Month: July 2016

HOLDING NOTHING BACK
by Eric Elder
The Ranch
I have a secret to share with you today. Like many of my messages, this one very personal. But I hope that giving you a peek inside my heart will be helpful. With that preface in mind, here’s what I’d like to share.
About a year ago, I fell in love. It was quite unplanned and quite unexpected. I was talking with a dear friend from long ago and far away when all of a sudden, I was smitten. I don’t know how it happened, but suddenly I was captivated, and I couldn’t let it go.
I didn’t tell anyone about it for two months, and I didn’t tell her about it for three. I just kept it all close to my heart, talking to God, asking Him what He wanted me to do, and asking myself what I would want, if I could really choose to do what I wanted.
After three months of praying on my own, I felt like I should tell her. I sent her a note and asked if we could talk. She said, “Yes,” she’d be glad to, so we picked a day to get together.
The night before we met, I asked God what He wanted me to tell her, and I felt like He said, “Let her know your heart, your fears, your prayers, your requests. She will be able to help you straighten them out.” I would have loved to do that, but it seemed like that would be way too much to share, way too early, and way too risky.
But it also felt like this was what God really wanted me to do. I asked Him, “Is there any scripture to confirm this?”
I opened my Bible and began to read a conversation between Samuel and Eli, as recorded in the book of First Samuel, chapter 3. Samuel was hesitant to tell Eli something that God had spoken to his heart, but Eli told Samuel to tell him everything, word for word, holding nothing back. The next words seemed to jump off the page:
“So Samuel told him, word for word. He held back nothing” (1 Samuel 3:18, MSG).
Again, God spoke to my heart: “Hold back nothing, Eric. Hold back nothing. It’s important for her to hear it and you to say it. Hold back nothing.”
The next day we met and, over a cup of hot chocolate, I shared with her everything that was on my heart, all that I had been praying about during the previous three months, holding nothing back.
In the months that followed, we talked and prayed, exchanged emails and texts. We never dated, never kissed, never held hands. In fact, I didn’t even know if she had any feelings for me at all beyond our mutual friendship. All I knew was that God wanted me to share all that was on my heart, holding nothing back.
Six months later, I had finally finished sharing all that I could think of that was on my heart. I felt like I was a campfire that had been stoked with firewood continually until there was no more wood to throw on the fire. I had shared everything; there was nothing left to say; I had held nothing back. All I could do now was pray.
Not long after this, I was on tour in Israel and found myself standing on the Temple Mount, that hilltop in Jerusalem where Abraham once stood as he laid his son, Isaac, on the altar before God. I felt like God wanted me to do the same with this relationship. I had poured out my heart and said all I could say. Now He wanted me to lay it down before Him. So I did.
Months passed, and I heard no response. Then, during my three-day personal prayer retreat last week, I got a call. My friend had had time to process all that I had shared, and she was ready to respond.
As much as she felt honored by our friendship and appreciated all I had said, she felt that she wasn’t the one I was really looking for, that she was a placeholder for the one who was to come. She was glad to be that placeholder–to prepare my heart for that person in the future–but she couldn’t see herself as being that person.
I was disappointed, of course, but I somehow agreed with her! Completely! I knew that what she was saying was absolutely right. She really had helped me to straighten out all of my thoughts and feelings, fears and prayers. I was so glad I shared with her all that I had shared. While I could have been tempted to see her response as a rejection (and if it was, it was the kindness rejection I had ever felt), God spoke to my heart to say that it wasn’t a rejection, that it was an acceptance–an acceptance of God’s will, His perfect will, His BEST will, for both of our lives. God’s will is always goodwill, even when it doesn’t come in the form we might have expected.
As the ancient writer Epictetus said: “I am content with what happens, for I know that whatever God chooses is better than what I choose.”
I also could have been tempted to think that I had just wasted months of energy–mental, physical, and spiritual energy. But God stopped me in mid-thought, saying, “Time spent seeking My will with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is never wasted. It’s always invested, and it will pay huge rewards for years to come.”
It made me think of another quote, written by an unknown author, that says, “Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies beyond the will of God.”
I believe that with all of my heart. I am thankful that I sought God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I am thankful that I shared with my friend all that I shared, holding nothing back. And I am thankful for the answer which has come.
While I was hesitant to share this with you as it is so personal and so fresh, I know that the fruit often tastes sweetest when it’s fresh off the tree. May we all enjoy it together.
Will you pray with me?
Father, thank You that we can come to you anytime in prayer, seeking Your perfect will with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Thank You that our time in prayer is never wasted, but always invested, and that it will pay rewards for years to come. Thank You for friends who let us share with them freely, and thank you for their gracious responses. And Lord, thank You for the reminder that Your will for our lives is always goodwill. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thou hast no life to lose, because thou hast given it already to Christ, nor can man take away that without God’s leave.
William Gurnall

but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
Romans 2:8
The English Standard Version

You can’t defeat a praying man.  He finds his answers everywhere he looks.
Margaret Lee Runbeck

George Muller had run and orphanage in England in the early 1800s that cared for 5,000 children.  He had made a vow never to ask people directly for anything, but to ask God instead to inspire them to provide food, clothing, money, or whatever else was needed.  He eventually received more that 50 million British pounds in donations, all without ever asking anybody for anything.
Unknown

