Category: devotional

In all fairness and full disclosure regarding my wife’s plumbing abilities it apparently does not transfer to electrical skills.  This afternoon I found her changing a light bulb because the light didn’t work.  So I remarked maybe it would work if she plugged it in.  She did and it did.  So there it is.  Nobody can do everything.  However, I must add that she lights up a room when she enters.

Paul certainly understood this.  In Romans 12:6 he wrote, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”  Churches and other organizations work best when people are aware of their limitations and do not over-extend. I’m sure we have all served on a committee at one time or another when there was one person who had an opinion about everything.  These know-it-alls drive the rest of us crazy yet we need to listen because once in a while they do come up with a great idea.  Happy is the workplace where people know their gifts.

Paul was not only a scholar and evangelist, he was also a tentmaker. “Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.”  Acts 18.   However, we should add we don’t know if he was a good tentmaker.  He was a great scholar who understood salvation by grace and that really is enough for any one person.

Then there are those who don’t think they can do anything.  They need our help.  We need to affirm them and help them find their gift.  Everyone has one.  Our gift might be aiding others to find their gift. If you know someone who is good at something, affirm them.  They will do all the better because of you.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 5, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

One or my favorite catalogs is from The Vermont Country Store.  It is full of nostalgic items from decades past.  While it is enjoyable to browse it isn’t something that fits my wallet.  A bar of Lifebouy soap fills me with childhood memories and would be fun to have, but not for $11.95.  I love chocolate covered cherries and they look scrumptious but for $1.53 a piece I can close my eyes and remember what they taste like.  That works just fine and better yet it is a calorie free way to enjoy one.

While wondering who buys, who pays for, these delights I think most people purchase them for presents.  Rarely would we spend so much for ourselves but if something would bring joy to a loved one then we go ahead.  We ask, “What will bring a big smile on the face of ….?”  Our love for that person will motivate us to go ahead.  We are not really buying the Lifebouy or the chocolate covered cherries; we are using the item to say, “I love you.”

That is the message of the cross.  God sent us His only Son because of His love for us.  It was the ultimate gift to bring to us not merely a smile but an eternity to feast our eyes and minds on the wonders of God’s kingdom, a place filled with endless wonders.  When we see the smile on a loved one’s face upon opening a gift we don’t think of the cost.  When Jesus looks over the sea of the redeemed He will surely exclaim, “It was cheap enough.  It was worth every stripe from the lash, every thorn and every nail.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 6, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

 

Twenty-four years of old bank statements filled our cupboard.  It was time to shred.  Year after year of long useless information disappeared into jagged bits of paper.   “Ah,” I thought, “just like my sins. If Isaiah had known about paper shredders surely he would have used the word shredded instead of blotting.”  But just then while disposing of year seventeen the shredder broke.  There I was with seven years of bank accounts left on my lap.

Maybe blotting would have been better.  One big splash of ink and they would have been gone.  The metaphor is not adequate unless all the records are gone.  When Jesus forgives us He is not selective. Sins are not categorized into benign and malignant.  There are no white lies and gross injustices.  Sin is sin. And just one can and will keep us out of the Kingdom. But please do not despair. Keep reading.  Please.  John, Jesus’ disciple, a son of thunder, wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   I John 1:9.  Please do not miss the word “all”.  Heinous crimes are included.  He saves to the uttermost.  Hebrews 7:25.

The truth is there is no metaphor adequate to describe what is given to us. It is beyond language and imagination.  When we see the glories of eternity and see with our own eyes just what it was that Jesus left behind that He might be born in a fly-filled, maggot infested cattle stable only then will the light really come on in our minds.   Perhaps the most difficult thing about this is our pride.  We want so much to do it ourselves.  We can’t.  Therefore  accept His gift to you.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 20, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

Combinations of people, things and foods can make for the most wonderful experiences.  Abbot and Costello doing “Who’s on First?”, children and dogs in snow, apples and cinnamon baking in flaky piecrust are just a taste of life’s great combinations.

When it comes to the richness of our inner being the greatest combination is spoken of by Paul in Galatians 2:20.  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Imagine that.  Christ in you.  No longer you, alone, in the world, but you combined with Christ Himself, His thoughts becoming your thoughts, His responses to others becoming your responses, His love and generosity becoming your love and generosity.  The very idea is exciting, challenging and possible.

Let’s make yet another wonderful combination. Colossians 1:19. “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”  All the fullness of the Father dwells in Jesus and Jesus dwells in you.  The possibilities are astounding.  The fruit is beyond our imagination.  Have you ever seen someone you admired because of their goodness?  You need not look from afar.  You can join the group.  It is not an exclusive group but inclusive of all who desire to belong.

He wants to change the world by having all His fullness dwell in you via His son.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 31, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

Blessed is the man whose wife can cook as good as his mother.  We learned what foods where supposed to taste like at our mother’s table.  Our taste buds were trained to the idiosyncrasies of our mother’s stuffing, pies, lasagna and cream of wheat.  Later in life it is rare to find something just as good as what was on our childhood table.  Really good pie crust is a gift.  Can you believe what you get from a store bought pie?  Most of the time it is two pieces of cardboard covering up something dumped out of a can.  And pumpkin pie has to have that just right amount of whatever it was that our mothers used.

I’m sure you have noticed how important food is in the Bible.  We started off with fruit from a tree in Eden and end with a wedding feast spoken of at the close of the Book of Revelation.  In between there are Psalms about the Lord preparing a table before us and Abraham feeding angels on their way to Sodom.  Jesus was not only a feeder of thousands He was also an attendee at banquets.  Matthew had one for Him.  Simon of Bethany had a feast honoring Him.  The disciples ate food from fields they passed and hoped for figs from a tree by the road.  Of course we must mention the Last Supper on that fateful Thursday evening before the cross.

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.”  Revelation 22

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 29, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

 

When one is not home and has too much time on one’s hands one tends to watch way too much television. In the last two months I have seen more “I Love Lucy” and “Bonanza” programs than I ever did when those characters were still alive. I can’t believe I did this and am admitting it but I even watched an old Lawrence Welk program.  Please turn off the bubble machine. What was fun about watching was a moment when he invited ladies from the audience to come and dance with him. About a dozen blue-haired ladies rushed to him. The camera caught one literally elbowing two other ladies so she could get her moment. I’m not sure she fit the definition of the word “lady.” So much for growing up.

One of the classes I teach is the psychology of human development and I am compelled to ask, not just because of this incident, but by daily behavior of most people, “Does our basic nature ever change no matter our age? Or do we just become more sophisticated about how we get what we want?” Jeremiah wondered, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”  Jeremiah 13:23

Hopefully the answer to this is “Yes.”  If not, educating our children or going to church or moral discussions would be useless.  In Matthew 5:48 Jesus exhorts us to be perfect.   Apparently He believed we could do better or He would not have bothered.  We can do better.  It might not be easy but with the help of the Holy Spirit “the leopard” might not change its spots but neither will it eat us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 21, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

When my wife’s parents retired they moved back to her father’s birthplace farm.  It was a grand place to take our children in the summer and at Christmas.  One year we found the old manure spreader in the woods.  We thought it was wonderful and got the tractor and pulled it out into the yard.  We thought it would be beautiful once filled with flowers.  Her uncle who had lived there all his life and had used the spreader thought it was horrible. Things like that belonged out of sight and not in the yard for all to see. Needless to say it disappeared back into the woods.

Sometimes in church I remember that “honey wagon” and my wife’s uncle’s reaction.  It comes to mind during prayer request time when people publicly tell things that should remain in the woods.  God knows the secrets of our hearts and there is nothing to be gained by telling salacious tales for the voyeurs in the congregation.  We should not utter embarrassing details that only God should hear.  Actually we can permanently harm ourselves or others by being overly forthright.

