The Monday Memo from John Stanko

693: What You See 3

I am one third of my way toward my goal for my two upcoming trips. You have contributed $2,000 of the $6,000 I need to travel to Kenya and Guyana and I will buy my ticket for Guyana later today. Yet my need for Kenya remains to be met. I am thanking God in advance for His provision and ask you to pray about the role He would want you to play. You can make a contribution using PayPal via my website or by sending a check to the address below. And now, here is part three of our series on What You See Is What You Get.

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It seems that Israel has always been surrounded by enemies. In 2 Kings 6, we read the story of how the Arameans plotted against Israel only to have Elisha the prophet regularly reveal their secret plans to the king of Israel. We are told that "this enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, 'Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?'” (2 Kings 6:11). The king assumed there was a spy in his midst, but he was told that God was the spy, who listened to their plans and shared them with Israel.

This infuriated the king, so he sent troops to apprehend Elisha. One day when Elisha's servant went outside the home where they stayed, we read this report: "When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. 'Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?' the servant asked." (6:15). Maybe this is your situation. You looked out today on your circumstances and you saw that you were surrounded by debt, doubt or distress and you panicked, just like the servant.

What did Elisha do? Did he pray that for God to strike them with lightning or for a foreign army to come defeat them? No, Elisha comforted his servant and prayed: “'Don’t be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 'And Elisha prayed, 'Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (6:16-17).

You may be praying for money, deliverance or freedom, but your greatest need may be just like the servant: to have your eyes opened to what you are already have! The servant's circumstances did not change, but his perspective of them sure did and that was God's answer. When you change the way you look at your situation, your situation changes. When you see the unseen, it enables you to receive and enjoy it before it ever becomes a tangible reality for you to see.

Perhaps you need to pray what Elisha prayed, saying: "Lord, open my eyes to see reality from Your perspective." Then accept what you see as God answers your prayer and be set free from the tyranny of your limited scope of reality. When God shows you His power, love and mercy that surrounds you in the midst of your struggles, you can shout, "Hallelujah" and choose to focus on that instead of your problem. When you do that, you are sure to receive what you have seen in a very short while. Thank you and have a blessed week.

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I NEED YOUR HELP: As mentioned I above, I need your help to support me in the work and travels that I do. You can give to me personally through PayPal and you can help the orphans and widows at a different link using PayPal as well. Or you can send a check for either cause to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. You can read the latest update from my work in Kenya here.

NEW RADIO SHOW: I started a new AM radio show on January 3 in Westmoreland County, outside Pittsburgh called Leadership Talk Westmoreland County. All the shows are now archived on the station's site, so you can listen live at 10:30AM on Saturday mornings on 1480 WCNS or you can listen to any of the first three shows on the station's website.

ANOTHER RADIO SHOW: I have done a radio show called Wake Up To Purpose every Saturday morning since September 2012 on WPIT 730AM here in Pittsburgh. You can listen to every one of those shows on my own website archives.

692: What You See 2

We started a new series titled What You See Is What You Get last week. I also started raising support for my upcoming trips to Kenya and Guyana, South America. You can support my trip by going to my website and giving using PayPal. I need your help if I am to continue to go and spread the purpose gospel where God opens doors. If these Memos, my daily devotionals or my online Bible studies have been a help to you, I am asking that you now help me in a tangible way. And now, part two in our new series.

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ABRAHAM AND HAGAR

The story of Hagar in Genesis is one that is difficult to understand for most in almost any modern culture. Abraham and Sarah could not have children, so Sarah consented for Abraham to impregnate their maid. Abraham and Sarah were then to be considered the parents of the child from that union. I suppose this is the first recorded case in history of a surrogate mother. Eventually, Abraham and Sarah had their own son, Isaac, so Esau and Hagar were no longer wanted or needed, so Abraham banished them to the desert and God's care. This was certainly not Abraham's finest hour (nor Sarah's).

I have been to the Middle East many times, and I can tell you that it's hot in the deserts there. Hagar assumed that she and the boy were going to die and acted accordingly: ^"When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, 'I cannot watch the boy die.' And as she sat there, she began to sob" (Genesis 21:15-16).

