RENEWALS

“…put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him…”

(Col 3:10)

Dear Family and Friends,

Fixing broken things. Cleaning up messes. Restoring what has faded. Ever since the Fall, God has been constantly repairing, cleansing and reconciling damaged creation. Not just nature or us but “all things” (Col 1:20). And we have been charged by Him to do the same. “Tend the garden” (Gen 2:15), be ourselves “renewed into His image” (Col 3:10), and then be “ministers of reconciliation” wherever we go (2 Cor 5:18). We are tasked with the ongoing renewal of what God has put in our realm of control: property, soul and others.

On Monday, seven confirmed tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area. One looped around to hit the same community twice. One hit Glen Ellyn a mile east of us. And one touched down near Wheaton College just two blocks west of our home. There isn’t a street or yard within half a mile without broken trees or debris. Crews are still clearing streets, and some have been without power now for 5 days. Broken trees and property. Massive clean-up.

After almost 40 years, the wiring in the Shillong Tyrannus Hall (Northeast India) needed to be replaced. The building also desperately needed repainting. Thanks to the help of the Conservative Baptist Churches of Northeast India (CBCNEI) and Tyrannus and Lydia Halls, this key discipling center’s facilities have been restored for future generations of disciple-making.

And then the worst student room…

then…

And the renewal of souls is arguably the most important thing in need of repair, cleansing and restoration. While at the Shillong Lydia Hall (SLH), I had the privilege of witnessing a truly holy and transformative moment, one I had yet to experience on all my visits to over 20 Tyrannus and Lydia Halls in Europe and Asia. During the vesper service, which the SLH holds every weekday evening, the program began normally: attendance was taken, the moderator welcomed everyone and prayed, and we sang a few songs. The final song “Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God” then prompted a former prefect (i.e., student president) to cry out to God in prayer for over 10 minutes with tears and desperation 1) for forgiveness to take place between the Lydians and 2) for the necessary choice to love one another. Here was cleaning of souls, confession of sin, restoration of relationships, and the renewal of this community of disciples.

Tornado destruction, decay of buildings and unforgiveness. We are in a constant state of dealing with brokenness, dirt and sin. But we have hope, because with God there is cleansing, renewal and restoration! Our God is the God who relentlessly rescues, restores, redeems and renews. And this is good news! For already dead branches and leaves are falling into my cleaned up back yard. Tyrannus and Lydia Hall buildings will again need rewiring and repainting. And discipleship communities will constantly need to confess sins and forgive one another. But His ways always overcome these effects of the Fall. And the good life, the eternal kind of life He offers can be entered into and lived in now by all who follow Him!

Thank God that He ceaselessly reconciles all things. And thank you for supporting this “ministry of renewal into His image” that the Tyrannus and Lyia Halls of Europe and Asia carry out on a day-to-day basis.

So grateful for all renewals,

Steve

A MIRACLE MEETING

Tyrannus and Lydia Halls