The True

Was. Is. Will be.

God speaks. It happens. Repeat. What tremendous power resides in that divine pattern!

Because our God is unchanging, there is a tendency to be lulled to sleep regarding His dynamic power and character. You and I are hardwired to associate “unchanging” with a “set it and forget it” mindset. We know God is good, and we know He will never change, so we categorize the concept as true, and tend to more or less tune out. But in doing so, we short-circuit our realization of one of the most exhilarating characteristics of our God—the fact that if He did it before, He remains focused on it today and we can expect Him to do it again!

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Revelation 1:8 describes our God as the One “who is, and who was, and who is to come.” There is a consistency of His character that can be counted on, and when He speaks and moves in power, that Word and that action combine to form the very nature of His character. We can look to His mighty works in the past for evidence of what He wants to do today and in the future!

Elevation Worship does a wonderful job depicting this anticipation in their song, Another One. I encourage you to worship along here, and then return to consider these examples:

He told the sun to rise. It did. And it will again.

He told the storm to be still. It was. He will again still the storms in your life.

He told the sea where to split. It did. He will again make a way in your life.

He told the walls to fall. They did. He will again tear down division in your life.

He told the chains to break. They did. He will again set you free.

And here’s where it gets really good. He told the bones to come alive, the stone to roll away, and the grave to loose its hold. And they did! Because of His unchanging character, His very nature is aimed at conquering death with life, and there is nothing less boring or more life-changing than anticipating that He will again do that very thing in you!

So make it personal this week. Seek His face and ask Him what part of His unchanging character does He want to demonstrate again and anew in your life? What Word or work has He done in the past that He wants to do in and through you in the here and now?

I encourage you to really, truly ask Him. This is not about using God’s character as a wish list for your life. In fact, it is the opposite. It is intentionally growing deeper in the knowledge of Who He is and what He longs to do based on what He has already done, and then aligning your life in a way that is eagerly anticipating the consistency of His character!

Can you imagine anything less boring than learning to identify the voice and the character of your God in order to align yourself with His ways in a manner that sweeps you up and into His mighty plan?

Friends, this one will change your life. Because if He did it before, He will do it again, and you will be forever changed!

U.S.

Free Speech or Antisemitism?

Protests related to the war between Israel and Hamas are ongoing at college campuses across the United States. Protests at Columbia University were particularly intense, and resulted in a Jewish professor being denied access to campus, more than 100 pro-Palestine protestors being arrested, and university President Minouche Shafik being called to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Analysis and eternal perspective: This is one of the more difficult stories to navigate with grace and humility, and that difficulty is why it leads our community conversation this week. First, from an analysis standpoint, a major reason this story evokes intense division is because two seemingly contradictory assertions are unequivocally true: 1) It is essential to the foundation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that unpopular—and even vile—speech be legally protected in most cases, and 2) Antisemitism has a long, sordid, and violent history and in many cases is not constitutionally protected speech.

Rather than delve deeper into the reactions those two assertions will evoke in the larger debate, let’s zoom in quickly on why each is true (a very brief and glancing overview is all we will be able to manage here) and then zoom back out for an eternal perspective.

First, if unpopular speech is not protected, no speech is protected. Popular speech does not get stifled by the government (which, by the way, is the only entity restricted by the First Amendment; It does not apply to private actors). It is therefore the unpopular speech, and even the speech you and I find vile and despicable, that will test the strength of our commitment to free speech. If we were to abandon our defense of this unpopular speech, there would be no speech—including the often-unpopular message of the Gospel—immune from similar suppression.

Next, and at first glance seemingly contradictory to point number one, many of these protests are not constitutionally protected as they are not peaceable. The First Amendment is beautifully clear on this point: “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” While there is much analysis about where the legal line is drawn, the important takeaway for now is that demonstrations that threaten the safety of others are not constitutionally protected, and university administrators are permitted—and even obligated—to take action to ensure the safety of those under their charge.

Let’s zoom back out. What does this mean for you and me as Jesus followers? How are we to apply these principles in an eternally redemptive way? Most of us are not on a college campus, but it is likely all of us interact with people who hold very divergent views on these issues. We should endeavor this week and always to:

1) Treat every person as someone made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27)

2) Listen first and carefully, and respond in love (Jam. 1:19; Jn. 13:34-35)

3) Defend the afflicted and oppressed (Is. 1:17)

We have frequently reminded ourselves here at The Equipped that the Jewish people have a special covenant with God and have faced intense persecution over the ages. When that oppression rears its head in our day, we as Jesus followers should have the moral clarity to stand against it. By doing so through the lens of viewing everyone as made in the image of God, and working to truly understand their arguments, our response—and defense, if required—can be impactful rather escalatory in nature.

U.S.

Foreign Aid Approved

More than $95 billion of aid is on its way to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. After a long and winding debate, the U.S. House approved the aid in separate votes and bundled it together in a single legislative package that was swiftly approved by the U.S. Senate. The approval was hardly free of controversy, and House Speaker Mike Johnson faces the possibility of a vote to remove him from the speakership as a result of having scheduled the vote.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Once again, this is a very divisive issue. A wide array of competing circumstances—an invading dictator in Putin, a designated terrorist organization in Hamas, and runaway budget deficits in the U.S., just to name a few—produces a wide array of viewpoints about this foreign aid among the American people. We should continue to remind ourselves it is a blessing of liberty to live in a time and place where those diverse viewpoints can be aired and contribute to the process of self-governance.

As we seek to be good stewards of all God has given us, the following reminders from scripture should guide us:

1) Everything belongs to God (Deut. 10:14)

2) To whom much is given, much is required (Lk. 12:48)

3) Our hearts will follow the direction we aim our treasure (Matt. 6:21)

This week, as we consider how to balance these priorities, let’s be intentional to pray for those suffering in the Middle East, Russia, and Ukraine. Let’s also pray for wisdom for our leaders and ourselves as we steward the gift of self-governance.

U.S.

Charges Dismissed

For the first time in history, an impeachment trial against a cabinet official—Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas—was taken up by the U.S. Senate. However, in a break from impeachment norm, the charges were dismissed before any arguments were made. Mayorkas was facing charges of “willful and systemic refusal to comply [with the law]” and “breach of trust,” but the Senate voted 51-48 and 51-49 to dismiss both charges. Democrats asserted the underlying charges were unconstitutional, while Republicans argued that dismissing the charges without a trial was unconstitutional. In the end, Sec. Mayorkas remains in his post.

Analysis and eternal perspective: There is a lot of political noise around this story, but there are also some important substantive matters to soberly consider. The President of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Congress all have a role to play in ensuring national security, setting immigration policy, and enforcing the duly enacted laws of the United States. There is wide consensus that the current state of the U.S. southern border poses a national security threat, immigration law and policy is in a chaotic state, and there seems to be an inclination across the political spectrum to selectively enforce U.S. law in this area.

What is a Jesus follower to do with that bleak assessment? First, let us this week lift our eyes and fix them on the Source of true help (Ps 121:1-2). It is so easy when considering an issue like this one to focus first on the shortcomings of our political opponents. To be honest, that is easy pickings no matter your political affiliation—there is plenty of blame to go around. However, while there remains a good deal of hard work to be done in the policy-making space, we should engage it from a posture of dependence on God, and with an aim at common flourishing. The current debate is markedly void of those characteristics and therefore, unsurprisingly, yielding very little forward progress.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Ps. 121:1-2).

The Beautiful

Hold Tightly

Our world is full of entanglements. It is so easy to cling tightly to things that will pass away. Hold tightly to the One Who is eternal, and even in death, your life will yield beautiful fruit!

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (Jn. 15:5).