Month: May 2023

When Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse the Southern army had 200,000 well armed, well fed, well equipped soldiers.  The Union army had not delivered a final fatal blow on the battlefield.  Historical scholars maintain the war came to an end because the will to continue was broken.  Confederate soldiers were receiving letters from home encouraging them to desert.  General Lee saw a strengthening Northern army and decided there had been enough blood shed.  It was time to quit.

Surrender is a difficult thing.  Surrender rips the heart out of pride.  Surrender acknowledges someone or something is bigger or stronger.  Surrender says, “I can’t do it.”  While surrender is often the logical, sensible thing to do often times pride keeps people from doing it and useless senseless carnage continues.

It is so fascinating that surrender is the key to victory in the Christian walk.  We finally acknowledge we cannot be perfect.  If we understand the depth of sin we own up to the cold hard truth that we cannot even go a day or an hour without sinning.  At this point Jesus is eager to step in and grant us victory.  He proclaims us faultless and sends the Holy Spirit into our lives and real growth finally begins.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 27, 2000

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

It was inevitable that somewhere in the infinite stream of eternity God would make creatures in His image.  It is the natural fruit of love.  Intelligence longs to communicate with intelligence.  Angels, as wonderful as they are, are not quite the same as humans.  Psalm 8:5 is translated from the Hebrew that man was made lower than the angels, yet the Hebrew word for angels can also be translated Gods.  In Hebrews 2:7 we are told that Jesus, by becoming one of us, was then lower than the angels, but could that not mean fallen man is now lower than angels?

The Bible is the story of fall and restoration.  I Corinthians 6:3 tells us that we shall someday judge angels. Could that mean we will be restored to our original higher place?  I realize at this point I am venturing into areas that can be disputed and I do not enjoy disputing the finer points of Biblical interpretation.  So I will just say let’s wait and see what is the truth.

What I do know is God wanted us because of His great love.  Nothing is more lasting than love because nothing is more pregnant than love.  It is the ultimate state of being.  God is love. I John 4.   Pierre-Simon Laplace, one of the greatest mathematicians ever, was being consoled on his deathbed with a recital of all his significant accomplishments.  He even posited the existence of black holes long before others. He told his consolers that his accomplishments were not that important to which they asked what was important.  “Love,” he responded with one of his final breaths.

It was love that conceived us, love that sustains us, love that forgives us, and love that will restore us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 11, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

So why do I feel anxious when passing through electronic detectors at retail stores?   I know I didn’t steal anything.  I was never even tempted.  It’s worse when I haven’t purchased anything.  I imagine the clerks think I just picked up something and didn’t bother going to the checkout.  I hold my breath as I pass through and only start breathing again once safely on the other side.  I imagine having the alarms going off and being descended upon by a SWAT team. Am I mentally ill with a built-in neurotic sense of guilt?

I can only imagine what it would be like showing up before the judgment bar of God.  He can read my mind!  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we are guilty even if we think about wrong.  “I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”  Ouch.  Can I please have some extra mercy because of what I thought about that guy who passed me, cut in and slowed down?

Actually the idea of “extra mercy” is redundant and ridiculous.   Mercy is mercy.  It is adequate all by itself. Nobody needs extra.  Not even Hitler.  Paul wrote, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”  Sometimes this concept overwhelms me with its all encompassing scope.  I am tempted to think, “This is just too good to be true.”   That’s why the story is called the Gospel.  It is Good News.  No.  It’s the Best News.  So let us go boldly through the electronic detectors.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 9, 2016

P.O. Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

This evening was my last class of the spring semester.  It is a sweet yet bitter experience.  It is sweet because in my laziness, next week I will not have to prepare lectures.  It is bitter because I will miss the continuation of friendships begun.  After I turn in grades and allow a few months to pass, many names will fade away.  We were created for fellowship and I long to know more about my students who have dedicated their lives to be teachers.  In the grocery store or at the Dairy Queen I will see them and not remember their names.  It seems like the space in my mind where their names were stored will be emptied and refilled with the names of new students.  I hope, when and if we meet, they will be kind enough to remind me of their names.

