We aren’t only called to share the gospel. We are called to show the gospel.

James E. Biles, Sr.

For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,

Proverbs 6:23
The New International Version

Engrave this upon my heart: There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.

Mary Lou Kownacki

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

I have had prayers answered- most strangely so sometimes- but I think our heavenly Father’s loving kindness has been even more evident in what He has refused me.

Lewis Carroll

Seek good, not evil, that you may live.  Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.  Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.

Amos 5:14-15
The New International Version

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Andre Gide

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

We continue to address some technical problems and hope to have everything restored shortly, including the availability of our audio and video options.

If there is a Creator God, there is nothing illogical at all about the possibility of miracles. After all, if he created everything out of nothing, it would hardly be a problem for him to rearrange parts of it as and when he wishes.

Timothy Keller

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:15-16
The King James Version

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

The lives of some professing Christians are a series of stumbles; they are never quite down and yet they are seldom on their feet. This is not a fit thing for a believer. He is invited to walk with God; by faith he can attain steady perseverance in holiness, and he should do so.

Charles H. Spurgeon

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

Proverbs 24:17-18
The English Standard Version

Laughter has no foreign accent.

Paul Lowney

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.

Charles Spurgeon

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Luke 10:30-37
The New Living Translation

Build your nest in no tree here…for the Lord of the forest has condemned the whole woods to be demolished.

Samuel Rutherford

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

The springs of love are in God, not in us.

Oswald Chambers

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
The New International Version

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

I do not know of a denomination or local church in existence that has as its goal to teach its people to do everything Jesus said.

Dallas Willard

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Mark 1:35
The English Standard Version

Always new.
Always exciting.
Always full of promise.
The mornings of our lives,
Each is a personal daily miracle.

Gloria Gaither

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is “finding his place in it,” while really it is finding its place in him.

C. S. Lewis

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:3-6
The New International Version

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Homes that are built on anything other than love are bound to crumble.

Billy Graham

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Psalm 95:6-7
The Revised Standard Version

Men take more pains to mask than mend.

Benjamin Franklin

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Make me a captive, Lord, then I shall be truly free.

Augustine

Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening till wine inflames them! They have lyre and harp, timbrel and flute and wine at their feasts; but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.

Isaiah 5:11-12
The Revised Standard Version

To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.

Unknown

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

God created the universe in order to hear music, and everything has a song of praise for God.

Louis Ginsberg

Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:3-4
The English Standard Version

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Every single act of love bears the imprint of God.

Unknown

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:19-21
The New International Version

If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed.
If you look within, you’ll be depressed.
But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.

Corrie Ten Boom

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Two Reminders…We are blessed by so many faithful prayer participants within our ministry. If you have a personal prayer request, please visit our prayer page at our web site: https://theranch.org/prayer-requests/  Everyone is invited to share and to pray with our fellow brothers and sisters.

And we also now share the day’s message with an audio option, where you may listen to each day’s thought. Just click on this link at the bottom of the day’s e-mail, “Listen Here!” to hear the daily message.

Mankind wants glory. We want health. We want wealth. We want happiness. We want all our felt needs met, all our little human itches scratched. We want a painless life. We want the crown without the cross. We want the gain without the pain. We want the words of Christ’s salvation to be easy.

John MacArthur

“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

John 7:24
The New King James Version

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

We need to remind each other that the cup of sorrow is also the cup of joy, that precisely what causes us sadness can become the fertile ground for gladness.

Henri Nouwen

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but he same God works all of them in all men.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6
The New International Version

Life without faith in something is too narrow a space to live.

George Lancaster Spalding

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

My objective in life is not to have a spiritual life that is separate from the rest of my life.

Ed McCraken

Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

Proverbs 8:10-11
The English Standard Version

God’s in His Heaven-
All’s right with the world.

Robert Browning

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting rills.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles, with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.

Orin L. Crain

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

1 Timothy 6:7
The King James Version

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

Washington Irving

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12
The English Standard Version

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.”
“Well, why don’t you ask Him?”
“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”

Unknown

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Special Note from Eric:  I just wanted to remind you that you can now get a copy of my recent series of messages on “How to Keep Trusting in God Even in the Face of Significant Loss” in a beautiful paperback book.  It’s called “Making The Most of the Darkness” and features the 12 messages I wrote last year after losing my wife, Lana.  Some things, like stars, can be seen best when it’s dark, but if our eyes are shut tight, we’ll miss them altogether.  So if you’re going through a dark time, or know of someone who is, I hope you’ll consider getting a copy of this book, as it can give you a whole new perspective on the darkness.  

