Month: March 2019

I have come to believe it is possible to spin any position into the opposite of what it really is.  Depending upon what we want to believe we carefully select words to create fantasies about those whom we either do not like or with those we disagree. Truth becomes the victim.  In our eagerness to support a particular viewpoint half-truths become the paint brushes with which we create something that really is not.  Unfortunately what we create becomes to us truth because we have invested so much of our reputations and energies on our twisted endeavors.

Even God Himself was the victim of such a campaign.  “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”  Revelation 12:7.    No rational person could interpret this passage in any other way than to understand it was a war of words and ideas.  The mastermind of this rebellion was clever enough to totally confuse a third of God’s angels.  See verse 4.  If the loving God who sent us His own Son to die for us can be made out to be a monster to the brilliant minds of angels, how easy is it for humans to cast other humans into things they are not.

Our egos lie to us regarding our intelligence.  We think we are too smart to be fooled.  Thus we open ourselves for deception.  We don’t want to admit we do not see all the sides of an issue.  We don’t.  We only know what we know and there is a universe of things we do not know.  Jesus so wisely told us not to judge others. Should we not then as Christians follow His wise counsel?  See Matthew 7.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 23, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Recently I have been trying to hone my birding skills by learning bird songs.   I figure I can go birding by sitting in a folding chair and just listening.  Once I hear and identify a bird call I can add it to my day’s list.  Obviously some calls are fairly easy to learn.  Is there anyone who can’t identify a robin by sound?  However, the flycatchers and the warblers are something else.  I have a lot of learning to do.  A lot of it is learning to listen.  We take listening for granted since we have been doing it prior to our birth.  But skilled listening is another story.  It takes practice; lots of practice.

I think the same can be said for hearing the still small voice of God.  He wants so very much to talk to us but He is careful not to blow us away with a big thunderous voice. He chooses to whisper.  He is gentle that way.  If we fill our ears with the sounds of life and add to them the sounds of music in the car, music while we walk, music while we study, we make it difficult for Him.  We overpower Him.

He especially likes to talk to us when we read His word.  He has excellent commentary to add to Matthew and John.  He likes it when we read about Jesus and He wants us to feel the breeze from the shores of Galilee.  He wants us to savor the sweet scents of food in the marketplace of Nazareth.  There is so much to experience when we take our time.  Don’t try to read the Bible through in a year.  If you set that for a goal there will be days you will rush to keep on schedule.  Those might be the very days He has something special to say.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 22, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

I’ve been carrying my cell phone in a leather holder on my belt.  It is very convenient. It works well.  However, I notice when I get close to my computer the computer starts making a faint buzzing sound.  The cell phone is emitting some kind of electronic signal.  I wonder just how good this is for my kidneys to be constantly irradiated by whatever signal this is. Most likely it is harmless, but I am having second thoughts about carrying it there.  One thing I have discovered through the years is ignorance can kill.

In Romans 10:14 Paul asks a very important question.  “And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”   He is speaking of the important need for us to tell the story of Jesus. Ignorance hurts.  Knowledge helps.  God has called us to spread the Good News.  Jesus loves us and has enough grace for everyone no matter what we have done.  However people need to hear. Some of the most difficult people to tell are those closest to us.  They know our faults and we fear they will say something like, “Well, you’re not so good.”  And the truth is we most likely aren’t so good.  But that does not negate the importance of what we have to tell.

God is honored by intelligent followers.  Ignorance doesn’t solve the problems of the world.  Ignorance doesn’t make us better people.  Knowledge is power.  God is all powerful because He is all knowing.  His power emanates from what He knows. Sometimes we have to trust Him and obey even if we don’t understand why He asks certain things.  It is smart to obey someone who is smarter than we are.  He is definitely smarter than we.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 1, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

I have a kaleidoscope on my mantel.  Occasionally when I think of it I put it up to my eye, point it at a light and ever so slowly watch the ever-changing, never alike scenes.  It reminds me of our lives.  Ever so slowly we change, no day is ever like the preceding one and life is best when it is pointed at the light.  In John 8 just after Jesus rescued a woman from stoning He turned to the crowd and said, “I am the light of the world. “Wow!  What an amazing thing to say.  His confidence must have astonished his friends and infuriated his enemies.

