Author: Ian Bothwell

The caller ID said, “Private Caller.”   The female voice was strange but it said, “Hi Grandpa.”   “Hi,” I responded wondering who this was.  I have four granddaughters.  “Grandpa,” she said, “I was in a car accident and have been arrested for drunk driving.”  Well, that instantly eliminated two of them.  Only two are old enough to drive.  But, the voice was not familiar.  Next she said, “I’m in jail and need you to come for me.”  “Where are you,” I asked.  “In Plymouth, MA,” came the answer.  That eliminated the two who can drive.   They live in Pennsylvania and California.  “I think you have the wrong grandpa,” I said.  Instantly the phone went dead.

I do hope she found her real grandpa.  Instantly I thought of the first commandment.  “Thou shall have no other gods before me.”   It’s not that our heavenly Father is an egotist.  He just wants to make sure we call on the right grand Father.  How disappointing to call the wrong one who can’t help you because not only is he the wrong one he doesn’t even exist.

It was so wonderful when Jesus told us to call God our Father.  The concept of the fatherhood of God shows up only about two times in the Old Testament but almost a hundred times in the New Testament. He is so generous.  When we allow He adopts us into His family and instantly we become co-heirs with Jesus, who isn’t the least bit jealous.  Jesus is thrilled to share His inheritance with us.  It is the most amazing family and we are so blessed.  See Romans 8 and Galatians 4.

Not only is He our Father.  He is a grand Father and the right one.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 8, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

My neighbors across the street have a very nice granite pillar for their mailbox and sure enough there is moss growing only on the north side of the pillar.  It makes one want to confirm the old survival rule about moss growing only on the north side of trees.  Of course that is only in the northern hemisphere in the southern hemisphere moss grows on the south side of trees.  Well, maybe that is true in both hemispheres.  Moss will grow on any side of a tree depending upon where sunlight strikes it.  Sunlight retards the growth of moss and all things being equal the farther away you are from the equator the truer is the old axiom.

One of the things I try to teach my students is to be very careful with the words all and every. Depending upon conditions and circumstances there usually are exceptions to almost everything.  Usually moss only grows on the north side of trees.  Usually Christians are nice people.  Actually that should always be true.  No matter whatever someone calls themselves if they are not a nice person they really are not a Christian.  They are just pretending to be.  And that could be pretending even to oneself.

In Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, . .”  Isn’t it bizarre that people often get that concept reversed?  This isn’t saying we should not be firm, especially with our children, but it does rule out being nasty.  So here is an axiom that is just the reverse of trees.  Righteousness only grows on the sunny side of a Christian.  That is with Jesus being the light shining on that person.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 7, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I had a friend who treated the Bible as if it were the ultimate puzzle book filled with anagrams, numerology, mystic secrets and cryptic messages formed from taking letters out of context and forming words in English.  I never could get him to understand that his cryptic messages only worked in English and not Hebrew and Greek, the original languages of Scripture.  He also maintained the King James Version was the only legitimate version.  Again I couldn’t get him to understand that not everyone in the world spoke English. Spanish and French people needed to have and use their translations.

It is true there are some chapters in Daniel and Revelation that seem very mysterious but they are able to be understood in the light of history. They are not to be treated as Sunday Morning New York Times Crossword Puzzles.  The intent of God giving us His word is explained to us by Paul.  He wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  We wonder what Paul meant by “Scripture.”  It would have been the height of arrogance for him to have assumed his letters would be regarded equally with the works of Moses, etc.  Today we do regard them to be equal.

The Bible was given to us that we might find salvation.  It is there to aid us through the cares of this world into an assured understanding of just how good God is and what He was and is willing to do to make sure we are saved.  If you enjoy puzzles, go buy a book of puzzles.  If you want to live forever, experience the excitement of a living Jesus in the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 26, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I settled down for a comfortable evening of reading book reports from my Human Development course.  I believe I was reading my fifth paper when I came across the following sentence. “ Inherent in the epistolary format of the book is the idea that language itself can be salvific.”  Really?  I noted that the paper was written by an immigrant freshman student from Guinea whose official language had been French.  It took but a few moments to find that sentence and almost the entire paper by typing the “wonderful” sentence in Google.

