John Stanko | On August 25, 2015

Boxer (Photo by Andreas Thum) (CC3.0) (Resized/Cropped)
(Created by Keith Haring) Berlin, Germany

“Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me”

– Psalm 69:6.

The psalmist was once again in trouble, this time the water was up to his neck and rising! While David was praying and crying out for help, he had an interesting request. He was not simply asking that he be delivered. He asked that he be spared for the sake of his fellow believers. You are connected to other people if you put your hope in the Lord. That makes you part of a body and you are not free to do what you want, for you are joined to them. When one part is in pain, it affects all and the same is true if one part is doing well. You may not like being part of a body, you may not like what the body is doing, but you cannot escape the fact that you are part, and when one part is disgraced, it has implications for all. Paul developed the metaphor of the believers being part of a body and explained,

“But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it”

– 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26.

Are you cognizant of your place in the body of Christ? Do you see your responsibility to contribute to body health and well-being? How are you fulfilling that duty?

Today’s reading – Psalms 66-70

John Stanko

John Stanko was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Duquesne University where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics in 1972 and 1974 respectively.

Since then, John has served as an administrator, teacher, consultant, author, and pastor in his professional career. He holds a second master’s degree in pastoral ministries, and earned his Doctor of Ministry from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh in 2011.

John founded a personal and leadership development company, called PurposeQuest, in 2001 and today travels the world to speak, consult and inspire leaders and people everywhere. From 2001-2008, he spent six months a year in Africa and still enjoys visiting and working on that continent, while teaching for Geneva College’s Masters of Organizational Leadership and the Center for Urban Biblical Ministry in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most recently, John founded Urban Press, a publishing service designed to tell stories of the city, from the city and to the city.