Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

• Hebrews 3:13

I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

• 2 Corinthians 11:1-3

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

• Galatians 6:1

Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

• John 8:43-45

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

• 1 John 4:4

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

According to 2 Corinthians 11:1-3, what kind of person can be led astray?

“Anyone, especially a Christian because we belong to God.”

• My wife’s response

Paul compares the Corinthians to Eve being led by the serpent.  Anyone could be led astray, so we must arm ourselves against Satan’s schemes.

How does Galatians 6:1 add to the idea that anyone can be led astray?

“A Christian can also be snared if we don’t let God be in control.  We might have a moment of weakness ourselves.”

• My wife’s response

What does John 8:43-45 say about the Devil?

“The Devil’s a liar and a murderer.  No truth in him.”

• My wife’s response

And how can we combat the lies and deceit that the Devil tells us?

“Place God’s truth in your mind and heart.”

• My wife’s response

My wife skipped a couple of questions in this lesson about cleaning out the lies from our minds and placing God’s truth in its place.

This lesson built upon the last one, a week ago.  We can identify the captive thoughts that trap our thinking and allow the lies to control our thoughts.  With God’s truth in us and Satan’s lies purged from our minds, we can focus on the cross.  God’s truth can protect our thoughts so that our focus remains on the cross and what God wants for us in this life and the next.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory