Month: August 2024

We heard him coming in the night. His car was screaming as he flashed past us going as fast as his car could go.  We were standing in a yard by a country road in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania so we got the full effect as less than five seconds later a police car with blazing twirling blue lights came in hot pursuit.  After sliding through a curve the sports car started up a sharp incline floored with exhaust pipes roaring.  I keep wondering how it ended.

Soon after, as I crawled into bed I thought about God’s incredible love for us and that He has sent the Holy Spirit to pursue us.  In John Jesus called the Holy Spirit  the Comforter, but that is to those who have accepted the gift.  To the rest He is a discomforter chasing in hot pursuit.  I find it interesting that we can actually outrun Him.  As we continue to resist His wooing voice grows fainter and fainter until we can no longer hear Him.  Jesus’ called it the Unforgiveable Sin.  God cannot forgive us if we don’t respond positively. Don’t be afraid.  If you still care, if you still want to be forgiven you are not guilty of outrunning Him.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.”  John 10:27.   The police car did not have his sirens on. God does not pursue us with noise and vibrato.  He speaks in a still voice but speak He does.  And just why the chase?  It’s all about love, which honestly I don’t begin to understand.  But then again, why does a parent fall madly in love with screaming bundle of needs we call a baby.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 14, 2017

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Occasionally I meet a Judge Judy fan.  When I ask them what it is about her show they particularly like I pretty much get the same answer, which is, they really like it when she is cutting and mean to the litigants.  They enjoy seeing her put people down. Why is that?  I find myself wondering if we have a vicarious experience when we witness someone being rude.  Is it something we want to do but can’t get up the courage to do or is it because we are trying to be a Christian and we know Jesus wouldn’t do that?

Ah, but He did.  Read Matthew 23.  There He calls the leaders of the nation “hypocrites,” “blind guides,” “tombs – clean on the outside and rotten on the inside,” “snakes,” and more.   However, I don’t think He is giving us license to go about slicing up people.  If we read carefully 99% of the time it is best for us to hold our tongues because we usually regret it if we don’t.  The only times Jesus went after someone was when He saw that person using power and privilege to hurt people who were unable to defend themselves.

If we really want to be happy and satisfied with our exchanges with others, we should follow Jimmy Durante’s counsel in his old song, “It’s so important to make someone happy. If we make someone happy we will be happy too.”  “Love is the answer.”  But let’s be realistic.  Some people are unlovable.  Some people just push our buttons and bring out the worst in us.  This is where “agape” enters the scenario.  When Jesus counsels us to love He isn’t saying “Like.”  He is saying we should wish the best for others.  We should pray for them to prosper.  We just don’t have to best friends.

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 6, 2017

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My mother never bought me clothes that fit.  The shoe lady would measure my foot and we always bought the next bigger size.  My jeans always had to be rolled up above my shoe.  I thought that was the way jeans were supposed to be worn.  I thought it looked weird when at school other kids didn’t have the roll which was always lighter in color.

In Zechariah 3 Joshua the high priest was wearing filthy garments and the angel standing with him commanded that Joshua be clothed with clean rich garments.  And in Isaiah 61:10 we read, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

That robe of righteousness we wear is always a bit too big.  There is always room to grow.  We wonder how that can be?  Perfect is perfect.  This is one of the great mysteries of Godliness.  When Jesus comes we put on incorruption.  And yet for eternity we will never stop growing.  This is the greatest wonder of all.  After a thousand years we will be more than we ever were before.  Oh, how grand we will be.  Paul wrote, “Eye hath not seen.”  In Ephesians 3:20 we read, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

So don’t even ask, just soak up the promise.  You are going to be something literally out of this world.  And if you look down at the bottom of your robe, it will be rolled up!

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 5, 2017

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It seems like more and more college graduates have little or no idea of how to use I and me in connection with other names or pronouns.  So often we hear, “Me and Tom are going to town.”  No.  It is “Tom and I are going to town.”  Or I hear, “Tom visited Ian and I.”  No.  It is “Ian and me.”  This does not have to be confusing.  There is a simple rule that allows us to be correct every time.  Mentally leave out the other person when you are about to speak.  Form the sentence and then add the other person.  “Tom visited me.”  It isn’t natural to say, “Tom visited I.”

