Author: Ian Bothwell

As far as salads go lettuce is by far the least nutritious and most boring ingredient.  But generously toss in carrots, tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers and celery and you have a small delicious banquet.  It is just like God’s family.  We are a marvelous salad of humanity.  Jesus commissioned us to go to the world and make disciples and the result is fabulous.  I’m sure there are members of His family from every nation in the world and He must find it delicious to behold.

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

It seems the more variety we have the better the salad.  Take some of our U. S. presidents for an example.  Abraham Lincoln was the tallest at six feet four inches.  James Madison was the smallest at five feet four inches.  He weighed only 100 pounds as compared to Taft who weighed three hundred and thirty.  Calvin Coolidge was famous for not talking much and they couldn’t stop TR from incessantly talking.  Truman was the only president never to attend college, while Woodrow Wilson was a professor.

Shame on us if we ever discriminate by race, gender or language.  As Paul wrote in Romans 14 God invited us all to His table.  Who are we to cross anyone off God’s guest list?  Ultimately we all end up at the same place – the foot of the cross – needing mercy and forgiveness.

People salads are the best.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 20, 2017

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In 1956 Allan Jay Lerner collaborated with Fredrick Lowe to write the lyrics for a song in My Fair Lady.  As I read them it describes my 75 year-old relationship with Jesus and with some adaptation (my apologies to Lerner and Lowe) I read the lyrics like this.

He makes the day begin

He’s second nature to me now
Like breathing out and breathing in
I’m very grateful He’s my Savior and not so easy to forget
Rather like a habit one should never break

How I have longed for my reactions to life’s ups and downs to be, without thinking on my part, automatically His.  Paul wrote in Philippians:5 “ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”  There it is.  The goal of every believer should not only to be saved but to become like Him.  And should He never come to save us, (He will.  He promised.) we will have been the winner because a Christ-like life is the richest, happiest life ever lived by ANYONE.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 17, 2017

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My older sister and her husband have been visiting this past week.  It is difficult not to observe that we say everything twice. The first time the response is “What?” and the second time they and we get it.  Alas, we are now reaching that stage described in Ecclesiastes 12.

“Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young,

Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,

Before your vision dims and the world blurs

And the winter years keep you close to the fire.

In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.

Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.

The shades are pulled down on the world.

You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.

The hum of the household fades away.

You are wakened now by bird-song.

Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.”

 

One of Jesus’ favorite expressions was “Let him who has ears, let him hear.”  It seems apparent that Jesus was in his early thirties when He said that.   Of course, Jesus was speaking of comprehension and our response to the truths He was teaching.  He wanted us to hear the Beatitudes and learn to be happy.  He wanted us to read His comments to Nicodemus and find eternal life.  All we need for happiness now and life evermore is found in His words.  Let him who has ears let him hear.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 19, 2017

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I have a few acquaintances with the uncanny ability to make lemons out of lemonade.  They have good lives but you would never know it when one listens to them.  I have unsuccessfully tried to get a few of them to count their blessings instead of making a list of catastrophes that could take their blessings away.  I fear Christians are some of the worst at this. Week after week we are told a time of trouble is coming and that seems to justify not enjoying the now.  If I remind them that they have a good job, they will remind me that it could be lost tomorrow.  If I remind them they have a good IRA for their retirement, they remind me of 1929.  It goes on and on. I sometimes doubt if they will enjoy heaven because their negative creativity will think of something that could go wrong.

Perhaps Porgy in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess had it right when he sang, “I got plenty of nothing and nothing is plenty for me… Folks with plenty of nothing got a lock on the door afraid somebody’s going to rob ‘e while they’re out (a) making more – what for?”

Paul wrote in Philippians 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.”

When some people pray before eating they ask God to bless the food.  I’m not sure what that means.  Do they want the calories removed?  A much better idea is to thank the Lord for what we have today.

One of literature’s most famous pessimists is Eeyore, the gloomy donkey in Winnie the Pooh.  He even lives in a place called, “Eeyore’s Gloomy Place.  I fear our churches are full of Eeyores. We should ban Eeyores from church.  They are contagious.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 18, 2017

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In 1971 Coca Cola adapted a song from a pop group called The New Seekers.  It was entitled I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony.

I’d like to teach the world to sing

In perfect harmony.

Is it naïve to think Paul’s counsel in Romans 12:20 is still relevant?  “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Paul also wrote in chapter 15, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”

It is so easy to respond to adversity with our basic selfishness.  It just pops to the surface with little thought. To turn the other cheek is not natural.  The more we study the life of our Jesus the more we see how radical He was.  He was a revolutionary with a message so new and so different He divided history into two.

If He could bring us into His likeness and be our Prince of Peace by teaching us to stand hand in hand and sing in perfect harmony I truly believe He would be the REAL THING.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 31, 2017

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In summer the roadsides of central Massachusetts are filled with flowers.  The old stonewalls are decorated with day lilies and Queen Anne’s lace.  The day lilies come in a vast array of colors while the Queen Anne’s lace is just white but not plain white.  If you stop to look closely you will see in the middle of each cluster a tiny purple blossom proclaiming its individuality.

