Author: Ian Bothwell

On occasion I hear people talking about how very sinful and rotten the world is becoming.  Since I took a ton of history classes for my undergrad degree I’m afraid I have to disagree.  The world has always been a rotten place.   People didn’t live in walled cities just because they liked the architecture.  It is true the 20th century was the bloodiest on record but that is because the population of the world had grown so there were more people to kill.   The rate of killing was the same as before.

I point this out not to defend the state of the world.  It’s bad.  And I don’t point this out because I want to paint a dismal picture.   I’m talking about this because I want to herald the glory of Romans 5 where Paul says, “. . . where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”   It’s a wonderful promise about the wonder of wonder-filled grace.  In the paraphrase of the New Testament, The Message, grace in this passage is called “aggressive forgiveness.”

I love the imagery that floods my brain.  I see Jesus, via the Holy Spirit, wooing us, chasing us, and almost begging us to accept His grace.  Like a lover hunting down his passion Jesus is in hot pursuit of sinners.   According to Paul, the more we sin, the more opportunity for Jesus to extend grace.  In chapter 6 Paul then asks the hypothetical question, “Should we then sin more so God can have more joy in forgiving us.”   Paul points out how nonsensical that is because when forgiven we live in a new state of delight and we would never want to go back.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 25, 2017

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There is a poignant passage at the beginning of Romans 9.  Paul was thinking of his friends, his family and all his people.  The prospect of them being lost and not sharing in the joy of salvation and the freedom from the burden of the law spurred him to write, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race. . .”

The more we become like Jesus the more our capacity for love grows.  Love is not stagnant.  It is a living vibrant part of us that cares for and reaches out to those about us.  It is possible, as it was with Paul, that when we consider the prospect of not having our children and grandchildren with us in heaven, our love for them would mirror Paul’s feelings in Romans 9.   The more we love the more we would be willing to give up heaven for the surety that our loved ones would have it.

The good news is not only is this impossible but also not necessary.  First of all, it is an indication of how much we value Jesus and our loved ones.  The very fact that we feel this way indicates our growth into His likeness. Jesus could not bear not having such persons with Him.  The more we love the more we become like Him and the more we become like Him the more we love.  It is a marvelously upward spiral.  Secondly, Jesus loves our loved ones even more than we and He is already doing everything possible to woo them into joining us.

Blessed is the person who has such love and has people they love that much.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 24, 2017

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It’s a dark day for my vegetarian friends and colleagues.  You have not been as meatless as you perhaps thought.  I clearly remember the day I was riding my motorcycle and had some kind of bug go straight through my mouth into my esophagus and down it went.  I had no chance to spit it out.  Alas.  Well, according to the National Geographic the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits 60 aphids in 100 grams of broccoli and 550 insect fragments per average box of pasta.  So much for spaghetti with a salad.   Until 2012 Starbucks colored their strawberry smoothies with a compound of pulverized insects.  They got to call it “natural.”

The truth is we are created to be amazingly tolerant of all manner of food.  Eating certain things is often more difficult to get something past our brain than our lips.

I am so thankful for Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”   Healthful living and a nutritious diet is very important.  Our bodies according to I Corinthians 6 are temples of the Holy Spirit and we should treat them accordingly. But we should never fall into the heresy of believing our diet contributes toward our salvation.  It does not even to the extent of one iota.  Our salvation is a gift of God made possible by Jesus’ death on Calvary.

So please, enjoy a good plate of spaghetti and be filled with righteousness, peace and joy.  Eternal life starts now.  Enjoy being a citizen of God’s kingdom.  I actually like broccoli.  Wow, I can’t believe I just said that!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 23, 2017

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While sitting in a hospital waiting room I watched an elderly couple come in for an appointment.  He was in a wheel chair and was looking very frail.  When a nurse came and wheeled him down a long corridor and he was out of sight, his wife broke down in tears.  Almost instantly the lady sitting beside me hurried to her side and softly spoke to her asking if she could pray with her.  After the prayer, while they were holding hands, the lady revealed that she and her husband had been married for over 65 years.  Then she looked at the lady who prayed with her and asked, “Are you a Catholic?  I am.”  The prayer lady put her arm around the elderly lady and said, “No. But that really doesn’t matter right now.  We both love Jesus.”

Paul wrote, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  I don’t think Paul would mind if I paraphrased his masterpiece and say, “And now these three exist: doctrine, church membership and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

Truly living life to its fullest is understanding the necessities of priorities.  Doctrine can be important.  Church affiliation might be important. But love puts them in the shade because love shines.   Love brightens life.  Love tears away our manmade barriers.  The moments we love are the moments the light of heaven surrounds us with real truth.

I found myself wishing I was the one who had taken the initiative to reach out to the old lady.  I wasn’t.  But thank God there was someone in the room who did.  We must never be too shy to love.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 20, 2017

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I watched a little boy about 8 years old walk over to his little sister about 6 years old and push her down and then walk away.  What happened next was fascinating.  His dad grabbed him and said, “Why did you do that?”  And of course he said, “I don’t know.”  To which his father responded, “Yes, you do.  Now tell me.”  And all the boy could do was shrug his shoulders.

I found myself being sympathetic with the little boy because I believed him.  I really don’t think he knew why he had done it.  Humans are amazingly complex beings and we react to a multitude of causes.  He probably pushed her down because of a host of reasons, none of which he understood.  He just did it.  Perhaps the best reason was because he was human.

We are sinners – all of us.  So why do we allow our selfishness to overrule our reason?   Paul struggled with this.  He wrote in Romans 7, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”  Most of us have most likely at some time or other parroted Paul by exclaiming, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

I am so happy Paul did have an answer to that question.  “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”   I don’t know why I do some of the things I do.  But Jesus covers me.  Praise God for Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”   Awesome!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 19, 2017

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I just finished reading an article in the New York magazine about an actress regarded as being critic proof.  I wondered if that meant she was so good no one would dare criticize her or if it meant she was able to not pay attention when people did so.  Criticism can be difficult to handle, especially when one is trying one’s best.  After I preach I can have a hundred people compliment me and one person criticize.  I will forget the compliments and obsess for the rest of the day on that one criticism.

Was it difficult for Jesus, who was perfect, to receive criticism?  He got lots of it.  “The Jews answered him, ‘Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?’” John 8.  “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” Luke 15.   But, He also received recommendations from some interesting sources.  “Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, ‘I find no fault in this man.’”

The reality is we will never please everyone.  There will always be someone able to fault us.  It’s a way for them to bolster themselves and cope with their own flaws. If they can make us look bad then they, by comparison, don’t look so bad.  In the meantime with God’s help we will reach for the goal Jesus set for us in the Sermon on the Mount.  “Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  Obviously we will never make that on our own.  But I John 1:9 is such a blessing to read.  “If we confess our sins He is able to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”  Don’t you love that?

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 17, 2017

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I do not want to diminish the value of truth.  Without truth we wallow in false ideas resulting in confusion and disorientation.  Truth gives us a foundation for unity and purpose.  Truth gives us a burden of light to tell the world.  But without character and personal and corporate values our truth becomes irrelevant.   More important than being right is being like Jesus in the way we relate to others.  Kindness, unselfishness, generosity, thoughtfulness and empathy are of supreme importance when it comes to the Christian walk.  Jesus did not say, “Hereby shall men know you are my disciples if you are more theologically pure than others.”   His emphasis was on the love we have for each other.

Fairness and the recognition that God created Eve from Adam’s side and not from his foot is symbolic that gender equality is a value and a Biblical truth.  When Paul speaks of a woman submitting to her husband, he also speaks of a man loving his wife as Jesus loved the church and died for it.  That is potent. See Ephesians 5.

