Ray Family Update for September 2023

Dear Praying Friends,

“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). Most days, weeks, months, or years that take a turn for the worse initially begin with great hopes, expectations, and anticipations. Somewhere along the way, a certain level of confidence (perhaps not even sinful self-confidence) enters and we get comfortable with how well things are going. Even in times where this confidence is solely in God, we can become complacent and leave off being circumspect in our praying and watchfulness. Yet, when the day, the week, the month, or the year takes an unexpected turn for the worse, we are reminded to pray, to seek the Lord, to plead with Him for His moment-by-moment intervention in the affairs of our lives. Such times can either build your faith and grow you spiritually, or they can make you bitter, discouraged, depressed, and despondent. Truth is, so many people respond to these times incorrectly that we almost do not know what it looks like to see someone properly respond. We might judge someone for not being troubled enough, or sad enough, or concerned enough, but the reality is that the person is seeking to surrender his or her plans and will to those of the Lord.

The Ray family has officially entered such a time! A great prayer was answered for us when God gave conception to our daughter and son-in-law. A few weeks back, we learned that they were expecting a baby boy—Bradley David. Oh, what anticipation and excitement was within! All was well and mom and baby seemed perfectly healthy. Then, things took a turn! My son-in-law and daughter went for an ultrasound, hoping to see the heartbeat and see how much Bradley had grown, only to find out that he had passed away about two weeks prior. Truly, “thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Needless to say, we all went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows within moments. Even now, we sit here with far more questions than answers, but we are relying on the One who has all the answers. My prayer is that the Lord will take my daughter and son-in-law’s tragedy and turn it to triumph. How? I do not know, but God does. If you think of our family in this regard, please pray for answers concerning any health issues, and pray for spiritual growth to spring forth from the time of testing.

On the church and ministry front, we are enjoying what God is doing and yet trying to be patient for His timing and provisions. I have truly been struggling with this of late, but I spoke with a dear preacher friend about it and he said that God often withholds finances to slow us down and help us to prioritize and trust Him with each thing we do. Truth is...I hate MONEY. I wish, as many of you do, that it was nonexistent. Yet, God, in His infinite wisdom knows better than I do. Right now, we are in a waiting period for: (1) the remaining funds to print The Little Maid; (2) the remaining funds to finish our building project; (3) the funds to print and mail a gospel postcard to 25,000 homes; and (4) the funds to print the next book, already written and almost ready for the printer, by Brother Knox and myself.

In addition to these things and while we are waiting, we have several other ministry projects that are in the process of being written and nearing completion. We have a seven-year Sunday school curriculum that only lacks just above forty of the lessons being edited before it will be complete. We are not yet sure in what ways to make these available, so please pray with us about that. I have also started writing a four-volume set of books that will look like Daily Strength, our devotional books, but it will deal with Bible doctrines and seek to make these doctrines both understandable and practical. This project will likely take three to four years to complete, but I am working on it a little piece at a time. In order to make more of our publications (LTB Publications) known, we are hoping to move forward in the next month on building a website where you can find everything that we have available.