Roger Bothwell

Today NASA added a record 1284 new planets to the existing list of planets outside our solar system bringing the total now to 3200.   Nine of the new planets seem to be in a favorable zone for life.  It brings new meaning to Hebrews 1:2 which says, “In these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”  And Hebrews 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.”  
 
The expression “word of God” doesn’t mean God said some magic phrase like “Hocus Pocus.”  The word “word” means creation came out of the body of His wisdom.  God is a scientist and not a magician.  He creates worlds because He knows how, not because He discovered some magic combination of words.  Jesus is the Word of God.  See John 1.  Jesus is all of God’s character expressed in a marvelous God/human being.   This is so far beyond our comprehension.
 
As we find these new planets we are, of course, only opening page one of a million page book filled with God’s maps.  Can you imagine missing out on all the places to go and see.  I feel like a promotion for Dr. Seuss’ book, Oh the Places You Will Go.  It is a great title for us.  We can add to it, Oh the Things You Will See.  We are on the cusp of great adventures.  Willy Wonka sang it so well.  “Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.”   Imagination that becomes reality for all those who put their trust in Jesus.

Many years ago my family and I were flying across country in a Piper Arrow.  As we entered the southwest we spent the afternoon weaving our way around storm cells.  As we neared Phoenix we skirted about a storm and hurriedly landed for fuel hoping to be back in the air before it arrived over Phoenix.  We were all fueled and taxied to the number one position for takeoff when we got the following message, “Piper Arrow you are cleared for takeoff.  However, the 747 behind you has chosen to wait because of wind shears on all four quadrants.  What would you like to do?”   Obviously we chose to wait. 
 
Notice the choice was ours.  The air traffic controller gave us clearance and then offered some very pertinent information.  God does much the same.  He gives us free control over our lives.   He also offers pertinent information hoping we will be wise enough to heed His counsel.  As we sat at the end of the runway the storm moved over us and the winds gave us a good shaking even as we sat on the ground.  I was so glad we were not in the air.
 
Sometimes even when we are trying to do what God asks of us we get battered about.  We think it is bad but had we not heeded God’s advice it would have been so very much worse.  Just as a good pilot trusts the air traffic controller so does a good child of God trust Him.  The air traffic controller does not want an accident to happen and neither does God.   “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6.

So why do I feel anxious when passing through electronic detectors at retail stores?   I know I didn’t steal anything.  I was never even tempted.  It’s worse when I haven’t purchased anything.  I imagine the clerks think I just picked up something and didn’t bother going to the checkout.  I hold my breath as I pass through and only start breathing again once safely on the other side.  I imagine having the alarms going off and being descended upon by a SWAT team. Am I mentally ill with a built-in neurotic sense of guilt?  
 
I can only imagine what it would be like showing up before the judgment bar of God.  He can read my mind!  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we are guilty even if we think about wrong.  “I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”  Ouch.  Can I please have some extra mercy because of what I thought about that guy who passed me, cut in and slowed down?
 
Actually the idea of “extra mercy” is redundant and ridiculous.   Mercy is mercy.  It is adequate all by itself. Nobody needs extra.  Not even Hitler.  Paul wrote, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”  Sometimes this concept overwhelms me with its all encompassing scope.  I am tempted to think, “This is just too good to be true.”   That’s why the story is called the Gospel.  It is Good News.  No.  It’s the Best News.  So let us go boldly through the electronic detectors.

One our neighbors was approached by another neighbor who proceeded to chastise her for having loose items in her city-provided garbage container.  (Our city wants all garbage to be bagged.)  With amazement she asked, “How do you know that?”  He responded, “I came over and looked.”  If you think that’s strange, come and visit me and I will tell you some even stranger stuff about the guy.
 
As I listened I thought of how often we dig around in other people’s pasts to find some juicy bit of garbage.  We use it to spice up our conversations.  It seems to be our nature to enjoy that better than saying, “That Harold is a really great guy.”  It is no wonder Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15 we will be changed.  If not, heaven will be a boring place because there won’t be any garbage to tell about each other.  No, I haven’t lost track of the fact that I just invited you over to tell you things I can’t write about.  I’m just as guilty as you are.  And you are.   Don’t pretend not to be.
 
In James 3 we read about how dangerous our tongues seem to be.   The chapter finishes with. “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”  So the lesson is obvious. Let’s cease looking into other’s garbage.  I’m sure you are like me in wanting to reap that harvest of righteousness.  By the way my neighbor is really strange.  Oops.  I did it again.  This can be tough.

You cannot watch the 6:30 evening network news without being bombarded with drug commercials.  I am fascinated with all the acronyms for newly invented disorders.  “If you have a severe case of ISN please be sure to ask your physician for a prescription of IJ19.”  “Don’t take IJ19 if you are allergic to IJ19.”  Duh!  Why would anyone take anything if one is allergic to it?  I remember being in the hospital with a morphine pump and reacting so seriously to just one press of the red button they immediately took the red button away from me.  Did they really think I was stupid enough to press it again?
 
However, people don’t seem to be overly bright regarding sins.  Sin is anything that is not good for us.  That’s why God calls them sins. Yet, we seem to keep going back to them over and over.  Perhaps the issue is that often the allergic reaction is delayed and the results don’t manifest themselves until it is too late.  God regards us as being more intelligent than the nurses regarded me.  He doesn’t take away the red button.  He counts on us exercising our free will to take care of ourselves.  In other words, God respects us and doesn’t treat us like children.  Now if only we would act more responsibly.
 
God is so amazing.  He is so anxious to have us with Him for eternity He actually forgives us for our reckless behaviors and will on resurrection morning give us a brand new body and brain.  However, we will still have free choice and God is counting on us being smart enough to never again “press the red button.”  See I Corinthians 15:51–54.

