Praise Him in the Potty!

Rock Star Reagan...Praising Jesus!

Now, we all know that we are supposed to worship in the everyday gritty real world.

Today, I was witness to some good old-fashioned potty praising.

My daughter Reagan loves to sing praise songs.  Many songs are original material.  As a 5 year old songstress, Miss Reagan already has quite the repertoire.  She has penned such classic lyrics as "and you know what you can know because you know what you know..." and "love, love, love, love, love."

Most of  Reagan's songs are centered on her love of Jesus.  Sometimes, however, she gets her theology a little wrong.

When her younger brother pushed her from the trampoline on Halloween, causing her to break her arm, Reagan had to spend a good 7 hours in the hospital.

During her stay, many doctors and nurses were lavishing gifts upon our little princess.  Something about her bent arm and the loud screaming just captured their hearts.

So impressed was little Reagan about all of the SWAG she was accumulating during her hospital visit, that she opined, "It's like they're praising the Lord, and I'm their Lord!"

Yikes, Reagan, walk it back a bit.

And yet, so often Reagan's tender heart sings praises to the Lord that are so beyond her years in understanding and worship that it melts my heart.

A Disney princess expert, Reagan was recently asked which princess was her favorite.  Her answer?  Queen Esther.  Queen Esther, she argued, not only was pretty but she also loved God and made the wise choice to trust Him no matter what.  (Special shout out to the awesome 252 curriculum for helping teach those deep truths to my kids!)

So when God asks in Jeremiah 23:24 "Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" and continues that, "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" apparently little Reagan was paying attention.

So desirous of also following Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:6: "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you," is our little Reagan, that she decided to potty praise this morning.

Walking by our bathroom, I heard little Reagan singing at the top of her lungs, "I have the joy of the Lord, I love Him, I have His joy, and I sing his joy and I love His joy!  Oh, I love Him, I have joy!"

I stood there enjoying this uninterrupted Daddy moment.  Enjoying the tender praise of my little girl to her Lord.  The little girl that I felt powerless to protect and help on Halloween when her arm was mangled.  The little girl that spent the first 3 months screaming all through the night.  The little girl that I spent countless nights holding during those fits and just praying for my little princess.

Then, suddenly, found myself snapped back to reality when she abruptly finished her worship song by yelling, "Dad, can you wipe me?"

Poop and praise.  Not two things you would usually put together.  Then again, the Lord does tend to use the ordinary things in life to bring him praise.

So Reagan's lesson for today: Get your potty praise on!

Of God and Volleyballs

It's your volleyballs Lord that lead to repentence...

Recently, I read through that action-packed romp through the wilderness that Moses and the gang went on after the Exodus.

In Numbers 12, Aaron and Miriam are doing what a lot of leaders do--trashing their superior. Instead of remaining in awe of God's deliverance for the Israelites or humbled by their inclusion in the high honor of leading God's people, they decided to trash Moses out of petty jealousy.

Then Miriam gets leprosy.  For some reason Aaron is spared from this.  Only Miriam is punished.  Perhaps it was out of sympathy for Aaron who had previously witnessed two of his sons devoured by fire after disrespecting the Lord.

While we don't see unruly kids incinerated in church anymore, and often don't find the church gossip consumed with a flesh-eating disease right in the midst of a juicy update, the Bible still warns us today that God will not be mocked.

When I was in high school, I was able to witness a modern day smack-down.  In gym class.

First of all, it should be stated clearly that gym class was not a favorite part of my day.  What with all of the running and sit-ups involved.

And don't get me started about the female gym teacher that made us do Paula Abdul aerobics and encouraged even the boys in the class to do push-ups on account of the "cleavage" it would help create.

But on this particular day, gym class rocked my world.

We were playing indoor volleyball (in a rare break from the Paula Abdul aerobics) and I was fortunate to be in a class with a rather portly mean girl that we will call Lindsay Lohan (LiLo for short) in order to avoid the sin of gossip.  

LiLo was mean.  She was large.  She was intimidating.  She even had a gang of gargantuan women who were all rejects from society.  Many of these "ladies" had mustaches, beards, and other unsitely blemishes gracing the surface of their faces.  Each member of the gang was frightening in her own right, but they all submitted to the menacing authority of LiLo.  

