Author: Ian Bothwell

A seven layer burrito at Taco Bell is a good value.  It’s fairly healthy, but a bit heavy on the calories because of the avocado, the sour cream and the flour tortilla.  What I enjoy about it is each bite tastes different. If you don’t like a bite, quickly swallow it and go for another.  It will be unlike the previous.   One time you might get mostly beans and the next might be lettuce and tomatoes, which brings me to my analogy for the day.  I am mused by the varied experiences I get with multiple readings of Scripture.  The words  on the pages do not change, but the power and meaning change.  Yesterday the healing of the leper in Mark 1 impacted me with Jesus’ compassion.  Today I am in admiration of the persistence of the leper.

Paul’s writings seem especially varied.   I Corinthians 13 is different every time I read it.  Today I was overwhelmed by the thought that one could be martyred and have it be for nothing.  Everything depends on one’s motives.  If I allow myself to be burned at the stake thinking I am earning heaven I will be sadly disappointed.  Heaven is a gift.  I cannot earn it no matter how rigidly I live my life and no matter how much of my goods I give to the poor.  The last time I read it I was taken by the idea that love keeps no record of wrongs.  Once forgiven – it’s gone.   I wish organizations were that way.

Of course the reason for the variety is the Holy Spirit’s awareness of our daily need.  Like any good physician the prescription varies by the patient and by the exigency.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 31, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

If I put all green wood in my wood stove nothing happens.  I can put all kinds of fire starters under them only to come back a bit later to find the fire starter is consumed and the green wood is just sitting there.  I would be tempted to think that wood would never burn.  But if I put one or two pieces of green wood in with seasoned wood not only does the green wood soon catch on fire but the fire lasts longer for when the seasoned wood is gone the now seasoned by association green wood is burning nicely.  The analogy almost writes itself.  Put a group of inexperienced young people on a project and mix in some older seasoned veterans and it isn’t long before those young people are very capable.

When Jesus started His ministry He gathered a mixture of young and mature men to be His disciples.  James and John were teens while Peter and Andrew were mature men with families.  Timothy must have been young because Paul told him not to let anyone despise his youth.  I was twenty-two when I began to pastor five churches in Iowa.  In one of them the youngest person was forty-five.  I learned so much from those midwesterners.  They were very patient.

Now I am on the other end of the timeline and I find myself learning so much from my college students.  If we keep our minds open we can always learn.  I have some very conservative friends and some very liberal friends.  I enjoy fellow-shipping with both of them.  I sometimes think one group doesn’t think much of the other group.  I always learn if I don’t do so much talking and instead just listen.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 11, 2009.

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

 

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

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

 

This week cell phone numbers were released making it possible for us to receive a host of unwanted junk calls that will be charged to our minute allotments.  Fortunately we can be enrolled on a no-call list.  At first I thought I would write about God not having a no-call list, but that seemed too obvious, so I decided not to mention it.  However, there are some wonderful verses of Scripture that do relate to this.  How about Romans 10:12 and 13?  “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This is a devastating passage to those who think they belong to an exclusive God club.  It is so human to think we are special.  Well we are.  Everyone is special.  Really?   Remember the classic line from Gilbert and Sullivan, “If everyone is somebody then nobody’s anybody.”?  That is great human logic.  When we are as limited as we are that has to be true.  However, God is limitless.  If He knows how many hairs are on our heads, and He does, check out Matthew 10:30, then each of us is somebody special.

Now we would like to think those verses only apply to our group.  Sorry. Paul said “whosoever shall call.”   So if you are a card carrying somebody on earth you are a non-card carrying somebody in heaven.  Better yet, if you are a nobody on earth, you really are a somebody in heaven.  As a matter of fact, God not only doesn’t have you on His no-call list, He even doesn’t have one.  He has been calling you.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 3, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

It was late, dark and raining when I got home from school this night.  My old dog met me at the door with her usual leaning against me and rubbing her face against mine.  After an appropriate amount of loving she went out into the dark and rain.  She doesn’t like the rain so I expected a quick return.  However, she lingered.  After five minutes I grew uneasy and waited at the door.  She has difficulty climbing even the two stairs on the porch.  Suddenly I heard a muffled bark coming from a door on the back of the house.  Running through the house I found her.  We were both anxious for her to come inside.  It will be a bad day when there will be no more bark at the door.

As I opened the door I thought of a paraphrase adaption of Jesus comment about us as sinful beings and our heavenly father.  If we as sinful beings know how to rush to answer the door for a dog, how much more will our heavenly Father rush to open heaven’s door.  One of my favorite authors has written that there is one prayer God will always answer affirmatively.  It is, “Lord, save me.”   He stands at the door looking out into the dark waiting for us.

It is interesting to note the different ways Jesus uses the analogy of a door.   In John 10:9 He said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.”  In Revelation 3 we become the door. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”   Let’s do it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 29, 2009

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

 

I had a forty-pound bag of seed for our birdfeeder in the garage and then a gray squirrel discovered it.   Obviously the many layers of paper were not enough to keep him out so I closed it in a large plastic garbage can.  I know what you are thinking and you are right.  He chewed right through the plastic and continued to help himself to the seed.

