Month: July 2021

Our black lab is a marvelous guard dog. Each morning she sits by the breakfast window calmly watching chipmunks and squirrels come and go.  There is no reason to be upset because she knows they are harmless.  But when the monster comes she reacts with all the fury a one hundred pound dog can muster.  Growling begins like lava from a volcano.  Hairs from the back of her neck to the tip of her tail stand erect. Lips curl and sterling white fangs appear.  She will at all cost defend those she loves from this formidable creature that dares hop from under the rhododendron unto the flat stone patio.  Her Leviathan has tall big ears and a fluffy white tail boding terrors and destruction unheard of.  That wiggling nose and those long whiskers can mean nothing other than yes you guessed it – a bunny.

There are many real horrors in the world.  But often we seem preoccupied with bunnies. We allow small fears to grow into Leviathans and we lose the quality of life.  Jesus promised to bring us the abundant life. He has promised to care for us and should bad things come our way He has promised to someday compensate us a million times over for our loss and pain.  Fear is a healthy reaction.  It warns us of impending harm.  People who have no fear of anything are foolish.  But like most things in life fear should be balanced by reason and knowledge of the past.  Sometimes I hear people speaking of current events as if they were the worst things that have ever happened.  They must have slept through history class.  A good life is one that is aware of the difference between lions and bunnies.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 11 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I have this friend who doesn’t like to ride with me.  He thinks I drive too fast and it scares him.  (That’s not a nice feeling.  We rode with a man in Russia one afternoon who terrified me as he passed buses and cars while climbing hills.)  So we now ride with my friend.  This is interesting.  I watch very carefully to see how fast he drives and it is exactly the same as I.  Yet I think he drives too fast and he scares me.  One afternoon it dawned on me what was going on.  Perspective.  When one is on the passenger side the trees, bushes and mailboxes are much closer than when you are driving.  When we are on the passenger side things whiz by filling our peripheral vision with a greater sense of speed than when we are sitting in the driver’s seat.

I should have figured this out sooner.  Perspective is important in almost every aspect of our lives.  Have you ever seen a mother interviewed on the Today Show who says, “Yes, my son is a monster serial killer and should be executed.”  Rather it is usually, “He is such a kind sweet boy and would never do such a thing.  And I believe him when he tells me he didn’t do it.”  Perspective.  Our side is the good side.  Those guys are the bad guys.  We have the truth.  God loves US. How can those other people believe such craziness?  Don’t they read the Bible?

I am so happy we have a God who is able to understand where we came from and what experiences we have had.  There isn’t a perspective he can’t understand because He is the God of all.  How grand!

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 10, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

It was the end of a full day.  The dog was tucked in for the night.  My wife was done reading. The window was open and the only sounds of the night were a few romantic tree frogs. The room was dark except for the red lit time projected on the bedroom ceiling. Closing my eyes I slowly allowed my head to sink into my pillow.  This was good.  And then I heard him.  I’m not sure where he had been hiding or why he had to appear now.  He came down the hall and into the room with his buzzing whirling wings that built a crescendo like an approaching B-52.  This was so wrong as he swished in over the bed.  And then all was silent as I felt him land in my hair.  Few they may be but somehow he used them as a landing strip. Horrible beast. Were there flies in Eden or were they a mutated form of something much nicer?  As I swung at him all I managed to do was slap myself on the head.  That was really stupid.  I’m not sure what happened next because the next thing I knew it was morning.

In John 3 Jesus compared the appoachment of the Holy Spirit like the wind in a tree.  But sometimes He comes like a fly in the night.  He pesters.  He annoys.  He keeps us from sleeping.  He avoids our slaps and continues to woo us with promises of freedom from guilt and the luxury of eternal life with eternal health.  If we manage to fall asleep He will be back tomorrow night.  God is that way.  We are way too precious to ignore.  So if you want a good night’s sleep just surrender

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 9, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

In Romans 1 Paul speaks of knowing God by seeing the things He has made.  In Hebrews 1 he speaks of knowing God through the ultimate revelation – Jesus.  In Ezekiel 36 we read, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.”  God in nature – the Father, God in history – Jesus, God within us – the Holy Spirit.

