402: Moses' Mama

Last week, I wrote about PurposeParents and received a lot of feedback asking for more stuff on purpose and parenting. So due to popular demand, I will delay my series on Daniel that I was about to begin and talk about the topic at hand.

WHAT DID SHE SEE?

When i think of a purpose parent, my mind goes to Moses' mama.  She had the mixed blessing of giving birth to a son.  It was "mixed" because she was certainly joyful at the birth but sad that Pharaoh's edict demanded every male baby be thrown into the river, to be drowned or eaten by crocodiles. That is what all the other mothers had probably done or been forced to do, but the story is a little different for Moses' mama.

So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months (Exodus 2:2).

What did Moses' mama see? When our son was born, his nose was flat against his face, his ears stood out, his hair, though wet, stood straight up and he was blue, red, pink and purple all over!  My wife looked at him and looked at me to say, "Maybe he will be intelligent!"  He certainly wasn't must to look at (we are proud to say he is today both an intelligent and good-looking 31-year-old man). 

What did Moses' mama see that made her boy beautiful?  She saw the purpose of God on him.  She saw past the imperfections and Pharaoh's edict and saw God's hand, as Stephen said while preaching to the Sanhedrin:

"It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father's home (Acts 7:20).

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

So Moses' mama obeyed Pharaoh's edict, sort of.  She threw her son into the river, but first she built and placed him in a waterproof basket.  After all, Pharaoh didn't say that she could not do that, now did he?  She was creative to preserve her son's purpose from the ravages of culture, prejudice and fear.  This woman changed the world because she saw more than her baby boy; she saw God's purpose for him, which made him lovely in the sight of God.

So if and when you are a parent, what will you do?  Will you choose to look at all the wrinkles, faults and weaknesses of your children, or will you focus on his or her purpose? Will you do for them what Egypt says must be done, or will you do what God's purpose warrants for them?  Will you send them into the river without protection or with a handmade basket that will protect them from the dangerous elements of life so they can "float" to their divine destiny?

Moses' mama changed history by being a good PurposeParent and you can, too.  Don't waste time trying to make your children perfect, and don't just hand them over to Egypt. See in them what God sees and then do what you have to do to help bring forth God's purpose in them.  Have a great week!

    Feel free to write a comment to this entry on the site where it is posted.

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1. THE SOPHIA FUND UPDATE: I am so excited. I got an envelope from the local restaurant containing the "first fruits" of the container we placed there, and we got $56!  Plus another $135 came in last week.  I am having more fun with this than any one person should be allowed to have. Yet the purpose of the Fund is not fun, for we are using the money to feed AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya and Zimbabwe. 

I wrote an update and a thank you for those who have given to the Fund last Monday and you can read it here.  You can also read about my rationale for The Fund here (named after my late mother) that will help feed widows and orphans in Kenya and Zimbabwe. 

Please consider a contribution of at least $5 toward the fund and hopefully more.  You can use the "Chipin" widget on the Monday Memo site to contribute, or go directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA  15221.  Make sure you let me know it is for The Sophia Fund. Don't delay; give today and make a difference in the world.

If you give a gift of $25 or more during the month of June, I will send you a free copy of my book, Strictly Business, while supplies last.  Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you play a part in addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS and world hunger.

2. REVELATION: I still need your help. I still cannot find a publisher for an important book I have written, which is a devotional focusing on the book of Revelation. So I feel an urgent need to self-publish this work, which will cost about $2,500. I wrote about this project in my blog a few months ago and encourage you to read what I wrote there.

In that post, I explain my urgency in wanting to get it out for people to read. Once you read my rationale, please consider if the Lord wants you to help me to restore an important book of the Bible that has been obscured by so many weird interpretations. I was ready to remove this appeal this week, but I sense someone is out there who is going to help.  Just do whatever God is telling you to do.

3. DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site.  If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there.  I promise to have it updated every day. 

4. MONDAY MEMOS ARCHIVE:  Did you know that all 400 Monday Memos are archived on my website along with an index that includes the topic and Scriptural references for each Memo?  This makes it possible to read past Memos or search for specific topics or cross references with ease.

5. HEAR ME PREACH: You can download and listen to yesterday's message I delivered at my local church, entitled Cliffhanger Faith by going here. You can download the notes from that site, too.

6. FACEBOOK:  I update my status on Facebook (you can find me by searching my email, johnstanko@att.net) every morning to include a daily verse from Proverbs and an inspirational quote.  I do the same on Twitter @johnstanko. Go there to sign up and follow along.

7. FREE PURPOSEQUEST ASSESSMENT: I updated and improved the feeback email you receive from your online assessment, so now is a great time to take or re-take the purpose assessment on my website.  This is not a scientific survey, but something that is meant to stimulate your thought and direct your study concerning where you are in your PurposeQuest.

Comments

[David Avilla]

John, the sermon that you mention in the notes of this memo, "Cliffhanger Faith", is powerful! It's as if you served it up just for me - today! You prayed in it that hundreds, even thousands of people would hear it and be touched individually by the Holy Spirit. Put a mark up on the board for me!

I read all the things you send out to us. Hearing you speak refreshed my memories of your ministry at our two church men's retreats in California in the mid-90's. Over the past couple years I have been listening to MP3 audio sermons while I drive my kids around to gym and ballet (my 11 year old car has 236,000 miles on it-and I work out of my home!). I have listened to hundred of hours of teachings - listening is a wonderful way to steward the "windshield time". PLEASE, tell us when and where we can download your occassional sermons. I have looked at your sermon notes when you make them available, but that's not the same as mixing your thoughts in with the unique Stanko brand of humor. I laughed out loud a couple times during the Cliffhanger sermon! Maybe you could put a page on your website with audio links to your previous sermons that are spread around on other sites?

Your consistent ministry keeps the Purpose Quest values and the vision in front of us each week. It's encouraging to know John is still out there climbing his own cliff. We all need companions on this Purpose journey and YOU are a good friend to follow! Thanks!

[taobao agent]

if there is sunshine tomorrow, i will follow with her.

[agent taobao]

* be happy together is good enough. I am not asking for things that I could never get.