Category: devotional

It has been one of those days.  We all have them.   This was mine. My lawn mower broke, the lever to release the hood of my car stopped working and two bolts simultaneously fell out of the bottom of the chair at my computer and thus dumped me on the floor.  Nice day.  Actually it really is a nice day because I could create a list of a hundred things that did work today.  So the glass isn’t even half empty.  It is just a smidgen empty.  So much the quality of life is the result of that which we choose to focus upon.

But life seems more interesting when we trouble talk.  Misery loves company and since we all have those days you really don’t want to hear me speak about the good things that are happening.  It is the broken things that make us shake our heads and make us want to hear more.  We are perverse creatures.  The evening news isn’t filled with all the things in the world that went right today.  Imagine how interested we would be if we saw a headline that read, “Canada had a great day.”   Networks flourish on supplying us with bad-news stories and often they don’t even have any facts.  Someone stares into the camera with a microphone telling us what might have happened.  We seem to love it.

Actually some of the networks now finish the evening news with a feel good story. When the camera comes back to Bryan Williams sometimes he is a bit misty as he signs off.  So I figured I would finish this with the best feel good story of all time.  Jesus loves you.  Yes you.  Nothing could be finer.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 10, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I was reading and came across a word I didn’t know.  That’s normal.  So I looked it up.  But I couldn’t understand the words in the definition of the word I didn’t know.  So I began looking up the words in the definitions of the first word only to discover I did not understand the words defining the words that defined my first word.   With my self-esteem shattered I gave up and still do not know the meaning of the first word.  Therefore, I promise not to attempt to use it lest everyone realize just how illiterate I am.  Please don’t unsubscribe to my mailing list because I am too ignorant for you to waste your time reading.

I feel like Peter trying to understand Paul.  “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand.”  II Peter 3:15-16

If you struggle with some passages in Romans or Hebrews do not despair.  You are not alone.  Fortunately we are not saved by how much knowledge we have.  That would be righteousness by smarts.  Obviously there are beings in heaven still grappling with the intricacies of salvation.  In Ephesians 3 Paul speaks about our experiences here teaching authorities in heavenly realms.  We grow impatient because we do not understand why Jesus doesn’t return and why there is a continuation of so much pain on earth.  We are not alone in not grasping the entirety of all that is at stake.

One thing is for sure.  Jesus will return for us the very second He can.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 9, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

A dream of some scientists is to bring back (de-extinct) the passenger pigeon by injecting band-tailed pigeon embryos with primordially edited germ cells.        De-extinction is a fascinating idea with overt shades of Jurassic Park.   In regards to man God has long held a de-extinction program. With Adam and Eve’s failure came the extinction of perfect God-imaged creatures.  With sin came the decay and death of the noblest finest thing God ever made.  Adam and Eve could only stand at the gate of Eden and remember what was.  Jesus was morally perfect, but He was not physically perfect.  He was, according to Hebrews, subject to all the weaknesses of fallen man.

The plan of redemption has always been the de-extinction of the perfect Adam and Eve.   In I Corinthians 15 Paul speaks of this corruption putting on incorruption.  He is talking about de-extinction.  What is exciting about this is the non-exclusiveness of God’s plan.   This plan has never had restricted membership.  According to the close of Matthew, Jesus commanded His disciples to recruit members from every tribe, nation and race.

Just imagine yourself with the ability to will away all your bad features and will into existence perfect replacement parts.  Look in the mirror and think just how good you could and will look while still being you. Think of yourself with a noble mind thinking pure unselfish thoughts.  Think of yourself with an eternity at your disposal that you might dedicate the time needed to master skills you only now can dream about.  Think of yourself never forgetting a face or a name.  Think of yourself being de-extinct.

De-extinction is the theme of the plan of redemption.  This is so much more than grand.  This makes grand look like a feeble word.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 2, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I watched a group of seven-year-olds today gathered for what appeared to be an end of the school year party.  They were full of so much vitality.  The energy in the room was electric. One overly zealous parent kept hushing them down and telling them not to run around and jump up and down.  It was like gathering a group of children together and telling them not to be children.  It was a party.   It was a party for seven-year-olds!  Why did they have to hush and why couldn’t they run around and jump up and down?