On this day, LiLo was ruling the volleyball court through her usual brutality and gang-related violence.  Then it happened.  The most amazing display of modern day smiting the Lord has ever shown me.

A volleyball careened across the gym at lightning speed towards the face of LiLo.  

All of the folks present froze and every eye was on the Amazonian gang leader. 

It was as if time and space had frozen in place and the previously chaotic insanity that is a high school gym class transformed into one long pregnant pause.

The ball had been travelling across the gym at an impressive height and began its descent at exactly the right time and angle so as to converge with LiLo's face perfectly.

The ball literally slammed directly into her face with such precision it was as if the finger of God was poking her eyes out in a moment of holy fire.

The ball didn't sorta hit part of her face.  It hit her face with such force that the ball bounced off of LiLo's face and raced back across the gym from whence it came.

I can only guess as to the reason why this mysterious volleyball chose LiLo out of the lot of us to hit in the face.  Perhaps she didn't offer the proper sacrifice.  Maybe she complained about the manna or quail. For whatever reason, LiLo's face was chosen as the bullseye for the volleyball from afar.

LiLo, of course, was not pleased.  A volleyball had questioned her absolute supremacy of the gym class and this could not stand.

And in that moment every member of her gang exploded into such hysterical laughter that no gym could contain the merriment.

Soon all of us were overtaken with such a fit of laughter that it was nearly impossible to breathe.  Vomiting and fits of asthma soon overtook many of my classmates.  There were some reports of peed pants.

LiLo began shouting and berating her gang to silence their insolent laughter and submit to her authority immediately.

It was a moment that some 15 years later continues to make me giggle.

Apparently, sometimes God needs to take us down a peg or two to get us under control.

I'm not sure that any of us will be consumed in fire like Aaron's kids or struck down with leprosy like Miriam.  I am certain, however, that many of us need to be.

Pastor Jesse Eisenhart at True North recently gave a message about character.  He made the point that our circumstances don't magically create our character out of nothing.  Daniel, he argued, was already a man of prayer and integrity before he went into captivity.  While circumstances are often used to further develop our character, they are more powerful in revealing our character as it is.

God probably isn't going to slam you in the face with a volleyball.  Then again, He might.  He does, however, do a lot of things in your everyday life that are meant to grow your faith and get your attention.

We shouldn't let ourselves get to the point of Miriam or LiLo.  As a Christian, it is so easy to continually compare yourself to others and take pride in your absolute supremacy over the folks around you in terms of spiritual growth.  That was LiLo's downfall.

Being a follower of Christ means remaining teachable and humble.  When circumstances drop into our lives like out-of-control volleyballs, it really is best to follow the Moses model.

After God intended to wipe out the Israelites, Moses interceded on their behalf with such sincerity and passion that God spared them.  This was a lesson Aaron learned after the fiery deaths of two of his sons. During their incineration, he said nothing.  After he noticed Miriam's leprosy, however, Aaron begged and pleaded for forgiveness from God.

A volleyball to the face can simply be a funny way of breaking your nose.  Or it can get your attention and lead toward spiritual growth.

The choice is yours.  Don't be another LiLo.

Toilet Paper. Oh Toilet Paper.

Missionary Lesson #1

If toiletries could talk...

I remember it well.

The first time I was in a group being taught how to throw toilet paper away.

Why the lesson? Can't you just drop it in the toilet and flush? Oh no my friends, we are outside of the United States now. This isn't Kansas anymore....this is Guatemala. Our plumbing is quite different. We've heard horror stories of how the narrow cement pipes in our charming colonial town date back to before America was even born and how many earthquakes have caused the pipes to shift trapping helpless toilet paper on these rough cement edges, thus backing the whole thing up and creating a glorious disaster.

I've seen them rip apart the cobble stone streets of Antigua to fix pipes that are backed up. It isn't pretty.

I imagine the Guatemalan workers saying something to the effect of, "d*#n gringos. why can't they just throw out their toilet paper like the rest of us?"

 Oh Guatemala I love you.

"So you are going to take your used toilet paper and fold it in half. Now fold it in half again. and again. So all you see is...white. Throw it away in the small trash can next to the toilet."

Your careless flushing could cause this...

A sea of questions usually follow:  

"WAIT WHAT???"

"Doesn't it, well you know... stink?"

