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 fellowshipping 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.

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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 theplastic 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.

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It went “buzz-z-z,” followed by three tones that counted– one, two, three.  Over and over it was clearly imprinted on the hiker’s brain.  Coming out of the forest he went directly to the computer.  It took only a few moments to identify the call as that of the golden-winged warbler.  He had never seen a golden-winged warbler, but he knew without a doubt where one lived.  He went back to the forest the next day and the call came again from the very same place.  “Aha, if I am patient, maybe I will see this elusive bird,” the hiker thought.

We have never seen the Holy Spirit, but we do know without a doubt where He lives.  In Ephesians 5:18 Paul writes of his desire that his readers be filled with the Spirit.  It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells within us.  In John 3 Jesus speaks of the reality of the Spirit, not by seeing it, but by seeing what it does.

It produces major changes in our lives and fruit is produced—the fruit of affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity, a willingness to stick with things, and a sense of compassion in the heart…” Galatians  5:22

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 27, 2004

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Surely there has not been a more decent, honest and honorable man who was President of the United States than Jimmy Carter.  Without a doubt he has had the most successful post-presidency of any man who ever lived in the White House.  His foundation has reached out to provide clean water for the poor, medical care for the blind of the world and conflict resolution among nations.

 His marriage with Rosalynn is an example for all of us.  Interestingly, however, in an interview both of the Carters recalled how difficult it was to co-author a book.  As each wrote the truth about events that had occurred in the White House they discovered their stories were very different.  Each was sure the other was having memory problems because each was sure their version was what really happened.

 Truth is difficult to know.  Even the sincere see things through personal biases and faulty memories.  So often we know only what we want to know, filtering out everything that contradicts what we want to believe. Perhaps the person most difficult to know the truth about is the person we see in the mirror.  How very fortunate we are that the One who really knows the truth about us also loves us dearly and died for us.  While we were sinners He gave His life for us that we should not only live but also actually grow into the person our dog thinks we are.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 28, 2004

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After ten years of accumulated stuff it became obvious that the garage was in serious need of attention.  It is amazing how stuff accumulates.  It makes one want to believe in spontaneous generation.  It seems as though at night when there is no moon stuff must pop into being.  Usually it is useless stuff that might possibly become useful someday.  But eventually reality hits—the stuff is not ever going to be useful.  Then one can only hope the garbage man will carry it all away.

It is like that with our brains as well.  They too are often filled with useless stuff.  The problem is we cannot get rid of it as easily as we can the junk in the garage.  It seems that the best solution would be to keep filling our minds with quality material.  If one concentrates on good stuff, there will be no time to think about the trash and it will eventually fade away.

Paul said, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”  Philippians 4:8

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 1, 2004

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It is not uncommon to find in old books small pieces of paper filled with nonsense scribbling.  What fun it is to find such treasures.  Many of us have them tucked away in our books.  What precious reminders they are–  reminders of a four-year-old thrusting into your hands a tiny blue piece of paper with wondrous markings!  Oh, how we value those “love notes.”

 

Have you ever considered that our attempts to communicate with God must be on the level of scribbling?  The thought of forming any sentence either elegant or plain to present before the Creator of the universe fills one with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.  Praying almost seems an act of arrogance.  Yet God invites us to do so and is pleased when we take Him up on his invitation.  Psalms 91:15,16 says, “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

 

Perhaps the books of heaven are filled with small pieces of paper loaded with some very precious scribblings.

 

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 29, 2002

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It is not uncommon to find in old books small pieces of paper filled with nonsense scribbling.  What fun it is to find such treasures.  Many of us have them tucked away in our books.  What precious reminders they are–  reminders of a four-year-old thrusting into your hands a tiny blue piece of paper with wondrous markings!  Oh, how we value those “love notes.”

Have you ever considered that our attempts to communicate with God must be on the level of scribbling?  The thought of forming any sentence either elegant or plain to present before the Creator of the universe fills one with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.  Praying almost seems an act of arrogance.  Yet God invites us to do so and is pleased when we take Him up on his invitation.  Psalms 91:15,16 says, “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Perhaps the books of heaven are filled with small pieces of paper loaded with some very precious scribblings.

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 29, 2002

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Mandy, the family’s precious black lab, bounded into the house and startled everyone with the sight of light coming out of her mouth.  It was amazing.  She had real light originating from her mouth.  It was really spooky, but just as suddenly she dashed outside again but this time with the family close behind.  After all this was just too weird.  What they saw next was amazing.  She was running around the yard snapping at fireflies and catching them.  The light was the phosphorescent material left on her teeth from her strange activity.

Light coming out of someone’s mouth is a fascinating idea.  That is exactly what happened when Jesus was here.  The things He said.  The sermons He preached.  The stories He told all enlightened the world.  He was the light of the world.  He told us how much the Father cares.  He told us we can live forever if we will only accept His gift.

And we can do just what Jesus did.  Light can come from our mouths.  We can tell the world the Good News.  Just think: light coming out of our mouths!

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 30, 2002

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How quickly the world changes; when I was a boy we bemoaned the fact that the great herds of bison were gone.  Bison had become so rare I never saw one outside a zoo until we visited Yellowstone.  It was a big deal to see one standing by the road.  I say this because yesterday I bought a bag of dog food which had for its primary ingredient bison meat.  She loved it.  She scarfed it down so quickly I thought she had inhaled it. So much for all those cornmeal based foods.

When we lived in Africa the primary ingredient in dog food was elephant meat.  One of our mission families had a little boy who loved the elephant meat.  He would come home with elephant breath after sneaking over to the neighbor’s porch to gobble up the contents of the dog’s bowl.

What we eat and don’t eat is a fascinating topic.  I have friends who are very omnivorous, while others are vegetarians and others vegans.   In Leviticus God gave the children of Israel a list of eating dos and don’ts.  Because He is the creator of our bodies He knows what is best for us.  Unfortunately, instead of being health laws they turned them into religious taboos.  And there are many people who still treat them as such.  In Mark 7 Jesus addressed the issue by saying, “There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.”  It is no wonder the leaders felt Jesus had to go.  This was in direct conflict with centuries of belief.  For Jesus, how we speak and how we treat others is everything.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 20, 2012

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The graying college professor was watching television—but not really.  He was casually interested but not enough to give it his full attention so he pulled a volume of the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica off the shelf and began to browse.  He came across an article on Nebuchadnezzar. Knowing Nebuchadnezzar was once the king of Babylon, which is modern day Iraqi, gave the article a modern day connection.  The article even gave the name of Nebuchadnezzar’s younger brother Nabo-sum-lisir.  The old prof had never seen this before and thought it would be great fun to put this name on his door at school along with the promise of a ten-dollar reward to the first person to correctly identify him.  Just to make sure it was not too easy he went to www.google.com and typed in Nabo-sum-lisir.  In eight tenths of a second there on his computer screen was a copy of the very page in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.  Obviously, he did not offer the reward.

The lesson is obvious.  If anyone with an Internet connection can now identify Nebuchadnezzar’s younger brother in the blink of an eye, the wonder and mystery of God knowing everything about us is gone.  More than ever it makes us grateful for the promises of grace and forgiveness because with God there are no secrets.  “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing….” Eccl. 12:14.

“It is by grace you have been saved.”  Eph. 2:5  Lord, we are so grateful!

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 28, 2003

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