Author: Ian Bothwell

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 19, 2012.

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 17, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 16, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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 loves us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 14, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 14, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

We are two weeks into the fall semester and today toward the end of my sixth lecture in Psychology 101 a young man put up his hand and asked, “How much of this do we have to remember?”  After I caught my breath and my head cleared I responded, “Ah, like all of it.” I sometimes wonder what goes on in their heads.  They pay really good money for each class.   They come without their books.  They come without anything that would help them take notes.  If there is a video they sleep.  It drives me nuts.

“Aha,” I think. “This is how frustrated God must get with us.”   He provides us with an abundance of great study materials.   We have the Gospels and the letters of Paul.  Do we do our daily reading?  We sleep through church because it isn’t nearly as exciting as our favorite action television program.  We rarely take notes when we do read Ephesians or the Sermon on the Mount, which can be very challenging.   I hear the very same excuses from adults as to why they don’t have enough time to study as I do from my students.  So I guess I better be patient with my students just as God is patient with us.  I do so much want them to learn and God so much wants us to learn.  No wonder Paul wrote to Timothy, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 8, 2008

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

Rogerbothwell.org

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

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 6, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

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 salt.  (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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 7, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 9, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 8, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org