Author: Ian Bothwell

Did you watch the Olympics?  I watched them with mixed emotions.  I admire those finely honed athletes.  At the same time I am jealous, not merely for their skills, but jealous of the incredible self-discipline needed to be what they are.

I heard one of the divers say he started working on a new dive 18 months ago and that was a mistake because it wasn’t enough time to have it honed to perfection.  I found that overwhelming.

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul speaks of the discipline needed both by athletes and Christians.  “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

This is a wonderful passage but has sometimes been misread and used to harass us into doubting our salvation because we are not trying hard enough.  Jesus is very clear in John 3 and 6 regarding our salvation.  When we accept it is a done deal.   Paul calls it a gift. What Paul is talking about here in I Corinthians is the development of a Christ-like character – that is the prize of which he speaks.  I strive as hard as I can – not to be saved – but because I am saved.  Once saved we go into serious training and the prize is incredible.

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 22, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Forty years ago we returned from teaching in Uganda and moved to a glorious piece of leftover Eden called Calhoun, Ga.  In the very first month of our ministry there I officiated at a funeral.  After the service on the way to the cemetery I was riding in the hearse with the local funeral director.  As we drove out onto the street on the way to the cemetery the oncoming traffic stopped. People got out of their cars and stood at attention as we passed by.  I was amazed and received a marvelous education in respect and dignity.  This was the south.  This was good people who knew the value of human decency.   To them this was basic human values.  This was treating others as we would be treated.

Romans 12 is one of the most powerful treatises on how we should treat both friends and enemies.  What follows is a sample of ideas copied from the paraphrase The Message by Eugene Petersen.  Jesus would be so proud if we could be like this.

1. “Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
2. “Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.”
3. “Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.”
4. “Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone.”
5. “Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”

To be like this in every aspect of our lives is to be like Jesus.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 19, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

She is a Labrador Retriever.  She is a water dog.  So why does she hate rain? During our walk today we got caught in a serious downpour.  This was soak your socks rain.  This was drip off your nose and wish you had windshield wipers on your glasses rain.  So we stepped into a wooded area for some shelter.  While standing there in the shelter of the leaves we were still being drenched.  She proceeded to push between my legs and sit down.  I had become her umbrella.   Under his wings is nice but really now, I think I was being used.

Do we ever use God?  Or should I say try to use God.  Do we ask God to do things for us we can do ourselves?   “Lord, help me pass this exam.”   Well, maybe we wouldn’t need to ask that if we had studied.   “Lord, help me get this job.”  But, maybe we didn’t do our homework on the company and its needs.  “Lord, give us a safe journey today.”  And then drive 90 miles an hour!

God is eager to help us.  But He is a good parent who at some point says get off the couch and get humping.  Remember the paralytic wasn’t healed until he made the effort to stand up.  The blind man wasn’t healed until he went and washed the mud off his eyes.  We are not talking about salvation.  That is God’s job.  We are talking about the practicalities and successes of this life.  Those are our jobs.  We are given talents to use.  The man in the parable who buried his talent didn’t make his master very happy.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 17, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

The drug commercials on television are amazing the way they treat our intelligence.  They go something like this.  If your legs are restless then you might have Restless Leg Syndrome.  If you have dry eyes then you might have Dry Eye Syndrome.  If you have diarrhea then you might have diarrhea.  Really! Then comes the pitch for their product.  Talk to your doctor about Xiayaflex.  Xiayaflex might cause dry eyes, restless legs and in some cases it may be fatal.  Really!   Oh, don’t take if you are allergic to Xiayaflex.

So, I needed to say, “If you find yourself sinning then you might be a sinner.”  But what follows now is not an insult to your intelligence but one of the wisest things I could ever tell you.  Talk to your God about His Son Jesus.   Jesus Christ will bring relief from stress, bring calm into your life, relieve you from guilt, grant you peace, forgive all your sins, make you morally stronger, give you resistance to temptation, and extend your life (infinitely).  The side effects might be you are no longer comfortable with your old friends, family members might think you have changed into someone they don’t know and in very rare cases might cause a divorce from your spouse.  Jesus did say, “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”  Matthew 10.