Paul is so encouraging in First Corinthians one .  He struggles to remember those he baptized.  Thank you Paul for being so human and so honest.

We can be so happy and confident that God will never forget our names.  If He knows how many hairs we have our names will be easy for Him.  In Revelation we are told He has new names for us.  They will be names appropriate to match who we really are.  They must be like Indian names; Flying Eagle, Brave Bear, Running Fox.  I’m not so sure this is a good idea.  I don’t want to be called Frightened Kitty.  Perhaps He will be kind and allow me to continue to be Roger.  I’m used to that.

He loves us so I am sure whatever He wills will thrill and enthrall us.  After all He is our Father.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 8, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org

 

Just as soon as we say anything about people we are wrong.  As good as our observations have been, as careful as we have been about not exaggerating nor understating, there are exceptions to what we have said.  One of the courses I teach is child development.  I have to begin the first class of the course each semester by explaining that I will be speaking in generalities and statistical norms, because there are most always individuals outside two standard deviations on either side of the mean.

Having prefaced that I now state that the people with the finest characters I have known are those who have had major periods of suffering in their lives.  It almost seems like stress and suffering are the tuition we pay for life’s education.  At this point you might be thinking that you know a wonderful person who has had one of those almost perfect lives.  If so, that is the exception I was speaking about.

Stress and suffering not only help us appreciate those days when we do not suffer they also better enable us to empathize with others.  I have often wondered if those who have not suffered can only sympathize.  Think of the great heroes in Scripture.  The Bible is one tale of suffering after another.  Joseph being sold by his brothers, Moses in exile and then having to put up with the children of Israel, David’s betrayal by Saul and Job’s horror, are but a few.  Hebrews 11 is a list of suffering saints. We could speak of Jesus’ suffering but His character was always pure.

God’s goal for us is not that we should live a continuous life of ease but that we should become all that we can be and that often requires tuition.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 7, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org

I just finished listening to an interview with a well known jazz saxophonist.  I was intrigued by his description of “The Zone.”   “The Zone” is a state of mind when a jazz artist improvises without conscious thought of what the next note or phrase will be.  It just flows from inside into this grand moment of musical purity.  I have heard golfers speak of rounds when they were in “The Zone.”  They couldn’t hit a bad shot.  Everything was working.

One of my favorite authors wrote the following about our walk with Jesus.  “All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses.”*   It’s the “Jesus Zone.”

I was short with someone today.  I was irritated that my auto insurance agency, not a huge one, did not know who I was despite my being their customer for twenty years.  I told them I was going to call “Flo” or the “Gecko.”  I was in a zone but not the zone I want to be in.  My first impulse was neither genteel nor positive.  So, where’s the “Jesus Zone” and how do I get there?  Just because I somehow manage to write a devotional almost every day does not at all mean I am in “The Zone.”   Quite to the contrary, I, like so many of you, am struggling with the irritants of modern life.  If I am not respected I rarely give respect back.  Maybe someday.  Someday.  I’ll be sure to tell you when I find it.

*E. G. White

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 6, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org

 

It was such a beautiful day I decided to sit on the patio and read.    Our patio also has bird feeders which we faithfully keep well stocked.  But my presence was not appreciated by the birds.  A catbird, newly back from the south, sparrows and chickadees took it upon themselves to scold me for “violating” their space.  It was difficult focusing on the text of my book because of the avian ado.  I finally gave up and came back inside.  Strange they never scold me when I am filling their feeders.

I think this story illustrates itself.  God feeds us. “Give us this day our daily bread.” But there are times we really don’t want Him bothering us.  We have lives to lead.  We want to do it ourselves.  We use the power of choice that He has given us to forge our own path.  Forget the “He leads me in paths of righteousness.”   We are so like the birds.  Keep the food coming and then go away.