The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Psalm 116:6
The New International Version

Believe in the Lord, and He will do half the work–the last half.
Cyrus Curtis

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Romans 6:18
The King James Version

The more we love, the more we can forgive, and the more we forgive, the more we can love.
Criswell Freeman

Our children, relations, friends, honors, houses, lands, and endowments, the goods of nature and fortune, nay, even of grace itself, are only lent.  It is our misfortune and our sin, to fancy they are given.  We start, therefore, and are angry when the loan is called in.  We think ourselves masters, when we are only stewards, and forget that to each of us it will one day be said, “Give an account of thy stewardship.”
Thomas H. Horne

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 2:38-39
The New International Version

When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all of Christendom.
G. K. Chesterton

Pride leads to arguments; be humble, take advice and become wise.
Proverbs 13:10
The Living Bible

Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.
Malcolm Muggeridge

PULLING WEEDS
by Eric Elder
The Ranch

Pulling the final patch of weeds between two trees:
before, almost done, and finished. New grass is coming soon!
I woke up early on Tuesday morning to do something I really didn’t want to do: pull weeds. I don’t mind pulling weeds, but this was the last patch of what had become a week-long project of pulling weeds, and I was wearing out.
At first it was kind of fun. I had put on some headphones, gotten down on my knees, and even took time to pray while I was down there. But after a week of pulling weeds I was wearing out, and I didn’t know how much longer it was going to take. I knew what I had to do though, and that was to just keep pulling weeds.
I decided not to worry about how long it would take, but to just keep going forward with the task at hand: pulling weeds. I got down on my knees again and began to pull. Surprisingly, after an hour of pulling, I was done! And not with just that patch, but since it was the last patch, I was done with the entire project that I had been working on for a week!  The end had been right around the corner. I just didn’t know it. All I knew was that I just had to keep pulling weeds.
Yesterday morning, I woke up with another task at hand: recording a new song on the piano that I’ve been wanting to record for several months now. Unlike pulling weeds, this was a project I really wanted to do. But when I woke up yesterday morning, I felt like I was facing the same final patch of weeds again, and I had no idea when I would ever be able to finish the recording.
All I knew was that I just had to keep going and take the next right step that was in front of me. Amazingly, within an hour I had made huge strides in the recording process and, by the end of the day, I had finished editing all of the individual sound clips in order to turn them into one seamless and beautiful  song. (I still have a few more “next steps” to take until the song is finished completely, so I can’t share it with you yet. But here’s a picture of the final note in the bottom right corner of what has to be the longest and most complicated song I’ve ever recorded.)

The final note (marked by an arrow).
One last story. I’ve been working through an unresolved situation with a friend for the past ten and half months. While I believed there would be a resolution at some point, I felt like I had done everything that I could do on my end, and I had no idea when that resolution might come.
This week I decided to take a personal prayer retreat for three days. While I’m planning to do a prayer retreat with others at the end of the year, I thought it would be a good time to set aside the same amount of time on my own and enjoy my own personal time with God.  Most of my kids were away at a music festival, so I had time to think and pray and play the piano. On my knees that first morning, I laid out the various things I was praying about in my life.
The first night of my prayer retreat, my friend called. And during our hour-and-a-half conversation, things were resolved. I told my friend that I had just started a three-day prayer retreat that morning. I said, “If only for this conversation, I am so glad I set aside this time to pray.” And I still had two days of “retreating” to go.
I want to encourage you today that whatever seemingly insurmountable mountain of task may lay before you, whether it’s pulling weeds or recording a song or reaching a resolution with a friend, keep focused on the task at hand. Do what God has called you to do. Take the steps He has called you to take. And trust the outcome into His gracious and loving hands.
Will you pray with me?
Father, thank You for giving us work to do here on earth, whether it’s pulling weeds, recording songs, or building friendships with others. Lord, I ask that You would help us stay focused on the tasks before us, not getting overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done, but moving ahead with the next right thing we know to do. Lord, help us to accomplish all that You’ve put on our hearts to do–for Your sake, for our sake, and for the sake of all those who will be touched by our efforts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
P.S. I’m 99% sure we will go forward with the retreat in early December, both in-person and online. I am working out the final details now and will let you know soon so you can start making plans. Based on my own personal retreat this week, I would like to encourage you, invite you, and welcome you, to join me and see what God can do, not just after three days, but even after day one!

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible type of poverty.
Mother Teresa

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6
The English Standard Version

He looketh into the heavens where God was lighting His lamps.
Unknown

Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one glory, which is eternal.  If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.
Teresa of Avila

“I will answer them before they even call to me.  While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!”
Isaiah 65:24
The New Living Translation

If I look at myself, I am depressed.
If I look at those around me, I am often disappointed.
If I look at my circumstances, I am discouraged.
But if I look at Jesus, I am constantly, consistently, and eternally fulfilled.
Unknown

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
James 1:2-4
The New Living Translation

You remember that among the Franks whole armies were sometimes given baptism at one stroke and many warriors went into the water with their right hands held high, so that they did not get wet; then they could say, “This hand has never been baptized,” and they could swing their axes just as freely as ever.  The modern counterpart of that partial baptism is seen in many people who have been baptized, all except their pocketbooks.  They hold these high out of the water.
Halford E. Luccock