The concept of a Trinity taunts our finite intellects and reminds us of our limitations.  Our feeble attempts at a cogent explanation fall so short we have invited unbelievers to accuse us of polytheism, of which we are not.  The problem is our inability to see through Paul’s dark glass.  God is a reveal-er of Himself and in His good wisdom He has chosen to remain a mystery.  While He could He has not removed grounds for doubt.  There must be something to be gained by intellectually grabbling with His existence, the nature of His being, and His purposes to be a good God and yet tolerate acts of despicable horror on earth. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  Hebrew 11:6

Does growth only come at the expense of careful exploration of ideas so near to understanding that we are motivated to stretch just a bit more and thus receive the rewards promised above?  Is one of life’s great joys the discovery process?  If God answered all our questions, would that turn us into nothing other than intellectual rubber stamps.  Jesus promised us in the Sermon on the Mount that we will see God, but somehow I think there will always be something just beyond the horizon of our thoughts.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 28, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

We had a great problem this evening.  While talking with one of our sons in New York on our land line our other son in California called on our mobile phone. It’s a good thing God gave us two ears.  Actually it was an amazingly easy problem to solve. But it did get me thinking about God receiving our calls.  Just what does He do when not two, but two hundred million of His sons and daughters call at the same time. Does He have to put us in line according to the priority of our needs? When I just want to talk and He gets a call from someone in a dire emergency does He have to put me on hold?  Of course I know better.

Psalm 91:15 promises, “He will call upon me and I will answer.” There is no hold with angels providing the elevator music so we know we haven’t been disconnected. There is no “if you speak Spanish press one.” There is no menu. “If you are calling for forgiveness, press 3. If you are calling because you are ill, press 4. If you are calling on behalf of someone other than yourself, press 9.”

Something more amazing than getting instant answers is the promise of Isaiah 65:24, “Before you call I will answer.” That’s great, but does raise the question, “Why bother to call?  He knows. He loves. He answers.” We don’t call to inform Him. We call because we need the personal interaction. It feeds our souls and reinforces our human need for fellowship. The next time you call comprehend the miracle of it all.  He is interacting with you, one on one, at the very same time He is doing the same with five hundred million others not even from our planet.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 30, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I am sitting here drooling over a picture of a 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby CT 500.  It has 650-horsepower, will top 200 mph and will do zero to 60 in 4 seconds.  It is deep red with black stripes.  It is gorgeous.  It is a long way from the 1964 1/2 mustang we had in 1964.   Now some of you are asking, “Why would you want something like that?”  And the answer is “you are obviously not a guy.”  This is a heart-pounder for anyone who shaves or will someday shave his chin.

But how would I use it?  Where can one drive 200 mph other than in Wyoming and that’s a long way from Massachusetts.  One could have great fun at traffic lights embarrassing every teenager in his wannabe.  It’s an ego thing for an old guy.

Often I have prayed for great spiritual power. But how would I use it?  The correct answer should be to win hundreds of thousands for Jesus.  The real answer would most likely be to feed my ego that “I was God’s man of the hour.”  I could pretend to be humble and do the talk show circuit, but would most likely come to ruin and eternal loss loving all the attention and the limelight of the networks.

With great privilege (power) comes great responsibility.  Great responsibility needs great character.  Jesus always used His power for others.  While He said He could have called thousands of angels to come to His side, instead He touched lepers and blind people.  He would never have done what I would do and figure out how to get a 650-horsepower chariot.  He walked.  He went into solitary places where He could spend time with His Father.  He had (has) character.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 31, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Long I stood in the bread aisle of our supermarket.  There was multigrain bread, oat bread, flax bread, whole wheat bread, white bread, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, raisin bread and cinnamon bread.  But what I wanted was Wonder Bread.  Enough with the healthy bread, I wanted bread you could squeeze into a ball and bounce off the wall.  When I was a kid watching the Howdy Doody Show, Buffalo Bob told us Wonder Bread advertised that it built strong bodies in eight ways.  Later it became twelve ways. It has been decades since I have had a piece of Wonder Bread.  It now sits in my pantry awaiting the right moment.  I am trying to decide if it will be with PB&J or lettuce, tomato and fake bacon.