You can still read all of the messages online for free from this link, but sometimes it’s easier to read, and more likely to be read, if you’re holding a copy in your hands.  So if you’d like a copy, here are 3 easy ways to get one:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch at this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon at this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!  Eric

As I work through my day, I often find myself praying after each task. “What’s next, Lord?” And before I walk into any room for a meeting, I always say a silent prayer, asking God to give me wisdom for that meeting. Prayer is the key to staying connected to God, and staying connected is the key to God’s power and effectiveness. I recently tweeted this: “Much prayer- much power. Little prayer- little power. No prayer- no power.” If I am not quietly talking to God as I do my work, I am not depending on him at that moment. And if I don’t talk to God about what I’m doing, it shows that I’m doing it on my own power.

Rick Warren

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

John 10:9
The New International Version

Care for the next minute is just as foolish as care for the morrow, or for a day in the next thousand years- in neither can we do anything, in both God is doing everything.

George Macdonald

Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.

Proverbs 14:34
The New King James Version

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

Celtic blessing

If you enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time.

Samuel Johnson

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:22
The King James Version

Every person I have known who has been truly happy has learned how to serve others.

Albert Schweitzer

If you’ve enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

If God had the gospel of Jesus’s salvation in mind when he established marriage, then marriage only “works” to the degree that it approximates the pattern of God’s self-giving love in Christ.

Timothy Keller

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:3-7
The New International Version

If you’ve enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others.

C. S. Lewis

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

Mark 6:4
The New King James Version

At a church dinner, there was a pile of apples on one end of a table with a sign that read, “Take Only One Apple, Please. God Is Watching.” On the other end of the table was a pile of cookies where a youth had placed a sign saying, “Take All The Cookies You Want. God Is Watching The Apples.”

Unknown

If you’ve enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

How far away is heaven? It is not so far as some imagine. It wasn’t very far for Daniel. It was not so far off that Elijah’s prayer, and those of others could not be heard there. Men full of the Spirit can look right into heaven.

Dwight L. Moody

But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.

Psalm 68:3
The New International Version

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If you’ve enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus.

Unknown

“But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 4:29
The English Standard Version

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

Mother Teresa

If you’ve enjoyed our recent series on how to keep trusting in God even in the face of significant loss, you can now get a paperback version for yourself or family or friends.  The book is called “Making the Most of the Darkness” and there are 3 easy ways to get a copy:   1) Buy the book directly from Amazon at this link, 2) Make a donation of any size to The Ranch from this link and we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks, or 3) If you’ve already read these messages (as we’ve shared them online during the past year) and want to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon from this link, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the book!  Just email us your name, address and a link to your review.  Your reviews help to get the word out about the book so we can get God’s Word out to even more people.  Thank you!

Forgiveness is not an emotion, it’s a decision.

Randall Worley

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 34:14
The King James Version

You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.

Dale Carnegie

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Prayer is striking the winning blow at the concealed enemy. Service is gathering up the results of that blow among the men we see and touch.

Samuel Gordon

For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

1 Peter 2:20
The English Standard Version

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Since marriage is designed by Providence as a life, the worst possible way of embarking upon that life is by the premature exercise of what is meant to be its final consummation.

Hubert van Zeller

“You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 22:21
The New Living Translation

This is my “depressed stance.” When you’re depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you’ll start to feel better. If you’re going to get any joy out of being depressed, you’ve got to stand like this.

Charlie Brown

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

What kind of place is heaven? First, heaven is home. The Bible takes the word “home,” with all its tender associations and with all of its sacred memories and tells us that heaven is home. Second, heaven is a home which is permanent. We have the promise of a home where Christ’s followers will remain forever. Third, the Bible teaches that heaven is a home which is beautiful beyond every imagination. Heaven could not help but be so, because God is a God of beauty. Fourth, the Bible teaches that heaven will be a home which is happy, because there will be nothing to make it sad. In heaven, families and friends will be reunited. God’s house will be a happy home because Christ will be there. He will be the center of heaven. To Him all hearts will turn, and upon Him as eyes will rest.

Billy Graham

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:3-4
The New King James Version

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Pray for a strong and lively sense of sin; the greater the sense of sin, the less sin.

