Author: Ian Bothwell

Each year around the end of August summer begins to grow old.  While the leaves will not turn to their brilliant fall colors for a few more weeks, there is a subtle change in the greens.  There is a lengthening of the shadows.  The hollyhocks have lost their flowers and the chrysanthemum buds are swelling.  The pumpkins are almost ready and the Indian corn is drying.  And here and there one sees a splash of color on a few tree branches.

There is something poignant about things aging before their time.  Sometimes we see children who know far too much about life.  You can see it in their eyes.  They are burdened from a past filled with things they do not mention.

There are times when we may be tempted to speak harshly to someone.  However, we should pause for there is so little we really know about each other.  Words of encouragement would be so much better—so much more Christ-like.

“… and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive …. 2 Peter 1: 7-8

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 30, 2002

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The restaurant supplied the jar of bubbles and the father provided the wind for the soapy orbs.  In a gentle stream the bubbles floated across the table toward the sweetest little girl.  As she reached out for them one giant bubble settled safely on the back of her hand.  The rays of sunlight coming through the window polished its swirled reds and greens.  Expressing glee she reached out with her other hand to stroke it and—BAM!  It was gone.  It was so pretty, ephemeral.

Jesus touched on this theme in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said, “See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”  Matt. 6: 28-30.

When we are ten years old a year is a lifetime.  When we are 30 a year is a year.  When we are 50 a year is a month.  It does not take a Philadelphia lawyer to realize life is as ephemeral as a bubble sitting on the back of a little girl’s hand.  Bam!  It is gone.  And how will we have lived it?

Written by Roger Bothwell on September 24, 2002

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The hiker and his dog sat on a mountaintop overlooking a quaint New England village.  The sun was behind them and they could watch the shadows of night edging their way from home to home.  Ducks created V’s on the pond below as geese formed them in the sky above.

During a late summer storm an oak tree had fallen across the path to this mountain summit.  Hikers had already started a new path around it.  Obstacles are like that.  Obstacles are just obstacles and nothing more.  People find ways around them.  Sometimes they are minor blips along life’s way, but sometimes they are major interruptions on the way to a dream.  Smart people, innovative people, brave people, undefeatable people always find a way around.  This is the way it is supposed to be.  Obstacles teach us lessons.  Obstacles make us stronger and wiser.  Obstacles make the moment of success all the sweeter.

In Hebrews 12: 2 we read, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The cross was not the end.  It was only an obstacle.

Written by Roger Bothwell on Sept 22, 2002

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If you are a precise, persnickety, perfect, particular person there is a website just for you.  It is www.time.gov.  This wonderful location gives you the official United States time.  You can set your time zone.  It even tells you just how precise it is.  Usually it is within one half of a second.  This site is a chronologist’s dream.  No longer do you have to scan the short wave bands of your radio listening for the “knock, knock” sound that indicates you are tuned to the broadcasting of the official GMT.  Now you can bookmark this site and instantaneously know the time.

 Wanting to know the time is not a modern phenomenon.  In Acts 1:6-7 we read, “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, ‘Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’  And he said unto them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.’”

History has seen its time setters.  All of them have had to invent fanciful explanations for the obvious failure of their predictions.  When one pauses to think about it, it really is not a good idea for us to know the exact time of Jesus’ return.  As hard as we might try not to do so we would regulate our behavior in harmony with the announced time.  That is not so good.  We need to live our lives by the principles of God’s kingdom regardless of when our Lord should appear—that is the key to the abundant life. 

 Written by Roger Bothwell

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I have a friend who brought me a diet book.  He walked into my house and said, “Here you need this.”  I was quite amused.  I was very thankful he cared enough.  We all know the danger of extra pounds.  Since my friend had just himself lost 40 pounds and is feeling so good he wanted to share the experience with me.

I am thankful for friends who care.  And of course the most important friend of all who cares about me is Jesus Himself.  He too reminds me of areas in my life that need attention.  And just like my friend who did not just tell me to lose weight but brought me a book to help, so Jesus will supply me with all I need to fix up the other areas of my life.

That is what friends are for.

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In the fall as the days grow shorter and the midnight frost starts to nip the flowers, squirrels become most industrious.  They scurry around burying acorns everywhere carefully patting the dirt down on top of each acorn making it secure for future nourishment.

We are somewhat like those squirrels when reading our Bibles.  Not always is a passage exactly relevant to what is happening in our current lives.  But when reading we are burying seeds of truth and comfort for later times when we might need them.  Just as those squirrels do not need the acorns in the fall, later during a very cold winter the acorns will be there waiting for them.  If we hide God’s Word deeply in our minds, it will be there for us to use when difficult times come.

