Thursday, July 28, 2016

As Funny As Hell

“Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?”  – Ezekiel 18:23

All the women laughed when the one lady commented about a new movie coming out. “It’s going to be as funny as hell!” she exclaimed. This scene occurred in the swimming pool as I was swimming laps. For these particular women, going to the pool was more of a social event than a workout. I have heard the phrase “as funny as hell” many times, but that morning it seemed to smack me in the face. You see, this woman’s character indicated that she probably was going to hell, and that was not funny! As a matter of fact, there is nothing at all funny about hell. So where do you think that phrase originated? Who sincerely thinks that hell is going to be a place of laughter and frivolity?

Satan is the author of this lie. He wants us humans to believe that hell is a joke—that there are no real consequences of our sins. He wants us to believe God is a joke. Satan puts the lie in our heads that hell will be a place where we can go party with our atheist friends. The sober truth is that Christ will return, “...dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10).


I pray that the reality of hell, and the power of Christ to set someone free, and His love for mankind will motivate you to be active in reaching the lost!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

July Newsletter

Greetings Saints of God!

Tribulation Our world is often a source of pain, injustice, suffering, and sadness. Jesus said we would have tribulation. Yesterday, I read the story about the Jewish exiles rebuilding the Lord’s temple, which had been destroyed. After only completing the foundation, “They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” Ezra 3:10 These Jews had only made a dent in this immense project, and yet by faith they sang praises to the Lord.  We need to imitate their faith and not allow the world to rob our joy. Let’s keep “praising and giving thanks to the Lord,” knowing that He is good, He loves us, and He is sovereign!

Gainesville House Churches Thank you for praying for our time with Larry and Corey Messer and all the saints in Gainesville. We had rich fellowship with them on Saturday and then with both churches on Sunday. Steve spoke about “Lifestyle Evangelism” and the challenges we all face being on mission while raising a family and working to provide for our family. In Atlanta we face the same challenges. We’re asking God to give us hearts of compassion for the unbelievers we see daily, which will enable us to overcome our selfishness and fears.

 LINC Orlando Danelle and I then traveled to Orlando to speak to the college students about “Raising Godly Families.” Since they are not married yet, we gained their attention by showing them how having a godly family employs many of the same principles used in making disciples. One way or the other, they were locked in and listened intently and asked good follow up questions! We also joined them one morning on the UCF campus for a few hours of sharing Christ where we had numerous heartfelt conversations with students. Four students - Mondo from Venezuela, Anna from Guatemala, Yanica from Jamaica, and Kelly, were a few we remember well because of their openness.                                                                                                                         

Reliant Office Visit While in Orlando we spent one morning with the Reliant staff. We were invited to speak about our ministry to give them an opportunity to get to know Danelle and I better. They were extremely kind, loving, and supportive. We had a delightful time, and thank God for all the staff who serve Danelle and I, and hundreds of other missionaries.  Please view our new Reliant web page if you haven’t. https://reliant.org/steve.nelson                                                              
Please consider giving a special gift to help cover our travel expenses.  The account for which we are responsible has been down this summer. Thank you all so much! 

                                                                                             
Prayer Requests
1. Gainesville Churches Pray for these two churches to more effectively reach out to unbelievers.  May God enlarge their hearts with compassion and give them good friendships. Please pray this for the house churches in Atlanta and Raleigh.

2. Orlando LINC Pray for the students to have godly families someday. Pray they would continue be faithful to love and serve others this summer. Pray for more UCF students to come to Christ, including Mondo, Anna, Yanica, Kelly, and others who heard the good news.”

3. Our Financial Needs. Pray for God to abundantly provide for our ministry needs.

4. Stephanie and Malachi Please pray for our daughter Stephanie to have a safe delivery and a healthy baby. She and David are expecting their third son, Malachi, the middle of this month.


Thank you so much for being on our team!                                
         
Steve and Danelle 
  


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