The Monday Memo from John Stanko

Monday Memo 1140: The Fire

Let's continue to examine the life of Daniel in our 'Never Too Young for Purpose' series. This week, we will take a look at the well-known story of Daniel's friends being thrown into a blazing furnace because they refused to bow down and worship the king's golden image, telling him,

“Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up" (Daniel 3:16-18).

Their response made the king furious so he ordered his servants to make a nearby furnace seven times hotter than usual. His servants were then directed to throw the three young men into its fire. Keep in mind that these young men were just that—young. They were probably in their late teenage years, but they knew bowing down to an idol was wrong. So they stood up to the king and disobeyed his orders, confident that God could save them in the fire, but determined to stand their ground even if God didn't save them. They knew what they had to do.

Of course, we know that God did save them. In fact, God was in the fire with them, for the king and people saw not three men in the furnace but four! When the king saw them all walking around unharmed by the flames, he cried out,

“Shadrach! Meshach! Abednego! Servants of the Supreme God! Come out!”And they came out at once. All the princes, governors, lieutenant governors, and other officials of the king gathered to look at the three men, who had not been harmed by the fire. Their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned, and there was no smell of smoke on them (Daniel 3:26-27).

These young men were where God wanted them to be, doing what He wanted them to do, but that didn't mean they were exempt from difficult times as they served their God. The same is true for you. God wants you to know His purpose for your life, but as you pursue it, you will go through things you never thought you would. God will use those things not only to prove to you and others that He is with you, but also to build your faith in His ability to protect you in every situation. James explained it best when he wrote to us,

My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4).

If you are a young person of purpose, are you ready to stand for the Lord even when you have to face the fire of criticism, misunderstanding, or strong, seemingly overwhelming opposition? Are you willing to pay the price for God to use you? Can you take a determined decision to serve God when it seems like it is not in your best interests to do so?

Daniel's friends did what was right when everyone else around them did what was wrong, and God was watching. Be sure that God will be watching you and applauding from heaven as you remain true to Him, knowing that as you are, He will be true to you. Have a blessed week!

Monday Memo 1139: Great Faith

We have seen over the last few weeks the progress Daniel made in Babylon to the extent that he was now part of the king's court and was consulted on important matters of the kingdom. Then one day the king had a dream and he asked his wise men to interpret it, with one important condition: the king was not going to tell them the dream but he still wanted them to give him the meaning! When the wise men said this was impossible, the king ordered them all to be executed. We then read how Daniel reacted when he heard about the king's death order:

When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven (Daniel 2:14-19, NIV).

Daniel had such great faith that he promised the king God would give him both the dream and the interpretation, if only the king would give him and his friends some time to seek the Lord. Daniel and his comrades began to pray and we are told that "during the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision." What a wonderful story this is of God using a young man to save many others through faith in God and answered prayer!

Daniel was probably still a teenager but he had great faith and wisdom. First, he knew how to talk to the king's official with "wisdom and tact." Then he was confident that prayer was the way to get what the king wanted, so he went to his friends and asked them to pray as if their lives depended on it—which it did. Then God answered their prayers and the wise men were spared (including those who did not serve Daniel's God)—and Daniel praised his God.

Perhaps God has given you a leadership position in your family, school, community, or workplace, even though you are young. God put you there so you can represent Him and serve those who are around you. God will give you what you need to do His will in that position if you have faith and ask Him. Your success has nothing to do with the number of years you have lived, but has everything to do with the size of your faith.

Are you believing God for great things? Are you asking Him for what others think is impossible? Do you have friends who have faith and know how to pray with you? God wants to use you not only when you are grown and mature but also when you are young. Do you believe that? If you do, then be God's representative now, where you are in what you are doing, and be like Daniel, a young man who knew how to believe God for the impossible in difficult times. Have a blessed week!

Monday Memo 1138: Good Students

Last week, we looked at the life change that Daniel went through as he was carried off as a prisoner of war to Babylon. Daniel refused to eat the food there, which would have been in violation of God's dietary laws as described in His Word, and because he was faithful, God gave Daniel favor with his overseer. That's not all God gave him:

God gave the four young men knowledge and skill in literature and philosophy. In addition, he gave Daniel skill in interpreting visions and dreams. At the end of the three years set by the king, Ashpenaz took all the young men to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them all, and Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah impressed him more than any of the others. So they became members of the king's court. No matter what question the king asked or what problem he raised, these four knew ten times more than any fortuneteller or magician in his whole kingdom. Daniel remained at the royal court until Cyrus, the emperor of Persia, conquered Babylonia (Daniel 1:17-21).

