Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, has decided that now that I am not off having adventures by chasing storms, warning people about the storm that is coming, and helping the people who are devastated by them, I should write about my Sunday School Class.  She wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

The Turtle Team was officially back on duty.  Dr. Ellie was driving since my husband, Easy, had some more paternity leave.  I probably would start back on short trips in another month, hopefully being available to teach on Sunday.  B.B. was in the command seat, running both video cameras for the Storm Chasing Channel and the radar screens.  She had her husband with her on this trip, Joseph Jones, a.k.a. No Joe.  Really, do not call him “Joe.”  That meant I had to have someone else open us in prayer, or I could do it.

But that meant we had Dr. Ben and his baritone voice.  It also meant Arabella would be extra giggly, since she had not been around Michael Rowe Casey for a couple of days.  It is interesting how certain things become predictable.

I was able to fix myself up instead of having the make-up artist help me (B.B.).

When I entered the room, Arabella said, “Aunt Jemima, what’s wrong with your hair?”

I smiled, “I just fixed it.  I am not falling for your joke.”

Michael said, “No, she isn’t joking.”

Menzie said, “Here, let me.”  Menzie went behind me a combed out the few hairs that were not cooperating.  “Okay, now we can get started.”

I huffed, “It’s not time yet.”

Stormie started to get fussy.  Easy put my wrap around me and gave me Stormie, so that I could feed her while everyone came in.

None of the schools had started.  The Turtle team had a predicted blizzard farther north that they wanted to give some more serious students a chance to experience.  Instead of driving through the blizzard as Home Wrecker (Dr. Ellie) did the first time with Easy and me, she was going to park somewhere and ride out the storm with each student tracking wind speeds and visibility to identify when it was an official blizzard.  A blizzard is when the storm has continuous wind speeds of at least 35 mph and visibility less than one quarter of a mile for three hours.  It doesn’t need to be snowing at the time.  They were going to place a couple of beacons in a large parking lot for visibility, and they would track the anemometers for wind speed that the student would mount atop the Turtle or near it.

When everyone gathered, Angus suggested that he could do the opening prayer.  He did a prayer in Scottish Gaelic one line at a time so that Missy could translate it.  I don’t know if they practiced it or if Angus was giving Missy a test.  They plan to go to Scotland this summer.

Emmett led us in I Sing the Mighty Power of God.  He had Michael and Dr. Ben, Arabella, Menzie, and Samuel, but everyone else joined in.  I didn’t sing.  I did not have B.B. complaining about my singing, but I had to concentrate on Stormie who was breast feeding.  Stormie was born with two teeth that had already emerged.  It usually barely got my attention, but if I breathed in deeply to sing the song, and Stormie had to find what she was after, the teeth could let me know they were there.  Strange how she came early and already had teeth.

Arabella turned to Easy, “Mr. Dictionary, what are we studying today?”

Easy said, “God’s Self-Existence.  When you use self as a prefix, you are saying that nothing else is necessary.  Self-confidence is that confidence within you that does not need someone saying “You can do it.”  A philosopher might discuss self-actualization.  That means that you determine that you really exist from your senses or your mind, but then it goes beyond that to determine our potential and growth, and in time measure our self-fulfillment versus where we thought we might be.  But self-existence means that God is.  Some people say that God was, God is, and God will always be, but that is just a little off.  God simply is.”

Arabella said, “Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.”  Then she covered her mouth and giggled.

I said, “Since I have my hubby with me and he gave the definition, why don’t you do the reading?”

Easter Yeggs (Exodus 3:11-15) : “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’
And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’
Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?’
God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I am has sent me to you.” ‘
God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.”
“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.”

I said, “So, to add to what Mr. Dictionary said and then read, God is The ‘I AM.’  At any point in time, and remember that God is outside time and space, God is the ‘I AM.’  What Easy said that “God was” is not a complete definition.  “God will always be” is not complete, because it does not speak of God’s origin.”

Michael Rowe Casey (Genesis 1:1): “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

I asked, “What are the first four words of that sentence?”

Michael replied, counting on his fingers, “In the beginning God.”

I asked, “So before anything in this world had a beginning, what existed before the beginning?  I see a confused look.  Do those four words say anything about God being created?”

Michael said, “Nope.”

Dr. Ben said, “So, from the very first sentence of the Bible, God is saying ‘I Am the I Am.’”

I smiled, “Correct!”

Momma Missy MacDougall (Malachi 4:2): ^“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.”

Missy asked, “What on earth does that have to do with the price of cabbage?”

I snickered, “God is the sun of righteousness.  We will be like the planets in our solar system.  We will revolve around Him.  It’s metaphorical, but God needs nothing to exist, but we need Him.”

Missy smiled, “Okay, I’ll buy that.”

I added, “And I think that is worth more than a head of cabbage.”

Kevin asked, “But what about all the times Jesus said ‘I Am’?”