Jesus made several references to bread.  He actually called Himself “The Bread of Life.”  Jesus is “The Real Wonder Bread” He builds healthy bodies in 10,000 ways.  He also talked about yeast and how pervasive it can be. He warned His disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees.  Often I have seen congregations infected with the yeast of works.  They are fed a diet of grace and along comes a smooth talking preacher who so subtly and probably ignorantly talks about grace and then adds the poisonous word “but”.  Beware of the word “but.”  It comes like this, “We are saved by grace, but …” It works its destructive force so subtly we barely notice it.   A dear friend of mine recently said, “I am so afraid I will be lost for one little sin I don’t know about.”  Ouch!  I wanted to cry.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 1, 2012

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

Rogerbothwe.org

 

Luke 17:20 -21, “When he (Jesus) was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  Jesus also said in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Hebrew nation was waiting for the establishment of a political kingdom with the overthrow of the Romans.  For them God’s Kingdom was not yet.  For many Christians today there is the expectation of a physical kingdom established in the future.  For them God’s Kingdom is not yet.  Two thousand years ago John the Baptist preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  Was he, the one Jesus declared to be the greatest of all the prophets, wrong?  It seems not.  God’s Kingdom is not only something in a future time and place, it is also a present experience. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we share with God the glories of His presence. There is security, hope becomes a present reality, guilt is taken away, eternal life begins, spiritual understanding grows, compassion for others takes root and flourishes, self is nourished as it recognizes its value by looking at the cross, creativity blooms, intellect expands, patience becomes a mainstay, and our love encompasses those who do not love us.

Contrary to what many television evangelists teach this does not necessarily include bigger bank accounts.  The real Gospel of Prosperity is the prosperity of the soul.  Are we looking for the Kingdom of God?  With a heart open to God let us look in the mirror.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 7, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I read a great story today about the poet Southey who was so proud of the fact that he never wasted a moment.  He studied Portuguese while he shaved.  He translated Spanish before and during breakfast and on and on.  One day a Quaker lady said to him, “Friend, when does thee do thy thinking?”   I love this story because I was early educated to believe that God would hold me accountable for every waking moment.  Perhaps so, but just quietly being still counts; watching the leaves move and shadows crawl across the lawn is so enriching.  Earlier this week I drove 900 miles on our concrete jungle of intertwining interstates on the East Coast.  There is not much time for thinking about anything other than how not to be involved in an 80 mph accident. How sweet it is to be quietly back home watching those leaves and shadows.

We must never miss the fact that God placed Eve and Adam in a garden.  I wanted to use the adjective quiet but He might have put jays and mockingbirds in Eden.  I am suspicious that some of you might be thinking I am now going to use, “Be still and know that I am God” so I won’t do that.  There is no point in telling you something you already know.  Instead I want to encourage you to put pen to paper or these days I should say fingers to keys, and write yourself a letter.  “But why?” you might ask.  Wouldn’t I already know everything I would write down?  The answer is, “No, you don’t.”  Writers often say when they are finished writing, “I didn’t know I knew that!”

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 14, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

“U.S. Olympic athletes wear uniforms.  How could we not now read Romans 13:14?  “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Dressing properly is very important.  One does not wear a tuxedo to the beach and one would not wear a t-shirt and jeans to visit the President.  Neither should one dress like that to come to worship the Lord of the Universe.  But they do and that is something that totally amazes me. The problem is one of teaching respect and apparently the failure is ours that we have not educated our youth.  However, I notice it spills out into many areas of life.  Very few young people will hold a door open for an elderly lady or drop the adjective “elderly” and it is still true.  I realize this is an “old people’s gripe” and most likely every generation says the same thing about the generation following them.

But back to the real issue.  Dress up with Christ.  With the aid of the Holy Spirit endeavor to be as much like Him as we can.  Each day we should not only be polite onto others but do battle with the desires of our sinful nature.  And should we soil the garment, what shall we do?  Put it on again tomorrow and notice something amazing.  It is clean again.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 15, 2012

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

Rogerbothwell.org