Author: Ian Bothwell

 

 

Some days ago I mentioned I had been ill.   I am now feeling a bit better.  I have watched some of the Price Is Right.  I could not help but notice as each person came to spin the big wheel Drew would wish each one good luck.  On other shows I heard the emcee say such things as, “Good luck to both (or all) of you” when there were two or more contestants.  What does that mean?  There is only going to be one winner.  Therefore, saying “Good Luck” to both or all contestants is meaningless.

If we are in a situation where there can be multiple winners, it makes great sense. I could say to a congregation in church, “Good luck to all of you.”  That almost makes sense except for the fact that salvation has nothing to do with luck.  Luck is about chance.  We are neither saved nor lost by chance.  We are saved by God’s unlimited grace and there is enough for everyone.  Or we are lost because we foolishly say “no” to the offered gift.  There is no luck involved.  No one is lost because he or she is unlucky.

In I Corinthians 9:22 Paul speaks of saving some.  Our heavenly Father wants to save all.   He will actually save to the “uttermost.”   See Hebrews 7:25.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 5, 2017

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President Jimmy Carter, probably the only president never to have lied to us, tells a wonderful story about his childhood in Plains, Georgia.  His family regularly attended a black church with its traditionally long services.  At one point each Sunday morning when the saints were stirred they lined up to bring their offerings to the front where the church steward loudly called out the amount being given by each donor.

It seems like a highly motivating method for boosting the weekly intake.  However, I must add it does seem to fly in the face of Jesus’ counsel about giving secretly and not allowing the left hand to know what the right hand gives.  See Matthew 6:3.  I am often put off by photographs of individuals giving giant checks to some worthy cause. It smacks of “Look at me. See how wonderful I am.”  And yet I am told by fundraisers such photos inspire others to give.  Since I am not very wise I don’t know the answer to the dilemma.

What I do know is Jesus did not give Himself for us in a secret manner.  Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  John 12:32.  The cross was so public it became the dividing point in history.  Two thousand years later we still shudder when we think of the horror of humans torturing to death the Creator of all things.

Our task is to continue to uplift Christ before the world.  We do so by being the kindest, most unselfish, gentlest people others will ever meet.  What a contrast this is to those who want to kill and maim as many people as possible all in the name of their god.  Note I did not capitalize god in that last sentence because such a being is not God.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 6, 2017

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I thought it must be boring for my dog to eat the same thing every day so this afternoon I bought her a new kind of dog food.  It is 50 pounds of Pedigree for adult dogs with roasted chicken, rice and vegetables flavorings.  It must smell pretty good because I found her sitting in front of the bag staring and salivating.  I broke down and gave her a sample.  I’m not sure that was a good idea because now she keeps following me around bumping me with her nose and chomping her jaws.

Eating something new and fresh can be a pleasure not just for dogs but for us bipeds.  Reading a new or different translation of Scripture can be just as exciting and pleasurable.  Like so many of us I grew up struggling to understand the King James Version.  Then I discovered the RSV and then the NIV and then J. B. Phillips paraphrase and the Message paraphrase.  It is like eating new food and yet it is the same message.  The different vocabulary, the different phrasing gives the old favorite verses new flavor.  And I might add they often make some verses easier to understand.

We are so blessed to live in a time when we have not only our own Bible, we can have Bibles.  There was a time when Bibles were so rare and so expensive to produce they were chained to the walls of churches for security.  They really are the Bread of Life nourishing our souls and enhancing our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  When I get a new version I am like my dog.  Well, not exactly.  Fortunately I don’t salivate on it, but I get very anxious to start feasting on the Word.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 27, 2017

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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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