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.

I was with Sophia and Arabella in the “green room’, Aunt Pink and Aunt Gwen’s restroom outside the den where the Sunday school class was now held.

Arabella kept the conversation going.  No, Arabella talked the entire time while Sophia snickered while doing something with my hair.  I had to ask her to use a handheld mirror so that I could see what she had done.  I liked it.  She did a loose braid and then pinned that up into a bun to keep the hair off my neck.  It was getting hot in Tracy, and this might help a little bit.  She and Belle had ponytails, but the braid in a bun was more “motherly.”

Easy, B.B., No Joe, Amazon, Skinny, Dr. Ellie, and Wilma, a new potential teammate who had become the on-camera reporter for this trip, were still in the Turtle.  That meant I had to lead us in prayer, but Dr. Ben was back in the little choir.  But Menzie and Samuel were in Scotland, along with our bus alarm, Lauren.  Of course, Angus and Missy were with them.  And Carla and Brenton were on their honeymoon, location unknown, but knowing Brenton, they were playing golf.  Remind me to tease them unmercifully when they return with a tan.  With Carla, just a darker shade.  She had that dark tan going permanently.

But when we entered the den, there were two new members in the classroom.

I asked, “Julia, are you taking this job of filling in for Missy to the nth degree, or are you joining our class?  And who is this guy with you?”

Julia laughed, “Missy said this class was for couples, so I never paired up with anyone.  But now I met my alien from a distant planet, and we are betrothed.”

I grabbed the nearest chair to steady myself, but it was an office chair on casters, and it rolled out from underneath me.  Sophie caught me to keep me from falling.

I sat down and then asked, “Could you go through that one more time, very slowly?”

Julia started talking in slow motion, “I-i-i-I am-m-m-m be-tro-o-o-o”

I shook my head.  “No, one bit at a time.  Do not talk in slow motion.”

Emmett said, “Julia and her friend are going to fit in with no problem.”

Julia said, “I am coming to your class because we are a couple.  …  My boyfriend and I are betrothed, according to him, when he thought he was an alien from a land, far, far away.  …  Then again, he is from southern Georgia.  …  He is starting to get training as the first male control room operator at Lily the Pink.  He was a nuclear power operator in Georgia.”

I shrugged, “Why did he think he was from another planet?  And what is his name?”

Julia smiled, “He had a lot going on when he got here.  He had been mugged.  He had no money for food or drink.  He was stuck on a bus for days.  He had not slept in days.  And he had lost both his parents within the last three months.  His name is Gordon Franks.  He will accept Gordo.”

Half the class said, “Hi, Gordo.”

Then Blaise said, “But don’t they call fat people Gordo in Mexico?”

Margie squeezed his hand, “But they do not equate Fatso with Gordo in Tracy, Sweetheart.”

Emmett led his septet.  The lead was sung by Arabella.  At alto, there was Brooke and Mercedes Lothrop.  At tenor, Michael and Emmett.  Dr. Ben sang baritone.  And Goober sang bass.  The Casting Crowns song was The Change in Me.  Mercedes had a nice solo part for most of it.

I asked, “Why that song, Emmett?”

Emmett said, “We change, but God does not.  Jesus does not change either.  And when we come to God to accept Him as our Savior, we have to come to Him unchanged.  We do not have the power to change unless He enters our heart.  Sure, we can get older.  Some of us can grow taller.  Sorry, Arabella.”  She stuck her tongue out at her older brother.  Emmett continued, “But the spiritual change, the obedience to God’s laws.  The changing of our heart, our desires, that cannot change without God’s help.  And since God does not change, He molds us to be more like Him.”

Michael said, “Aunt Jemima, since Samuel is on vacation, he asked me to ask you, ‘What Attribute of God are we studying today?’”

I laughed, “We are studying our response to God’s Immutability.  Do you need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella said, “Nope.  I remember the last time.  And I have learned that God is capable of doing anything, but He can’t lie.  God cannot sin.  And God cannot enroll in Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.”

I asked, “What?”

Arabella replied, “He cannot change.  Thus, He is not a mutant.  And Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, where the X-men live, is only for mutants!  Immutability. Not Mutant Ability!”

Emmett shook his head, “I know I have been told not to call her this, but Airhead, can you calm down for a moment so that class can start?”

