Roger Bothwell

The human mind is amazing.  We store all manner of events and conversations only to have them come flooding back with the right stimulus.   This evening I noticed a full page Citicard advertisement in a magazine with the message, “You didn’t come this far to go somewhere else.”  My mental floodgate opened to a conversation with a student a few years ago.  Something very discouraging had happened to him and he told me he was giving up on God and Jesus and the church.  He had been raised a Christian and I said to him, “You didn’t come this far to go somewhere else.”

Really bad things do happen along our ways and the last thing we want to happen is to allow ourselves to give up.  Truthfully, life can be a slimy mess.  It is not a bed of roses just because one is a Christian.  But that does not mean Jesus doesn’t love you and that God doesn’t care.  Giving up on the promises, no longer believing that Jesus is going to make it alright, deliberately choosing and changing one’s lifestyle to an inferior way of living, just doesn’t make sense.  “You didn’t come this far to go somewhere else.”

Why would someone deliberately choose to begin harmful habits and abandon grace and the assurance that there is more to life than these few decades?  Following Jesus and what He counsels and offers is a superior way of living.  Dare I say, “One might give up on a religious organization, but that is totally different than giving up on Jesus. They are not one in the same.”

I vividly remember saying to my student, “Don’t go somewhere else.  Being with Jesus is life at its best!”

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 4, 2017

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is an ode to the glory of God’s law.  Verse 1, “Blessed are those who walk according to God’s law.”  Verse 99 – 103, “Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.  I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.  I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.  How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

So I was not surprised, when in church, to hear the worship leader welcome us and describe his church as a place where we believe in the Ten Commandments.  If only he had added, “This is a place where Jesus is our Savior, Lord and King” or something like that.  But, he did not. Jesus wasn’t mentioned.

There is no question that the law is a transcript of God’s character and sin is the transgression of that law.  But the central focus of our worship is not, and should never be, a law.  The central focus is a God full of grace, who sent us His only Son to perish at our hands, that we might be redeemed.  The law is magnificent in knowledge and its protective wisdom guides us to a good life.  But apart from the giver of that law, Jesus Christ, it cannot supply us with forgiveness when we transgress, neither can it give us eternal life.

I apologize if I am nitpicking.  But I don’t think so.  Jesus is what gives church and worship value.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 2, 2017

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

Rogerbothwell.org

A Time for Mulligans

Every golfer knows what a mulligan is.  It is something very much needed when one does not keep one’s head down and left arm straight.  A mulligan is a do-over without counting the first swing as a stroke. The rules regarding mulligans depend on the agreement of those playing.   The rules range from none to one for each hole.  The usual rule is one and is often used on the very first hole when you whiff the ball because instead of keeping your head down you looked up to see where it was going.

Christianity is a mulligan religion.  The basic rule is there is always another mulligan available whenever needed.  God is a God of do-overs.  We can create an impressive list of God’s patience with His people.  We could start with the woman taken in adultery.  In the Old Testament there is David.  He is most likely the king of mulligans.  Usually we think of him murdering Uriah the Hittite because David wanted Uriah’s wife, but the list is long.   He robbed people and then killed them so they couldn’t identify him.  Even on his death bed he ordered a murder.  If we go back to the New Testament one of the most poignant do-overs was Peter after he had denied knowing Jesus, not once but three times.

I am encouraged by all of this.  Our God is a God of infinite mercy.  The adjective infinite is a marvelous word.  There is no end to His love.  No end to His forgiveness.   No end to His giving us another chance.  So just in case you are feeling pretty miserable about your past just remember God says, “Second chance.  Why?  I don’t recall a need for my child to have another chance.”  Awesome.   Happy New Year!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 1, 2016

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I found an inexpensive winch on sale at a tool store.  I have quite a bit of firewood in my woods but getting it up to the house can be a problem for this aged man. The winch will be perfect.  I can put the cut wood on a hand truck that has four wheels and have the winch pull it up the hill.  All I have to do is secure the winch to something strong.  If I don’t do so the project will fail.   It doesn’t matter how strong the winch is, without a tight hold on something solid, it will not work.

