Month: February 2019

At two this afternoon a student came into my office and apologized for missing class.  It seems that he overslept.  The remarkable thing about this is the class started at 11:30.  He told me he didn’t awaken until a classmate called him after class.   That wasn’t until one in the afternoon.  College students never cease to amaze me.  I have learned not to take anything for granted.  Today I discovered a student who really did not know how to use a paper clip!  He had always used a stapler.  Maybe my amazement level is very low.

I want to share something else that amazes me.  When I read Colossians 1:16 – 17, I am beyond amazed, I am flabbergasted.  Paul says, “For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

When I behold the intricacies of a crocus, when I peer into the dark brown eyes of my dog, when I try to grasp the complexity of the human mind, when I look at the delicate balance of the chemistry of a blood panel I am overwhelmed by this creator God who created ALL the things that are.   This is the One who died for us.  This is the One who became flesh and lived in poverty.  This is the One who submitted to subhuman treatment on the cross.

Are you not amazed by such love?   The story is so beyond belief it has to be true. No one would ever invent such a tale.

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 16, 2009

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

 

I think it all started one afternoon when I was listening to a Christian music station and realized a lot of Christian music is just plain old romantic songs with Jesus name being substituted for Barry or Jane or Keisha.  So just for fun when listening to secular music I started reversing the process and I have Jesus singing the words with our names in them.  It can be quite interesting.  This afternoon I heard a great one.  It is called, “If I were you I would fall in love with me.”  The lyrics go something like this with Jesus singing, “You look like life’s been leaning on you.  You look like you could use a friend.  If you want somebody you can count on this is what I highly recommend.  If I were you, I’d sit down at my table.  If I were you, that’s where I’d wanna be.  We’d laugh and dance as long as we were able.  Then if I were you, I’d fall in love with me.” *

What a great song because Jesus is always wooing us.  He is the ultimate suitor.  He is relentless.  We could even accuse Him of being a stalker.  He wants us and does all He can to get us because He knows just how great He is for us.   He is the ultimate friend.  He is the source of the abundant life and who doesn’t want that?  If you are conservative and are a bit put off by the thought of dancing with Jesus, it’s okay to dance with Him.  He invented music.  He invented dancing. Please note Psalm 150:4, “Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs.”

Lyrics by Gene Watson

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 8, 2009

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

 

For twenty minutes this afternoon my barber and I had an eye to eye conversation while never looking at each other.   The entire conversation was conducted with both of us looking in the mirror.  I suddenly realized this was the way we always have spoken to each other.  An eye to eye conversation would make getting the haircut to be very difficult for the barber.

During a lull in the very banal conversation I thought about our conversations with God.  They aren’t eye to eye.  We couldn’t handle that. Moses wanted such an experience, but God informed him he would die if that happened.  Exodus 33.  What we can have are heart to heart conversations. We can tell Him the truth about how we feel about our jobs, our families, our social status, our heart’s desires and our heart breaks.  Just as there is no formula for talking to a friend there is no formula for a heart to heart with God.  Don’t tell Him you love Him when you are angry at Him.  He already knows.  But if He already knows then why bother?   We need to talk to Him for our sakes, not for His.  He is already aware of every tiny detail of our lives.  But by our talking to Him we give Him an opportunity to talk back.  That’s the important part.   Listening to Him is so important.  Often we pray and run off to the rest of the day’s tasks.  Sometimes His still small voice can’t be heard over the television, the car radio and our iPods.

Just in case you are wanting an eye to eye conversation, just be patient. In Matthew 5 Jesus promises us the pure in heart will see God.  You turn is coming.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 2, 2009

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

Darkness is the absence of light.  Cold is the absence of heat.  Please note darkness and cold are nothing.  The logic here wants me to then say evil is the absence of good.  To a degree that is correct.  It is evil for good people to stand by and do nothing when they see horrible things being done to others.   But that is only a partial definition because evil is also the ignored acts being done.

Apparently the right kind of anger is not evil for Scripture makes record of Jesus being angry.  Mark 3 reads, “Then he spoke to the people: ‘What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?’ No one said a word.  He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ He held it out-it was as good as new! The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod’s followers and ruin him.”

