I love technology. I love that I get to be connected to almost any place in the world and have almost any piece of information in my pocket. And that I can create so much for the glory of God and the good of others with technology. But… there is something I hate about technology. It’s affected by the fall and can be used to dislocate us from the present reality we live in physically each and every day. "I just had this awesome moment with my kids- let me tweet about it.” Far too often this is my response, rather than being present in the moment- in the place that God has called me.

I recently read EverPresent: How the Gospel Relocates us in the Present by Jeremy Writebol and was immensely challenged and encouraged by the book. Jeremy briefly develops a theology of place based upon God’s attribute of Omnipresence (God’s ability to be present everywhere) and then he applies that doctrine to our lives and our mission. It’s a great example of how right theology (orthodoxy) should affect right practice (orthopraxy). Our doctrine of God’s Omnipresence should affect the way we as Christians, indwelt with the Holy Spirit, are present in our communities.

Theology of Place

During the first part of the book, Jeremy talks about our longing for home as humans and how we don’t ever quite feel like we are home. We are dislocated. Ultimately this is because of our first parents' sin and rebellion against God and the fracture this caused. We stand in their line (and- lets be honest- we would have done the same thing!) and now feel that dislocation, that fracture, that feeling that this isn’t how its supposed to be.

The only answer to this is the gospel. The good news that Jesus came to our place, took on our flesh, took on our sin, and then died for us and rose again so that we might put on his righteousness, his glory, and go forever to His place.

And by His place, I mean, this place, this earth: redeemed and glorified where our King Jesus graciously and visibly reigns. Jeremy points out that one of the things that makes Christianity unique is our view of the afterlife. It’s not some ethereal other place where we all float around with wings and harps and sit on clouds and look like precious moments figurines (personally, thats not a place I want to go). But, its this place, this wonderful physical creation that we get to enjoy for all eternity. The heavenly city descends upon the earth so that Revelation 21:3 would be fulfilled and "God himself will be with them as their God.” How glorious and wonderful. Revelation 22:3 goes on to say that the affects of the curse are reversed and what began in Eden will be fulfilled and magnified in the City of God.
 

Putting our Theology of Place into Practice

Now, what does this have to do with our life here and our mission to along with Jesus “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Well, here is where we apply our doctrine of God’s omnipresence to our mission. Jeremy breaks this down into 4 places: First Places, Home; Second Places, Work; Third Places, Social Environments; and Fourth Places: the City. He challenges us to be present in these environments. To be present in the power of the Holy Spirit to be salt and light in all these places. To be present in the power of the Holy Spirit to show the fruit of the Holy Spirit to those we meet in these places, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors and friends, and the society in which we are placed sovereignly by God. And to be present with the message of the gospel affecting our lives, and on our lips. We want to boldly proclaim the gospel, but as Jeremy points out, we can’t proclaim it unless we are present in the lives of those who need it. 

Conclusion

This book was encouraging to me because it frees me from the pressure of making opportunities to share my faith. It means I can just show up, trusting God in the power of His Spirit and I will get opportunities to show love and mercy and proclaim the greatest news in all the world. It was also challenging to me, because I’m free to be present within the world in order to be salt and light with my words and actions. I must repent of my selfishness, laziness, and fear and step into the world I have been sovereignly placed in and be present for the glory of God. 
I would encourage you to check out this book and as the church let’s be present together for God’s glory and the good of world. 

You can pick up the book here:

Digital ebook - http://store.gospelcentereddiscipleship.com/collections/frontpage/products/everpresent-how-the-gospel-relocates-us-in-the-present

Paperback - http://www.amazon.com/everPresent-How-Gospel-Relocates-Present/dp/0615989020/

A simple question. And the most important question we can ask. Here is a link to my answer from our Christmas Eve service on Philippians 2:4-11. How can we know God?