We assumed in the last entry that Daniel was about 17 years old, but further research has led me to believe that he may have been younger, perhaps as young as 14 or 15 when he arrived in Babylon. After his three years of study, he would have been 17 or 18. Notice how God had already used him, despite his youth: "God gave the four young men knowledge and skill in literature and philosophy. In addition, he gave Daniel skill in interpreting visions and dreams." At the age of 18, Daniel became an advisor to the king for "no matter what question the king asked or what problem he raised, [Daniel and his three friends] knew ten times more than any fortuneteller or magician in his whole kingdom."

Did you notice that God didn't give Daniel and his young friends wisdom or ability in religious matters? He gave them "knowledge and skill" in literature and philosophy. They were good students who liked to read and discuss philosophical matters of life, human existence, and reality. Where did they study? In Babylonian schools, after God relocated them to Babylon. And of course, Daniel had a special gift of interpreting dreams so there was something spiritual that Daniel did to go along with his other talents.

Are you a good student? For example, do you like to read? That's important to take seriously, for if you do, God gave you that desire and He may want you to use it to grow in knowledge of His creation, areas like biology, chemistry, or physics. Do you like to talk about issues of life that go beyond childhood matters, things like politics, psychology, or sociology? Those matters may not seem spiritual, but God can use them to expand your intellect and ability to think and reason and then to help others. Do you have insight into people's problems and then can you counsel them, offering them wisdom for how to live and serve God? You may do that in church, but you also may do that in your job and career.

The important thing as you search for your life purpose is not to ignore anything. What you love to do—what you seem to do or understand better than some adults—is something God has done in your life. If you are a good student, learn quickly, and are able to grasp what others would say are difficult things, then God has empowered you to be like Daniel was. And we are learning that God doesn't waste anything He puts into you, but wants to use it not only in the future, but also right now—even if you are a young person among those who are older and supposed to be wiser. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1137: Faith in Hard Times

It's time this week to take a look at another young person who was a champion of purpose in the Bible, and that young person is Daniel. In the book named after him, we read,

The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief official, to select from among the Israelite exiles some young men of the royal family and of the noble families. They had to be handsome, intelligent, well-trained, quick to learn, and free from physical defects, so that they would be qualified to serve in the royal court. Ashpenaz was to teach them to read and write the Babylonian language. The king also gave orders that every day they were to be given the same food and wine as the members of the royal court. After three years of this training they were to appear before the king. Among those chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all of whom were from the tribe of Judah. The chief official gave them new names: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 1:3-7).

Let's review what we know. Since the king was looking for young men who were "handsome, intelligent, well-trained, quick to learn, and free from physical defects," we can assume that Daniel met those criteria since he was selected. He was probably an older teenager when he was sent off to Babylon, 600 miles away from where he lived. There he was sent to a Babylonian university, given a new name, and introduced to a brand new culture, including new food, language, and other customs.

What does the Bible tell us about how Daniel responded? "Daniel made up his mind not to let himself become ritually unclean by eating the food and drinking the wine of the royal court, so he asked Ashpenaz to help him" (Daniel 1:8). It's remarkable that after all Daniel had been through to get to Babylon, he still wanted to stay faithful to the law of God concerning what foods he could and could not eat. And because of that, we are told, "God made [the man who guarded him] sympathetic to Daniel" (Daniel 1:9).

Daniel probably thought he would live and die where he had been born, just as his ancestors had done, but God had something else in mind.In a sense, Daniel was God's missionary or emissary to Babylon, even though he was a young man. Daniel would spend his entire life there in service to Babylon and its kings, never to return to his native country. Therefore, Daniel went through a lot of changes to learn how to succeed where God had sent him.

Just like Daniel, God has a purpose in mind for you and you won't find out how it's all going to work out until you start to pursue it. Many unexpected changes will come to your life, and the best way to flow with them is to remain true and faithful to God, the One who never changes. Daniel stayed true to God and His ways and therefore God stayed true to him.

Are you ready for your purpose adventure? Are you prepared to serve God wherever He chooses, even if it's not your homeland or with the people with whom you grew up? Will you remain faithful to His ways and purpose even when times get hard? The way to get and stay ready for your purpose journey is to study young people like Joseph, David, and Daniel and learn from their example.

