Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, 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.

While Menzie played with Stormie, I had B.B. and Arabella with me in the restroom.  I got Arabella involved in our conversation and in the last-minute preparations before class.  I thought that I needed to keep her from getting bored and while she was with me, she couldn’t set up some joke when I entered the classroom.

Dr. Ben, and my husband, Easy, were out chasing non-storms.  Okay, there was little chance of anything developing, but if it did, they needed to get somewhere between Oklahoma and Alabama.  They had five of the brightest new students, those that were serious about meteorology instead of those wanting their face seen on a television show.  Dr. Kildare was pulling his hair out trying to weed out the undesirables, an unwanted side effect of moderate fame on a rarely watched television program.  Okay, some people were watching, or we would not have the flood of people wanting to get into the program.  Once he developed a solid “B” Team, then he would make it a requirement to complete so many credit hours before being selected to be a Turtle replacement.  But as long as we had three of the four core Turtle Team members as newlywed females, the chance of pregnancies was a major issue in keeping the Turtle data collection steady.

When I came out, I was kind of shocked.  Michael and Mercedes Lothrop were sitting with Mary Jo while Bart and Tamara were sitting together.

I snickered, “Mary Jo, did you bring some special guests with you?”

Mary Jo said, “It was Madelaine’s idea.”

Mercedes said, “Maddie’s my oldest sister.  She is going to school and working in the nursery part-time in exchange for having Dennis stay in the nursery for free.  Maude graduated early and joined the army.  Then Mindy just graduated this year.  When Dad was murdered, Mom moved here at first for protection.  Then she found work.  They call her an environmental specialist these days, but that means she works in the sewer.  Mike and I didn’t want to do much here.  We stayed in Mom’s apartment and played video games and studied.  Moving from Central to Flintheart was hard.  I’m holding on, but I need tutors.  I am working on homework every weekend.  Mike, he seems to be doing great at Moon Maid Middle.  He won’t be at the top of the class like Arabella and Michael, but he can keep up better than I can, and he loves the STEM program.  We go to church with Mom where Mary Jo and the Drivers go. And since this is for couples and we have no one, Maddie talked to Mary Jo.  Mary Jo first came with the Drivers.  Then she paired up with Tamara.  Now she has us.”

I smiled and nodded, “Welcome, Mike and Mercedes, you and Mary Jo can learn together.  We accept anybody in the class, but when I send out the e-mail to everyone, it is better if you read the material together and talk about it and pray about it.  And I think your Mom monitors the operation of the wastewater treatment facility and the carbon recovery facility.  Sure, the sewer pipes from the entire campus end up at wastewater treatment, but your Mom makes sure the water going into the lake is clean enough to drink.  That sounds a lot better than her working in the sewer.”

Mercedes said, “I guess.”

Sophie asked, “Mercedes, what grade are you in?”

Mercedes sighed, “The same as you, but I’m not taking the AP classes like you and Emmett.”

Sophie said, “But, Mercedes, one thing we have learned from Aunt Pink is that we learn more as a team.  That’s the only reason this class is suggested as a couples class.  So, maybe we can help each other with the schoolwork.  Margie, Blaise, and Samuel are juniors.  They can help you prepare for a test.  Em and I are in your grade.  We may not be taking the same subjects, but we can use teamwork to get you caught up and to keep up.”

Mercedes sighed, “Thanks, I guess.”

I was getting the idea why they stayed to themselves.  Their father was murdered.  My father-in-law solved the murder and arranged for Mags Lothrop to move into Lily the Pink with four children two years ago, although Maude left for the army soon after they moved in.  The other three were educationally behind due to the problems that they have at the Central elementary schools.  The Lothrops weren’t from the best neighborhood, but the kids were mixed with kids from the projects and even some homeless children.  Not many of the children were motivated to learn, and behavior in the classroom was not conducive to learning.  I’m thinking that this small amount of socializing might bring them out of their shells.  I’m glad that Maddie suggested it.  I liked Maddie.  She often took care of Stormie when I went to class.

