When An Unbeliever Acted Like Christ

Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; and he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.” 2 Kings 25:27-30

You’ve got to love the king of Babylon’s name – Evil-merodach! Who would give their son that name? King Nebuchadnezzar did! He was his son and reigned only two years until he was murdered by his brother-in-law. There is an indication that he might have known the Lord. He certainly had his good moments, and this was one of them. This account is one of those times where he acted like our Savior.  In his first year in office, he released Jehoiachin from prison after almost 38 years. He spoke kindly to him, honored him, gave him an allowance, and they had meals together regularly.

What a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us! He released us from prison (sin & judgement), spoke kindly to us because He loved us, and made us kings and priests! He changed our clothes and gave us robes of righteousness – Christ’s righteousness! Now we live in His presence all the days of our life – here on earth and with Him in heaven! Follow the example of the Babylonian king by giving grace to those imprisoned by sin and show them Christ’s love and salvation. 

Friends Can Be Dangerous

“If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods"… do not yield to him or listen to him.” Deuteronomy 13:6-8 NIV

How many times have we gotten in trouble by listening to a friend’s advice? I remember going downtown to have a few beers with my friends when I was a freshman in college. I had just turned 18, the legal drinking age at that time. I never drank in my life, but I went along with the crowd to avoid being left out. In the years to come, many of my so called “friends” went on to join fraternities, become heavy drinkers and become sexually immoral. I would have continued to follow their enticements if God had not rescued me from these other gods. I gave my life to Jesus Christ at the beginning of my second year. Then I got a new set of real friends - the kind who walked with God and helped me become a “Faithwalker.”

God pronounced the punishment for those who lead others away from Him – death! That may seem excessive, especially in our permissive (tolerant) society. God explains the severe penalty as necessary to eliminate this contagious sin from spreading to the entire nation. On the other hand, God said that when the punishment was carried out, it would have a healing effect on all the people of God. “Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.” Deut. 13:11

Our children learned this way too. They watched their siblings being spanked and wanted to avoid the similar fate. How? Obedience! Don’t you think they should thank their older brothers and sisters for leading the way? J

Who are your friends? Which ones are dangerous? Which ones help you be a Faithwalker?

NELSON NEWSLETTER - May 2016

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 NLB

Pastors & Wives Regional The pastors and their wives in the Southeast gathered at St. Simmons Island for our annual meeting. Dave and Dawn Bovenmyer came to speak to us. I was personally impacted by the teaching about showing empathy toward my wife. Danelle and I also enjoyed catching up with Larry and Corey Messer from Gainesville (first) and Barry and Kris Pierce from Raleigh (second). These couples are leading house churches in their cities. We are learning from each other through regular Skype calls, prayer support, and at our conferences.  Danelle and I will be visiting the churches in Gainesville at the end of June.

Andrew & Linda’s Wedding Our good friends, Andrew and Linda Hendricks, got married May 14^th in Liberty, SC. Danelle and I were encouraged by the edifying ceremony in the beautiful countryside. We have known Andrew since he was a student at Clemson. They have both attended our regional house church conference. We hope to see them at our October conference, if not sooner. Pray for them to grow in the grace of God together.

Atlanta House Church This is one of our recent gatherings. Notice our youngest member, our grandson, Ian Nelson, joined in the singing. :-) 

Our Reliant Page  Please check out our new Reliant web page! It is a fantastic way to tell others about our ministry. We greatly appreciate your gifts that enable us to make disciples of Christ in the Southeast!      

 https://reliant.org/steve.nelson    

Prayer Requests

1. National Pastors Conference (June 13-15). Pray for us to hear from God, and to grow in our devotion to one another, our churches, and those who don’t know Christ yet.

                                                                     

2. Visit Gainesville Churches (June 25-26). Pray for Danelle and I to build into the 2 house churches this weekend.  Pray for them to more effectively reach unbelievers and make disciples.

3. Speak @ Orlando LINC (June 27-29) Danelle and I will speak about “Godly Families” to the college students in Orlando who are participating in this summer training. We will also do outreach with them too. We will go speak to the Reliant office staff one morning too.  

4. Atlanta House Church Please join us in asking God to bring Alfonso, Rasheed, Jairo, Paul, Carolina, and other unbelievers into a personal relationship with Him. Pray for all of us to “Care Enough to Share” Christ with our friends, family, and new people.

Yours in our Savior’s love!                                

         

Steve and Danelle  

           www.reliant.org 11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32832    www.gcmnelson.com