Then be prepared for some significant changes of direction in your life before they come. Then be like these other purpose champions and become a young person of purpose. As you do, you will be a good model for others to follow as they learn from you that even a young person can be true to the Lord when tested. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1136: Young Jesus

 Because the focus of the gospel accounts is on Jesus as an adult, we often don't consider that He was once young and grew up like any other person. That means Jesus was like us in every way, except He could not sin: "Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature" (Hebrews 2:14). And that means He left us a path to follow to enable us to find God's will just like He did. We read in Luke's gospel,

After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers (Luke 2:43-47).

In this story, Jesus was probably around the age of 12, but already He was searching for His Father's will. He knew where He should be and how He should spend His time.

Jesus went off to pursue God's will and His parents were searching for Him, not knowing that He had stayed behind. His mother was upset with Him and said, "When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you',” (Luke 2:48) to which Jesus replied, “'Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?' But they did not understand his answer" (Luke 2:49-50).

There is no need for you to run away from home to find God's will and you should include your parents in your plans whenever possible, but the lesson in this story for any young person is this: You are never too young to seek the Lord and His will for your life. Jesus sought out adult teachers who knew the Bible and He wanted to spend time with them. He asked them questions and shared what He knew and saw. He amazed the adults He was meeting with because He had a good understanding of God's word even though He was young.

What about you? Are you interested in knowing the Bible? Do you think about being in ministry, perhaps as a missionary, teacher, or pastor? Or maybe your interests lie in the military, medicine, or music? Jesus was a young child just like you are, but He knew what He was interested in, and He wasn't afraid or ashamed to pursue His call. You shouldn't hesitate to do so either, for God speaks to people and reveals His will regardless of age, young or old.

Others may think you are too young for such thing and may not understand your interests, but God is with you. Don't hesitate to make Him and His will the number one priority in your life, no matter what adults or your peers may say or think. If you seek Him, just like Jesus, you are sure to find Him. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1135: "God Can Do It!"

This week, let's look at how God used a young girl in the story of a man named Naaman who had leprosy. We read,

In one of their raids against Israel, the Syrians had carried off a little Israelite girl, who became a servant of Naaman's wife. One day she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master could go to the prophet who lives in Samaria! He would cure him of his disease.” When Naaman heard of this, he went to the king and told him what the girl had said (2 Kings 5:2-4).

Just like today, the Syrians and the Israelites didn't get along and were often at war. And just like today, the Syrians raided the land of Israel and carried off a young girl who became the servant of the wife of a Syrian military hero. Unfortunately, this hero had a terrible, incurable skin disease called leprosy that actually ate away the flesh of the person who had it.

How old was this young girl who became a servant? The word used would seem that she was someplace between a child and a teenager when she was carried off to another land. Yet, this young girl knew of the prophet in Israel named Elisha and she knew if her mistress's husband would go there, God would heal Naaman.

This young girl knew what God was doing in her country through the prophet and had faith that God would use him to heal her master. What's more, her faith informed her speech and she promised her mistress that the healing would take place. The girl had more faith than the people in her home country, for then this happened:

The king said, “Go to the king of Israel and take this letter to him.” So Naaman set out, taking thirty thousand pieces of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of fine clothes. The letter that he took read: “This letter will introduce my officer Naaman. I want you to cure him of his disease.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and exclaimed, “How can the king of Syria expect me to cure this man? Does he think that I am God, with the power of life and death? It's plain that he is trying to start a quarrel with me!” (2 Kings 5:5-7).

The king in Israel thought this was an attempt by Naaman and his king to ask them to do something impossible so when Israel couldn't do it, the Syrians would harass them all the more. In other words, the king of Israel had no faith and no awareness of what Elisha could do, but the young girl did. Just because someone is an adult and should have faith and knowledge doesn't mean they do. And just because someone is young doesn't mean they don't understand the things of God, for sometimes they do—even better than adults!

So what happened? Naaman went to Elisha the prophet who didn't even bother to meet with Naaman but told him to go dip in the local river. At first, Naaman was offended and refused, but his servants (they were also probably young) told him to give it a try because he had nothing to lose. So Naaman listened to them, dipped himself in the river, and was healed! Then certainly Naaman was glad he had listened to the servant girl and his other servants who all played a role in his healing. The servant girl said, "God can do it" and she was correct.

If you're a young person reading this and you have faith in God, hold on to your faith and don't let anyone talk you out of or discourage it—no matter how old or wise or spiritual they may be. Your faith is as relevant and powerful before God as anyone else, and if you know God can do something, don't hesitate to say so. And if you're an older person, don't dismiss the faith of a young person just because they're young. If you do, you may be missing or ignoring something God is trying to tell or show you through them.

Faith doesn't depend on the age of the holder to be effective; it depends on the faithfulness of God. God always responds to someone with faith, so our job is to find those who have it and follow their lead, even if they are young enough to be our children or grandchildren. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1134: "Shut Them Up"

The theme of our latest series is that no one is too young to find and fulfill their God-given purpose. We've been studying young people of purpose in the Bible and this week, let's look at what Jesus had to say when the religious leaders tried to shut down and shut up the children's praise in the Temple:

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” (Matthew 21:14-16).

Jesus quoted Psalm 8 in response to His critics and earlier in Matthew, He had explained why God chose to reveal Himself and His purpose to children and young people:

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do" (Matthew 11:25-26).

It's remarkable that Jesus was healing the blind and the lame in the Temple for everyone to see. When the children saw it, they praised God because they saw what He was doing. Yet the religious leaders, who also should have been praising and thanking God, were offended by what was going on and wanted Jesus to tell the children to shut up! Yet Jesus was clear with the leaders that He was not going to quiet the children because this was God's will—to show the children things that He had hidden from the older and wiser men, or things the wise men had refused to see.

The point of this week's study is clear. Young people have access to an understanding of God that their elders often don't have. Therefore, it's important that older saints pay attention to what young people are saying and hearing from the Lord. What's more, young people can hear and know God's will for their lives and for the direction of the church. Their age doesn't matter to God. In this scene from Matthew, the children saw Jesus healing the blind and restoring lost limbs, and they praised God. Their elders saw the same things and tried to shut Him and them up. So who was the more spiritual? Who was more in touch with God's purpose?

If you are a young person, don't be too quick to dismiss what you're seeing and hearing from the Lord, for it's God's pleasure to reveal those things to you. If you're an older person, don't be so quick to shut down or shut up a young person who has a heart for God. Listen to what they are saying and watch what they are doing, for you at one time also had their innocence, but lost it along the way when you grew up.

The elders are to help guide the young, not control or stifle them. If Jesus refused to shut down the youth in Matthew 21, then He has the same attitude today. Therefore, if you want to know what God is doing, go check with a young person who has a heart for God and stay in touch with the strength of the young, which is to see God for who He is and praise and serve Him accordingly. Have a blessed week.

Special Holiday Edition Monday Memo 1133: Mary

In this next lesson in our "Never Too Young for Purpose" series, let's look at a woman who figured prominently in the Christmas story, none other than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus, so she certainly is a young person of purpose from whom we can learn a lot in our own search for purpose.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Here is the announcement that ushered in the Christmas story:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38).

God made a decision that Mary was to be the mother of Jesus, and sent Gabriel to make the announcement. We don't know much about Mary since this is the first mention of her in the Bible. Put yourself in Mary's place. She was a young adult. This was undoubtedly her first encounter with an angel. She was engaged, but the angel informed her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. With all that background, Mary asked one question and only one: "How can this be?"

THE ANSWER

The angel gave her a simple answer: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." Mary had as much information after the question as before, for she did not have an understanding of the Spirit that we have today. All she understood was that God was going to make it happen. It's fascinating that she did not ask another question, but simply responded, "May your word to be be fulfilled." That represents great faith, which is required for anyone to find and fulfill their life's purpose.

You may think that Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, but it was bigger than that. To identify her purpose, we go a little further into Luke's gospel to see the words of Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, that define Mary's purpose: "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” It was Mary's role to oversee in faith the promises and mission of her son, Jesus.

Mary was there when the shepherds came to see Jesus, when the Magi came to worship Jesus, when Herod came to kill Jesus, when the elders of Israel listened to and marveled at 12-year-old Jesus, when Jesus began His public ministry, when Jesus was hung on a cross, and when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. If Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, her purpose was finished the day He was born. Her purpose was much bigger, however, and it was a lifelong job to believe God for her Son's protection and ministry completion.

THE APPLICATION

Perhaps God has shown you something about your future, but you want more information. He has showed you that you will own a business, but your family is poor or not business people. You have asked "How can this be?" and received the same answer as Mary did: "God will accomplish it." But that doesn't mean you don't have anything to do even though God will accomplish it. You now have to study business, or perhaps work in a business to learn more.

