The Monday Memo from John Stanko

452: It Is Finished!

This past week I reached a goal I set in 2001.  I have worked at that goal almost every day for more than eight years, and last Thursday I finished it.  The feeling I had last Thursday was exhilarating, and I want you to experience something like it in your life over and over again. What was my goal?  What took me almost every day for nine years to complete?

Last Thursday I finished my last online Bible study, which means I have now completed a verse-by-verse commentary on the entire New Testament!  (In case you were wondering, there are more than 7,000 verses in the New Testament and I wrote something for every one of them.)

Let's take a look at how it all came about.

EIGHT YEARS IN THE MAKING

After I completed a study of faith in 2001 (which later became my book The Faith Files: Volume One), I had an idea.  I had always said that "one day" I wanted to write commentaries on the Bible.  I decided to start such a study, determining that I would look at four verses every day and write some devotional material for those verses.  At the end of every week, I would send out those notes to those who were already getting The Faith Files.  The list continued to grow and today about 5,000 people still receive my weekly studies.

So by studying and writing on four verses every day since 2002, I completed studies for all 27 New Testament books!  Commenting on four verses a day every day enabled me to accomplish a huge task a little at a time.  I exercised faith every day I sat down to write and  I "saw" something in every verse along with ways to help the reader apply those verses to their daily walk. Needless to say, I have learned a lot since I began writing those studies and I hope my readers have, too. 

IT IS FINISHED!

How did I know I was supposed to embark on this project?  Was I certain that it was God's will?  I can't say for sure, but I refer you to what Luke wrote in the opening of his gospel:

Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught (Luke 1:3-4).

All I can say is that it seemed good to me to write and keep on writing.  As people would say they found the studies helpful, I just kept on going.  The goal helped me reach the end. My creativity with God's help took care of the rest.  I am glad to say that as far as my Bible studies are concerned, "It is finished!"

So what about you?  Do you have any "good ideas" like I had? What can you accomplish if you do just a little every day? I have found that most people won't be anything because they can't see how to do everything.  They won't give a little because they can't give a lot. Won't devote a little time because they don't have huge chunks of time.  I decided to do what I could do every day -- four verses -- and now I have completed my goal.  There's no telling what you can do if you apply the same principle. 

Stop procrastinating and take one step at a time.  If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, who knows how far you can go.  The Chinese say that the journey of a 1,000 miles starts with the first step.  Why not take your first steps this week?  Have a great week. I know I will as I bask in the glow of a huge goal that I can check off my to-do list.

If you would like to see my studies in their entirety, you can visit my website or my blog.  In July, I will begin sending out recycled studies, starting with Ephesians.  If you want to sign up to receive them every other week, then go here an enter your email address.  

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DAILY PROVERB:  Did you know that I publish a daily devotional focusing on a verse from Proverbs?  You can check it out our sign up to receive by going here.  I also publish an abbreviated version every day on Facebook.

451: Adam's Children

Do you consider yourself a creative person? What creative outlets do you have, or rather how many do you give yourself permission to have? For most of my adult life, I did not give myself permission to pursue creativity and I wasn't open to the fact that I may be creative. My self-image was that of an administrator and creativity and administration were at odds with one another -- or so I thought.

Are you creative? If your answer is no, then perhaps you need to expand the way you view creativity and, consequently, view yourself. If you are open to that possibility, then urge you to read on.

ADAM'S ZOO

Adam was made by God to be creative and we are Adam’s children. After God created Adam, He invited Adam to enter into the creative process by naming the animals:

“Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field” (Genesis 2:19-20).

Adam decided what the animals were to be called; it was an expression of his creative dominion in the Garden.