Samuel Rutherford

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31
The English Standard Version

In order to be utterly happy the only thing necessary is to refrain from comparing this moment with other moments in the past, which I often did not fully enjoy because I was comparing them with other moments of the future.

Andre Gide

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

In obedience to discernment, more discernment will come. We need to be attentive and alert in order to hear and understand God’s call and then act, knowing that God blesses even our mistakes.

Unknown

Then he asked, “Who do you think I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

Mark 8:29
The Living Bible

One with God is a majority.

Billy Graham

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Four stages of growth in Christian maturity

Love of self for self’s sake
Love of God for self’s sake
Love of God for God’s sake
Love of self for God’s sake.

Bernard of Clairvaux

In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.

Psalm 94:19
The New King James Version

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If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

He brought my life passion from my life pain.

Beth Moore

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:25-26
The English Standard Version

There is no more lovely, friendly or charming relationship, communion or company, than a good marriage.

Martin Luther

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Special Reminder…We wish to highlight Eric Elder’s wonderful recent sermon, “12 Parenting Tips for the New Year.” If you missed Sunday’s message, you may still enjoy it as posted on the main page of our web site, www.theranch.org. We pray it will be of help and a blessing to your whole family.

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.

C. S. Lewis

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:5-10
The New International Version

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

There is absolutely no evidence that complexity and materialism lead to happiness. On the contrary, there is plenty of evidence that simplicity and spirituality lead to joy, a blessedness that is better than happiness.

Dennis Swanberg

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called- and the rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his holy people.

Ephesians 1:18
The New Living Translation

We must not be afraid to minister to one another. Even if the sheep in need is the one in the lead.

Jan Winebrenner & Debra Frazier

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

When God wants to move a mountain, he does not take a bar of iron, but he takes a little worm. The fact is, we have too much strength. We are not weak enough. It is not our strength that we want. One drop of God’s strength is worth more than all the world.

D. L. Moody

Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.

Proverbs 22:4
The New International Version

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.

William Feather

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

If you go to Him to be guided, He will guide you, but He will not comfort your distrust or half-trust of Him by showing you the chart of all His purposes concerning you. He will show you only into a way where, if you go cheerfully and trustfully forward, He will show you on still farther.

Horace Bushnell

If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

1 John 4:12
The New King James Version

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If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

How can you possess the miseries of envy when you possess in Christ the best of all portions?

C. H. Spurgeon

“Listen to me, all Israel who are left; I have created you and cared for you since you were born. I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and be your Savior.”

Isaiah 46:3-4
The Living Bible

A keen sense of humor helps us to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable.

Billy Graham

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

It is a remarkable thing that some of the most optimistic and enthusiastic people you will meet are those who have been through intense suffering.

Warren Wiersbe

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:9-10
The New International Version

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

In the soul-searching of our lives, we are to stay quiet so we can hear Him say all that He wants to say to us in our hearts.

Charles Swindoll

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:31-32
The King James Version

The probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the Unabridged Dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing factory.

Edwin Conkin

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Our real blessings often appear to us in the shapes of pains, losses, and disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.

Joseph Askinas

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
The New King James Version

Others may argue your beliefs, but they can’t refuse your love.

Unknown

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Let it not be imagined that the life of a good Christian must be a life of melancholy and gloominess; for he only resigns some pleasures to enjoy others infinitely better.

Blaise Pascal

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13
The New King James Version

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

A Prayer Upon A Threshold

Here on my threshold, eager to start
Out through a New Year, Lord, I stand,
Waiting a moment, a prayer in my heart:
Go with me, Lord, and hold my hand.

There are such beautiful days ahead,
Blinding my eyes, Lord, may there be
Springs by the wayside, manna for bread,
And You, a companion, to walk with me.

Through any dark day, talk with me,
I am a small child, often afraid,
Lead through the darkness, let me see
Light ahead that Your lamp has made.

Here on the threshold, ready to start
Out through a year, untrod, unknown-
Now with a small child’s trusting heart
I go, but I do not go alone.

Grace Noll Crowell

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Psalm 127:1
The English Standard Version

Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different.

C. S. Lewis

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

There is a wealth of unexpressed love in the world. It is one of the chief causes of sorrow evoked by death: what might have been said or might have been done that never can be said or done.

Arthur Hopkins

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing brides, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil: He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

Isaiah 33:15-16
The New King James Version

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

I can seldom read scripture now without tears of joy and gratitude.