Maybe God will help you invent something even now which you will then use to start of your future business. If it's not business, then maybe it's something to do with music, education, or sports. I hope you get the idea. God will show you something, He promises to help you do it, and then you spend your time cooperating and fulfilling what God showed you. That's how God works, no matter how young or old you are.

I urge you this holiday season to reconsider Mary and her role not only in the Christmas story but also in the life of Jesus. Observe her reactions and responses, and apply them to your own life. Your role is not just to give birth to your purpose; your role is to raise it to maturity so it can bear fruit. May God be with you as we end 2023 and help you make progress on your purpose path  in the coming year as never before. Have a blessed week.

In this next lesson in our "Never Too Young for Purpose" series, let's look at a woman who figured prominently in the Christmas story, none other than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus, so she certainly is a young person of purpose from whom we can learn a lot in our own search for purpose.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Here is the announcement that ushered in the Christmas story:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38).

God made a decision that Mary was to be the mother of Jesus, and sent Gabriel to make the announcement. We don't know much about Mary since this is the first mention of her in the Bible. Put yourself in Mary's place. She was a young adult. This was undoubtedly her first encounter with an angel. She was engaged, but the angel informed her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. With all that background, Mary asked one question and only one: "How can this be?"

THE ANSWER

The angel gave her a simple answer: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." Mary had as much information after the question as before, for she did not have an understanding of the Spirit that we have today. All she understood was that God was going to make it happen. It's fascinating that she did not ask another question, but simply responded, "May your word to be be fulfilled." That represents great faith, which is required for anyone to find and fulfill their life's purpose.

You may think that Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, but it was bigger than that. To identify her purpose, we go a little further into Luke's gospel to see the words of Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, that define Mary's purpose: "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” It was Mary's role to oversee in faith the promises and mission of her son, Jesus.

Mary was there when the shepherds came to see Jesus, when the Magi came to worship Jesus, when Herod came to kill Jesus, when the elders of Israel listened to and marveled at 12-year-old Jesus, when Jesus began His public ministry, when Jesus was hung on a cross, and when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. If Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, her purpose was finished the day He was born. Her purpose was much bigger, however, and it was a lifelong job to believe God for her Son's protection and ministry completion.

THE APPLICATION

Perhaps God has shown you something about your future, but you want more information. He has showed you that you will own a business, but your family is poor or not business people. You have asked "How can this be?" and received the same answer as Mary did: "God will accomplish it." But that doesn't mean you don't have anything to do even though God will accomplish it. You now have to study business, or perhaps work in a business to learn more.

Maybe God will help you invent something even now which you will then use to start of your future business. If it's not business, then maybe it's something to do with music, education, or sports. I hope you get the idea. God will show you something, He promises to help you do it, and then you spend your time cooperating and fulfilling what God showed you. That's how God works, no matter how young or old you are.

I urge you this holiday season to reconsider Mary and her role not only in the Christmas story but also in the life of Jesus. Observe her reactions and responses, and apply them to your own life. Your role is not just to give birth to your purpose; your role is to raise it to maturity so it can bear fruit. May God be with you as we end 2023 and help you make progress on your purpose path  in the coming year as never before. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1132: Wherever

Let's look one more time at the life of Genesis Joseph in our series 'Never Too Young for Purpose,' for there is one more important lesson for any young person who is searching for purpose. We read,

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt (Genesis 37:28).

Joseph's brothers hated him and considered killing him until they had a better idea. They decided to make some money from their brother's misery by selling him to some merchants who just happened to be passing by at the time. These merchants were heading to Egypt which is exactly where they took Joseph and sold him at a slave market.

We saw the last two weeks that Joseph had two dreams confirming that he would someday lead his family. That became his life's purpose. What he didn't know, however, was where, when, or how that would take place. We also learned last week that his brothers did indeed come before him and bow down 22 years after Joseph had the dream, but little did Joseph realize that his dream would come true not in his homeland but in the faraway land of Egypt.

God is not only the God of your purpose, but He is also the God of where you will fulfill your purpose. We studied David in previous weeks and saw that he was able to be the king over his homeland. However, Joseph had to go to Egypt and learn a new language, culture, and customs in order to fulfill his purpose. And in the coming weeks, we will look at the life of young Daniel and see that he also had to go far away from his home to fulfill his purpose.