By now you know where I am going with this.  Without a strong foundation or a really firm hold on something well-grounded our lives just don’t work.  Everyone needs an ethical base and a spiritual hold that will not fail them.  Jesus is the answer.  As a child I learned this by singing about the wise man who built his house upon the rock and the rock is Jesus.  He was the Rock that supplied the children of Israel with water during their forty year trek through the Sinai.

Jesus promises to be with us.  “I am with you always even until the end of the world.”  He is the victor over sin.  Satan poured out all hell on Him in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.  He could not break Him.  On Sunday morning the tomb could not hold Him.   He lives.  We serve a risen Savior and He’s in the world today.   This Rock is our firm foundation.  He will never fail us.

Now if I can just secure that winch, I am in the firewood business – at least for myself.  Don’t call to order any!

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 31, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I grew up singing a hymn with the words, “O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end.”  However, one of my favorite authors wrote, “Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand.”  That is very discouraging when we come to this time of year and think about how much better we want to do next year.

Does the importance of the promise make a difference?  We think a promise to lose weight is important until we smell and see that wonderful piece of pumpkin pie smothered in freshly whipped cream.  Then the rationalization begins with “Just this once.”  A bit later that evening it is easier to say, “Well, after the pie is finished I will start anew.” However, if it is a promise never to steal, then we stand much more resolute.  I hope so.  But would I steal food for someone I love?  Yes, I would!  Sorry if that disappoints you.  But it is the truth.

So let’s go back to the “promises and resolutions like ropes of sand.”  Why bother?  I propose that making those sandy promises can do one of two things.  It can make us just give up when we fail.  Or making those promises reinforces the foundations of our character and gives us the courage and strength to try again.  There is real value in the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed.  Try.  Try again.”

I am scheduled to preach this weekend.  I was going to tell people not to bother with sandy promises.  But I have changed my mind.  I am headed for the pile of sand in my backyard.  I have been there before.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 30, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Today I was a jerk.  As I look back on my day’s behavior I genuinely rue something I did.  It was totally thoughtless.  A little girl and her mother were sitting at a table selling Girl Scout cookies.  Girl Scouts are always a good excuse for buying cookies.  It gives me an altruistic cover for indulgence.  What I regret is not the purchase of the cookies.  It was who I bought them from.  I totally ignored the little girl and focused on the mother for the purchase.  Any thoughtful person would have realized this transaction was about the little girl.  I never addressed her. I should have talked to the child.  The cookies were hers. Alas.

I am wondering how many times I have classified someone as a jerk because of their behavior when what they did was innocently thoughtless.  I was a jerk and could rightfully be so classified.  But I don’t want to be a jerk and I am sure the people I so label also do not want to be one.  Jesus is the best psychologist in the world.  His counsel is so on target.  He tells us not to judge others.  Usually we do it on the smallest of details.  The events are usually out of context or out of character for the one we so quickly brand.

One time I did just the opposite.  Upon meeting a lady and her children I focused mainly on the children.  Later she asked me why I was angry with her.  I wasn’t.  I just didn’t do it right.   Sometimes one feels like they can’t win.  I need to be more gracious to others because I want them to be gracious to me for my acts of thoughtlessness, which I am sure, occur more often than I know.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 27, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

If I told you Guttenberg invented the telescope you would be sure I got my degree out of a Cracker Jack box.  But just give me a moment of your time.  Guttenberg made it possible for books to be affordable.  As a result literacy increased dramatically creating a market for spectacles.  This led to the development of better lens which led to the development of the telescope.  Thank you Mr. Guttenberg.

Guttenberg would never comprehend that he would put into place something that would burn Copernicus at the stake or put Galileo on trial.   It’s the way life is.  We call it cause and effect.  Someone causes and we are affected.  We cause and others are impacted in ways we can never imagine.  A small act of kindness can ripple across the world changing a lad’s life in Tibet.