Light shows us the way.  Light brings understanding.  Light adds color to our days, our places and the faces of our loved ones.  Proverbs 4:81 reads, “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.”  When Jesus came He was a beacon that cast off the misunderstanding shadows that blurred the true character of His Father.  God was not some ogre who fiendishly savored the flowing blood of sacrifices.  His Father was a father who gives life and nurtures what He has made.

Jesus was a light so bright it burst through the curtain revealing the Most Holy Place to the commonest of men.  There is no need for any other intercessor than Jesus Himself.  “If we sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus the righteous.”  The word “if” needs to be replaced with “when.”  In John 10:30 Jesus goes even further.   He said, “My Father and I are one.”  Awesome.  They are in total accord.  The Father has the exact same love and feelings for you as does Jesus!

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 28, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

 

In the late 1940’s there were several shoe stores in downtown Harrisburg, Pa.  It was a long time before indoor shopping malls. I loved getting on the bus and going downtown.  At Christmas time we would stand in the snowy slush on the sidewalks and peer into Bowmans and Pomeroys.  They filled their sidewalk display windows with mechanical reindeer and elves.  It was dazzling to my young eyes.  I left lots of finger and nose prints on those windows.  But it was the shoe stores that provided the best entertainment.  Each store had a fluoroscope.  I would run down the street from store to store sticking my feet in the machines and watching the bones wiggle about in my feet.  It’s a wonder I still have feet.

We now have devices to detect which parts of our brains we use when we perform certain mental tasks.  And while we have machines that reveal the veracity of our comments we do not yet have devices to see into our souls.  Some say our eyes are the windows of our souls but that is more poetry than truth.  Some of the most dishonest people can look so honest.  Remember the last used car you bought?

I’m not sure, if I could, I would want to see into my soul.  It can be a frightening place filled with a lifetime of nourished flaws.  Recently I found myself in church singing, “Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God, thy will to see, open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.”  I stopped. One must be careful for what one prays.  It might be answered and we might not be ready for the revelation.  Perhaps I should pray, “Open my eyes just a little bit.”   Perhaps I can handle “a little bit.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 30, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

I am surrounded by great friends and people who are very Biblically literate.  Some time ago I wrote about misspoken truth.  I mentioned that even though I did not think there was a Scripture verse proposing that our Heavenly Father loved us as much as Jesus, I did believe it was true.  However, I got an email clarifying that there really is such a text.  It is John 17:23 in the very words of Jesus Himself.  I am delighted to be corrected. It isn’t that I have never read John 17.  It is just that verse didn’t stay cemented into my memory.  So I thank my scholarly friend and pass on to you what has to be one of the most wonderful verses of Scripture.  God loves you as He loves Jesus.  In the words of a younger generation, “That is totally awesome.”

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Now the issue is did I not remember because of advancing age or did I not remember because I wasn’t paying good attention the other times I read John 17.  I hope it is the latter but I fear the first.  Then there is the chance that the Holy Spirit was saving it for me.  I like that reason the best.  I have noticed that I can read Scripture over and over and each time something new comes to my consciousness.  My friends tell me that is also true for them.  So read the Gospels again and again.  There is always something wonderful to discover.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 7, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA

rogerbothwell.org

 

The Bible I read from to begin my classes is getting a bit frayed on the edges.  A few years ago I did a homemade rebinding job on it that has worked very well.  It was a gift from some special friends so I am reluctant to retire it to a shelf.  Today as I was reading to my students the book of Revelation fell out onto the floor.  A couple of my Biblically literate students started laughing because of how the book of Revelation closes. “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”   I clearly had subtracted not just words but the entire book.

John the Revelator was very precise about the importance of keeping his book intact.  His message most assuredly applies to all Scripture.  No one has the right to support their particular belief system by adding or subtracting material from God’s Word.  Please note I used the word “material” while John uses the word “words.”  Obviously very few of us are able to read the Bible in Hebrew and Greek.  We are dependent on our English, Spanish, French, German and Chinese translations.  We understand it is not the words that are important it is the ideas.   Even good paraphrases, while not adhering so much to syntax, are morally and ethically bound to adhere to the ideas and not slip in any private beliefs.

