Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down;
    with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
    from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
    may their children gorge themselves on it,
    and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
    when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

• Psalm 17:13-15

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
    for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

• Isaiah 12:5-6

This is the plan determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
    His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

• Isaiah 14:26-27

He brings princes to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

• Isaiah 40:23-24

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

• Luke 16:8

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

• John 3:19

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

• Matthew 24:14

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

• Romans 12:1-2

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs took her role as a caregiver seriously, maybe a bit too seriously, after I had a small procedure done at the hospital.  I broke a glass when I slipped, and she cleaned that up.  But then she refused to leave.

This week, she was out of balance.  I read a well-known pastor who said we should balance our time between reading the Bible and reading the news.  And if possible, we should lean more toward Scriptures.  Otherwise, we set ourselves up for worrying.

She made no requests, but I chose the topic of “this world” to see if I could get her talking.

Babs gasped when I told her, “How did you know?  I have been reading about inner city violence, the wars around the world, and anytime the news is on, you have these very angry talking heads shouting that everyone should not be angry.  Why does God put up with us?”

I smiled, “Thank you, Babs.  I could have gone many different directions with the anxiety that I have been seeing in your behavior, and I do want you to balance your prayer life, Bible reading life, and news life.  Not everyone in the world has gone crazy.  Giving that impression is what the media think sells advertising time.  I often wonder that if the news were to block out ten minutes of their several hours of news for uplifting reports, not just filler time, but from 6:20 to 6:28 we will have uplifting things that will make you smile, I truly believe that the public will gravitate towards those eight minutes and the demand to be the advertisement in those next two minutes will be high.”

Babs asked, “Why don’t they do that?”

I shrugged, “Part of it is that they do not put in the effort to realize that there are 40 minutes of that kind of a report each week, and it is back to who runs the station and horror and fear is what the big bosses are convinced sells the most.  Many media outlets will have a heartwarming story, but it is not scheduled.  But now, let’s go to Psalm 17:13-15.  David is wanting God to bring down those who are against him.  David is asking God to rescue him from this world, basically.  And David is gracious, in a twisted kind of way.  He asks God to give these people of this world what they want.  Gorge their children with the spoils.  Let the little ones share in the leftovers.  Why?  Because when they have finished in their revelry, they are basically left empty, ready for the next conquest, but David will awaken to see the face of the Lord shining down on him, and that will be lasting.”

Babs shrugged, “But the unbeliever would say we were crazy.  Then again, I like the idea of closing my eyes in death and then immediately opening my eyes to see Jesus smiling at me.  That just makes me feel wonderful.  I am getting goosebumps thinking about it.”

I asked, “But I thought your primary goal was to land a man with your feminine wiles and reel him in before you pass to the next life.”

Babs waved her hands, “I am not thinking about ending my life just to get that moment with Jesus.  I will have that moment whenever it happens.  And to think that if it had not been for those dreams, Harold, I would not be here with my purpose for this life and with the promise for my future.  I love you, Harold.”

I winked, “You are growing on me, Babs, but we have more Scriptures to read.  Isaiah 12:5-6 says that the entire world should notice that the God of the Israelites is a Mighty God.  But does the world notice?”

Babs moaned, “Look at the news!  And what did David say in Psalm 17?  The world goes for instant gratification now, even knowing that they cannot take it with them.”

I smiled, “And Isaiah 14:26-27 says that once God has outstretched His hand against a nation, they are not going to get Him to withdraw that hand.  There are countless proofs of the false gods being false and not just false, but worthless.  There is proof of how God does things in a big way in the Scriptures, but even the chosen people preferred the little doll on the mantle.  Isaiah 40:23-24 is along the same vein.  New nations sprout up, take root, and then wither when God blows them an ill wind.”

Babs asked, “But what does Jesus say about this world?”

I winked, “You are being shrewd in thinking I was about to switch to the New Testament, so I will switch to the shrewd manager at the beginning of Luke 16.  His master knew he was cheating him along with the customers, so the manager was about to be fired.  The manager went out and told the debtors that part of their debts were forgiven.  The master, who was a bit of a shrewd person himself, commended the manager for currying favor with people who might give him a new job.  But then Jesus goes on that the people of the Light, the believers need to store up riches in Heaven as much as the shrewd worldly people store up their riches here on earth.”

Babs asked, “How do we store up riches in Heaven?”

I sighed, “That’s not on my reading list, but God says to help widows and orphans.  In the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, we should help the least of these.”

Babs smiled, “You mean when I helped the poor widow to the bathroom last week, I was storing up treasures in Heaven?  Wow!  And I didn’t even break a sweat.  Okay, a little when I crawled around on the floor looking for broken glass.”

I groaned, “And you gave that poor widow an eye full with that really sexy looking T-shirt and boxers ensemble. Nice legs, by the way.”

Babs gritted her teeth, “If you had your glasses on, you would have seen a lot of creepy skin.”

I asked, “Isn’t that crepey skin or creped skin?”

Babs moaned, “When you are inside the skin, it is creepy.  And before you ask, there are creams, but they do not last long enough.  Now, do you know why I wear those old-fashioned dresses?  The hem is below the knee, not as much cream and easier to reapply if the outing lasts too long.”

After we both had a laugh, I continued, “John 3:19 says that Jesus brought light to the world, but the world preferred the darkness.”

Babs moaned, “But that brings me back full circle.  They even rejected the Savior, preferring the darkness of the status Quo so that they could profit.”

“Ah,” I replied, “Back to the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16 where Jesus says we cannot serve both God and money.  I fear that many churches, due to the huge church to maintain and the staff, that they are trying to balance between serving God and money both, when Jesus says that leads to failure.  I think home churches may be the movement in the future.  More of the money goes to serving the poor instead of paying for the overhead.  But maybe I am wrong on that.  In the end, the churches will fail, and Jesus comes back.”

Babs asked, “When does Jesus come back?”

I smiled, “Jesus said that He did not know the time, but in Matthew 24:14, it says that we as Christians must preach the Gospel to all nations all over the world, and then the end will come.  When I was in high school, the religious fervor of these high school kids who had never been out in business making their way through this world, they were cheering to have a group go to darkest Borneo to find the last member of the elect that has not met Jesus.  But I always asked, if the last one was right down the street here at home?”

Babs nodded, “So, we help widows and orphans, like a guy I know named Harold Dykstra.  Hey!  You no longer have living parents!  With you, I get a two-fer!  And we help those more needy than ourselves.  And we spread the Gospel.  Is that what we have to do?”

I smiled, “Romans 12 says to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  And Jesus taught us to love.  Love our enemies; love our neighbors; and love one another.”

Babs jumped up and came in close to give me a hug and a kiss worth ten Mississippis.

Babs scrunched her nose.  “I got the widow and orphan thing in progress.  And I am working on the loving thing right now.  When are we going to the next food bank?  It’s that middle stuff that I need to work on more.”

I rose from my chair so that we could work on a more proper kiss.

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

My wife would often get her news and God’s Good News out of balance.  Even watching Christian news feeds lead to discussion of the ills within this world.  But Matthew 24:14 is hinting that we have our part to play in spreading the Gospel.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.