Category: devotional

At the close of Mark 1 Jesus healed a leper and told him not to tell anyone.  But the man was barely out of earshot when he exploded with joy and told everyone what Jesus had done for him.  The result of his disobedience made it impossible for Jesus to enter any of the surrounding towns because the crowds were so great and the streets so narrow.

One of my students asked me if the man had sinned because he disobeyed Jesus.  I told him I thought Jesus understood and did not count it against the poor fellow.  One of life’s great lessons is God understands.  Why we do something is often more important than what we do.  According to Paul in I Corinthians 13, we can be martyred and have it mean nothing because we did it for the wrong reason.  Yet in Mark 2 Jesus commends David for breaking the law by feeding his men the showbread from the sanctuary, which was reserved exclusively for priests.

I am not advocating robbing banks to give to the poor, yet we do have a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., who led non-violent civil disobedience demonstrations.   It is obvious to any thinking person there is an ethic that transcends strict legalism.  There is no question that God calls us to a life of obedience.  There is no question that God calls us to a life of thoughtful action based upon unselfish love.

“For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.”  Galatians

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 18, 2003.

Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

It isn’t rare to find inconsistency in psychological research.  One can find a study to support almost any bias; however, there is major consistency in studies seeking to answer the question, “What attracts a man to a woman and visa versa?”   Studies reveal, and this is no surprise to anyone, men are attracted to women because of the woman’s appearance.   However, women are attracted to men because of perceived power.   Studies also report men respect other men when they perceive the other man has power.

Power comes in many forms.  There is financial power.  People of means get to serve on boards of companies and institutions.   There is physical power.  We admire someone’s large biceps.  There is intellectual power.  Academic achievements, literary works, scientific discovery bring respect and honor to the scholar, author or scientist.  There is political power.  Charismatic people persuade us to vote for them thus giving them power.  There is moral power.  We respect our pastors and teachers only if they uphold standards worthy of such position.

Surely out of the above mentioned forms of power we need to add the power of goodness.  More than scholars, more than politicians, more than wealth the world needs people of noble character.   While it would be nice to have someone who never made a mistake, what we need is someone who even though he or she did err they erred on behalf of others and not themselves.

Our world is hungry for such men and women to lead us out of the dark morass of spin and into the light of truth and unselfish concern for others.

 

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 17, 2003.

Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

Using passwords is nothing new. Armies have used them from the beginning of time.   In Judges 12 men from Gilead took control of the passages across the Jordan River and used the word “Shibboleth” as a password.  They knew the men from Ephraim could not pronounce the “Sh” sound and so they were able to sort out the good guys from the bad guys.  When we were children we had clubs with secret passwords and handshakes.  Today we have computers that require a host of passwords.  We need passwords to access our email, Ebay, Amazon.com, bank accounts, ATMs and faculty records.     Passwords are the key to opening locked doors or blocked passageways.

 

I know some Christians who think the name “Jesus” is a password.  They treat it like it was “Open Sesame” to heaven.  Because Jesus instructed us to pray in His name we are tempted to think of it as a magic word.  Nothing could be further from the truth for the very same Jesus who told us to pray in His name also said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

 

Ahh, so there is a password or maybe I should call it a pass action or a pass behavior.  The secret is doing the Father’s will.  And what might that be?  “This is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: . .”  John 6:40

 

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 16, 2003.

Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

A car company could purchase every available advertising minute during the Super Bowl and not sell any cars if the people who already had one spread the word the cars were debris on wheels.  I sometimes wonder if the money we spend on evangelism is a testimony to our failure as Christians.   We talk about witnessing as if it were something we go somewhere and do.  Witnessing is living.  Witnessing is not standing on a street corner passing out pamphlets.  It is not knocking on doors annoying people.  Witnessing is being the happiest, most peaceful person in our workplace and neighborhood.

Everyone wants to be happy and to be loved.  Everyone.  If we were truly happy loving people it would not take long for others to notice.  The world would rush to us.  “Build a better mousetrap . . . .”

Yesterday one of my undergrad classes came in looking like Red Sox fans.  What doom and gloom!   I asked them if they would be happy if they just won the lottery.  “Oh yes,” they said.  I asked if I gave them a ticket assuring them a place in heaven if they would be happy.  “If we believed you,” was the response I received.  There it was.  We talk about salvation but so often fail to really believe it.  At least so often that’s the way we act.

Isn’t it strange that we find it easy to believe stupid urban myths and yet struggle with the Gospel?  Could it be that we just cannot imagine being so blessed?  Is it for everyone else but not me?  Repeat after me. “It is for me.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 13, 2003

Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

 

I was surprised today to hear someone use the phrase “on the up and up” to mean the revenues of a company were increasing. All my life I thought “on the up and up” meant something was “above board,” “honest,” “legal,” or “trustworthy.” It occurred to me I could be talking with someone about my college and ask if everything is on the “on the up and up” and have them respond “no” because our enrollment did not increase this year. I would have gone away thinking something illegal was going on, when that was absolutely not what the other person meant.

Once again I was reminded of how very important words are and find it amazing that we ever communicate with each other. No wonder nations go to war. How often have we started shooting just because we think someone said something the other did not mean to say?

