Apartment living is getting to Nelson and his family, and on this night, it all came to a head. In the process, he was able to connect the words of the Lord to what was happening out in the hall.
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August 10, 2022
I called the cops on some folks this morning at 6 am, because they were banging the doors and going back and forth in our building making tons of noise. First Annso went out and told them to be quiet, then I did it once, then I called.
Astrid [in a separate apartment] said the cops had been there already, about 4 am. There were tons of people packed into an apartment they don’t actually rent, with an extension cord running across the hall to steal power, and noise all night long. I don’t like to see my wife, who works so hard to keep our baby boy sleeping, upset by these morons.
They are self-centered and should be stopped from charging around keeping the working folks up all night. Either way, we move out of this place in just over a month, so we won’t have to deal with it.
The interesting thing is, Annso reads this devotional every night while we stretch out for a few minutes before bed, called The Jesus Book. Last night’s entry was about the cowardly. And that was what came to mind, being afraid of the reactions of these people when I confronted them about the noise. That helped get me out there to talk to them, thinking about the passage that talked about that.
It had some pretty strong language, and to think the “cowardly” are in there on that list:
“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death’.” (Revelation 21:6-8)
Cowardly and the faithless. Those are 2 things it would be easy to slide into at the same time as you’re living a “good Christian life.” They are also linked together in some ways. For a person to have faith, it needs to have action, otherwise faith without deeds is dead.
A person who doesn’t have faith is essentially a coward in some ways. I step out in faith into something I don’t see. That’s part of the definition of faith. Being certain of what I do not see.
If I am not willing to step into something unknown that God calls me into, then I must be afraid it won’t work out or something bad will happen. And if I don’t do something because I’m afraid, then I am a coward.
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“Faith without deeds is useless.” (James 2:20)