We have always had difficulty with I.  It was I that started the rebellion in heaven.  “I will be like the Most High.  I will ascend.”  Isaiah 14:14.  It is not unusual to hear someone describe something bad that happened to another and then have them finish with, “It could have been me.”  Please don’t fail to notice, it is usually all about self.

So what is wrong with us?  It isn’t complicated. We are human. We are born selfish.  This is why “flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom.”  I Corinthians 15:50.  It would take us less than a day to spoil heaven if we went like we are now.  But, we won’t because. “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” I Corinthians 15:52

I Corinthians 15 is a magnificent treatise on death and resurrection.  Take some time today and read it very slowly.  It is a splendid discussion on what awaits us.  And best of all.  It is a gift!

Written by Roger Bothwell on Sept. 4, 2017

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I have a wonderful sister who always answers the question “Who’s there” with “Hi, it’s me.”  If I did not recognize her voice this could create a real identification problem because I know hundreds of “mes.”  It is akin to responding to the question, “Where are you?” only to receive the response, “I’m here.”  There are an infinite number of “heres” and God is in every single one of those “heres.”

At the burning bush God told Moses His name.  “I am the I am.”  It is the  perfect name for a God who is.  “I am here.  I am there.  I am everywhere.”  You cannot go anywhere He is not.  Poor old Jonah discovered that.  God was even in the belly of the fish.  Psalm 139 is so encouraging. “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hides not from thee; but the night shines as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

It doesn’t matter how dark life can become.  He sees.  He is there.  Horrible things happen to good people.  Doing everything in life as good as we can does not guarantee our hearts will not be broken.  But a day of reckoning will come.  Justice will be served.  Wrongs will be made right because the “I Am” was there and saw everything. If you ever feel abandoned and alone and wonder “Where is God?”  The answer always is “I am here.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 31, 2017

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One of the great moments in American history occurred when Stephen Hopkins, the delegate from Rhode Island, signed the Declaration of Independence.  His signature was very shaky because he suffered from palsy.  When he finished signing he said, “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.” He had just taken a pledge of his “sacred honor.” This nation was founded by “real” men.

When we look at the cross, when we see the brutally mangled body of our Savior, when we realize He could have given up at any second, when we realize we get to live forever because of His love, can we do less than pledge our sacred honor to our heavenly Father and His Son?  If Stephen Hopkins could so commit to the concept of a new kind of nation on earth, can we not so commit without trembling of heart to the idea of a universe without sin governed by its creator?

If you have an extra minute right now, please read II Corinthians 11.  It is a chronicle of Paul’s beatings, shipwrecks, stonings and snake bite.  He was an amazing super hero who knew his power was not in himself but in the one to whom he had committed his sacred honor.  He wrote in II Timothy 1:12, “I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that Day.”   Paul’s heart never trembled.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 30, 2017

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In the rotunda of our nation’s capitol building hangs John Trumbull’s famous painting depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Very little of it is historically accurate.  They were not assembled when they signed.  The first signers did so on August 2 and it took several months before all forty seven affixed their names to what was then signing a death warrant for themselves.  Only a third of the country thought independence from England was a good idea.  Washington most likely would have lost the war had it not been for the support of France.  Had he lost the war those forty-seven were dead men walking and they knew it when they signed.

As I look at the picture I cannot help but make a comparison with Jesus’ twelve disciples.  While the disciples did not sign anything they indeed committed themselves to following Jesus.  However they, unlike the forty-seven signers of the Declaration, thought they were on the road to riches and power.  Jesus was the Messiah.  He was going to rule the world.  The Roman Empire would fall and Jerusalem would be the capitol of the world. They would be well rewarded for being the first on board.