Too often, we have identified only musicians, songwriters, poets and writers as creative—and they are indeed creative. Those expressions, however, are only a few of the creative expressions that are available to Adam’s children. Let’s take a look at the essence of creativity that is part and parcel with who you are and then see if you can't get even more specific about your area(s) of creativity:

1. I don’t want to be offensive in any way, but you were made to create other human beings.  When you reach maturity and marry, in most cases you must take precautions to limit your creativity, your offspring.
2. Scientists tell us that every seven years you have a totally new set of cells in your body.  Your cells are constantly dividing and creating new cells.
3. One of the first things I did when I returned home recently was to get a haircut.  In most cases, your body is creating new hair, nails and whiskers on a daily basis.
4. Your body is constantly creating what it needs to carry on life.  Your stomach creates gastric juices, sweat glands produce sweat and your ears create wax!
5. What happens when you go to sleep?  You create dreams; you are a “dream machine.”  For every eight hours you sleep, you dream almost two hours.  Your mind is constantly creating symbolic sleep scenarios that help you maintain your psychological equilibrium.
6. Every day you create thoughts and ideas; you also daydream, creating potential scenarios with you in them.
7. You talk every day, stringing words and ideas together creatively.

YOU ARE OH SO CREATIVE!

I hope you get the picture. Like Adam, you are creative and God wants and needs you to express your creativity in every day life. Stop saying you aren’t creative—you are! I have assembled a list of creative expressions from past Memos on creativity, which is posted on my website. Take a look at that list and see how many expressions are present in your life and then, settle once and for all your perspective on your own creativity.

Perhaps then you will see yourself as creative, which is just how the Lord wants you to see yourself. Once you see yourself as creative, you will then give yourself permission to pursue and release creativity in ways not possible up to this point in your life. As you do, I know you will have a great week!

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KENYA:  I just returned from Kenya and had a great visit.  The training I did for The Pacific Institute was well received and we are planning another seminar in August.  I will give you some updates in the future on my visit and share more information about how you can be part of the next TPI seminar in August.

I also distributed 2500 sets of undies, 350 brassieres and $5000 from the Sophia Fund to feed orphans and widows.  All in all, it as a fabulous trip. Thanks for helping to make it happen.

450: If He Can, You Can

A few years ago I read a book entitled The Best American Spiritual Writing 2006. One of the essays in that book, entitled Into the Wonder, was about C.S. Lewis, the famous  Christian author and apologist and one of the great creative minds of the last century.  I thought the article had merit for our discussion on creativity.

AN UNLIKELY CANDIDATE

The essay began by describing a particularly trying time in Lewis's life when he was living with his brother and an elderly woman.  The woman was bedridden and increasingly used Lewis as an extra maid to help meet her needs.  Meanwhile his brother, who helped him with correspondence and filing, drank himself to insensibility and ended up in a hospital.  The pressures of this situation, along with his work load at Oxford, drove Lewis to the point of collapse and he was eventually hospitalized for exhaustion. 

It was shortly thereafter that Lewis had a friend over to read him a portion of a new children's book that Lewis was writing.  This book became The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which was the first of the Chronicles of Narnia, which to date has sold 85 million copies in 30 languages.

What is so interesting to me about this scenario?

First, Lewis wrote perhaps his most famous work at a most inopportune time in his life.  I often feel like I can't be more creative or productive until certain things change, until my life is free of worry, anxiety or mental clutter.  Lewis didn't wait for the best time.  In fact, in a time of suffering and professional busy-ness, he began to write fiction for children, a most unusual exercise for a man known more at that point for his theological rather than fantasy work.

Second, Lewis was not married at the time and had no children (he had two stepsons from his marriage to Joy Gresham and maintained a relationship with the boys after his wife's death).  I think it remarkable that Lewis could write so effectively for children when he had none of his own.

Finally, Lewis was a loner as a child.  His childhood, while not sad or abusive, wasn't filled with the kind of childhood joys upon which he could draw to write his stories. 

NO MORE EXCUSES

Lewis produced creative work in spite of his personal difficulties.  You must learn to do the same.  You can no longer not create because circumstances in your life aren't quite right.  Neither can you dismiss your creative ideas because you don't see yourself as qualified or fit.  Lewis was neither a happy child nor natural father, yet he wrote children's books that changed the world.  What could you do if you stopped hiding behind excuses and limitations and just did it?

