The Monday Memo from John Stanko

726 - Purpose Questions

I need your help. I have a $2,000 matching grant that expires this Wednesday at midnight. Every dollar you give becomes two and will help me with my upcoming trip to Kenya and my work there. You can give using PayPal (just click on the red button) or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. If you have been blessed by these Memos over the years, now is the time to sow back into my work that I have done since 2001. And now, let's continue our purpose profiles.

****************

This week we continue our purpose profiles as we look at the life of Nehemiah. There are some exciting and helpful purpose lessons ahead in the next few weeks as we study this man’s life.  (You may wish to read the book of Nehemiah before you read this Memo.) In short, Nehemiah served the Persian king Artaxerxes, who ruled from 464-424 BC. In about 445 BC, Artaxerxes commissioned his servant Nehemiah to return and rebuild Jerusalem, the city of his fathers. This profile will study how Nehemiah got assigned to duty in Jerusalem and what he did once he was there. Of course, we will see that Nehemiah was a man of purpose or he could not have done the great work that he did.

The book of Nehemiah begins with Nehemiah asking some men who had just come from Jerusalem some questions: “In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1-2). 

The point I want to make this week is that you don’t know their purpose because you don’t ask enough questions. I heard a motivational speaker say one time that quality questions lead to a quality life. What he meant was that you must seek the truth concerning who you are, and part of that seeking is asking the right questions.

Nehemiah was interested in Jerusalem and its residents, even though he had never been there.  One day a group of travelers piqued his interest and he asked a lot of questions. Their answers provoked him to prayer, thought and action. The rest is history.

When I first found my purpose, it was because I asked God, “If you didn’t create me to start this business that failed, what did You create me to do?” That was a quality question. The Lord responded, “I made you to create order out of chaos!” That was a quality answer, the pursuit of which has led me to a quality life, one that enables me to do what I love all over the world. What questions are you currently asking?  If quality questions lead to a quality life, do no questions lead to a nothing life? Do you continue to ask until you get an answer or some clarity on the matter?

Here are three good questions to ask this week as you seek your purpose. Work on these this week and there will be more in the weeks to come.

1. What would you do with your life if you had all the money you needed to live on?
2. What compliments have you regularly heard that may hold clues to your purpose?
3. What gives you the greatest joy?

If you would care to help others when you ask and seek, you can post your answers on the site where this entry is posted. Your comments will go a long way toward helping others. Thanks, and have a blessed week.

725 - Purpose Comes Looking for You

I received more feedback from last week’s Memo than any other I have written. I urge you to read the Memos from the last two weeks, for this week we continue our purpose profiles of Esther and Mordecai.  The point I want to make this week is that Esther and Mordecai didn’t have to look for their purpose; their purpose came looking for them. 

Then the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it (Esther 2:2-4).

Esther was found and chosen to be among those women, and was eventually selected by the king to be the new queen. Last week we saw that Mordecai foiled a plot to assassinate the king and was then sought out and rewarded for his work. Both didn’t go looking for purpose; their purpose came looking for them.

As you examine your purpose this week, ask yourself: What always finds me that needs done?  What group or kind of people always seem to seek me out for counsel, encouragement or help?  If you can answer those questions, you are well on your way to clarifying your purpose. One thing that regularly happens to me, no matter where I am in the world, is that people ask me for directions—an expression of my purpose to create order out of chaos. I mentioned that fact last week in a church service, and the next day someone jokingly asked me if anyone had asked me for directions yet. I responded no one had, but that the day was still young.

A few hours later, I was on a train heading to Heathrow Airport. As the train slowed down for the first stop, I man came up to me and asked, “Do you know from which terminal the British Air flight to New York departs?”  Guess what? I knew it was terminal four! I can create order out of chaos. I never have to looking for 'chaos,’ it always comes looking for me. Of course, I then misread my own itinerary and jumped off at the wrong stop for my plane!  I never said you would fulfill your purpose perfectly; I simply stated that the fulfillment of your purpose will always find you.

