Ray Family Update from June 2015

Dear Praying Friends,

When I became the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, I did so because I believed it was the Lord’s will for my life. Our pastor, David F. Reagan, had gone home to be with the Lord—in my mind, in the prime years of his ministry, and I had had every intention of serving alongside him for the foreseeable future. Obviously, God had different plans! I remember to this day lying awake one night fearful that I had taken up arms in a spiritual warfare so supreme that I was sure to be a poor choice by Pastor Reagan, Antioch Baptist Church, and ultimately the Lord.

Much of my initial suspicion has been proven to be true. The battle for the truth and for the souls of mankind is superior to all other battles. It is a battle to be fought with a fearful sense of the consequences of quitting and a holy awe of the One who chose us to be soldiers. I still consider myself a poor choice for a soldier, but I am honoured to put on the armour and take my station for the One who gave His life for mine.

Every day I am reminded that the enemy is not laying down his armour. He is attacking our church, our families, our friends, our country, etc., in an impressive assault. If I had joined this battle for any other cause, I surely would have quit by now. In eight short years, I have been lied about, lied to, ridiculed, and threatened. If anybody ever suggests that the ministry is an easier career path, mark that person down as a fool.

It seems as though the fog of war barely lifts before the enemy launches more fiery darts. Though we stay in the fight, I must admit that the wounds are mounting and the battles are getting fiercer. While I am glad to know that we will win in the end, I long to see some victories here and now. I long to see families restored. I long to see some souls saved. I long to see more Christians growing in the Lord. I may be in the minority, but I still believe the Lord can do something special in these last days. All I want is to be a part of that.

Much Has Been Accomplished

Though the battles are raging, the Lord has been faithful. I have thoroughly enjoyed preaching His word and have been able to get some much needed writing done as well. In cooperation with Brother Stauffer, I have been able to make some good progress in assisting on the reprint of One Book Rightly Divided and we are now working on the forty-second week of volume 2 on the devotional book, Daily Strength.

Additionally, myself and some other men are working two nights a week on the songbook. Each week, the Lord sends a fresh reminder as to why that project is so important. I am truly thankful for the privilege of working on such a lofty undertaking. That book, perhaps more than anything else on which I will ever work, is going to change lives. It has already changed mine!

Much Remains to Be Done

Truthfully, there is much work to be done for Jesus and fewer people willing to invest their time, efforts, abilities, and finances to get that work done. As such, the ministry is full of opportunities to those who want to do something, anything for Christ. I assure you, I am not discouraged, I am merely stating the obvious. I do not dwell on this. Rather, I choose to do all that I can and “Pray . . . the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers” (Matthew 9:38).

Though we are a small church, we have a big God, and endless opportunities of service. We hope to affect others through the printed word, the preached word, and multimedia. This month, Brother Jonathan Judy started uploading some content to YouTube. We also hope to add another new tract this month. Please pray that the Lord will use us in every way possible.

Prayer Requests

* The health of the Ray family (My wife, Isaac, and I have all had various health issues of late.)
* Pray for the Lord’s leading as I prepare to preach in a conference in Michigan in September.
* Pray for the Lord’s enabling as we seek to accomplish much this month at Antioch.