Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

• Genesis 3:1-7

We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

• 2 Corinthians 9:3-10

“We deceive ourselves into a false truth and give ourselves the A-Okay to break the rule or law.  I forget about the truth and Word of God, and I long for what is in the earth. {But} that won’t be a problem for me in the future – I’m losing my eye sight.”

• My wife’s ideas on being tempted by this world

Jesus said that if your eye causes you to sin then pluck it out.  My wife had ocular hypertension at this point in her life, not even glaucoma.  The only issues she was having in 2009 was that she could not see at night.  I would drop her off at a friend’s house, one of the other members of the Bible Study, and then the friend would drive her home afterwards.  In the 14 years after this comment, her hypertension had advanced to glaucoma, but an early stage of it.  In fact, the last doctor visit backed off from the proclamation that she had glaucoma.  The doctor also found evidence that macular degeneration had started.

But note that a bad prognosis from the doctor meant less temptation.  She was starting to accept the things that she could not change.  She was focusing more on those things she could change.  And she was relying on God more.

“Read – Stay away from the TV – QVC, HSN, food network.  Stay away from the mall or shopping when you feel down and out.”

• My wife’s ideas on how to battle the temptation

First, the big thing was to read.  Yet, as her eyesight got worse, reading became more difficult.  As her medical conditions worsened, focusing and comprehending what she read became more difficult.  But those were not a problem at this point in 2009.  Near the end, she watched a lot of TV, but rarely any shopping channels.

The idea of avoiding shopping channels on TV and malls or shopping centers when feeling depressed showed great insight.  I think the food network made her hungry and also tempted to buy exotic foods to share with me, adding calories to the diet and added expenses to the budget.  She rarely bought a lot, and mostly for other people, but she realized this was a weakness that the Evil One could exploit.

In an earlier post, I thought this might be the year that I went to Italy and then South Korea, with less than a week gap between the trips.  In her Bible Study notes, she said that one temptation was to join me in Italy, but it was too costly. So, my memory had successfully pieced what I was doing during this Bible Study.  She saw the extra airline ticket to be an unnecessary expense, and while earlier in my travelling days, she wanted something from that country, like a new piece of jewelry, but by this point, she wanted me to return, safely.

“I really concentrate on what the Bible says and I know that everything else isn’t worth the worry.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

Can anything more be added to that?

But since this Bible Study had a goal of Biblically looking at controlling our diets, I have to admit that I was a tempter, of sorts.  When she asked, I could have said, “No.”

When were you last tempted to eat foods you should not have eaten?

“My husband – taking me out to the Greek Food Festival, eating the baklava.”

• My wife, passing the buck on her own temptation

But then her next comment was …

“As sinners, we don’t accept our responsibility …”

• My wife, as she digs deeper

It had not been ten years since she had accepted Jesus as her Savior.  Sure, she did not have to ask for the baklava, and the trip to the dessert table was her idea…  The fresh donut-like treats, Loukoumades, was my destination after having some healthy Greek food.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.