Nota Bene: Marginalia Commentary on Life from a Curious Learner

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-19 "...that you might be strengthened with power..." Observation: This prayer is about power. Paul prays that the church might be strengthened with power. The source of the power is the Holy Spirit. The placement of the power is in our inner being. The result of the power is that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. I normally think of power as something that is used to do things. It is oriented towards action or activity. It is usually associated with motion. We think of power as the power to do. Paul thinks of power as the ability to contain. In Japan this morning a fight is going on to contain an enormous amount of nuclear energy inside crippled reactors. Their prayer (and mine!) is that the facility would have the strength to contain an enormous power. I think that image helps me to understand what's going on here. Paul is praying that my body and soul would be strengthened because there is an unimaginable power at work within m...

Scripture : Psalm 63:1-4 "earnestly I seek you." Observation : There are times when pursuing God comes easy. I've had those. It is a joy to wake early and meet the Lord. To pour the coffee and spend what seems to be a leisurely hour in the Word and prayer. The thoughts pour forth from the pages and my praise seems effortless and grand. Those are mountaintop experiences to be savored. But they're not all like that. David writes this Psalm from the desert. I have been there too. Nothing comes easy. I wake late and am distracted by everything. As hard as I claw, the words will not release themselves from the page and I am left empty and unfulfilled. These are the days when my soul thirsts for God. I go to the water, but when I arrive it seems to a mirage rather than an oasis. It is at these times that David wants to teach us to seek the Lord earnestly. To seek earnestly (Hebrew: sahar) is a seldom used word in the Old Testament. When it is used it is primarily used o...

Scripture : Psalm 34:1-3 "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." Observation: David moves from the first person singular in verses 1 and 2 to the plural in verse 3. Worship can do that. Every day I spend time in worship before the Lord, but that's mostly by myself. But there is something about private worship that creates a hunger for corporate worship. For me, worship is not just a solo sport. I love to enter into praise and worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I'll be honest, it's hard on Sundays when I preach. It's a discipline to have to turn my mind from what I will speak to what I should be hearing. Yesterday, however, was a phenomenal worship experience. Somewhere in the second service I just heard the Lord speak to me through an image and a simple sentence. I stopped singing and just listened and reflected on what the Lord was telling me. I don't think that would have happened on my own. It was in the context of co...

Scripture : John 17:23 Observation: Jesus is praying that his disciples would share in the same unity that he has with the Father. It isn't a partial unity. It isn't a developing unity. It is a complete unity. Jesus isn't just hoping that we'll all just get along. Rather, his prayer is for a complete and mature unity. Unity is based on Christ's unity with the Father. In verse 11 he makes a dramatic link between unity and glory. Here's how I see this at work (and is the thrust of my message on 3/26...some day I'll figure out how to link my sermons here.)  Christ humbled himself and served others. This glorified the Father. The Father noted the humiliation and glorified him. Their unity was preserved through Christ's humiliation because they chose to glorify one another. Application : This isn't hard to see where it's going. Want unity? Choose to glorify (honor) one another. When we humble ourselves and honor one another two things happen. G...

Scripture: Psalm 95:1-7 "For the Lord is the great God." Observation: The Lord is our Shepherd. He is the One who created everything that has been made. All of creation sings his praise, and we are the loudest voice of that great choir. Worship seems to be a very noisy practice. It is full of shouting, music, and song. It is the thunder on the mountains and the roaring of the seas. It is the sound of all nature giving praise to him. In response to God's marvelous care for us, his sheep, we come and kneel before him in silence. Silence is another sound of worship. It is the true connection of the heart of the worshipper with the heart of the maker. The psalmist uses both "God" and "Lord" as the names of God. The Lord (YHWH) is the Hebrew name that God chose to sign his covenants with his people. It refers to the caring, gracious, compassionate and loving attributes of his character. God (elohim) is the name God uses to refer to his majestic strength...

Scripture: Philippians 3:7-11 "I want to know Christ!" Observation: As Paul relates his extraordinary qualifications he compares their value against the privilege of knowing Christ. Christ wins! To go even further, Paul says that those things are like rubbish (trash and recycling) compared to the sheer joy of knowing Christ. His only desire is to be found in Christ with a righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. The phrase in Christ is a unique phrase in the NT. As believers we possess unimaginable blessings because of our relationship to Christ as being in him. In him we have all that we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). I love verse 10 where Paul says that his purpose in life is to know Christ. That is my passion as well. Of all the titles that I have (pastor, husband, father, friend, etc.) the one I treasure most is follower of Jesus Christ. I live my life to know him. Note: I'm not complete here and Paul wasnt either (check out Phil 3:12 ) ...

Scripture:  “ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; ” ( Lamentations 3:24–25 , NIV) Observation: The author tells us that his "self-talk" is intentionally focused on truth about who the Lord is. It is all too human to dwell on our problems, isn't it? As I read the verses prior to this text (to gain perspective on the context) I note that in verse 19 the author is remembering his affliction and his wandering. As a result (v 20) his soul is downcast. How true! When we focus on our problems they grow in size. When we focus on the Lord and his promises, they shrink. The Lord is my portion. This phrase is used only a few times in the OT. It refers to the Levites, who were the only one of the twelve tribes who did not possess any land in Israel. They were the priests who relied on the tithes of the people to provide for their needs. They were dependent on God to ...

