Category: devotional

Sociologists observe that we have four zones of personal space.  We have public distance which is greater than 12 feet.  That’s for the students who sit in the back of the class. We have social distance of four to twelve feet.  That is for formal situations. Next we have personal distance of 18 inches to 4 feet.  That is for normal conversations.  When we want to tell a secret we lean in closer, moving into intimate space which is less than 18 inches.

In John 15 Jesus and His disciples were making their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. A horror awaited them in the darkness of evil.  But, on their way Jesus paused by a stone wall and picked up a grape vine and said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.”  He went on to say in verse 5, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; . .”  Please note the intimacy.  He longs for a deep relationship with us.  He wants us so close that He resides in us.  And if we allow it we will bear much fruit.

I used to think “much fruit” meant bringing thousands of people to Jesus. Now I better understand.  He was speaking of being like Him; bearing the fruits of the Spirit.  In Galatians 5 Paul lists them for us. They are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  If we manifest such a life we are having a “much fruit” experience.  It might be a bit overwhelming to think we could live like this.  However, in Matthew 19:26 Jesus said, “All things are possible with God.”   He is an intimate God.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 12, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I administered a quiz today that consisted of 25 matching terms with definitions. As I collected them I noted that some students left blank spaces.  I would not collect the quiz until they filled them in.  “But,” one of them said, “I don’t know the answer.”  To which I responded, “If you leave it blank you cannot get it right.  If you try, even if it is a guess, you have a chance. Remote as it is, it is still a chance.”

During the sixteen hundreds Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher, put forth a proposition that has become known as Pascal’s Wager.  He wrote if we live as if God existed and He does not, we have lost nothing. But if we live as if He did not exist and He does, then we have lost everything.  Therefore, any rational person should live as if God is.

One might be tempted to think this is a very flimsy motive for believing in God. And they are right.  However, God is very crafty.  He will take us on the slightest of opportunity for He knows that once He has us He can transform us into a more lofty mind-frame.  God is in the business of saving people and He will do so with the flimsiest of motive on our part.  This is because He doesn’t look at what we are but He looks at what He knows we will become.  And we will be spectacular.  So take a chance.  If we gain, we gain everything.  If we lose, we still have gained.  The Christian life is the best life there is.  Even if that’s all there is.  All we lost was a lot of heartache and pain, because, that’s all this world ever has to offer.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 11, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

During the intermission of a high school play this afternoon my wife purchased cookies the students were selling to raise funds.  As she walked away she unknowingly dropped a plastic baggie containing two cookies.  Just then a really little guy probably less than three years old found them.  The expression on his face said, “I just found a zillion dollars.”  Can you imagine the joy?  Two peanut butter cookies!  His father called to my wife and disregarding our protests and great despair had the little guy return them.  I felt like the most selfish monster ever – an ogre. The father assured us that he had cookies for those little hands to cherish.

I love doing nice things for people and the father took us out of the process.  He reminded me of how important it is to allow people to do good things for us.  I’m glad he had cookies for the little guy but I felt cheated from the joy of giving.   Things as simple as opening a door for someone or picking up the check when you go out to eat with others add value to our being.  I remind myself of this when I object to another offering to do something nice for us.  A wonderful man and his wife brought us a truckload of firewood this fall.  I could have protested under the guise of being able to cut my own wood.  However, the truth is it was a marvelous gift that has very much enhanced our evenings on these very cold New England evenings.

I realize that John 3:16 makes God happy.  He never begrudges us Jesus.  He lights us with joy when we allow Him to save us.  By accepting His grace we make His day.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 10, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Over 2600 dogs are competing in this year’s Westminster Dog Show.  We love our dogs.  They afford us unquestioning devotion, protection and companionship.  They are therapeutic for the ill and of aid to all manner of occupations.  Several years ago we had Russian visitors and when they went to the supermarket they were astounded upon seeing an entire aisle dedicated to dog food.  When I read the nutrition contents on the dog food bag I wonder if she eats better than I do.

