Category: devotional

We live on top of James Carter Hill.  No not Jimmy Carter.  We don’t live in Georgia.  (We used to and another story for another day is when my wife rounded a corner and barely missed running over Jimmy Carter’s son.)  At the bottom of our hill here in Massachusetts there is a small memorial stone noting this historic place.  In 1838 James Carter was responsible for urging the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pass legislation establishing a normal school.  (We wish all the states would have schools as normal as those in Massachusetts since our children rank third, not in the country, but in the world in science and math scores.) However, that is not the use of the word normal in relationship to James Carter.  A normal school was a school designed to train teachers. Mr. Carter would be happy to know that two teachers, who used to teach in the Education (Teacher Training) Department at Atlantic Union College and now at Fitchburg State University, reside on his hill.

They were called normal schools from the Latin word “norma” meaning “model.” Model schools were supposed to produce excellent students who became model teachers.  Wouldn’t it be grand if “model” was normal?   What if all our normal children were model children and all the normal people around us were model neighbors and model citizens.  What if all normal church members were model Christians?  Alas, that is way too much to hope for.  Actually, that’s okay that we are not.  We, being normal, are a hodgepodge group of sinners, each at a different stage of development.  Just as there is no one size tree in the forest so there is no Christian like another.  Variety is indeed the spice of life.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 29, 2012

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Denny’s has a value menu listing $2, $4, $6, and $8 items.  One of the $4 dollar items is called “All you can eat pancakes.”  It sounds really good except underneath the description are the words, “Limit Restrictions Apply.”  So it really is misnamed.  It should be called “All you may eat pancakes.”

God has an “All you can eat” offering.   We read about it in several places.  The 23rd Psalm says, “Thou preparest a table before me … my cup runs over.”  Malachi writes, “Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”  When Jesus fed the 5000 and the 4000, on both occasions there were leftovers.  The people had all they could eat.  When He told the disciples to cast their nets they filled with so many fish they nearly tore.  It was all they could handle.

When our Heavenly Father makes us an offer there isn’t any fine print.  He is always out front with us letting us know what to expect.  His promises are amazing.   “Goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.”   The mercy part is the best offer.   Think of the worst thing you have ever done and know it is forgiven.  No wait, don’t think about it because that might bring us some bad memories.  Merely ask Him to freely forgive you and everything will be blotted out.  You don’t have to be afraid that you forgot to confess a specific sin. Our Heavenly Father has an all you need mercy plan with no fine print.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 15, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Thermometers are extremely useful.  They can tell us if our coughing and sneezing are the result of springtime pollen or a real cold.  They tell cooks just how hot to make the oven or if we should take a coat to work today.  They are very useful when boiling maple sap alerting the boiler when to take the pan off the stove.  As humans we seem almost obsessed with measuring things.  Most homes have a door jamb with marks and dates heralding milestones in our children’s growth.

Jesus had a measuring device to apply to you and me.  He said, “Hereby shall men know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   He also said, “By their works ye shall know them.”  Jesus wasn’t much of a fan of people that professed one thing and lived another.  Matthew 23 is a manifest of His displeasure with the religious establishment in Jerusalem.  In Matthew 23 He is not gentle Jesus meek and mild.  He really went after them with scathing language.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

What is wonderful about Jesus’ measurement of us is we are not on our own.   He promised to send His Spirit to dwell within us.   The Spirit will empower us to see the needs around us, help us figure out how to touch those needs and grant us the resources to do something meaningful.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 14, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Our fruit trees are in full bloom.  Apple trees and cherry trees are breathtakingly beautiful.  You could easily call both the apple and cherry trees “cheery” trees.  A storm passed through this afternoon and something strange happened to one of the cherry trees.  The wind, which wasn’t severe, combined with the heavy rain pretty much knocked off most of its pinkish white petals.   What is interesting is this did not happen to all of the cherry trees.

So why?  Could it be that one tree caught a blast of wind the others didn’t?  If not, was that tree weaker than the others?  It reminded me of some folks I have known along life’s way.  Some manage to survive major storms, while others seem to fall apart under similar trials.  I used the word “seem” because there is so much we do not know about each other.  Perhaps it only appeared that the trials were similar.  Maybe something additional happened that we did not see.  One thing for sure, they had different childhoods, which could have strengthened one and weakened the other.

As we do not know why one cherry tree fared better than the other, we do not know why people respond so very differently to what appears to be the same events.  Jesus was so wise when He instructed us not to judge others.  We don’t have enough information and insight to do so fairly.   When we judge others we often use ourselves as the standard and when others don’t respond as we would, often we are harsh and belittling.  Using ourselves as a standard is so wrong because we make a zillion excuses for ourselves that we do not afford to others.

It is a wonder that God loves us so much.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 13, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

My neighbor’s children had been busy with their street chalk.  Their driveway was decorated with pastel designs of flowers surrounding an urgent message drawn in huge letters.  “Ice Cream Truck Stop Here – Please.”  I hope it worked.   But I have on occasion seen him driving too fast to notice such a message.

‘Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet!  He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.  Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.’

The ice cream man should be as attentive as was and still is Jesus.  Whatever your need He will always hear you.  He will always stop and attend to you.  For sure you will be blessed.  It might not be the blessing you thought you needed, but be assured it is the blessing an all knowing, all caring, all loving God knows you need. You don’t even have to write it on your driveway just on your heart.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 12, 2015

P.O. Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

 

When Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse the Southern army had 200,000 well armed, well fed, well equipped soldiers.  The Union army had not delivered a final fatal blow on the battlefield.  Historical scholars maintain the war came to an end because the will to continue was broken.  Confederate soldiers were receiving letters from home encouraging them to desert.  General Lee saw a strengthening Northern army and decided there had been enough blood shed.  It was time to quit.

