Category: devotional

There is a dog book entitled, “You Had Me at Woof” by Julie Klam.  Obviously the title is a takeoff on a movie line, “You had me at hello.”   I think I could go one better since I was smitten with my wife before I had a chance to say “Hello.”  She was fourteen and was on the platform in church.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.  Being that I cannot remember not going to church Jesus was always a part of my life.  I have often wondered what it is like for someone to fall in love with Jesus. When would they say Jesus had them?  Was it the first time they heard about the cross and the resurrection?  Or would they say, “You had me at John 3:16?”

What is it that attracts people to the story of someone who lived here two thousand years ago?  Could it be a soul hunger that haunts us with the truth that there has to be something more than this seventy years?  I have a friend who upon passing away filled me with a sense of waste.  He was brilliant.  He was a theologian.  He knew the Biblical languages like we know English.  He was kind and thoughtful.  To just bury all that in a box is so wrong.  There has to be more.

The story of Jesus answers that need for more.  His personal righteousness, His promises, His own death and resurrection, His emphasis on a personal Father God all speak to our spiritual and psychological needs.  Perhaps if I had first heard of Jesus when I was an adult I would have said, “You had me when you washed Judas’ feet.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 14, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

One of my very best friends gave me an unbelievable Christmas gift.  When he handed me the package I laughingly said, “Oh, you got me a new gun.”  As I tore off the paper expecting something else, what to my wondering eyes did appear but a gun!  He gave me a brand new still in the plastic seal Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.  I was overwhelmed with a rush of childhood.  I had one.  I would jump off the school bus, be greeted by my dog and would grab my Red Ryder and head for the woods.  As I held it in my hands I realized what a different world we live in now in the 21st century.  If we saw a child wandering along fence rows with a gun, even a BB gun, someone would most likely call the police.  Sixty years ago it was just a boy thing. I have no idea what happened to that childhood gun.  It probably stopped working and got rusty and my mom probably threw it away.

Now I have a problem.  The packaging around this new one is really nice.  I don’t want to spoil it by cutting it open.  So for now I have it by my desk just to look at.  I know come spring I am going to want to shoot it.  I hope my neighbors don’t see me and call the police.  I have a few months to figure out how to get it out of the plastic seal without destroying it.

I am going to guess that you can guess what my friend said to me as I ripped off the paper.   You’re right.  He said, “Don’t shoot your eye out!”   Ah, the words of every mother whose boy had one.  I have often wondered if when God gives us new and wonderful gifts if He says, “Don’t shoot your eye out.”   Alas, sometimes we do.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 13, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Everywhere I went today the question on people’s lips was “Are you ready for the snowstorm?”  What followed was some inane chatter about the weather.  This kind of small talk is “Social Lubricant.”  Polite society prefers that we acknowledge the presence of others by expressing some interest in them.  We ask, “How are you?”   Most of us really don’t want to know.  We prefer the answer to be, “Just fine. Thank you for asking.  How are you?”  The other person also doesn’t want to know what meds we are on.  These are things we say to smooth encounters.  That’s why they are called, “Social Lubricants.”

While watching such an exchange today I got to wondering about “Social Lubricants” in heaven.  Surely we will not ask, “How are you?”  Everybody will always be fine. There will be no danger of being trapped into hearing about a recent surgery.   My wife suggested that instead we will ask, “Where have you been the last millennium?” or “Where are you going?”   That “Social Lubricant” could stimulate some very interesting answers.  There would be answers we really would like to hear about.  It would take billions of years to merely visit all the places in our galaxy.  After that we could start on the 100 trillion other galaxies.

This God who invites us to call Him Father is so vast and so amazing and so powerful and so knowledgeable and so aware of everything He staggers our minds.  I recently heard a college student begin a prayer with “Dear Daddy.”   I’m sure that’s okay.  But it did jar me.  He just seems to be too EVERYTHING to be “Daddy.” Perhaps I have a lot to learn.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 12, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Our eighty-pound lab can really turn on the speed.  When we go outside it is like someone strapped a rocket on her back.  Her hind legs dig in and off she goes tearing around the yard at top velocity.  It’s fun to watch until she makes the far turn and heads back right at me with absolutely no effort to slow down.  I can only imagine the devastation to me if she hits me at that speed.   I doubt if 911 could help.  So I freeze.  She is excellent at brushing by, but I have no idea on which side she will pass.  If I move at all I am in jeopardy.