Dogs don’t fare well when mentioned in Scripture.  Even the last book of the Bible reads, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”  That isn’t an honor roll in which one would like to be included.  Considering shepherds are mentioned and dogs are used to care for sheep one would think there would be one nice comment on dogs.  But then again shepherds were near the bottom of society.

I doubt very much that God has such a poor attitude toward dogs as did people in Biblical times.  He did create them for us.   They were on Noah’s ark.   Our stewardship of God’s creatures is an important measure of our characters and I am sure heaven notes our care or lack of for our canine friends. I have often been asked if we will have our dogs in heaven.  While there is nothing in inspired writings to aid us with an answer and while I do not believe Jesus died for dogs.  I do think heaven is to be heaven and if our specially loved dogs would make it a better place for us then we will see them again.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 12, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Walden Pond is frozen over this evening and by tomorrow night it will be covered with more than two feet of snow.  We are in for a big one.   Weathermen are using the “Blizzard” word.  Tomorrow will be a different kind of day than when Henry David Thoreau drifted across Walden’s gentle waters and opined, “Sometimes as I drift idly on Walden Pond, I cease to live and begin to be.”

It is such a satisfying experience to have a mystical moment when we experience knowing that we are not just an entity but part of something much larger and more meaningful than merely our own body.  To exit now and become, even for a moment, part of eternity is more pleasurable than a banquet of the finest food.

“It was at this time that He (Jesus) went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”  Luke 6:12.  These were not times of going through a prayer list.  They were times of being.  Such experiences are the rarest of joys we can experience.  These are the times when we are lifted out of our human shell and know we are part of something much grander.  They are a taste of citizenship in our Father’s Kingdom.  They are epiphanies of light, wisdom and rapture.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior and become one with Him we become part of something so much bigger than our worldly achievements.  Jesus experienced nothing that is withheld from us. We are co-heirs with Him.  (Romans 8)   “The glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Colossians 1:27.  Heaven is not indulgence in things.  It is union with glory.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 8, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Selfishness pervades my being.  Try as I might, all my attempts to be kind, generous and thoughtful of others lead me to an examination of my motives.  Through the years I have learned that like begets like.  “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”  Proverbs 15:1.  Since I do not like confrontation I do everything I can to ease a tense situation.  I do it for my comfort. I do not steal because I realize stealing tears away the fabric of our civilization and leads to chaos.  I do not steal for my comfort.  I can go through a list of supposed virtues that I seek to maintain and each ends with “I do or don’t do it for my comfort.”

A friend of mine said to me, “An apple tree produces apples because it is an apple tree and not to become an apple tree.”  When I first heard that I heartily agreed and espoused it as great theology.  However, I am no longer sure.  I produce apples because I don’t want to be useless.  Being useless makes me feel as if I have no value.  I want to have value; therefore, I produce apples.  I do it for my psychological comfort.  I give to the poor because it makes me feel good.  It is no wonder Paul cried out, “Woe is me for I am undone.  Who will rescue me from me?”  Romans 7.

Since I want what I do not seem to be able to achieve I will put my trust in Him who promises to save to the uttermost. Hebrews 7.  I Corinthians 15 is amazing. We are promised this corruption will be taken away and for the first time ever will do something purely for love.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 7, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

For supper this evening I found one of those little boxes of Fruit Loops cereal in our pantry.  It must have been left over from a time when the grandchildren visited.  I can’t remember when I last had Fruit Loops, maybe in the 70’s.  I didn’t know how long these particular Fruit Loops had waited to be eaten.  They were so bad that after I spit out my first bite I gave them to the dog.  Now this is a dog that will eat anything – I thought.  She spit them out and walked away!  Maybe someday I will try fresh Fruit Loops – maybe.  I then looked for an expiration date but couldn’t find one.  They must have been so old they were pre-expiration dates.