I saw this video today that shares the gospel. The structure is 3.2.1. And the first part starts with 3: the trinity. It struck me because that is not how we often hear a gospel presentation start because it seems like this complex theological truth for after you get the Jesus part. But it is profoundly important and critical to any understanding of the gospel. If the trinity is compromised, the gospel is compromised because we have a wrong understanding of who God is and how we can be in relationship with him. Also, the reality of the trinity is an incredible apologetic for the love displayed in the gospel. God has always been a God of love before he ever created the world, meaning he did not create it for something to love but out of his own self-existent love he created it. This means that God is merciful from the start and does not owe us anything, rather we owe him all worship and glory and relationship. It is a great video and I encourage you to check it out and watch it with a friend who doesn't know Jesus (and talk to them, not just post it to their facebook).

A great video to contemplate the amazing grace of God in Christ Jesus!

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to preach at our church, New Life Presbyterian. It was a great blessing and the Lord used it greatly in my own heart. I looked at what the unashamed Gospel life looks like from Romans 1:16-17. It is the life that is lived in unshakeable confidence in the righteousness of Jesus for salvation. So, I looked at how the gospel reveals Christ's righteousness and saves us past, present and future. We are saved by Jesus' righteousness as we are credited with it, conformed to it, and confirmed in it.
I will attach the link to the sermon if you are interested in listening to it, but if you just want to get the point of it, here are my concluding points at what the unashamed Gospel life looks like.
The Unashamed Gospel Life...

1. refuses to establish a righteousness of its own, but leans on the credited righteousness of Jesus.


2. is honest about sin.


3. relentlessly pursues gospel holiness.


4. sets its hope in the life to come.


5. unashamedly proclaims Christ Jesus.


6. always remembers the cost of the righteousness of God that has been so freely given.

The Unashamed Gospel Life

-In Christ alone,

Josh

The Fear of the Lord is a frequent concept in Scripture. It is hard to describe because we often think, "Wait, I thought we were supposed to trust God, or love God, or adore God, but where does Fear come into view.

Well, fear, I have heard really means respect. But, I am not sure I buy that. I mean was that the message that we are supposed to take from Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Fire comes down from heaven and utterly consumes Elijah's offering after he has mocked the prophets of Baal and suggested that maybe their "god" is on the toilet and thats why he can't show up for them. Then they slaughter the prophets. But what is the response of the people immediately- they fall on their faces- not in respect only- but in fear and worship because they had been following and worshiping that Baal that had just been thoroughly mocked and destroyed in front of them. Now, if you keep reading, this does not cause full-scale repentance throughout Israel, because they quickly forget this fear and run to other things and not to the Lord. I bring this up because I want to show that fear for sure includes the idea of respect but not that alone- it includes well... fear.

Now what do we do with this fear? Do we run from the Lord and hide somewhere? No. We run to the Lord and hide in him. We fear because he is Holy and we are not, we fear because he is greater and has the power to condemn us because of our sin. But, the fear of the Lord means we take that fear and run to the Lord himself and make Him, through Jesus' death on the cross our new hiding place.

But, back to my original question: how is this created?

Well, this morning I read Isaiah 29:13 which says:

13 And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

I was hit with this verse and particularly that the Lord is accusing Israel of where they are getting their "Fear of the Lord." They are being told and taught by men, "Fear the Lord." But they have no experience of that, they have never apprehended his holiness and measured themselves by it. They think all is good because they are listening to the words of these teachers but never really engaging with the Lord of Hosts. I think we do this often. We go to church, we read the bible, read books, we do all of this, fearing the Lord because men tell us to without really taking a look at the Lord himself and truly fearing him.

So what is God's response in Isaiah. Is it a repeat of the prophets of Baal incident? Is that what we are to look to and hope for?

14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."

He promises to do wonder upon wonder in their midst and something that will confound the wise and destroy the powers. What could this be?