I snickered, “I love a straight man.”

Arabella (John 3:35): “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

I added, “And think about it.  This is the first of the I Am statements in the Gospel of John, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  Bethlehem means “house of bread.”  We focus on the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, but can anybody tell me what Melchizedek gave Abram in their brief encounter?  No?  No one?  He gave Abram bread and wine.  Symbols repeating themselves add up to something.”

Tamara (John 8:12): “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’.”

Tamara shrugged, “So Jesus is bread and light?”

I smiled, “Bread sustains us.  It gives us energy.  Light is a form of energy.”

Mary Jo (John 10:9): “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

Mary Jo asked, “There were horses near where I grew up.  Is that talking about going into a stable?”

I smiled, “Very good, but Jesus is talking about sheep.  When you have gathered in His sheep pen, you are safe from the evil one.  But some translations call this a door.”

Amazon, Joseline (John 10:11, 14): “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And then you said verse 14.  “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—”

Jos said, “So, Jesus is the gate to the sheep pen, and He is the good shepherd that will lay down His life for His sheep, as He did on the cross.  And it is not just that Jesus knows us, but we know Jesus.”

I laughed, “Great summary.  If you read Mary Jo’s verse out of context, you think that a gate does not make you that safe, so a door sounds better.  But that is only if the house is strong.  But to take Jesus’ metaphor to the full, we are the sheep.  Jesus is both the gate and the shepherd.  This is our salvation story in the form of a metaphor.”

Kevin (John 11:25): “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;’”

Kevin said, “Thanks for not saying Skinny.  Oh, rats!  I just did!  So, Jesus is not saying that we will never die.  He is saying that He is the resurrection and once we are risen from the dead, He is the life that keeps us living forever.  Is that right?”

I smiled, “Exactly!”

Blake Williams (John 14:6): “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Blake said, “So, Jesus is the life again, but He is also the way to that life.  What about the truth?”

I replied, “God cannot tell a lie.  He is Holy.  So if He says something, you can trust Him.  God, in all three persons is the Truth, with a capital “T”.”

Penny Willians (John 15:1, 5) ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”

Penny asked, “And what was the other verse?”

I said, “Five”

Penny (John 15:5) “ ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Penny asked, “Isn’t that kind of dumb?  If we are a branch that is not attached to the vine, how can we produce any fruit at all?”

I smiled, “Exactly!  But do you all see where these seven I Am statements started and ended?  Jesus, born in the house of bread, is the bread of life, and He ends these statements with Jesus is the vine, from which we get fruit and wine can be made from the fruit.”

Sophie asked, “So, when we take communion, we are not just going through the ceremony that Jesus established in the Lord’s Supper, but we are affirming the I am statements of Jesus?”

I snickered, “You got it, Sis!  God is the I Am.  Jesus making ‘I Am’ statements shows that Jesus was proclaiming His deity.  And what is Jesus saying in these seven statements.  He is claiming to be the sacrifice that is poured out for our salvation.  He is the shepherd that lays down His life for His sheep.  He is strength and power, in that He is bread and light.  And while we are on the bread, Jesus is also the vine which results in the wine, and those were the things Melchizedek gave Abram and what Jesus uses to symbolize His body given for us and His blood shed for us.  And he keeps us safe, for He is the gate and the shepherd and the Way to God.  And Jesus could say that He is all those things because He is God, and the first verses of John state that nothing was made without Him.”

Lauren walked over from the play area.  I laughed before she could say anything, “And our bus alarm is telling us class is over.  Thank you, Lauren.”

I smiled, “As we have been doing, let’s end with our benediction.  Everyone bow your heads in prayer.  ‘“‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.’”’” (Numbers 6:24-26)

And everyone said, “Amen.”

I added, “And Kevin and Blaise, great water lily drop! And an announcement, the Niblicks are not part of this Sunday school class, but a lot of you know them, Pauline gave birth to another first baby of the year at T.R.U.S.T. Medical Center.  A boy this time, Andrew Niblick, really St. Andrews Niblick, named for the golf course in Scotland.”

Angus said, “Aye.  Good lad!  I expect Troon, Turnberry, and Muirfield to follow.”

Missy asked, “But the Open this year is at Royal Portrush.”

Angus said, “Och!  Lass.  Portrush is in Northern Ireland.  We are Scots.  We canna speak of such things!”

Credits

I am using suggested Bible verses from The Attributes of God, A Journey into the Father’s Heart by A.W. Tozer, in two volumes. My two volumes have a Study Guide by David E. Fessenden, which is designed for each chapter of Tozer’s book. I may review those chapters to keep Stinker from straying too much, but the nature of her class is that the class tends to stray anyway. I am not using Rev. Tozer’s comments directly.

Our second son was six weeks earlier than expected, and he was born with two teeth, even more teeth by his due date.

And here is I Sing the Mighty Power of God sung by the Ball Brothers.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.