Surrender is a difficult thing.  Surrender rips the heart out of pride.  Surrender acknowledges someone or something is bigger or stronger.  Surrender says, “I can’t do it.”  While surrender is often the logical, sensible thing to do often times pride keeps people from doing it and useless senseless carnage continues.

It is so fascinating that surrender is the key to victory in the Christian walk.  We finally acknowledge we cannot be perfect.  If we understand the depth of sin we own up to the cold hard truth that we cannot even go a day or an hour without sinning.  At this point Jesus is eager to step in and grant us victory.  He proclaims us faultless and sends the Holy Spirit into our lives and real growth finally begins.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 27, 2000

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

It was inevitable that somewhere in the infinite stream of eternity God would make creatures in His image.  It is the natural fruit of love.  Intelligence longs to communicate with intelligence.  Angels, as wonderful as they are, are not quite the same as humans.  Psalm 8:5 is translated from the Hebrew that man was made lower than the angels, yet the Hebrew word for angels can also be translated Gods.  In Hebrews 2:7 we are told that Jesus, by becoming one of us, was then lower than the angels, but could that not mean fallen man is now lower than angels?

The Bible is the story of fall and restoration.  I Corinthians 6:3 tells us that we shall someday judge angels. Could that mean we will be restored to our original higher place?  I realize at this point I am venturing into areas that can be disputed and I do not enjoy disputing the finer points of Biblical interpretation.  So I will just say let’s wait and see what is the truth.

What I do know is God wanted us because of His great love.  Nothing is more lasting than love because nothing is more pregnant than love.  It is the ultimate state of being.  God is love. I John 4.   Pierre-Simon Laplace, one of the greatest mathematicians ever, was being consoled on his deathbed with a recital of all his significant accomplishments.  He even posited the existence of black holes long before others. He told his consolers that his accomplishments were not that important to which they asked what was important.  “Love,” he responded with one of his final breaths.

It was love that conceived us, love that sustains us, love that forgives us, and love that will restore us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 11, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

So why do I feel anxious when passing through electronic detectors at retail stores?   I know I didn’t steal anything.  I was never even tempted.  It’s worse when I haven’t purchased anything.  I imagine the clerks think I just picked up something and didn’t bother going to the checkout.  I hold my breath as I pass through and only start breathing again once safely on the other side.  I imagine having the alarms going off and being descended upon by a SWAT team. Am I mentally ill with a built-in neurotic sense of guilt?

I can only imagine what it would be like showing up before the judgment bar of God.  He can read my mind!  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we are guilty even if we think about wrong.  “I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”  Ouch.  Can I please have some extra mercy because of what I thought about that guy who passed me, cut in and slowed down?

Actually the idea of “extra mercy” is redundant and ridiculous.   Mercy is mercy.  It is adequate all by itself. Nobody needs extra.  Not even Hitler.  Paul wrote, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”  Sometimes this concept overwhelms me with its all encompassing scope.  I am tempted to think, “This is just too good to be true.”   That’s why the story is called the Gospel.  It is Good News.  No.  It’s the Best News.  So let us go boldly through the electronic detectors.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 9, 2016

P.O. Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

This evening was my last class of the spring semester.  It is a sweet yet bitter experience.  It is sweet because in my laziness, next week I will not have to prepare lectures.  It is bitter because I will miss the continuation of friendships begun.  After I turn in grades and allow a few months to pass, many names will fade away.  We were created for fellowship and I long to know more about my students who have dedicated their lives to be teachers.  In the grocery store or at the Dairy Queen I will see them and not remember their names.  It seems like the space in my mind where their names were stored will be emptied and refilled with the names of new students.  I hope, when and if we meet, they will be kind enough to remind me of their names.

Paul is so encouraging in First Corinthians one .  He struggles to remember those he baptized.  Thank you Paul for being so human and so honest.

We can be so happy and confident that God will never forget our names.  If He knows how many hairs we have our names will be easy for Him.  In Revelation we are told He has new names for us.  They will be names appropriate to match who we really are.  They must be like Indian names; Flying Eagle, Brave Bear, Running Fox.  I’m not so sure this is a good idea.  I don’t want to be called Frightened Kitty.  Perhaps He will be kind and allow me to continue to be Roger.  I’m used to that.

He loves us so I am sure whatever He wills will thrill and enthrall us.  After all He is our Father.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 8, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org

 

Just as soon as we say anything about people we are wrong.  As good as our observations have been, as careful as we have been about not exaggerating nor understating, there are exceptions to what we have said.  One of the courses I teach is child development.  I have to begin the first class of the course each semester by explaining that I will be speaking in generalities and statistical norms, because there are most always individuals outside two standard deviations on either side of the mean.

Having prefaced that I now state that the people with the finest characters I have known are those who have had major periods of suffering in their lives.  It almost seems like stress and suffering are the tuition we pay for life’s education.  At this point you might be thinking that you know a wonderful person who has had one of those almost perfect lives.  If so, that is the exception I was speaking about.

Stress and suffering not only help us appreciate those days when we do not suffer they also better enable us to empathize with others.  I have often wondered if those who have not suffered can only sympathize.  Think of the great heroes in Scripture.  The Bible is one tale of suffering after another.  Joseph being sold by his brothers, Moses in exile and then having to put up with the children of Israel, David’s betrayal by Saul and Job’s horror, are but a few.  Hebrews 11 is a list of suffering saints. We could speak of Jesus’ suffering but His character was always pure.

God’s goal for us is not that we should live a continuous life of ease but that we should become all that we can be and that often requires tuition.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 7, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org