand. But that is not an excuse to do nothing.

In Ephesians 2 Paul tells us that God has specific things for us to do. We don’t know if they were for us in our twenties, thirties or nineties. How distressing it would be if we gave up in our seventies and found out when we are in heaven that we missed the really big task that God had for us. “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” “It’s ain’t over ‘til it’s over” and as long as God gives us a mind with which to think and ponder we should be creatively planning things to do with our families and our communities.

The Foolishness of Preaching

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-15T22:11:25-04:00

Last weekend we sat through an 80 minute sermon on the state of the dead. He started preaching at 11:40. At 12:50 I leaned over to my wife and said, “He hasn’t even gotten to the resurrection yet. Let’s go.” “No,” she said, “I have to know how long he can go.” At one point he said, “This is a long subject.” A man sitting beside me said out loud, “It sure is.” He finally sat down at 1:00 without ever getting to the resurrection. I believe there is a text about the “patience of the saints.” Yes, it is Revelation 14:12. On the way out an elderly lady (someone older than me) took my hand and said, “Come back again. It isn’t always like this. He is a good young man.”

I was delighted with the “patience of the saints.” Only one family left and they had small children. Everyone else politely listened because they cared about the young man. Often times the best way we can show our love and appreciation for someone is to quietly endure their impositions and idiosyncrasies. While I did feel the need to stand up and stretch the truth is I didn’t have a very pressing schedule for the afternoon. The imposition was minor to say the least. I think it has a lot to do with what you are used to. I like 30 minute sermons. Recently someone told me if I didn’t speak for 45 minutes the saints would feel cheated. But I sat down at 25 because I was finished. To have lingered would have been redundant.

The entire process is very arrogant. Why would one person think others should sit and quietly listen to him? Paul called it the “foolishness of preaching” that somehow pleases God. I Corinthians 1:21.

Joy is Contagious

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-14T22:53:36-04:00

If we keep our eyes open we can find truly delightful moments as life passes by. Yesterday afternoon as my wife and I were driving on a residential street we saw two of the most precious little girls standing at the end of their sidewalk at the curb. They looked like they were 4 and 6 years of age. The mail truck was coming toward them and they were bouncing up and down with smiles so big you would have thought their faces would crack. They were clapping. I’m sure the mailman must have been happy to see such a welcome. Did he have a birthday card or a package from Sears or Amazon.com? Was the mailman their daddy? Whatever it was they couldn’t contain their joy. Their joy became my joy.

There are so many things in life that are contagious and I am not referring to germs and illnesses. A genuine smile is catchy. Yawning is infectious. A pleasant demeanor is transmittable. Generosity and sharing are communicable. It is amazing how we can and do have power over our environment. Nothing spoils a gathering like gloom and doom. But someone with hope and an energetic vision can overcome the downers and fill a space with so much happiness.

At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us a model for happiness. We call them the Beatitudes. The word “blessed” can just as well be translated “happy”. “Happy are the peacemakers.” “Happy are the poor in spirit.” Each one is our Creator’s secret to a contagious life of joy. Granted it is a bit more difficult for us as adults than two sweet little girls by the side of the curb, but none-the-less we can do it.

The Ultimate Reboot

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-13T22:21:56-04:00

After the mail came today I sat down in “my” chair to browse one of the just arrived magazines. I don’t recall much after settling into the comfort of one of my best friends. About forty minutes later I heard a door close as my wife came near. I had the strangest experience. Sometimes when we take a nap, it’s just a nap and when we awake the day goes on. But this nap was different. Just two hours before I had lunch with the conference president. When I awoke from this nap, it was if a whole day had passed. My day after the nap was starting all over as if someone had pressed a reboot button. I reboot my computer often. Rebooting is wonderful. All manner of computer snags can be resolved by just rebooting.

Beginning a relationship with Jesus is like rebooting one’s life and not just the day. We learn to forgive and negative feelings about past experiences go away. We learn to look for good things in others and old friendship are revitalized. We receive external power from the Holy Spirit and begin to experience victory over old temptations. We realize that instead of twenty or so more years of life we have an eternity of life ahead of us. It is the greatest reboot ever.

I often wonder why it is so difficult for some people to accept what Jesus offers. Perhaps it is because we have been taught that if something sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. This time it is true. One of the things I learned in statistics class is rare events occur that do not fit the pattern. Jesus is one of those rarities. He is the ultimate reboot.

If You Love Yourself

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-12T20:49:49-04:00

Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15.   If I may I would like to alter the text to say, “If you love yourself you will keep His commandments.”

It is very safe to assume that we love ourselves. There are a few people filled with self-loathing but it’s rare.   Most of us think we are the greatest. When things go wrong it usually is someone else who messed up. When we don’t get what we want it isn’t our fault; someone doesn’t like us. Therefore, I want to make a case for obeying God based totally on what is good for us.

In God’s great wisdom He shared with us the secrets to a good life. If we don’t kill we rarely have to fear someone wanting to kill us.   If we don’t steal we rarely have to worry about being arrested for shoplifting. Black and white cars don’t make us pause to see if they are coming for us. If we don’t tell bad stories about others people will rarely tell bad stories about us. If we keep the Sabbath we get one day each week when we don’t have to go to work. If we don’t curse we don’t have to worry about offending someone.

We are talking about the quality of life. Jesus was not in error when He spoke of coming that we might have the abundant life. John 10:10. Sometimes we err by thinking the abundant life is a big bank account; not so. The abundant life is a life that is as stress free as possible and obeying God is the surest way to accomplish that goal.

Lily of the Valley

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-11T20:55:25-04:00

Living in New England is a delightful experience of constant change. This coming week our maples will turn scarlet reds and yellows followed by the rust colors of the oaks. The birches are already yellow. Then November will be a beautiful worstered gray as we wait for December to turn us white. I relish knowing that under that layer of snow, life is getting ready to once again turn us green. Each spring we have a pleasing patch of Lily of the Valley. For years I have been picking small bunches for our breakfast table. They smell so good.