I often wonder if God is ever amused at our feeble, ignorant attempts to deceive.  Actually amused is not the right word to use.  I should use the word disappointed because I was disappointed in my student.  Now came judgment time.  I hate this part of teaching. The ball was in my court.  What should I do?  The college policy is clear about this.  I even have this sentence in my syllabus from the student handbook. “. . . consequences range from no credit for the assignment to failure for the course and possible expulsion from the college.”

How interesting that I naturally responded according to how I was raised.  My parents always gave me a second chance.  Not a third!  A second.  Considering there was a paragraph or so in the paper actually written by the student, I gave her a D and a severe warning.  And how does God deal with me?  He is extremely gracious.  He does forgive but He also lets me reap the natural consequences of my sins.  Is the college policy “natural consequences” or discretionary consequences?  I opted for discretionary.  My wish is for God to also be discretionary with me.

Written by Roger Bothwell on Oct. 6, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

It was heartbreaking to watch.  The ice cream man, who drives too fast, was being chased by a little girl with her money in hand.  Finally her little legs stopped running as she wistfully watched the truck round the corner. It was too late. But the story doesn’t end there. Her daddy came out, put her in his car and off they went pursuing the ice cream man.  Yeah, for all the caring dads in this world.

For thousands of years humans have chased after life.  The dream of eternity aches inside our chests.   For centuries our heavenly Father watched as man struggled to understand this thing we call death.  We are captive to a system of aging that imprisons both the animal and vegetable kingdoms.  The oak tree grows old and finally surrenders to time as it ceases to hold up its gnarled branchy arms.  Finally, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

No longer do we stand with money in hand watching the truck go round the corner. Our Heavenly Dad has come to the rescue.  It is not too late.  The Way is paved and clear. It was no accident that the early church called itself, “The Way.”  Eternity waits for an unconscious decaying body, but rejoices to receive a vibrant human being transformed into the very image of the One who knows “The Way.” Yeah, for all the Dads in this universe.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 1, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

My wife loves accounting.  Being that her father was an auditor it makes sense that she loves balancing books.  She approaches an out of balance checkbook with the zeal of a puzzle master.  I think that is why she allows me to write checks.  She knows when the bank statement comes there will be a problem.  Oh such fun!  The more mistakes I made the better. My being error prone is one of my endearing characteristics.

Jesus also loves error prone creatures.  In Romans 5 Paul wrote, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, . .”  It is so joyful to give things to people.  It must make Jesus very happy to give us all the grace we need.  Paul anticipated our then saying, “Well, if it makes God happy to pour out grace.  Let’s sin some more, thus giving Him an opportunity for more happiness.” That is why Paul starts out Romans 6 the way he did.  “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!”  This is because there is something that makes God even happier than forgiving us.  It is not having to forgive us.

Seeing us grow.  Seeing us overcome weaknesses.  Seeing us become more like Jesus each day brings God ecstatic joy.  When He made Adam, who was not error prone, God said, “That is very good.”  Seeing you and I gradually become stronger induces God to repeat, “That is very good.”   Won’t it be grand to hear God say to us someday, “Good job”?

I wonder if someday when the bank statement comes and my wife discovers no errors if she will look at me and say, “Good job.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 3, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Something truly eerie was happening at our house.  Our garage door would open and close at its own will and not open and close when we wanted it to do so.  In the middle of the night it would open and yet when I would come home from school it would not open for me.  I finally exhausted all possible explanations within my set of handy-man skills.  I swallowed my pride and called a repair man.  It is so nice to have someone come who knows what is happening.  Quite quickly he discovered two wires making connections when they were not supposed to be doing so.  Any temperature changes which made the wires fluctuant ever so slightly was all that was needed for them to touch or untouch.

There are two lessons inherent in this.  Number one is the importance of making the proper connections in life.  Making the right connection can open doors and create opportunities for us.  Making friends, being connected, with Jesus is very smart.  He can open all manner of doors for us.  He will make sure we end up where we should be.  He can also close doors for us,  ones we want to pass through but He knows better. Proper connections are super important.