"Um, that's gross, what if you forget and flush it anyway?"

"Ewwww, why?"

"Is that what you have to do at your house?"

The teenage boys on teams think it's awesome. The girls think it's awful. The adults on teams usually come up to me as I'm sitting down for dinner and quietly confess they forgot and flushed it anyway.  It usually helps to serve as a nice side dish to the evening's meal.  Who among us doesn't want to hear about something you wiped your rear end on while trying to eat dinner?

So now I've been giving these same talks for 8 years and I always chuckle as I watch the various reactions.

"Yes, it does smell, but don't stick your nose in the trash can and you'll survive. We empty the trash every day."

"If you forget and drop it in, go get a stick and fish the sopping mess out of the water and throw it away."

"If you flush it, the world will not end, nor will Guatemala cease to exist, but try not to forget."

"And yes, that's what I do at my house and I've lived to talk and now blog about it."

One thing I rarely say is "Oh yeah, I forget sometimes too, and before i know it....flushhhhhhhhh. oops. sorry Guatemala."

My question is why are we so embarrassed to talk about our...(fill in your favorite word for feces.)
Why is it that even though it happens to all of us, we like to pretend it doesn't. Everyone's (insert same word here) stinks. Let's call a spade a spade.  Or a poop a poop, if you will.

More importantly why are we embarrassed to share the truth about the things we struggle with?  Why do we think we are the only one struggling with it- whether it's gossip or cheating or lying or lust  or pornography or jealousy or pride or judgment or....well the list goes on and on.

Galatians 6:2 says "Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ."

Imagine a situation where you could be totally honest with someone. You could share with them what you are struggling with and they...and here's the the key....would NOT judge you. What would happen if instead judgement, you were given grace?

One of the most freeing things happened to me this July. Two very good friends were visiting me in Guatemala, and one night we were talking about things that have difficult for us in our walk. I shared something with them. I flinched as soon as the words left my mouth expecting them to gasp in judgement. You know the gasp, you probably did it last time someone shared gossip disguised as a prayer request. However, instead of judgement, they responded in love. It was beautiful. It was freeing. It's been an encouragement to me in so many ways. I want other people to have the same freedom.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

The best part about being honest is that God is so faithful and loving to forgive us completely.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John1:9

So. Let's start with us. You and Me. Let's be real. If you need to cry. Let's cry. If you need to yell, God can handle it. If you need to confess, I won't judge. I will pray with you. Encourage you. Keep you accountable. All I ask you to do the same for me. If I'm not the person in your life then find that person. And let the freedom to be real flow.

This could change life as we know it...

"Sarah Laughed..."

I'm currently re-reading the Bible in 90 days thanks to the lovely folks at YouVersion who designed quite a few Bible reading plans that you can read on your Blackberry.  I read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation from late June to late September, and I've decided to work through it again.

I tell you this, of course,  to demonstrate how much more spiritual I am than you.

Just kidding.  (But admit it, you were both fired up into judgmental rage against me and simultaneously shamed into picking up your Bible!)

So, I'm re-reading Genesis now and I have a few observations...

First of all, those Old Testament Genesis folks were crazy.

I mean what with all the incest (Lot's daughters getting Daddy drunk so that they can sleep with him) and the "spilling of a man's seed" and sleeping with presumed prostitutes (see also harlots) in Judah's family, the book of Genesis alone has several eerily similar plotlines to Jersey Shore.  Although, admittedly, none of the folks in the book can rock a spray tan like Snookie and "GTL" is never actually mentioned in scripture.

So, one story I just re-read was the story of Abraham and Sarah.  What a faithful couple!

Of course, while waiting for God's promised child to them, Abe and Sarah got impatient.  Sarah, thinking God needed help, seriously handed off her servant Hagar to sleep with her husband, which is a little weird.  Imagine going to your small group (circle of friends, reality group, life group, whatever cool and trendy name you have now applied to a regular Bible study among friends) and having the infertile couple you've been praying for offer up the following:

"Yeah, so we decided that since we aren't getting pregnant that God wants my husband to sleep with the house-cleaner.  We figure that since we can't have kids together, he might as well get her pregnant.  And since she's an illegal alien, it will provide her with an anchor baby, so it's a win-win.  Go God!"