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1st Corinthians 1: 18-25

The foolishness of the cross is wiser than the wisest philosophy or professor, the smartest author, the craftiest preacher, or any commandment of men. The weakness of the cross is stronger than any world power, nuclear missile, technology, or brute strength. And the cross is wonder upon wonder that God has done, revealing himself, his justice and his mercy. Do you want to know who to fear when it comes to your sin- look at the cross for that is what sin deserves. And when you do you will also see the only place you can run for mercy and forgiveness.

It just so happened that today in my reading I also read Ephesians 2. Do you want to see wonder upon wonder and gain the fear of the Lord? Read it. Study it. Fear Him. Love Him. Trust Him. Adore Him.

A senior Ball State Student, close friend, and a guy that I discipled for a few years made this video series for his senior animation project. Its the same concept for his upcoming music album about letters to and from God. Check it out and be refreshed in the gospel.

Matt will be interning with Cru next year at IU, Lord willing. Please pray for him as he raises his financial support and prepares to be sent from Ball State to IU. Let me know if you know anyone who would be interested in hearing about his ministry.

Does your view of God's sovereignty affect your participation in global missions?

It should.

Last week at Together for the Gospel, David Platt gave one of the most powerful messages I have heard on the topic of global missions. He taught from Revelation 5 that when we have a high view of God's absolute sovereign control over all things for all time, we will willingly lay down our lives for the sake of all nations coming to know Jesus. When we understand that God has a plan for the completion of the great commission and that the people in that plan were purchased by the blood of Jesus, then we will pray, give, and go differently. We will sacrifice what we want for the sake of Jesus' plan for the nations. We will pray with confidence that God will use our prayers to bring about the salvation of unreached people groups. We will give generously and sacrificially so that the gospel can be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. And we will go with zeal to bring the gospel even at the cost of our lives. Jesus is worthy! Let us as the church of Jesus Christ take seriously his call to go to the nations.



In Christ alone,
Josh

Over the last few months we have been thinking and talking a lot about prayer.  So, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts:

1.) Do it!- I can think and talk a lot, but do I actually believe prayer works- the only way to show that is by actually going to our gracious Lord in prayer.

2.) Trust God for BIG things.  I have been continually amazed at what engages my heart the most in prayer, and that is praying for big things from our big God who loves to answer prayer and glorify His name.  When we ask Him for big things we are acknowledging his power and if he answers them, it could only have been from him.

3.) Be Patient.  We must trust that he is both sovereign and good and be patient, knowing that he knows what he is doing and how he will do it.  This helps us realize that sometimes the best answers are the ones that he leaves unanswered because he is all-wise and not only knows what is best for us, but accomplishes that for his glory and our good.

4.) Listen to as many people talk about prayer as possible, and read good books.  Stories of other people and their prayers are awesome, inspiring, convicting, and encouraging.  Here is one that I listened to from the Desiring God Pastors Conference on Prayer by Francis Chan- it's awesome.  Check it out here!

One of the characteristics of the book of Acts that I noticed in the overview is the Holy Spirit empowering ordinary people for extraordinary things. Now, what do I mean by extraordinary? Well, I think by looking at the very first sermon by Peter on the day of Pentecost just after the Spirit was given should give us a clue as to what I mean by extraordinary and how it can apply to us.
Now here as with any passage it is important for us to set the scene and not just look at these verses in isolation from the rest of the story. The scene for Peter's sermon is the day of Pentecost, which came 50 days after the Passover, when Jesus was crucified. The apostles appear to be celebrating this harvest festival in or near the temple grounds as over 3,000 people gather to hear Peter's sermon. So, who has gathered, well the text says that "devout men from every nation under heaven" were in Jerusalem, so we can assume that these people had traveled here for the festival along with the resident Jews of Jerusalem who would be celebrating the festival. Certainly many if not all of the Sanhedrin (the ruling council of the Jews) and those who persecuted and killed Jesus not two months previously are present. This I think shows the point of the Holy Spirit's empowerment more than anything. Why? How did Peter respond to these people the last time he was with them according to Scripture:
Luke 22:54-62
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him."
57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him."
58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not."
59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean."
60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."
62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