It seems that Lewis's hardships prepared him to create; his suffering somehow fueled his drive to write.  If you can see that your suffering is preparation and not a hindrance, you will find new freedom to produce when it may not seem like a good time to produce.  And please don't tell anyone that you don't have the time to create.  You have all the time in the world - 24 hours every day.  It's not that you don't have time; you aren't using it creatively to create. 

449: Timing and Seasons

I hear many people say they are concerned about timing or the right season to do this or that. They don't want to miss or get ahead of the Lord, so they watch and wait for God's timing. This is am important issue when it comes to acting on your creative ideas, so let's look at it more closely. When I am asked about timing, I usually give the same response; "Timing is pretty much irrelevant!"  You will have to read on to see in what context I make this comment.

TIMING IS IRRELEVANT.

Perhaps I should say that timing as a planning tool is overrated. I maintain that it is impossible to know what time or season you are in until you are in it. So why waste any time, or allow the thought of timing to slow down what you are going to do? Let me explain it another way.

How do you know for sure that you have a good idea? Is it before or after you implement the idea? It is after you take steps to carry out the idea. So if you are waiting for the right time to apply any good idea, you may never take action. That is why I say timing is overrated as a consideration when you look to move out and do something.

Perhaps two passages will strengthen my case. The first is found in Ecclesiastes 11:4-5:

Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

The second is from the story of the four lepers in 2 Kings 7:

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why do we sit here until we die? "If we say, 'We will enter the city,' then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die" (2 Kings 7:3-4).

WHAT'S TIMING TO A LEPER?

The four lepers saw their condition as critical. They were less concerned about looking bad or "missing God" than survival! It is not faith to want to know the timing and steps you will need to take to succeed. It is presumptuous! God does not owe you a full explanation before you take the first steps in obedience. To think that He does is to expect more than God gave Abraham. God told Abraham to set out. When Abraham wanted to know where he was going, the Lord basically responded, "I'll tell you when you get there."

If you don't identify with the lepers, you will say that you can "wait on the Lord." If you identify with their situation and see yourself in need to act and have faith, then you will act today on your creativity, ideas, goals and dreams. Have you had enough of being where you are? Then step out and be less concerned about timing and more concerned about finding fulfillment and creative expression.

Let me close with one more thought. I hear people say, "I don't want to get ahead of the Lord." I say, go ahead and try! If Ephesians 3:20-21 is true (and it is), there is no way you can get ahead of Him:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

So dream big and then step out to see what happens. Be free to move out and about, knowing that you can't get ahead of God and you won't fully please Him until you act in faith, faith that your time is now to do the will of God. Have a great week!

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OPERATION PETTICOAT: I will check my mailbox one last time tomorrow before I leave, but at this point I have about $5,000 for the Sophia Fund and $3,000 for Operation Petticoat, after we purchased 1,000 more sets of undies (You can read about my underwear project at Operation: Petticoat.)  I am packing 2,500 sets of undies and 550 bras to take to Kenya (I must pay excess luggage fees to transport them over to Nairobi; whatever I don't use to ship I will distribute in Kenya for feminine products). Thank you so much for your wonderful and generous response.  You can see my number one son pictured at right getting everything ready to pack.

I depart this Thursday and can always use contributions toward the Sophia Fund, which we use to feed HIV/AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya.  If you can send even $5 toward feeding an orphan, it will go a long way and be greatly appreciated. 

You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Just let me know if your contribution is to be used for food or underwear and I promise to apply it where you direct.

KENYA TRAINING:  I am delighted that people are registering for The Pacific Institute (TPI) seminar I will conduct in Nairobi from May 17-19.  Attached below is the brochure for the event. Frankly speaking, TPI is the best training I have ever experienced and I love to share it with my friends. I invite you to join me in Nairobi for what I know will be a life-changing experience. Isn't it time you invested in yourself to insure your future success and creative expression?

