Month: December 2023

They start the day after Thanksgiving.  Radio stations devoted entirely to holiday music fill our lives with traditional sounds.  There seem to be two kinds.  The first kind play the Rudolf, Jingle Bells and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer genre.  The second kind lean toward the more sacred or the more classical.  Sometimes I think I cannot bear another playing of Feliz Navidad.  My apologies to my Spanish speaking friends.  I really did like it the first 300 times.  One of my favorite songs of the second kind is The Evening Prayer lullaby from Hansel and Gretel.  It really doesn’t have a strong connection to Christmas but is often played during the holidays.

The lyrics are as follows, “When at night I go to sleep, fourteen angels watch do keep: two my head are guarding, two my feet are guiding, two are on my right hand, two are on my left hand, two who warmly cover, two who o’er me hover, two to whom ‘tis given to guide my steps to heaven.”  I encourage you to listen to it on any one of many renditions on YouTube.com.

This world is not a fair place but our heavenly Father watches and cares and will someday make all things right.  Christmas is to remind us of that Father who gave us His only Son to mend this broken world.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 21, 2016

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When our grandson arrived this morning, he had just driven all night from North Carolina.  As would be expected he immediately fell asleep.  Silently I picked up his glasses noting that like most college boys his glasses were fingerprint smeared.  When he awoke and put them on his world was vivid and clear because grandpa did his thing.  Jesus tells us to call God, Father, but on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel God looks more like a grandfather.  My thoughts paraphrased Jesus’ words, “If we as human grandfathers know how to clean our children’s glasses, how much more will our Heavenly Grandfather enable us to see more clearly.”   Matthew 7:11 – sort of.

In Proverbs 4:18 Solomon wrote, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.”   Isn’t it interesting that as we age our physical eyesight grows dim but our understanding of life and its challenges becomes clearer?   I once heard an aged man say, “If I had it to do over again I wouldn’t change a thing.”  Honestly, I thought, how could you be so dull?  Didn’t you learn anything along the way?  You had to have made mistakes.  We all do.  Would you really do it all the same?  The wise learn from their mistakes.

Life is all about learning.  Eternal life is all about learning forever.  I have many really bright friends. I can hardly wait to talk to them when they are 200 or 300 or more.  I know I will be more wowed by their comprehension and cognitive powers because I am wowed now. Until then I pray that our Heavenly Grandpa will continue to daily clean the smudges off the glasses of our minds.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 20, 2016

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One afternoon when our older son was only three years old we were heading south from Nairobi when suddenly a giraffe started running alongside our car.  Its lanky trot was beautiful to behold when Eric exclaimed, “Never in all my life have I seen something like that.”  Well, me either.  But my lifespan and his were just a tad different.   Jesus’ promise to us of eternal life (see John 3:16) presents an interesting possible scenario.  We are three thousand years old when we get to see an amazing super nova explosion. Turning to a traveling companion who predates us by a million or so years I say, “Never in all my life have I ever seen something like that.”  Laughing at my innocent youth he says, “Actually, neither have I. ”  Didn’t Paul say something to Timothy about not allowing others to despise our youth?

So much about life is relative.  I have a friend with a very old chocolate lab.  The gray muzzled guy has had a long life of sixteen years.  Jesus pointed out a poor widow who gave a mite to the temple and told us she gave so much more than the rich who gave out of their wealth. While teaching in Russia one of my students invited us home.  He and his wife were very proud of their home.  It was a very large metal culvert converted for living by building a wall on each end.  For them it was a mansion compared to most of their neighbors.

The next time we are feeling pretty good about our goodness we need to remind ourselves that Jesus was perfect and our righteousness is like filthy rags.  (Isaiah 64:6)  But the good news is despite that.  He covers us!!  Merry Christmas to us!

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 18, 2016

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When I got to work this morning I spotted a leftover bagel on my desk from the previous day.  It felt pretty hard as I raised it to my mouth.  I was amazed at how quickly it had turned into a rock.  Just 24 hours before it was nice and soft and just plain yummy.  Yet this morning I had to gnaw through what seemed to be a concrete shell before finding anything near soft.  Giving up I dropped it in my metal wastebasket and was jolted by a major clunk as it hit bottom.  How could anything so nice turn so quickly?

