Category: devotional

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 4, 2012

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

Rogerbothwel.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 1, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell,org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 2, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 1, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 30, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

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?

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 29, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

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.

 

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 28, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

If advertising on television means anything it seems Christmas shopping has begun.  At least the merchants hope it has begun. When I was a little guy our evening newspaper did a Christmas shopping days countdown on the front page.  I loved it because as the numbers grew smaller Christmas grew closer. Anticipation was incredibly exciting.

In I Peter 1 we find the following wonder.  “Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven-and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all-life healed and whole.” *

Sometimes I think it would grand if we had a countdown to the day when we will have life healed and whole.  In a way we do have a countdown.  It’s called ageing.  Every birthday takes us a giant step forward.  We shouldn’t dread birthdays.  The promises are true.  We should have the same excited anticipation we had as children counting down days ’til Christmas.  Let’s start enjoying the brand-new life we have already received. The future starts now.

I remember my mother putting presents on layaway at a downtown department store.  Every two weeks she would ride the bus into the city to make payments on them.  The presents were ours.  She kept careful watch over them to make sure on December 24 all would be paid and she could bring them home. The future started when she started making those payments.  Our future began at the payment on the Cross.  There was only one payment.  It was \ enough for all the sins of the whole world.

*The Message Paraphrase

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 3, 2009

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

While hiking through the forest this morning, (No, we weren’t out looking to shoot a turkey.) my son and I suddenly found ourselves surrounded by hundreds of robins.  It was almost Hitchcockian.   Just in case you might have wondered where all the robins went this fall, they are in Leominster State Forest in Massachusetts.  There is no danger that they are about to become extinct.

However,  there are many endangered animals about to go extinct.  If you looked in the mirror today you might have seen one.   You are a very unique, special, one-of-a-kind creature.  You are a one time only, ever, combination of DNA.   There never was one like you and there never will be another.  Perhaps that’s one important reason why God values you so much. Might I go so far as to say He needs you?  If you are not eternally His, He will forever have an empty spot in His heart.

It is no wonder in Luke 15 Jesus speaks of the great rejoicing in heaven over the salvation of one soul.  Preparation has been made for everyone. Preparation has been made for you.  If you are not at the wedding feast mentioned by John in Revelation 19, there will be an empty seat at the table.  It will be a Thanksgiving table for all who are there, but, despite God’s happiness for the redeemed, He will forever grieve for those not there.

Of all the many things for which I am thankful this Thanksgiving Day, I am most thankful we have been granted the privilege of never becoming extinct.  We will forever grow more and more into the perfect likeness of the One who originally knelt in the grass of Eden and made our parents in His image.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 26, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94547

Rogerbothwell.org

 

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.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 25, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org