Perhaps you are in a desert and you assume that you are going to die. Well, maybe not die, but you have concluded that your business is dead, you will never get married or your ministry is finished. You fill in the description of your own situation that may be similar to Hagar's.

HAGAR'S RESCUE

Yet Hagar was not alone in that desert; God was with her: "God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation'" (Genesis 21:17-18). When it seemed like all was lost, God spoke a promise to her - in of all places a desolate, deserted, dry, and arid desert.

What did God do to fulfill His promise? Did He send a river? Send birds with water in their beaks? Rain on Hagar and Esau? What God did was open Hagar's eyes to what was already right in front of her: "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink" (Genesis 21:19).

I don't think that well or oasis suddenly appeared. It was there all the time, but Hagar could not see it because her thinking was bad. She was so convinced it was over that she was blinded to the resource that was right in front of her. The same may be true for you.

What you see in the Lord is what you get in the Lord, but your negative thinking can actually blind you to God's help or provision. The way out of that dilemma is to pray, "God, open my eyes to see what I am not seeing" and then pay attention, for the answer will come. You just have to make sure that you are in the right faith state of mind to recognize the answer.

What Hagar needed was right in front of her all the time and your answer or solution may be as well.You have to see it, however, before you can receive it. I trust that this week your eyes will be opened to the answers God is sending you and perhaps has been sending you for quite some time. The problem often isn't God, it's you and I trust you will work this week to get out of the way of God's blessings for you and your purpose work. Have a blessed week!

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I NEED YOUR HELP: As mentioned I above, I need your help to support me in the work and travels that I do. You can give to me personally through PayPal and you can help the orphans and widows at a different link using PayPal as well. Or you can send a check for either cause to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. You can read the latest update from my work in Kenya here.

NEW TV SHOW: My latest venture into television, a show titled Your PurposeQuest, will air this Sunday in Pittsburgh only at 8 PM on channel 21 on Comcast and 47 on Verizon, which are both the Pittsburgh Community Channel. You can already view that show online, and from this point on, a new show will air every month on every other Tuesday night at 8PM. Once it airs, I will post it on my video site for the rest of the world to see. I will remind you of the schedule as the show is ready to air.

NEW RADIO SHOW: I started a new AM radio show on January 3 in Westmoreland County, outside Pittsburgh called Leadership Talk Westmoreland County. All the shows are now archived on the station's site, so you can listen live at 10:30AM on Saturday mornings on 1480WCNS or you can listen to any of the first three shows on the station's website.

ANOTHER RADIO SHOW: I have done a radio show called Wake Up To Purpose every Saturday morning since September 2012 on WPIT 730AM here in Pittsburgh. You can listen to every one of those shows on my own website archives.

691: What You See 1

It's time to start a new series and this one will be titled What You See Is What You Get. Before we get started, however, I want to let you know that I have placed a link on my website where you can help me with my upcoming trips to Kenya and Guyana, South America. As I have been telling you since last November, I have reached a crisis point in my purpose work. I have no place else to go but to you who read and benefit from my work regularly. Pray and do what God is telling you to do. And now, let's get started by looking at a man who shows up in the Bible right after the Christmas story.

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Six weeks after Jesus was born, his parents followed the Law of their people and presented their firstborn son in the Temple to be dedicated and redeemed and for Mary to be cleansed from the whole ordeal of childbirth. We know that Jesus' parents did not have much, for they chose the poor man's offering for the procedure, which was a pair of doves or two young pigeons (see Luke 2:22-24).

SIMEON

While they were in the Temple area, a man named Simeon approached them and identified the baby Jesus as an answer from God for both Simeon and the nation of Israel:

“'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismissyour servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.^'The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him" (Luke 2:29-33a).

There are many things we can focus on from this passage, but I want you to consider Simeon. God had promised him - how we don't know - that he would not die until he saw the Promised One of Israel. Many male babies had been presented during Simeon's lifetime, yet on that day, God empowered him to recognize the fulfillment of God's promise to him. He saw Jesus and knew that Jesus was the One! When Simeon saw Jesus, he basically said, "Alright, Lord. I have seen Him; now I can die." In that moment, Simeon not only saw Jesus, but he also saw the purpose of God that was to be fulfilled in and through Jesus.

