Category: devotional

One of my richest blessings in life is I have always been surrounded by very smart people.  One of my aspirations has always been to be the least informed person in the room thus giving me the opportunity to learn something new and wonderful from each person around me.  To be hungry to know is a great blessing.  I have friends who are wonderful artists and some who are scientists and some who are theologians and some who understand psychology.  It is a treat to be with them. There is so much to gain.

My father was a teacher and he would read to me.  Perhaps that is what made me hungry to absorb all I could.   We had a set of World Book Encyclopedia and I would take A or D or K, it didn’t matter which one, and turn each page looking at the pictures and wishing I could know all those things.  You could imagine my excitement the day I first read Colossians 2:3. “In him are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  To know God, to spend time with Him, is the secret to an ever-expanding understanding of life and the mysteries of being.  He knows all that is known and because He is a creator He continues to think new thoughts and create new knowledge.   Spending eternity with Him means we get to share not only His old ideas but also His new ideas.

Someone once tried to convince me that God knows all that can ever be known or thought and I could not accept that.   It would mean He would be bored.  But He can never be bored because forever He will be thinking of new ways to bless us and shower us with His mercies.  See Ephesians 2.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 19, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I had lunch today at McDonalds and ended up sitting in a booth behind two quite elderly silver-haired ladies who were very engaged in a rousing discussion.  It was very easy to hear and I was amused at the exchange.  I can’t print much of it here but I will quote to you this great line.  “I know the old biddy is trying to get him.  But I won’t allow it.  He’s mine!”

Ah, hope springs eternal.  As well it should.  As Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”  Never stop living for the future and I mean both here and then.  Unfortunately, I do know some people who have stopped living for now and have all of their hopes and plans in the “Then.”   Everybody needs something to look forward to “now” and “then.”  I think we start to run out of steam and can’t do as much as we used to.  Okay.  We understand.  But that is not an excuse to do nothing.

In Ephesians 2 Paul tells us that God has specific things for us to do.  We don’t know if they were for us in our twenties, thirties or nineties.  How distressing it would be if we gave up in our seventies and found out when we are in heaven that we missed the really big task that God had for us.  “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” “It’s ain’t over ‘til it’s over” and as long as God gives us a mind with which to think and ponder we should be creatively planning things to do with our families and our communities.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 18, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

We had only driven about a mile when my wife noticed a tiny spider clinging to a strand of web that was connected to the passenger side mirror.  There he was in a forty mile an hour wind holding on for dear life.  Nothing would do except we had to pull over while my wife rolled down her window and helped the little guy back into the safety of the case that holds the mirror.  Only then could we proceed.  I was fascinated because my wife really dislikes spiders.

At first I wanted to compare this to God and us.  Romans 5:10, “If, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”  But then I realized it was not a good analogy.  God loves us despite our sins.  Our sins He definitely hates.  But He does not see us and our sins as one in the same.   In His Fatherly care He is able to separate us from our behavior.  That in itself is amazing. It is the spider itself my wife dislikes even though she actually understands their presence makes our home a better place.  They catch and eat all kinds of flying, biting, stinging things.

So why was she so concerned about the little guy clinging in the wind?  Perhaps she admired its tenacity.  It certainly wasn’t giving up.  All it needed for survival was a break.  It needed someone to intervene.  And so we did.  Often times it is that way with us.  Times get tough and we hang on for dear life hoping for a break. When it comes to our eternal future we got the biggest break anyone could imagine.  God intervened and we are saved.  Amazing.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 29, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

When most of us are asked to define sin we respond with 1 John 3:4.  “Sin is the transgression of the law.”  Which is correct, it is.  But if we stop there we don’t really grasp the impact of what Paul means when in Ephesians 2:1 he said we were dead in our trespasses and sins.  The Greek word Paul used for sin was “hamartia” which means missing the target.   The target isn’t merely obeying the Ten Commandments.  The target is the old army slogan, “Be all that you can be.”  That is huge.  Sin isn’t merely an act or lack of, it is a state of being.

I once had a church member who told me he had gone an entire week without sinning.  He very carefully reviewed all of his waking activities, compared them with the Ten Commandments and decided he had a perfect week.  But was he the best citizen he could be, was he the best husband and father that he could be, was he the best employee, was he the best _____ ?  (You fill in the blank.)   Of course he wasn’t.  I didn’t shatter his pride, a gross sin, because I didn’t want to argue with him.  How can one deal with such a narrow mind?

But you are thinking, if that’s what sin is then we are all lost.  Not one of us is all we can be. And that is exactly Paul’s point in Ephesians 2.  We are dead in our sin.  All of us.  But by God’s abundant grace we have been quickened, raised, to a new life.  It was all God’s idea and all His doing.  We have nothing of which to brag about.  All we can do is praise God for His love.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 27, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Last weekend we sat through an 80 minute sermon on the state of the dead.  He started preaching at 11:40.   At 12:50 I leaned over to my wife and said, “He hasn’t even gotten to the resurrection yet.  Let’s go.”  “No,” she said, “I have to know how long he can go.”  At one point he said, “This is a long subject.”  A man sitting beside me said out loud, “It sure is.”  He finally sat down at 1:00 without ever getting to the resurrection.  I believe there is a text about the “patience of the saints.”  Yes, it is Revelation 14:12.  On the way out an elderly lady (someone older than me) took my hand and said, “Come back again.  It isn’t always like this.  He is a good young man.”

I was delighted with the “patience of the saints.”  Only one family left and they had small children.  Everyone else politely listened because they cared about the young man.  Often times the best way we can show our love and appreciation for someone is to quietly endure their impositions and idiosyncrasies. While I did feel the need to stand up and stretch the truth is I didn’t have a very pressing schedule for the afternoon.  The imposition was minor to say the least.   I think it has a lot to do with what you are used to.  I like 30 minute sermons.  Recently someone told me if I didn’t speak for 45 minutes the saints would feel cheated.  But I sat down at 25 minutes because I was finished.  To have lingered would have been redundant.

The entire process is very arrogant.  Why would one person think others should sit and quietly listen to him?  Paul called it the “foolishness of preaching that somehow pleases God.  I Corinthians 1:21.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 15, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell,org

If we keep our eyes open we can find truly delightful moments as life passes by.   Yesterday afternoon as my wife and I were driving on a residential street we saw two of the most precious little girls standing at the end of their sidewalk at the curb.  They looked like they were 4 and 6 years of age.  The mail truck was coming toward them and they were bouncing up and down with smiles so big you would have thought their faces would crack.  They were clapping.  I’m sure the mailman must have been happy to see such a welcome.  Did he have a birthday card or a package from Sears or Amazon.com?  Was the mailman their daddy?  Whatever it was they couldn’t contain their joy.  Their joy became my joy.

There are so many things in life that are contagious and I am not referring to germs and illnesses.  A genuine smile is catchy.  Yawning is infectious.  A pleasant demeanor is transmittable.  Generosity and sharing are communicable.  It is amazing how we can and do have power over our environment.  Nothing spoils a gathering like gloom and doom.  But someone with hope and an energetic vision can overcome the downers and fill a space with so much happiness.

At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us a model for happiness.  We call them the Beatitudes.   The word “blessed” can just as well be translated “happy”.   “Happy are the peacemakers.”  “Happy are the poor in spirit.”  Each one is our Creator’s secret to a contagious life of joy.  Granted it is a bit more difficult for us as adults than two sweet little girls by the side of the curb, but none-the-less we can do it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 14, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

After the mail came today I sat down in “my” chair to browse one of the just arrived magazines.  I don’t recall much after settling into the comfort of one of my best friends.  About forty minutes later I heard a door close as my wife came near.  I had the strangest experience.  Sometimes when we take a nap, it’s just a nap and when we awake the day goes on.  But this nap was different.  Just two hours before I had lunch with the conference president. When I awoke from this nap, it was if a whole day had passed.  My day after the nap was starting all over as if someone had pressed a reboot button.   I reboot my computer often.  Rebooting is wonderful.  All manner of computer snags can be resolved by just rebooting.