Forty-seven chose to die for a noble cause vs. twelve looking for the good life.  Three years later, after being with Jesus, they were changed men.  They too would sacrifice life for the love of right. This is an amazing story of what happens to people who commit to Jesus.  He transforms us into the people we wish to be.  If you want to be a person of sterling character, if you understand that character is destiny, make Jesus the Lord of your life and you too will have a cause so noble you would not hesitate to sacrifice life itself.  Blessed is such a person.

Written by Roger Bothwell  on August 29, 2017

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I tasted my broccoli and it needed just a tad of salt.  Taking the shaker in hand ever so gingerly I tipped it over my plate and then it happened.  The lid came off and a white cascade engulfed my broccoli.  Well, so much for that plate of food.  Fortunately for me Denny’s quickly replaced it for me at no additional cost.

As I sat there surveying the damage I thought of Jesus’ description of us.  “You are the salt of the earth.”  Matthew 5:13.  I thought of how much damage can be done by people I call “Super Christians.”  We have all met them.  They are the ones who don’t just add a tad of Christ-likeness but engulf us with holy vocabulary and remind us every other sentence that God has told them to do certain things.  Can I be honest with you?  I find these people to be obnoxious and so over the top I never want to be like them or even near them.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”  I’m very sure Jesus is speaking about being the kindest, most caring, most helpful, most unselfish people around.  These are the people who make us feel as if we ever needed help we would come to them.  These are the “Real Christians.”  Actions do speak louder than words. We do need salt.  We can’t live without it.  But it has to be added ever so delicately. If it jumps out at you there is too much.

Just today someone called and asked if there was anything at all he could do to help me.  I explained that my neighbor across the street mows my lawn, so he said, “Make a list and I will be there.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 28, 2017

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One of my favorite childhood authors was Sam Campbell.  He lived in the forest and wrote seventeen wonderful books about the animals that surrounded his home. I would read about his raccoons, porcupines and skunks and wish someday I could live in such a place. There was Inky, Salt and Pepper and many other furry characters.  Now decades later we have a raccoon that lives in a really big cherry tree outside our back window.  I have named him Itchy because the poor thing is almost constantly scratching and rubbing himself on a branch.  He must be hosting a huge colony of fleas and ticks.

If there is such a thing as big sins and little sins, the little sins have to be like fleas.  They are constantly with us, irritating not only ourselves but those about us.  Bragging (one of mine), narcissism, overeating, jealousy and nit-picking others faults are just a small sample.  They aren’t big enough to totally spoil one’s life, but real enough to steal away the quality of life.

They remind us of the woman who washed Jesus feet and dried them with her hair.  In describing her Jesus said, “I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.”  She had sins like a bad case of fleas.  But she had something else that was so much better.  She loved much.  If Jesus were speaking of us, He could say our sins are many and that they are forgiven.  But could He also say that we loved much.  I wish.  What a great thing to say about someone.  Put your name in the following sentence.  “……. has many sins.  But she/he loves much.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 25, 2017

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Ever so cautiously I pulled up behind a car to wait for the signal to turn green.  I don’t ordinarily respond to bumper stickers but I was feeling good and when I read the sticker in front of me I responded.  I’m sure you have all seen this one.  It read, “Honk if you love Jesus.”  So I honked.  The next thing I saw was a hand sticking out the sunroof of the car giving me the international sign of friendship.  Wow.   I felt betrayed.

Betrayal is an interesting emotion.  Betrayal comes in many forms and our reactions depend on the nature of the violation.  Sometimes we are angry when a so called friend steals from us.  However, the real pain comes when love has been violated.  I cannot think of any more betrayal more severe than when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.  Actually the Greek tense in that story indicates that Judas kissed Jesus several times.  Then there was Peter cursing and saying, “I don’t know the man.”  Wow.  This came from a man who just a few hours before proclaimed his extreme love.  I have learned never to say I would never do a certain thing because under the wrong circumstances I would.  Those are moments of self-loathing.

However, just as Jesus forgave Peter (He would have also forgiven Judas). He will forgive us and the self-loathing can vanish because, after all, we are sons and daughters of the King of the Universe. It just doesn’t get any better than that.  And we will always remember that our perfection is His.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 24, 2017

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