“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus,
for He
will save His people from their sins.” Matthew
1:21
Dear Friends in Christ,
Have you ever thought about the
fact that, if there was no cross, there would have been no need for a cradle? Jesus
was prepared from
eternity past to be born in Bethlehem so that He could die on the cross at
Calvary for our sins. There would be no Christmas celebration without Easter. We
were sinners who needed God’s gift of forgiveness. Now we should celebrate
Christmas with the cross always in mind. The cross was the ultimate demonstration
of love when God died in our place, with our sin, and for our good! Praise God
for the birth of His precious son! Praise God for His plan of salvation! Praise
God for Jesus who died and rose again and is coming to take us to be with Him
forever!!! I pray that you are prepared to meet Him!
Prepared = To get ready, arrange, plan. God wants us to be prepared for eternity by asking Jesus to forgive our sin and become our Lord and
Savior. In the same way that we prepare for a vacation, exam, or surgery by thinking through all we will need,
we Christians prepare for Christ’s return by being faithful. We are faithful when we love God
and others, read His word and do it, while relying on the Holy Spirit’s power. Preparation is essential to
success in whatever endeavor we attempt. Here are some ways we have been preparing in our ministry.
Faithwalkers Conference (December 28-31) Danelle and I are preparing to go to Asheville to join Christians
from the Southeast for several days of singing, fellowship, and teaching from
God’s word. We are excited about hearing from God and growing in our faith. I
am preparing to teach two seminars, one
about work using my book, What Is Better Than Free. The other will be, “Relational
Leadership.” Julie and her daughters, Jasper and Email, will join us as well. Please
pray for God to prepare each heart.
Atlanta House Church We are learning how to better prepare for our gatherings by praying for one another during
the week, reading His word with an eye to sharing truth with each other, and
thinking of ways to edify one another when we meet. “When you assemble, each
one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.
Let all things be done for edification.” 1 Cor. 14:26
Thanksgiving in NYC Danelle
and I prepared for weeks to visit Julie, Jasper, and Emilia in NYC for Thanksgiving! We
had a delightful time going on several excursions in the city, taking walks along
the river near their apartment, relaxing, and enjoying meals together. Unfortunately,
Jasper had the flu for most of our stay, but she was still positive and never
complained. Julie prepared an amazing Thanksgiving feast which we enjoyed for
days. And we went to Chinatown for dinner one rainy evening. God responded to
our preparation (prayers)! Praise Him! We
are thankful for all our 7 children, their spouses, and the multitude of
grandchildren (21)!
Prayer Requests
1.
Faithwalkers. Steve’s preparation
for seminars and hearts prepared to hear from God grow in faith.
2.
Atlanta House Church Pray that each member would take seriously their
responsibility to edify one another and prepare for our meetings during
the week.
2.
Ministry Support Thank you all very much for supporting our ministry in
2022! If you would like to give a year-end gift, please use this link, https://reliant.org/steve.nelson, or the mailing address below. Know that your gifts
prepare Danelle and I to serve others, make disciples, and share the
gospel in 2023!
You
are God’s gift to us!
Steve & Danelle
wwww.reliant.org 11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100,
Orlando, FL 32832 www.gcmnelson.com
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