This squirrel is like Satan, the opportunist, who squirrels his way past and through our best defenses.  Satan is probably the second best psychologist. For thousands of years he has studied human nature and knows how to press our buttons to get his desired result.  He preys upon our appetites and fears.  He feeds upon our insecurities and watches with delight as we develop prejudices and hatred toward groups that are different than we.  He watches for us to make promises to do better and specifically tempts us in those areas for he knows when we fail we will often give up trying as we resign ourselves to our inabilities.

Our defenses are no match for him.  However, there is a psychologist far superior to him.  Jesus, our Creator, knows our thoughts and weaknesses and promises to fill us with real power, the power that spoke worlds into being. With this help, which is always available upon our request, we can make Satan look exactly like the second rate power he is.  In John 14 Jesus urges us to ask for power and He promises we will receive all we need.  Never will He allow us to be forced to do wrong.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 23, 2008.

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

I have some dear friends who are continually passing on some of the most outrageous stories as if they were gospel.  I have been trying to figure out why these dear people are so easily taken in by some of the most obvious lies. I think I have figured out what is going on.  They really are dear people who would never stoop to deliberately tell a lie about someone. Truthfulness is such an ingrained part of their character it is difficult for them to think everyone isn’t like them.  The idea that some people are paid to “spin” the truth just doesn’t occur to them.   That girl telling that tale looks just like their dear daughter and they know she always tells the truth.

God wants us to be innocent.  He wants us to believe in others.   But others are not always trustworthy.  Jesus tried to warn the innocent.  He said in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”   He said in Matthew 16:6, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” He said in Mark 12:38, “Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues: which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.”

There is a lot to beware of.  If anything it is easier to spread lies now than ever before because of our mass media tools.  Let’s listen to Jesus and beware before we fall into their trap and become spreaders of their lies.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 16, 2008

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Last evening one of my grad students told us about an exercise she does with her third graders.  Each student takes a piece of paper and writes down somebody’s name.  Under that name they have to write a mean nasty name.  Then they have to scrunch up the paper into a ball and sit on it.  After a short time the children become physically uncomfortable with what they have done so they can take the paper, spread it out as nicely as they can and erase the nasty name.   What the children discover is that no matter how hard they try to make the paper look new.  It can’t be done.  The wrinkles and the erase mark are still there.   The children then talk about what this means.

It’s a good exercise and should be combined with James 3.  Words once spoken and deeds done leave permanent results.  Forgiveness is real. Forgiveness is powerful.  Forgiveness does set a course for a better future. But the reality is humans remember. Relationships betrayed are forgiven but are never again as they were when they were new.  This is why Jesus asks us to forgive 70 times 7.  He is not necessarily talking about 490 offenses as much as He is talking about the need to forgive someone 490 times for one offense because the human mind remembers.

Now comes the amazing part.  When we ask for forgiveness, God’s divine power enables Him to look at us as if we have never sinned.  This is awesome. Please note Ephesians 5:27, “He might present to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 10, 2008.

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

After food, shelter and safety, the most important human need is love.  From the moment we are born love is essential if a baby is to thrive.  The infant brain needs cuddling and gentle human touch.  God created us this way.  God is love.  (I John 4:8)  We satisfy His desire to nurture.  We are avenues for His innermost need.   It is difficult for us to imagine a perfect being with needs.  However, love needs a lovee.   Most adults need children.  If they don’t have children they have a pet or pets.  We spend huge amounts of money on in vitro procedures or adoptions that we might have the joy of parenting.  Jesus told us to call God “Our Father.”   No one knows God better than Jesus.  He is God.  See Hebrews 1.

Just as children that prosper bring happiness to their parents, so God is glorified when we do well.  Jesus told us He came to give us the abundant life.  When we avail ourselves of His offer He is pleased.  In Ephesians 2 we are told God saves us for the purpose of showering us with gifts of grace.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told us we give God glory by our works. What a wonderful understanding of the nature of living a Godlike life.  We are saved by grace.  Ephesians 2.  Our works don’t save us.  But our works are very important for they bring great joy into the heart of the One, who by His great work on the cross, saves us.  Grace saves.  Works are an expression of our character growth and our love for God.  Works make God happy.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 4, 2008

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

According to Aristotle there are two primary reasons for having friends. Either we profit from them or derive pleasure from being with them. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to gain both profit and pleasure in a relationship.  Unfortunately, sometimes we find pleasure in another’s company but it costs us.  Usually that kind of friendship rarely lasts.  Pleasure in another often exists because of common interests.  Pilots love to exchange flying stories and chess players enjoy explaining complicated moves.   How can I exchange any meaningful conversation with the Maker of All Things?  He knows everything and I am woefully ignorant.

Keeping this in mind I have asked the question why does Jesus call us His friends?  I grew up singing “What a friend we have in Jesus.”   I know what I gain from Him.  I get freedom from guilt resulting from His forgiveness. I get to shed this mortal body that is quickly going to ruin.  I get to live forever with a ticket to unimaginable growth.  But what does He get from me? That question puzzles me for most of the reasons I give myself are purely egotistical and ultimately meaningless.  If He does not gain from my friendship then He must take pleasure in me.   But how is that?  I must confess I do not enjoy the company of those whose behavior is obnoxious.  I must be obnoxious to Him.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross.”  Surely that joy is because by His sacrifice the universe is cleansed from sin and ultimately at-one-ment, but to be my friend?  I am puzzled!

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 4, 2008

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box124, St. Helena, CA 94574