In a sense, Simeon received the blessing of Jesus' purpose because he saw it. Once he saw it, he thanked the Lord for all that was going to happen because he saw all that was going to happen. He saw the blessing and he received the blessing, even though the blessing was still in its infant stages.

WHAT YOU SEE

This is true for your purpose, which God has promised that you have. There are many things that will happen to you in life, but when the right 'thing' comes along, you will recognize it for what it is - the expression of your purpose. When you see it, you will receive the joy and blessing of it right then and there. You can thank God for all that will happen because when you see it, in some sense it has already happened, for God will make sure that it does. Of course, there will be many things you will need to do to express your purpose but you can receive all the benefits of your purpose when you see it just like Simeon did when he saw Jesus.

People often ask me "How do I find purpose?" The most important step is to see it, because when you see it, you have received all the potential of what will be - just like looking at a baby. It will grow and become mature, but in that moment when you see it, all the potential and reality of your purpose is already present - and it's difficult not to be excited! I hope 2015 is a year of purpose for you and that, when it shows up as God promised it would, you will recognize it and enjoy the exhilaration of all that it represents for your life and future. Thank you and have a blessed week!

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KENYA TRIP: I depart for Kenya on February 26. Please read the latest update on the challenges of doing our work there and then give a generous contribution through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and God bless you for your assistance.

690: New Year's Ramblings

Happy New Year! I trust you had a good holiday season. My family and I sure did. Now it's time, however, to turn our attention to a new year of purpose, and I am excited for what the new year holds. Next week I will start a new series on faith and purpose by the title, What You See Is What You Get. For now, let's start the year off as we have the last few - with some new year musings.

1. It has been almost one year since I resigned my position at my church. As I reflected on the past year, it was one of new beginnings. I have enjoyed the freedom to schedule and pursue what is in my heart to do, but I have definitely missed the staff interaction
2. I started Urban Press last year and we published our first book in November. I am working on five book projects with authors right now, with many more in the wings. Some people have had ideas to write manuscripts for many years. My goal is to help them make their dream a reality. So far, so good.
3. In November, I had a great awakening that I needed to do more fundraising, making people aware of my needs. I realized I cannot try to work for money and then come home to pursue writing, publishing and orphan work as a full-time job. When I made my needs known, people contributed and wrote, "We have been wanting to give for a while. Thanks for the opportunity." It reminded me of what my fundraising mentor told me once: "People need to give more than you need to receive."
4. If everyone who reads and benefits from these Monday Memos would give at least $5 annually (and some can give more), I would be free to do the work God has called me to do with no financial lack.
5. I am excited about my new daily devotional for 2015: Your LIfe Matters: Reflections from the Psalms. You can subscribe to receive it here or read more about its philosophy and content here. This will make the sixth year that I will write and publish a devotional every day.
6. I estimate it will require 150-200 hours to produce this year's devotional. If you multiply that by five, I have spent 750-1000 hours in the last five years producing my daily devotionals. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to do so. It is an offering of love.
7. Every publisher I have ever met has told me that devotionals don't sell well - and so far, they are correct. Mine don't sell that many copies. I write in faith and publish in faith, however, and I hope my books will outlive me. Therefore I continue to write to give people today and tomorrow an opportunity to have a daily encounter with God's word in what little time they have to do so.
8. I am teaching three classes this term - Practical Preaching, the Psalms, and Motivation and Leadership. Teaching continues to be a joy to do.
9. I am returning to Kenya in February, 2015 with 14 other people. I hope this year to return to England in the fall. If you or your church would like to sponsor a purpose session in the UK, please let me know.
10. I started a new radio show last Saturday and I have sponsors who are paying for this one! That makes five weekly shows I am doing. I will also have a regular television series that shows here locally in Pittsburgh as well as on my Internet tv channel. When I broadcast, I feel God's pleasure.
11. We are looking forward to our daughter's wedding on April 11!

That's about it. Remember, I produce these Memos and distribute them free of charge. They are free, but they aren't cheap, for I put a lot of man hours in preparing them. If these Memos have blessed you, I ask that you invest in their distribution. You can give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible contribution to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and may 2015 be all that you want and need it to be - and more!