Download Kenya TPI

448: Creator God, Creative Man

We’ve been discussing creativity these past few weeks and in that context I’ve been thinking about Jesus. Jesus was a creative man. If we attribute Jesus' creativity to His divinity, we can't gain much help or understanding that will assist us in our own creativity. If we see, however, that Jesus was a creative man, there may be things in His life to help us be more creative. You probably know what I think about this issue, but to make sure you do, you had better read on.

A TEACHING CARPENTER

We know that Jesus was a carpenter, so He made things from wood with His hands. One second-century bishop reported that wooden yokes that Jesus made in the first century were still being used 100 years later! That tells us that Jesus wasn’t only creative, He was committed to excellence—He did good work.

There’s also a good chance that Jesus, as the oldest son, ran a carpentry business that supported more than just Himself. His brothers could have been in business with Him and that meant He also expressed His creativity by running a business, making payroll and managing inventory, accounts and customer service. He also would have supported His widowed mother from the business as well.

But Jesus’ creativity didn’t stop there. At the age of 30, He changed careers, starting an itinerate ministry through which He continued to express tremendous creativity. He was creative in building and equipping an effective team of men and women who traveled with Him.

When Jesus performed miracles, He did so with flair and distinction. One time He spit on the ground, made mud and smeared it on a blind man’s eyes. Another time, Jesus put His fingers into a deaf man’s ears and touched the end of the man’s tongue with His spit. Jesus answered His critics with creative retorts that delighted the crowds. His insight into Scripture held people’s attention for days on end and He impressed the crowd with His fresh approach to God and the Word.

Perhaps Jesus’ greatest creative expression, however, was in His teaching. When He taught, He used parables—stories from everyday life that imparted truth. Where did He get those stories? He made up those stories. They came from His creativity, perhaps the same creativity that He learned and perfected as a carpenter. Jesus used parables with lessons drawn from agriculture, business, current events, family life, and gardening. He was such a creative teacher that the people would walk for days to listen to Him for days. Mark reported: “The large crowd listened to him with delight” (Mark 12:37).

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR YOU

Why is this important? First of all, Jesus’ creativity did not come from His divinity only. He was and is the Creator God and creative Man. On earth He expressed His creativity as a Jewish man who observed life and saw God in all of it. Secondly, if Jesus the man was creative, then He can help you be creative. And finally, you will fulfill your purpose as you carry on the creativelegacy that was handed down by the Son of God and continued in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not here to maintain; we are here to creatively advance the kingdom of God. Your creativity is how you will help fulfill the mandate given to Adam to subdue the earth and rule over it.

This week, I have an assignment for you. Take some time to read Proverbs 8. Do you see wisdom speaking there? That “wisdom” certainly sounds a lot like Jesus to me. Pray through this Proverb and then ask the Lord for creative wisdom. Ask Him to help you use the ordinary lessons of daily life, just like Jesus did, to create something extraordinary. Don’t see your creativity as an exception or something that you use from time to time. See it as a powerful source of daily inspiration that will help you both to fulfill your purpose and do great things. As you do, I know your life will be changed as mine has been these last few years. Have a great week!

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OPERATION PETTICOAT: I went to the mailbox last Saturday and found almost $1,000 had come in for Operation Petticoat, which makes a total of $1,700 contributed toward the cause of underwear for my birthday. (You can read about my underwear project at Operation: Petticoat.)  I think we have all we need that will enable me to take 2,000 sets of undies and 550 bras to Kenya. Thank you so much for your wonderful and generous response.

I depart on May 13 and could still use some contributions toward the Sophia Fund, which we use to feed HIV/AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya.  If you can send even $5 toward feeding an orphan, it will go a long way and be greatly appreciated. 

You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Just let me know if your contribution is to be used for food or underwear and I promise to apply it where you direct.

KENYA TRAINING:  I am delighted that peole are registering for The Pacific Institute (TPI) seminar I will conduct in Nairobi from May 17-19.  Attached below is the brochure for the event. Frankly speaking, TPI is the best training I have ever experienced and I love to share it with my friends. I invite you to join me in Nairobi for what I know will be a life-changing experience. 

Download Kenya TPI