July Newsletter - Nacogdoches/Livingston

Jesus is coming again — and His return is much closer than when I received Him into my heart and life back in 1973. So many of the people that we minister to at GODTEL know a lot of religious language and have a head belief that God exists and that He loves them but because He does not know them (is not one with them) they will not be able to enter Heaven, as Matthew 7:21-23 clearly tells us.

They will try to make excuses as they are judged and sentenced to suffer an eternity in hell. Some individuals who would be described as good, honest, hard-working, kind, and helpful may use the excuse that they did not understand the importance of making a choice to believe the Bible and ask God to pardon their offences against His commandments. Or, like Nicodemas, they could not comprehend how a man could be “born again” so they never invited Jesus into their heart and life. They believed when death came for them, they would merely cease to exist, but, much to their eternal dismay, they believed a lie. They would surely have come to Jesus if they had only known the reality and importance of choosing to believe and act on God’s invitation to receive the gift of salvation.

This train of thought came because I received a phone call from my daughter, Greta, one recent evening. She was devastated following a conversation with an insurance company concerning a wreck (not her fault) that happened two years ago. Her foot had been crushed requiring two surgeries and continued pain. She did not realize there was a time limit on getting all the charges turned in and had been told since she missed the deadline, the company would pay nothing on the claim. She was still seeing a doctor about the continued pain, but cancelled further tests after getting that news. What made matters worse, her husband had been encouraging her to go ahead and settle with the insurance company. Now she had to face him with her sad news. I tried to console her and prayed for her as we sadly hung up the phones. If she had only known of the deadline, she would have taken appropriate action, but it was too late. We, on the other hand know there is a deadline, just not the day or hour, so we need to take care of the business of asking God for His mercy and forgiveness — today.

Her story has a happier ending than the one of those who have not received Jesus before He returns to take His true believers to their eternal home. Because of the COVID-19 adjustments, the deadline for her to file her claim was extended to mid-August. When Jesus returns, there will be no extensions or second chances for anyone and I can imagine the groans and expressions of regret along with, “If only…”
 
Benefitting
 
The different types of donations we receive at each of our three shelters has increased dramatically due to so many people staying home from work during the pandemic restrictions. They have launched into projects that have been on their to-do lists for ever so long. Closets and garages are being cleaned out and GODTEL has benefitted greatly.

We are also enjoying the generosity of those who have a surplus of fruits and vegetables from their gardens. Our grateful thanks to all our benefactors. May God bless you in many ways.
 
Pies for the “Men in Blue”
 
Stephanie (my office assistant, co-interim director and cook with her husband Richard), used some of our bountiful apple supply to bake pies not only for our residents but also for the police department in Nacogdoches. We hope the officers enjoyed the pies as much as our residents did.
 
All Liars
 
My heart was deeply hurt recently by a woman and her son who had lived at our Livingston mission for a year and a half. We had put them in an RV reserved for staff but when they came to us, the RV was empty and her son was only 16 and we did not want to put him in the men’s dorm. A few months after he turned 18 (amid our strong suspicions, subsequently verified, that they were breaking some of our rules), I requested that they move up to the dorms and asked them if a week would be enough time to accomplish the move. The mom said it would. Certain things were said that led us to believe they were planning to move out rather than relocate to the dorms but when I asked if they were moving out, they said they were not, but they did. Why lie? The truth would have been more convenient, and true!

As I talked with the Lord about this and prayed for them to recognize the danger of telling and loving a lie, the following Scriptures came to mind. According to Revelation 21 and 22 — all liars are forbidden to enter heaven. Liars are hell-bound.

These two individuals claimed to be Christians and heard the truths from God’s Word taught and preached twice daily for 18 months and yet chose to not be “doers of the Word” (James 1:22). Their dishonesty is not Christian fruit and questions the veracity of their assertions that they are Christians. Are they calling themselves Christians in vain, thus violating the third of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:7)?

My heart still aches for them and I would appreciate your prayers for them to realize how much God hates lies.
 
Just a Reminder
 
Bro. June’s sermons and music are available for viewing on YouTube. His music CDs and helpful Christian literature are also available directly from GODTEL.

Check it out.

~Nancy Gentry