October 2015 – Page 2 – Thought of the Day

October 20, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Tuesday

How hard it is to listen, really listen. It’s a habit, a ministry, a way of life. But it needs cultivating. Listen to your children, to your spouse, to an elderly person, to your pastor’s sermon, to music, to the sounds of nature. Listen for God.
Betty Rowland

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6
The New Living Translation

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycrIxsDIyM

October 19, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Monday

If we do not show love to one another, the world has a right to question whether Christianity is true.
Francis A. Schaeffer

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
The English Standard Version

I was penciling one of my Family Circus cartoons and our little Jeffy said, “Daddy, how do you know what to draw?” I said, “God tells me.” Jeffy said, “Then why do you keep erasing parts of it?”
Bill Keane

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycrAwsTAyc

October 18, 2015

This Day’s Thought From The Ranch- What’s Your Backstory?

WHAT’S YOUR BACKSTORY?
by Eric Elder
The Ranch

Special note from Eric: I’ve just completed an audio version of my new book for those who would like to listen to my story rather than read it. The book is called Fifty Shades of Grace (written and narrated under my pen name, Nicholas Deere), and it chronicles my intimate journey from homosexuality to marital bliss and beyond–and how Christ can work in any situation, no matter what you may be going through in your life. If you need some hope in your heart, I hope you’ll listen to my story! You can get a copy of the audio version from Amazon, Audible, or iTunes (or in Paperback or Kindle editions). All proceeds go directly back into our ministry to help us continue sharing Christ with as many as possible. Thank you!

Everyone has a backstory: the story-behind-the-story of the life they’re living now.
In movies, like Star Wars, a character’s backstory influences their actions in the film. Each character’s backstory is often hidden, however, to keep the audience in suspense.
When Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Darth Vadar first appear on the screen, we know very little about them. Luke is a farmer, Leia is a princess, and Darth Vadar is some kind of walking evil. It’s only as the story unfolds over the course of six films and nearly thirty years that we learn about the interrelationships of these characters and why they do what they do.
As each layer of each character’s backstory is revealed, audiences let out a collective gasp as the light of understanding finally dawns.
You have a backstory, too. You have a story-behind-the-story of the life you’re living now. Yet many people who know you only know you as you are today. They don’t know your backstory. They don’t know all of the situations and experiences that have influenced you to become who you are.
But what if they did? What if they knew your whole backstory? What kind of light of understanding might dawn upon them if you revealed to them “the rest of the story”?
Last weekend, two dozen of us gathered here in Illinois for our 3rd Annual Ranch Retreat. It was an intimate weekend of sharing our testimonies with each other–our “backstories,” if you will, as one friend called them.
As each person shared their story–and how God had worked in their lives through each experience–I could see a collective light going on around the room in the expressions on people’s faces. People were filled with hope that God could work in their lives, too.
The whole weekend was not just revealing; it was healing. It was not just emotional; it was inspirational. It was not just helpful; it was hopeful.
Sharing our backstories–in the context of how God shown Himself faithful through it all–gave each of us a renewed hope that we could put our faith and trust in Him for everything we were going through, too.
How about you? What’s your backstory? What’s the story-behind-the-story of the life you’re living now? And how might it help to inspire hope in the hearts of others who may need to hear it? Your story can do the same things the apostle John’s stories did when he wrote them down. At the end of the book of John in the Bible, John said:
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).
Your story may be just what someone else needs to hear to bring them to faith, to encourage them in life, or to help them get through whatever they’re going through.
Why not take some time right now to pray and ask God how He might use your story for good? Ask Him to show you how to share it, and with whom to share it, and to bless all those who hear it, in Jesus’ name.
If God calls you to it, He’ll help you do it. As the Bible says:
“…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 1:6).
P.S. Here are the links again if you’d like to get a copy of my “backstory,” the story-behind-the-story of the life I’m living now. The book is available in audio from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes, or in Paperback and Kindle editions. All proceeds go directly back into our ministry to help us keep sharing Christ with others!

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLJzMLMzs

October 16, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Friday

There were many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream-whatever that dream might be.
Pearl Buck

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”
John 6:47
The New King James Version

Life only demands from the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible-not to have to run away.
Dag Hammarskjold

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLOwcLOwc

October 15, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Thursday

We do the praying but not the waiting. Let us not be afraid to be silent before Him thinking it is wasted time.
John Wright Follett

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Colossians 3:18-21
The New International Version

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLGxsDJwM

October 14, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Wednesday

The test of generosity is not how much you give, but how much you have left.
Unknown

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent-both are detestable to the LORD.
Proverbs 17:15
The New Living Translation

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.
Elizabeth Lawrence

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLKzMjCzM

October 13, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Tuesday

It concerns me when I hear believers speaking of non-believers as the enemy. According to Scripture, those who do not believe have been taken captive by Satan to do his will-they’re prisoners of war. Nonbelievers aren’t the enemy; they’re the enemy’s captives.
Greg Laurie

I can do nothing on my own, I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
John 5:30
The New Living Translation

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLMycrGxM

October 12, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Monday

Whatever happens to you, never give up praying. It would be like giving up breathing.
Henri Nouwen

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!
Psalm 125:4
The Revised Standard Version

One filled with joy preaches without preaching.
Mother Teresa

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLEzsrMyM

October 11, 2015

This Day’s Thought From The Ranch- This Week’s Sermon

St Patrick’s Breastplate

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLIwcnAys

October 9, 2015

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch- Friday

Study the lives of great people, and you will find every one of them drew apart from the hurry of life for rest and reflection. Great poems are not written on crowded streets, lovely songs are not written in the midst of clamoring multitudes; our visions of God come when we stop. The Psalmist said, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Charles L. Allen

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”
Isaiah 7:9
The New International Version

Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank You for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow,
for the health, the work, the food,
and the bright skies that make our lives delightful;
for our friends in all parts of the earth.
Amen.
Robert Louis Stevenson

If you need a boost in your faith, join us in Central Illinois in October for a weekend of inspirational music, messages and time with new friends. It’s free! To learn more, visit The 3rd Annual Ranch Retreat.

This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zIyM7IwcjLSszJwcrCzMrLRGtEycLAxMnOws