Jeff Ragan > Recent Status Updates

"This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes...You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart & with all your soul. You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes...and listen to His voice. And the Lord has today declared you to be His people...as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments" - Deut 26:16-18.

"When you look at the big picture, what the Spaniards did is astounding. In 30 years Spain conquered more territory than the Romans had conquered in 500 years...In Mexico and South America, where they found the gold and silver that was so important to them, they gathered the wealth of a continent and shipped it away...But all that gold would mess up the Spanish economy. Easy riches often do that" (136-7).

"...the core problem is confusion about our purpose...Christian leadership is about helping people change - it is not just about getting things done. For Christian leaders, our priority should be helping people to develop as disciples who reflect the image of Jesus Christ...The end - and the beginning and middle - of Christian leadership is getting people to commit to and become more like Jesus" (194-5).

"I was able to repay Harry Siegel the money. There was no way to repay him personally for that gesture of brotherhood, real brotherhood. But this vote of confidence from my friend did more for me than help build a hotel. It filled me with a living gratitude for a country where we can all work together as children of one Father. And a desire to promote understanding between us all" (139-40).

"I looked around at the clay that was still in our hair and on our robes. Everyone around me was a little dusty, and I thought, 'I want all of you to see that what I am doing is more than just healing someone so that he can live a few more years. It's a lot bigger than that. I'm here to remove your dirt - your sins - and I want you to know it'" (183).

"If you continue west down the escarpment [on Hwy 290], in a few miles you will cross the Pecos River. At this point, the Pecos is little more than a small, muddy, saline creek. From that crossing, it is about 130 miles downstream to the next major bridge over the river...In between these bridges is one of the most remote and wildest rivers left in the United States, and certainly in Texas" (85).

"You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised." - Deuteronomy 23:23

"Spain and the other European nations had guns, powerful crossbows, ships that could sail into the wind, and printing presses that made the exchange of ideas easy. Sometimes they acted as if that strength gave them the right to bully other peoples" (113).

"That dark night of my soul seared this reality into me: When there's nothing left in life but Jesus, he's enough. He really is. Since that night, many things that formerly overwhelmed, angered, or consumed me just haven't been important any more...when you are empty and alone - Jesus is enough. This one conviction is almost a life-legacy by itself. No matter what, have confidence in Jesus" (185).

"Funny thing about Drown. He was a topnotch hotel manager and a sound businessman, but he was very conservative. We hadn't had the Beaton two months when he was sending me along a blue check every ten days for $1,000, my share of the profits. But Drown never wanted to buy in. He made a good living the thirteen years he was with me, without ever once being tempted into a big plunge" (130).

"Misunderstanding of these admonitions arises from failure to see that they are concerned with our private...relations to one another and not with...judicial administration....To the magistrate is given the power of the sword to avenge the evil-doer...So for the governing authorities not to render evil for evil...would mean abdication of the prerogative and obligation devolving upon them by God's appointment" (137).

"Cortes asked if they had gold. 'Send me some,' he demanded, 'for I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart that can be cured only with gold.' They gave him what he asked for" (103).

"...you shall purge the evil from among you. And the rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. Thus you shall not show pity; life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." - Deut. 19:19-21

"As we improve our skills, develop our character, and gain more experience, we usually make fewer mistakes. We may also learn to quickly recognize a bad decision and chart a corrective course. Effective leaders are more likely to get counsel from others - particularly on technical issues like legal matters. This more deliberate approach also cuts down on mistakes" (170).

"...when [the King] sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes..." - Deut 17:18-19

"All my life long I have only been as good as my associates, and in them have found my good luck, my fortune" (118).

"[Jesus] is 'full of grace and truth;' it pleased the Father that 'all the fulness should dwell in him;' 'in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' There is no measure to his endowments. In the church there is distribution of gift and each member possesses his own measure for which there is the corresponding faith by which and within the limits of which the gift is to be exercised" (119).

"If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods...you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death..." - Deut 13:6-8

"Your fundamental challenge is to identify your convictions and hold to them without compromise while at the same time demonstrating patience and grace with other believers who have differing commitments and preferences" (158).

"Cisco was a cowtown gone crazy, but basically still a cowtown. I had a feeling it had been there yesterday and would be there tomorrow, that there had been citizens on the street when only children bothered to dig holes in Texas dirt. Besides, it looked closer to the size of my stake, and it had four banks. Call it a hunch again, but Cisco felt right" (106-7).