Well, you can imagine my horror just today to learn that Lily of the Valley is extremely poisonous. According to the Wikipedia website Lily of the Valley contains about thirty-eight cardio glycosides and we should wash our hands after handling it. How could it be that something so lovely, something that smells so good be so dangerous?

When we are first born our sense of right and wrong is completely based upon our feelings. If it feels good it’s right. If it hurts it’s bad. If it’s pretty and smells good it is right. It’s a very low standard of morality. Unfortunately occasionally we meet people whose morality has never advanced from that of a newborn. The closing words to the romantic song “You Light Up My Life” are “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” It is difficult to grasp the truth that some seemingly beautiful relationships can be absolutely toxic. Paul exhorts us in 1 Corinthians 13 to stop thinking like a child and think like a grownup whose sense of right and wrong are based on God’s Word.

Ambulance Chasers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-07T10:06:19-04:00

Don’t you just love “ambulance chasing” commercials; bloodthirsty law firms preying on other’s miseries and making it extraordinarily expensive for doctors to treat us? Yesterday, I think I heard the most amazing one yet. “If you or a loved one has taken “A….” and died, dial 1-800 … immediately.” Really! I replayed it three times to make sure I heard correctly. I think we better start putting cell phones in coffins.

What is it about human nature that wants to blame others for our misfortunes? It is true bad things do happen to good people. But can we, in this world of sin, really expect everything to go our way? I guess that’s why people buy lottery tickets or smoke when scientific evidence of its detrimental effect on our health is overwhelming. We are optimistic and can’t imagine something bad happened because we made a bad choice or random mayhem occurred.

We have been blaming others ever since Adam said, “The woman you gave me made me do it.” Freud capitalized on it when he developed psychotherapy; it must have been my mother’s fault or my father’s. It is true that sometimes people do bad things to us and it is their fault, but that is where forgiveness comes in. If I don’t forgive you and dwell on your bad deed then I enable you to keep on hurting me every time I run the video tape in my head. But if I am wise enough to forgive you then you only hurt me once and now it is erased. Jesus was so wise when He told us to forgive if we desire forgiveness for our bad deeds. But why should that surprise us? He made us. He knows how we tick.

Lessons from Daniel Shechtman

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-06T21:08:09-04:00

When Daniel Shechtman first discovered a new crystalline chemical structure that seemed to violate what we thought were the laws governing crystalline structures he was ridiculed by his colleagues and ultimately exiled from professional circles. This week he won the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

There are so many lessons we can draw from this. First is the crowd isn’t always right. Second is stand firm when you know you are correct. Third is truth will ultimately be known. Fourth is we don’t know all the laws of nature and the ones we think we know can be very different than what we think.

I am sure there were very depressing days when Dr. Shechtman’s friends rejected not only his work but his very presence. His discovery was in 1982. Almost thirty years is a long time to wait for this kind of vindication. I’m sure there is great happiness in his home tonight.

The history of the world is filled with stories like this. Graves are filled with people who never received recognition for their work. Then there are martyrs who perished for believing and holding strongly to their faith. Hebrews 11 is a very impressive list of such. Hebrews 12 begins with “Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The Zit

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-05T22:29:57-04:00

I have a zit on the tip of my nose. I am a combination of me, W.C. Fields, Jimmy Durante and Karl Malden. When I was thirteen and this happened I would be mortified thinking all of my classmates were staring at it. Now I don’t think it really matters that much except for trying not to keep touching it. If someone does notice, so what. I think most of us lose our sense of vanity after our chin doubles, dark bags grow under our eyes and age spots show up on top of the saggy cheeks. So what’s a zit but just another blotch?

When we were thirteen we were the center of the universe. Now I am just grateful to be part of the universe. I realize the center is far, far away and people have much to think about other than me. It’s a good place to be in life. It was so difficult being the protagonist. I now realize center stage belongs to the One who really is the protagonist. Jesus is the center of the universe. He made it and He keeps it operating. It is not a clock all wound up. It takes attention. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Please don’t fail to notice the last phrase. Things consist because He exists. We live and breathe because of His attentive care. After all do you really think Satan wants us around telling people how wonderful Jesus is?

God Never Gives Leftovers

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-04T21:45:49-04:00

I am eating an ice cream popsicle – vanilla dipped in chocolate. It would be a perfect gastronomic treat except my dog is sitting in front of me just staring with the most soulful eyes. Ever so carefully she watches every bite. There is a string of drool spilling out of the left side of her mouth. The tip of her red tongue barely protrudes from her black lab mouth. She is beautiful and pathetic. I am awash with guilt. How can I continue to do this? So I eat off the chocolate shell, since that is poison for her, and yield the vanilla ice cream. I must say she is a lady. Ever so delicately she cleans off the stick without once biting it. I feel good.

Whether it is my dog or a child or one of my students I have to say it feels so good to share. Since we were made in God’s image I believe we can safely assume He loves to share. Paul says in Ephesians 2 that God plans to shower gifts upon us throughout eternity. We will have no end of resources that we too can shower gifts on all we meet. One of my students once asked me why God made us. My answer was that it made Him feel good. When He pronounced at the end of creation week, “That is very good” it had to feel good.

One very big difference between God and us and me and my dog is my dog gets the remnants. God never gives us leftovers. Everything from His hand is first class, top of the line with all the bells and whistles. We don’t even have to stare with soulful eyes. No drool from the side of our mouths. How grand!