Each day I drive past a nursing home and I have wondered if the patients are past their expiration dates.  It is then that I realize my perverseness.  Surely there can never be an expiration date on a human being – at least in God’s eyes.  Each of us is treasured long past when we have breathed our last earthly breath.  Our personalities, our memories, our likes and dislikes are all stored in His parental brain waiting to be used once again on resurrection morning.  The only thing about us He doesn’t remember is our sins. They have been blotted out.  Acts 3:29

My mom taught me when shopping at the supermarket to take bread and milk from the back of the shelf.  The older food is at the front so it will be sold first.  I have also discovered it’s not a great idea to stop at a donut shop in the evening.  How grand it is to know that we – you and I – don’t have expiration dates.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 6, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

It’s cold.  Really cold.  There are mountains of snow in parking lots. That made the electronic sign in front of Walgreen all the better.  In big bright red letters it said, “We sell ice.”   Aha, a variation on the old saying about carrying “coals to New Castle.”  I have often wondered if preaching to a church full of people who already know the Gospel is similar.  Are we doing anything more than entertaining them once a week by dressing the old, old story in new clothes?

Then I remember in John 21 Jesus admonished Peter to “feed my lambs.”  Just because we have eaten once doesn’t mean we should never eat again.  It is wonderful to open the Good News to someone who has never heard it but it is just as important to feed those who know.  The world is so pressing, and a good amount of time depressing.  We all need reminders of God’s love and care.  It is a message that never grows old.  Its relevance is timeless.  As culture changes so we adapt the presentation but the core never changes.  “For God sent not His Son to condemn the world, but, that the world through Him might be saved.”   That is eternal.  That is the core and bedrock of the entire universe.  Without it there is only chaos doomed to an eternal expansion into basically nothing.

And so we shall continue to take our “coals to New Castle” and sell our ice.  Without it there isn’t much point in life other than a few decades of reaching for some kind of success, only to see it fade in our later years.  I don’t want to sound like Solomon when he said, “all is vanity.”  But without the Good News, Solomon was right.  With the Gospel, He was wrong.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 28, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

I had a student who did not name his children until their first birthday.  He told me he wanted to name each child something that was appropriate for the child’s personality.  I have to admit it made a lot more sense than the way most of us do it.  Most of us name our children at birth after a relative or a name popular in our culture like a soap opera personality.  I have always liked Job’s names for his three daughters. See chapter 42.  The first one was Dove.  The second was Cinnamon and the third was Dark Eyes.  I have had some Cinnamons as students.  However, their names were not translated to English from the Hebrew.  They called themselves Keisha and Lakeisha.

My parents named me after my father’s father and never called me that name.  Instead they called me by my middle name.  Strange.  When people ask me what my first name is I enjoy asking them if they would believe it is Hercules.  Most just smile and write it down.  I did have a girl at our local pizza parlor say, “Come on. Tell me your real name.”  Smart girl.

I wonder what our names would be had we had the chance to name ourselves.  In Revelation 2:17 we are told we will get a new name in heaven, one that is appropriate for our personality.  “To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”    What will be your new name?  Loved?  Forgiven?  Dove?  Sweets?  Surely mine will be “Amazed I Am Here?”  “Amazed” for short.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 24, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I love people who are self-individualized.  So many of us try to fit in and not draw attention.  It seems that we don’t want to be noticed, as if we are fearful to be different. I have a student who comes to class each day looking different from the last class.  Today she arrived wearing pink contact lens and bright red lipstick.  There was no way not to notice her.  Last week she looked like Mortica from the 1960’s television program the Addams family.  She is a delightful person and very intelligently participates in class discussions.  Today she told me her boss at work isn’t as enthusiastic about her appearance as I was.  Granted, if I had a daughter I most likely would be uncomfortable if she did this.  However, it isn’t harming anyone and she brings smiles to her fellow classmates, which is more than I can say about some stuffy church members I know.

God loves variety.  There is such an array of differences in this small world.  Just watching the birds at our birdfeeder is a royal treat.  Sometimes when I am at the mall with my wife, I let her shop while I sit and people watch.  They are ever so much more interesting than birds.  Yesterday I saw a man who looked like Joseph Merrick, the elephant man.  We simultaneously came to the same door and he graciously opened it for me and allowed me to enter first.  His kindness made him look so much better.

Teens often experiment with strange hair colors and other decorations.  How wonderful it would be if we enthusiastically welcomed them to church each week, smiling instead of frowning.  It will make us look so much better.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 4, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org