A STEP OUT OF OUR CONTROL
October 9th, 2023
Dear Family and Friends,
In a couple hours, Julie and I head to the Detroit airport, arriving in Prague tomorrow afternoon. Three weeks later, Julie will return to Detroit and I will go on to Nepal, Hungary, Romania, back to Czechia and then home to Detroit just after Thanksgiving.
As I was thinking this morning about all the people we were going to meet over the next weeks and months and the spiritual battle that will undoubtedly ensue, the most surprising sentence came to me out of the very last sermon that C. S. Lewis’ ever gave, “What matters, what Heaven desires and Hell fears, is precisely that further step, out of our depth, out of our own control.” Lewis was preaching about trusting God and turning everything over to Him, not keeping anything back. It echoes Jesus’ concluding summary for true freedom, “Therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his possessions” (Luke 14:33).
We do not know all that lies ahead of us, but we do know that our heavenly Father will be our more-than-sufficient Provision. Very little will actually be under our control. And that is alright. He will be with us, and we will be with Him. Please pray for His fruitfulness to be a part of our every interaction with others.
Every three to four years, the Tyrannus and Lydia Halls in Asia gather for mutual encouragement, teaching and inspiration. Each Hall sends their Hall leader and a student leader (after all, TLH is a discipleship ministry 😊). This year, we will be meeting in Kathmandu from Oct 31st through Nov 3rd. Leaders and students from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia will participate. Our theme is, “Developing Eternal Relationships Now.” We will focus on the biblical inspiration for developing such relationships and the practical means of attaining these Christ-centered, safe, trusting, no-mask, loving, joyful, growing relationships within our discipleship communities. Please, please pray for the Lord of the Harvest to powerfully use these few days to the advancement and glory of His kingdom.
By the time I return home and by God’s grace, I will have led a discipleship trek to see Mt. Everest, visited four Tyrannus Halls in four countries, and met with the leaders of 13 Tyrannus and Lydia Halls. Undoubtedly, there will be much to report. Also undoubtedly, I will be presented with multiple occasions, where I will face the challenge to “take that further step, out of my depth, out of my control.” Pray with me that I may not, as they say, “play it safe” but as the old hymn says, “wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”
In His care,
Steve