Category: devotional

On our walk today we came upon Santa.  He had painted the big letters UPS on the side of his brown sleigh.  I think that stands for Ubernorth Pole Service.   I’m glad he got an early start this year because if what I saw is any indication of how busy he is, he is slammed.  I kid you not.  He stopped at more than half the houses.  My dog and I eventually passed him and turned the corner before he did.  He even had an elf with him and we were taking time to sniff along the way.  Well, at least one of us was sniffing.  Often after a good inhale she looks up at me trying to understand why I am not down there enjoying the pure essence of it all.

As we rounded the corner I pondered about how wonderful it is that our heavenly Father is omnipresent; talk about orders needing to be filled and delivered.  Our prayers and those of billion of beings on each of billions of planets are continually reaching His ears.  The sheer cacophony of languages asking for something all at the same time would totally overwhelm a lesser being.  But have no fear.  He is more than up to the task.  He is even anxious for increased attention from us.  He loves it when we trust Him to care for us.

When speaking about Jesus, Paul wrote in Colossians 1, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”  How marvelous to think that He and the Father are tuned into us all the time.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 15, 2015

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Tis the season for Christmas programs.  Our schedules are filled with The Messiah, Readings of the Night Before Christmas and many children’s choirs.  We passed a church this morning that had so many cars in the parking lot they were parked four deep.  It would be a while before some people got out.

Some time ago I saw a choir where the children knew all the words and were spot on coming in and out when they were up.  But there was something wrong.  Something was missing.  And then it hit me.  The children were not smiling and there was little joy being expressed.  They might as well have been singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm.   The joy of Christmas isn’t so much the technical prowess of the choir but the emotion expressed.  The children were prepared in their heads but not their hearts.

Oh Holy Night is only moving when the singers are moved.  The Hallelujah Chorus is only wonderful when you cannot keep yourself in your seat but have to stand, not because it is convention, but because God is so great and so mighty.  I have to say that this weekend I did hear and watch a mother and daughter sing a duet about Jesus Our King that caused me to well up; it was so full of love.

Jesus really is Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, The Prince of Peace.  I heard someone sing wonderful counselor.   He is a wonderful counselor but that is not what Isaiah was saying.  Jesus is Wonderful period.  Wonderful is not an adjective modifying counselor.  Wonderful is His name.  He fills our hearts with His splendor and love and majesty and it is beyond comprehension.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 14, 2015

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Long I stood pining over the Oreo section.  When I was little there were only Oreos.  Now the selection is wonderful. There are double stuff, triple stuff, orange flavored, mint flavored, thin ones (Why would anyone want a thin one?) vanilla flavored and then I saw it – Mega Stuff.  Wow – instant salivation.  But, Christmas is almost here with all its sweets.  More sugar is NOT what my house nor my body needs.  But it was MEGA STUFF!  What if they were only for the holidays?  Maybe it’s now or never!  (My family doctor is going to read this and just shake his head in frustration.)

I never ever dreamed there could be too much stuff between those two wonderful cookies whether chocolate or vanilla.  Perhaps it’s my age. But I twisted off the top cookie. (Either could be the top.) and went for it.  Instant satisfaction followed by “Ohhh, that’s too much.”  Alas, I should have known.  There can be too much of anything except one thing.  (I’ll get to the exception in a moment.)

I am so dull.  I should have remembered Proverbs 25:16.  I just read it about a week ago. “If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit.”  And there is Titus 2:2.  “Teach the older men to be temperate.”  Why not the younger men and women?  You don’t have to teach older women to be temperate.  Grandmas are wise.

Now there is one thing we can always have in excess.  Yea, two things.  Love and mercy can never be overdone.  “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2   Awesome!

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 12, 2016

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King Solomon did not write all of the wise sayings we find in the Book of Proverbs.  Chapter 30 was written by a fellow named Agur.  We do not know who he was but he certainly was a smart man.  Here is a sample of his wisdom. “Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up; a servant who becomes king, a fool who is full of food, an unloved woman who is married, and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.”

