Month: January 2021

One of the enjoyable things in the Gospels are the miscellaneous details.  An example would be the 153 large fish in the disciple’s nets in John 21.  One of my favorites isn’t a number it’s an aside in Luke 8.  Jesus had just raised Jairus’s little girl from death and He instructed her parents to get her something to eat.   I realize it is no big deal, especially in comparison to her resurrection, but it tells me so much about Jesus’ care for people.

Real religion isn’t about taboos, food and ceremonies.  Paul wrote in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”  Real religion is what Jesus’ brother James wrote in 1:27.  “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”  I once witnessed one of the “saints” (?), who would die before he touched a ham sandwich, tell his daughter she had to get out of their home.  Talk about missing the point.

Some are going to be so surprised to meet people in heaven who never ascribed to any list of doctrinal points.  They “merely” loved, cared for and fed people around them.  “Merely?” I wonder if WE also have missed the point with our list about the Trinity, baptism, state of the dead, etc.  Lest I receive emails regarding this I do think beliefs are important.  My point is priorities.  Paul does say scripture is profitable for doctrine.  It’s just how much importance we place on such.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 11, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Once again the hate-filled church plans to dishonor another fallen American soldier with their bile laden picket signs.  Their mantra is “Thank God for IEDs” as they call our military dead “fallen fools.”

On December 26 in Israel a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews spat on a little girl and called her a prostitute because they deemed her shirtsleeves to be immodest.

Each week we hear news of suicide bombers in the Middle East killing people who are not their flavor of Islam.

How is it that the one thing in our lives that should make us better people instead fosters extremism, hatred and cruelty?   Extremism is a vice that eats away at our humanity and turns us into subhuman creatures willing to do anything.  Often times religious people frighten me.  If a man thinks he is doing God’s will by killing me he will do it with a smile on his face.  They are more frightening than “bad people” who merely want my wallet.

It does not matter if one calls oneself a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, if one’s religious experience does not make one a more loving, more generous or more peaceful person they are deceived and are children of the disgraced one who was cast out of heaven.  I am so happy I discovered who Jesus was when I was a child and was not yet aware of what is done in the name of religion.  If I had not done so I am fearful I might never have been anything even closely associated with any religion.   How delightful it is to know that real religion is one’s personal walk with God and not dependent on human associations.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 10, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Preaching is something of which I have an acquaintance.  This is a strange activity where a group of people assemble to listen to one person – hopefully speaking uninterrupted.  I call it strange because in most of our life’s activities it can be difficult to get people to listen.  Often when it appears we are listening we are really waiting for the person speaking to take a breath so we can jump in with our opinion or story.  People go to counselors and pay a hundred dollars an hour so someone will listen to them. (Real counselors don’t tell people what do to.  They listen and help people sort out their issues.)   Yet once a week or so people gather to listen to one person for thirty minutes or so.  Instead of paying someone to listen to them, the congregation pays to listen when the offering plate comes by.

In a college setting I meet many young people who aspire to the ministry and I wonder why.  If I ask they will tell me God has called them.   I believe He does call some.  However, often I think some are not even aware of their personal need to be important and to have other people listen to their thoughts.  Preaching feeds one’s ego and threatens one’s soul.  Personal glorification slowly replaces one’s desire to glorify God.  Preaching can be extremely dangerous as one believes the nice things people say to you.  We forget that the unnice things are saved for when we are absent.

In 1 Corinthians 1:21 Paul speaks of the foolishness of preaching that people might be saved.  Often I think the person who most needs saving is the preacher and not the congregation.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 9, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

In the morning I will be scanned.  No, I am not going through an airport but instead to a local hospital.  The intrusive rays of the giant donut-like machine will peer into my inner parts and show all the flaws and irregularities that have resulted from so many decades of life.  I cannot help but think of        Psalm 139 which begins, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” Ah, now there is something the scanner cannot see – my thoughts.  Those are private between me and my Creator/Savior.