Hudson Taylor

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Proverbs 28:26
The English Standard Version

My life is my message.

Mahatma Gandhi

If you enjoyed our “St. Nicholas” series, you can now get a paperback version in two ways:  1)  Click here to visit our online bookstore to make a donation of any size and we’ll send you the beautiful paperback as our way of saying thanks, or 2)  Click here and write a 1-2 sentence review of the book on Amazon, and we’ll send you a copy for free! (Send us an email to let us know you wrote a review, along with your name and address so we’ll know where to send your complimentary copy!)  Thanks for helping us get the word out about the book, and getting God’s Word out to many more!

Apart from Christ we know neither what our life nor our death is; we do not know what God is nor what we ourselves are.

Blaise Pascal

The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

2 Samuel 23:3
The King James Version

The miracles of Jesus were the ordinary works of his Father, wrought small and swift that we might take them in.

George MacDonald

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.

Francis de Sales

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

Isaiah 61:10
The Revised Standard Version

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

Wishing you a most joyous Christmas celebration!

Greg and Eric, This Day’s Thought from The Ranch

God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith;
the warmth of Christmas, which is love;
the radiance of Christmas, which is purity.

God grant you the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice;
the belief in Christmas, which is truth;
the all of Christmas, which is Christ.

Wilda English

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:1-14
The English Standard Version

The holy child is waiting to be born in every instant, not just once a year.

Marianne Williamson

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

We have also shared these additional Christmas quotations over the past years, accessed here by this link, for your further enjoyment:
30 Additional Christmas Thoughts

The time draws near the birth of Christ:
The moon is hid; the night is still;
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.

Alfred Tennyson

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:18-21
The New King James Version

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The blessedness of Christmas is all wrapped up in the person of Jesus. Our relationship determines the measure of the blessing.

Unknown

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:26-33
The English Standard Version

The most vivid memories of Christmases past are usually not of gifts given or received, but of the spirit of love; the cherished little habits of the home.

Lois Rand

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

The face of Christ does not indeed show us everything, but it shows us the one thing we need to know- the character of God. God is the God who sent Jesus.

P. Carnegie Simpson

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Colossians 3:17
The King James Version

Jesus Christ came into my prison cell last night, and every stone flashed like a ruby.

Samuel Rutherford

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

God does not have to come and tell me what I must do for Him, He brings me into a relationship with Himself where I hear His call and understand what He wants me to do, and I do it out of sheer love to Him… When people say they have had a call to foreign service, or to any particular sphere of work, they mean that their relationship to God has enabled them to realize what they can do for God.

Oswald Chambers

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

Isaiah 32:17-18
The New International Version

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Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough for the next six months, or take sufficient air into his lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon God’s boundless store of grace from day to day as we need it.

D. L. Moody

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

Proverbs 3:27
The English Standard Version

If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don’t accept, because you will lose one friend; on the other hand, if two strangers come with the same request, accept because you will gain one friend.

Augustine

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

There is only one basis for really enjoying life, and that is, to walk in the way in which God leads you. Then you are prepared to find delight in all sorts of wayward incidents….When a man is drifting through life, seeking nothing outside of self-gratification, the world must become increasingly a barren and forbidding wilderness. But it is wonderful how many delights fall to the lot of him who is led by God. For such a one the clasp of a friend’s hand, a cool drink in the heat of noon, a merry salutation from a passing traveler, a glimpse of beauty by the road, a quiet resting place at night, are all full of unspeakable pleasure.

Leaves of Gold

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26
The New International Version

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Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

Is life not full of opportunities for learning love? Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them. The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday, but an education. And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love.

Henry Drummond

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:8
The New King James Version

My main ambition in life is to be on the devil’s most wanted list.

Leonard Ravenhill

Did you know you can listen to 2 full-length Christmas albums on The Ranch website for free, anytime day or night?  Click the album cover below to start listening to “Christmas” now!  (The other one is called “Peace On Earth“)  Enjoy!

One of the most lasting pleasures you can experience is the feeling that comes over you when you genuinely forgive an enemy- whether he knows it or not.

O. A. Battista

The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless.

Proverbs 10:20
The New Living Translation

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Each of us leads a secret thought life, an invisible life known only to us- it is not known to others. This secret life is usually very different from the visible you- the you that is known by others. Yet it is the real you, the you that is known by our God.