When I was a pastor I saw people marry the most wonderful person in the world only to wake up the next year with a monster in their bed.

In the case of the bagel it was all about environment.  Had I protected it I’m sure it would still have been edible.  I had not. The dry winter air sucked the moisture right out of that ring-shaped bread roll.  As a psychology professor I think there is much truth here for how we turn out.

Environment is extremely important to the final product of a human being.  We can be fortunate and be in a nurturing place that fosters good character development and the use of our talents.  Unfortunately the opposite can be true and people around us can suck out all the goodness we ever had.  Good people can turn stale.  But the reverse happens all the time.  Selfish backbiting people give their hearts to Jesus and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit transforms them into human treasures.  We cannot over emphasize the power we have over who we become.  While children cannot choose who they have to be around adults can.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 9, 2008

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Is it just me or do you also have difficulty getting things back after you have loaned them out?   If I had kept records through the years I’m sure I would have less than a 20% return rate.  That 20% would be money.  Books are something else.  I don’t understand how really good, honest, trustworthy people can see a book on their table and not have a compulsion to return it.  Alas, I have adopted the concept that once something is loaned, it’s gone.  It is always a serendipity if it returns.   All of which, reminds me of John 3:16.

God did not loan us Jesus.  He gave Him to us. He is ours and we are His.  He didn’t come with a library card dated return by 31 AD.  He wasn’t a loaner because we were being repaired.  We were totaled.  We needed something permanent.  Now here’s where it gets really good.  We were given the top of the line.  This was a gift that couldn’t get any better.  Just read here from Hebrews 1 to see what an extra-ordinary gift we have received.  “God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: . .”

That tiny baby in Bethlehem was Emmanuel from the moment of His conception.  God did not prepare a vessel and fill it at birth.  It was God Himself from the very beginning.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 16, 2016

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Tonight was the last class for this semester.  We traditionally have pizza.  So there I was coming from the far end of the parking lot carrying seven extra large pizzas and my book bag filled with all that stuff teachers accumulate during the semester.  Before I got to the building I was puffing.  As I leaned on the pad that automatically opens the doors one of my female students also got to the door.  She said, “Can I help you carry some pizza?”   This was a “girl!”  Really now, I needed to protect my masculinity and as I started to say, “No thanks. I’ve got” my brain hijacked my stupidity and I blurted out, “Oh, yes please!”  I was about to allow my foolish pride kill me.  Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before a fall, might have taken on meaning all of its own.

All of my life I have heard that pride is a sin.  But I have come to believe that should be qualified.  I have yet to discern how being proud of others can be harmful.  I am very proud of my sons.  I am super proud of my wife.  I am proud of my very obedient dog.  If being ashamed is the opposite of being proud then Jesus is proud of us.  Hebrews 2:11 says, “So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”  The “them” in that sentence is you and me.  How could it be that Jesus is proud of us?  It’s an overwhelming thought.  Again I think I need to qualify this by saying, “Sometimes.”  It would be smug to say otherwise.  There are some moments that are not so great.  He must be proud of what we will become someday.  His love knows no bounds.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 15, 2016

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It’s that time of year when college teachers really do work.  Finals, essays and other projects pile up in a seemingly endless heap.  While pondering what grade to give a particular student I suddenly remembered being on the receiving end of zero grade.  There was attached note from the prof.  “This was an exceedingly interesting five pages worth the above grade.  Thanks for the entertainment.”  It was the only time I have ever struck out so poorly.  Usually one hits a foul ball or two before being out.  This was three whiffs.

Now decades later I would like to speak on behalf of the value of a zero.  A zero stops you from continuing on a pointless path.  A zero is a great place holder.  I love zeros in my checkbook when they follow a prime number.  The more zeros the better as long as they are left of the decimal point.  When I was little I loved the equation “x divided by zero.”  It meant I got the whole pie.