The second lesson is having the person who knows what they are doing come to your house.  Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock.”  Well, I can’t think of anyone more knowledgeable about absolutely everything than Jesus.  When we need something fixed in our lives He’s the repairman to call.  He makes house calls.  But I must say His fees are expensive.   He asks for a full commitment from us to trust Him with our lives and our eternal future.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 2, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Today was in the 50’s, overcast, a tiny bit drizzly and very calm.  It was a perfect fall day for cutting firewood.  I fired up my old trusty chainsaw and went to the woodpile.  I labored through the first log and started on the second when my brain said, “This is stupid.  The chain is dull and I have a new chain in the garage.”   A few minutes later with the new chain installed the logs just melted into pieces.  Tasks are so much easier when one has the right tool in good condition.  My father-in-law used to tell me that a dull knife is a dangerous knife.  I discovered that is also true about people.

In Ephesians 6 Paul talks about the necessity of taking up the “Sword of the Spirit” which is the Word of God.  Having a sharp “Sword” is very important.  How often have we been confronted by well-meaning people with dull swords?  They know one or two texts and care not for the context from which they tore them.  It is impossible to rightly understand a text if one does not answer the following questions.  1. Who wrote it?  2. To whom were they writing? 3. What issue were they addressing? 4. Does this have a universal application or was it meant for a time or place in history that has changed.  Times do change.  I was born in the 1940s.  That was a different planet from now.

Good study habits with a prayerful attitude will, with the promised help of the Holy Spirit, enable us to have sharp swords.  We will be able to understand and rightly address modern day issues.  God’s Word is eternal.  It is for all time.  But we must be careful where we slice!

Written by Roger Bothwell on Oct. 1 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

What I am about to say will set off alarm bells in the brains of Bible students who know about the Mark of the Beast as described in the book of Revelation.  The \ Mark of the Beast traditionally has something to do with a mark on one’s forehead or hand that will enable people to buy and sell.   So here goes.  I can hardly wait for the technology to advance to placing a microchip under the skin on the back of my hand.  Never again will I have to worry about losing my wallet which now contains my driver’s license, my credit cards, my library card, my AARP card, my BJ’s card and my health insurance cards.  Without my wallet I am a nobody who cannot legally drive, pay for gas for my car, check out a book, get my old people’s discount at Denny’s and get emergency health care should I need it.

I’m sure all of us have had that panic moment when we reach for our wallet and it isn’t where it is supposed to be.  Our mouth goes instantly dry, our stomach lurches, our knees go weak when it is not instantly, comfortingly in our pocket.  How grand it will be when I merely need to wave my hand in front of the gas pump or at the grocery store to pay for things.  I can stop being fearful of pickpockets when in a packed elevator.

When something is inside it is truly yours.  I carry Jesus around in my heart.  He knocked.  I said, “Come on in” and the joy and eternal security is amazing.  People can’t steal Him from me.  The only way He would leave is for me to toss Him out and I would never be that stupid.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 30, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Summer has been vandalized.  In the quiet of the night graffiti artists silently plied their skills and somehow whisked across the tops of our trees spraying red and gold.  If only I could catch these rascals, but they seem to know when I am not looking.  Ah, but then again, summer is gone.  It is time for these renegade painters to display this year’s exhibit.  Have they been practicing some place unaware?  Were they anxious to do their thing?  Tonight I shall stay up waiting to apprehend them least they blaze my entire neighborhood with their Monetish talent without my catching a glimpse.  I must say they are very neat.  They do not leave empty spray cans scattered about.

Alas, summer has passed.  Hopefully none of us has to say as did Jeremiah, “”The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”  What an awful thing to have to say.  If you do have to say such I do so hope you enjoy these few autumns that you have left.  But a much better idea is to take Jesus up on His offer and live with us forever.  That is so much better.  Please do.  If you don’t we will miss you and our autumns will be diminished because of your absence.

If I were rich I would have a home both in Massachusetts and Australia thus having two autumns each year.  Someone told me in heaven the leaves will not turn but stay eternally green.  How dull.  How boring.  If that is the case I will find myself a tilted planet somewhere in God’s vast universe where I can, each of its years, try to catch those vandals with the cans of gold, red and yellow paint.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 29, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org