February 2024 – PreachersNotebook

Don’t be a hot head

James has always been one of my favorite books of the bible. It’s packed full of practical life applications and very concise, clear language. This week, let’s consider this piece of scripture…

19) Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20) For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20, KJV

Losing your temper is the line you don’t want to cross. While anger is a natural emotion that we will all face and experience in life you don’t ever want to get so angry that you lose control of your spirit. That is the line of demarcation for those who choose to strive for Christlike ideals in your life.

Patience truly is a virtue

This scripture came to me this week during my personal devotions. It’s a beautiful scripture and sentiment, in theory, but in practice it can be difficult and quite elusive.

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31, KJV

I’m a pretty typical, Type A personality type. I’m hyper organized, super time conscious, and an incessant list maker. In short, I like to keep things moving. I like to get things done. My entire day, week, and month is charted, mapped out, and color coded in Outlook. Both personally and professionally, I hate standing around and doing nothing. I knew a preacher a long time ago that used to say, “There are two types of people in this world. Those that watch things happen and those that make things happen!” I’m definitely one of the mover and shaker variety.

Where I find myself struggling the most is when God’s timeline and my myriad of lists of things and projects to touch week in and week out don’t really align. Patience is not only a virtue, it’s a talent and skill that needs to be practiced and honed. Patience is a lot of work because it takes discipline and sometimes years of experience. Patience is not a natural or default setting…at least it’s not for me. In this day of instant everything, waiting on God to answer a prayer or show us direction can really sap our energy or depress us altogether. Impatience sometimes can be the “demon” that requires exorcism. And that we know, because Jesus told us, sometimes might even require fasting and prayer.

If you’ve been praying for something or someone. Hold on and keep waiting. If you’re like a lot of us, who have a few different brands in the fire and you need multiple or layered answers. Hold on and keep waiting. Renewal is coming. Strength is coming. New heights and levels of energy and stamina are coming. It’s not easy and it sure doesn’t feel good a lot of the time, well, most of the time. Keep hoping. Keep praying. Keep waiting.

The Secret Gospel (of Mark)

The book of Mark is by far my most favorite of the four gospels. I love its succinct and compacted 16 chapter format and its tendency to hint at and flesh out some of the rougher and real life edges of the life and ministry of Christ. Spitting on the ground and making a muddy clay that he put on the eyes of a blind man he healed ranks as one clear example of this. Another example that has always stood out to me was the naked boy in a towel that seemed to accompany Jesus the night he was betrayed by Judas and taken into custody by the mob. I have always wondered and even studied up on who or what the significance of that naked young man might be.

Enter, stage right, the The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Secret Gospel According to Mark by Morton Smith. Here is some copy from the Preface of the book by Morton Smith himself…

This book is the story of a series of discoveries-not only the discovery of a manuscript (which I found in 1958 at the Monastery of Mar Saba in the Judean desert), but also the events that led to the finding and the steps by which, after I had the text, I gradually discovered its significance for the history of the life of Jesus, the course of early Christianity, and the interpretation of the New Testament. The whole story spans more than thirty years, from 1941 to the present.
M.S.

The Secret Gospel gives the first real evidence of the method by which Jesus of Nazareth initiated his disciples into the esoteric practices of his teaching. I bought this book a couple of years ago and I finally made time to read it from cover to cover. It can be a little dense and over methodical at times but if you like the book of Mark or have always wondered about the naked young man in a towel that almost got arrested with Jesus then you will probably embrace the spirit in which this book was written. I know I did and while I don’t necessarily agree with the author’s final conclusions about an esoteric baptismal rite I did think his investigation, research, and hermeneutical vigor was genuine and thorough.

I give it 4 stars out of 5! 🙂