Month: February 2020

I’m sure we all remember Mark 9:36 where Jesus takes a small child up into His arms.  What a story that child had to tell the rest of his or her life. Well, this morning I watched something just as good.  I was in a Kindergarten supervising a student teacher.  It was circle time and the children were all gathered on a rug while the student teacher read to them and taught them their lesson.  Repeatedly the children had to be moved back. And just as soon as they were the student teacher’s magnetic charm automatically drew the children closer and closer.  It was impossible for the children to resist the loving attitude and appeal.  They all wanted to sit on her lap.  If I had a small child, I would want him in that room.

There is no argument to be made against the principle that love attracts. We cannot help ourselves.  We are drawn to it like children to a candy counter.  There is no question that most of the people that flocked to see Jesus were miracle gawkers. These were the same ones who quickly turned on Him.  However, the ones drawn by His love were the ones who stayed faithful. Just as soon as John got over the initial fright and confusion of the arrest in the garden, he got himself into the trial chamber and stayed as close to Jesus as possible all the way to the cross.

The very first song I ever learned was “Jesus Loves Me.”  Many decades later I am still moved by the power of its simplicity.  I know of very few debates over Jesus’ human/divine nature or the power of sin that have ever been as magnetic as that little song.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 9, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Coming out into a busy college parking lot this afternoon I couldn’t find my car.  I really looked carefully up and down the rows.  No car.  Could someone have taken it?  Holding the key in my hand I decided to press the alarm button to see if I could hear it or see its flashing lights. The beeping horn almost rattled my teeth.  I was standing right beside my car – right beside it!  Early this morning my wife and I had swapped cars.  Even though I had driven the beeping car to the parking lot when I came out I proceeded to search for the wrong car.  Ouch.  I’m seriously beginning to doubt the hype about “golden years.”

I think the real golden years are when the house is full of little kids, when you are barely paying the bills yet hear “Daddy’s home” and hear the thunder of little feet coming to mob you.  My dog does that now but it’s not quite the same.  It’s a dog.  I wish the four legs were divided between two little boys. The problem with most of us is we don’t recognize the real golden years until the wall fills with graduation pictures and then they are over.

I wonder what I will forget tomorrow.  In my human development class I talk about long and short term memory.  As we age we hang on to the things we learned decades ago.  Memory verses I learned as a child still fill my mind as inspiration for these devotionals.  One of the best things we can do for our children is to have them memorize a Bible text each week.   Decades later they will thank us for it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 8, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

I realize that some of the people who audition for American Idol are just trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame, meet the judges and have some interesting video to someday show their great grandchildren, but one gets the impression that some of them really live in a delusional world of self-adoration.  The tears that flow from the deserved rejection seem to be deeply felt.  I am sometimes reminded of a man who once told me he had gone over a week without sinning. When I asked for him to explain he told me that since it was Wednesday he couldn’t break the Sabbath today.  He had not murdered anyone today, stole anything, cursed or disrespected his parents. His definition of sin, or should I say victory over sin, was adherence to a code of commandments.

At first I am tempted to quote, “Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  I Corinthians 10:12.  However, I’m not sure someone living under such a narrow concept would ever be aware when he falls.  He is not aware that he has yet to stand.   While it is true that sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4) it is so much broader and deeper.  Sin is selfishness that is deeply embedded into the fabric of our being.  It is living for satisfaction of self at the expense of others.  It is anything that harms self or others.  Sin is something as simple as spitting out chewing gum on the street where others will step on it.  Sin is tossing trash out the window of your car after going through a fast food drive up window.

Considering the truth about our human condition there is only one way for any of us to stand.   It is not complicated.  It is understanding the only goodness, the only righteousness we will ever have is a gift from the mercy of a loving God.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 4, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Sometimes I am haunted by my “good” deeds. It’s because I feel really good about them and realize that often I am doing them because I enjoy the warm feeling I get that tells me God must be very happy with me and probably added another room on my mansion mentioned in John 14.  My unease grows when I read Paul’s book of Romans and am confronted with his premise that all deeds done for the wrong reason are works of the flesh.  My offerings, my Sabbath keeping, my helping little old ladies across the street are in the same category as stealing, murdering and lying.  Paul reinforces the idea in I Corinthians 13 when he tells us even if we give our bodies to be burned it is worthless when done for the wrong reason.

My problem is I am so tainted with self I never do anything for selfless reasons.  Paul understood. He didn’t want to be that way but was honest enough to recognize the truth about himself. That’s why he cries out at the end of Romans 7, “Who will deliver me from this body of death.”  If he had concluded his letter at that point I would just give up and join him in despair.  But, he didn’t stop.  It wasn’t Paul who put in the chapter break at this point.  That was done over a thousand years later.  Chapter eight verse one rescues us from the pit of self.  “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

My hope, your hope, my assurance, your assurance is found in Jesus.  He started our saving and He finishes our saving.

Ephesians 2.  “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 3, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

I have a friend in his thirties.  He is from the Middle East and when not freshly shaven really does fit the physical profile of someone you wouldn’t be overly comfortable with on your next flight.  Every time he flies he is “randomly” pulled out of the line for very close scrutiny.  Each time he is given the assurance it is “random.”   The last time on a trip from Boston to Florida he was taken into a room and undressed down to his boxers.  He is a Catholic.  He loves the Lord and has a cross tattooed on his shoulder.  He was accused of belonging to a secret society because that was “the sign.” He did make his flight.