Perhaps a fifth could be added to the list.  It seems the world cannot long endure someone who is always happy.  From conversations overheard, to daily newscasts, and tabloids that attack us while checking out of the supermarket, it does appear we are bothered by other’s well being.  When we hear that someone is rich we often ask, “But is he or she happy?”  Inwardly, there is something that wants to hear “no” as the answer.  After all why should someone have both happiness and wealth?  This seems to be an unpleasant part of our human nature.

When Jesus tells us to love one another He uses a word that means “wishing another the best.”  He is not asking us to desire that everyone be our best friend.  But He is instructing us to want the very best for others.  He wants us to pray for each other to be both happy and rich.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 20, 2200

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When making a purchase we contemplate many things.  We wonder if the item will really work.  We wonder how long it might be before it breaks.  The sales person always tells us how wonderful the company is in honoring their products.  Yet we have learned not to believe everything we are told.

Once the purchase is made we take it home, take out the papers and we read, “Limited Warranty”.  We read the fine print hoping to find that it really will be fixed if it breaks.  Have you every wondered about the thirty-year warranty you get from the guys who roof houses?  The truth is there are few things one can really count on.  Even the U.S. Government’s safety net for savings accounts in insured banks is limited and not absolutely sure.  Remember the great Roman Empire?

But there is one thing you can count on.  You can always count on God to keep His promises.  Jesus once said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”  John 10:28.  He also said, “…surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20.  These promises are guaranteed.  The guarantee was purchased at Calvary.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 18, 2000

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This evening in my Child Development class one of my students presented a paper on sensory perception disorder.  It manifests itself as a process that sends mixed and often times offensive sensory data to a child’s experience.  To a degree all of us have this disorder.   Classrooms today no longer have blackboards but most of us remember to our horror the sound of chalk screeching its spine-chilling sound.  There are things we cannot bear.  For me it is green smoothies made with kale.  For others it is the thought of eating jack cheese because it is made with goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk.  I actually threw up one night when my mother made me eat turnips.

As my students (elementary teachers) were sharing their experiences and how to be sympathetic to children in their classrooms, it occurred to me that God, Himself, has sensory perception disorder.  He is revolted and horrified when He sees us do things He knows will harm us.  We get so used to certain kinds of sins they have little or no revulsion to us.  However, our heavenly Father is repulsed, revolted and nauseated while watching us harm ourselves. He cares so much for us and He knows the extent of damage that we are inflicting upon ourselves and/or others.

Proverbs 6 has an interesting list of things God especially hates.  “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”  These things are to Him as the sound of chalk on a blackboard.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 8, 2016

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While Japanese diplomats were in Washington D.C. pretending to negotiate, a Japanese aircraft carrier was being positioned to launch a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.  On December 8 an incensed President Roosevelt began his declaration of war with the following words.  “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”  Ever since it has been a Day of Infamy.

As terrible as it was there was one day even more infamous.  Human beings took the Creator of the Universe, unfairly and illegally tried Him, twice beat Him, stripped Him, crushed the nerves in His hands with nails, ruptured Him with a triangle of wood placed between His legs, mocked and berated Him, spit on Him, and literally stabbed Him in heart.  This was the One who knelt in the grass in Eden and breathed life into man.  This was the One who restored fingers and lips on lepers.  This was the One who spoke and a rotting corpse lived again.  This was a day that will forever live in infamy.  For centuries and millennia we will speak of that infamous day in hushed tones.

