Category: devotional

Three times today I heard the word “gorgeous.”   My dictionary tells me it means “outstandingly beautiful or very pleasant.”  The first time was at dawn as we rose above the earth in a hot-air balloon.  It was stunningly clear.  We could see Boston, the Atlantic Ocean and north to Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  One of the people riding with us kept saying, “It is so gorgeous.”  It was.

The second time was in the Dunkin Donuts we stopped at after the balloon ride.  After a thirties looking man left the girls behind the counter started in with,“Wasn’t he gorgeous?”

The third time was my auto mechanic.  As I entered to pick up our 170,000 mile old car he looked up and said, “What a gorgeous day!”

So I concluded that I also need to use the word “gorgeous.”  Let me begin with John 3:17.  “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”  That is gorgeous.  How about Ephesians 2:4 through 8?  “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

If you don’t think that is gorgeous you need a new pair of glasses.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 13, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

My dog is lying beside me and a low deep guttural sound is emanating from somewhere deep in her.  Sometimes this happens when she is dreaming but she is not dreaming. She is sensing something outside that I do not. I have come to respect her senses.  They are much keener than mine.  I know that even if I had the senses of a healthy twenty-year-old there are things above and below my senses I cannot perceive.  I mention this because so many of us are sure things are true only if we can sense them.

Then there is our ego.  Many years ago at our college a Christian magician displayed some of his wonder.  Many of our students were convinced he was in league with Satan because they couldn’t figure out how he did it.  After all they “were so very smart they could figure out anything!”  It was a case of pure intellectual conceit.

This morning my wife and I stood in a field waiting for a hot-air balloon ride.  There was not a cloud in the sky.  We thought it was perfect.  Then the pilot released a small child’s balloon.  Once it got about fifty feet into the air it quickly took off in the direction of Boston.  Obviously we did not fly this morning.  We couldn’t see them but the air currents would have taken us where we didn’t want to go.

There are many forces in this world we cannot see or are above our intellects.  Many want to take us where we don’t want to go.  The things we read, we watch, we listen to have more effect on us than we can imagine.  Ephesians 6:14 is a great admonition for all of us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 12, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

I have this friend who is really a nice guy and really loves the Lord.  He is anxious for Jesus to return.  It seems that it should not be difficult to be around such a dedicated person.  But it is difficult.  Because he believes the world will be in a ruinous condition prior to Jesus’ second coming and tribulation will befall God’s people, he doesn’t want to hear any good news.  To tell him good news is like telling him you have become an unbeliever. Every day he pours through the news literally searching for the worst stories he can find because they reinforce him.  When he hears news of an earthquake or hurricane that killed thousands he almost receives the news with glee because “the end is near.”

This is not a case of the glass being half empty.  This is a case of the glass only have a few drops in the bottom.  Jesus does speak of tribulation and hard times.  We would be foolish to be Pollyannas and think all is well when it isn’t.  But where is the abundant life promised by Jesus?  He said He came to bring us the abundant life and it is to begin now not merely at the end of time.  It is true that hard times come and if we are patient and can survive them they usually pass giving us respite and peace.

In the 23rd Psalm we pass through the valley of the shadow of death and our Shepherd leads us by still waters and presents before us a bountiful table.  Let us not borrow troubles from the future but rejoice when there are rejoicable events. God created us with the ability to smile.  Let’s use it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 11, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

I spent a quiet weekend with Isaiah.  The imagery of his prose is powerful.  As I read I realized how proper we have become in our puritanical church vocabulary.  English provides us with ample synonyms that we might soften the prophet’s language with acceptable verbiage.  If I ever preached with the harshly descriptive words of Isaiah and the other prophets I am sure I would never be asked back again, that is if I was even allowed to finish just one sermon.  Depending upon which translation one uses one comes across words that I would not use in this devotional.  But the meaning of Isaiah’s message was and still is overwhelming with his sincerity and passion.