Using the phrase “on the up and up” with the meaning I always knew, I would to say, “Satan never offers anything “on the up and up.” He promises all manner of good things that always end up in death. His promises are always “on the down and down.” But Jesus is another case. He never breaks a promise. When He says, “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; . . .” (Ephesians 1:7) He means it. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is always “on the up and up” and you can mean that with either definition.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 11, 2003.
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

Being on a college campus each day is delightful, not only because I have a captive audience that has to listen to my views, but because I get to listen in on students who know everything. Just today I sat quietly listening to two theology students arguing about what we will be like in heaven. One proposed we will be spiritual beings and the other was adamant that we will be as human there as we are here, only perfect. I enjoyed their conviction and surety that they knew.

I was tempted to share I John 3:2 with them but I held my peace. I did not want to spoil the party with John’s counsel. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; . . .” I guess I was so amused because when I was young I too knew everything about God and heaven.

I do like the idea that whatever we will be, we will for sure be like Jesus. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with Jesus’ generosity. He seems not to want to “Lord it over us” even though He is Lord. In Romans 8 we are promised we will be co-heirs of the kingdom. In Revelation 3 we are promised we shall sit with Him on His throne. In Philippians 1 we are told He never hesitated to become one of us. He is a selfless friend.

So whatever we shall be, it will be wonderful!

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 11, 2003
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

It was a beautiful silk red tie covered with black labs. I don’t usually buy neckties. I wait for someone to give them to me but this one really spoke to me. I just had to have it. Today I wore it for the second time. Today I ate a sandwich with tomatoes and mayonnaise. Today a tomato slipped out between the two pieces of bread and covered my wonderful new red tie with mayonnaise. Some days it barely pays to get up.

I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid to wipe it with my napkin lest I press the mayo deeper into the fabric. So I did what I always do when I don’t know what to do. I took it off and took it to my wife.

Now I figure you know where I am going. Jesus is the ultimate stain remover. “Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.” It occurred to me that Satan loves to have us try to get out of trouble by ourselves. He knows we will just smear it around and make it worse. We can try our best and it isn’t good enough. We need help. Fortunately the help is there.

In one of Jack Kennedy’s more famous speeches he said, “There is no problem that man has made that man cannot fix.” While I loved the man’s rhetoric I had to disagree with him on this one. We make lots of problems we cannot fix. But Jesus is always ready and waiting and He can fix anything.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 10, 2003
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

Not long ago I became extremely frustrated with a colleague who I thought was being extremely narrow minded and reaching way beyond his authority. When I confronted him I shocked myself by saying something to him about him. It was not something I had premeditated. It just popped out of my mouth. It was demeaning and hurtful. Immediately I asked his forgiveness but it was too late it was out. Words out of the mouth cannot be put back.
He has not forgiven me for I notice he avoids me. I followed Jesus counsel in Matthew 5, “if a brother has something against you go to him.” But he will not see me.

The most difficult part of this is forgiving myself for my indiscretion. I have long since forgiven him for the initial trigger. I have discovered the more difficult person to forgive is me. Why did I say what I did? Where did it come from? Obviously deep within me are seeds of things not so nice and if something as trivial as what he did produced such in me, what horrors lurk there waiting to respond to a real hurt? Would I physically harm someone who harmed someone I love? Would I, could I kill someone? I want to say, “Of course not.” But I am not so sure. Could it be that any of us are capable of anything if the right psychological button is pushed? I have come to believe that is so.

Like Paul I cry out, “Who will rescue me from me?” And Jesus responses, “My grace is sufficient even for you.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 9, 2003.
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

While walking in my yard last evening, noisily pushing and crunching fallen oak leaves with my well worn tennis shoes, I was basking in the moon created shadows when suddenly, just for a moment, a chilling cold wind moved across my face. It was a taste of winter to come. It was a promise of snow to blanket the now slumbering earth. I could almost hear carols announcing the coming of the holidays and the gathering of loved ones.

Some might have cursed the cold harbinger that momentarily swept through the bare arms of the maples hovering overhead. Some might have wished for a flush of warmth to remind them of August nights. So much of life is focus. We can see the snot dripping from a small child’s nose or instead see the beauty of a child beginning the great adventure of life. We can see the mud tracks on the kitchen floor or instead see the wagging tail of someone thrilled to see us.

How often do we sit and wait for someone to make us happy when the happiness is already there waiting for us to but see it. Perhaps heaven is not just some distant place far away in the universe but also a place inside us.

Emily Dickenson once wrote, “So instead of getting to heaven at last, I’m going all along!” And Jesus said, “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 8, 2003.
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574

I should have known not to eat a peanut butter and pickle sandwich just after putting on a clean pair of khakis. It’s the dog. There is no way I can sneak a sandwich. As soon as I open the peanut butter jar her nose awakens her from a sound sleep. There is the fragrance of peanut butter in the air! Before the sandwich is constructed drool is dripping from both sides of her mouth in long strings. It is inevitable in a few moments it will be all over my clean pants. Then there are her eyes. They take on that look of hunger and despair that says, “I haven’t eaten in weeks. Could you spare just the last bite for me?” She always gets it.

In Matthew 7:11 we read, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” I guess I could change that verse to, “If we being evil, know how to give simple gifts to our dogs.” The point is clear. The God who made us in His image considers us to be of much more value than a dog. Therefore, He is keenly interested in giving us His best not just the last bite. God’s best was Jesus and we get to share His inheritance.

Even my dog is smart enough not to walk away from the gift of part of a peanut butter and pickle sandwich. Since we are smarter than a dog, how could we ever walk away from God’s best?

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 6, 2003
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574