Beginning a relationship with Jesus is like rebooting one’s life and not just the day.  We learn to forgive and negative feelings about past experiences go away.   We learn to look for good things in others and old friendship are revitalized.  We receive external power from the Holy Spirit and begin to experience victory over old temptations.  We realize that instead of twenty or so more years of life we have an eternity of life ahead of us.  It is the greatest reboot ever.

I often wonder why it is so difficult for some people to accept what Jesus offers.  Perhaps it is because we have been taught that if something sounds too good to be true, it isn’t.  This time it is true.  One of the things I learned in statistics class is rare events occur that do not fit the pattern.  Jesus is one of those rarities.  He is the ultimate reboot.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 13, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15.   If I may I would like to alter the text to say, “If you love yourself you will keep His commandments.”

It is very safe to assume that we love ourselves.  There are a few people filled with self-loathing but it’s rare.   Most of us think we are the greatest.  When things go wrong it usually is someone else who messed up.  When we don’t get what we want it isn’t our fault; someone doesn’t like us.  Therefore, I want to make a case for obeying God based totally on what is good for us.

In God’s great wisdom He shared with us the secrets to a good life.  If we don’t kill we rarely have to fear someone wanting to kill us.   If we don’t steal we rarely have to worry about being arrested for shoplifting.  Black and white cars don’t make us pause to see if they are coming for us.  If we don’t tell bad stories about others people will rarely tell bad stories about us.  If we keep the Sabbath we get one day each week when we don’t have to go to work.  If we don’t curse we don’t have to worry about offending someone.

We are talking about the quality of life.  Jesus was not in error when He spoke of coming that we might have the abundant life. John 10:10.  Sometimes we err by thinking the abundant life is a big bank account; not so.  The abundant life is a life that is as stress free as possible and obeying God is the surest way to accomplish that goal.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 12, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Living in New England is a delightful experience of constant change.  This coming week our maples will turn scarlet reds and yellows followed by the rust colors of the oaks.  The birches are already yellow.  Then November will be a beautiful worstered gray as we wait for December to turn us white.  I relish knowing that under that layer of snow, life is getting ready to once again turn us green.   Each spring we have a pleasing patch of Lily of the Valley.  For years I have been picking small bunches for our breakfast table.  They smell so good.

Well, you can imagine my horror just today to learn that Lily of the Valley is extremely poisonous.  According to the Wikipedia website Lily of the Valley contains about thirty-eight cardio glycosides and we should wash our hands after handling it.  How could it be that something so lovely, something that smells so good be so dangerous?

When we are first born our sense of right and wrong is completely based upon our feelings.  If it feels good it’s right.   If it hurts it’s bad.  If it’s pretty and smells good it is right.  It’s a very low standard of morality.  Unfortunately occasionally we meet people whose morality has never advanced from that of a newborn.  The closing words to the romantic song “You Light Up My Life” are “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?”  It is difficult to grasp the truth that some seemingly beautiful relationships can be absolutely toxic.

Paul exhorts us in 1 Corinthians 13 to stop thinking like a child and think like a grownup whose sense of right and wrong are based on God’s Word.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 11, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

There was rumbling moving closer and closer.  Black clouds were moving our way.  There was that smell in the air as the barometric pressure lowers and nitrogen escapes from the ground.  We were definitely going to get it.  And what to my wondering eyes did appear but a man at a driving range.  There he stood with his metal shaft pointed high in the air as he focused on that golf ball.  The only thing I think he could have been thinking was he paid for that bucket of balls and he was going to get his money’s worth.  I was transfixed as I watched.  I have never seen anyone struck by lightning and I figured if he was going to get it, I was going to see it happen.  Fortunately it did not.  What made it really sad was he had a horrible swing.

As I was thinking how stupid he was, the thought occurred to me that I too am that stupid when I eat things I know will clog my arteries, when I fail to exercise, when I tolerate being overweight and when I neglect my devotional life.  My IQ isn’t any higher than that guy with the golf club pointing to the sky.  Alas, it is so much easier to see other’s mistakes and ignore our own.   It is so grand that we have a Savior who was and is one of us.  He knew about human stupidity and hypocrisy. He talks about it in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said, “How wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?”  Alas, we, at least I, do it all the time.

 Written by Roger Bothwell on August 26, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org