“An Offer I Could Not Refuse”
(written in honor of A. Ray Stanford on his 85th birthday)
by Ralph “Yankee” Arnold on December 9th, 2001
Doctor Clifton L. Flowler presented the Good-News,
To A. Ray Stanford who could not refuse.
The free gift of salvation, that he could not lose,
Then dedicated his life to Christ, for God to use.
The battle was fierce in the mid-night sky,
Planes were filled with men, who were willing to die.
With two engines gone from artillery fire,
The will to live became their greatest desire.
A. Ray Stanford knew the Lord real well,
He’d go to heaven, but his friends to hell.
He prayed to the Lord to see them through,
And vowed to witness to his entire crew.
When the war was over, Ray renewed his vow,
The time to serve the Lord wasn’t later, but now.
Ray and Sue by faith took a chance,
And began the ministry of Christian Youth Ranch.
With youth in mind, he made the Gospel clear,
To win souls to Christ, year after year.
Thousands upon thousands, and perhaps a million more,
Were reached by Ray Stanford, err he reached heaven’s shore.
A. Ray Stanford went throughout the land,
With a Bible under his arm, and a wallet in his hand.
For the sake of the Gospel, Ray always took the time.
To explain the plan of salvation, from Ephesians 2:8-9.
When he turned 85, he was very much alive,
In his quest for the souls of men.
His one desire, as a burning fire,
Was to be God’s ‘flame in the wind’.
No faults are listed against the hero’s of faith,
That are mentioned in Hebrews chapter eleven.
Tho a man is God’s child, and sins all the while,
All sins are forgiven in heaven.
For the man of old, when dead and cold,
Is no greater than a lump of coal.
But the second birth, when it leaves this earth,
Is greater than purist gold.
Ray touched my life as no other man,
He taught me God’s word and the Gospel plan.
His success and failures, made my schooling complete,
Learning lessons of submission, and lessons of defeat.
Ray has been my friend for over forty years,
I witnessed the rise, the fall, the race and the tears.
His battle is over; his race is run,
Jesus Christ will reward him for the work he has done.