Verses 13 and onward read, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

That is spectacular.  We are watched and known prior to our birth.  According to this Psalm there is nowhere we can go that He does not watch and care.  Finally, the last two verses say, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

If the doctors see something strange on my scan hopefully they can fix it.  When God sees something strange in my thoughts, He promises to fix it.  There is no “hopefully” about it.  It is for sure.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 8, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Linus once said, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.”  After we finish smiling the meaning sinks in and we realize the little guy was quite wise.  When we are face to face with individuals we see their quirks and flaws and are annoyed by them.  When we speak of people in general they are more than tolerable.  I find myself wanting to give money to people far away but not to people downtown.  I stood in line this past weekend behind a fellow who was covered with tattoos.  I confess that I was not overwhelmed with feelings of warmth and care.  It was then that I dropped my keys and before I could stoop down he had scooped them up for me.  He was beaming a big smile as he handed them to me.  It was then that I saw the tattoos covering his arms were Scripture.  His right arm was the 23rd Psalm and his left arm was Romans 8:38 & 39.   While I have never desired a heart tattoo with MOM written under it, I almost wanted to do what he had done.  Alas, my arms would not have been as impressive as his large biceps. He was a walking macho sermon; so much for stereotyping and prejudging people.

I realize that while Jesus told us to love others He never told us to like others.  Often I have used that as an excuse for my sometimes unlikeable behavior.  While I don’t wish to discourage you from helping some small hungry child in Central America, I would like to encourage you to help a child nearby.   Not only will it make Jesus happy, it will make you happy.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 5, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

 

Just once I would like to attend a funeral where the pastor would say, “Even though Uncle Charlie spent most of his life as a lying, cheating, neglectful parent and someone who couldn’t always be trusted, he will be with us in heaven by the grace of Jesus.”  The truth is all of us are Uncle Charlie in some fashion (just change the list of sins) and none of us will ever see heaven if it wasn’t for the grace of Jesus.  How often we spout heresy at funerals by saying such things as, “Surely Uncle Charlie will be in heaven because he was such a good man.”  Uncle Charlie’s goodness or lack of goodness is not the Gospel.

So often we believe Uncle Charlie was saved by grace but once that occurred he then had to “do all the right things” to stay saved.  We are fearful that if we don’t take this stance then people will continue on in their rottenness and something seems wrong about that.  Well, there is something wrong with that.  Paul puts it so very well in II Corinthians 5:14.  “For Christ’s love compels us . . .”

There it is.  After Uncle Charlie accepted Jesus, he ceased what he had been and what followed was a life filled with love for Jesus.  When we love someone we don’t want to disappoint them.  Continuing to be rotten would be very disappointing to Jesus.  The point of being saved is for us to have a better life and that can’t happen if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to begin to direct us toward better behavior.

We try to be faithful not to be saved but because the “love of Christ compels” us to be so.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 6, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

This past Christmas Eve our woodstove added its cheer to our home.  It was most pleasant to watch the flames move behind the glass window.  It was especially nice to push in the damper and watch the flames slow down to a graceful mesmerizing dance. When it was time for more wood I picked up a nice piece of hardwood and placed it beside another already burning log.  If I placed it near but not touching the burning log I wondered how long it would take for the hardwood to blaze.  It took several minutes but finally the hardwood could no longer resist and it added its warmth to the room.

I thought of hardnosed people living in the same home with gentle loving people.  How long can the hardnosed folk resist?  Who becomes like the other?  Perhaps it is the gentle person who changes?  Is it possible for both to co-exist and neither bow to the atmosphere created by the other?