I remembered going to church and hearing about all the things we were not to be doing.  Don’t wear jewelry, don’t wear make-up, don’t eat meat, don’t eat sugar, don’t use salt, don’t use mustard, don’t use ketchup, don’t dance, don’t listen to jazz, don’t listen to Elvis, don’t listen to the Beach Boys, don’t eat cheese, don’t wear a wedding ring, don’t go to movies, don’t, don’t, don’t.

Where were the dos?  Where was the joy?   Idle words were frowned upon; every minute was to be accountable.  One felt guilty for laughing or for taking a nap.  And we wondered why we couldn’t keep young people in the church.  It was like telling ourselves not to be human. I realize I am about to sound like a libertarian, a bad thing in the eyes of the brethren, but whatever happened to everything is lawful as long as it does no harm to another?  We never read the verses where Jesus told us what went into our mouths didn’t matter it was what came out.  Matthew 15

Verily I say unto you, be happy, be joyful, smile, laugh, be pretty, be generous, be forgiving, be like Jesus.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 3, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

I had a student who professed he had little faith in anything.  According to him he was a practical man who had to personally experience things.  He seemed puzzled when I asked him to explain the difference between a one dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill.  Because we can obtain twenty times something with the twenty dollar bill than we can with a one dollar bill certainly there has to be a difference in their value.  But they are both made of the same kind of paper and are the same size and weight.  There is no intrinsic difference.  The only differences are the ink patterns.  My practical student displays faith every time he purchases something.  He has faith in the power of the United States Federal Reserve Bank.

Next, I asked if he ever flew anywhere.  To do so requires faith in the competence and sobriety of the pilots, the mechanics, the air traffic controllers, the manufacturer of the fuel, the structural engineers and the weather prognosticators.  Flying is truly an act of faith.

Everyday life in our modern world requires faith.  So why not place ourselves by faith into the hands of the One who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them.  Why not believe Him when He says, “I love you.”   He is more trustworthy than any monetary system or any airline team.  Trust Him who said, “I am the resurrection and the life” and then gave viable evidence by raising Lazarus back to life.  Jesus said, “He who believes in me shall never die.”   I like that.  I like that a lot.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 4, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I have an acquaintance who is a religious cliché machine.  Give him a microphone and he can talk 15 minutes and never say anything original.  It doesn’t make sense because it is a string of spiritual one-liners and the saints love it.  At least the old saints love it.  It comforts them that their church is still the same church they have loved all their lives.  It sounds familiar.  It sounds right.  It doesn’t have to make sense. There is a different reaction from the younger people.  This is where it gets tricky.  We have to keep us older members content because we are the financial life-blood of the church.  However, we are not the future of the church.  It is those younger ones who will take over (we hope) after we older ones have been funeralized.

One of the great challenges of speaking is in that 30 minute or less sermon to have something for everyone from 8 to 88.  I have discovered most parents don’t care if there wasn’t anything for them as long as the kids actually listened.  The old will keep coming even if there isn’t much for them because it is their unbreakable habit.  But they will complain.  They love that “old time religion” which was good enough for grandpa.  The issue is it is not good enough for the grandchildren.  We have a generation that are growing up with hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to grab their attention and pocketbook.  That is pretty stiff competition for the pastor and the musicians.

One thing we do have working for us that the big ad companies do not is the power of the Holy Spirit.  So when church doesn’t seem like it is for us older people it isn’t.  We are not the market.  Our children and grandchildren are the market.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 5, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

We just received word that one of my old golfing friends was injured today while getting ready to move. I don’t know any of the details so I’m just going to speak generally about old guys not knowing their limitations.  Little by little the clock slowly saps our vitality and we are not as strong or as balanced (physically) as we used to be.  It is difficult to accept so we climb ladders when we should be on the ground paying someone to climb ladders for us.  We carry boxes down stairs when we should just hurl them down instead of hurling ourselves down.  We want to take off our shirts in front of the mirror and show off our guns but reality is too embarrassing.  We wear long sleeved shirts to cover the sagging wrinkled skin hanging below our elbows.