Itches

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-10-03T22:13:05-04:00

I got three spider bites last week. I have no idea where I was when I became lunch for the eight-legged creature. A spider bite is a mosquito bite multiplied by twenty. An ugly blister rose surrounded by a large blood red erratic pattern. It’s not a pretty sight. Then there is the itch. The worst itch I ever had occurred while I was preaching. There I was holding forth in front of my congregation when suddenly on the bottom of my foot in the middle of my arch screamed this incredible itch. I tried my best to ignore it. I was sure if I concentrated on my sermon it would fade away. It only got worse. How could I stop and say, “Excuse me folks while I take off my shoe and scratch?” I’m sure it was not my finest hour as I hid behind the pulpit and tried to pull my foot out of my shoe by holding the edge of the sole firmly to the floor with the other shoe.

One of the two times the word “itch” is in Scripture is referenced to “itching ears” - not quite the same context. However, maybe there is a lesson here. Often our itching ears delight us when they hear something very unkind and usually unchristian about someone we don’t agree with and so we pass it on. My email box fills with some very unkind things about politicians passed on by people I know are good Christians. I assume their itching ears have been scratched and they want to delight others. But they are things they would, I hope, never say to someone’s face. Oh, it is difficult to be a really good person, especially when we itch.

Everlasting Joy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-30T22:42:21-04:00

There is no joy in Mudville tonight. Or is that Boston? The mighty Red Sox who on September 1 had a 99.6 percent change of being in the playoffs have choked. It’s over – not even a wildcard. Remind me now what does I Corinthians 10:12 say. Wasn’t it something about something thinking he stands and then falling? New England eyes will henceforth this year be focused on the Patriots. At least there will be, for the next few weeks, glorious leaves to console broken-hearted fans who will watch their nemesis, the Yankees, soar into the playoffs.

I was chastised once by one of the saints (Not someone from New Orleans) for expressing some knowledge of sports. “Times,” according to my rebuker, “were too intense and too fraught with peril to be distracted from being ready for Jesus to come.”

Perhaps he had a point. Except he made it sound like getting ready for Jesus to come was a full time task that should occupy our every waking moment. I must confess I don’t quite understand that considering in John 5:24 Jesus promised us if we believe in Him we have already crossed over from death to life. I thought how strange it would have been for one on Noah’s sons to be constantly worried about having a place in the ark. Why should we worry about what we have? Yet, the caution is I Corinthians 10:12. Lest we think we stand. Perhaps the answer is why we stand. If we stand on our righteousness then we are fallen. If we stand on Jesus’ righteousness it really is a sure thing. Standing on, living on the promises is what brings lasting joy into our lives.

The Honking Driver

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-28T21:56:28-04:00

This afternoon I watched with a mixture of amusement and disgust a very impatient driver just laying on his horn at the truck in front of him. The light was green. Of course the truck should go. However the driver of the honking car could not see what was in the crosswalk in front of the truck. There was a lady with one small child in one hand as she was trying to push a baby carriage with the other hand.

I was a bit chagrined as I realized that I and many of my former colleagues at our little college that closed were just like the honking driver. We complained and we criticized and we had all kinds of advice for what should have been done when we could not see everything that was going on. It is easy to sit back and offer all kinds of critical advice when we speak in ignorance. How often we critique others behavior when we have no idea what kind of home they come from. It has taken me many years to learn what I am about to say. But I totally believe the following. “Most people are doing the best they can.” Just because they do not do something the way we would do it does not make what they do wrong. It merely means they do it differently.

I love Galatians 6 in The Message paraphrase. “Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day is out.” I think I like this so much because I have so often been the one needing the forgiveness.

Sin is -

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-27T19:53:55-04:00

When most of us are asked to define sin we respond with 1 John 3:4. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Which is correct, it is. But if we stop there we don’t really grasp the impact of what Paul means when in Ephesians 2:1 he said we were dead in our trespasses and sins. The Greek word Paul used for sin was “hamartia” which means missing the target. The target isn’t merely obeying the Ten Commandments. The target is the old army slogan, “Be all that you can be.” That is huge. Sin isn’t merely an act or lack of, it is a state of being.

I once had a church member who told me he had gone an entire week without sinning. He very carefully reviewed all of his waking activities, compared them with the Ten Commandments and decided he had a perfect week. But was he the best citizen he could be, was he the best husband and father that he could be, was he the best employee, was he the best _____ ? (You fill in the blank.) Of course he wasn’t. I didn’t shatter his pride, a gross sin, because I didn’t want to argue with him. How can one deal with such a narrow mind?

But you are thinking, if that’s what sin is then we are all lost. Not one of us is all we can be. And that is exactly Paul’s point in Ephesians 2. We are dead in our sin. All of us. But by God’s abundant grace we have been quickened, raised, to a new life. It was all God’s idea and all His doing. We have nothing of which to brag about. All we can do is praise God for His love.

Paul's Grammar in Ephesians 2

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-26T19:05:27-04:00

Greek purists (every language has them*) must have gone crazy when they initially read the first part of Ephesians 2. Paul pays little attention to the rules of grammar. He starts sentences and doesn’t finish them. Sentence fragments dangle. Translators have tried to clean it up. So what was going on? Paul was a highly educated man. He knew better. Understanding that makes the passage just so much more wonderful. Ephesians 2 is Scripture’s preeminent passage on grace. Paul is so overwhelmed by God’s incredible gift to us he just soared. He paid no attention to construction he just opened up his heart to the wonder of salvation being God’s gift from start to finish with nothing left for us to do except accept it.

The idea that we are saved so God can spend eternity showering us with gifts of grace was and is so amazingly overwhelming there wasn’t time to grammar check. This is a bird singing who cares not about music theory. This is a child bursting past speechlessness when she receives the most beautiful doll of her dreams. It is no wonder Paul says we best get busy doing the things God desires for us to do. There is a plan for each of our lives so let’s live it lest we disappoint God and ourselves.

Before you go to bed tonight, please read Ephesians 2 for yourself. If you are not moved we can help you with a heart transplant.