Though forgiven never will we be proud to be human.  All our pride will be focused on the One who became one of us. Forever we will be overwhelmed by His love.  That He would have creatures like us enter His presence speaks nothing about us and everything about Him. Never will we wear a badge proclaiming our humanity.  Instead we will forever wear a badge proclaiming our redemption.  But He goes further than merely forgiving us.  He declares us to be sons and daughters, princes and princesses.  How can this be so?  I doubt I will ever understand.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 7, 2016

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Don’t you hate it when someone comes up to you and says, “Do you remember me?”  Chills run up your spine.  Well, actually, it depends on the tone they use.  If they aren’t smiling and lean in too close, that makes me want to run.  Maybe they have some sinister motive because of a perceived terrible memory of a dreadful encounter. But even when their demeanor isn’t threatening I hate it.  I don’t want to say, “No” and hurt their feelings inferring that they are not important enough for me to keep them in mind.  Sometimes I am tempted to lie and say, “Oh, of course, now give me a moment to retrieve those marvelous times we had together.”  But that can just dig you in deeper.

It happened to me yesterday.  I hadn’t seen this person in ten years.  He had gained at least 40 to 50 pounds.  He had shaved his head and was sporting a goatee.  Our appearances can change so much through the years.  I sometimes look at a picture of myself taken 50 or so years ago.  Wow.  That person doesn’t exist anymore.  He didn’t die.  He just evolved into someone else.  He evolved into me.  The people I have known, the books I have read, the movies I have watched, the sermons I have heard, the classes I have taught, the jobs I have lost, all have contributed to this person I see in the mirror.

Yet, He knows me.  We never have to say to God, “Do you remember me?”  While there are moments I want Him to forget, I’m happy He always knows where I am and what I am doing.  He even said to Jeremiah, “Before you were I knew you.”   That kind of care is amazing!

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 6, 2016

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Part of taking my dog for a walk each day is giving her a chance to socialize.  In just a mile she gets to visit with Peanut, Bailey, Cora, Sebastian, and Annie.  There is a lot of sniffing that goes on as greetings are exchanged. Then there are others that bark at us from the confines of their homes as we pass by.  There are at least four of them.  We don’t know their names.  Just last week a new player arrived on the social scene.  His name is Bruno.  Believe me when I tell you that Bruno is big.  Until now she has been the Big Dog.  No longer is this so.  Up until now she has played the big “I’ll take care you” role.  She keeps between me and the others making sure I am safe.  But since Bruno has arrived she makes sure she is behind me.  Suddenly I am the “You’ll take care of me.”   She doesn’t even put up her ruff.  She does her best to hide.

How thankful I am that God is a bit more faithful as my shield and protector.   David wrote, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Psalm 18.  Paul wrote, “If God be for us who can be against us?”  Romans 8.  Unfortunately bad things do happen to God’s children.  Fortunately they are only temporary and God has the final say.  If there are any adjustments to be made He will more than make up what will be needed.  So don’t be afraid of the Brunos of this world.  The REALLY BIG DOG is on our side.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 30, 2015

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The little wise men and the shepherds were ready.  The designated donkey jockeyed his hat bearing long ears.  The little boy shifted his camel hump.  Joseph was bearded and standing tall.  The manger was waiting and the congregation was wondering why the delay.  All were antsy as the clock on the wall ticked away the day.  But something very important was happening.  Baby Jesus wasn’t finished eating.  Mommy was so warm and nice. Finally there was a coo.  It was time to go.  It was a grand program.

All I ever saw of baby Jesus was the top of a tiny head with a swirl of new-born hair.  It was all I needed for my memory to hear Mahalia Jackson sing Sweet Little Jesus Boy.  “We didn’t know who you was.”  We know now.  Those tiny hands grew big and strong and were calloused from the carpenter shop.  They were to hold nails so differently from what He learned from Joseph.

The angels and the universe are ready.  The world strains with pain.  God’s children pray. The clock in the throne room ticks away the centuries.  Jesus is not yet ready but will come at the exact precise moment when all is right.  He waits. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9.  Just as when our baby Jesus finished his lunch so our King of King Jesus will finish His heavenly duties and as Paul describes, “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  I Corinthians 15.   Not long.  Not long now

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 5, 2016

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