The Psalmist wrote in Ps. 119:19, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  If we store up God’s wisdom, the Holy Spirit can make good use of it when the need arises.

Written by Roger Bothwell on October 3, 2000

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Have you ever looked at a tomato?  I mean really look at a fully ripe, lush, shiny red tomato.  Sitting in the sun it is a thing of beauty.  When I was a boy someone told me in ancient times people thought tomatoes were poisonous.  I wondered who was the first brave person who dared try one only to discover it wasn’t dangerous, or maybe someone tried to commit suicide by eating one and it didn’t work, or maybe they tried to use one as a means of capital punishment only to have the intended enjoy his last meal.  They could always throw them at bad public speakers.

It’s marvelous that tomatoes grow from those tiny white seeds. One would never know what a tomato looks like by only looking at a tomato seed.  Paul had this in mind when people asked him what we will look like after the resurrection.  So he wrote the following in I Corinthians 15.  “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.”

So the answer to the question is Paul didn’t know and neither do we.  What we do know is it will be splendid. “Just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”  Verse 49   In verse 51 Paul calls it a mystery.  This is a mystery we all should love because it is about us, His redeemed.  No wonder sometimes we refer to someone as a “real tomato.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 29, 2016

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This morning I watched a smart salt/sand truck driver de-ice our hill.  Instead of trying to head down the hill and spread his salt and sand behind him, he backed down the hill so the pavement under his tires was pre-treated.  Otherwise he would have had a very scary ride down our hill with who knows what consequences when he got to the bottom.

Pre-treating or preparation is advantageous in a multitude of situations.  One would not want to go for a plane ride if the pilot had not prepared with his checklists.  One would not like to eat food prepared by someone who had not first washed their hands.  If you have an artificial knee or hip you don’t want to go to the dentist without first pre-treating yourself with a strong antibiotic. Things work best when proper steps are first taken.

I have seen some very frustrated Christians who complain that they cannot seem to get their spouse interested in accepting Jesus.  I wonder if they had pre-treated their quest by being the most loving, caring, supporting, sharing spouse ever.  In order to sell something we have to show the advantages.  Now some people will never be sold.  But if they are normal (normal people want to have a great life) and they see the quality of life that comes with Jesus, the odds are in favor of their making the desired decision.

If we are wise we prepare for a career by getting the education that matches our career goals.   If we are wise we prepare for our children’s college needs and also for our retirement that will come way too soon.

What do you think one needs to do to prepare for a final encounter with God that also is coming?

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 10, 2014

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I opened the door about five this morning to let my dog out and was smacked in the face by the most wonderful blast of cold air.  It was marvelous, refreshing and invigorating.   I know I should have been energy conscious and quickly closed the door to save household heat but I was prodigal.  I held the door open and basked in the luxury of fresh air.  Wow.  It was terrific.

So easily we grow accustomed to the norm we don’t notice the norm itself is degrading.  In this particular incident the air in the house had slowly grown stale.  But that isn’t nearly as important as the concern that we become accustomed to the values and norms of the world around us.  We all do it.          J. B. Phillips in his paraphrase of Romans 12 says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”

It is so easy to grow lukewarm.  All we have to do is nothing.  It happens all by itself.  Fortunately things happen to us, like a blast of cold air, and we are jarred into the reality of our state of being.  Then it’s time to take action.

We often make resolutions about doing better at certain things, like losing weight.  That’s important for most of us.  But more importantly is something else – putting on and wearing “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3.   That’s a blast for everyone with which we come into contact.

Written by Roger Bothwell on December 28, 2016

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Years have passed since we were stunned by the horror at Columbine High in Colorado.  It will be decades before the name Dylan Klebold will not make people pause and wonder why.  His mother, Sue Klebold, has written a memoir entitled, A Mother’s Reckoning.  During a interview the last question put to her  was, “Do you still love your son?”  There was a pregnant pause and with a voice full of emotion Mrs. Klebold said, “I never stopped loving him.  I will love him until I breathe my last breath,” she said. “He’s like an invisible child that I carry in my arms everywhere I go, always.”

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”    Revelation 12

And so our history books are filled with gruesome revulsion and disgust at our inhumanity toward each other.  So often we try to paint it with nobility but it is useless because it is what it is – selfishness.  And so we ask God, who watched His very own Son perish here, “When did you stop loving Satan?”  And God says with a voice filled with emotion, “I never stopped loving him.  I will love him until I breathe my last breath. He’s like an invisible child that I carry in my arms everywhere I go, always.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 17, 2016

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