* While sitting in a college committee I was challenged by an English teacher who said, “That is not a word.” “Did you understand what I meant to say,” I asked. “Yes,” she said. To which I responded, “Then it’s a word.”

Old Books and Scripture

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-23T23:03:55-04:00

I discovered Stephen Meader when I was in fifth grade. My school library had several of his books which I quickly gobbled up. Decades later I began to collect them. It was an almost impossible task until the advent of eBay. Today was a rainy day. It was a perfect day to take one off the shelf and be eleven again. As my hands opened the book and the smell of aged paper and ink filled my nostrils, I was with an old friend. Sinking deep into my reading chair I traveled back to another time and relived the experience of a young boy in early America.

Old books are like old friends. They warm us with life. As I read the last page and once again closed the cover I wondered if reading the Gospels produced such wondrous nostalgia. I concluded that for me they do not. Instead of filling me with memories, John, Matthew and Paul fill me with incredible thoughts of a glorious future. Instead of reminiscing about times past I want to travel to what is yet to come. In John Jesus tells us that we can right now step over from death to life. In Matthew Jesus challenges us to grow into His likeness. Paul tells me that God wants us to be saved so forever He can shower us with grace and gifts of love.

I find reading books from my childhood fill me with memories; reading Scripture fills me with excited anticipation that the best is yet to come and once there, the best will still be yet to come. Scripture is about our future. Scripture is reading a travel brochure. Scripture is our ticket to endless adventures.

Our Photo-Lined Hallway

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-22T23:27:59-04:00

We have a long hallway on our second floor lined on both sides with family pictures. I love to move slowly from photo to photo relishing the memories each image produces. I see my sons when they were little guys and move along the progression of time that made them fine men. Today I found myself wondering if God has some great family album lining a hall in His house. Not only can He see us now but He can remember how we were. One of my friends told me that God can move through time like it was a circle and go back to whenever. I don’t think so. In my very limited intelligence I see time being linear and God sees us in the past like we see in the past, by using His memory.

One of the reasons I do not care for the idea of time being in a circle that God can easily go to at His will is that would make all things forever. Sin would be forever. Jesus would be on the cross forever. He would be dead in the tomb forever. In Hebrews we are told He died once for time. It is done. It is finished. I can only think that it is really over, never to be experienced again, but to have forever benefits.

So the question arises, “Can He see us as what we will be?” In His dreams as we do so in our dreams. I realize I am very limited when thinking about God. I am sure He is many times and many ways more expansive than what I can begin to imagine. I am speaking and thinking in ignorance. Yet I do believe time is linear. Someday we will know the truth. How grand.

Malleable

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-21T20:56:46-04:00

It is a bit embarrassing to learn that I have been mispronouncing a word all my life. I wish someone had told me. This morning I was observing a teacher in a middle school classroom and heard the teacher use the word “malleable.” “No,” I thought to myself, “it’s mallable.” So I got out my iPhone and checked the dictionary app. Well, so much for appearing educated all these years. Now I am wondering how many other words I have been either misusing or mispronouncing. This must be a case where someone has to be a really good friend to tell you that you have spinach between your two front teeth. People are embarrassed for you but don’t have the courage to say, “Hey.”

I think even Jesus is a bit hesitant to tell us all our faults; at least not all at once. We would be so discouraged we would just give up and say, “What’s the use.” Little by little as we are successful in some areas He very gently reveals new areas where growth is needed. Jesus created us. He is the great psychologist. He knows just how much we can handle and makes sure He doesn’t overwhelm us. However, sometimes church members are not so gentle and have driven a lot of people out because of harsh pushing to try to make others like them.

We seem particularly bad about this with our young people. We don’t stop to consider their world is not the same world we grew up in. And we forget how we felt about the older people telling us how to dress and comb our hair. We have to remember young people are “malleable” and with love will become what Jesus wants them to be and not necessarily what we want them to be.

New Clothes

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-20T23:09:20-04:00

I am sitting here looking at a coupon that will enable me to purchase thirty dollars worth of clothing at a consignment store for only fifteen dollars. Now that’s a bargain. Usually thirty dollars worth of clothing for thirty dollars is a bargain at a consignment store. But this is really over the top. How can I refuse to use it? Except there is one small detail. I have stopped buying clothes. I have enough clothes. I will die before I wear out the clothes in my closet. Except maybe I might need a new pair of church shoes. The pair I have now I bought in 1988. I have had them reheeled four times and resoled twice. Perhaps I can get that done one more time and then they will last me to the end. They are wingtips and if I polish them nicely they will look good in the coffin; except they won’t show.

If you don’t need something it isn’t a bargain no matter how inexpensive. So I will pass up on this coupon.

When it comes to getting new clothes there is one garment all of us need. It’s actually mentioned in the Old Testament. In Zachariah 3 is the story of the high priest getting new clothes. They were spotless. Again in Revelation 7 the redeemed are wearing white robes. They are made white by the blood of the Lamb. How grand that is! They were not purchased at a consignment store. Oh no. These were purchased at Calvary. Jesus paid for them with His life and we will have them in our wardrobes forever. They will never go out of style. They are the best.

Doors

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-16T22:35:21-04:00

This afternoon a gust of wind found an open door in our house. It would be difficult for me to describe how high I must have jumped when it slammed shut with the force of a small nuclear weapon. There is something very unnerving about a slammed door, especially when it cannot be reopened. Just try to imagine the sound of the closing door of Noah’s ark. Surely the finality of that sound must have reverberated in heaven itself.

In Revelation 22 at the close of Scripture there is a closing. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” As difficult as it is to imagine, there will come a time when God’s mercy is no longer available. People’s decisions not to accept the gift of grace will seal their eternal destiny. It is not a pretty picture. John speaks of God wiping away our tears. He will need to do so. This is not a time for the Redeemer and the redeemed to rejoice. There will be family members who are dear to us who will not be spending eternity with us. For Jesus all of them are precious. Can you imagine dying for someone only to have them spurn your act of love?