There is a zero all of us should covet.  It is a capital zero at the top of the list of our sins.  Each of us has tallied up an impressive record of misdeeds, but not to worry.  God has promised “”I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”  Isaiah 43:25.  That’s a great zero.  If you are looking to receive a truly marvelous Christmas present this year, please take advantage of this offer.  It doesn’t come wrapped in pretty paper.  It comes to us blood stained from Calvary.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 13, 2016

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On our walk today we came upon Santa.  He had painted the big letters UPS on the side of his brown sleigh.  I think that stands for Ubernorth Pole Service.   I’m glad he got an early start this year because if what I saw is any indication of how busy he is, he is slammed.  I kid you not.  He stopped at more than half the houses.  My dog and I eventually passed him and turned the corner before he did.  He even had an elf with him and we were taking time to sniff along the way.  Well, at least one of us was sniffing.  Often after a good inhale she looks up at me trying to understand why I am not down there enjoying the pure essence of it all.

As we rounded the corner I pondered about how wonderful it is that our heavenly Father is omnipresent; talk about orders needing to be filled and delivered.  Our prayers and those of billion of beings on each of billions of planets are continually reaching His ears.  The sheer cacophony of languages asking for something all at the same time would totally overwhelm a lesser being.  But have no fear.  He is more than up to the task.  He is even anxious for increased attention from us.  He loves it when we trust Him to care for us.

When speaking about Jesus, Paul wrote in Colossians 1, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”  How marvelous to think that He and the Father are tuned into us all the time.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 15, 2015

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Tis the season for Christmas programs.  Our schedules are filled with The Messiah, Readings of the Night Before Christmas and many children’s choirs.  We passed a church this morning that had so many cars in the parking lot they were parked four deep.  It would be a while before some people got out.

Some time ago I saw a choir where the children knew all the words and were spot on coming in and out when they were up.  But there was something wrong.  Something was missing.  And then it hit me.  The children were not smiling and there was little joy being expressed.  They might as well have been singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm.   The joy of Christmas isn’t so much the technical prowess of the choir but the emotion expressed.  The children were prepared in their heads but not their hearts.

Oh Holy Night is only moving when the singers are moved.  The Hallelujah Chorus is only wonderful when you cannot keep yourself in your seat but have to stand, not because it is convention, but because God is so great and so mighty.  I have to say that this weekend I did hear and watch a mother and daughter sing a duet about Jesus Our King that caused me to well up; it was so full of love.

Jesus really is Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, The Prince of Peace.  I heard someone sing wonderful counselor.   He is a wonderful counselor but that is not what Isaiah was saying.  Jesus is Wonderful period.  Wonderful is not an adjective modifying counselor.  Wonderful is His name.  He fills our hearts with His splendor and love and majesty and it is beyond comprehension.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 14, 2015

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Long I stood pining over the Oreo section.  When I was little there were only Oreos.  Now the selection is wonderful. There are double stuff, triple stuff, orange flavored, mint flavored, thin ones (Why would anyone want a thin one?) vanilla flavored and then I saw it – Mega Stuff.  Wow – instant salivation.  But, Christmas is almost here with all its sweets.  More sugar is NOT what my house nor my body needs.  But it was MEGA STUFF!  What if they were only for the holidays?  Maybe it’s now or never!  (My family doctor is going to read this and just shake his head in frustration.)

I never ever dreamed there could be too much stuff between those two wonderful cookies whether chocolate or vanilla.  Perhaps it’s my age. But I twisted off the top cookie. (Either could be the top.) and went for it.  Instant satisfaction followed by “Ohhh, that’s too much.”  Alas, I should have known.  There can be too much of anything except one thing.  (I’ll get to the exception in a moment.)

I am so dull.  I should have remembered Proverbs 25:16.  I just read it about a week ago. “If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit.”  And there is Titus 2:2.  “Teach the older men to be temperate.”  Why not the younger men and women?  You don’t have to teach older women to be temperate.  Grandmas are wise.

Now there is one thing we can always have in excess.  Yea, two things.  Love and mercy can never be overdone.  “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2   Awesome!

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 12, 2016

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