In this post, Nelson shares several fears and the reassurance he receives from the Bible.

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October 7, 2022

Up with the baby boy at 5:45 am, trying to let Annso sleep a little longer. She does all the heavy lifting at night.

Our fish tank is becoming the main attraction. We have had some baby Cichlids born in there and have a little feeder tank to shield them from the other fish.

Lars [brother, on the left] called me on the phone yesterday, which is unusual, as I don’t talk on the phone too much anymore. Jeremy Crady the day before that. It’s been good talking to people. Lars called to check up on me and see how I’m really doing.

Mom will come up when Annso and Astrid go to Germany. Annso’s grandmother has been moved to hospice, so it’s a bit of a race against the clock for Astrid and Annso to get over there before she goes.

We are praying they can have the hard conversations. Seems easy for other people, but I know if it were me, I’d struggle with it for sure.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)

That’s probably my favorite set of verses in Hebrews. Simple, when the rest of the book is pretty complex with the priestly talk and everything about the law and Moses compared with Jesus.

Those verses confirm that going to small group last night was the right thing to do. Joining small group and meeting with believers is part of church. Church is not just going there on Sundays and saying you’re a Christian. There has to be more than that.

You don’t get saved by that stuff. That stuff is the indicator that a person is saved. It is the fruit of being a believer.

I also like Hebrews because it talks about how the individual can overcome the fear of death and be sure of salvation. I have always struggled with that. Even almost dying a couple months ago, I was shocked how little peace I had at that moment. I don’t know why, but I was really fearful.

I guess as Christians, we have to believe that Jesus will take us to himself even if, at that moment, it doesn’t seem like he will or that he has anything to do with that moment, because I didn’t. Maybe you only have the grace to die when you’re actually dying, which apparently I was not.

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“Persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)