Jeff Ragan > Recent Status Updates

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. - Is 9:6-7

"He was a hero who seemed to fit his times exactly - a humble, honest, clean-cut kind of man the country could feel good about. 'I am not the hero,' Eisenhower said in his home town of Abilene, Kansas. 'I am the symbol of the heroic men you people, and all the United States, have sent to war'" (36).

"In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.'" - Isaiah 6:1-3

"God could have secured Noah by the ministration of angels, without putting him to any care, or pains, or trouble, himself; but he chose to employ him in making that which was to be the means of his preservation, both for the trial of his faith and obedience and to teach us that none shall be saved by Christ but those only that work out their salvation. We cannot do it without God, and he will not without us" (56).

"Throughout Islam the small group and the great faith, the tribe and the ummah, have been the principal foci of loyalty and commitment, and the nation state has been less significant" (175).

"No one is able to foresee to what extremes of restrictive legislation Congress may be driven by uplifters, professional reformers, cultists and fanatics, once they gain power, or what drug or therapeutic procedure, personal privilege or constitutional rights may fall under the ban. Not even the middle ages boast of a greater triumph of legislative imperialism over the methods and achievements of science" (101).

"How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! The curves of your hips are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist. Your navel is like a round goblet which never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is like a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle." - Song of Songs 7:1-3

"...there was no denying that the presence of other human beings did to a large extent detract from the glamour. The word 'uninhabited' on a map casts a spell almost as powerful as the word 'unexplored', and the lure of a remote, uninhabited island is hardly to be withstood" (597).

"You should always have the interest of the individual soldier at heart, for he is the principal part of the machine upon which you are to rely to carry you to success. His morale must be kept up to the highest pitch. That moral is affected by his confidence in his officers, by a realizing sense that they are his example. They should really be an example in everything that personifies the true soldier..." (394).

"Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love. Sustain me with raisin cakes, Refresh me with apples, Because I am lovesick. Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me." - Song of Songs 2:3-6

"Remember..your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come & the years draw near when you will say, 'I have no delight in them'; before the sun, the light, the moon, & the stars are darkened, & clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, & mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, & those who look through windows grow dim" - Ecc. 12:1-3

"During the Cold War, what order there was was the product of superpower dominance of their two blocs and superpower influence in the Third World. In the emerging world, global power is obsolete, global community a distant dream. No country, including the United States, has significant global security interests" (156).

"Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few." - Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

"Some people will do anything to deny my resurrection, even to spending years writing books about how it didn't happen.  That is some of the most wasted labor in history.  It's right up there next to the Roman soldiers who rolled the stone over my tomb" (386).

"I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime." - Ecclesiastes 3:10-12

"This passage from Montevideo to the Azores in which we logged 6,260 miles took 86 days, an average of 73 miles a day. This is the longest that Mischief has been at sea, her previous record being 74 days between the Canaries and Capetown" (589).

"Human nature is the same whether it be regarded as affecting the actions of individuals or of nations. The subordination of a national undertaking of any kind to the authority of another nation can hardly be thought of except under the most pressing necessity" (378).

"Cassiopeia is an unmistakable constellation, with its brightest stars forming a distinctive W-shaped pattern. It lies far north, on the other side of Polaris, the Pole Star, from Ursa Major" (70).

"Two things I asked of Thee, do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, Feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be in want and steal and profane the name of my God." - Proverbs 30:7-9

"The influence of Isaiah of Jerusalem on the whole work should not be underestimated. His is the only name listed as a prophet in the sixty-six chapters. His themes set the tone for the entire work. The sections that may have been added later were woven into the fabric that plainly came from his hand...whoever did the final editing, under the Spirit's guidance, viewed the book as a unified whole" (286).

"Some examples of problematic invasive ornamental trees and shrubs you should avoid are Chinese Tallow, Bradford Pear, Tree-of-Heaven, Chinaberry, and both European and Chinese Privet. If you have these trees or shrubs growing on your property, they should be removed and replaced with native species" (258).

"Political leaders imbued with the hubris to think that they can fundamentally reshape the culture of their societies are destined to fail. While they can introduce elements of Western culture, they are unable permanently to suppress or to eliminate the core elements of their indigenous culture" (154).

"Even during those horrible moments on the cross I was filled with the most indescribable love for my people. I wanted to bring them and my Father together. I would do anything to bring about that oneness. This was my glory - to accomplish that reconciliation" (376).

"Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; for their minds devise violence, & their lips talk of trouble. By wisdom a house is built, & by understanding it is established; & by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious & pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, & a man of knowledge increases power. for by wise guidance you will wage war, & in abundance of counselors there is victory." -Pr 24:1-6

"One factor nobody could see coming: prohibitionists connected the enemy at war - the Germans - to alcohol, saying most American brewers were German, that you couldn't trust them, and thus you must support Prohibition" (81).

"All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and turmoil with it. Better is a dish of vegetables where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger pacifies contention." - Proverbs 15:15-18

"The railroad station at Paris on the evening I met the Secretary presented a scene that was most pathetic. The terror-stricken crowds from the threatened villages and farms were fleeing they knew not whither, many of them for the second time during this war, from an enemy whose invasion of their country in days gone by had perhaps driven out their fathers and mothers before them" (359).

"To walk with God is to set God always before us, and to act as those that are always under his eye. It is to live a life of communion with God both in ordinances and providences. It is to make God's word our rule and his glory our end in all our actions. It is to make it our constant care and endeavour in every thing to please God, and in nothing to offend him" (49).