Patrick Morley

If at that time you want to return to the Lord your God, and you and your children have begun wholeheartedly to obey all of the commandments I have given you today, then the Lord your God will rescue you from your captivity! He will have mercy upon you and come and gather you out of all the nations where he will have scattered you.

Deuteronomy 30:2-3
The Living Bible

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Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.

Elisabeth Elliot

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

Romans 15:1-2
The King James Version

We are only as good as what we love.

Sam Bellow

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But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.

John Piper

No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel, can avail against the LORD.

Proverbs 21:30
The Revised Standard Version

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For Jesus, prayer was a vital element in making God’s power available to people in need.

Jim Reapsome

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Romans 14:19
The King James Version

Time, indeed, is a sacred gift, and each day is a little life.

John Lubbock

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I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.

Abraham Lincoln

Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 23:24
The English Standard Version

Trust God for great things; with your five loaves and two fishes, he will show you a way to feed thousands.

Horace Bushnell

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Treasure this day,
and treasure yourself.
Truly, neither will ever
happen again.

Ray Bradbury

God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. And so we need not fear even if the world blows up, and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam; let the mountains tremble!

Psalm 46:1-3
The Living Bible

As a thank-you for your donation of any amount, we’d be glad to send you a gift of your choice from our bookstore, featuring dozens of inspirational books, CD’s and DVD’s produced and created right here at The Ranch.
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If you eat food every day, you should care about the people who don’t.

Eva Longoria

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Galatians 6:7
The New King James Version

What a wonderful miracle, if only we could look through each other’s eyes for an instant.

Henry David Thoreau

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Too many times we miss so much because we live on the low level of the natural, the ordinary, the explainable.

Vance Havner

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Deuteronomy 7:9
The King James Version

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If the Father has the kingdom ready for us, he will take care of us on the way.

Andrew Bonar

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah 6:3
The New International Version

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

Mother Teresa

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Jesus, please teach me to appreciate what I have before time forces me to appreciate what I had.

Susan L. Lenzkes

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.

Hebrews 12:28-29
The New Living Translation

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

Charles Dickens

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On this special day that many of us celebrate, we, here at This Day’s Thought at The Ranch, are certainly thankful for all of you, our daily readers and members.

Wishing you not only a very Happy Thanksgiving Day, but more so, a most meaningful and saturated thanksgiving life, in and through Him, whose life and death blesses us for evermore.

Greg and Eric from The Ranch

Thanksgiving is a time of quiet reflection upon the past and an annual reminder that God has, again, been ever so faithful.

Chuck Swindoll

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
The New King James Version

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Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song.

Konrad von Gesner

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:4-5
The New International Version

Every little blessing is far too precious to ever forget to say “thank you!”

Laura Regis

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Did You Know…Our web site allows you to search for specific quotations that we have shared in the past, or, collections of Christian quotes of a certain subject matter. For example, during this week of Thanksgiving, if you would like to peruse thoughts regarding “thanksgiving,” just visit our site at www.theranch.org and on the right-hand side of that main page, in the section entitled: “See All Quotes & Posts By Category,” click on the “Select Category” box, and you can scroll down to find and enjoy some 42 quotes regarding “Thanksgiving & Gratitude.” We hope this will be a valuable resource for you!

We cannot explain why these little signs mean so much to us. But the fact is that a word of thanks for some small thing can transform our day.

Jeanne Reidy

So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations.

Psalm 79:13
The King James Version

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Dear Subscriber to This Day’s Thought from The Ranch…

First, thank you for all your continued support to this ministry.  Over these last many years (15 for This Day’s Thought and 18 for The Ranch) so many of you have been faithful in providing the necessary resources that we use to operate this new joint ministry.  It is only for the Lord’s blessing, through you, that we are able to touch and minister to the many of participants that we do, from all over the world.  I have chosen some recent testimonials to help describe just how people are being ministered to on a daily basis, that I hope you will enjoy…

I just want to say thank you for your ministry. May God continue to bless you all.  Many times I’ve sent to friends of mine your messages and thoughts.  In Christ, my prayers for you from Poland.

Thank you very much for the ministry of This Day’s Thought.  You are like a candle burning in me every day.  I’m always closer to God.  Papua New Guinea

A deeply personal message for me. Thank you. Thank you, This Day’s Thought people, for your loving caring messages. May God bless you and your work.