Joseph led us in prayer and prayed a special blessing on all those who had recently joined the class, which included Bart Clarkson, Tammie, Rosie, and now the Lothrops with Mercedes as a sophomore in high school and Mike about to join her as a freshman next year, along with Michael and Arabella.

Emmett led us with Whenever We Agree Together by Bill and Gloria Gaither.

Samuel said, “Aunt Jemima, what is the attribute of God that we are studying today?”

I smiled, “As if you didn’t know Samuel, our attribute of God is His Holiness.”

Arabella’s lower lip quivered, dramatically.  She asked.  “Where is Mr. Dictionary?  What does holiness mean?”

Joseph snickered, “Holiness, according to oxford language, means ‘the state of being holy.’  And I see a blank stare from Fireball.  Okay, Oxford Language says that holy means dedicated or consecrated to God or simply sacred.  More blank stares.  Merriam-Webster says holy means exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.”

Arabella said, “Now, we might be getting somewhere, but Pastor Joseph, you are not a good replacement for Mr. Dictionary.”

I said, “I heard that God’s holiness was that He was wholly other.”

Dr. Ellie said, “How does that help, Stinker?”

I said, “We understand everything in terms of our humanity.  Then we kind of put God on another level.  Remember when we discussed God’s wisdom and there was no word that is omniwisdom.  God is on a completely different level.  Holiness is kind of like that.  We cannot be holy unless God washes away our sins.  So, let’s take the ideas of what perfect is and gather up a hundred of the top thinkers in the world.  God’s holiness is completely different than what all those hundred thinkers can come up with.  God is something completely different.  We are flawed.  Our thinking is flawed.  And God is perfect.  He needed no one to wash His sins away because He never committed any.  He never had to say ‘Sorry, I didn’t do that, did I?’  No!  He has never made a mistake.  So, God is Holy (H-O-L-Y); He is wholly (W-H-O-L-L-Y) other.”

Arabella smiled and said, “Thank you, teacher, for making the definition even muddier.”

I winked, “Exactly, Arabella.”

Catherine (Exodus 15:11): “Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

Arabella said, “There it is again.  Holiness is Holiness which is wholly something I do not understand.”

Michael Rowe Casey said, “Although you may have done a good job of defining holiness, Belle.  Just give it a rest.”

Arabella growled, “If I got it right, what did I say?”

Catherine snickered, “Is Arabella going to give me a chance to say something about my verse?”

Missy said, “Please, hurry, before she takes another breath.”

Catherine smiled, “This mentions other gods.  It did not take the human race a long time to dream up false gods, anything to satisfy their need to have a god, but not the real God because they rebel against that One.  But God is majestic, holy, awesome in glory, and He does something those other gods cannot do.  He can work wonders.  But it seems like we are piling on a bunch of adjectives.”

I shrugged, “Because God is wholly other, that is about all we can do, but we have more verses.”

Margie  (Job 15:15): “If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,”

Margie said, “This ends in a comma.  Do you want me to keep going?”

I shrugged, “No, let’s stop there.  Even though it is not a complete sentence, it says a lot.”

Margie grimaced, “I suppose.  Maybe my hugga bear can add something.”

Blaise huffed, “You know she’s going to pick on me next.  But if God is wholly other, how can it say, ‘holy ones.’  That assumes that others are in the ballpark.  That blows the teacher’s definition out of the water, but then it says that the heavens are not pure in His eyes.  Weird.”

Okay then, Blaise (Job 15:16) “how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt, who drink up evil like water!”

Blaise groaned, “So that was her trick all along.  So, in heaven, and I hear there are levels of heaven, God is so holy that the heaven where angels roam isn’t holy enough because they have to deal with the vile and corrupt mortals.  So, this is saying that if Jesus missed a single sin on us when He washed us clean of all our sins, then we could not be in God’s presence?”