Knowing one’s limitations is very important to survival.   When I speak of survival I am not limiting it to these 80 or so years.   We all need to think about eternal survival and accept the fact that we just can’t do it ourselves.   Neither do we have the physical ability or the moral ability to convince God that we are good enough. It might be a bit hard on our sense of self-worth but once accepted we can then get on with the serious business of being saved.   And just how do we get on with it?   We acknowledge that we are sinners, we repent, we accept the Gift offered to us by God and then get happy because it is a done deal.

Always remember Ephesians 2:8 states, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 4, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

According to Harper’s Magazine doctors in the U.S. operate on the wrong person or wrong organ 40 times a day.  Now I understand why the doctor that gave me a new knee came to me while I was still awake and asked me which leg.  He then put a big X on it with a black marker.  As bad as this fact is the truth is all of us are prone to error.  How many times have I said something to a student that I wish I could suck back in?  But once said it can last forever.  How well I remember specific things my teachers said to me while I rarely remember the things I say to my students.

We need to be just as careful when we speak as operating doctors need to be before cutting.  A misspoken word can do terrible things. “A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!   It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it.”   James 3 in The Message

God is the only being not prone to error or misspeaking.  He never desires to retract anything that He has said because He knows He will carry through.  With God a promise is a promise.  He has promised to be faithful to forgive anything that we confess.  How grand.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 3, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

There I stood in my best suit in front of a man who had just eaten an egg salad sandwich.  What can one do when little pieces of egg and mayonnaise come flicking your way?   Every “P” and “B” came loaded.  I tried backing up a step but he merely closed the gap.   I could have said, “No thanks, I’ve already eaten.”   But I doubt if that was appropriate.  Recently I was accused of being nice.  That is only because I don’t say everything I think to say.  Inside I am not nice.

I’m sure you have noticed that the word “nice” is not in the Bible.  Jesus never told us to go forth and be nice.  However, the absence of something does not mean the opposite should be practiced.  The Bible never said Jesus rode a horse, only a donkey.  That doesn’t mean we should not ride horses.   So I am inclined to think being nice is a fine virtue.

When we are employed to service something or sell something our employer expects us to be nice to the customer.  Rude salespeople rarely make a sale.  I actually bought a car once only if the dealer promised me the saleswoman did not get anything from the sale.

Evangelism is sales.  We are promoting the best product ever.  Often the object of our promotion is people we live with.  That means being nice.  Who would want to be a Christian if the Christians weren’t examples of their product?  Gandhi once said he would have become a Christian if it were not for Christians.  Great point.

So I said nothing.  I merely brushed off my suit after the food-launcher departed to the other side of the room.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 2, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

As the recycle truck rolled down the hill it hit my friend.  Her fanny pack was in that truck.  That wouldn’t be so bad except for what was in the fanny pack.  Her passport, her wallet, her credit cards, her driver’s license were on the brink of becoming a new whatever.  But she was not giving up so easily.  Jumping in the car she arrived at the back of the truck just in time to see the compactor do its job.  “Sorry, Maam,” said the driver.  “Once it’s in there I can’t get it out.”

But she was not giving up so easily.  She followed the truck to the recycle center and persuaded some big cheese to dump the truck contents apart from the main pile.  After a while of unsqueezing the squeezed there it was.  Redeemed.  Now the moral of the story almost writes itself.  Chasing after the valuable, rummaging through the discards, saving the lost; all the elements of the Gospel story are there.

However, that is not what struck me.  It was the squeezing.  The icons of her identity were being crushed into something else.  As she was telling me of her adventure I remembered a text paraphrased by J. B. Phillips.  Romans 12:2, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, . . .”   It’s a great message about letting God shape us and not allowing modern culture to determine who we are.  If we are not vigilant about what we become we really are squeezed into “mold.”  That’s a slimy fungal thought.

But a great thought is the rest of Romans 12:2, “. . . let God re-mold (reform) your minds from within, . . . and move towards the goal of true maturity.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 1, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org