Praise the Lord and Good Morning, I am from Kenya. I would like to thank God for using you to reach many worldwide with good news. The several thoughts/sermons you have been sending to us are really wonderful, encouraging to our faith in Jesus Christ.  May the Lord bless you abundantly.

Thank you for another wonderful message. I am rather isolated from other Christians geographically and hearing your good word on a daily basis makes a world of difference in my life. God bless you and your ministry. Nicaragua

I just want to say that I LOVED that I could listen to This Day’s Thought / Today’s Verse while reading it. Thank you for doing this! The words are so much more alive when it is spoken and I’m very happy that I have ears that can hear.  Thank you again!

We have historically chosen this month of November, the month of special Thanksgiving, to share our needs for financial assistance so that we might remain fully funded as we enter this next new year together.  I have always shared this note of summary that I believe expresses our needs so very well…We can do so much with so little, but we need that little so much!

As we close this month of our donation drive, if you feel so led, we appreciate so very much your donations at this time of planning, both one-time donations and then, in particular, your monthly pledges and commitments (the monthly donations help most in our annual planning for 2014)…thank you for your considerations of helping us, as we seek to help those around us and around the world. 

To make a donation of any kind, please visit this link:  https://theranch.org/make-a-donation/

Thank you and may God bless you all in in your continued walks with Him.

Most Sincerely, Greg and Eric for This Day’s Thought at The Ranch

A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution.

Billy Graham

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15
The English Standard Version

We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.

Dan Zadra

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Imagine watching all that God might have done with your life if you had let him.

John Ortberg

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’S time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.

Deuteronomy 15:1-2
The New International Version

How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people.

Edward Benson

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I believe now that God is kind enough not only to work in our present and future, but He’s also able to reach into the past and cut out the wasted years and stitch up our lives in such a way that even the scars eventually are removed.

Jeannie C. Riley

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”

Matthew 5:44
The New King James Version

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Those who put themselves in His hands will become perfect, as He is perfect- perfect in love, wisdom, joy, beauty, health, and immortality. The change will not be completed in this life, for death is an important part of the treatment. How far the change will have gone before death in any particular Christian is uncertain.

C. S. Lewis

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

Ephesians 5:15-20
The Revised Standard Version

Always put off until tomorrow what you shouldn’t do at all.

Morris Mandel

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Yesterday, Bonnie Ricks of Dogwood Ministries went joyfully home to be with the Lord. I will greatly miss Bonnie. She was one of the first (if not the very first) subscribers to This Day’s Thought some 15 years ago, and was a mentor and friend to me as I began this ministry. Later, Bonnie and I came together for a period of time where we delivered our daily messages together, in one e-mail. Then, after the two ministries grew larger and separated once again, she and her loving husband, J.R., continued to minister to so many around the world, with their daily devotional, “Take a Minute.” (J.R. will continue the Lord’s work with through their ministry at dogwoodministries.org.) Please join me in prayer for J.R. and their family…and in memory of Bonnie, who shared God’s love with us all.
Most Sincerely, Greg

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

Mother Teresa

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

Matthew 5:17
The New King James Version

What the heart gives away is never gone. It is kept in the hearts of others.

Robin St. John

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Did You Know…We are now happy to share an audio version of our daily message. If you wish to click on the “Listen Here!” link at the bottom of each day’s send, you will hear a recording of that day’s message.

Nothing marks so much the solid advancement of a soul, as the view of one’s wretchedness without anxiety and without discouragement.

Francois Fenelon

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:1-4
The New International Version

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God is more interested in the workman than in the work.

Warren Wiersbe

Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 5:33
The New King James Version

The foolish person seeks happiness in the distance; the wise person grows it under his feet.

James Oppenheim

As a thank-you for your donation of any amount, we’d be glad to send you a gift of your choice from our bookstore, featuring dozens of inspirational books, CD’s and DVD’s produced and created right here at The Ranch.
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Dear Friends,

As Greg mentioned last week, every November we come to you with a few simple emails to invite you to join us in supporting this ministry financially. Although there’s no requirement to do so, what I love about asking you to join us this way is that so many of you respond, of your own free will, and with cheerful notes of encouragement, too!

Like this one that came from a woman in California this week who sent a check for $5: “Please accept this small donation to be used towards your ministry needs. It may not be much, but it comes from my heart.”

This woman hit the nail on the head. I so appreciate her note and her gift because as Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). When I hear from people who have been blessed by our ministry and they send some of their treasure along with their notes, my heart is warmed, because I know their hearts are with us as well.

