The Monday Memo from John Stanko

520: How High Can You Jump?

I have a trivia question for you:  In what two summer Olympic sports is the winner not awarded the gold medal until he or she has failed three times?  Then I have another question, but this one isn't trivia. It's about you. The question is: Do you know how high you can jump?  Let's see if we can answer both questions below.

THE OLYMPICS OF FAILURE

Do you know the answer to the trivia question? The two sports in which you get a gold medal after you fail three times are the pole vault and the high jump.  The last man or woman left in either competition gets to set the bar at any height, usually just over the world record, and then he or she tries to clear that height in three attempts.  Once that person fails to clear three times, the competition is over and the winner is declared. This is why the world record has been broken so often in both sports because people are not afraid to fail in seeing how high they can vault or jump.

I wish more believers had that same attitude and played by the same rules.

You never know what you can do until you attempt to do it, but failing to attempt can be simply playing it safe because you don't want to knock down the bar, so to speak. I accepted some opportunities to teach this past week that kept me quite busy.  My first thought was, "I am too busy to do all that."  Yet I accepted and actually taught thirteen hours from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening.  When I was done, I went home to bed, but I did it.  No, what's more correct is that God empowered me to do it.

What is God empowering you to do these days?  In other words, how high can you jump?  It's really not about jumping, but rather about service, work, or some other practical expression of your faith. Do you really know how much you can do out of the potential you have? 

MOST PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY CAN DON'T

I often hear people quote the popular passage, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philppians 4:13 NKJV).  When you stop to think of it, however, that statement is only a declaration of potential.  Just because you can do something doesn't mean you will or even should.  If I say, "I can be a nice person," that doesn't mean I am exercising my potential. It just means I have the potential. 

When someone quotes this verse to me, I am tempted to ask, "So what are you doing?"  That usually makes people angry, for that verse is sacred to many and to challenge it in any way is tantamount to heresy.  Let me ask you, however, since you cannot get mad at me face-to-face:  If you can do all things through Christ, what are you doing?  Where and when has that supernatural strength and power enabled you to jump higher than you thought? 

I am writing this Memo after a long weekend that began that first class on Friday and didn't end until our church's annual business meeting tonight. I am tired, but I still have energy to write and do laundry (since my wife is out of town).  I cleared the bar of teaching that was set for me this week and I am the better for it. What's more, the students I as able to teach are also the better for it (I hope).

Why not set the bar a little higher this week and see if you can clear it.  Why not bless others, pray, write, study or read beyond what you thought possible and see whether or not it is possible.  Why not choose to live in the truth of Philippians 4:13 and not just talk about it.  Have a blessed week!

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THE BIG BLESSING:  In the coming weeks, I want to let you know how you can help me distribute The Big Blessing (TBB) in Kenya on my next trip.  TBB is my most ambitious goal yet to raise $22,500 for several crucial projects in that drought-stricken land.  Read my first installment here, be watching for more in the coming weeks and then give generously to this noble effort. Thank you in advance for your help and support for the orphans pictured here who are sitting on new mattresses you helped me purchase. Also remember that the children need food now, so give to The Sophia Fund while you are also supporting The Big Blessing.  Thanks again!

519: Fear Not!

Last week we saw in 1 Kings 19 that Elijah was depressed and discouraged in his prophetic work, so he took refuge in a cave where he was hiding from the threats of Queen Jezebel. If you did not read last week's entry, then you can catch up here.  Once you have done that, it's time to move on and relate what happened to Elijah to a similar situation in the life of the Apostle Paul.

FEAR

I did not point out last week that Elijah's problems started when he gave in to fear.  He had just confronted and killed all the prophets of Baal as described in 1 Kings 18. When Jezebel threatened to kill him after that, however, he took off running: "Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life" (1 Kings 19:1-3). 

Imagine that!  Elijah was afraid after such a great victory over the false prophets, and he ran and ran.  After he stopped running, God sent him right back to where he had come from to do the work that God had called him to do. It is interesting that the same thing happened to the Apostle Paul as we read in Acts 18:

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God (1-11).

FEAR NOT!

Paul had just come to Corinth from Athens where he had little ministry success. The Jews became abusive and opposed Paul, who then turned to work exclusively with the Gentiles. Do you see what the Lord told Paul?  He told him not to be afraid. You don't tell someone not to be afraid unless they are already afraid. Perhaps Paul was considering moving on from Corinth, just as Elijah had moved on to avoid an encounter with Jezebel. Yet the Lord told Paul to hold steady, for he had much work for him to do in Corinth.

Perhaps you are afraid and thinking of moving on?  Perhaps someone is opposing your work or your message. Maybe they are even being abusive and harsh. The word to you is the same as it was to Paul:  Fear not!  God is with you and He will not allow you to be run off from the work He has called you to do. He can't stop you from running, however, if you give in to fear and anxiety.  It should give you great comfort that even Elijah and Paul were fearful; it should also encourage you that they may have wavered but they never gave in to that fear.

Are you facing opponents?  Are you questioning your ability to fulfill your purpose?  If you answer yes to either question, then I urge you to take consolation from the example of these two great men and don't surrender your life's work to the effects of fear.  Don't be afraid, is the word of the Lord to you this day, and may you be strenghtened for the work that is yet ahead of you to accomplish. Have a great week!

518: What Are You Doing Here?

It's good to be back after taking a week off.  I had someone ask me this morning where the Monday Memo was!  I am honored to be part of your life each and every week and I hope to continue by God's grace.

This week let's look at a servant of God who was depressed and discouraged, or in the term of the day, he was "bummed out."  His name was Elijah and he took refuge in a cave after a difficult time in his life to sulk and complain.  His way out of his funk was to hear the voice of the Lord. If you are "bummed out," that is your way out as well.

THE VOICE OF GOD

When Elijah was sulking in his cave, this is what the Lord said to him:

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9b-13). 

When God asked Elijah what he was doing there, God wasn't looking for information.  He already knew, but Elijah didn't know and that was the problem.  Elijah was depressed because he was looking at the circumstances and not listening to the Lord.

Notice how God's voice came.  It was not in the power of nature or the fire.  Instead the Lord spoke in a gentle whisper.  You can't hear a gentle whisper if there is lots of other noise around you.  Elijah had to block everything else out and listen to the voice that had led him up to that point in his life. It had never failed him and was not about to fail now.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

Is the Lord asking you what he asked Elijah?  Is he asking you why you are "here," wherever the here may be? If so, he knows why you are discouraged, and why you are delaying and hiding.  He is not asking for His benefit but for yours!  And you must do what Elijah did.  You must learn to hear the voice of God, perhaps learning all over again.  Perhaps Psalm 46:10-11 will help you:  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

God is a great and effective communicator.  If you aren't hearing, then the problem does not rest with Him.  This week I urge you to do what Elijah did:  Get honest with yourself and God, and then be still and listen!  His heart is to speak.  Is your heart set to listen and hear? I know God will reveal Himself to you and that His presence is the key to getting out of the cave you may be in.  Have a great week!

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KENYA UPDATE:  I posted an update from Alice on the egg farm here, and then posted my latest initiative to help the Kenyans here.  We need help right now to support the egg farm until the economy stabilizes and then help to establish the libraries and other projects described in my update.  I need you to give now and often between now and March.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.