Isaiah 53, the suffering servant chapter, is most likely the best known of his writings.  But there is plenty more there for the interested reader.  Chapter one reeks of his disgust for God’s people’s immorality.  There is barely any sin he does not cover in his blanket condemnation.  And yet in chapter one there is also one of the most gracious of all verses of Scripture.  “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; . .”

Isaiah is so vastly different from the stories of the Gospels and the theology/philosophy of Paul.  The scope of Scripture and its diversity of styles and themes has something for everyone.  If today you are hungry for poetry there are the Psalms.  If tomorrow you are hungry for intellectual challenge there is Romans.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 10, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Can you spell “chionablepsia?”  How about “schwanoma?”  Now you can because you can see the word.   However in a National Spelling Bee you do not have the luxury of seeing them.  You would only hear the words from an official pronouncer.  The first word means snow blindness and the second means a benign nerve sheath tumor.

However, one soon learns the quest is rewarding but never satisfied.  Solomon wrote, “My child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.”  There needs to be balance in our lives.  Study and play, worship and exercise, sleep and family time, work and vacation are all needed for a good life.  Furthermore, we need to remember we have eternity to study.  Sometime in the far flung eons of time you and I will be reading and writing essays that will make Einstein’s work kindergarten material.

Our goal right now is to be sure to seize the opportunity for such a future.  Be sure to accept the gift offered to us by Jesus and the vastness of space and time and knowledge will be ours.  The incredible Teddy Roosevelt, multi-learned man, wrote, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” He wasn’t putting down on college.  He was reminding us not to forget the best.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 4, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I was fascinated today when I asked an extremely well educated man to read a few sentences from John Dewey, twentieth century American philosopher and educational reformer from the university of Chicago and Columbia.  Before reading the passage he asked, “Who is John Dewey?”  I was startled for a moment and then realized just how focused one can become.  His many years of education were obviously not in liberal studies but very honed in the sciences.  I was also impressed that he did not hesitate to ask what he did not know instead of faking it.

When other people do not think as we or see the same things as we, often we are quick to think less of them. However, life is so very full of things to learn and we have but a short time in which to do so.  Some people are amazingly informed and bright about a few things, while some of us know a little about a lot of things.  I am one of the latter.  There is no area in which I can claim to be an expert.  But I do so enjoy having a nodding acquaintance with a broad spectrum of things.

When I was a pastor I soon learned my congregations were filled with people who knew enormous amounts of things about topics I barely knew existed.  It is why when I talk to young pastors I counsel them to do a lot of fact checking before they say something from the pulpit.  People do not think less of you when you acknowledge you do not know something.  But you can lose a lot of face by pretending to know when you don’t know.

Jesus has always fascinated me in that as God He knew all.  But He sacrificed all that to be human.  Luke 2:52 speaks of His growing in wisdom.  When He took on humanity He took on beginnings as we.  So often when we speak of Jesus’ sacrifice we think only of the cross.  It was so much more than that.

 

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 7, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

A special tribute to my dear Jazz who closed her eyes for the last time today.  See you and Roger in heaven.  By Ian on September 7, 2021

Happy Birthday to my dog who keeps me safe from rabbits, skunks and foremost the mailman.  She is 49 dog years old today making her menopausal, but we fixed that a few years ago, so her temperament is as predictable as sunrise.  Her super hearing and her sense of smell give me a sense of comfort when I awaken during the night as I hear her softly moving through the house.  Should the marauding raccoons cruise through our nighttime yard she warns them and alerts me with a very low ever so deep rumbling sound.  She makes me feel welcome when I come home from school, sometimes even when I am only returning from the mailbox.

I have a friend who quotes Revelation 22:15 to remind me that I better get my fill of dogs now because there will be no dogs in heaven.  My friend thinks God is a “cat person.”  Obviously this verse is a solid argument against Biblical literalism.

I cannot remember never having a dog.  Jazz, my current canine, is my number twelve.  While I do not believe Jesus died on the cross for animals, I do believe Jesus wants to personalize heaven for us by making my home better than yours and yours better than mine.  Therefore, because of God’s great love for us He will do all He can to make heaven the best place ever for us.  Thus, I await opening the front door of my heavenly home and being besieged by a dozen dogs so happy to see me because I returned from going outside to get the mail.  (There will be no junk mail in heaven.)