I smiled, “Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  God is so pure He cannot be present in a space where there is something that is unclean.  Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock, and he only saw the back of God as he passed by.  Otherwise, Moses would have died.  It is not that God cannot be there.  It is that no sinful thing can survive in His presence.  Jesus had to wash all our sins away or we could never come into the presence of the Heavenly Father.  That is how different He is.  Jesus is both God and Man.  He can bridge those two worlds, the holy and the earthly.  The Holy Spirit indwells us, but He cleans us up at the same time, using the precious blood of Jesus.  This idea of everyone being saved is silly.  Those that reject the gift that Jesus offers are not clean, and they would go from human to a few ashes floating in the air if they walked into God’s presence in the highest heaven.”

Sophia (Job 25:5-6) “If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!””

Sophia asked, “Who said that?!”

I laughed, “Bildad, the Shuhite.  Nice catch.  The verses that Margie and Blaise read were said by Eliphaz.  There may be some truth there, but it is tinged with condemnation.”

Sophie said, “But it is kind of like Blaise’s verse.  The moon and stars are not even as perfect as God is.  But how is that the case?”

Blaise said, “Scientists have observed that each star goes through phases.  A star starts with a giant gas cloud that gathers the gases into a protostar.  Then after the T-Tauri phase it becomes a star.  But then it goes through the red giant, the white dwarf when all the nuclear fuel is consumed, then the supergiant before we get to the boom – supernova.”

Sophia huffed, “So, why bore us with your knowledge, little bro?”

Blaise said, “I don’t think this is boring, first.  Second, it answers your question.  Third, I think it is instructive that we have seen stars in each of those phases.  You can argue as to how many years it takes to go from one phase to the next, but it tells me that God is still creating the universe when we can see giant gas clouds in space.  And I think, from a young universe standpoint that matches the biblical narrative that God made old stars.  How else would we see things like white dwarfs and supernovae?”

I said, “Yeah, what Blaise said.”  Okay, it was a copout, but he covered it.  Too much detail, but if you have stars changing then they are not as perfect as God who does not change, and He has no reason to change.

Penny (Psalm 22:3) “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.”

Penny said, “So, this just says that God is Holy, or the Holy One.  And we should praise Him.”

Blake (Proverbs 9:10) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Blake said, “So, we should be in awe of God, and that is a sign of wisdom.  And we might not fully understand what Holy is, but understanding in general comes from realizing that God is the Holy One, like David wrote in Penny’s verse.”

“Great!” I said, “I hope we can get in one more before the alarm goes off.”  I looked over at Lauren, trying to see if she looked out the window and saw a reflection.  No, she was totally absorbed in the building blocks.

Emmett (Isaiah 6:3) “And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ ”

Emmett said, “Finally!  I get to read a Bible verse.  I have heard that when something is said or asked three times that it adds extra emphasis to it, like Jesus asking Peter three times if Peter loved Him.  And Holy, holy, holy, in the triple, is mentioned twice, here and in Revelation.  All these last verses aren’t saying in what way God is holy other than affirming that He is Holy.  And Aunt Jemima, when you skip me, I get the feeling that I am just the music guy.  I may become a music minister, but I study these verses every week, just like everyone else.  And no, Aunt Jemima, I do not set up your pre-class interruption to match the song that we sing.  The last few weeks, those have just been God moments.  And let’s leave it at that.”

I groaned, “I apologize, Emmett.  I will keep that in mind.”  But the music dovetailing into the side conversations was a bit freaky.

Lauren came over from the play area and patted Menzie on the knee, “Mommie!  The buses!”

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)

I told Menzie, “Your daughter’s sixth sense about when the buses arrive is eating at me.  How does she do it?”

Menzie shrugged, “I have asked her.  You cannot see the line of buses forming through the window.  It’s the wrong side of the campus.  She has not been taught how to tell time.  She’s almost three and a half years old.  Maybe I should teach her that.  Let’s leave it with what Em said.  It’s a God Moment.  Lauren does not like to even be late to her Sunday school at the First-Third.”

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.

And here is Whenever We Agree Together sung by the Gaither Vocal Band (Guy Penrod, David Phelps, Mark Lowry, and Bill Gaither – probably 1997-2001).

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.