Zuzka said, “I like make announcements.  Julia and Gordo not only new class members.  Otto and I brought new baby.  His name, Olu Kulteni.  Name means Scrambled Eggs in Latvia.”

Sophie said, “They went a long way to not call him Junior.”

Arabella asked, “Is Cool Teeny or is Teeny Cool?”

I threw up my hands, “Don’t ask me.  Kanok has not spoken on the subject for all I know.  But welcome to the class, Olu.”

Zuzka said, “We are thinking of call him Kully.”

“Okay,” I sighed, “We have a rough idea of what Immutability means.”

Darrell (Numbers 23:19) “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

Darrell smiled, “If you had just asked me what about God never changing that I like and this would be it.  He is definitely not human.  Jesus is fully human and fully God, but He is without sin.  So, He doesn’t change either.  But God does not lie.  Belle already mentioned that.  God does not change His mind.  Just think about Thomas and Catherine.  They left their little valley with enough money in the account to pay for his college for four years.  They get here and the account is empty.  It had already paid for one semester, but no more.  Apply that to God.  We show up at Heaven’s gates and St. Peter says God changed His mind and we have to go to the other place.  Nope.  God does not change His mind.  And when He promises something, He follows through.”

I smiled, “That was a good answer, Darrell.  God has promised to stay by our side.  We can rely on that promise.”

Sally Mae (1 Samuel 15:29) “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.’”

Sally Mae said, “Darrell and I read this, and saw that it said basically the same thing that the Scripture from Numbers said.  So, we read the whole chapter.  King Saul took matters into his own hands.  He disobeyed God and took a bunch of animals as spoils of war.  He was supposed to destroy everything.  Then Samuel showed up, he could hear the animals.  Saul came up with the excuse that they were going to sacrifice the animals to God.  Probably a lie.  And then Samuel says that Saul would prefer obedience instead of sacrifices, and Saul’s kingdom would be taken away from him.  This statement here was a direct challenge to Saul.  God told Him what to do, and Saul did not do it.  God does not lie.  He does not change His mind.  So, we need to understand that is what God wants of us when we turn to Him.”

I asked, “So, when God says something, He means it.  So, what happens when we give an oath?  I know we think little of breaking oaths, but how does God feel about that?”

Georges said, “I do not like what Jephthah did in Judges 11.  He swore to sacrifice whatever came out of his house first.  Maybe, he thought that the animal portion of the house is where the door was, so why not?  What came out was his daughter, his only child.  Many scholars think that the child did not die but was given to God similar to Samuel being given to God for a role of service.  Her friends did not mourn that she would die.  They mourned that she would not have children.  She could have lived a long life as a virgin, cleaning up after sacrifices.  But there is the thought that she was killed.  Jephthah made a rash vow, but he held to his vow.  He knew how severely God would deal with him if he did not follow through.”

Blaise said, “And the life of Samson is a bundle of contradictions.  A Nazirite was not allowed to cut his hair, but he was not supposed to drink wine or touch a dead body.  Maybe he drank wine with his friends.  Maybe not, but he partied with them.  How can anyone kill one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a wild donkey, otherwise known as an ass, without touching a dead body along the way?  He killed a lion with his bare hands.  While he was touching the lion, the lion died.  But it was these acts of revenge against the Philistines that brought relief to the Israelites.  So, cutting the hair was just one more mistake, but it was the way he betrayed that secret.  He made fun of his vow of being a Nazirite.  Some scholars say that he was a special kind of Nazirite that the only requirement was to not cut his hair, but Judges 13 says he will be a Nazirite, from birth until death, and even his mother would not be allowed to drink anything fermented nor eat anything unclean while he was in the womb.”

I nodded, “Thanks, both of you.  How should we respond to God’s immutability?  We should treat our promises with the same attention God handles His promises to us.  And as Jesus says in Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount, we must not make a vow unless we intend to keep it.  As for marriage, that is a vow.  And as for Easy and me, we will keep that vow until one of us has gone to be with Jesus.  And Sophia, is there an oath to become a police officer?”

Sophia said, “Yes, to defend the constitution of the United States and the state and jurisdictions where you serve.  To do the best of your ability to serve and protect.  It is much like the oath that the military takes.”

Georges asked, “Why not me?  Sophie has not taken the oath yet.”

I winked at Georges, “I’m keeping her on her toes.  Less than two years, and she’ll be there.  And she has watched her Dad all these years.  I know for a fact that he takes it home with him.”