So Happy Birthday Jazz.  We are off to Burger King to get you a Whopper.

Written on June 8, 2016 by Roger Bothwell

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Very often we hear parents say they want to do well so they can give their children the things they, the parents, did not have.  Usually when said they are referring to material items they want for their children and the struggles of life they wish to keep from their children.  Yet wise men tell us that the law of growth is struggle, stress and storms.  No pain – no gain.  Body builders know that repetitions and making muscles burn is what makes them stronger.  Material things do not grow character.  Joseph was sold as a slave. For forty years Moses fled Pharoah’s wrath.  Jacob wrestled with the angel.  Daniel was taken from his family to a conquerer’s land.  Each mountain to climb is an opportunity to be a better person. The history of our world is the history of struggle.

How ironic this is so often the very thing we want to keep from our children.  Love is not pampering.  Love is doing that which will make our children better people.  There are very few, if any, pleasures or satisfactions more gratifying than accomplishment.  To do that which is hard and to learn to do it well is why we are here.  Adam and Eve were to tend the garden.  They did not have angels coming to be their gardeners.

Heaven is not a place where we will instantly do all things well.  Heaven is the time it takes to learn, to practice, to struggle, to press our limits no matter how many centuries it might take.  God is glorified when His children accomplish, just as we applaud like crazy when our eight-year-old little leaguer finally gets a hit.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 6, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I begin with a quote from Shakespeare instead of Jesus or Paul.  It is from Romeo and Juliet whose families saw only wrong in each other.  “A plague on both your houses.”

This is the season for half-truths.  Could the speakers, defenders and promoters of their political views really believe the rest of us are so stupid we cannot see through their feeble intellectual attempts to manipulate us?  Perhaps that is what upsets me.  My vanity is at stake when I am taken to be a fool. Perhaps twelve years from now when my mental faculties have waned will I be taken in by the transparent foolish grabbing for power?  But not this time around.

But as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  This has been going on for thousands of years. The two most powerful contending political parties in Jesus’ time were the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  One positive thing about the ministry of Jesus was He brought unity to the Sanhedrin.  Both sides hated Him.  He stomped on both sets of egos.  If you want some very interesting reading try out Matthew 23 before going to bed this evening.  Jesus was neither meek nor mild.  And just as now the underlining issues were financial.  Jesus cleansed the temple twice during Passovers.  He cost them huge sums in lost revenue.

How grand it is to know that our real leader, our Heavenly Father, will never lie to us nor try to feed us half-truths.  Hebrews 6:18 tells us that “it was impossible for God to lie.” By His very nature He is the Truth.   It is Satan who is the father of lies. John 8:44.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 5, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

“A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.” John 6:2.  So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?”  John 6:30.  In John 11 He raised a man back to life who had been dead for four days.  Did they believe?  No.  Miracles really don’t work.  They are in some fashion a show that can easily be fraudulently duplicated by charlatans, magicians and false prophets. Miracles never have been the proof of someone in whom we should believe.

The power of Jesus was His message.  It was truth about His Father and their nature.  The authorities did not crucify Jesus because He performed miracles.  They crucified Him because of what He was saying.  The authorities were not stupid men.  They quickly saw the implications of Jesus telling us to call God, Our Father, and to go into our closets to pray.  With a single sentence Jesus eliminated the middle man.  Each person became their own priest.  An entire economy built around the priesthood, sacrifices and pilgrimages was jeopardized.  God was not a divinity to be bought off with gifts.  He was a personal friend who cared for the poor just as much as the rich.

No one in history had ever spoken the truths for personal living that Jesus outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. He revolutionized religion.  No longer were we unclean because of what went into our mouths but because of what came out.  It is the vomit of the heart that fouls us.  Look not for miracles.  Look for truth and you will find it in Jesus’ words.  He is the Word.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 4, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org