During the years when I was a pastor I saw many people want so much for their spouse to join them in coming to church.  Unfortunately I saw some people just give up and they lost their walk with the Lord.  Fortunately I also saw it work the other way.  Little by little I saw husbands and wives (usually husbands) come to church on special occasions at first and then sporadically and then regularly.  The burning love and care of the spouse and others welcoming them into the church family ultimately caused them both to blaze.  It is an endeavor by more than one, but the main person is the one burning brightly in the same home.  No pressure, no nagging, no preaching, no urging, just loving seemed to work best.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 3, 2013

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Literally tens of millions of dollars are being spent by politicians telling us true and untrue horrible things about their opponents.  Lest we have the false idea that negative advertising is something new, let us remind ourselves it has been around a very long time.  Before Adam and Eve lost their place in Eden Lucifer had been actively smearing God’s good name.  Revelation 12:17 speaks of it beginning in heaven itself.  Then it continued in Eden when Lucifer told Eve God didn’t want her to grow and become wise.

Lucifer then became a campaign of horror and destruction blaming God for the resulting death and despair.  Hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. are now called “Acts of God.”  Lucifer has been very effective in blaming God for things.  There is a huge religion in the world that proclaims all things that occur are the will of Allah.  After all they say if God didn’t will something to occur He would stop it.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  A million things a day happen that are not God’s will.

Jesus tried to teach us the truth.  He told us to call God, “Our Father.”   He was hoping we might understand that real fathers while disciplining their children would never ever do anything to harm them.  Unfortunately even that doesn’t always seem true because some fathers do unlovingly harm their very own children.  The next time we are barraged by negative campaigning just remember who started it.  What is sad is that we seem to be gullible enough to pay attention and sometimes actually believe it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 4, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I opened an old book this evening and found pressed between the crisp yellow-edged pages two violets. The book is very old and had belonged to my mother.  Immediately a torrent of questions poured out of my mind.  Where did she get them?  Who gave them to her?  How long ago did she so carefully spread those precious purple petals to perpetually preserve them?  Did she ever return to see them?  Were they from my father?  One of my sisters?  Me?  Had I come running in from the backyard to present them to the most beautiful person I knew?  Had she kissed me and kept them safely in that old book?  I would like to think it was that way but I have no memory of such.  I just know that most little boys think their mothers are God’s angels.  I was no exception.

Had Jesus ever brought flowers to Mary?  Surely He must have done so.  In the Sermon on the Mount He speaks of lilies.  While He spoke of them did He smile as He remembered their fragrance mingling with the scent of fresh wood shavings on their carpenter’s floor?  Life is mostly a conglomeration of memories.  Since the events of life are both good and bad the quality of our lives depends upon what we choose to remember.  One of my friends once came to me and spilled out a horror story of how her husband had abused her.  When I asked her when this occurred she gave me a date that was twenty three years gone by.   Need I say more?

The memories are ours.  The power is ours.   Forgiving and forgetting is the key to the abundant life He promised.  What is left is quality?

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 3, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

One of the more intriguing verses of Scripture is Luke 2:52 which speaks of Jesus, as a child, growing in wisdom.  When He was thirteen He wowed the scholars in Jerusalem with His expansive understanding of Scripture.  Yet He lived in a poor village that could not have afforded an entire Old Testament.  The scrolls were passed one by one from village to village.  Time with each scroll was very limited.  He must have had a prodigious memory.  When He realized He might not see a particular scroll again for a long time He must have diligently applied Himself to committing it to memory.

Adolescence is a time for figuring out who we are and what are our gifts.  When Jesus attended Jerusalem after His Bar Mitzvah, He was faced with the task of understanding His true identity.  Filled with stories from Joseph and Mary and His knowledge of Scripture He assembled the pieces.  It was an amazing secret to carry about during His teen and early manhood years.  He couldn’t speak of it because the ridicule from unbelieving peers and others would have been vicious.   The religious experience around Him was encumbered with a layer of rules designed to keep believers from transgressing the core commandments. The conflict with parents, local rabbis, siblings and within Himself had to be monumental as He sorted out the man made traditions from the principles of Scripture.

Hebrews 4 tells us He experienced all our temptations. Those formative years were crucial to who He was. There is not a child, adolescent or adult anywhere He does not understand.  The Word became flesh and He experienced everything except old age.  We didn’t let Him get there.

 

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 2, 2012

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

rogerbothwell.org