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!

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 

  

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

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

Application

How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. Psalm 119:2

The secret to growing in Christ is applying the truth of His word to your life. Do you obey what you hear? It is so easy to just categorize truth, think about how it could help others (your spouse!), and only let it reach your mind and not your heart. It reaches the heart when we apply it to our lives. “A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.” Psalm 111:10

Let’s say you are a doctor. After seeing your patient and diagnosing his sickness, you prescribed a medication for his cure. You send him off with instructions on what this particular medication can do and how often to take it. Two weeks later this patient returns in the same state of sickness, only worse. He tells you he went home and read the directions and even decided to read more about his condition on the Internet; but he never took the medicine! “Isn’t it enough just to know what this drug will do?” he says.“ Of course! You emphatically urge him to go home immediately and follow your advice and take the medicine. He does; and within days is recovering.

Why don’t we take the medicine God prescribes for us every day? We think knowing something is all that is necessary. Or we think, “I am not that sick. I really don’t need that stuff!” We may go home and say, “I am not sure that doctor really knows what he is talking about. I will try some other remedy. I am smarter and understand the problem better.” Sometimes we say these same things to God. “I am not that sick (sinful or enslaved).” “I know better than God does.”

The safest and wisest way to act when God tells us to do something from His word is simply to “Just do it!” “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

John 13:17. Ask God right now to help you be quick to apply His truth to your life. 

Nelson Newsletter - April 2016

“Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.” 1 Chronicles 16:23-24

                                                

Atlanta House Church                                                                                                                       Our Vision What is our vision? It is to “proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.” We want to tell of, “His wonderful deeds among all the peoples,” – how to know God personally through saving faith in Jesus Christ. Then we help new Christians grow in this relationship by gathering with other believers to build friendships, to read the Bible and apply it to our lives, and to learn how to reach others with the good news. We meet regularly to pray, worship, and share our lives together- usually in homes. We are involved in incarnational evangelism. That is a fancy way of saying we reach out to people where they live and work. We go to them, instead of inviting them to come to a meeting or program since many unbelievers have an aversion to organized religion.

Care Enough To Share Our daughter, Grace, and her husband, Ward, are good examples of incarnational evangelism. They have befriended many people in their apartment complex which has led to numerous opportunities to share the gospel. Our vision for Atlanta and beyond is to find men and women who are responsive to us and the gospel, and who are open to studying the Bible. These are the people we pray for, and where new churches will be birthed – in the harvest. Please pray for more workers who will go into the harvest, who sincerely care about those who are lost enough to share Christ with them.

                                             

Growing Grandchildren!                                                                                                                    Our two sons and two of our sons-in-laws took 6 of our grandchildren camping for 2 nights in the Georgia Mountains - and we all survived to tell the story! J  We had a fantastic experience and many sweet memories that will last a lifetime. The thunderstorm on Friday night did not dampen our spirits, as most of us stayed dry. A hot breakfast the next morning warmed our bodies and fueled our spirits for a busy day of fishing and hiking. As I was holding my granddaughter’s hand as we walked along a trail navigating over the endless roots, it hit me how priceless it was to be a grandfather.

Having the 14 grandchildren in our lives is an awesome opportunity to impact their lives for Christ!  When we were packing up to return, our oldest grandson, James, asked enthusiastically, “When will I see you again Grandad?” It doesn’t get any better than that!      

                                                                         Briscoe & I Hiking & Fishing  

                                                          

                                  

Ivan – A Ukrainian Friend & Faithful Disciple Discipleship is all about building friendships with Jesus Christ in the middle. When we lived in Kiev, God used me to help a young lawyer, Ivan, come to Christ.  We started running together several days a week. During our run we would talk and pray before he went to his law office. Recently I received an update on his running, his family, and his ministry. He has “passed the baton” to other Ukrainians - leading others to Christ and making disciples in the office and beyond.

 Here he is running with his wife Maggie and their family. Together they are inspiring others to total health. Ivan posted this on Facebook, “I have participated in various smaller races to maintain a passion for running and to promote a healthy lifestyle for Ukrainians. This Sunday, the whole family took part in a 2km charity race. Klitschko (World Boxing Champion) also ran with us.” I’m encouraged by Ivan’s passion to run, but even more by his passion to “proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of…His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.” (You can read Ivan’s entire post on my FB page).              

                                                               Ivan’s 1st Marathon -  Cologne, Germany                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Prayer Requests                                                    

1. Ivan & Maggie. Pray for them to have a godly family, and to make more disciples in Ukraine. Pray for the new school Maggie started - to spread the gospel and educate Ukrainian children. 

                                                                            

2. Atlanta House Church Pray for more folks like Grace and Ward with hearts for the lost.  

3. Andrew Hendricks’s Wedding Pray for our good friends, Andrew and Linda, to have a Christ-centered marriage. Danelle and I plan to attend their May 14^th wedding in South Carolina.

Yours in Christ’s love!                                             

Steve and Danelle 

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