Life is a series of closed doors. One closes when we graduate from elementary school and another when we leave secondary school. But when one door closes another opens. When we step over the new threshold awesome opportunities may await us. What follows is what we decide to do with them. Right now the door of grace is still wide open.

God and OCD

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-14T22:32:44-04:00

I’m not sure what it is about the word “free” that I do not understand. I wanted to find out who called me so I googled the words “reverse phone number lookup.” Almost instantly I got a list of websites that promised me they would do it for free. Every single one of them told me they found it but then wanted me to pay to see what they found. I finally figured out that “free lookup” meant just that. The “lookup” was free. They just would not tell me for free. Alas.

I guess the old saying, “There is no free lunch” is still true. There is a price for everything. So when I say to you that salvation is free. I also have to explain there is an expectation that once one accepts God’s gift of grace, one will with God’s help embark upon a quest to be a better person. Being a better person is not a reverse payment for the gift. It’s a desire implanted in our hearts that comes with the gift. It’s all God’s work from start to finish. He doesn’t start it and we finish it. Oh no. It’s just that once we let Him in, He starts cleaning house. Maybe God has OCD and needs everything to be in order. In I Corinthians Paul speaks of God living in us. We are His temple. I guess He just can’t quite stand to live in a messy place.

I never thought about God having OCD prior to this. I do know that when I meet people who need everything to be perfect that is the usual diagnosis. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus did mention His Father’s perfection.

Our Greatest Task

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-09T20:42:39-04:00

Our President has spoken to our nation regarding jobs and the importance of labor and hard work. It’s a topic dear to our hearts. We know good things do not happen unless someone or some group pours toil and sacrifice into projects. I believe it because of this understanding that some of us grow uneasy when we hear people like me say that salvation and eternal life are free. We become fearful that we have cheapened salvation and have given people license to continue in their sinful ways. Therefore, it is important to say just because salvation is free it does not mean it was cheap. It was by far the most expensive purchase ever made. God gave His Son who bought salvation for us with the most expensive price tag ever written.

The next important thing to say is because it is a gift; we cannot sit back and fail to recognize the incredible obligation of grace. While we cannot purchase something already given, we must realize the task set before us, which is nothing less than never-ending character development. Our task is not to be saved. Our task is to become like the One who saves us. In a world saturated with selfishness, in a mind and body driven by appetites, this is an unbelievably difficult task. Anyone who says or thinks otherwise has yet to tackle the high standard to which we are called.

The Good News is this. We are not in this fight alone. We are called to battle and we have an ally. Jesus promised that He would not orphan us but send us the Holy Spirit, who upon our request, will pour out heaven in support of our quest. While victory is promised, the confrontation can be fierce.

Strawberries

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-08T23:16:51-04:00

My wife just walked in with a container of strawberries freshly picked in the rain. They are so fragrant. Immediately my brain splashed across the inside of my eyeballs pictures of a mile high strawberry pie, heaps of sliced strawberries on bowls of cereal or better yet vanilla ice cream, and jars of fresh strawberry jam. I wondered if Jesus ever had strawberries when He was a boy. The only berries mentioned in the Bible are olive berries mentioned by Isaiah and James, Jesus’ brother. There is no mention of blueberries, raspberries or huckleberries. If this lack of mention meant lack of berries I find myself feeling sorry for their depravation of nature’s bounty.

What is interesting is what James had to say about olive berries. He mentions them in chapter 3 where his illustration is that a fig tree cannot bear olive berries. His point is that if we call ourselves Christians we cannot praise God one moment and then use the same mouth to say vicious and cruel things about people. After all whether we like it or not those people we dislike were also made in God’s image. His point is quite legitimate. Consistency of character is the real fruit of a genuine walk with God.

When people know they are going to see us they should have a very good idea what they are going to encounter; basically unselfish kindness and concern for their well-being. I know this can be difficult, because let’s face it, it is delicious to say things that belittle others. It makes us feel clever, big and important. Guess what? Our feelings are lying to us for it is just the opposite. When we do so we aren’t belittling others. We are belittling ourselves.

Sawdust and Salt

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-07T21:11:32-04:00

One of the most fascinating places I ever visited occurred on a hot summer day when my father took me to a large red wooden building that was full of ice. Mounds of sawdust covered large blocks of ice that had been hewn from a local Pennsylvania lake during the winter months. I could not understand how on such a hot day the entire pile did not turn to water. I watched as they loaded a wagon to deliver it around the city for people’s iceboxes. Only rich people had electric refrigerators then so you can tell how long ago this was. My dad explained to me how the sawdust insulated the ice keeping it from melting. Years later I learned that salt had the opposite effect on ice.

That is all a distant memory but I still think about preserving things that are precious. I long to preserve my relationship with my family. I long to preserve my memories. I long to preserve my health. I long to preserve my relationship with Jesus. Each one of these requires attention. Family members must not be ignored but be nurtured. The same goes for memory and health and one’s spiritual life. Neglect of any of these will see them melt away in the heat of life. I wish it could be as simple as covering them with sawdust and keeping them away from ice. (Interesting that in many cases salt is a preservative. But in this case it is the opposite.)

Common sense living, paying attention to the needs of others, getting enough exercise, eating properly, eliminating stress and feeding one’s soul by feeding on God’s word. These are the sawdust that will enable us to keep what is precious to us.

On The Home Keys

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-06T21:33:07-04:00

I had this fairly lengthy passage to copy from a book into my computer. As my fingers typed away I knew I was on a roll. It was one of those days when everything was functioning in high gear. My typing teacher from high school would have been so proud of me. I was way over fifty words a minute. It felt so good. Then I paused and looked at the page I had just blazed into my document. I gasped. It was gibberish. It made no sense. Then I saw my error. The fingers of my right hand were not on the home keys. Even though the J key has a raised dash on the bottom edge I never felt for it.