Fearful Peter denies Christ to save his life. But now:

Acts 2:14-41
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.
15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
25 For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Peter boldly proclaims Jesus as the Christ and even charges those present with his death. What a difference! The only answer is the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of Peter. So what is the difference between Peter- an ordinary man and Peter- a spirit-filled extraordinary witness? Before being filled with the Spirit Peter denies Christ out of fear, when filled with the Spirit he proclaims Jesus boldly, without regard to his life. Remember these same people cried "crucify him" not even two months previous to this one that Peter proclaims as "Lord and Christ" (vs. 36). Now, this is a unique event in one sense and a regular event in another. It is unique because Peter was a Christian without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when he denied Christ and after Pentecost experienced a radical change in his Christian life- the gift of the Holy Spirit. But, since Pentecost- the Holy Spirit is given upon conversion to Christ so their are no Christians that do not have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. But, I call this a regular event in another sense, because this is what the Spirit of God still does today, empowering ordinary people to become extraordinary witnesses to who Jesus is and what He has done. Be encouraged therefore, that you don't have to have all the answers, all the knowledge, all the skills in evangelism (though those are good things to pursue) but you must simply believe in Jesus, trust him alone for your salvation and you can know that you are empowered for ministry with this exact same Holy Spirit. He lives in you and I in the very same way and for the same purpose: empowering extraordinary witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ for His Glory!


-In Christ alone,
The Holowell's (Josh, Whitney and Tyko)

Acts: Overview Thoughts

It would be very easy to say that the book of Acts is about Paul, or Peter, or the early church, but that would be wrong. They may play a prominent role in what appears to be the spotlight, but they are really dropping to the background to let God take his rightful spot as the main character of the story. Acts is about the sovereign God who reigns using His people: the church, for His purposes: the expansion of His kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel, to His glory.
For New Testament Survey we read through the whole book, tracing the apostles steps and particularly Paul's movements, and meditating on the activity of the early Church.
Here are some initial thoughts and then I hope to write a few meditations on some passages that really struck me while reading.

1. The Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people for extraordinary things as the gospel stretches throughout the known world. The apostles and the early Christians are regenerated, empowered, led, controlled, and comforted by the Holy Spirit. They speak, act, think, move, go, stay, change course, all at His direction and leading. They play the background while he takes center stage to use them for the glory of God.

2. The gospel goes forth through suffering and persecution. Through the stoning of Stephen and the first persecution on the church, God sends his people into the nations to proclaim Jesus. And throughout the entire expansion of the early church in Acts there is suffering associated with the expansion of God's kingdom.

3. The radical nature of the gospel. Economies are overturned as people stop idol worship, people sell everything they own, the apostles suffer the loss of all things including their life, and every decision is made in regards to God's glory as the good news of Jesus expands. There just is not room for lukewarmness towards Jesus.

4. Missionary zeal. Paul and the apostles travel so much, so fast. They stay long enough to plant churches, get elders rooted in the gospel, entrust them with the local ministry and then move on. They see God's heart for all nations and desire to proclaim the gospel where it has not yet been heard.

5. This is the most important feature, I think, and the one that I alluded to earlier: the sovereignty of God, which makes Him the main character. When I think of passages that teach the sovereignty of God in planning, ordaining, and accomplishing all things in accordance with his will, I think of Romans 8 and 9, Ephesians 1, Proverbs 16, or the book of John. But, I think that the whole of the book of Acts creates one of the strongest biblical cases for it, and gives us an insight into why God has set it up this way: the expansion of his kingdom through the salvation of sinners by the grace of the gospel to his glory. We see throughout Acts the sovereignty of God in ordaining the cross (2:23, 3:18, 4:27-28), calling and appointing people to eternal life (2:39, 2:41, 2:47, 5:14, 11:24, 13:48), and in God granting faith and repentance to people (3:16, 5:31, 11:18, 15:8-9, 16:14, 18:27). It's also seen in the providence of God in things as simple as Paul's heritage and upbringing. A Jew and a Roman citizen, trained in the law as a Pharisee and able to engage with Greeks and Romans. The perfect heritage to be the apostle to the Gentiles and take the gospel to literally every major world leader. This is no accident but planned by God for His glory and the salvation of sinners.