We have all received invitations to events where the inviter wishes for us to RSVP.  They want us to respond.  But what do those letters actually mean?   It is a French expression.  “Répondez s’il vous plaît.”  I never knew that until right now when I Googled it.  Telling you that reveals my lack of social education.   I’m sorry I am not more couth. 
 
I bring this up because I was reading II Peter 1 and came across the following, “Make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”   God has sent us an invitation to attend the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.   See Revelation 19:6-9.  It is fascinating that He wants us to confirm or RSVP.  We are tempted to think He already knows how many place settings to have ready.  He can tell the heavenly caterers how much food to prepare.  Why does He need an RSVP?   Once again it’s for us.  Everything He ever asks of us is for us.  By sending Him an RSVP we commit ourselves to attend.  
 
A rich young man approached Jesus and said, “What must I do to be saved?”   Jesus’ answer was basically, “Please send my Father an RSVP.”  Yes, I know Jesus told Him to sell his goods and give it to the poor.  Jesus was saying, “Clear your calendar.”   Get rid of everything and anything that would conflict with the invitation.  God’s invitation is the best invitation we will ever receive.  Clear your calendar.  Cancel anything that would interfere.  That will be your RSVP.

Starbucks is being sued because they are underfilling their cups.  I know it is shocking to many but an unscientific study indicates they advertise their Venti cold drink contains 24 ounces and it only has 14 ounces.   The rest is ice.  When will the mayhem stop?
 
Lest you be tempted to think no one keeps their promises let me assure you there is no mayhem in heaven.  When God promises something He means it!  It is never watered down with ice or anything.  We are promised eternal life.   That is not a million years.  That is not 100 million years.  That is forever.  Obviously there has to be intervention of some sort.  The way we are now I am not sure I want to live to be a hundred.  I know that for sure when I get out of my easy chair.  If it feels like this now what will it feel like at hundred.  I would need an entire bottle of Ibuprofen just to stand up.
 
We are talking about eternity where we continue to develop.  Next earth year we will be better than last earth year. (I’m not sure how we will count years.)  Last week some middle aged man prayed with my wife and asked God to bless her now that she is in her sunset years.  Oh dear.  He is very fortunate he got to say amen.
 
Since God never waters down a promise try this one.  “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. . .” Jude 24   If you have a nagging guilt about something in your past, ask for forgiveness and forget it.  He is able.

If you are looking for a great verse to start off your week, look no further.  I have a verse for you.  It is Ephesians 1:18-19.  Paul is praying for us and he said,  “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
 
If you ever wonder how you are going to make ends meet, rejoice.  You have an extravagantly rich Father who has promised that you will participate fully in the family will.  The great part is you get your inheritance without Him having to die.  He can enjoy watching you prosper as He lavishes every blessing upon you.  Notice also in Ephesians 1, “In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.”
 
Don’t skip over the words “lavish”, “pleasure” and “adoption to sonship.”  Also note “freely given.”  It is no wonder the first four books of the New Testament are called Gospels.  Good News really isn’t strong enough.  We need more powerful words to describe what is in store for us.  Oh, there’s another good word Paul mentions.  We receive “great power.”   Say yes to Jesus.  Accept the gift and welcome to the family.  There is plenty for all.   There are no losers.  Everyone is a winner!

Each morning I retrieve the memory disk from our trail camera to see who or what visited us during the night.  It time stamps the pictures.  Last night at 10 PM a mourning dove took a bath in a water tray on our patio.  Strange.   Why?   We have mourning doves at the water at all hours during the day but not at night.   This must have been an avian woman at the well.  In John 4 Jesus met a woman coming at noon to draw water.  The other women came in the cool of the evening or morning to avoid carrying water during the heat of the day.  She most likely did not feel very welcome when the others were there.  Do I have an outcast dove?
 
Paul has some very specific counsel for us regarding people who feel left out. “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”  Romans 12:16.   Who do we invite to our homes?  Who do we choose to sit near in church?  Who during potlucks do we seek out?   There is a real danger in following Paul’s counsel.  We just might be condescending.  “Look how wonderful I am.  I eat with the masses!”  Should we feel that way, they will know it.  We can’t hide it.  It is then that we need to remind ourselves that the King of Glory came to be one of us.  Talk about lowering one’s self!  That was the ultimate.   See Philippians 2. 
 
In almost every group there are those who feel unworthy.  If we really want to be like Jesus we should seek them out and draw them into our circle of love.

Life isn’t fair.  But you already knew that and didn’t need me to tell you.  I was reminded this morning while getting a haircut.  I could complain about the person who came in with a magnificent white mane while my barber was scanning my head for hairs to clip.  But that wasn’t the thing that really got to me.  It was my barber.  She is a wisp of a thing.  If she sneezed the laws of physics would guarantee she would fly backwards across the room and slam into a wall.  The unfairness was her continued conversation about all the places in the area to get ice cream and which are the best.  It is spring and once again they are open.  She takes her 80 year old mother and together they eat their way around the circuit.  I assumed she only got the kiddy cones but no she assured me she always got large.  Now that is unfair.  My waistline barely accommodates a one dollar cone from Burger King.
 
Once I had a church member complain that the thief on the cross got a free ride to heaven.  He thought that was so unfair considering how good he, the complainer, had been all his life.  Really?  Somewhere he failed to catch on that a righteous life is the best life.  If there was no heaven or no hell the person who lives righteously wins.  And furthermore, we all get a free ride to heaven.  I do agree life isn’t fair.  How is it fair that someone who never sinned died so the rest of us sinners get eternal life?  No, life isn’t fair and especially eternal life isn’t fair and I am so glad.  See John 3:16-17.