As she zoomed by this afternoon I realized how important it is not to be too far to the right or too far to the left.  One of my favorite authors made a point about our living balanced lives.   Now I know some will say we have to make a commitment in life and we can’t just ride the fence.  I would like to take the position that riding the fence IS a commitment. It is difficult to keep one’s balance.  It is easy to fall off on either side and it’s not being lukewarm.   It is like Goldilocks when she discovered she couldn’t eat the porridge that was too hot or too cold.  The middle was just right.

People that are far left often lead us to think that anything goes while people on the far right are often judgmental and make us think their way is the only way.  God loves principled thinking.  That’s why He gave us the marvelous capacity of thought and freewill.  When He made us in His image He set us free to think.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 11, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

We are in the second week of the new year.  So how are you coming on your New Year’s Resolutions?  I only made one and frankly I’m not doing so well.  Mine was to make fewer mistakes this year than I made last year.  Instead of making fewer I think I am on a record-setting pace.  Alas.  I am so thankful mistakes aren’t sins.  Well, some are.  Sins are mistakes but not all mistakes are sins.  Sometimes I think young people think we old guys just don’t know we are messing up.  That’s not so.  We know.

Someone told me once that Jesus never made a mistake because He was perfect.  I really don’t think so.  He was a carpenter.  There had to be days when He cut a board too short or hit His finger with a hammer.  Those things are not moral issues.  He was morally perfect – not perfect perfect.   In terms of morality Paul assures us Jesus had His share of temptations.  If He didn’t He just doesn’t understand the human condition.  But He does understand.  Paul wrote, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  Hebrews 4:15.   It’s one of the best verses in the Bible. I get so much courage from it especially from the verse that follows. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

I really like the word “boldly.”   We don’t have to crawl or beg.  We are sons and daughters.  We can come asking for grace and know from Ephesians 2 that we will receive lavish amounts.  Hooray!

Written by Roger Bothwell on Januay 10, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

There is a wonderful family-oriented sport called Geocaching. There are over 1, 250,000 treasures hidden around the world that can be located by getting the coordinates for a cache from the Geocaching website and then with the use of a handheld GPS device be led to within a few feet of the cache.  It is great fun for there are very easy ones and very challenging ones. Associated with these caches are something called “Travel Bugs.”  They are objects with a registered tag number also on the Geocaching website.  “Travel Bugs” move all around the world as people carry them from cache to cache.  Why?  Just for fun.

Four and a half years ago our California son put a small plastic black dog in a cache in California with the object of people taking it from cache to cache until it ended up at the grave site of his son in Ohio.  Yesterday it arrived.  The person who took it to the cemetery took a photo of it by the gravestone.  For four and a half years it was moved all over the country by gracious people trying to get it to Ohio.  I am not sure how many people helped but it was a lot.

I mention this because sometimes we are so overwhelmed by the news of bad people and the bad things they do that we despair that there are any good people left in the world.  There are.  Many people who we do not know and never will know became involved in the project.  Why did they do it?  Because it was a loving thing to do.  We are surrounded each day by people who care.  How grand!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 6, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

At the risk of appearing to be a complainer I am going to go ahead and air one of my pet peeves.  If you are not up for any negativity at this particular moment you should stop reading now and come back later when you are feeling grumpy.  Then you can grump with me. Here goes.  I am weary of hearing people pray for “special blessings.”   What’s wrong with “regular blessings”?  As a matter-of-fact I am immensely thrilled each day to receive a plethora of “regular blessings.”  God is so good to us.  He opens the windows of heaven and rains goodness upon us.  Isn’t that good enough?

If one of my sons asked me for a “special blessing” I would ask just exactly what he was talking about.  Isn’t my bottomless love enough?  I try.  I really do try to watch for opportunities to do nice things for them.  I think our heavenly Father does the same for us.  “He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”   Those are pretty good things.