All of these things are very encouraging for ministry, challenging for my walk with Jesus, and beautiful displays of who God is and how he works.



I thought of a great deal of this after a day at Panera reading Acts and listening to the song "Background" by Lecrae on his album Rehab.
Here is the music video, enjoy:
Lecrae "Background" ft. C-Lite from Rive Video on Vimeo.

You can buy the full album on iTunes.


-In Christ alone,
Josh Holowell

I just finished reading God is the Gospel by John Piper. It is a wonderful exposition on why God himself is the best and final gift of the gospel.
As I was reading the book I had a chance to meditate a little on Psalm 143, so here is the Psalm and some of my thoughts on how delighting in God as the final gift of the gospel and the events of the gospel relate.

Psalm 143:
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7 Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge!
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.

David appeals to God's character for his deliverance, for his salvation. He does this because he knows he is not righteous before God "for no one living is righteous before you" (v. 2). So if God would act he must act out of his own free gracious character, his own faithfulness, his own righteousness. It must also be as David appeals "For your name's sake, O LORD." If God is to act on David's behalf, David knows it must be born in the character of God and not him, and ultimately for the glory of God and not him.

David knows this because God is his greatest delight, "my soul thirsts for you like a parched land" (v. 6). But at the same time, David thirsts for God like this because he understands the depth of free grace in the character of God, and his purpose in acting- his glory.

There I think is the key to the relationship- they both feed each other. Meditating on gospel events (the free grace of God given in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus) fuels a passion for delighting in God himself. That passion for God then fuels a desire to dwell deeply in the gospel for it is "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2nd Cor. 4:6).

But this righteous and holy delight in God is only good news to an unrighteous sinner like me if it is freely given. And it is! It is only in His righteousness (Christ's) that we can come and thirst for God. So let us pray with David "Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." (v.8). The steadfast covenant love of God poured out on us through Jesus on the cross frees us to delight in God and His glory.

-In Christ alone,
The Holowell's (Josh, Whitney and Tyko)

I have been meaning to write this post for a while but just haven't gotten around to it. This is mainly from a book I read earlier in the year A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge. The book is a collection of 13 sermons Bridge preached on Psalm 42:11 - "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." This particular sermon is a lifting up in the lack of assurance.
One of the things that Bridge brings up to lift up his people in the time of discouragement is the promises of God. But he as a good Puritan "physician of the soul" asks the objections that a person would have in banking on the promises of God for encouragement and assurance. One objection that he raises and then answers is that of conditional promises.

"Oh, you reply, but yet, when I go to the Scripture, I find that God's promise still runs upon some condition, and I cannot perform that condition. I do not find that condition in myself; and therefore I fear that I may not go to these promises and that I have no right to them."

He answers this question in several ways, but two are striking to me. The first is that the condition of some promises in Scripture is the promise of other promises. An example:

Repentance is the condition of the promise in 2 Chron. 6:36-40- "36 "If they sin against you-for there is no one who does not sin-and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near,
37 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,'
38 if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,
39 then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
40 Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place."

And yet, repentance is the promise of Ezekiel 36:26 - "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Faith and coming to Christ is the condition of the promise in Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And in John 6:37 it is the thing promised: "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."