I do need to add here just because your new faith experience is alienating your old friends does not necessarily mean you are being a good witness for Jesus.  You actually might be obnoxious.  The important thing is to pray to learn to be like Jesus, kind, gentle and non-judgmental.  That never causes people not to like you.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 10, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.rg

 

I was taken aback and almost horrified this weekend when someone asked me to pray for them because he was sure God would be sure to answer my prayers over others.  While I was a bit flattered by the compliment nothing could be farther from the truth.  God does not play favorites with anyone.  “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism.’”  Acts 10:34

Nobody gets a special hearing.  Then again if God did have favorites, I would certainly NOT be one of them.

Prayer is a personal experience with our heavenly Father who loves each of us dearly and will do for each of us the best thing available.  At times I have wondered why we need to pray.  If He is, as Jesus tells us, our heavenly Father, will He not give us all good things without our having to ask?  I sometimes wonder if our situation is akin to Job.  Satan is waiting to accuse God of playing favorites and somehow by our asking we give God the ethical right to give us good things.

One thing for sure is prayer is not magic.  There is no mantra needed to facilitate God’s attention and care.  There are no formulas or memorized rituals that fast track us to God’s mind.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Matthew 6.

It is no wonder the priests killed Jesus.  He made them superfluous.  No one needed them anymore.  Bypass the human and go straight to the divine.  That works for EVERYONE.

Written by by Roger Bothwell on August 8 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

The drama is the same.  Only the stage and cast are different.   The politics of power have raged since a time before Genesis 1.  “And there was war in heaven.”  Revelation 12:7.  “I will ascend above the heights of the cloud, I will be like the most high.”  Isaiah 14:14.

The stage changed but the battle continued.  The politics of fear mongering – “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.”   The politics of practicality – “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’”  John 11.  The politics of smear by association – “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”  Luke 15.  The politics of half-truths and distortion – “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.'”  Mark 14

Jesus said, “ . . . be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  Matthew 10:16.  Maybe, just maybe, wisdom would be for us to recognize that our high calling is to spread the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, and to refrain from casting our pearls out on behalf of a cause so much inferior to the greatness of God’s Kingdom.   Perhaps the best use of our email, our Facebook accounts, our tweets, our influence, would be to spread love and forgiveness and leave the ugly for others.  Paul did say, “Whatsoever is pure, … Think on these things.”  Ephesians 4.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 5, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

If you are feeling guilty about not flossing last night I have good news for you.  According to the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services there is no research evidence supporting the hypothesis that flossing is beneficial to dental and gum health.  The counsel we have received for decades has been based on a hunch.  But, that is what a hypothesis is – a hunch.  Many reasonable hypotheses have bitten the dust through the years for lack of supporting evidence. Until such evidence is produced we accept what seem to be many good ideas by faith.  Lack of evidence does not make the hypothesis wrong.  It merely means we do not have empirical evidence to support the hypothesis as being true.  So don’t throw away your floss.

There are many things in life we accept by faith.  Some scientists would have us believe there is empirical evidence proving macroevolution.  There isn’t.   However, there is evidence supporting microevolution. Bacteria can morph and become resistant to drugs.  It is a huge problem.  We have to continue developing new drugs if we are to stay ahead of bacterial adaptation.  But macroevolution is accepted by faith.  There is a huge leap of faith accepted when one moves from microevolution to macroevolution.