I often start my personal letters to you like I did today with the words “Dear Friends…” That isn’t just a formality, but the way I truly feel about you. Even though so many of us have never met in person, like this woman in California, God has knit our hearts together as we all try to grow closer to Christ together.

On the other end of the financial spectrum, I’ve gotten notes like this one from a man in the UK last year whom I had never met before either. He wrote: “Is there anything you need right now? Serious question.”

I wrote back and shared a few specific needs that we had been praying about, some small and some large, all totaled about $5,000. This man wrote back later that day and said: “Ten thousand dollars will be on its way shortly. You can count on this with certainty. You are in my prayers daily. I feel that God is in this and that it is a bit of a test of faith for me. God bless you.” True to his word, $10,000 arrived shortly thereafter!

And not every note is accompanied by a gift, but is just as heartfelt and just as appreciated, like this one from a man in North Carolina who wrote this week: “Thank you for continuing the mission even when some days are dark and yet you still share light and love with others. I have to tell you it was in February 2013 I first got to experience you and your writings when I took a 3 day fast and reflection retreat. At the time I was in a dark place, depressed, feeling lost and like I really had no purpose… I took with me about 12-15 of your previous sermons and instructions on fasting… I was expectant of change and quiet time with God and that’s exactly what I got… It truly was light at the end of months of darkness, renewal and transformation. I attribute this event in my life to God working in me through your very own words, and for that I am grateful and blessed and just wanted to say thank you. I look forward to seeing your messages every day and week. Thank you.”

Even though I’ve never met any of these people in person, God has still connected our hearts in a meaningful way through this incredible technology, and through His Son, Jesus Christ. So even though I may have never met you in person, I am truly glad to call you my friends, too. Thanks for letting us come to you every morning, six days a week, with a word of faith, hope and encouragement for your life, as I know I need God’s encouragement in my own life every day, too.

If you’d like to join us in our efforts, we would be grateful for your help. We love doing it! And your gifts make it possible. Can I also ask you today to specifically consider making your donation a monthly one? It doesn’t take many people to do this, but over 80% of our annual support comes from monthly donations like this, and the donors who give this way make up the bedrock of our support that allows us to keep reaching so many, all year long. (If you’re one of them, thank you on behalf of all of us!)

To make a donation online or by mail, just click the link below. And to make your donation a monthly one, just check the box that says, “Make This Recurring (Monthly).” Thanks so much for your gracious support! Love, Eric Elder

https://theranch.org/make-a-donation/

P.S. As a thank you for your donation of any size, we’d be glad to send you a gift of your choice from our bookstore. We don’t offer this as just a way to raise funds, as everything in our bookstore is already available for free on our website every day, 24 hours a day. We do it as our way of truly saying thanks, because we mean it!

God’s mercies come day by day. They come when we need them- not earlier and not later. God gives us what we need today. If we needed more, He would give us more. When we need something else, He will give that as well. Nothing we truly need will ever be withheld from us. Search your problems, and within them you will discover the well-disguised mercies of God.

Ray Pritchard

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

2 Peter 3:18
The New International Version

As a thank-you for your donation of any amount, we’d be glad to send you a gift of your choice from our bookstore, featuring dozens of inspirational books, CD’s and DVD’s produced and created right here at The Ranch.
Click here to learn more or to make a donation.

Earthly fears are no fears at all. Answer the big question of eternity, and the little questions of life fall into perspective.

Max Lucado

In response to all he has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good.

Hebrews 10-24
The Living Bible

The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, “I was wrong.”

Sydney J. Harris

As a thank-you for your donation of any amount, we’d be glad to send you a gift of your choice from our bookstore, featuring dozens of inspirational books, CD’s and DVD’s produced and created right here at The Ranch.
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If you are a stranger to prayer, you are a stranger to the greatest source of power known to human beings.

Billy Sunday

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.

James 4:8
The Revised Standard Version

I was always complaining about the ruts in the road until I realized the ruts are the road.

Unknown

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Let me entreat you to give up all your efforts after growing, and simply to let yourselves grow. Leave it all to the Husbandman whose care it is, and who alone is able to manage it. No difficulties in your case can baffle Him. If you will only put yourselves absolutely into His hands, and let Him have His own way with you, no dwarfing of your growth in the years that are past, no apparent dryness of your inward springs of life, no crookedness or deformity in your development can in the least mar the perfect work that He will accomplish.