You'd probably give your spouse some knowing looks that say "we are so talking about this in the car on the way home and then later to everyone we know under the guise of a 'prayer request' so as to avoid gossiping!"

It just is a little bit off.

But of course so is the idea of two geezers having a baby when they should be focusing on changing their own diapers.

So, while that has always struck me as weird, I guess I understand that whole not wanting to wait for God and trying to fix things my way approach to faith.

In Genesis 18:10 the LORD promises the following:

10 "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."

And we also learn here that, "Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.  Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced ("stricken in age" in the KJV) in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing."

So the LORD makes a promise to Abraham that makes no sense.  Abraham listens intently and probably harbors some confusion and doubt, but it is Sarah that steals the spotlight:

"12  So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, 'After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?'"

I happen to think that laughing is a good thing.  It expresses joy and is medicine to the soul.  However, probably not laughing at God.  I'm sure Sarah didn't mean to be disrespectful to God, but rather was just so overtaken with the lunacy of a prophecy that claims that an elderly woman will have a baby.  A baby that was promised so very long ago.  A baby that probably was unmentionable now after years of disappointment and layers of a deep emotional sadness.  Years spent dealing with the painful ache that only childless infertile couples understand.

The LORD, however, being perfect and all, and able to do EVERYTHING, wanted to touch base with Sarah:

"13.  Then the LORD said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'  Is anything too hard for the LORD?  I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

In verse 15, Sarah even tried to deny laughing because she laughed when it was inappropriate.  I've been there.  Usually when someone falls.  For some reason, people falling is hysterical to me.  The worse the fall the better.

I personally love the first episodes of Biggest Loser for that very reason.  The 400 pound people are falling on the tread mill, hitting their face on the way down and flying off the back of the treadmill into the wall over and over again.  Usually this footage is re-visited week after week amd I giggle every time.

So, I can understand uncontrollable laughter.

Sarah laughed.

But God showed up and showed her His glory and His faithfulness.

The same God that stopped the sun for Joshua (insert shout out to the "Sun Stand Still" book here) also parted the Red Sea, delivered his people time and time again, and conquered the grave stepped into Sarah's aching disappointment and pain and brought real laughter to her life in the form of Isaac.

Why is it then that we laugh when He tells us He's still in the business of doing big things?

Like Sarah, we must learn to experience the "joy of the Lord" in His strength, not our unbelief and derision.

Like Sarah, we might have to wait for dessert until after we eat our veggies.

Like Sarah, we will find our God faithful.

Now if I could only master that whole not laughing at people when they fall thing...

Learning From The Maniacal Plankton

Plankton planning world domination...

"See how good your life can be when you're maniacal?!?!"

This wonderful quote was spoken screamed to Sponge Bob by the ever-scheming Plankton as he was trying to teach him to assert himself in the most villainous way.

Plankton is like a lot of us.  He just wants to take over the world via the Krabby Patty secret formula and yet most of the sea-dwelling citizens of Bikini Bottom don't even notice him.  Most people just step on him or walk right by completely unaware that Plankton is shouting maniacal threats of world domination to them from an altitude equivalent to their ankle height.

When one actually does hear his maniacal villainous rants, they just nonchalantly say "good luck with that" and go about their day.

I know what you're thinking.  "You are such a bad parent that you let your kids watch Sponge Bob!"

And maybe "What the heck does Plankton have to do with me?  I don't plan world domination or own a fast food joint called the Chum Bucket!"

And even a little of "How did he know that I secretly plot world domination?!"

Personally, I don't plan world domination.  I wouldn't mind being selected for Survivor at some point in the near future, but that's about as exciting as my plans for world domination get.

I also can't really relate to Plankton's miniscule size.  There's always been more of me to love.

His obsession with food?  That I do understand!

So where am I going with this?

First of all are you really sure you don't try to rule the world?

Really?  That's interesting because I could have sworn that most people spent their lives plotting and scheming about ruling the world.

Well, maybe you can relate to that whole part about Plankton not being taken seriously, being stepped on or being ignored and largely unseen by the world around him.

Why is that?

Why in the world do we live life being unseen, unheard, or feeling unappreciated and unaccomplished?  Why do we spend our time plotting and scheming for the Krabby Patty secret formula to no avail?