Peter said it so well when he wrote, “For the prophecy came not in old times by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 23, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

Every once in a while I come upon a text that overwhelms me.  It is as if God secretly altered His Word one night while I slept.  Suddenly one morning every Bible has a verse never before seen by men.  Obviously I am being very egocentric because it was always there.  It was my blindness that never saw it til now.         I Peter 1:12 tells us the message of God’s grace about the Good News of Jesus is so special that angels longed to understand and have the insights that the Holy Spirit has shared with us.  Apparently as we learn angels learn.  As we plumb the depths of God’s grace and are given new insights, they benefit.  They thrill as they ever so deeply grasp the depths of God’s love and grace for His fallen children.

Heaven was rapt with attention to hear Jesus’ teachings on the mountain and by the sea.  His parables were filled with lessons that opened insights into eternal themes.  Personally I find this hard to grasp.  Why are we so privileged?  As I look at you and me I mostly see animals, smarter than the average bear, who as they age make a horrendous amount of mistakes and have to say, “I’m sorry” with great regularity.  And if they don’t, they should.

It is our privilege to take God’s Word and ponder its transforming power. Each new idea, each new concept brings us closer to communion with heavenly beings. Spending time in His Word prepares us step by step to walk on into eternity and to be comfortably at home with angels and other heavenly beings.  We are so blessed and yet how often we would rather spend time with some fictional television character than with Jesus.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 2, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA

rogerbothwell.org

 

I dropped my camera over the weekend.   It was less than a two-foot fall and when I picked it up there was no visible damage.  Not a scratch anywhere, but then I turned it on.  The picture screen looked like a giant black spider was living inside.  Alas the repair bill will be greater than the value of the camera.  I think that’s what the auto insurance companies call “totaled.”

Unfortunately people are same.  They too can be damaged without showing any outward marks.  The damage is internal.  Every day children are abused and totaled.  A lack of love, a lack of appreciation, a lack of understanding eats away at self-worth and one’s belief that he or she can be anything worthwhile.  When we yell at our children and call them stupid they believe us.  After all we are adults.  We should know.  We shouldn’t shower our children with undeserved praise. That dilutes the experience when real praise is deserved.   We should correct them and guide them to responsible behavior.   It’s the manner in which we do so that can be destructive. While not wanting to be overly Freudian because I do believe everyone is responsible for their decisions in life, we cannot ignore the power of suggestion in shaping lives.

The God who made us knows the levels of consciousness with which we live. He knows the healing that can come from forgiveness and knowing we are wanted. That’s why His word is filled with invitations to come for healing. The greatest miracles of Jesus were not physical but spiritual with the psychological benefits that resulted.   That is why he said to the paralyzed man let down through the roof, “Your sins are forgiven.”  The abundant life Jesus promises us in John 10:10 isn’t so much about our bank accounts.  It’s about inner wellness.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 4, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

One of the writing assignments for my Introduction to Psychology course is a five-page autobiography.  Since few of us know the truth about ourselves it is most interesting to see what nineteen-year-olds have to say about themselves.  Last semester I received one paper filled with daring-do.  It was the story of a hero, a knight in shining armor, a savior of small children who would otherwise be victimized on the streets of a giant metropolis.  The paper closed with the following sentence.  “This is me in my head.  The real me isn’t worth the ink.”

I found myself wondering how little different he was from all of us.  If we were asked to write the story of our lives would we write the truth?   If you have a Face Book page, is it really you?  Or is it some dream person you wish were behind the face in your carefully selected picture?  I wonder how many of us actually write our lives or do we just let life happen to us?  Are we really the protagonist in our biography or are we playing a supporting role to others who are leading and directing?

All of us find ourselves on roads we chose years or decades ago.  The question is do we have to stay on that road or can we alter directions.  Can we say or are we brave enough to say, “God help me change.  I want to go some other place than where this is leading”?  I know you have good sense and want to improve your life.  I know you want to make a difference before you are so old you have to be led about by others.  So pray for the wisdom to write a life that is worth the ink.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 11, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org