But someone might say James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins one to another, that you may be healed.”  There is a significant catharsis when we get something off our chests.  It is healing to have a burden lifted.  If it is a public sin then public confession is very helpful. However, there are certain things that should only be shared with Jesus, especially when it involves others who could be damaged by our saying too much.  One thing that is wonderful is those secrets we tell Jesus will be blotted out and He will choose never to remember them.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 27, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

 

 

I relearned an old lesson at 6:30 this morning.  Our dog woke us with her most ferocious bark.  We assumed it was the new ground hog that has moved into the backyard.  Much to our surprise we looked out to see our suet feeder being ripped from the tree by our morning guest–a huge brown bear.  Grabbing my camera I made my way down to the back door.  At first I took some really bad pictures through the window.  The rising sun set up a terrible glare.  But I wanted documenting shots.  Next I opened the door to get some unobstructed pictures.  I took about twenty pictures, some which should have been great, except for my haste.   I was just pointing and shooting.  In my excitement I failed to pause for that half second required for the camera to focus.  I just shot away.  The result was about three pictures worth saving.  The rest were garbage shots.   Haste does make waste.

I really should know better.  Quality takes time.  Quality takes thought.  Quality takes effort.  It is not only that way when taking pictures; it is that way with 98% of life.   I see it all the time in the classroom.  I can tell when a student has hastily banged out a paper as opposed to a paper that actually contained some thought.   If we really want to get to know someone we have to take some time to do so.  If we want a relationship with God we have to pause to hear His quiet voice and we have to spend time reading His letter to us.  It is the way life works.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 22, 2011

rogerbothwell.org

I used to enjoy taking weekend walks with people so I could show off my prowess in identifying the birds we saw.  It was great for my ego when people would say, “Wow, you sure do know a lot about birds.”  Actually they could not have been more wrong.  While I did know the bird’s names, I knew nothing about the birds.  All I knew is what we call them in America and if I had been in another country often those birds are called something else.  I was a fraud.  We can know the names of lots of people and not know anything about the people themselves. A name is merely a random identifier attached to someone by their parents before their parents really knew them.

The same is also true about some people’s knowledge of Scripture.  They can quote all kinds of verses and be very impressive.  But once you really get to know them you realize they don’t know much about the author of Scripture.  God is merely a name of a being who is to them a stranger.  Jesus talked about these people in Matthew 7.  “By their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”   They know the name but they don’t know the attitude, the love, the passion to be like the one they speak of so freely.  They are as fraudulent a Christian as I was an ornithologist.

James, Jesus’ brother, wrote, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 26, 2012

rogerbothwell.org

We got another four inches of snow last night.  I saw one of my neighbors  shoveling his driveway.  I was concerned for him.  He looks to be about my age and we all know that old men should not shovel snow.  I don’t.  It costs me about 30 dollars each time and we have had a lot of each time.  It might have cost me 300 dollars this winter.  It seems like a lot of money but when one puts it into perspective who wouldn’t spend 300 dollars not to have a heart attack.  I am told your heart starts to hurt for lack of oxygen.  Something has blocked its flow.

Jesus is the oxygen for mankind.  Our hearts hurt for lack of Jesus.  It is subtle at first but each time the pressure gets worse until the elephant steps on your chest.  The elephant has certainly stepped on the chest of mankind.  The news is filled with so much devastating pain.  It ranges from individual murders to mass murders by governments trying not only to attack their neighbors but sometimes as we see their own people.

Jesus really is the breath of life.  He started in Genesis when He knelt in the grass over Adam and breathed into Him life.  It happened again for Jarius’s daughter and on the highway for the son of the widow of Nain.  He is life itself.  In John 11 Lazarus’ sisters said, “If you had been here our brother would not have died.”   You know – they were right.  But the important thing He came.  And when Jesus comes life comes.  Oxygen comes. The pain goes away because He is everything He said He is.  He is the resurrection and the life.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 1, 2011

rogerbothwell.org