Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

• Isaiah 61:1-3

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

• Matthew 25:21

However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

• 1 Corinthians 2:9

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

• John 13:3-17

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

• John 15:11

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

• James 1:2-4

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

How has God touched your life in a way you could never have imagined?

“His abundant blessings, of family, jobs for the kids, also my husband.”

• My wife’s response

While my wife wanted the idyllic life of a loving family, a home on a hill with children everywhere, we became vagabonds, not having any real roots.  The two boys had lives of their own in places that were more than one day’s drive away.

But she was twenty-four when we married.  In comparing herself to others with whom she graduated high school, she was starting to get to be a spinster, in her mind.  And when she reluctantly went on a date with me after bargaining unpleasant work activities onto her workmate who was acting as matchmaker, she had given up on ever finding Mr. Right.  Instead, she got me, Mr. Weird, and somehow she liked weird.

So, with that background, at that moment in her life, having a husband and a family and grandchildren was unthinkable.

How did Jesus administer gladness to you?

“A change of heart and attitude, accepting what I have.  God opened my eyes and heart, and I blossomed.”

• My wife’s response

What inhibited her blossoming was that she had four brothers and four sisters.  All her younger sisters were either wealthy or somewhat comfortable.  She knew that I was intelligent and morally upright.  She knew me to be a hard worker, often taking work home to make sure everything was just right.  Between being green with envy over her sisters’ successes and puzzled as to why I had never gotten ahead, she wanted more.

Reading this made me feel a little better about myself, in that she was trying to see what she had rather than compare to those who had more.

What did Jesus promise in John 13:3-17 about those who put what Jesus demonstrated into practice?

“You, the servant, will be blessed even with the most menial job because you know Christ.”

• My wife’s response

I had dead end jobs, but they were at a manager or pseudo manager level, just paid as an engineer.  She had as much college credits as my master’s degree, but she never got a diploma.  When we first got to the Pittsburgh area, she had one menial job after another, never getting anything suitable for her skills and knowledge.  This had humbled her, and by the time she took this Bible study she was no longer looking for work.  She instead used that skill and knowledge to economize.  God had really been providing our needs.

One correction to the “nothing but” menial jobs, my wife, through a temp agency, got a job as a receptionist at an eye surgeon’s office.  He had offices in five different locations, but she worked in a central location, answering the phone, making appointments, etc.  Since he was just starting out in the practice, she was the only person working for him that was not a nurse. She set up his records system.  She answered the patient’s questions without a need to refer the patient to a nurse, having been a surgical tech and doing eye surgery a lot.  His schedule was perfectly managed.  And my wife had the sweetest voice he had ever heard.  (The thing I fell in love with first, her voice.)  It was about four months working for him when his schedule coincided with hers and they got to meet for the first time.  In seeing her for the first time, he laughed out loud, right in front of her, not expecting her to be the 50+ year old motherly type.  Within a week, she was let go after he hired a 20-something, young, nice figure, air head, incompetent, but she looked nice when people walked in and after all, my wife had set up the entire administration of the office so that it ran smoothly.  The replacement was unable to maintain the status quo and his office was a shambles within a few weeks, according to a nurse who thought my wife had been done wrong and gave her a follow-up call.  In a way, that experience made my wife feel even more menial.

What did Jesus promise if we obeyed Him and abided in His love (John 15:11)?

“We won’t be dreary, for Jesus wants us to have complete Joy.”

• My wife’s response

Since the referenced verse said nothing about being dreary, maybe she felt a little off that day.

What is the difference between happiness and Joy?

“Joy is a heart condition.  Happiness is a body emotion (feeling).”

• My wife’s response

All that I might add is that happiness can be dependent on circumstance.

For this lesson, Matthew 25:21 was the memory verse.  What is the invitation in this verse?

“You have been faithful with a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness.”

• My wife’s response

Come and share your master’s happiness indeed.

And how should we proceed from here?

“With Thanksgiving and Praise.”

• My wife’s response

Indeed!  Praise the Lord!  And thank you, Lord, for letting me find this study guide mixed with other things.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory