Joy in Serving

 

Joy in Serving

     Last week Marilyn, my wife, and I volunteered to pack food for an organization called Feed the Hunger. Feed the Hunger is an amazing organization. They send food, hygiene supplies, school supplies, and Bibles to children around the world. These packing events give us a chance to do something for people we will probably never meet this side of heaven.

     As we were getting ready to leave for the event, I started thinking how much of a blessing this was for us, but then it went to the next level. I began thinking of Matthew 26:31 – 46. This section called “The Sheep and the Goats.” In this section Jesus is talking about the end times. It mentions how the people will be divided into two groups. He told those on his right they were to receive their inheritance. When he was hungry and thirsty they fed Him and gave him drink. When He was a stranger, they invited Him in. He was sick and they looked after Him. When He was in prison they visited Him. They asked when did we do this? Then in Matthew 25:40 Jesus responds, “Truly I tell you, whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

     Ok, when you read this section it can be a little scary. You want to be with the sheep on the right side, because those who did not do the things mentioned above were sent to eternal punishment.

     This time though, I was looking at the JOY in this section. As we were getting ready to go to this packing event that would send food to children around the world, I realized that as we were feeding them, which is a joy in itself, it was as if we were feeding Jesus. Think of it this way. If Jesus knocked on your front door and you answered it, how would you respond. If he asked me for a drink of water, I would look for my best glass and feel it with water with some ice in it. I would then offer him food. I would do these things, because it would be such a joy and honor to serve our Lord, our Savior.

     That is the lesson here. Every time we have an opportunity to serve and help someone else, it is as though that person was Jesus. Serving Jesus would never be a burden. It would be the greatest honor possible. That is how we need to see everyone we have an opportunity to serve. It is a blessing enough to help someone. You become their hero for the moment, but to serve the Lord compounds that joy.  What a blessing that is.

 

Have a blessed day and a blessed Christmas season.

Ray

Layman Ray

The Evangelizing Artist

     In the winter of 1980, a coworker of mine invited me to an art show he was doing. He was displaying and selling the pictures he painted in the walkway of a strip mall. The location was a row of stores located in one big building with a glassed-in walkway in front of them. This was in Casper, Wyoming, in the United States. As it was winter in Wyoming, it was a cold but sunny day out.

     I had no money to buy anything, but I had told him that I would come. So, I arrived there. Walking across the parking lot I could feel the ice crunching under my feet. Once inside the walkway, I could see him sitting in a chair surrounded by his display of art. I quickly saw his pictures were all scenery pictures. Living in Casper at the base of the Rocky Mountains there was plenty of scenery to be painted. His paintings were very good.

     There was no one else around, and I asked him if it had been busy. He told me it hadn’t been. In fact, I am not sure if anyone else was in the shopping center. The place was quiet. We then talked a bit about his artwork. I told him about members of my family who could paint, but I did not have the skills that they had. Then it happened. He skillfully changed the conversation. He started talking to me about God.

     At that time, I would have told you that I was a Christian. I prayed, but I didn’t know much about the Bible, including what God said much about anything. I had seen the movies “The Ten Commandments” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, but we were not a church going family. Our family stopped going to church when I was around four years old. I was young. I thought I knew everything about life, and yet, I didn’t know the most important things about life.

    As he began to evangelize, I immediately got defensive. He tried to talk to me about salvation, and I put up a wall of resistance. I remember he was getting very frustrated, because he was trying to reach me with the good news. I continued to resist. By the time I left, I am sure he felt defeated, and he most likely thought that I was lost.

     In 1999, I was baptized and I joined a church. My relationship with God has grown, but 29 years had passed since that conversation with the artist. It was one of many experiences that stuck with me over the years, times when God was reaching out to me through others.  It took a long time for me to catch on. My coworker was disappointed that day, but he was one of the first people to really reach out to me.

     There will be times when you reach out to share the Gospel, and some of those times you will feel like you failed. Remember though it is God’s message, and sharing his message is never wasted. He will do with it as he wills. Our job is simply to share it with others.

     One day, I will meet my coworker in Heaven. That day we will both rejoice, because he was part of my journey to know the Living Savior.

 

For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son! – John 3:16

 

May God Bless You,

Layman Ray

Jonah Is An Amazing Story

 

     I have always enjoyed the story of Jonah. As a child I was fascinated by him being swallowed by a giant fish. As an adult I have come to realize just how complex the story really is. Here are a few things that have amazed me about the story.

     First, we have this man of God who was respected by the people, and yet, when God told him what he wanted Jonah to do, he ran. He was determined to go as far away as possible. He thought he could leave and be out of God’s sight. We know that God knows everything and he is everywhere. What was Jonah thinking?

     I have to say that I cannot be too hard on Jonah, because I know what God’s word says. Yet, there are times I want to do something else. It may be that I just feel too tired to pray, too lazy to help my neighbor, or to scared to share God’s word. You may be shaking your head right now, but I believe we all have our Jonah moments. Sometimes God steps in and gets our attention.

     A giant fish swallowed Jonah. Jesus said he would make the apostles fishers of men, and he did. They listened to their master. For Jonah, it was the fish that was the fisher of men.

     He was in the belly of the fish for three days. People will tell you the story is not true. How can a man survive in the belly of a fish for three days. Let me tell you. Jesus spoke of Jonah and his experience. I believe Jesus knew what he was talking about. I believe the story.

     The Ninevites repented. The people that Jonah was afraid of did the opposite of what Jonah feared. They repented of their sins, and this irritated Jonah. Too often we have our own expectations of justice. I once had someone tell me she was praying for God to make the workman on her roof fall off the roof. The man didn’t fall. We are called to love and forgive.

   There are other things in the story that amaze me, but these were just a few of them. From this we can learn to respect God’s amazing power, to listen to His commands, and to love and forgive others. The story of Jonah is bigger than the fish that swallowed him.

 

Have a blessed day,

Layman Ray

We Are One with Jesus! Follow Up

I originally wrote this as a comment to the article "We Are One with Jesus!", but I wanted to make sure it was easily seen. 

I just wanted to do a quick follow up with an example of what I am talking about. Last night, I attended the prayer meeting at Pleasant Ridge Christian Church, in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the United States. There were seven of us in the prayer meeting. Our prayer focus was for the persecuted church. We prayed for strength and protection for all of our brothers and sisters around the world who are standing strong for Jesus, and we prayed for the church leaders who are risking everything to spread God's message of hope and love. We were a small group gathered together in prayer, but we know that we have a big loving Father who listens to even the smallest of us.

I would love to hear from others who are gathered in prayer for our brothers and sisters in need.

May God Bless You All,

Ray

Layman Ray

A special thanks to Greg, the Prayer Ministry Coordinator for Pleasant Ridge Christian Church, for his leadership and heart for the persecuted church.

We Are One with Jesus!

 

     Have you ever felt truly alone? As Christians we know that our Lord Jesus Christ is with us always. We know we can reach out to God at any time. Yet, we can still feel alone. Sometimes we feel alone in our faith in Jesus. Those around us do not understand, sometimes we are laughed at, mocked, physically abused, and there are even times our lives are at risk, because of our faith. We do not feel alone from God, but we can feel alone from other Christians. Yet, we are not.

    In John 17:20-23, Jesus prays for the believers. He prays for those who will believe in him, and he prays we will all may be one. He says that He has given us the glory that God gave him, that we may be one as He and God are one. Jesus in us and God in Him. Why? So, we may have complete unity. That unity will be a sign to the world that God sent Jesus and he loves us like he loves Jesus. That unity is an essential part of our Christian faith. All true believers are one family under Jesus. If you have put your faith in Jesus you are my brothers and sisters no matter where you are in the world.

     With that said, you can know you have brothers and sisters around the world who are praying for you. We will probably never meet, but I can tell you I pray for you. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world people are praying for your safety, strength in your faith, and for God’s blessings to come to you. If you are a believer, you are my brother or sister in Christ. You are so loved by God that He sent his Son, you are so loved by Jesus He prayed for you and He gave His life for you, and that alone is enough reason for us to love and support each other.  You are not alone. You have family members around the world who are kneeling in prayer for you. May peace be with you.

 

I pray you have a blessed day,

Ray

Layman Ray

Jesus in the Garden

 

     When I was growing up, our family lived in a trailer house in a small town in Wyoming. Both of my parents worked. My dad was a truckdriver and my mother was a cook at the county hospital. We did not attend church. My family had at one time, but we stopped going when I was around four years old. My father continued listening to Christian music, and I would at times see him sitting in a chair reading the family Bible. Still, my exposure to Christianity was limited. It was not that my parents did not believe, but we had drifted away from church.

     Still, there was one thing that had an impact on me. In our house we had a large picture of Jesus sitting on a hill, and before him were pictures of the faces of soldier’s faces. It was nighttime, and you could see what I assume was Jerusalem at the bottom of the hill. The soldier’s faces seemed out of place, and it was Jesus that always captivated me about that picture. He was just sitting on that hillside. I could just sit and look at that picture. There was something about it that brought me peace.

     A few years ago, I started trying to do some painting. My painting style is what I call “Early Amateur.” I am not a talented artist; I would be happy to be an average artist. Still, I try from time to time. One day I decided to try to paint a large picture of Jesus to have on my wall. I fumbled along, and what you see above is what I painted.

     Is it on my wall now? Yes.

    Do I think it is fine art? No.

    What this picture does for me though is bring me peace when I am having a challenging day. Some of it is nostalgia. It reminds me of the other picture, but even more so it reminds me of a Savior who loves me. Who loves you. I do not pray to the picture. The picture is not an idol, but it points to the one who came and died for our sins. It points to the one hope that we all have for an eternity of peace. A peace just waiting for us, but we must acknowledge that God sent his Son Jesus to save the world through his sacrifice. We need to accept him as our Lord and Savior. I hope you have.

I hope you have a blessed day.

Layman Ray

Pastor Voddie T. Baucham Jr. Has Gone Home

 

I never met Pastor Baucham, and honestly, I had never heard of him until about a year ago. I started seeing him pop up on Youtube videos. I was quickly impressed because he was a man who spoke the truth. In fact, just this year I read his book “The Ever-Loving Truth”. It was a very good book. It was well worth the read. He passed away on September 25^th, 2025. I never met him, but I pray for peace for his family and friends. He will be missed.

I pray the Lord blesses you today,

Layman Ray