“Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently upon the trustworthiness of God.”       –John R. Stott

“His knowledge of this land might mean the difference between life and death, and he was too competent a fighting man not to devote time to a study of the terrain.”         –Louis L’Amour

One of the words used so often today that I despise is “awesome.”  When people use that word what do they mean?  They will say, “That was awesome.”  Or “He is awesome.”  The term is used so flippantly that when something is truly “awesome” what word can be used?
My wife and I went to Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona this summer.  Now, those cacti are amazing and are on the verge in my mind of being awesome.  It is quite a sight to see, especially a forest of them.  As we drove and hiked this the cactus forest we saw some amazing saguaro.  Then when you read about them, they are even more awesome in God’s special creation, and they live up to 700-800 years.
We traveled to the Grand Canyon a few years ago.  Mercy me, now that is an awesome sight!  We stayed there several days and saw the sun rise and set depicting different hues.  A storm came through the canyon and added to the sight.  I think that is the way it is when we encounter God.  He is overwhelming–awesome in power and majesty.  It was like Moses on the mountain, trembling before the power of God.  But that is not knowing Him, just like looking at the Grand Canyon is not knowing the canyon.
I try to imagine the settlers traveling West in the 1800s.  When they saw the mountains, back before pollution, they were faced with an awesome spectacle.  They did not know the mountains, they just stood amazed.  However, there were men who knew the mountains.  They knew the trails, the canyons, the gorges, the rivers and streams.  They knew the storms and the seasons.  They had a working relationship with the mountains.
To know something you have to live with it, learn about and from it, become intimate in it throughout all seasons and that includes the seasons of life.  We see the awesomeness of the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains, but you really don’t know them unless you get down inside them and travel them.  Moses understood that with God.  He saw and felt the awesomeness of God, but he wanted more.  He wanted to see His face, to have a relationship with Him.  We might see the power of God and say He is awesome, but that does not mean we really know Him.

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)