Hannah W. Smith

And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it, because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it- and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return.

1 Peter 1:5-7
The Living Bible

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Great grief makes sacred those upon whom it is laid. Joy may elevate, ambition glorify, but only sorrow can consecrate.

Horace Greeley

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.”

2 Samuel 22:2-3
The English Standard Version

Beautiful faces are they that wear
The light of a pleasant spirit there;
Beautiful hands are they that do
Deeds that are noble, good and true;
Beautiful feet are they that go
Swiftly to lighten another’s woe.

McGuffey’s Second Reader

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There are wounds of the spirit which never close and are intended in God’s mercy to bring us nearer to Him, and to prevent us leaving Him by their very perpetuity. Such wounds then may almost be taken as a pledge, or at least as a ground for a humble trust, that God will give us the great gift of perseverance to the end. This is how I comfort myself in my own great bereavements.

John Henry Newman

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:8-10
The English Standard Version

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Most people plot and plan themselves into mediocrity, while now and again somebody forgets himself into greatness.

E. Stanley Jones

Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money; and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Ecclesiastes 7:11-12
The Revised Standard Version

What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose.

H. W. Beecher

As a thank-you for your donation of any amount, we’d be glad to send you a gift of your choice from our bookstore, featuring dozens of inspirational books, CD’s and DVD’s produced and created right here at The Ranch.  After making a donation, you’ll be presented with a screen where you can choose a thank-you gift.
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By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet.

Thomas Merton

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Psalm 143:10
The English Standard Version

God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.

Unknown

As a thank-you for your donation of any size to our ministry, we’d be glad to send you our DVD, “To Lana, With Love,” featuring the Celebration of the Life of Lana Elder, who passed away on November 15th, 2012.  Lana was the wife of Eric Elder and co-founder of The Ranch. “To Lana, With Love” also includes the short inspirational video, “Eric’s Hope,” to give hope and encouragement to others facing loss.
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A good friend will sharpen your character, draw your soul into the light, and challenge your heart to love in a greater way.

Unknown

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7
The English Standard Version

As a thank-you for your donation of any size to our ministry, we’d be glad to send you our DVD, “To Lana, With Love,” featuring the Celebration of the Life of Lana Elder, who passed away on November 15th, 2012.  Lana was the wife of Eric Elder and co-founder of The Ranch. “To Lana, With Love” also includes the short inspirational video, “Eric’s Hope,” to give hope and encouragement to others facing loss.
Click here to learn more or to make a donation.

Being a Christian means accepting the terms of creation, accepting God as our maker and redeemer, and growing day by day into an increasingly glorious creature in Christ, developing joy, experiencing love, maturing in peace.

Eugene Peterson

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens- what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave- what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.”

Job 11:7-9
The New International Version

Set goals so big that unless God helps you, you will be a miserable failure.

Bill Bright

As a thank-you for your donation of any size to our ministry, we’d be glad to send you our DVD, “To Lana, With Love,” featuring the Celebration of the Life of Lana Elder, who passed away on November 15th, 2012.  Lana was the wife of Eric Elder and co-founder of The Ranch. “To Lana, With Love” also includes the short inspirational video, “Eric’s Hope,” to give hope and encouragement to others facing loss.
Click here to learn more or to make a donation.

Our salvation includes more than pardon from sin, deliverance from hell and a ticket to heaven.  It includes all that we shall need on our journey.

Vance Havner

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:22
The King James Version

As a thank-you for your donation of any size to our ministry, we’d be glad to send you our DVD, “To Lana, With Love,” featuring the Celebration of the Life of Lana Elder, who passed away on November 15th, 2012.  Lana was the wife of Eric Elder and co-founder of The Ranch. “To Lana, With Love” also includes the short inspirational video, “Eric’s Hope,” to give hope and encouragement to others facing loss.
Click here to learn more or to make a donation.

There are fathers waiting until other obligations are less demanding to become acquainted with their sons.  There are mothers who sincerely intend to be more attentive to their daughters.  There are husbands and wives who are going to be more understanding.  But time does not draw people closer.  When in the world are we going to begin to live as if we understood that this is life?  This is our time, our day…and it is passing.  What are we waiting for?

Richard L. Evans

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Proverbs 3:13-15
The English Standard Version

That best portion of a good man’s life,
His little nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.

William Wordsworth