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23 ‎17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ‎ Observation: Paul is giving thanks and praying for his friends in Ephesus. He begins with thanksgiving. That's a natural place to begin prayer. Thanksgiving is looking back at what God has done in the lives of people and in the course of history. When we start with thanksgiving we acknowledge that God has heard our prayers, seen our need, and responded in glorious ways. Paul's prayer then moves to asking God for specific things on behalf of the Ephesian church. Grammatically the request is that God might open their eyes to see two things: their hope and God's power. Paul is not asking that they recieve more hope and power. His conviction is that they have the hope that they need, but they aren't aware of it. Similarly, they have all the power they could ever ask for, but t...

Scripture:  Daniel 10:8-11 "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you." Observation: This is a rather odd passage in a sometimes confusing book. Daniel has seen a great vision from the Lord. The Lord sent an angel to assist and to explain the vision, but the angel had been delayed due to a battle with a one of Satan's most mighty demons. Odd indeed. But on arrival, he helps Daniel to overcome his fear and awe with comforting words. "Daniel, you are thought of highly by the Lord." I can't help but hear similar words coming from the heavens at the baptism of Christ. "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am pleased." (Matthew 3:17) Application: God is pleased with his faithful children and esteems them highly. Too often I see only my own faults, my faithlessness, my sin. I don't trust myself to believe that God might see something different. He just might see me as his child in whom he is please...

Scripture: Exodus 33:7-11 "...‎The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. " Observation: How amazing is it that God is willing to speak to his people face to face? This fact about Moses' prayer life is so notable that it is referenced three other times in Scripture ‎( Numbers 12:8 ; Deut 5:4 ; Deut 34:10 ) . Imagine for a moment how incredible it would be to enter into the presence of the Lord, to look into his eyes, and talk, and listen. We are told that what we say represents only a fraction of the meaning. Far more is communicated non-verbally. In looking at the responsibility that Moses faced - leading a rebellious mob through the desert for 40 years, I now understand how valuable this time must have been for him. He not only heard God speak, but he watched his face and his motions for non-verbal clues that others would have missed. I believe that he understood the heart of God because of his face to face communication and his relationsh...

Scripture: John 16:22-24 Observation: Jesus has my best interests in mind. He wants me to experience unbelievable joy in life. This is now a time of grief, but he promises that joy will come. It will came for the disciples after they saw his resurrection. It happens for mewhen Icome face to face with the living Christ. But living with Christ is only part of that joy. An essential element in this text is the joy of answered prayer. I love it when God answers prayer. Over and over again I have watched God answer very specific prayers. I have witnessed my brother-in-law pass from death to life through prayer (and the work of some pretty creatively skilled doctors). I have seen neighbors drop their petty conflicts because of prayer. I have seen God intervene in my own life time and time again. He listens and he loves and he responds. Why don't I seek him more? My prayer is that God will reignite my first love for him through prayer in these 40 days between now and Easter. My prayer is...

Each day you will find a Scripture passage, a quote on prayer and space for you to write your reflections on the Word and your own conversations with Christ.   Our daily study will span the breadth of the Scriptures in order to glean insights into how people prayed. Our goal is to ask how Christ might pray for the people and events unique to you in your situation.   Each day’s devotional, reflection, and prayer should take approximately 15 minutes.   Try to spend that much time over the course of the 40 days.   I think you’ll like the new habit of hearing from the Lord and speaking back to him.   You may be surprised at how God uses these verses in your life over the weeks to come. Scripture Every day you will read a short passage from the Scriptures that provides some illustrations, examples, or teaching on prayer.   As you read the larger daily passage ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to a specific verse or phrase.   Write it out in your journal. ...

Winter in Minnesota gets to be long – especially at this time of year. Over the months of diminished daylight and sometimes we lose momentum on our spiritual growth. We start the New Year with high hopes and great expectations. We promise ourselves that this year will be different. Sometimes, though, we need a little extra motivation. Whether to add a new discipline or recharge our batteries, this discovery has something for you. The value of a corporate journey like this is that we get to hear Christ over an extended period of time together.   There is great synergy when we are all learning to listen to Christ together.   We will hear the same theme together on Sunday that individuals are hearing personally throughout the week.   We will share together through new relationships with one another and learn from one another.   As we focus our thoughts on a single theme, God will speak to us profoundly. His dangerous prayers are contagious and we will find ourselves le...

  I am very excited for us to pursue this journey together. This 40-Day Spiritual Discovery is designed to energize our walks with Christ and revive a collective sense of renewal and direction. It is both a personal discovery as well as a church-wide emphasis. Your personal participation will contribute significantly to the overall success of this journey. Similarly, joining in on the group portions of this 40 day Discover will strengthen what you do on your own. Our theme, Developing a Dangerous Prayer Life is an invitation from the Lord himself to every individual heart, marriage, home, and family.   Over the next weeks leading up to Easter we will listen in on Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was a dangerous time for him – just prior to his crucifixion. As he pours out his heart we will learn about the things that mattered to him. We’ll find ourselves at the heart of these conversations with the Father. These are dangerous times and we need to learn to p...

  "Daily I expect murder, fraud or captivity, but I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of God almighty who rules everywhere."   Mythbusters would have a field day with St. Patrick's Day legends. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Busted Patrick used the shamrock as a symbol to teach the Trinity. Plausible Patrick was a humble missionary of enormous courage who regularly referred to himself as "a sinner". Confirmed   Whether Patrick was the first missionary to Ireland or not, paganism was still dominant when he arrived. "I dwell among gentiles," he wrote, "in the midst of pagan barbarians, worshipers of idols, and of unclean things." His foes were real and their power substantial. However, he claimed the power of Christ and the resurrection and brought a message of hope and peace, forgiveness and joy to the people of the emerald isle. "I am," he s...