Obedience is required in one promise: Isa. 1:19 "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land" and promised in Ezekiel 36:27 "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

So, the point of this is not that we should not repent or obey, or come to Christ in faith, but that we should see great encouragement in conditional promises because in Christ for God's people they are promised by God in His mercy and grace. So we can cleave to the promise of repentance and faith in Christ because God has done everything for our salvation and promised the very conditions of it! What grace upon grace! We can be assured and run to the promises.

The second striking thing he noted was that if we are in Christ, he has perfectly performed the condition for us and his covenant keeping obedience is credited to us! What could be better. We have not met the conditions, true, but Jesus has done it perfectly and we are in union with Him by faith. So, Christian, take hold of Christ and the promises of God, especially the conditional ones, for there we see that God's grace not only true but over-abundant and wonderful.


-In Christ alone,
The Holowell's (Josh, Whitney and Tyko)

This is a pretty cool video on spiritual multiplication.
It's why we do what we do.

Kelvin: A Spiritual Multiplication Story from Rick James on Vimeo.




If Whitney and I each shared the gospel and saw 2 people come to faith each year for 32 years we would have 64 new brothers and sisters in Christ.
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2
= 64

But if each one of us shared the gospel and saw 2 people come to faith and then disciples them to share the gospel and they each saw 2 people come to faith and disciples them to do the same and so on... Then....


2 ^ 32
= 4294967296



Beginning with only two persons and using this simple, continuous cycle of discipling, or spiritual multiplication, the entire world could be totally evangelized and saturated with the gospel in only thirty-two subsequent steps because two, multiplied by itself thirty-two times, equals the population of the world!
- Bill Bright

Amazing!

So the point is to say, share the gospel wide and far and then disciple those that come to faith to do likewise. Just as 2nd Timothy 2:2 commands us:

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

This is a list of the books we have recommended in our prayer letters. This list is partially because I keep forgetting what we have written about and so I wanted a place to reference. Enjoy:

1.Living the Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney
2.Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
3.The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington
4.God's Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts
5.How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth by Fee and Stuart
6.The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall
7.Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
8.What is the Gospel by Greg Gilbert
9.Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
10.Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll
11.The ESV Study Bible
12.The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

The book recommendations will continue, so please enjoy the Triune Living God through these resources!


In Christ alone,

Josh Holowell

25: I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken.

But I am yet young and have seen the righteous forsaken. I have seen one whom we should mark as blameless and he was on whom "the wicked watches for and seeks to put him to death" (v. 32). Yet the Lord did abandon him to the power of the wicked and let him be condemned when he was brought to trial (v. 33). So is the promise void and should I fret at the prosperity of the wicked because the Lord is not just?

For truly there is only one truly righteous man and he was truly forsaken by his own admission. What then of those who are not truly righteous? What then of those who claim to find refuge in God if he cannot uphold his promise to the truly righteous one, who claims to be His one true Son? Does Jesus and the cross make this promise void?

Praise God it is a resounding NO! But how it is a no is the amazing reality of the gospel. You see for God's promise to be true here he must not see Jesus as perfectly righteous on the cross or to forsake him would be a breach of character in God which cannot be for he is unchanging. So God credits him [Jesus] with the sin of the wicked and the curses promised to them rush upon Jesus like unrelenting waves.
Destroyed (38)
Perish (20)
Cursed (22)
Cut off (9, 22, 28, 34, 38)

"God made him who knew no sin to be sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. " (2 Cor. 5:21)

So God credits Jesus with the sins of the wicked and cuts him off, so that the wicked (us) can be counted in the blessings of the righteous (Jesus). These blessings are so numerable in this passage but find their apex in delighting in the Lord! This delight in God is purchased by Jesus being cut off so that we who find refuge in Him may never be fully and truly forsaken.

So Jesus makes God's promise effective. So that God would rescue His people and count them among the righteous by becoming a man and counting himself among the wicked. This is truly Good News (gospel!) for the people of God.

In Christ alone,

Josh Holowell

Here is a sweet answer from Pastor John Piper on one of the most simple, yet most important questions that anyone can answer: What is the Gospel?