Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,
    your well-being like the waves of the sea.

• Isaiah 48:18

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

• 2 Thessalonians 3:16

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

• Isaiah 9:6-7

You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.

• Isaiah 26:3

The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
    its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

• Isaiah 32:17

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.

• Isaiah 53:5

Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

• Isaiah 54:10

Those who walk uprightly
    enter into peace;
    they find rest as they lie in death.

• Isaiah 57:2

Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
    and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
    and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
    and well-being your ruler.

• Isaiah 60:17

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Philippians 4:7

If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,
    your well-being like the waves of the sea.

• Luke 19:41-42

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

• Romans 8:31

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

• Colossians 3:15

The Boilerplate

My wife took a Bible Study in 2011.  (There was a note in the study guide that identified September 2 and that the study was being held on Friday mornings, or I might not have ever figured out what year.)  My wife had become a Christian in 2000. She greatly respected the pastor’s wife who was also a pastor.  The pastor’s wife spent time as the interim associate pastor, and this Bible study might have been during that time.

My wife passed away in March 2023, and I found this study guide as I was cleaning up.  It is a Beth Moore study guide.  Most of the questions are close-ended, mostly fill-in-the-blank.  But my wife was eager to learn.  She wrote her thoughts in the margins, sometimes encouraged to do so by Beth Moore.  I will use her comments as I did once before, calling this a “with a little help” series in that my wife contributes.  There is more to follow in that she wrote Scriptures and prayers in a notebook.  Probably what she found in her personal Bible study, giving her encouragement through the long illness that took her life.

So, instead of writing about a topic at random, I am going to write on my wife’s comments in the Study Guide. It may follow the study guide topics, but it may not.

Discussion on this topic

Beth Moore starts by asking how often and in what areas of life God wants to grant us peace according to 2 Thessalonians 3:16.

“In all times and in every way.”

• My wife’s response

After reading the passages from Isaiah that related to peace, my wife commented on a time where peace passed all understanding.  She mentioned my brother who died a few months before this Bible study.  That was followed by my Dad, and then my mother, but she only spoke of my brother’s death.  She had resolved her grief in the short weeks before the next family death.  Her help in the grief with one close relative dying helped when two of her brothers passed away.

“I had such grief.  God comforted me with hopeful words and words of comfort.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

Why did Jesus show great grief when He approached Jerusalem?

“He knew the end (death) was near.  If only …”

• My wife’s response

In addition, I think He saw the generations of people who had rejected God since King David had captured Jerusalem.  They had so many chances to repent, and truly turn back to God.

Yes, His death was approaching.  The penalty for sin will be paid in the ultimate fashion by the Son of God dying on a cross.  Knowing that would have anyone’s emotions on edge, but it was also the sin of all those people over those millennia that was starting to weigh Him down.

Have you ever experienced peace in the midst of chaos?

“The Lenten breakfast – Prayed, and although it was a flurry of activity, our energy level went up.  Our creativity and work also went up without being exhausted.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

This is before my wife had open-heart surgery and kidney failure, but the kidney failure took over fifteen years to reach the point of dialysis.  She was already feeling tired due to stage three kidney failure and the heart murmur and the thyroid issues.  Yet, God provided the energy without exhaustion for this breakfast.

My wife had a sense of humor.  Beth Moore talked about living water and the work of the Holy Spirit within us.  Then she asked how we can keep that living water welling up within us?

“By drinking daily so that I won’t dry up.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

My wife did not misunderstand the question.  She was just joking in that we need to spend time with God daily, reading His Word, praying, so that the living water remains flowing.  Using “drinking” was her way of saying that we tap into God in every way possible.

And how can righteousness itself bring peace?

“Knowing that what you’ve done (i.e. work related anything in life) was sanctified thru God and His ability to see us through it.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

God sees us through the good times and the hard times.  And all things work for the good for those who love the Lord.

And how should we respond to this lesson?

“By staying / depending on Him as our source of life.”

• My wife’s inner thoughts

My wife knew harder times were coming than what we experienced in 2011.  In some ways, she was seeing her end on this earth coming ever since she had the vision in 2000.  She had to depend on God as her source of life each day.  We all do, but do we realize that we do?

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory