Author: Ian Bothwell

At one time our son’s office was in a high-rise in southern Connecticut looking down on I-95.  One day on our way to Philadelphia 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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 16, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

My barber startled me today.  She said, “I’ve been praying for you.”  Though she has been cutting my hair for years I really don’t know her other than her name and the usual niceties of conversation.  However, other than shaking hands with people, she is one of the few people who touch me.  Today she touched me in a different way.  Instead of merely touching my head, her expression of care touched my heart.

Touch is important.  We know that babies who are not touched do not thrive.  Yet, we live in a culture that discourages touching.  Teachers are fearful of touching students lest they be unfairly accused.  Yet, we all know there are times when a crying child needs someone to hold them.  Many years ago I was the pastor of a church with a daycare.  One morning I saw a little guy sitting on the floor silently weeping.  As I sat down beside him he said, “I want my mommy.”  I spent most of the morning with him on my lap.

In the first chapter of Mark Jesus healed a leper.  But first Jesus touched him.  It was an outrageous act of love.  Nobody touched lepers.  Jesus did.  Jesus was so sensitive to our need when a woman touched the hem of his garment He stopped and said, “Who touched me.”  Both the leper and the woman left totally and completely well.  On resurrection Sunday Jesus said to Mary, “You have to let go of me.  I haven’t yet been to my Father.”  The King James says, “Don’t touch me.”  But the Greek, in which the story was originally written, says, “Let me go.”

If we want to do real evangelism let’s learn about individuals and imaginatively and uniquely do something designed to touch them.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 10, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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 that would  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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 10, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

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.  “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

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 lie 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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 9, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

When Abraham Lincoln was a young man he feared there was nothing left on “the field of glory”.  Washington, Jefferson, Madison and the others had done the great work of establishing our nation and the rest of us will spend our days doing lesser things.  How ironic that he was the one who saved that very Union.  In Ephesians 2:10 Paul wrote, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  It appears we need not fear that all the great things have been done.  Before we were born God knew us and prepared very special projects for us; projects sure to bring their share of glory when we follow His will for our lives.

It is tempting to think we don’t matter much in the great scheme of things.  Satan would love to have us resign ourselves to a mundane life of merely logging years.  But should we begin each day with reference to the old United States Army slogan, “Father, this day help me be all that I can be” we might not come to the end of the day with a “Wow, I was spectacular today” but we will indeed, most likely unknowingly, contribute something highly significant in the building of God’s Kingdom.

We are not the product of a random meeting of egg and sperm.  We have been planned for.  We are the product of a heavenly Father who needs us.   Like a human father who has dreams of glory for his children so does God have dreams for us.  There are yet a multitude of honors left on “the Field of Glory” and at least one of them has engraved on a golden name plate your name.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 7, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

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!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 7, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.”  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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 4, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Before being taken into the operating room for my knee replacement I asked someone why they were giving me a particularly large looking shot.  He said, “This is just in case you wake up during the surgery you will not remember it.”  Wow.  That was something I didn’t need to hear.  The thought of waking up while the orthopedist was sawing off chunks of bone had never occurred to me.  I could have lived without hearing that.

It made me recall a few other things in life I could have lived without hearing.  In the seminary we had a church history professor that struck terror to all who entered his lair.  No one would make eye contact with him lest he call on you.  To hear “Mr. Bothwell” made my heart stop beating, my hands grow cold and my knees to quake.  After asking for some obscure fragment of information he would say, “F. Mr. Bothwell. F.”  Horrors.

Matthew 7:21 – 23 is another thing we never want to hear.  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, . . .’”

Fortunately we will never have to hear that because Jesus also said, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you. If you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.”  Those are the sweetest words we will ever hear.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 5, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Most likely all of us have wondered about the reduced power of the modern Christian Church.  We have to admit we do not (despite the claims of TV evangelists) perform great miracles like Jesus’ disciples did in the Book of Acts.

Perhaps the new Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat can clue us in.  This everyday car produces a thunderous 707 horsepower from its 6.2 liter V-8. It comes with two keys, a red one and a black one.  The red one which releases full power is for the owner.  The black one is for valets and your teenagers, which greatly reduces its power.

Until we can prove ourselves to be trustworthy with the power God could make available to us, we are like valets and teens and we are using the black key.  We have to recognize and be thankful for the fact that our heavenly Father is a responsible Father and would not turn one of us loose with what could be a disaster.  The damage we could cause would be horrendous.

If you are wondering about the price of the SRT Hellcat, it is $66,000.  If you are wondering about the price of receiving God’s power, it is a total surrender of self to the Holy Spirit.  I believe it is a matter of wisdom.  The disciples all paid a horrendous price.  John was the only one to die a natural death.  The others suffered agonizing ends.  Also we live in a different world than did Jesus’ disciples.  One can only imagine the havoc such power would bring.  God is wise.  He knows exactly how much power each of us needs to live a Christ-like, victorious life. He knows we will be fine with the black key.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 4, 2016

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

Rogerbothwell.org

There was a cardinal at our bird feeder this morning with snow on its back.  The snow must have been frozen on because it did not fall off as the cardinal flew back and forth from a branch to the feeder.  It was an unnecessary burden that was hampering its flight.  Most of the people I know are like this cardinal.  We carry around unnecessary burdens that hamper our being all we can be.  They can be the product of childhood but more likely they are the product of life in general.  We allow failures to hamper our concept of what we can really accomplish.  Failure is not pleasant and we do all we can to avoid it.   The things we associate with our failures become hot stoves.  We just don’t try again.  Some are things we really would like to do but fear another attempt will once again result in failure.  We live ordinary lives when we could have been extraordinary.  Instead of learning from our failures we turn them into blockades that keep us from going any further merely so we do not have to taste failure again.  We carry burdens that hamper the fulfillment of our dreams.

Sometimes the burden we carry is guilt which is most debilitating.  It haunts us with “I wish I had not done it.”   We cannot go back and undo.  However we can lift the burden.  We begin by seeking God’s forgiveness which is always available.  “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us.”  I John1:9   Secondly, we forgive ourselves.  Often that is the tough one.  Let it go.  If necessary say, “I forgive myself.”  The result will be wonderful.  When the burden is gone we fly like a cardinal without snow on its back.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 3, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org