Jeff Ragan > Recent Status Updates

"In any case, the lives of Abraham and the other patriarchs illustrate for the reader the life of faith. They show how God works out his promises in spite of obstacles and threats to their fulfillment in order to show that they are divine gifts" (60).

"...many plants and animals of the eastern North American woodlands extend their ranges westward onto the Edwards Plateau...Other groups that are found throughout the wooded mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico extend north onto the Edwards Plateau Still other species that are found mostly in the Rocky Mountains to the west range eastward into the Texas Hill Country" (121).

"When the exercise of his liberty emboldens the weak to violate his conscience, then, out of deference to the religious interests of the weak, he is to refrain from the exercise of what are intrinsically his rights" (191).

"The weather might have a more threatening aspect than the ice, but Mischief, in spite of her age, is staunch and a good seaboat, well able to stand up to the weather of those latitudes, the so-called Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties, and Shrieking Sixties" (517).

"So it came about when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water...that the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap..." - Joshua 3:14-16

"Still, from time to time, the awesomeness of who I was would overwhelm me. To think I was God was amazing. That's why I never quit having empathy for people who have trouble believing me to be God. I had trouble also" (230).

"It was by opinion that the victory could not be won by the costly process of attrition, but it must be won by driving the enemy out into the open and engaging him in a war of movement. Instruction in this kind of warfare was based upon individual and group initiative, resourcefulness and tactical judgment, which were also of great advantage in trench warfare" (152).

"In the final analysis, it is possible to affirm the substantial Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch in line with the occasional internal evidence and the strong external testimony, while allowing for earlier sources as well as later glosses and elaboration. It is in keeping with the evidence to remain open and nondogmatic concerning the particulars of the composition... (51).

I myself needed time for my wounds to heal. My headlong descent was arrested but I did not instantly regain normal perspective. For the abrupt switch between fighting for life and dreaming again the big dreams necessary to forward motion, I needed a little time" (171).

"When you get to the end, however, will all of it combined even come close to what Jesus has accomplished in and through you? Not hardly! Your ultimate legacy is giving glory to Jesus for what he has done in your life, praising him for what he's accomplished despite your inadequacies, and thanking him for enabling you to leave behind a blessing for others" (226).

"The healthy cattle pasture with abundant dung beetles is largely free of surface dung during the warmer months of the year, when the dung beetles are most active. The soil in such a pasture will be deep and rich compared to a pasture with few or no dung beetles. In contrast, where dung beetles have been eliminated, dung accumulates on the surface until it is washed away in heavy rains" (102).

"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to our help, And through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, and said, 'Destroy!' So Israel dwells in security, the fountain of Jacob secluded, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew." - Deut 33:26-28

"When a doctor enters a patient's room and says, "You've got cancer,' what's the first reaction universally, the first stage psychologically? It's denial: 'Not me!' That's the psychological mindset of the whole world-denial. Everyone around you has a terminal disease, and so do you...In the same way, when a person really gets to that same edge of reality in his or her life, salvation is no longer just a word" (215).

"A business firm, the London Company, is getting ready to send some Englishmen to America. They are hoping to find gold-or anything else that will make money for them. Those Englishmen will start a colony, and that colony will grow into a nation. It will change the North American continent forever" (165).

"Life isn't a dress rehearsal; it's a live performance. You lead live; there's no video replay possible. Whether you are facing angry church leaders, out-of-control bloggers, or a multimillion-dollar building decision, you don't get a dry run before the real thing has to be faced and resolved" (209).

"...if God has received a person into the bond of his love and fellowship and if the conduct in question is no bar to God's acceptance, it is iniquity for us to condemn that which God approves. By so doing we presume to be holier than God" (176).

"Like the Depression itself, what happened to Mary and me didn't come all at once. But, as I floundered through my valley, fighting desperately day and night to keep my footing, little by little the laughter went out of Mary's eyes" (153).

"Marquette and Joliet claim much land for France. That the Indians have lived here for centuries does not seem to concern France" (150).

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, 'Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.'" - Deut 31:6-7

"There are two perspectives. The first is a worldly perspective, a secular view limited to this world. The other perspective has a clear view of the unseen, the transcendent spiritual world. You have either one or the other. All those who share only the worldly perspective position have an unconscious alliance. They are a living testimony to the spirit of this world" (206-7).

"If love is the fulfilment of the law this means that no law is fulfilled apart from love. This must apply, therefore, to the law that governs our conduct in the state..It is a great fallacy to suppose that in the state we have simply the order of justice but that in other spheres..we have the order of love. There is no such distinction...It is only through love that we can fulfil the demands of justice" (161).

"...he pointed out that the primary function of pastoral leadership is shepherding people...he identified the deadening temptation for pastors/elders/ministers as the love of money...he reminded us that the foundation for leadership success is transformed character, particularly demonstrated by humility...Peter clearly reminded us that the opposition to Christian leadership is spiritual, led by Satan..." (204).

"These grasslands are the southern end of the Great Plains of North America, and many common prairie species of plants and animals have their southernmost distribution on the Edwards Plateau...Here, east meets west, and north meets south, leading to some unexpected juxtapositions of plants and animals" (91).

"For this commandment...is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it...?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it ...that we may observe it?' But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it." - Deut 30:11-14

"The project closest to my heart, the one that came first, was the El Paso Hilton. In the fall of 1929, I announced that we would build a hotel on Pioneer Plaza costing $1,750,000. Nineteen days later the stock market crashed" (149).

"Imagine standing there with a woman who was dying and who now is tremendously excited to be free of the pain that has enslaved her for eighteen years. Imagine having the capacity to totally ignore that, and at the same time the audacity to tell the person who helped free her of her pain that you are better than he is" (196).