I am going to make a guess that when most people pray and ask for “special blessings” they aren’t really thinking about what they are saying.  Our public prayers are filled with platitudes and often we slip into an automatic flow of clichés to start a meeting.   But that brings me to another annoyance – people praying without thinking about what they are praying.   I’m sorry that’s a bit harsh and very judgmental.  But maybe once in a while we could hear someone pray something “original.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 4, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Friday evening after spending a delightful evening with friends by their fireplace we followed a salt truck for about twenty miles on our way home. The next morning I opened the door to the garage and was overwhelmed by being the owner of a white car.  Yesterday it was maroon.

One of the great dilemmas of life is one cannot spend time in certain environments without being changed.  I only need spend a weekend with friends in Georgia before my speech changes.  Once returned to New England it changes again.  So how did Jesus do it?   When His enemies accused Him of eating and drinking with sinners they were but telling the truth.  He did. Yet He remained steadfast and pure.  While He did not like what they did He apparently made them feel comfortable with His presence.  They continued to invite Him to their parties.

Jesus encourages us to be the salt of the earth.  Our influence and presence is supposed to enhance those around us.   We cannot be so if we remain in the shaker.  We cannot continually associate with those like ourselves and expect to be of use to the world.  Yet comes the danger of being so diluted and polluted we cease to be salty.

When I was in my late teens I worked on a construction crew building a school.  One day I overhead the foreman scolding the older men for their speech around me.  They were supposed to clean up their act because he knew I was planning to attend the seminary.  So could it be possible we do make a difference and just not know it.  Please reread the Sermon on the Mount.   Matthew 5,6,7

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 14, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Some of you remember the confession of a famous baseball player admitting that he used performance enhancing drugs in the 90s.  Good for him.  He came clean.  But he spoiled it by also adding he was sure they had nothing to do with his power hitting that broke records.  Excuse me.   I put high performance gas in my car but it has nothing to do with its smooth operation?  This is like Eve saying to God, “Yes, Lord, I did eat the fruit. But it had nothing to do with my knowledge of good and evil.  I would have gained that knowledge anyway via my naturally intelligent mind.”

Confessions with qualifications rarely work.  On judgment day confessions with qualifications will not be accepted.  When Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox the surrender was unconditional.  When the Japanese surrendered on the USS Missouri to close WWII the surrender was unconditional.   Our confessions to our heavenly Father have to be a full confession with no reservations regarding circumstances.  When one stops and thinks about it, it would be insulting to God for us to try and explain.  He was there.  He saw it.  He also understood our hearts and the hearts of everyone involved. What possible explanation could we give that He would not already understand?

The best thing we can do is to throw ourselves before Him as contrite sinners who need His mercy.  Now that I have said that I need also say, once done, we as sons and daughters of the living God can come boldly before the throne of grace with full rights of inheritance in the Kingdom.   Please See Galatians 4, Romans 8 and Hebrews 4:16.  The more I understand about this the more exciting it gets.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 13, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Each day I receive via email a daily devotional published by an Islamic organization.  Last week one was entitled, “How to earn Allah’s favor.”  If anyone ever wanted an answer to the question, “What is the difference between Islam and Christianity?” this was it.  We do not have to earn God’s favor.  If we did it would be impossible because God requires perfection.  God, according to Jesus, is a loving father who woos us.  The incredible part of this is “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Romans 5:10.  The wonder of Christianity is this; it is not a religion of people in search of God.  It is just the reverse.  God has consistently sought opportunities to reveal Himself to us.  According to Hebrews 1 His best effort was the incarnation of Jesus.  When we see Jesus we see the Father.  John 14.  This is what God is really like.

But what about that perfection thing?  We can’t do it.  Here is the beauty. Jesus did it!  “By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.  It is so amazing.  It is incredible and it makes Christianity absolutely distinct from every other religion in the world.  We do not have to earn God’s favor.  We already have it.  Does that mean everyone will be saved?  Alas, no.  Millions will refuse the gift.  God’s heart has been, is and will be broken over and over because He longs to save all.   But what joy we can provide Him. Accept the gift and heaven rejoices.  You gotta love this!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 11, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org