One of the classes I used to teach at our little college is Intro to Philosophy. I loved the class. It was great fun to see the students light up to new ideas. One of the things I discovered while teaching that class was a person can develop some very tight logic and yet end up with a wild position because they did not start on the right foundation of truth. Jesus said it so well when He spoke of building a house upon the sand. Some very great minds developed some very strong positions by carefully going from one logical step to the next. But because they began on sand they ended up with positions that have grown dusty and musty.

Paul had it right. He wrote, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” When you start there you end up with life and there is nothing dusty or musty about that. Please see I Corinthians 3:11

The Perfect Job

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-05T17:20:12-04:00

Since our little college will not be opening this fall and I have been locked out of my office and classroom I am looking for a job. I think I found it. I looked on Craig’s list under Gigs/Writing. Oh this sounds way too good to be for real. Someone (I almost started that sentence with “they.” But who is “they?”) is looking for an ice cream evaluator. Now that is my kind of job. They even offer free ice cream. They don’t say much about any other compensation so just maybe it is not the perfect job. (But close)

Perhaps I should respond to the ad asking for writers who have seen UFOs. As a Christian I most likely could say I have seen UFOs sometime in my life but didn’t know it. The Bible is filled with texts regarding extra-terrestrials visiting us. One of my favorite verses regarding this is Psalm 91:11. “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” When I was a little guy I loved to hear angel stories. If you grew up as a Christian you most likely have your favorite one.

Some of the references I find most interesting are the ones regarding Jesus’ life on earth and the angel visits. The first one would be the angel talking with Mary about her pregnancy followed by the angel telling Joseph to marry her. I think the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem must have been one of the more spectacular visits. We must not forget to mention resurrection morning when the angel sat by the empty tomb to explain what had happened. Maybe writing about angel stories or anything to do with Jesus would be the perfect job. The compensation is out of this world.

Persistence

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-02T21:54:19-04:00

The sign in front of the barber shop beckoned with the message, “First Time $5.” I’m not sure how many hundred times I have driven by without responding. However, today I was very shaggy and decided to check it out. Sure enough they (two very talkative ladies) only charged me $5 and it is a good haircut. I will go back. My regular barbers (two not so talkative ladies) are going to miss me. I enjoyed the chatter.

Persistent advertising finally got me. When I was a little guy there was a map in our church where someone was keeping track of and marking countries that had been sent a missionary. The inspiration for this was the idea that when the Gospel had gone to the whole world then Jesus would come. What intrigued me was the idea that a single presence or a single event of witnessing meant we could check off an entire country. We were one step closer to the Kingdom. But does a one-time exposure really do the job? I once heard someone say they passed out pamphlets to a neighborhood; therefore, those people had their chance. Come on. Really?

We are talking about something so much more significant than a haircut and it took hundreds of times before I responded. When we are talking about totaling changing one’s life we have to realize, while some people will see it right away, it will take multiple years before another person gets it. So, don’t give up. If there is someone you have been praying for keep on praying. If there is a family member who needs to respond, keep on being the kindest, most caring, most self-sacrificing person in their life. Someday it will make a difference.

Salesmen

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-09-01T08:51:14-04:00

They seemed so sincere I don’t think they got it. They were convinced they were not salesmen. They were only knocking on doors to see if we needed new windows. They would help us determine so. Should they so decide they would then arrange to send a salesman. Therefore, they were not selling anything. I could not convince them they were selling.

They were like car sales people who rush out to snag you if you pause for a moment to look at a car. After they schmooze you, they bring in the big gun from the backroom to seal the deal. It is also like people who bring friends to church hoping the pastor can convince them to join. Everyone is part of the process. Even the people who brought casseroles to the potluck are part of the team. Convincing someone to buy or become a part of something is a team effort. The pastor will never succeed if the members do not create a welcoming atmosphere.

One would think it to be easy to give someone eternal life. Perhaps it is difficult because we complicate it. Often we make people think they have to join “our” church if they are to be saved. “We” are God’s exclusive little club and they need to dress like us, eat like us and pray like us. God must sometimes smile at our ridiculous behavior. At other times He must shake His head in exasperation. The point is we do have a marvelous product to share with the world. And the way we sell it or give it is to make it attractive and the way to make it attractive is for us to be as much like Jesus as we are capable.

His Eye is on the Chickadee

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-31T23:13:20-04:00

The storm really took its toll on the little fellow. Who knows where he was blown in from or perhaps he was a local who didn’t find good shelter. We spotted him this afternoon looking ragged and exhausted. Chickadees usually looked prim and proper but not this little guy. He sat on a railing looking like he had just finished a marathon. This evening he decided to spend the night by a large dish of water we keep on the ground for the birds. He had tucked his head under his wing and became the perfect meal for any nocturnal hunter looking for a snack. My wife went over and picked him up. As he awakened in her hand he put up a major fuss. How dare she interrupt his dreams! Ever so gently he was placed up on a safe branch.

His squawking reminded me of us when God sometimes has to move us to a safer place. Getting us to change isn’t always easy and sometimes we go kicking and screaming; yelling at Him for disturbing our perceived comfort. When we put ourselves in His hands we then need to trust what happens next. “In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?” Psalm 11 And where is our mountain? “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.” Psalm 48 Often from our point of view the change doesn’t look so good. But should we see our life from His vantage point we would never want it any other way than His way.

To Be Infectious

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-30T21:13:06-04:00

We had an interesting experience today at Denny’s. While waiting for our order we watched a server prepare a table for the next customer. First she cleared off the dishes and then she very carefully wiped the seats. Following that she then wiped off the table using the same cloth she had used to wipe off the seats. At least it looked clean. But wait. It gets better. The next customer to use that table had really nasty looking sores on his elbows and I’m sure you know what happened. He sat down and promptly put his elbows on the table. I am amazed we are as healthy as we are. The human body does a great job in fending off all manner of germs.