Those who believe in creation by an intelligent being have not enough empirical evidence to prove our position.  We accept creationism by faith because to us it makes more sense than believing something as marvelous as we happened by chance.   We must never let anyone browbeat us into thinking our position of creationism is an inferior position.  Those who believe we are the product of a secession of favorable mutations are believers just as are creationists.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 6, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

 

We didn’t have any water when we got up this morning.  I’m guessing there was an abundant use of cologne in our neighborhood this morning as people headed out to work.  When I went out to pick up the morning paper I looked up the street and noticed a city employee opening a fire hydrant.  I first heard a rush of air followed by a sputtering of water and then a gush.  To get a flow of water he first had to vent all the air out of the line.  “Wow,” I thought, “just like church.  Once all the hot air is vented we get to the Water of Life.”  Actually, I wish that were true.  Sometimes the Water of Life never appears.  It is all air.

I worry about preaching.  Paul very politely calls it foolishness.  “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”  I Corinthians 1:21.  I am often amazed at the patience of the saints.  I have seen them sit for over an hour at times listening to a series of platitudes strung together with little or no Water of Life.  I hear the saints saying “amen” to ideas they have heard a thousand times.  Perhaps if they hear a new idea they have to process it before they can say “amen” and that takes time.

And yet, as Paul says, people are saved despite our muddled efforts.  I have come to believe the gift of tongues spoken of in Acts does not have to be foreign languages.  I think it is often the gift of ears as the Holy Spirit intervenes and whispers to each what each needs to hear.  I’m almost sure of it because sometimes people thank me for saying something I know I did not say!  Lord, forgive my hot air.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 9, 2016

PO Box 124, St.Helena, Ca 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

 

I saw something today I don’t understand.  Maybe someone can help me on this.  I saw a house with solar panels covering the entirety of a roof.  What puzzled me was the house was densely shaded on all sides by very large trees.  How effective are those panels?

I thought of someone trying to be a Christian while continuing to feed on media not only projecting popular secularism but in many cases overtly teaching and promoting immorality and soul-destroying values.  He/she goes to church each weekend but then spends the other six days filling their mind with violent and sexually charged materials.  Are they not countering their one day in church?  Are they not panels seeking and needing sunlight but creating a barrier to the nourishment of the Light of the World?

I realize unless one chooses to be a social hermit one cannot block the world’s ever present presentation of secular values.  To accomplish that one would have to watch no television, listen to no radio, nor read any magazines or newspapers.  That is neither practical nor desirable if we seek to be relevant.  I am speaking more about the absence of spiritual feeding.  If we have an hour or a half an hour each day to feed on some entertainment should we not at a minimum counterbalance that with time spent in God’s word or some other up-lifting material that espouses the values we want for our children and ourselves?

A solar panel shaded will (according to my limited understanding) produce little electricity.  A Christian shaded from the Light of the World will produce little character development.  The very name Christian means Christ-like.  To be like Him one has to know Him.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 16, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, Ca 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Our dog is amazing.  Thunderstorms boom and flash all over our neighborhood and she never lifts even an ear.  It is no big deal.  We can go out into the yard and feel the coolness of an approaching storm pushing away the heat of the day and she lifts her head into the wind and sniffs as if it were Eau de Summer.   Last night the light show overhead was intense.  At one point a bolt zapped and sizzled over the house so close one could smell the ozone.  She never flinched nor seemed startled but instead she quietly came over and laid down on my feet while uttering a deep sigh.

Hearing her contented sigh I could not but think of a song I grew up with.

“Under His wings I am safely abiding,

Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,

Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me,

He has redeemed me, and I am His child.”

Just now as I am writing she is lying in front of a fan but I can see the whites of her eyes and I know she is watching me.  Should I make any indication I will be getting up she will immediately stand to accompany me.  “Anywhere He leads me I will safely go.”  (Another great old hymn.)  I should be as faithful to my God as she is to me.  I should trust Him as much as she trusts me.  When life gets difficult and harsh, it has and will again, I should sink into my favorite place with a deep sigh.  She knew all was well as long as I was not afraid.  I know all will be well as long as Jesus is not afraid and, of course, He never is!

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 15, 2016

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org