The very last thought of chapter 5 in Galatians is “Let us not…envy each other.”  It is so easy to look about and see wonderful features and qualities in others.  The next step is to envy.  To want be the best looking person at the party.  To be the smartest kid in the school.  To be the fastest athlete with the best jump shot.  To have a car and house like the neighbors.  Whole lives can be spent wishing to be or to have something else while failing to appreciate our own gifts and beauty.

God loves each person.  In His love He has given each one something unique and wonderful.  When we discover what that is and to use it for the benefit of others, we discover yet another gift.  For as we utilize what we have, God gives more.  Each of us is an original.  There is not another like you.  We each have something special to offer.  Envy no one.  Enjoy your uniqueness.  Be the purple little blossom in the middle of a Queen Anne’s lace.

Written by Roger Bothwell

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We have a metal bird feeder that is supposed to be squirrel proof.  (It’s not.)  The wooden perch that provides a place for the birds to stand while eating became well worn by all the bird’s toe nails and finally because of a squirrel’s teeth, it gave way.  Without a perch, without something to stand on the birds could not eat.*  They could fly right up to the seed, but without that perch they could not access the bounty that lay before them.

Such it is for us. Life has so many good things to offer but without something to stand on we cannot feed on life’s bounty.  I am no longer speaking of material things.  The wicked have access to those things.  I speak of the real treasures of life; peace, tranquility, serenity, real love, self-respect and absolute confidence in the future.  In Matthew 7, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told a story about a wise man who built his house on a rock.  He said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  Now, that is a place to stand because that rock is Jesus.

We can have sizeable bank accounts and beautiful homes, but if we don’t have Jesus all those things are temporary.  They are like grass that comes up in the morning and is gone by noon.  Seek the eternal things.  Seek for what we can take with us into eternity.  They are available if we chose to make Jesus the foundation rock of our lives.  Really intelligent people choose Jesus.  How smart are you?

*I made the birds a new perch.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 13, 2017

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The wind is blowing the snow against the windows and making groaning sounds in the trees.   We knew it was coming.  For days the weather people were telling us almost to the minute when it would arrive.  So yesterday afternoon the supermarkets were packed with people stocking up on milk and bread.  One interviewed lady said she stood in the checkout lane for over 40 minutes.  I don’t understand.  First of all, the storm will be gone tomorrow and the roads will be plowed.  Are cupboards so bare people can’t live until tomorrow morning?  When they shop do they only get enough for one day?  Secondly, they have known about this for five days.

I’m reminded of Noah’s ark.  No one but Noah and his immediate family were saved.  But people had 120 years to show up.  Instead they pounded on the door when it started to rain.   In Matthew 24 Jesus speaks of a time of trouble climaxing in His second coming.  If the human pattern continues that means millions of people will try at the last moment to get ready.  When we consider how important this is, why do we wait?  Maybe we want to see more of the signs spoken of by Jesus.  But considering our hearts can stop at any second we might not be around to see the signs of the end.  We might not make it to the end of today.

This is a bit frightening and the last thing I want to do is to scare someone into accepting Jesus.   It is so much better to come to Him by responding to His wooing call of love.  But the truth is He loves us so much He will take us for any reason.  Scary or not He wants us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 15, 2017

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Today’s devotion is number 7777 representing years of doing my best to share Jesus, and since 7 is often considered the perfect number, I thought today’s devotional should be perfect.  But realizing the truth that I could never write anything that was perfect, I thought the next best thing would be to concentrate on Jesus, the only one of us who was, is, and always will be perfect.

In Hebrews we are assured that He was.  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Hebrews 5:7-9

Now comes the really good part.  “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 2.

There it is.  Jesus is perfect. We hide our lives in Him.  He is our life and we will appear with Him in glory because we also have been declared perfect.  If Paul were alive today and writing us letters, he would address the letters to the saints, because we are sanctified in Jesus.  This is the perfect message for a people longing to be perfect and being satisfied that in Christ we are!

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 3, 2017

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I am fascinated by the bread aisle in supermarkets.  Someday I’m going to count how many different varieties are available.  There is Wonder Bread that keeps our bodies healthy in twelve ways.  There is raisin bread, rye bread, cinnamon bread, sourdough bread, whole wheat and on and on.  I am fascinated that just prior to a huge snow storm people rush to the store and buy up all the bread as if we are going to be buried for weeks.  (We never are!)  Jesus loved metaphors and “I am the bread of life” is one of His best.  John 6

In 2002 Johnny Cash recorded Depeche Mode’s Your Personal Jesus, which was ranked in 2004 by Rolling Stone Magazine as number 368 of the 500 Most Outstanding Songs of All Time.  Some of its lyrics are,

“Your own personal Jesus

Someone to hear your prayers

Someone who cares

Your own personal Jesus

Someone to hear your prayers

Someone who’s there

When I stare at all the kinds of bread in my supermarket I often think of the idea of how many kinds of Jesus the world needs.  Each of us needs our own personal Jesus.  Each of us has different needs because of our uniquenesses.  One of the wonders of Jesus is His love for variety.  (Check out how many kinds of birds He created.)  Becoming a Christian does not demand we all dress alike, act alike or think alike.  The love that grows in us is as special as the DNA that comprises us.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 26, 2017

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