When people speak of us and the church we belong to, is it not better for them to recognize us as loving Christians more than commenting on some unique belief we have that distances us from the main body of Christ.  Our values are constantly on display by the lives we live.  Paul said it so well in I Corinthians 13.  “Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (love), I am nothing.”   Faith and hope are important but love is the greatest of all.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 14, 2017

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When one of my neighbors told me the city had an easement to put a road between his house and his neighbor I thought that meant the city owned that strip of land and was allowing my neighbor to use it.  Therefore, I thought that’s a great illustration regarding us and heaven.  We accept Jesus and become daughters and sons of God and then, as heirs, we have an easement, a legal right, to an acre of God’s Kingdom with a home designed just for us.  I was so wrong.  It is usually worthwhile to actually look up definitions of words.

An easement does not give the city ownership of my neighbor’s land.  The city only has the right to use my neighbor’s land.  Ownership remains with my neighbor.  (Because he still owns it, he still has to pay taxes on it.  That is very clever of the city.)  As heirs of the kingdom, (See Galatians 4 and Romans 8.) we do not receive an easement while God retains ownership.  It is much better than that.  We actually become owners of our own place.  It is ours.  I was going to say, therefore we can use it anyway we please.  But there are most likely zoning laws so our neighbors can’t have any rusted out Fords or Chevys on cement blocks in their front yards.

I want to once again use Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:32.  It is our Father’s good pleasure to GIVE us the kingdom.   We do not inherit an easement.  We inherit ownership. One of the best things to enjoy is there will be no annual property tax.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 11, 2017

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It is often said, “The best revenge is to live well.”   You would be a very unusual person if you lived your whole life without having someone really not like you.  The best way to handle it is to prosper and be happy.   Proverbs 25:22 talks about heaping coals of fire on their heads.  The way to do that is to be super kind and generous.  Romans 12:19 talks about vengeance belonging to God.  Surely the very best vengeance God could take against His enemy, Lucifer, is to save us.  God loves us.  Lucifer’s only use for us is to cause our heavenly Father pain.  When you love someone their pain is yours.

Lucifer would love to have us join him in eternal loss, not because he thinks we are good company and fun to be with, but to snatch us away from the one who loves us dearly.  God’s vengeance is to snatch us back.  The more precious we are the more pain inflicted.  So just how precious are we?  We are so precious that a wooden cross divided human history into two.

It might be a bit startling to contemplate the endless battle for one’s soul.  But the reality is if we want to participate in this drama by inflicting pain on God just decide to die with Lucifer.  His day is coming.  If we want to give God incredible joy and give Him a true sense of vengeance accept His gift.  Join sides with the winner.  God will win.  There is no question about that.  It is just a matter of time.  God’s vengeance against Lucifer is having you on His side.  That’s sweet to Him.  Actually it is bittersweet because He also loves Lucifer.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 10, 2017

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Because I was sitting on the platform in church this weekend I was able to carefully look at the faces of the assembled worshipers.  I am so glad we are not like birds, where individuals within a species all look alike.  (At least to me.)  People are wonderfully unique.  Starting with my wife who I think is stunningly perfect, my eyes roamed to a Latina behind her who was beautifully perfect. Beside her was a balding middle aged man looking perfect.  Two rows back, there was an African American family with two of the most perfect children one could ever find.  Mom and dad were also perfect.

How was it that so many perfect people were assembled in one place?  Simple.  We had just finished the worship service prayer where the suppliant requested God’s forgiveness for the congregation.  God is so good.  He is so pleased to grant us the merciful benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice.  Jesus said in Luke 12:32, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”  Our wish to be perfect is God’s command.  Really!  It is not arrogant to think that we should be able to command God to do something because in this one important issue it makes Him happy.

What I found to be so satisfying as I looked up and down the pews was the perfection of the assembled shone from the inside out.  People glowed and when people glow they are beautiful.  They didn’t need perfect cheekbones and perfectly white straight teeth.  They had a perfection so much better.  They were perfect in Jesus and it doesn’t get any better than that.  Ever.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 9, 2017

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