Moses' Big Mistake!

If we had to put it into today’s terms, we might say “it sucks to be Moses.” He was the man of God who strove with a million dependent Israelites for 40 years, trying to lead them to a closer walk with God while also leading them into the Promised Land. In the end, after those 40 years of service, he was allowed to look at the Promised Land from atop a mountain, but He would not lead the Israelites into it (Num 27:12).

After being miraculously set free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, the Israelites saw God part the Red Sea and beckon them through; afterward they watched it spill over and swallow the entire Egyptian army. For 40 years God never left them: they were protected and led through the desert by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of clouds by day.

But during those years of being led and provided for by God, they complained nearly every step of the way. And each time they complained God supplied them with food, water, rest, protection, etc., etc. etc. But it was Moses who heard their complaints. He carried their pains and problems to God and in turn brought back God’s answers in the form of miraculous supply and protection.

So by the time they arrived at Meribah, after many years of leading the Israelites, Moses was likely becoming impatient and tired, as were the Israelites. But tiredness feels different when you’re on the side of receiving complaints as opposed to being on the side of giving them. Such was the case with Moses; he was wearied from hearing the continued complaints of the Israelites!

“We’re thirsty and there’s no water here. We should have stayed in Egypt! Our children and animals are going to die! We should have died when our brethren died [after they rebelled against God]” (Num. 20). Such were the complaints at Meribah, where Moses and Aaron went before God to once again receive His answers. God’s immediate reply to Moses was: “take your rod, gather the congregation and speak to this rock as they watch. It will yield enough water for them and their animals.”

We are given no indication that God was angry or irritated with the Israelites: the message was straight forward and simple. It was just one more circumstance in which God would show Himself as their faithful and continuous Caregiver and Supplier, even in the driest of circumstances. But Moses was fed up! So instead of delivering the message in the way God showed him, he struck the rock, declared that he and Aaron we’re bringing water from the rock, and called them rebels (Num 20:9-10).

This was the wrong answer, wrong heart attitude and wrong way to represent God! While the Israelites were complainers, Moses himself was rebellious in his actions and words, and God called him out on it. He had taken the credit and glory for bringing them water, but God had supplied it. He had struck the rock, using the force of anger and aggression, when God called for him to speak to the rock. In the end, because of this outburst, Moses was not given the privilege of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Perhaps this seems harsh, seeing that Moses had put up with the complaints of the Israelites for the last 40 years. But Moses’ calling was to first and foremost represent the heart and character of God to a wandering and helpless people. He was a messenger, but he stepped into God’s shoes and used God’s power to release his aggression on those he was sent to serve. In the end, God told Moses that he had not shown His holiness to the people and he hadn’t believed God; he had delivered the message with unsanctified emotions and actions, effectively causing them to think that this was how God was delivering his blessing to them. Moses also showed a lack of faith; he didn’t trust that God would bring the water out of the rock simply by speaking to it.

This one incident certainly doesn’t wipe out the years of love and guidance that Moses gave to the Israelites through God’s continued presence and anointing. In fact, in Matthew 17 we see that Moses has more than stepped into the Promised Land when he appears on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Elijah and Jesus. But this incidence of rebellion does show us the importance of going before the Lord to sanctify our own emotions and frustrations before dealing with God’s people! We must never use God’s power to misrepresent Him to others!

Someone might say that this is Old Testament stuff, and God gives us grace, grace, grace today. While that is true, God’s character has not changed; today we would expect that He’d supply all of our needs, just as He supplied water from the rock in the desert. Then we should also expect that He calls us to be the kind of messengers that He called Moses to be: those who lead and deliver His message with the holiness of His character! This means that the authority and power of God is to be delivered with His heart and intent – otherwise it is a misrepresentation of Him and a usurping of His omnipotence and supremacy!

Let us take a lesson from Moses’ mistake (as well as the mistakes of the complaining Israelites), seeing that all of these words are written as examples from which we may learn (1 Cor 10:6). Let us be instruments in His hands, it is not the other way around: He is never an instrument in our hands! We can take example from Moses rebellion: although he worked diligently, he was never able to take the last few steps to the completion of his calling.

God, help us to never take your power and purpose and represent you through our frustrations, anger or unsanctified emotions! You are holy; cause us to represent you as the Holy God, perfect in all of your ways!

