The Monday Memo from John Stanko

546: A Fat Duck

I read this quote a few years ago from Ralph Waldo Emerson:  "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."  That is what I have tried to do through the Monday Memo and my purpose teaching: Inspire you to be who God created you to be, who you have always wanted to be.  I have found, however, that some resemble the duck described by the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.  I hope you aren't like this duck, but just to make sure you aren't, you had better read on.

GROUNDED

The story has it that there was a duck flying with other wild ducks when they flew over some tame ducks in a barnyard.  The wild duck decided to stay with these tame ducks for a while.  He stayed for an hour, a day and then several months.  Finally, his wild duck cohorts flew overhead one day and beckoned the wild duck to rejoin them, which he gladly did.

He found, however, that his barnyard living had made him so soft and heavy that he could not fly high enough to join his former mates.  So he dropped back into the barnyard, promising that he would get in shape to join them the next time.  The next time he heard them, he flapped his wings but could not even get off the ground.  Finally, after many attempts, wishful thinking and a lot of broken promises, the wild duck became a domesticated bird that looked good but never went anywhere.

FLYING HIGH OR NOT AT ALL?

Did you dream of flying high at one time?  Better yet, did you actually taste the heights you had determined to reach?  Then where are you now?  Are you still flying high or content with the safety and provision of the barnyard full of chickens and goats?

I am almost 62 years of age and I still have a lot of flying I want to do.  This summer, I will release my 14th book.  I now teach at the university at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I continue to produce regular Bible studies that are regularly sent to 4,000 people, as well as writing a daily devotional. I want to fly high and refuse to forsake the heights of productivity for the safety of the barnyard, with its regular rations.  I listen to music that inspires me, go to places that move me and read books that engage me.  I want to fly high and far and I do things that contribute to those objectives.

Flying high can be dangerous, but the view is fantastic!  This week, ask yourself some tough questions.  Do you talk about flying, or do you really fly?  Are you content with barnyard chatter and routine, or are you ready to flap your wings to see how high and far you can go?  I hope you are ready to fly and you will take others with you on the journey. I look forward to seeing you in high places. If you settle for the barnyard, we won't be meeting any time soon. Have a great week!

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FLYING HIGH IN KENYA: I had a great day yesterday in Kenya and you can read about it here.  It was the fulfillment of years of dreaming and working and it fits right in with what I wrote above.  I hope you will take the time to read it. I also hope you will take the time to read more about all the day's activities here. (Click on the picture to read the inscription.)

545: Training for Reigning

Greetings from Kenya!  The hotel Internet was down yesterday, so I could not send you this last installment from my series on Purpose in Revelation. It is back up now, so let’s finish up this topic and be ready to move on to something else next week.  If you missed the first six entries, you can read them here. This week we look at Revelation 3:21 and what Jesus promised the seventh church if they became overcomers: “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

A MAN OF PURPOSE

Jesus was a man of purpose.  He came to earth on a specific mission, which perhaps is best summarized in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The interesting thing is that Jesus has ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He continues to fulfill His purpose.  He is still seeking and still saving.

Heaven for Jesus is not a place of idleness or worship.  It is a place of purposeful work.  If that is the case for Jesus, then it will certainly be the same for you and me.  We will find our purpose here and will continue our purpose there.  I don't know exactly how that will happen, but in the new heaven and earth, you and I will still be people of purpose.

When Jesus returned from the dead, He had full memory of what had happened to Him.  In some sense, His years prior to His death were the foundation for His reign after His resurrection.  What you are going through now will serve as the same for you. That is why Jesus is working in your life now, to prepare you for your purpose work here and in the hereafter.  In other words, you are going through training now so you can be reigning both now and then.

PAY THE PRICE

What will it take for you to be victorious and earn the right to reign with Jesus?  What must you overcome?  There are certainly obstacles without and within, but the rewards for overcoming both are fantastic! I pray that God will strengthen you this week to set a course for reigning that will empower you to succeed. I went back to school at the age of 57 to earn another degree and saw it as part of my training for reigning.  I write every day because that is part of my training for reigning.  i am Kenya now with a team of others, because that is part of my training for reigning. I think you get the idea.

I want to pay the price to be a great leader, empowered by God's grace to reign now and later. I invite you to join me in this magnificent journey.  Jesus' throne is wide, there is plenty of room for everyone, so let's get on with the task of purpose and see where it takes us now and in the age to come.  Thank you, and have a great week!

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KENYA UPDATE:  There is still time to give to the Kenya project as you can read here.  You can also follow my travel blog while here in Kenya at this link.  Please follow along, pray, and then give to help the children. Pictured at left are the bosy of the Each One Touch One Orphanage that we visited last Saturday (with Pastor Jeremiah Thomas). Help me to help and feed them! 

Also I will be holding a Purpose Profiling Seminar here in Nairobi on Saturday, March 31 in partnership with Irene Mureithi of Royal and Rich.   I hope to see my Kenyan friends there.