I doubt any of us would classify ourselves as being evil.  We might admit to being naughty or at best bad, but never evil.   That descriptor belongs to the Hitlers of the world.  It is a difficult thing to admit but how often have we turned away from doing good because it was not convenient or particularly useful for us?   We rationalize our actions lest we feel guilty and so we excuse ourselves.    But James does say, “To him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin. Ouch.  At some point we have to be honest with ourselves and realize the only way we can be saved is by grace.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 16, 2009

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

 

It has been my observation that emails are much more hazardous to our welfare than snail-mail or face to face communication.   When we write a letter for the postman to deliver usually some time passes before we get it in the mailbox.  It lies on the kitchen counter waiting to be mailed.   We have time to reconsider what we have said and how we have said it and we can rethink whether or not to send it.   When we talk face to face with people we can see each other’s facial expressions and body language. Often we soften what we say in those personal encounters.  But email can be sent almost instantaneously.  In a fit of anger or displeasure we can spill out our venom and send it without much consideration and once sent it cannot be recalled.  We didn’t get to see a person’s face only a computer screen.

I have thought a lot about sending messages to God.  Having gone to church all my life I have heard a lot of prayers.  While I don’t think they are hazardous to our welfare I’m not sure how effective they are.  Most public prayer isn’t really talking to God it’s just another kind of preaching.  Often we seem more interested in impressing the humans who are listening than God.  Often we lie to God and tell Him we love Him when we are actually very upset with Him for allowing some tragedy in our lives. I think we are afraid to open up lest we get struck by lightning.  We won’t. Maybe praying would be easier if we could actually see God face to face.   We could talk to Him as a friend if we could see Him.

Communication is the heart of all relationships and most often the hardest, most difficult thing we have to do.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 16, 2009

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

 

 

One of my all time favorite cartoon strips is Calvin and Hobbes, the continuing saga of a little boy and his stuffed tiger.  One of my all time favorite episodes shows Calvin telling Hobbes that he, Calvin, wishes for some really stupendous things.  Hobbes responds that he wishes for a sandwich.  Calvin then chastises Hobbes for not having any imagination.  The last scene shows Hobbes eating a sandwich as he says, “Yeah, but I got my wish.”

The message is loud and clear.  Be practical. Don’t be ridiculous when you set goals. Have a genuine sense of reality.  Happiness comes with success and success can only happen if we are realistic.  I am not happy when I hear people tell youth, “If you can dream it.  You can do it.” That is just not so.  Now that I have said that I am sure someone once told Barack Obama he was foolish to think he could be President.  Yet I know I can dream of winning the Boston Marathon and that really is an  impossibility.

Then there is Ephesians 3:20.  “God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” *  People outside the house of Jarius laughed when Jesus said the little girl was only sleeping.  They knew when someone was dead. Yet a few minutes later she walked out to see and talk with them.  Somehow we need to put all of this into perspective and realize that our dreams will be fulfilled but have to be saved for resurrection morning.  See I Corinthians 15.

*The Message Paraphrase by E. Petersen

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 13, 2009

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

 

He looked like he was about seven years old.   He was a very nice looking little boy.  When I first saw him he was walking beside the wall in the hall of his elementary school with his white stick tapping the way.  I was amazed at his confidence and steadiness.  From all appearances he knew where he was going and needed no assistance.  I am sure this did not happen overnight.  Someone spent many hours orienting him to his school and making sure he could navigate by himself.  It was very impressive.

No matter what our special needs happen to be each of us needs help navigating. The GPS in my car has paid for itself many times over in saved gasoline.  It is so nice to go directly to my destination without looking like a directionally challenged person.   As a teacher I am continually frustrated by students that fail to follow instructions.  You can put something in the course syllabus, point it out, have them underline it and still they fail to do it.  God must feel that way with us.  Remember Isaiah 30:21?  “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.'”   God wrote it down for us and He whispers directions to us and we still get lost.  Ouch!