He is a very kind, unselfish, loving man.   After you get to know him you find he fits Jesus’ description of His followers; “Men will know you are my disciples if you love one another.”   He understands that.  The tattoo was something done when he was young and impulsive.  Why is it that I think Jesus’ disciple Simon Peter would have had several tattoos had they not been forbidden?

Character building and the way we treat others is the core of Christian behavior. Gandhi once said he would have become a Christian but he didn’t because he met a lot of Christians.  Our demeanor says so much more than our pious words.  Paul wrote in Romans 12, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” It’s not natural to do this.  It is easier to be “me first.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 5, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

If we could concoct a pill that could raise people’s I.Q.s by ten to twenty points we could soon be fabulously wealthy.  Lines to get our pills would be longer than the lines to get a new iPhone.   We used to think the intelligence we are born with we would have for the rest of our lives.  Well, we did know we could do things to reduce our I.Q.  There is all manner of mental abuse at our disposal. But the good news is we can increase our mental capacities.  The secret has been with us all along.  It’s found in the longest Psalm.

“O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditations. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.”  Psalm 119.

There it is.  The secret is time spent with God and His word.  My Dad used to tell me to always pick friends who were smarter than I.  By association I would gain new understanding of things.  If that’s the case then who better to associate with than the One who knows everything.  In Ephesians 1 Paul prays, “I make mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; . . .”

The first month of the year is already history but we have eleven months yet to finish the year smarter than when it started.  Let’s do it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 1, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

“Telling it like it is” has become something of a pop culture virtue. People describe, with pride, themselves or another as one who “tells it like it is.”   It appears to me to be an excuse for being rude and not being sensitive to other people’s feelings.

The real problem with “telling it like it is” is nobody can “tell it like it is” because nobody really knows how “it” is.  What we are spouting is our biased opinion as seen through the tinted glasses we all wear.   Each of us has a limited perspective on everything.  We cannot know or understand all aspects of something.  And our personal feelings cloud everything.  Just watch American Idol when they are still auditioning in the various cities. People with not one ounce of musical talent are rejected and often times, if their parents are there, the parents are shocked and horrified that the judges did not share their opinions about their child.

We view political issues from the right or left and mistakenly think we are in the center.  If I think you are “telling it like it is” it means you and I share the same distorted viewpoint. The High Priest and the Sanhedrin really did think Jesus was a threat to the stability of the nation and He had to be taken out.   When Caiaphas said, “It is better for one man to perish than the whole nation” I’m sure one of the council must have thought, “Ah ha; he’s telling it like it is!”

Now that I have said all this I am going to “tell it like it really is.” Ready, set, go.  Jesus loves you very much.   There.  That’s the way “it really is.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 3, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

With over two feet of snow on the ground and another foot coming tomorrow the birds are not straying far from the feeder. However, this noon I noted not a bird in sight.  Five minutes or more passed and still not a bird.  It meant only one thing.  They had spotted the neighborhood Sharp-shinned Hawk.  He too considers our bird feeder his “bird” feeder.  After he went down the street to checkout one of our neighbor’s dining area one small chickadee braved coming back to feed.  Seconds later there were five and then ten and then the whole gang showed up.  I’m not sure where they all had been hiding but all it took was for one brave little guy to lead the way.

And such is life among people.  We too are often shy or afraid to do the right thing until someone leads the way.  When we realize we don’t have to stand alone we rise to our convictions. How often as a pastor I realized if something was to be done, if something was to happen, someone needed to lead.  Should we need to raise money I always was the first to contribute and also had another prepared to give.  It’s called doing your homework.

But what about occasions when there is no such time for such preparation?  What of moral situations that call for bravery and courage.  In the classic book To Kill a Mockingbird an angry crowd sought to lynch a man until a small girl stepped out and confronted the crowd.  Should we ever be in a situation that demands real courage I pray that each of us will be the first to rise to do the right thing.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 2, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

I was sitting in a physician’s waiting room and my curiosity was aroused by a fellow waiter.  He was wearing what appeared to be a traditional small black cap.  This was not unusual because we have an active Jewish community in our little city.  What drew my curiosity was a small tattoo on his forearm.  I thought that was not permitted.* So, I took a deep breath and asked about it.  He was very nice.   He smiled and said, “Oh, that’s the way of our elders.  We younger Jews believe it’s okay.”   We then talked about the identification numbers that were involuntarily tattooed on Jews during the Holocaust.  I then said, “But you wouldn’t eat an Egg McMuffin at McDonalds?”

“No,” he laughed.  “I wouldn’t do that.  There are some things that don’t change.  As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t even work at McDonalds lest I would have to touch an Egg McMuffin.”

It was an interesting conversation and I was glad I had the courage to begin the exchange.  He was so right.  There are some things that never change. The principles of God’s Kingdom have always been and shall always be the same.  We love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves.  That is eternal.  What is wonderful is God trusts us to use our brains.  He has not given us a law book filled with thousands of details but allows us to react to specific situations by our thinking about what is the loving thing.

There is a world of difference in the freedom we have when we can respond to a principle instead of being fearful we have inadvertently broken a detailed law.  It is part of the joy of being a Christian.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 1, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org