Most of us didn’t realize a sizable asteroid passed the Earth closer than the moon last Tuesday (see the NASA captures asteroid’s close encounter with Earth video and read the transcript at Reuters).
Life is precious. We never know when our time will come, so live life like there is no tomorrow. Hug your loved ones, chat with a friend, go for that dream job, make a difference in someone’s life. Do it now or you never will. All my best.
Bible Summary:
Moses and Aaron ask the king of Egypt to let the Israelites leave to worship God for a three-day festival in the desert. The king refuses and complains they are disrupting the work. That day the king stops providing straw to the slaves and make them find their own while producing the same number of bricks. The king says they must be lazy if they need time off to go and offer sacrifice to their God. As the slaves leave, they run into Moses and Aaron to complain that they have caused the king to hate the Israelites and an excuse to kill them, especially since they are more numerous than the Egyptians.
My Thoughts:
First Labor Negotiations: This is the first documented labor negotiation. It starts with a request by the negotiators, Moses and Aaron, for three days off for religious reasons. The company, the king of Egypt, refuses and adds to their workload. The people falter and complain to their negotiators.
Labor unions began shortly after the beginning of the industrial revolution in the late 1800’s when companies took advantage of workers with long hours and low pay. This time period created very wealthy people like Andrew Carnegie on the backs of cheap labor.
Today, CEOs earn 343 times more than a typical worker (see CNN Money story), an upward trend that started in the early 1990’s (see Stanford historical graph).
An interesting twist to help the environment, an Australian company is supplying Mexico City millions of energy efficient light bulbs so the company can earn emission reduction credits to reduce their carbon tax in Australia which begins in 2012. See the full Mexico to earn royalty on light bulb carbon credits story at Reuters.
Bible Summary:
On the way to Egypt, God tells Moses to perform all the miracles to the king and that the king will not let the Hebrews leave. Moses is to tell the king that Israel is God’s first-born son and when he refuses that all the Egyptian first-born sons will be killed.
Meanwhile God tells Aaron to meet Moses in the desert at the holy mountain. Upon Aaron’s arrival, Moses tells him everything God shared with him.
Moses and Aaron go to Egypt and round up all the Israelite leaders. Aaron relays all the things God told Moses and then Moses performs the miracles. They believe and then bow down and worship God.
My Thoughts:
Seeing is Believing: Wouldn’t you love for God to show up and prove he exists like He did with Moses at the burning bush? I’m not sure we would believe the miracles Moses performed though, since many of us have seen David Copperfield do amazing illusions on TV.
Belief is an act of faith, but also an act of power. Power beyond our understanding, even that of the greatest doctors of our time. Belief has the power to heal or sustain someone with a debilitating disease well beyond what doctors predict. My aunt had breast cancer and was given six-months to live. Her faith carried her through some tough chemo and eight more years – long enough to watch her children become adults.
Bible Summary:
Moses asks God how he will prove to the Israelites that He appeared. God teaches Moses three miracles to convince them: turning his walking stick into a snake and back, making his hand diseased and then healthy again, and turning water into blood.
Moses still does not want to go and claims he is a poor speaker. God says he will help with the right words. Moses objects again and asks God to send someone else. God becomes angry and suggests Moses speak through his brother Aaron. God also tells Moses not to worry since all the people that wanted to kill him in Egypt are dead. So, with father-in-law Jethro’s approval, Moses leaves for Egypt with his wife and sons.
My Thoughts:
Calling: We rarely feel worthy of a great calling. We believe God expects too much. But ask yourself this question: what will I to do that will give meaning to my existence for all the days that I have lived? God pushed Moses and now he is working on you in the form of this message. Take the chance on your calling now.
Public Speaking: Like Moses, most people’s greatest fear is standing in front of a crowd to give a speech. It is hard at first, but like anything it gets easier with practice.
God works in mysterious ways. A Good Samaritan stops to help someone with a blown tire only to have that person, a nurse, save his life with CPR moments later. Read the full story, Good Samaritan helps pair, then they save his life, at The Columbus Dispatch.
Bible Summary:
One day while caring for sheep near Mount Sinai, Moses sees God in a flaming bush that is not consumed. God tells him to remove his sandals on this holy ground. Moses covers his face, afraid to look at God.
God tells Moses to rescue the Hebrews from the cruelty of Egyptian slavery and bring them to the land of their ancestors in Canaan. Moses asks how the king of Egypt will ever listen to him, he is nobody. God says He will be with Moses when he takes the Hebrew leaders to the king to request their release. God warns that the king will not free the Hebrews until He uses His power to punish the Egyptians. At that point the Egyptians will respect the Hebrews and give them the wealth of Egypt to carry away.
Moses asks God’s name and He answers, “I am.”
My Thoughts:
I AM: What else could God respond with than “I am”? How could He describe Himself to a human who does not have the capacity to understand the infinite? “I am” is the simplest answer that signifies God is all things, that He exists everywhere and in everything. He just is. But, it is more than that. “I am” means that God is there whether or not we can see Him or prove that He exists. “I am” also calls for belief and faith.
Meeting God: What would you do if you met God? Like the song I Can Only Imagine by Casting Crowns, would you dance or in awe be still, would you stand or fall to your knees, would you sing hallelujah or be able to speak at all? What would you ask him? What would he say?
Calling: Moses fled Egypt years before and is living a comfortable life when God appears and calls him to put his life on the line to help others. Moses asks how he could do such an incredible thing when he is just a “nobody”.
We all feel insignificant like Moses before God’s call, but every person, (yes, even you!) has potential to do great things. Don’t get caught up in everyday life and forget to truly live. Do something extraordinary, make a difference. Purpose gives so much more meaning to life that you are sure to live every day with joy.
So, find your calling. Pray. Talk to God. Listen to your inner voice. Look back at your life for those times when you were “in the zone”. Times that gave you the most joy. Look closely because that theme will lead you to your calling.
The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art rediscovered the old adage that laughter is the best medicine and draw to the museum through their “Infinite Jest: Caricature and Satire from Leonardo to Levine” exhibit. See full Snickering encouraged at NY caricature exhibit story at Reuters.
Another step towards a human mission to Mars, studying how people live in isolation for 520 days. Learn more about the results of the Mars Isolation Test from Reuters.
Bible Summary:
Moses grows up and sees how his people, the Hebrews, are forced into hard labor. He watches an Egyptian kill one, so he kills the Egyptian. The next day he tries to resolve a Hebrew quarrel, but fears for his life after they mention the Egyptian’s death. The king of Egypt finds out and Moses flees to Midian for safety.
One day, Jethro’s seven daughters are driven away from a well by some shepherds. Moses rescues the daughters and waters their animals. The girls tell their father of the Egyptian’s heroics, so Jethro invites Moses to eat with them. Moses decides to stay, Jethro gives him Zipporah in marriage, and they have a son.
Years later the king of Egypt dies, but the Israelites still cry for God’s help, so He becomes concerned for the Hebrews.
My Thoughts:
Confidence: Moses likely lived in luxury after being adopted by the king’s daughter, but he knew he was Hebrew and resented how “his people” were treated. The story paradoxically paints him out as a coward who flees to Midian and a hero to the daughters.
There is a coward and a hero in all of us. The coward sits back and worries what might happen and fears the worst, while the hero finally takes the step. Even great people had fears, but finally, with God’s help, took that step. So, push, shove, or heave that fear out of the way and take that step! You will be amazed what happens.