I do admire people who set a path and keep to it.  I, like my mind, wander all over the place.  It’s getting worse.  Staying on course is not easy because there are so many interesting things to see and to think about.  I rarely hear an entire sermon because the preacher says something that makes me think of something which makes me think of something which makes me think of something. Right now I am thinking I am so glad Jesus said, “I am the way.”   Don’t get lost!

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 10, 2009

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

At a busy intersection in a small city north of us is a billboard that reads, “Are you losing your home?  Nothing is worse than doing nothing.” There is also a phone number for people to call.  It is a stark reminder of the hard times so many are experiencing.

As I drove away I kept thinking about the message, “Nothing is worse than doing nothing.”  Nothing could be more true about almost everything.  If you have a job you don’t like, do something about it.  If your marriage is not happy, do something about it.  If your children aren’t talking to you, do something about it. If you feel undereducated, do something about it.  If you are overweight and feeling unattractive, do something about it.  So often we are paralyzed by negative forces and each day that we do nothing we let them win.  We let them eat up our lives.

The same is true spiritually.  If you feel like God is a long way off or that He only talks to other people, do something about.  Start talking to Him.  I promise you He will not snub you.  It might take you a while to recognize His voice but I promise you it will be there.   Start a dialogue with Him.  Take His Word along with one of those nothing books with all the blank pages and first read and then respond.  Fill those pages with your reactions to John or Matthew.  If you feel like you want an intellectual challenge read Hebrews.  One thing that always happens when we write is we surprise ourselves with what we know.  Often when I am finished writing I say, “I didn’t know I knew that!”

The issue is this, “Nothing is worse than doing nothing.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 25, 2009

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

My wife and I are using the Wii fitness program.   It really is an amazing technological tool.  One stands on what amounts to a very sensitive scale that not only records one’s weight but continually monitors one’s center of balance.   Most of the exercises are done while standing on the scale.  It likes my wife but ridicules me.   It says nice things to her but not only does it tell me I am overweight it tells me I am obese.  The on-screen character representing my wife looks great.   Mine looks like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  It has gone so far as to call me a novice, an amateur and a couch potato.  It tells me I am as fit as a 76 year old and goes “Ou” when I step on.  Life is tough when even a computer disrespects me.  I feel like Rodney Dangerfield.

At least I know one place where I will always be respected.  Matthew 10:32 says, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”  It doesn’t get any better than that.  That is the highest level of respect one could ever desire.  Jesus will stand before the Almighty God of the Universe and hold up our names.   Again in Revelation 3:5 Scripture adds angels to the list of those whom Jesus will so honor.

I don’t know anyone who relishes being disrespected.  It’s something I try to remember every time I go into a classroom.  When we respect students they will return it.  Everyone is unique.  There never has been and never will be another like you and you will be honored and respected in heaven.  How grand!

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 24, 2009.

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

 

As a result of last December’s horrific ice storm there are gigantic piles of tree parts by the curb of most every other home.   This past weekend the city put up the following signs.  “Storm Debris Clean Up Starts Tomorrow.” We are looking forward to the debris being carted away but apparently they are never going to come for it.  On my way to school this morning the signs still said, “Starts tomorrow.”  If I see the same sign tomorrow I have to assume they aren’t coming.

I am reminded of a student who told me she just couldn’t become a Christian today but most likely some time in the future.  At the close of the semester as she turned in her final I asked her if the time had arrived.  She gave me a smug smile and said, “Maybe tomorrow.”  I have to assume the fault is mine and other Christians around me. Apparently we have not made it attractive.  She is fearful she will have to give up good times.  Have we made being a Christian so vanilla it isn’t appealing until one is too old to party?  Do people see following Jesus as an experience for those whose juices have dried up?  What about Jesus telling us He came so we might have life more abundantly?  Isn’t the abundant life for now and not for tomorrow?

Every time we take up an offering for evangelism my heart aches.  Why should we have to spend a fortune each year trying to convince people to follow Jesus?  Shouldn’t our lives be a walking advertisement?  If people found out they would be loved and cared for inside the walls of our church we couldn’t keep them out.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 5, 2009

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