Christians and Red Cups: A Few Questions

Concerning the hype over the red cup at Starbucks, I'm wondering if we, as Christians, are looking to have our proverbial cake and eat it too. Of course, we cannot force others to think and see things in the same way as we do; we are to be lovers of God first but the unregenerate do not yet have that priority.

To be sure, there has been unfair and even terrible treatment of Christian business owners who have had to go against their beliefs and cater to non-Christian ideals. And these circumstances (ie:bakery) were not provoked. However, the tables are now turned, and this non-Christian business has chosen to cut out their seasonal cups and go with a plain red cup.

In the past, Starbucks didn't have Christian scenes on their cups. Maybe snowflakes...but definitely not manger scenes. And perhaps some Christians believed that Starbucks was recognizing the Christian celebration of Christmas. However, considering that they've made known their ideals through various media over the years, it seems highly unlikely that they were even remotely celebrating Christmas as the birth of Christ. To them it has always been a season in which pretty cups help sell drinks which make people feel warm and cozy inside.

So one question is, doesn't Starbucks have a right to sell their product in whatever kind of cup they choose? Why the outrage? Since we, as Christians and business owners, know it is wrong to be forced to cater to the beliefs of the non-Christian sector at the expense of our own beliefs, why would we insist that a non-Christian business cater to our beliefs? Isn't that insisting that they do the very thing which we have (rightly) protested against?

The answer we have come up with regarding the issue of non-Christians forcing Christians to cater to their sins through our businesses, is to tell them to go to a non-Christian business to have their needs met. Perhaps this is the answer to the outrage in the Christian community: don't go to Starbucks, go to a Christian business. Starbucks doesn't have to change to meet our needs, and our outrage is certainly not bringing any of them to Christ. It's a red cup....it's their business...they can do it up their way!
Do we need coffee from Starbucks that badly? Are we so desperate to give them our money? If so, we either drink from the red cup or we go somewhere else.

In the end, this is my primary question: when the tables are turned, do we do things the same way as the world, or do we stick to the Godly values and ideals that we first proclaimed?

Shhhhh....Don't Say "Merry Chistmas!"

Even though I love the Lord with all of my heart, I take no offense that the world does not want to say "Merry Christmas." Those words aren't in the Bible and they're not a requirement for me to be able to enjoy the celebration of Christ's birth. I also have no expectation that I should hear them in the market place or my work place. These words are valid for a only small segment of the year - but there are many more days throughout the year in which I can show the love of Christ in what I do and say.

Being moved by God's compassion to help or lend an ear to someone will cause your words and actions to ring in their hearts much longer than those 2 little (seasonal) words which so many are upset about! At any time of the year, when you look someone in the eyes and they see that you are different than the world around them, they will be drawn to the Spirit in you. The words you speak and the love you show will have a stronger impact than that one phrase which is said a few months out of the year.

November and December are months in which retailers, especially, will say and do whatever it takes to bring sales! Their desire is to be inclusive enough to sell to people who celebrate the 'season' but don't celebrate Christ. And realistically, when the un-saved world says "Merry Christmas," it's no different to them than saying "Happy Halloween!" It's just another holiday. Why have an expectation that the unregenerate world will operate through the Holy Spirit and say "Merry Christmas" with some kind of spiritual intent behind it? We're bringing Christ to them, it's not the other way around.
However, when a Spirit-filled, caring and loving person of God says "God Bless You," all of heaven enforces it, activating the power of God to bless and encourage that person. That could be the start of something life changing!

As Christians, have we become like the rest of the world in that we take offense at things that just bother us but aren't necessarily worth putting our efforts into or bringing up a complaint about? God is much bigger than the phrase "Merry Christmas," and truthfully, there is nowhere in the Bible where we're told to speak these words and celebrate in the manner in which we do.

Let's not base our celebrations of Christ's birth on how the unsaved world responds to it, but on what Christ has done in saving us! If you desire to say "Merry Christmas" with the heart of God behind it, then say it. But if you cannot say it at your workplace, or they don't say it in the stores you frequent, simply shake off the dust, be as wise as a serpent and as innocent as a dove (Matt. 10:16), and say 

"God Bless You!"