Georges smiled, “The good cops all do.  As soon as you cut corners on the oath, you are no longer a good cop.  It is like safety rules.  It cannot be a core value or something that is important.  It has to be a change in your lifestyle.”

Michael Rowe Casey (Psalms 102:25-27) “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

Michael said, “This talks about everything on earth perishing, but God will remain.  This says that everything wears out.  When clothing is worn out, you throw it away unless you are like my Mom.  She has clothing from when she was in college.”

Dr. Ben added, “Hey, Michael, she can get into that clothing.  Ummm.  Okay, some of it.  If she can’t, she’ll say it shrunk.  And she is working hard to get back into it after having the baby.”

Penny smiled, “There is great comfort in God never changing.  Some people say that they like change, but not everyone does.  We get older.  Our bodies change shape, and not just because you are pregnant.  We will all die someday, but God is constant.  He does not age.”

Blaise asked, “Maybe I think about this too much, but are these verses talking about what always was or did the earth start to wear and change after the Fall of Man?”

I shrugged, “You would have a better idea than I would.  You’re one of the science guys in this class, and you happen to ask when Easy and Skinny are both in the Turtle.”

Bart laughed, “I am a degreed engineer, not a college student studying to become one, and I don’t know.  I am thinking that in the Garden of Eden there was no natural wear.  The illustration of clothing becoming worn is moot in that they were naked.”

Tamara interrupted, “Hush, Bart, there are sensitive ears in the room.”

Arabella snickered, “Michael, Bart said ‘naked’ and I should blush or something, but I just think it’s funny.”

Michael Rowe Casey replied, “Speak for yourself, Belle.  You are older than me by one month, and you won’t ever let me forget it!”

Bart huffed, “Can I finish?  I think all of this winding down of the entropy clock and stars dying and friction in everything that we do came about from those two bites into the fruit, not necessarily the apple.  We cannot prove it one way or the other, but it is what makes sense.”

I heard a voice behind me, “Mommie!  The buses!”

I felt my heart stop.  Lauren was in Scotland, or did they leave her behind?  I whirled the chair around, and I saw Grannie Fannie, laughing.  Grannie Fannie said, “You don’t have to rush.  You are not late, but the buses are in the process of lining up.  I got here a few minutes early to be the bus alarm without Lauren here.  Menzie told me she is your alarm.  But also, I wanted to know what I am missing, and Aunt Jemima, you are running a really good Sunday school class.”

I smiled, “Thank you, Grannie Fannie, that means a lot.  And how do you react to God’s immutability?”

She made a face like she was thinking.  “One of the names for God is that He is our rock.  That’s because He does not change.  Sure, like Bart over there talking about everything wearing, you can do things to a rock and over time, they will crumble, but we can build on rock.  If God changed, He would be more like quicksand.  We would try to move one way or the other and we would just keep sinking in the sand.  So, I think our lives depend on a God that does not change.”

I giggled, “I do not know where you came up with that, but I love it.  And I think that is a good way to end this.”  I turned back to face the class.  Note: with the hidden speaker, the den amplifies everyone’s voice, except in the corners of the room, where the children are usually playing, but all we had today were a bunch of baby carriers.  So, I could turn around and not face the class, and I could be heard, it’s just bad form.

I smiled, “As we have been doing, let’s end with the Mizpah benediction.  Everyone, bow your heads in prayer.  “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.’” (Genesis 31:49b)

Julia came over and gave me prayer requests for her and Gordo, who a little birdy said he went by “Sknarf” but only a few people.  I thanked her and told her that the first week, she got a free ride, but next week, she and Gordo would have to be ready to read Scripture and make a comment.  And “I don’t know” was an acceptable comment, and people were not afraid to use that comment either.

Brooke already had Misty Johnson, Amazon and Kevin’s baby.

Brooke came over and picked up Stormie’s carrier and went with me to the bus.

Credits

I am now starting to use the David E. Fessenden study guides for The Attributes of God, A Journey into the Father’s Heart by A.W. Tozer, in two volumes. Again, no quotations, just some Scriptures that keep the flow going.  But I will admit that I did a search on the topic and found most of the verses that I used this time.

Grannie Fannie’s comment plays on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

Here is Casting Crowns singing The Change in Me.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.