The Bible tells of the authority Jesus gave his followers in Luke Chapter 10 where Jesus sent out 72 of his closest followers to heal and restore folks, cast out demons, and share the Gospel of Christ in full power and authority to a world in need.  In Luke 10:17-20 we read:

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." 18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." 

So Jesus gives us "authority" and the "power" to overcome the enemy.  He even proclaims that nothing will harm us.

And yet we either refuse to believe and walk in that power or rejoice in the position and prestige without regard to the responsibility (hence his warning not to rejoice in the power, but that our names are written in heaven!)

Plankton's foolishness doesn't have to be ours.  We have authority and power but it's not for ourselves.  It's time we started living, walking, and talking like it!

In Compass Kids, our children's church program at True North, we began to talk about the virtue of initiative--seeing what needs to be done and doing it.  We looked at the life of Nehemiah and that crumbling wall and gate situation facing Jerusalem.

Nehemiah was not living in Jerusalem at the time.  And yet, he wept and prayed to the Lord about what to do.  He saw something that needed to be done and he did it.

In church, Pastor Jesse encouraged us to shatter the 80/20 rule of church.  Statistically 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the work.  God didn't call some of us, He called all of us.  You aren't given gifts and abilities to entertain yourself.  You have a purpose, and unlike Plankton it isn't world domination, but rather world deliverance.

Get in the game people!

There is so much to do.  Or as the Bible says "the harvest is plenty but the workers are few."  Open your eyes and look around!

Don't hide your light under a bowl.  Shine.  Serve.  Love.  Witness.

Don't rule the world.  Change it and let Him rule.

God Don't Make No Junk...Except Stink Bugs

Stink Bugs are the latest army of Satan...

In New Jersey, where this food-loving Christ-follower calls home, we are being over-run by stink bugs.

They are disgusting and clearly minions of satan sent on a mission to destroy mankind.

As I type this, one such dastardly evil-doer is eying me up from the window pane.

He's probably communicating with the prince of darkness right now about how he's going to dive-bomb me or squirt some of his gross stinky slime at me.  That's their way.  Knowing neither God nor mercy, these evil creatures seek to steal, kill, stink and destroy.  And if they can't do that, they'll creep the poop out of you and make you and your house stink so badly that your friends will abandon you and your whole social standing will be reduced to nothing but a steaming pile of horse manure.

Mr. Peanut: evil incarnate 

 Not since my childhood when I was scared out of my wits by the maniacal Mr. Peanut on the boardwalk have I encountered such pure unadulterated evil in one place.

That's right, I just said Mr. Peanut is evil.  Why do you think so many kids today suffer from peanut allergies?  He's a maniacal villain wearing a monocle, top hat and cane, but don't let that facade lull you into complacency.  Peanuts are not supposed to walk around and talk to people.  Make no mistake, he's evil run amok and his peanut allergy strategy is just the first stage in his plan for world domination.

Anyway, back to the evil stink bugs...

What was God thinking when he created these things?

"I know, I will create a gross thing that has an armor-like shell and swarms into unsuspecting people's houses.  It will dive-bomb them and attack their faces when it is annoyed and it will squirt gross stinky slime that will not only stink up the area but call more of his friends to join him.  That's a great idea."

In fact, so against this satan-led stink bug menace am I that I am prepared to amend the beloved church and Sunday School catch phrase of "God don't make no junk" (which already causes this English teacher to cringe at the grammar) to a more appropriate "God don't make no junk...except stink bugs."

As swarms of these forces of evil have descended upon our house this year, I am actually thinking about Egypt.

Remember Pharaoh and Moses?  Moses was used by God to unleash all those nasty plagues and yet Pharaoh continued to have a "hard heart" and not let the Israelites go.

Wow.  I don't think that it really dawned on me how hard the heart of Pharaoh must have been until I had to vacuum up or kill over 100 stink bugs per day that had invaded my kitchen and bedroom.

Take your pick: frogs, flies or locusts, they are all nasty.  I could probably deal with frogs more because they are not so scary or gross.  Annoying to have to step over in the morning and probably messy when you accidently do step on them, but I will give my man Pharaoh the benefit of the doubt and say that many people would have hung in there with the frog plague.

The flies and locusts not so much.  Bugs are gross and nasty.  They are so nasty, in fact, that they have even curbed my appetite.  I mean I'm wasting away to nothing here because of stink bugs.