544: Pillars

Next week I will be in Nairobi and will finish the Purpose in Revelation series there.  For now, let's look at part six of this seven-part series, the first five of which you can read here, in case you missed them.  By the way, I have two Kenya updates below, so make sure you catch them when you are finished.

STEADFAST

The Lord promised something to every church in Revelation that was an overcomer.  This week we look at the promise to become a pillar in temple of God: 

The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name (Revelation 3:12).

Who doesn't want to be steadfast in the things of the Lord?  I know I do, but steadfastness isn't simply consistency. It is being faithful and strong in times of trouble and shaking. I don't know anything that makes your more steadfast than your purpose, for it is so important to you that you cannot stop pursuing its successful expression.

Notice that the Lord partners with those who overcome in this instance and He makes them a pillar in God's temple.  When God strengthens you to be a pillar, God makes sure that you will be a source of support and strength for many. I find this again to be true of purpose, for you often have almost supernatural strength to flow in purpose.  It's not that you don't get tired; you just don't get fatigued.

ARE YOU A PILLAR?

Are you a pillar in life?  Do some or many depend on you to function and flow in your purpose?  When you do, do you sense God's presence and strength helping you do what you did not think you could do?  That has been my experience in purpose and it's always special.

I hope I have been a pillar these last 11 years as almost every Sunday night I sat down to write the Monday Memo.  I hope I have been a pillar as I finished my verse-by-verse New Testament Bible studies.  I hope I have been a pillar as I attempt to produce the best possible material to help others find purpose. In other words, I hope God considers me steadfast in the work He has given me to do.

Will you join me in being a pillar?  One pillar can't hold up a very big building, but many of us can support the work of God in His temple.  Let's devote ourselves to being pillars and allow God to make us strong as we go about our purpose business.  Thank you and have a great week!

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LAST CALL FOR THE BIG BLESSING!:  We have $6,513 to go to reach our goal of $25,000.  The deadline is this Thursday.  Do what you can, but do it quickly!  The children and widows are waiting. You can still send a check (just let me know if you do) to PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882 or give through my website. Thanks for enduring with me these last six months as I worked to raise this money. 

PRAYER REQUEST:  The container with our books has been delayed in South Africa.  Please pray for its release.

543: A Prayer Partner

The Monday Memo turns 11 years old this month.  I would love to think of some special way to celebrate with you, so if you have any thoughts of anything I can do, let me know. I wish I could throw an online party.  Maybe I can and just don't know how.

We are well into this series on the topic of purpose in the book of Revelation.  If you are just joining in, you can read the past four entries here and then proceed to read this one, which is number five.

PRAYER PARTNER

Jesus promised something to each church in Revelation if and only if they were overcomers.  That means that each church and the people in them had obstacles and challenges in life. Those problems came (and come) to help you learn more about yourself and more about Him and His faithfulness.  For the fifth church, this is what Jesus promised:

The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 3:5-6).

Jesus is in heaven, and He is not singing or just sitting around.  He is busy and one thing He is doing is praying for you! He promises to maintain the presence of your name in heaven once you have turned your life over to him and seek to serve Him in your generation.

Can you imagine anything more glorious?  Jesus knows your name and mentions it in heaven before the Father and the angelic host. Your name is being proclaimed in heavenly places.

If that's true, and we know it is, then what are you doing and how are you acting?

PRAYER LIFE

Jesus wants you to fulfill your purpose more than you do.  Perhaps that is why He told His disciples three times in John's gospel that He would give them whatever they asked in His name (see John 14:12-14, 15:7, and 15:16).  That being true, what are you asking the Lord to do?  Are you asking Him for great things, help that will enable you to fulfill your purpose, or are you playing it safe and asking for little or nothing? Are you taking advantage of the fact that you have a prayer partner in heaven, or are you cowering in fear, afraid you are asking for too much, thus asking too little?

The promise to this church was heavenly prayer power, and that power is available to you.  Are you using it?  I urge you to have big dreams tied to your purpose and then pray big prayers to match those dreams. Then watch your heavenly prayer Agent move heaven and earth to help you do what only can be done in partnership with the One who went ahead to assume His place as a heavenly Intercessor.  Have a great week!

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DON'T BE AFRAID!: $1,600 came in last week for Kenya, so I now need less than $10,000 by March 15 for The Big Blessing Kenya fund. If you have thought of making a gift but were afraid it was too big or too little, I urge you to act on what your heart is telling you to do.  If nothing else, take the lesson from this week's Memo and pray that he money will come in or that God will give you a big gift that you can give.  Test the truth of what I wrote this week and see if it's true.

You can give online through my website or by sending a check made out to PurposeQuest to PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  Thank you for standing with me in this time of great opportunity but hurry, the time is fast approaching for my departure and I have to get the cash together to take with me.