Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

• Hebrews 4:15

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

• Matthew 3:16-17

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

• Matthew 4:1-11

The Boilerplate

My wife took a Bible Study in 2009.  She had become a Christian in 2000, and about the time that she took this class during the week at night, she developed night blindness, or at least the start of it.  I would drive her to a friend’s house, and then the friend would drive her home afterwards.  The focus on the Bible Study was weight loss from a biblical perspective.  I don’t know if any weight was lost by anyone in the Bible Study, but a few members of that group became very good friends.

My wife passed away in March and I found her study guide as I was cleaning up.  I actually found two study guides.  The other study guide was from a Bible study long before committing herself to Jesus.  Her answers were usually copying Scripture or turning the Scripture into her own words.  This Bible Study in 2009 showed signs of how God was working in her life.  It showed Christian growth.

So, instead of writing about a topic at random, I decided to write on the topics in the Study Guide, but instead of using the words of the Study Guide, I thought I would fashion the answers of her questions into a thread to discuss the topic.  And I will not use any comment about other members of the group study (few, and usually prayer requests).  That would be confidential.  Thus, I am writing about these topics “with a little help” from my wife’s answers to study guide questions.

“[Regarding the Matthew 3 Scripture above] As soon as Jesus was baptized and came out of the water, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit came down on Him like a dove.
“[Regarding the Matthew 4 Scripture, and whether this was against God’s will…] No, Jesus was being put to the test on His faithfulness to God and letting God be in control to call the shots.”

• My wife’s ideas about the Scriptures above

The first comment was like how my wife responded in the Bible study in the late 1980s, quoting Scripture or putting Scripture into her words, but the second Scripture goes deeper, and she was personalizing the situation.  Sure, Jesus is God, but she was seeing her own temptations and seeing that God had to be in control, calling the shots.

Now, where do we go with this?  Why is it important to focus on the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus right before He goes into the wilderness?

“That we are totally under God’s control and not lie to ourselves about anything so we can have faith in Him.”

• My wife’s ideas on the Holy Spirit’s help in our lives

When we are tempted, we too often lie to ourselves.  This Bible Study was about weight control using a biblical perspective, but my wife learned a lot about faith, whether she lost weight or not was immaterial.  But in watching the calories, it is so easy to have something added to the diet that we lie to ourselves, saying that it is so few extra calories.  About this time, she developed a habit for the rest of her life in telling the waitress that we were not interested in the dessert menu.  I often wanted a dessert, but I got used to skipping that page in the menu.

Do we lie to ourselves about the victimless sins in our lives?  Let me mention one that seems “tame”.  Jesus said that we are just as guilty of murder when we call someone a fool.  For more than forty years, my wife would fuss at me.  “The fool driver that you just yelled at did not hear a word, but I heard the whole rant!  It hurts my ears.  It makes me nervous.  And all you are doing is venting.  The traffic is just as horrible as ever.  And I see you cutting a corner every now and then.  You are not the perfect driver, Mr. Safety Director!”  Okay, Safety Director was only a title in the last ten work years, but you get the point.  But my loud rants became soft mutters.  Often she would yell, “Did you see what that driver did to us?”  I had no time to respond. I was too busy trying to get the car back on the road after going in the ditch.  But I would smile, in that she had taken over with the ranting.  Yet, occasionally as I muttered, the last two or three years while I was a fulltime caregiver, she would softly laugh.  And then she would say, “I have been so blessed to have you entertain me while you protect me over the last forty-five years or so, as we go from place to place.  I love you, but they still can’t hear what you are saying.”

Yes, we could say that calling the other drivers on the highway ‘fools’ is the least offense.  It is no harm to the other drivers.  My wife told me thousands of times that the other drivers could not hear my rants or my muttering, but God heard, and me calling them a fool made it that much harder for me to do what God commanded that I do – to love them.

But what about when you were not keeping your eyes on Jesus, or relying on the Holy Spirit when Satan tempted you?

“I forgot about God and just did it.  The Devil made me do it.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

For the theologians out there who did not like her second sentence, she was having fun with television quips.  Like the Nike slogan, “Just do it.”  And then from my wife’s and my youth, Flip Wilson, dressed up as Geraldine, saying, “The Devil made me buy this dress.”  Usually followed with a wide hip shake and screaming “Woooooooo!”

Yes, the Devil can tempt.  He cannot make us do it, but when we forget God, we forget the source of strength to resist the temptation.

When Jesus enters our heart, the Holy Spirit comes in also.  He gives us guidance and strength, but we must learn how to listen to that small voice.  He does not shout like I used to do with crazy drivers.  He whispers like my mutterings that would cause my wife to laugh.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.