Wait, maybe that's not such a bad idea.

Anyway, after experiencing the joy of stink bugs, I'm kinda thinking that if I'm Pharaoh, about the first appearance of locusts and I'm saying "Moses, take your peeps and head on out.  I'm done, yo."

That he could be overtaken by such nasty bug infestations and still oppose God gives me a new insight into what having a "hard heart" means.

And the sad thing is that there are a lot of folks out there in the world who also have the heart condition of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said in Exodus 5:2, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go?  I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go."  

Pharaoh's heart was hardened because he didn't know the Lord.  (Also because God said he would harden his heart!)  His distance and indifference towards the one true God led him down the path towards heart-hardening.  It's a well-worn and rather wide path that many in history have walked towards their own destruction.

His response when confronted with the power of God was to fight and rebel against it.  As was the response in the Garden of Eden, in the days of the prophets, in Jesus' day, in the days of the apostles, and even today.  We grown-up know-it-alls don't like to be told what to do and we certainly don't like relying on others.  Perhaps that's why Jesus dug kids so much.

That's why many men in particular don't ask for directions.  A problem that you would think would have been ended in the age of GPS, and yet, I find myself strangely drawn to going a different way than the GPS indicates because I am convinced it is wrong with all it's high-tech fancy pants satellites and such.  I know where I'm going thank you!

It's also why so many fans of food like myself enjoy all-you-can-eat buffets.  We don't have to rely on the waiter or waitress to bring our food, and we can take as much as we like.  We don't like relying on skinny waiters or waitresses because they might not bring us enough and/or might judge us when we ask for 2nd dinner, and yet we fear the fat ones because we think they might be eating off our plates on the way out.

You have to be pretty dead-set against God, however, to put up with a plague of locusts and not freak out and give in.

If only we could use our rebellious energy in a better way, to rebel against evil in our world (as evidenced by the previously mentioned Mr. Peanut and Stink Bugs but also in the works of Satan and his other minions) instead of God.

A lot of us Christian folks are familiar with the verse that we should "be still and know that I am God" from Psalm 46:10.  We like to quote it to others while not applying it to our lives.  We like to cling to it only when we really have no other option but to sit still, having exhausted all of our own plans and courses of action.

Moses and the Israelites were commanded that as well.  After leaving the Egypt, they were chased by Pharaoh's army.  They began to lose heart.  Moses commanded "Stand firm and you will see the deliverance that the Lord will bring you today," in Exodus 14:13.  It's one of my favorite portions of scripture because I love Moses, and being a rather creative and dramatic chap, I can imagine in my mind what the scene must have looked like (usually while I eat a bowl of ice cream).

I see the Israelites cowering in fear, much like my family as the nasty stink bug army infiltrates our house.  I see the menacing stink bugs, er, Egyptian army, racing toward them, and then I see Moses.  He's all cool, calm and collected.  This man just really never got rattled.  Okay, maybe at the burning bush he was a nervous Nelly and he eventually hit that rock and was banned from the promised land, but dude put up with a lot from those Israelites.  How many times did he save them from being wiped out by a disappointed God?  He'd come back from a one-on-one session with God and they'd be dancing around a golden calf like idiots.  Even his brother Aaron would just claim that he had no idea how it happened, that the people were mean and scary and that a cow just came out of the gold on it's own.

Me?  I would have been so done with these folks long before the hitting of the rock.  Not Moses.  He started out as a chattering coward, but by Exodus 14, he was a man of confidence.  Confidence not in himself, but in God.

I see the wind blowing his hair and him standing and shouting this exhortation to the folks as he reminds them that God will do the fighting for them.

So to me, this is one of those pivotal moments in mankind's history where God intervened directly in the affairs of men to show his power and his deliverance.

It's enough to melt a heart, even one hardened by years of opposition to God.

So, while I'm still standing and waiting to see the Lord deliver me from stink bugs, at least I can look at those nasty things and be reminded about how hard the hearts of some folks are and how powerful my God is.

I think if I can remember that, I might just be about my Father's business a little bit more killing the "stink bugs" of the enemy with the word of truth.

And, at the very least, now I have a good opening line for my arrival in heaven when I get to see God face to face: "Dude, what were you thinking when you created stink bugs?"