As I watched the man with the nasty looking elbows I found myself wishing that it would be as easy to spread the Gospel as it is to spread germs. That really is a horrible analogy. The Gospel is the best thing ever and I shouldn’t even put it in the same sentence with germs. One brings health and never-ending life while the other brings misery, suffering and death. But wouldn’t it be grand if we could sneeze and spread the Good News like we spray colds and the flu?

I have always wanted to be an infectious Christian. Yawning is infectious. A few good yawns in a classroom will produce more. A good smile usually produces more smiles. Kindness usually begets more kindness. Those, of course, are merely human behaviors. What I really desire is something much more substantive. I long for people to understand just how self-sacrificing and wonderful God is. That’s a much more difficult task.

Pruning Doesn't Come Easy

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-29T20:27:21-04:00

Hurricane Irene has moved north from Massachusetts. Here in the center of the Commonwealth it was not too bad; a few hours of hard rain and some gusts that were very helpful for me. I had a few dead branches beyond the reach of my pole-saw. Irene got them down for me. She was a good pruner. It isn’t unusual to see the ground covered with leaves in New England but it is a bit different to have them all be green. There are even a few well used nests strewn here and there.

Storms come in many forms. Some of the ones most difficult to deal with are internal. They also can do some serious pruning. Often time things are taken away that we long to hang on to. The best pruning takes place in the hands of a master gardener and not by the capricious events of life. The last evening Jesus was with His disciples He paused in the moonlight to talk about pruning. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15.

While I indeed long for a much fruit experience the pruning worries me. I know I am in the hands of the one who loves me more than life itself. I know He would only do what is the very best for me. But my humanity is still ever present and there is this human need to be in control. The idea of total surrender and allowing God to take over isn’t completely natural. Pruning doesn’t come easy.

The Spider in the Wind

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-28T19:19:29-04:00

We had only driven about a mile when my wife noticed a tiny spider clinging to a strand of web that was connected to the passenger side mirror. There he was in a forty mile an hour wind holding on for dear life. Nothing would do except we had to pull over while my wife rolled down her window and helped the little guy back into the safety of the case that holds the mirror. Only then could we proceed. I was fascinated because my wife really dislikes spiders.

At first I wanted to compare this to God and us. Romans 5:10, “If, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” But then I realized it was not a good analogy. God loves us despite our sins. Our sins He definitely hates. But He does not see us and our sins as one in the same. In His Fatherly care He is able to separate us from our behavior. That in itself is amazing. It is the spider itself my wife dislikes even though she actually understands their presence makes our home a better place. They catch and eat all kinds of flying, biting, stinging things.

So why was she so concerned about the little guy clinging in the wind? Perhaps she admired its tenacity. It certainly wasn’t giving up. All it needed for survival was a break. It needed someone to intervene. And so we did. Often times it is that way with us. Times get tough and we hang on for dear life hoping for a break. When it comes to our eternal future we got the biggest break anyone could imagine. God intervened and we are saved. Amazing.

The Golfer

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-26T21:09:36-04:00

There was rumbling moving closer and closer. Black clouds were moving our way. There was that smell in the air as the barometric pressure lowers and nitrogen escapes from the ground. We were definitely going to get it. And what to my wondering eyes did appear but a man at a driving range. There he stood with his metal shaft pointed high in the air as he focused on that golf ball. The only thing I think he could have been thinking was he paid for that bucket of balls and he was going to get his money’s worth. I was transfixed as I watched. I have never seen anyone struck by lightning and I figured if he was going to get it, I was going to see it happen. Fortunately it did not. What made it really sad was he had a horrible swing.

As I was thinking how stupid he was, the thought occurred to me that I too am that stupid when I eat things I know will clog my arteries, when I fail to exercise, when I tolerate being overweight and when I neglect my devotional life. My IQ isn’t any higher than that guy with the golf club pointing to the sky. Alas, it is so much easier to see other’s mistakes and ignore our own. It is so grand that we have a Savior who was and is one of us. He knew about human stupidity and hypocrisy. He talks about it in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “How wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?” Alas, we, at least I, do it all the time.

My Old-People Glasses

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-25T21:04:26-04:00

I got a new pair of glasses. They are old-people glasses. Old-people glasses used to be bi or trifocals with the lines but now we get progressive lenses. No lines. The only people who now get glasses with lines are the trendy people. My old-people glasses are ones with some anti-glare treatment. When cars come at me after dark their headlights don’t flare all over the place.

Little by little I am making the transition to being old. I now take Centrum Silver so I can ride my bicycle with the wind blowing through my hair (oops – no hair left) as I laugh at whoever knows what. (oops – can’t hear) I love getting my senior citizen discount. I ask for it everywhere I go. I wonder if God will give me a discount on tithe and I only need return nine percent. I need to start putting my stuff up on ebay.com. Now that our little college, Atlantic Union College, will not be opening this fall, I can spend snowbound winter days selling things on line. However, I’m not sure who would want an old clock with an inscription “A+ Professor.” I got it from a student. (Sorry about that. Had to brag.)

Life is such an adventure. The trouble with selling stuff is each item has a story. It’s like selling one’s life to strangers. Three score and ten isn’t very long. But I have a feeling that if we had thirty score and ten it would still not be enough. What a thrill it is to read John 3:16. If we believe we will never perish but have everlasting life. What a thrill it is to know Jesus and know this is just a prelude.