Occasionally I meet with discouraged people who think their lives have not really mattered for much of anything.  While I cannot tell them with specificity just how important they have been, I can indeed assure them that they have changed the world.  Whether it was for good or bad, I don’t know.  But what I do know is every life matters in ways far beyond our imaginations.  Guttenberg never would have imagined his work would nullify the world’s longest held scientific theory, that the universe was geocentric.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that God has plans for each of us.  Each of us has a part in His great struggle with evil.  One of the great rewards of eternal life will be having our angel and perhaps Jesus Himself explain to us just how very important we were to God’s victory over sin.   Let us submit ourselves to Him each day and we will change not just the world but the universe.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 29, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas and I sat with my knee all bandaged and drugged.  There was no tree at the Bothwell’s and grandchildren would come. Much to my dismay my sweetie decided we needed a tree; just a small one would do since she would have to be shopper, erector and decorator.  The closest lot had just a few and they were way too large when suddenly she saw at the back of the lot a little guy only five feet high.  It truly was one of the ugliest, barest, scrawniest, out of shape thing one would ever see.  The salesman was so happy to get rid of it he carried it to her car and sent her on her way with a “Merry Christmas lady.  There’s no charge.”

All the way home that little guy kept saying, “Somebody wants me.  Somebody wants me.”  For the past several weeks at the end of each sales day it had been singing from Annie, “Tomorrow.”   When I brushed past it this evening I heard it softly whisper, “Somebody wanted me.  Somebody wanted me.”  When I paused to look at it I was sure it straightened its trunk so its decorations hung nicely and straight.

A hundred years ago my mother’s mother gave my mother away to a farmer down the road.  For years my grandmother would pass the farm without ever stopping to check on her little girl.  When my mother died at 97 she would still weep when remembering.  Everyone needs to be wanted and better yet needs to be needed.  We have a heavenly Father who needs us.  He needs and wants us so intensely that He sacrificed His only Son that we might be redeemed.  Tonight when going to bed whisper, “Somebody wants me.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 30, 2014

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

Rogerbothwell.org

It’s decision time.  Do I have use for this Christmas present?  Do I try to return it to the store from which it was purchased?  How do I do that if I don’t have the receipt?  Do I save it until next Christmas and re gift it?  If so, I better label who gave it to me lest I give it back to the person who gave it to me.  Or worst of all just throw it away!

I have known people who have re gifted salvation.  (I know.  That is crazy, but who says everyone is sane?)  They accepted Jesus’ offer and did one of two things.  They decided they didn’t want it so they gave it back to Jesus.  Or they first shared it with another and then threw it away.  Or they consciously or subconsciously decided once saved they had to start contributing toward the cost by living a life according to law.  It is a normal reaction.  When we receive something wonderful we want to do something back.  And we can.  We can with God’s help live a Christ-like life.  The important issue is motive.  If our motive is to pay back we nullify the gift.  If my motive is love for God and growing love for people that He plants within us then our good works do not nullify grace.

Paul refers to this in Galatians 2.  He wrote, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”  The last thing we would ever want to do is to cause Jesus to have died needlessly.  So as we give good gifts to others we always remember we are NOT contributing to the cost of our salvation.  We are not re gifting.  We are reproducing.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 28, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

We have this nice kid in our neighborhood.  He is about 10 years old and has a two year old dog named Buddy.  Buddy is beautiful and weighs about the same as his master, who very faithfully takes Buddy for a walk each afternoon after school.  Maybe I should say Buddy takes his master for a walk.  Buddy is a handful and goes pretty much where he wants to go pulling his master after him.

Buddy reminds me of strong habits and propensities in our lives.  We struggle to keep them in check but so often they pull us where they want to go.  But this I know.  There is no sin or desire so strong that we cannot overcome or control.  Unlike Buddy’s master who is doing it on his own we do not have to face temptation on our own.  Jesus’ disciple John wrote, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  That promise is in his small letter of I John in chapter 4.  If you will put the word “overcome” in a concordance you will discover there are five promises about overcoming in I John.  John was a son of thunder and he overcame.  He was an overcomer and wants each of us to share the victory available in Jesus.

Here’s one of two promises in chapter 5. “Everyone born of God overcomes the world.”  The world is a pretty big place filled with many temptations and addictions.  But none of what the world has is bigger or stronger than the power available to us. We have overwhelming power just a prayer away. It’s even stronger than Buddy.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 16, 2015

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

Rogerbothwell.org