For one of those teams, the trip ended tragically. Thomas and I were at the Big House, when one of our friends came in, and said they just received terrible news. One of the trucks that was on its way back to the ranch, was in a car accident. We were in disbelief as we listened to the report.
Our friend Jim Layne, and his young son, were in a truck with another man, and a woman. We were told that they swerved from the road, to avoid an oncoming car, and hit a tree. Both Jim and his son, and the other man were killed, and the woman survived with a few injuries. We were all in shock. Many of us had travelled those roads, back and forth, and couldn’t imagine something so awful happening.
Thomas was especially sad, because he loved, and appreciated Jim’s example in the Lord. Jim and Tom Petersen had shared the gospel with him the day he arrived at the ranch. They had prayed with Thomas, and basically took us in, by inviting us to come live there with our tipi.
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We read a few of the following scriptures about how fragile life is.
In James 4, 14 we read; “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away.
Then we read Psalm 90, 12; “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You, a heart of wisdom.” We understood from this verse, that gaining wisdom, included the knowledge, that our days on this earth are numbered by the Lord.
And then Tom pointed out to us some scriptures on suffering and pain. Psalm 34, verse 18 says that “The Lord is close to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
We finished the evening by reminding ourselves of these verses in Isaiah 41; “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand. V 10
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So I’ll say bye for now, and a big thank you, for encouraging me with this podcast project.
Just a note; I will be taking next week off to visit my family. I will catch up with you again, in the following week, on Wednesday!
I have enclosed in the description box, a link to a wonderful song “Thy loving kindness is better than life.” From Psalm 63
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=vid&q=The+loving+kindness+maranatha+music&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhuZe80YX8AhUXQ_EDHZ6VDRIQ8ccDegQIHhAD&biw=1280&bih=609&dpr=1.5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6c872337,vid:xyJxrSnpTPw
Jim Durkin on Spotify !! check it out: What is a Disciple?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6sSs2qEh2qpSfE6zRiWTYf?si=5b33334171e64908