Purpose puts you in the right place at the right time. When you function in your purpose, there is a sense that God is helping you accomplish what you are doing, without effort or you having to make something happen. When someone needs directions, I just happen to come along and for whatever reason they choose me out of the crowd to ask where to go. I couldn’t plan that if I wanted to. It is a small way in which I know that God uses me to help others and it flows naturally. It is part of my purpose to create order out of chaos.

So ask yourself: When am I in “the flow?” When do I most seem to be in the right place at the right time?  What need or needs do I always seem to be in a position to meet? Answers to those questions will most certainly help you clarify your purpose.

LET’S REVIEW.

So what purpose lessons have we learned from Esther and Mordecai these last three weeks?

1. Your past doesn’t prevent you from fulfilling your purpose, unless you allow it to do so. 
2. You may be taking for granted or looking past a purpose that is obvious to everyone but you.
3. God wants to build on your strengths and not your weaknesses.
4. God hasn’t forgotten you.
5. You don’t have to go looking for purpose; purpose comes looking for you.
6. Purpose puts you in the right place at the right time.
7. It requires faith to find and fulfill your purpose.

So there you have it. We have completed our second purpose profile (Samson was the first). This week, I want you to mediate on the seven points I have listed above. Pray over them and ask God to show you what you’re missing. Don’t just pray, but pray in faith with pen and paper in hand, believing that the Lord will show you some new perspective that you need to be a person of purpose. And as usual, if I can help you in any way, please let me know. Have a great week!

*************

MATCHING GRANT: I received a $2,000 matching grant that expires September 30, which is great, because I depart for Kenya on October 7. I need your help so I won't lose this grant! You can give using PayPal (use this link) or send a tax-deductible contribution to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Please mark your check "Matching Grant." You must act today, however, for the grant expires in ten days.

724 - God Remembers

This week I will share with you one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible!  I know that this story will encourage you and help you in your PurposeQuest. While this week’s profile is from the life of Esther, it really isn’t about Esther. It’s about her cousin, Mordecai. As we learned last week, Mordecai raised Esther because her parents had died. Mordecai was Esther’s career mentor and because Esther obeyed his advice, she eventually won a beauty pageant and was chosen to be the new queen. Then we read these few verses about Mordecai himself:

During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king (Esther 2:21-23). 

You may be asking, “Why is this story one of your favorites?” My answer is that this represents only half of the story. Wait until you read the rest! But first, I want to make a few comments about the story’s first half. Mordecai had already done the king a favor by directing Esther to become queen. Then Mordecai did the king a second favor: He saved his life by uncovering and reporting the conspiracy to the king through Esther. When the report was investigated and found to be true, the conspirators were killed and the whole story recorded in the public record. The story could have ended there and almost seems like it does.

And that is how it may be with you. You have done good things that you knew were related to your purpose. You have helped other people, been faithful and still it doesn’t seem like you have received your promotion or breakthrough. You feel like that is the end of your life’s story so far. If you feel or have felt like that, read on! 

GOD NEVER FORGETS

Mordecai had an enemy named Haman, who hated Mordecai because he was a Jew and would now bow down and pay him honor. Haman was secretly plotting to wipe out Mordecai and the Jews but before he could hatch his plot, we read the following:

That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. "What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?" the king asked. "Nothing has been done for him," his attendants answered. The king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him. 

His attendants answered, "Haman is standing in the court." "Bring him in," the king ordered. When Haman entered, the king asked him, "What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought to himself, "Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?" So he answered the king, "For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'"

"Go at once," the king commanded Haman. "Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended." So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!" (Esther 6:1-11). 

