Ponder:

“…and the waters gradually receded from the earth.  At the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had abated; and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.”  (Genesis 8:3-4, NRSV)

In the sea of turmoil and turbulence there seems to be no rest.  We see the devastation that floods bring (look at the Baton Rouge area), and this is a trickling stream compared to that great flood in the time of Noah.  Imagine being in that ark.  They were safe and secure, but I wonder if there was rest.  Then finally, on the mountain, there came rest.
I have been on the mountains, and they can at times be daunting.  But I also know the calm and rest they can bring.
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Ponder:

“He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’  Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.”  (1 Kings 19:11-12, NRSV)

How about that; go stand on the mountain.  Then there were storms, earthquakes, fire, and there was nothing in any of those from the Lord.  Elijah was waiting, but nothing.  Go to the mountain, and wait, listen for the Lord, especially in the silence.
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Ponder:

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?”  (Psalm 8:3-4)

With all of the grandeur and majesty of God’s creation it is simply matter.  Matter doesn’t have a soul and it cannot develop a relationship with God or with man.
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“For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.” Ephesians 2:14-15

“Peace treaties between whites and Indians failed repeatedly. But it wasn’t just treaties of the old west that men broke. From 1500 B.C. to A.D. 850, some 7,500 ‘eternal covenants’ were signed among various nations. None lasted longer than two years!”  (Win Run: Trail Ride)

“In the cross, in the cross,
 Be my glory ever;
 Till my raptured soul shall find
 Rest beyond the river.”
         –Fanny J. Crosby

Do you see yourself straying from the Cross?  I know that whenever that happens it should be a warning sign that we are either becoming complacent, compromising, or cold.  We should glory in the Cross, for that is our hope and our salvation.  Why do you think the world hates it so much?  It is the very antithesis of what the world stands for, practices and believes.  The world can handle pluralism and globalism, but give it the Cross and they shudder.  Then they sneer and snarl because the Cross reveals the evil in the hearts of men.  The Cross shows that man cannot be his own god, but is in desperate need of a Savior.

     “Jesus, keep me near the cross,
      There a precious fountain
      Free to all–a healing stream,
      Flow from Calv’ry’s mountain.”

I have been in the high Rockies and seen the streams flowing from the hillsides.  I have camped next to the snow where a stream begins and quickly moves from the babbling brook to rushing whitewater.  Put your hand in it, and it is so cold that it makes the flesh ache.  We used to drink from those streams but pollution has taken its toll.  However, the stream that flows from Calvary’s mountain will never become polluted.  It is always pure and cleansing.

     “Near the cross, a trembling soul,
      Love and mercy found me;
      There the Bright and Morning Star
      Sheds its beams around me.”

The world tries to draw attention away from the Cross.  There are lights and action that beckon man.  “Come join us in the fun!” they seem to say.  But they are false lights.  They burn out or break but the light that comes from the Cross will always shine and guide our way.  That is one reason why we cannot move away from the Cross; we need its light.  As we go through life, we must make our decisions in the light of the Cross; it must be our filtering system.

“But if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].”         –1 John 1:7 (AMP)

“Head ’em up, move ’em out!”     –Gil Favor

“If a person has nowhere to go, he will tend to go nowhere.”      –Gary Inrig

Powder river let ‘er buck!  Here they come, let them out of the chutes–another school year upon us.  Now, don’t go getting mad, I didn’t call the little dears dumb cows, just an expression that here they come.  Now what to do with them.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing Christian teachers is the fight against contrasting worldviews, especially those of secular humanism and postmodernism.  I recently reread an article by Arthur W. Combs in which he said, “The humanist movement is no fad, destined to come into being for a short time and quickly fade away.”  One of its purposes is to destroy Christianity.  Combs continues with the following concerning values.  “Values provide the criteria by which we make our choices.  People seek what they value and avoid what they do not.”  Part of the purpose then is to change the values of students.
I’ve been watching pieces of the Olympics and reading some about them.  But I’ve been shocked, surprised, even flabbergasted that not one medal or award has been given for participation.  To get a medal you have to be either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.  No mediocre awards given out there.  Yet we continue to bless the little darlings with ribbons of entitlement.  Because I participated I get an award.  Nonsense.  This is part of the problem with the Millennial generation; the idea of entitlement.  What did Paul say, all may run but only one wins.
Go back to the classroom.  Grades should be earned, not given.  All can learn, that is true, but not learn at the same rate or pace.  Not all are “A” students, that is something to be earned.  Even the Lord, though we are saved by grace, gives out awards.  He expects a sanctified life and will announce “Well done, good and faithful.”

“Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize.  You also must run in such a way that you will win.  All athletes practice strict self-control.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.”          –1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (NLT)

“Aim towards the Enemy.”    –Instructions printed on U.S. Rocket Launcher

“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”         –Oliver Hazard Perry

One of the problems since the Vietnam War has been trying to identify the enemy.  Is it the person in black pajamas wearing a pair of Uncle Ho’s sandals?  Perhaps it is a boy strapped with grenades.  Who is the suicide bomber?  That was an issue with the kamikaze pilots of World War II.  There would be flight of planes coming at the ship, which one was the kamikaze?  Until recent times it was not hard to detect the enemy.  Now he is more subtle and often pretends to be your friend until too late.
That is one of the cultural issues we are facing as well.  Who are the belligerents?  A few years ago a missionary who served in the Middle East was talking to me.  His family had a servant, a Muslim boy.  They became very fond of the boy and he became almost as part of the family.  One day there came a warning that there was going to be an attack against Americans, especially Christians.  It came to naught, but at the time there was fear.  The missionary went to their “adopted” boy and asked.  “Would you have killed us?”  His reply.  “Oh no, I was going to kill the neighbors and their servant would kill you.”
I see a very severe problem in the church.  We should be fighting the enemy, yet it seems that we are becoming more and more like the enemy.  There was slight change made to Perry’s quotation of victory in the old comic strip “Pogo Pog.”  He made the statement, “We have met the enemy and we are the enemy.”  At the time it was a spoof, but full of truth.  We become our worst enemy when we become cohorts with the ones we are to be fighting.  Look at some of the words from the Apostle John.
“Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions.  These are not from the Father.  They are from this evil world.”
–1 John 2:15-16 (NLT)
Yet we sit at the world’s table.  Drink, sup, eat, dance and cavort with the world all the time.  I guarantee if you stand up against the things of the world, they will bristle and snarl, baring their teeth ready to devour you.  Thing is that many in the church will do the same.  How can we become so compromising and so complacent in the face of the enemy?  John further writes, and get this for it is the key verse of 1 John.
“We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.”  (5:19, NLT)
Cavort with the world and you are actually dancing in the arms of the devil.  We are to shun him and the evil world.