Exodus 15:22-27 (NIV)

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” ²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.  There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. ²⁶ He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.” ²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Reflection:

Modern media so often paints a picture of frustration with crying and complaining family members packed in a van asking, “Are we there yet?”  Just watching these situations from the outside is enough to make us thankful that we’re not there, but have you ever been around others who complain a lot or get easily discouraged or confused?  This was what Moses continually experienced with Israel after leading them out of Egypt.  But rather than leaving them, Moses’ response was to cry out to the Lord on their behalf.  We’re able to see his heart reflected in his response to the people’s grumbling.  It’s in this heart of dependence on the Lord for the people of Israel that we can live in the “now what” as we face similar situations.

Response:

As we reflect on Moses’ response before the Lord, let’s spend some time praying for ourselves and for our churches; that we would receive the heart of Moses and orient our lives more and more to quickly cry out to the Lord when we experience discouragement or confusion in our lives.  Let’s put our trust in the Lord, knowing that He is the one who hears and answers us in our distress.

Image courtesy of NPR

Whole Foods, the infamous grocery store of choice for President Obama to buy his arugula and for many other progressive shoppers, recently announced the launch of a Halal line of food products.

The Halal products meet Muslim dietary standards.  This promotion was launched in recognition of the holy month of Ramadan in August .

Sounds like a pretty good marketing plan.  Like the aisles of Easter-themed candy, matzah for Passover.

But one branch of the store did not buy into the program.

The Houston Press discovered this curious internal email. It seems some were nervous about ‘Celebrating or promoting’ Ramadan.”

With the introduction of this line company wide, and the beginning of Ramadan last week, we posted a product giveaway on the Whole Story blog (on July 31) to generate awareness and interest in the products. Some people have misinterpreted the blog post to mean we are celebrating or promoting Ramadan in our stores. The misinterpretation has generated some negative feedback from a small segment of vocal and angry consumers and bloggers.

The “vocal and angry consumers” had been calling the promotion evidence of Whole Foods’ “anti-Israel” stance and “jihadist interests.”

When it looked like Whole Foods was caving into the criticism, another group of consumers became vocal.  Another customer wrote that she was

…disappointed to hear that Whole Foods has capitulated to a vocal minority that does not believe in the freedom to observe non-Christian religious practices in America

After the new controversy about the controversy began to pick up, Whole Foods announced that the email did NOT reflect the policy of the national Whole Foods chain.

According to a spokesperson for Whole Foods, the email was generated and sent by the leadership in the Southwest region branch.  The spokesperson went on to say that

The main thing that we want our customers to know is that this is a misunderstanding that stemmed from a couple of individuals.  We have talked to these people, we have corrected it … and hopefully this won’t happen again.

And the national chain went on to tweet

We’re extremely excited about offering halal products for our shoppers and we stand behind them AND our promotion of them.

Check out The Atlantic’s coverage for even more of the story.

Image Thanks to the Mirror!

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