There is a new dog book on the best seller list entitled, “You Had Me at Woof” by Julie Klam.  Obviously the title is a takeoff on a movie line, “You had me at hello.”   I think I could go one better since I was smitten with my wife before I had a chance to say “Hello.”  She was fourteen and was on the platform in church.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.  Being that I cannot remember not going to church Jesus was always a part of my life.  I have often wondered what it is like for someone to fall in love with Jesus. When would they say Jesus had them?  Was it the first time they heard about the cross and the resurrection?  Or would they say, “You had me at John 3:16?”

What is it that attracts people to the story of someone who lived here two thousand years ago?  Could it be a soul hunger that haunts us with the truth that there has to be something more than this seventy years?  I have a friend who upon passing away filled me with a sense of waste.  He was brilliant.  He was a theologian.  He knew the Biblical languages like we know English.  He was kind and thoughtful.  To just bury all that in a box is so wrong.  There has to be more.

The story of Jesus answers that need for more.  His personal righteousness, His promises, His own death and resurrection, His emphasis on a personal Father God all speak to our spiritual and psychological needs.  Perhaps if I had first heard of Jesus when I was an adult I would have said, “You had me when you washed Judas’ feet.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 14, 2011

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Riding on grandpa’s shoulders was just the place to be.  Very quickly the wee little one learned how to steer her grandpa just like a horse anywhere she wanted to go.

How grand it would be to be so led by the Holy Spirit.  In our quest to grow more into the likeness of our heavenly Father we ask for guidance.  Jesus promised in John 16:13, “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

The Spirit does come and does guide but not quite so obviously as putting His hands on our heads and steering us.  Instead the Spirit moves on the inside.  He woos and influences.  He courts and plants thoughts and ideas.  Unlike a horse, we do have choice.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 1, 2000

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Tonight I am watching my woods fill up with snow.  My dog does not think it strange for me to stand here.  And I have no promises to keep before I sleep.  Sorry Robert Frost.  I could not resist.  But like Frost I am filled with awe at the rugged beauty of tree arms holding snow instead of leaves.  Under the white blanket myriads of furred creatures sleep with their noses tucked in for a long winter’s nap.  Chickadees, tufted titmice, juncos, gold finches, cardinals, blue jays and woodpeckers filled up in anticipation of a muffled night of softness.  It’s a sweet thing to be tucked in on a New England night with the crackling of the fire and the shimmering shadows on wooden walls.

These are times when all I wish to do is thank all my friends for their care.  My family for their love and my Jesus for His promises that not only will this never end but it will grow better as millennia pass.  How can it be that it is so difficult to spread the Gospel?  I am not only thinking about people whose lives are so busy they can’t pause to ponder the joys.   But I am thinking of those who have grown up thinking they are Christians and yet still harbor doubts of their salvation.

The only conclusion I can come to is it is just too good to be true and we are told when something is too good to be true it isn’t true.  But in this case it is all true.  The Gift of God is eternal life.  According to the dictionary a gift is “something given to somebody, usually in order to provide pleasure or to show gratitude.”   Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”   Luke 12:32

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 30, 2016

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When we think of the names of Bible writers we rarely mention King Lemuel.  But he was responsible for one of the more famous chapters in Scripture.  Proverbs 31 describes the perfect wife.  She does everything and she does it well.  I have one of those wives.  My snow blower broke and we have a storm moving in tonight.  The next thing I know is she walks in from the garage and says, “If you will loosen those two bolts and reposition that part, it will be fine.”  Really?!  So I went out and loosened the designated bolts, repositioned the part and presto.  It works just the way it is supposed to.

Someone might ask, “Doesn’t that threaten your masculinity?”  And my response is, “Are you kidding?  It’s wonderful.  Now I don’t have to walk across the street to my engineer neighbor and ask him for help.  That threatens my masculinity.”

So I am a happy man with my cup running over with blessings.  I realize very few men have wives that can diagnosis a broken snow blower.  And she even makes me Cream of Wheat for breakfast.  You can’t beat that!

Riches come in many forms.  One cannot and should not equate wealth with numbers in an investment account.  Riches are so much broader than that.  And of course the thing that makes us extremely rich is Jesus.  Because of Jesus, God has adopted us into His family making us princes and princesses of the Most High.  Ephesians 2 says, “He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”   Now that is rich!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 18, 2017

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An interesting thing happened to me this evening as I entered a bookstore that shall remain unnamed.   In the space between the two front doors they had a display of books they were trying to quickly get out of their inventory.  One of them caught my eye.  It had been an expensive book of Tony Bennett’s art work.  It was now only $5.98.  I couldn’t resist.

A bit later when I went to pay for it the lady at the checkout said, “This can’t be right.”  She picked up a phone and said to some unseen person, “Someone has drawn a marker through the bar code and written a very cheap price.”  All the time she was talking, I was getting the evil eye. She seemed to be looking for a marker in my pocket.  Soon the unseen person arrived and he too said, “This can’t be so.”  He also gave me the “What are you trying to pull here” look.  Finally I spoke up and said, “Folks, there is a pile of them in the entry.  They are all marked the same.  Go see.”  They did.  I was most disappointed for I never got an apology.  But what I did get was my book for $5.98.

Why can’t people say they are sorry?  Is it so painful to acknowledge that we have been wrong about something or someone?  Does it diminish us to regret misjudging someone? Does it always have to be someone else’s fault?  I have this gut feeling that until we can learn to do this very simple thing we can’t expect much forgiveness for ourselves.  Pride is a dastardly thing that eats away at character development.  May God help us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 27, 2010

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It had snowed.  But surely it was spring.  The local ice cream store had opened.  The fact that it was below freezing did not matter.  It was spring and the ice cream store was a sign of the future.  Warm summer evenings were just around the corner.

Jesus told us to watch for signs.  In Matthew 16:2-3 we read, “He said unto them, when it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red.  And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering.  O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

Once His “disciples came unto Him privately saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be?  What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?’”  (Matthew 24:3)

Jesus followed this by saying that wars are not a sign of the end of the world.  Wars, unfortunately, are the norm.  In all recorded history we have less than 25 years when we do not have an account of a war somewhere in the world.  Wars are not the sign of the end.  In Matthew 24:14 Jesus tells us the sign of the end is the proclamation of the gospel to the whole world.  Do you want to help proclaim that good news?

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 1, 2003

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Of all my blessings I count, the richness of having real friends is at the top of the list. At every stage of my life I have been surrounded by people who I would count it a privilege to give life itself.   My dearest one, of course, is the one who has shared my walk for over fifty years.   My walk has been incredibly rich with those who I believe would do the same for me. If they would not they had me fooled.

Once during the worst crisis of my life when I thought everything was gone a group of people surrounded me with amazing care.  When I took inventory of them many surprised me.  They stepped up from the background of my life.  I had not known they were there.  My crisis made my life richer.   One who did not surprise me by his presence surprised me by his depth.  He was an old friend who mailed me a signed blank check.   He told me to fill in whatever I needed.  It would be his worry to cover it.  I still have that check.

Have you ever wondered what you would want on your tombstone?  I think I would like to have the following.  “He had friends.”   And of course I must mention my friend from heaven who said to His disciples, “You are my friends.”   See John 15.

One spring day when the waters of the American River in California were particularly high and raging I had an incredible ride, or should I say swim since we were out of the raft almost more than we were in.  After hours of being bashed against rocks and gasping for air we safely arrived at our destination.  One of them seeing the glee in my eyes asked if there was ever a moment when I was afraid.  My response was heartfelt.  I said, “How could I be?  I was with my friends.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 8, 2009

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The yearly subscription price is only ten dollars for twelve issues.

That’s good.  However it gets better.  There is a guarantee that states if I do not save $1500 over the next year by following their money-saving advice, they will refund my ten dollars.  It sounds wonderful.  But wait.  How can I prove that I only saved $1475?  Do I have to keep receipts and compare them to the receipts from last year that I probably did not keep?  How much documentation am I going to need to get my refund?  How can I prove that I really did do “everything” they required?  The more I think about this the more convinced I am this isn’t really much of a guarantee?

This reminds me of an ad I once read that guaranteed my child would have a successful life if I purchased and read a book entitled, How to Raise a Successful Child.  How many decades would have to go by before we determined my child’s life was successful?  By whose standards would success be measured?   What if he became a billionaire but was miserable?   What if he lived on welfare but was amazingly happy and carefree?

However, before we over-generalize and declare guarantees worthless we have to remember car companies do repair or replace parts on our cars as long as the warranty is valid.  There are reputable guarantees and I want to mention the best one ever made.  It begins with I John 1:9.   “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And of course there is John 3:16.   Our God is a God of His word.   When God makes a promise you can count on it!

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 6, 2009

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When I sit down to write, my dog heads for the kitchen wastebasket and        soon returns with the largest envelope or some other paper product she can find.  Snuggling up to my feet she then proceeds to turn it into a pile of confetti.  Night after night this occurs and night after night before I go to bed I get down on the floor and pick up the pieces of her handiwork. Or should I say paw and mouth work.

Why do I do this?  I could train her not to do it.  I could take it from her when she arrives at my feet.  But night after night I watch her make her pile of tidbits.  The truth is it does no harm and it is easy to clean up and it seems to make her happy.  Perhaps she thinks she is doing paperwork with me.

I wonder if some of the work I do is just as useless and God lets me continue because it makes me happy to think that I am doing something useful.  As long as I am doing no harm it is easy for Him to clean up after me.

I got to thinking about this because not long ago I listened to someone tell of all the great things he had done for God and I wondered if they really were great outside the realm of his mind.  Perhaps it was jealousy on my part because I could not tell such great tales of accomplishment.

However, I do believe God has something great for each of us to do.  I pray God will help each of us to hear the “Well done” we read about in Matthew 25:21.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 29, 2008.

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The fallen hawk lay on the forest floor.  He had not been dead long.  He was still beautiful and noble.  Soon he would return to the dust of the forest to become part of a flower, tree or vine.  How high had he flown?  What vistas had he seen? What conquests over mice and rabbits nourished him?  Why was his piercing scream now silent?  Was it old age?  Had he lived his three score and ten?  Or had a hunter used him for target practice?

There in death his remains would provide the essentials of life for a host of other creatures.  His death would provide life.  Thankfully God will take the memory of our personhood and on resurrection morning put it in a brand new immortal frame and body.

Jesus, who not only proclaimed Himself to be the resurrection and the life but also proved it, promises us so much more than decades of limited walk.  Centuries and millenniums await us.  We too shall soar like hawks and eagles with nothing to bring us down.  Surely one of the most marvelous verses of all scripture is Isaiah 40:31, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 14, 2000

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