Often times when I officiated at a wedding I made a perfunctory appearance at the reception and then disappeared.   I noted that my presence was stifling the party.   I have also listened to people complain when times grew difficult but never heard those same people being thankful when times were good.  Being thankful is such a mentally healthy thing to be.  When we are thankful we are aware of the good things that we have or are happening.  When we are thankful it is difficult to be pessimistic which is an illness.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Philippians 4:6

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 5, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org

 

Patches is gone.  Patches is a beautiful Australian sheep dog who for at least eight years has been our dog Jazz’s friend.  Yesterday Patches’ family moved away.  He was always outside.  Even in the midst of winter he didn’t want to go in the house. Each day on our walk around the block Jazz stopped and exchanged sniffs.  This evening we stopped as she looked for him.  She sniffed everywhere and let out a few whiney sounds but alas no Patches.  I tried to explain to her but my Labadorish is not very good.  I was frustrated as I just couldn’t find the yelps and barks to tell her what happened.

As we continued on I wondered if God is sometimes frustrated with us as He tries to help us understand loss.  I’m thankful He does speak English, Swedish, Spanish and every possible language.  He even speaks Labadordish.   Perhaps He will help her understand Patches is gone.

As for us, God struggles to enlighten our dull minds.  He, who sees the end from the beginning, understands the grand picture and how each event in our lives goes into making us who we are.  We, who sometimes think we are so smart, are very limited.  Infinity, sin, love, and hate are only vaguely understood as we grapple with the great issues of eternity.  It is so encouraging to know that someday we will see God face to face and with our transformed minds (see I Corinthians 15) we will begin to understand the hows and whys of our short stay here.

I wonder how often Jazz will have to pass Patches’ home before she ceases to stop and sniff.  How long does it take for us to stop caring and wondering about the loss of those we care about?  I hope never.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 4, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org

 

Hummingbirds arrived at our house today.  We did not yet have a feeder in place on the breakfast room window but the hummingbirds came to the very place at the window where the feeder had been last year.   I continue to be amazed.  They are looking good.  I should think they would be tattered and ratty looking after their journey of thousands of miles.  I wonder where they spent the winter.  They were smart to leave this year.  Did they cross the Caribbean and lounge about on a Costa Rican beach while we shoveled snow?

Humans seem to be superior animals but we don’t have all the gifts.  I could never make that trip without a jet plane.  It would be a challenge for me to find the same house and go to the same spot on the same window.  My dog with ear flaps that cover her ears can hear the mailman coming several houses away while I hear nothing.  Bees can go back to the hive and via a sophisticated dance tell the other bees where to find flowers.  I should not be so very smug about being human.

William Bryant said it so well in “To a Waterfowl.”

There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,–
The desert and illimitable air,–
Lone wandering, but not lost.

He, who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.

In Matthew 6 Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 6, 2014

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

rogerbothwell.org

I was looking out the window of St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA this noon peering across a street at Worcester’s Korean War Memorial when a car pulled up to the curb.   A sixtyish looking man got out, went around to the passenger’s door and helped an elderly lady across the walkway to the large wall inscribed with the names of Worcester’s sacrifice so many years ago.  Long she stood looking at a particular name and then leaning forward she kissed it, turned to go back to the car, fumbled in her purse as the younger man guided her back.  I almost felt guilty that by watching I had violated a sacred moment.

Often I have heard people say once in heaven we will not remember those we have lost.  How can that be?   Jesus wears the scars forever so we do not forget.  Forgetting would mean that all of this is in vain.  The nation of Israel has holocaust museums so we do not forget lest it happen again.  Well, I am told, we just wouldn’t remember specific people.  Really?   The Kingdom is about loving more not loving less. If one of my loved ones is not there I will understand why, that is what the records are for.  They are not for God.  They are for us that we should understand God’s love and justice.

If one of my loved is not with me I will still love them.  I will kiss their name inscribed in the record books.   We sometimes say time heals all wounds.  We will have all the time that makes forever. Yes, our tears will be wiped away.  My wife and I have a son buried in Iowa.  After fifty years we still love him but we do not cry when we speak of him.  Should heaven be any different?

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 1, 2015

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

rogerbothwell.org