Even after God revealed Joseph's purpose in the dreams. Joseph still had to have faith that God would work out the details for it to come to pass, and you will have to do the same. You may know your future is in medicine, but where? Will it be close to your home, somewhere in the country of your birth, or in a land near or far away from where you were born? Will it require you to learn a new language, to study in a foreign land, or be among people who don't look think or talk like you? What will you go through to come into what God has for you? All that is part of your faith purpose adventure which requires that you get ready now for the future as best you can. How can you do that?

Can you study a foreign language? Can you read about or listen to the stories of people who have had to go away from home to find their purpose? Perhaps you can study other cultures and as you do, God may give you a fascination for the place you will eventually go? Maybe you can even go someplace to study as a foreign exchange student so you can have firsthand experience in travel and cross-cultural awareness? If you feel like you will stay home, then can you study your own country's history and culture to understand it more fully?

The point is that God is the one who oversees your purpose from start to finish. You can know your purpose but there are still many surprises ahead in which you will have to trust the Lord and His guidance and protection. Make a commitment now not only to fulfill your purpose but also to do it wherever God chooses for you to be. Then watch and see how God will move in your life to make it happen, just like He did in the life of Joseph. Have a blessed week.

Memo 1131: Know and Prepare

As we continue to look at the life of teenage Joseph in our "Never Too Young for Purpose," we learn that he had a second dream about his future, which simply confirmed the message of the first dream:

Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers, “I had another dream, in which I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.” He also told the dream to his father, and his father scolded him: “What kind of a dream is that? Do you think that your mother, your brothers, and I are going to come and bow down to you?” Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thinking about the whole matter (Genesis 37:9-11).

Later, Joseph told Pharaoh when he had two dreams that "the repetition of your dream means that the matter is fixed by God and that he will make it happen in the near future" (Genesis 41:32). So God was showing Joseph at seventeen years of age what his future was going to look like and He gave him two dreams to prove that it was going to happen. God wanted Joseph to know His will for his life and He wants you to know, too. Does that mean Joseph could just sit back and wait for the dreams to be fulfilled? No, not at all.

After that, Joseph had to get ready and prepare himself to be the leader God assigned him to be. What he went through wasn't anything like you would think his preparation would have been like. First, his brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Once there, he served as a personal assistant in an Egyptian household only to have the master's wife lie about Joseph which led to him being imprisoned. In jail, Joseph became the head jailer's assistant where he helped care for his fellow prisoners.

On one occasion, Joseph helped two of the prisoners by correctly interpreting their dreams. Joseph asked in return that the men remember him if and when they got out of jail, which one of the men did—but soon forgot his promise to help Joseph. Therefore, Joseph had to spend two mores years in jail. Finally, Joseph was brought before Pharaoh to interpret the king's dreams, which he did, and was promoted to be the second-in-command throughout all Egypt! One minute Joseph was a prisoner and the next minute he was an important leader. That's because God knew how to prepare Joseph and Joseph was faithful to the process. Yet there was one more thing Joseph had to do to come into his purpose.

He had to remember his dreams.

Later we read, "Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. He remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them" (Genesis 42:8-9). Why didn't Joseph's brothers recognize him? It was because they had not seen him in 22 years. God had been preparing Joseph in Egypt to fulfill the purpose He had for him all those years, while his brothers thought he was dead. For 22 years, Joseph remembered the dreams God gave him. He had to live in those dreams while he was away from home, in jail, and then a leader in Egypt but far away from the family he was destined to lead. God had said he would lead his family so he had to have faith that somehow, someday, God would help him fulfill his purpose.

If you're young, it's good to have a dream—some idea of what you will be doing later in life. After that, however, comes the time to prepare and sometimes the preparation is more about your character than your knowledge. And at times, the dream will seem so far away, maybe even seem impossible, that you will have to live in your dream of being a singer, a doctor, a teacher, or a leader before it ever becomes a reality. Then you will have to prepare in faith so that when your day comes, you won't have to get ready—you'll be ready.

Maybe it would be good for your to read Joseph's story for yourself, which is found in Genesis chapters 37 through 50. As you read, put yourself in Joseph's place. More importantly, be like Joseph as you prepare to find and fulfill your purpose. See yourself doing God's will in the future, and then prepare to do it and keep on dreaming and preparing until your dream becomes reality. Have a blessed week!