I love this story! To me, this symbolizes the fact that God never forgets what you do for Him. I’ve told many audiences that God has a big book and a sharp pencil and He records everything that you do for Him.  In the fullness of time, often when you least expect it, God rewards and blesses you with honor, meaningful work, or significant purpose opportunities. What’s more, Mordecai could not have been blessed until after Esther became queen and had access to the king. Sometimes fulfilling your purpose is a matter of timing—there isn’t a need yet for who you are or what you do, or perhaps God hasn’t yet created the need that you were designed to fill, the problem that you were created to solve.

So take heart this week. God hasn’t forgotten you—He remembers everything that you have done and the preparation you have undertaken.  Put your trust in Him. And one night, when God can’t sleep, He will ask one of His heavenly messengers to read the book of good deeds and He will hear your name mentioned. He will then ask, “What have we done for my son or daughter to reward them?”  When the answer comes back, “Nothing,” then He will respond, “It is time to do something.” Who knows, this may be the week that God uses one of your enemies to be a source of blessing to you. I hope that this is the week when that happens, but if it isn’t, you know that is only a matter of time before that week comes. Keep on seeking and doing the good that you know you are to do. As you do, I pray that you will have a great week!

*********

HEADING TO KENYA: I am off to Kenya on October 7 and, as usual, I need your help. You can read about it here and then make a contribution using PayPal via my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Just click on the red button to the left to give online.

723 - Esther, Part 1

I forgot to mention last week when we began our purpose profile series that I am still urging you to go to my website and take the purpose assessment profile located there. I am a few weeks away from a follow up program for that assessment, so if you take it now, you are sure to be included in the new follow up material I am developing. Just click on this picture link, allow 10 minutes or less and you will be done.

This week we want to continue our purpose profiles, which we began last week with a look at Samson. This week (and next) we will look at Esther and study some interesting purpose lessons from her life. We know that Esther was a queen and was instrumental in saving her fellow Jews from destruction by being in the right place at the right time. How did she get to this place where she fulfilled her purpose, being used by God in a special way? Here are three points that will help answer that question:

1. Your past doesn’t prevent you from fulfilling your purpose, unless you allow it to do so.  “Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother” (Esther 2:7). Esther was an orphan. What’s more, she wasn’t even raised by an aunt or grandparent. She was raised by her male cousin, Mordecai, in a foreign country where they were both minorities. So Esther didn’t have much going for her in the natural. But she had God with her and someone once said, “You plus God are a majority no matter how many others there are.”  Do you believe that?  If you do, then when will start acting like it?

2. You may be taking your obvious purpose for granted. “This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died” (Esther 2:7). I love the way the Bible describes Esther. One version states that she was beautiful “in face and form.” In other words, Esther was a fox! That may not seem very special, but her beauty was an important part of her purpose. We can get so accustomed to who we are that we miss the obvious, which is why you may not be able to describe your purpose. Your purpose may be so natural or “unspectacular” to you that is hard to recognize. You may even take your beauty or some other feature for granted, when it may hold a key to fulfilling your purpose. 

3. God wants to build on your strengths and not your weaknesses. “When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9 The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem” (Esther 2:8-9). Esther was beautiful, so what did God do? He gave her people who would make her more beautiful! Often we spend too much time fretting about our weaknesses and consequently spend even more time trying to be who we’re not. If you’re doing that, please stop. Focus on your strengths and be the best expression of who God made you to be. God isn’t interested in well-rounded individuals. He wants to use specialists who have focused on being the best they can be. That’s the power of purpose.

So who are you?  Are you beautiful? Can you play the piano? Speak before people? Play or coach basketball?  Can you write poetry? Ask yourself how you can be even better in those areas where you are already strong? Don’t try to emulate someone else whom you admire if who they are isn’t who you are. Instead, focus on your strengths and don’t allow your past, even your failures, to determine the extent to which God can use you today. God used Esther’s beauty to open doors for her and He will use your strengths to do the same for you, if you don’t try to minimize or hide your strength. This week determine to follow in Esther’s footsteps and be the best you can be and I know you will have a great week!