Gardeners

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-24T23:30:03-04:00

The Lord made some people gardeners. The Bothwells were not some of them. We do not grow food. We eat it. For a short time when our boys were very little in Africa we had a small garden cut out in the midst of a patch of elephant grass. At no time in our lives in America have we grown eatables. We have gathered wild blueberries and asparagus where God planted them. So this year when my wife decided to grow a tomato plant in a tub we were pretty much garden virgins. You can imagine our dismay when a ground hog started munching on it. But my wife fortified the plant with chicken wire and we now have tomatoes. It was a rare day this afternoon when I walked by it, plucked a nice round red juicy fruit (or is it a vegetable?) and ate it right there on the spot.

They certainly do taste better than the ones from the supermarket. It brings new meaning to Genesis 1:11- 12. It was the third day of creation. “The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

Now I am wondering if brussel sprouts and okra taste good if they come fresh from the garden. But alas, I think it is too late for us to become gardeners. We do live in New England and the growing season really isn’t very long. Maybe in heaven God will put a garden area in my back yard with no weeds. I hope I don’t disappoint Him if I fail to use it and instead buy my veggies from a neighbor with a squash plant.

"Evil"

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-23T20:10:51-04:00

These past few days thousands of workers for one of the communication giants have been on strike. You most likely saw some of them with their red shirts and picket signs standing in front of one of their work places. I certainly can understand the need for unity and solidarity when negotiating with a giant organization. What I don’t understand is one of the strikers was wearing a button with the company logo above the word “Evil.” “Evil” is a very harsh word and I wondered now that the strike is over, how can that person continue to work for an organization that is evil? Would that not mean that he too is evil by using his talents to foster the health of that evil organization? Should he not use his gifts to totally stamp out evil or does something cease to be evil once we get from it what WE want? Then who is the evil one?

All of my life I have been educated to think that Satan is evil. I certainly don’t want to be on his team. Therefore, when I tell a lie, it really isn’t evil, it’s just a little white lie. I haven’t really participated in his campaign to overthrow God’s Kingdom or have I? When I feed my lower nature am I not at least a private in his army? At least I’m not a captain or a general. Those positions are for others I know but will not identify here.

It seems so easy to disparage others and excuse ourselves. I usually come up with some very good excuses for my misdeeds but rarely want to give others the benefit of the doubt. They are just plainly evil! Alas, I need a heart transplant.

Heaven Starts Now

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-22T21:03:53-04:00

There are certain things so good they are beyond adjectives. On this very warm August evening I have just consumed an Orange Creamsicle. Our family used to call them Dreamsicles. Not only was it delicious on my tongue it was even more so in my mind. I was five-years-old again sitting with my father on the front steps of our house. I remember slowly licking away the orange outer layer trying to make it last as long as I could. My dad was eating a Fudgsicle. We were in heaven.

Heaven is not so much a place as it is a state of mind. We drove past a church today that had a sign over its front door that said, “Gateway to heaven.” My first thought was there must be a lot of really nice people who worship there. Making a place heaven doesn’t really have to be very difficult. It is merely treating people the way you want to be treated.

This afternoon at a church picnic I saw one of our smaller members wearing a Minnesota Vikings t-shirt. “Hey,” I said, “You are in Patriot’s country.” Even though he is a little guy I know him well enough to know he would not be intimidated by me. “My mom likes the Vikings,” he said. So I responded. “The next time I see you I am going to give you a Patriot’s shirt.” “Really,” he beamed as he hurried over for me to check his shirt size. You can be sure I have a big note on my desk. That is a promise I will make sure to keep.

Heaven isn’t about winning the lottery. Heaven is about being with people who care about you. Heaven starts now not sometime in the future.

Life Isn't Fair

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-19T20:05:51-04:00

It has been a few years now since my mother passed away, so I figured it was time to shred her business papers. There was a box of old check registers, annuity papers, receipts for things long gone. There were documents scribed with my father’s name and the names of her other two husbands. She buried three. She would be upset with me telling you this. Actually I thought it was kind of grand that she got three. One of our friends who never married always complained how unfair it was that my mom got three and she never got one. I might add the three she did get were all really fine men.

Life isn’t fair. That’s a difficult lesson for most people. I think we are born with a sense of rightness and when it doesn’t pan out we think we got cheated. Whenever I am tempted to complain about some injustice I remind myself of the millions of people in the world who haven’t had it nearly as splendid as I.

Some people think fair means we all get treated equally. However, if that were the situation, in most cases it would be very unfair. Each of us has different needs. Fairness is receiving what we need, not what someone else got that we do not need. School teachers see this all the time. They have some children who need more time and attention than others who are quick to learn. Giving each child the same amount of time and attention would be most unfair. Each should receive according to their need.

God gives according to our need. We all need grace and grace is what all of us receive; if we accept His offer. This is a case of equality. He doesn’t play favorites. No teacher’s pet.

Wisdom

roger.bothwell@comcast.net — 2011-08-18T19:13:01-04:00

Sometimes it is so dark when I walk my black lab I cannot see her even though we are on opposite ends of her leash. I walk carefully as to not trip on anything as she tugs me down the hill. She loves to walk no matter how dark it is. But a few evenings ago we had just begun when she turned and wanted to go home. I paused so I could listen carefully but I could not hear anything let alone see anything. Being that our bear is still roaming the neighborhood I decided to take her cue and let her pull me back up the hill. I know she can see better in the dark than I and she can smell many more things than I.

One of the things I have learned in life is to follow the lead of those with superior abilities. When I was a teen I was so arrogant I didn’t think there was anyone else who knew more than I. Wow, was that ever stupid. With years hopefully comes wisdom. It is that way now with God’s instructions and commands. There are times when I cannot possibly see any possible harm from certain behaviors, but I know that God, who has lived much longer than I, (How about forever?) and has more information than I, (How about His being all knowing?) will only lead me to safe places. It is me that gets me into trouble.

The Shepherd’s Psalm says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil.” That’s not just some childhood memory verse. That is good counsel no matter how old we are. I let my dog take me home that dark dark night.