January 22, 2025

Viewing all things through the lens of the True and the beautiful!

The True

Ruminate or Restore

You have wounds. I have wounds. Everyone we encounter has wounds. These are hardly trifling affairs, either. In many cases, they are deep, gaping injuries with the capacity to derail and destroy our destiny. To refuse to acknowledge or take them seriously is to acquiesce to them. Because you and I are designed as vessels capable of transmitting the transcendent power of Jesus to the world around us, acquiescence to woundedness impacts not only your own soul, but also those around you. As Richard Rohr puts it, “If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.”

The stakes are high. If you wallow in your very real wound, it will fester—both in you and in those you love.

But there is good news! In fact, there is Good News! Your wound—yes, the very real and very powerful one—was taken on by One much greater and much more powerful! When Jesus went to the cross for you, He did it that you might know the Father (Jn. 14:6), but He also did it that you might be transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18)!

He knew your woundedness, and He accepted it upon Himself. He was willingly wounded for your sin (Is. 53:5-8). Why? He did it to make a way for you to escape the power of your wounds, and to find healing, identity, and salvation in Him!

A dear friend of mine reminded me this week, “When we ruminate in the ways we have been wronged, we remain trapped in their power. It prevents us from lifting our eyes to the One thing with the power to free us!”

He was paraphrasing Psalm 121:1-2: “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.”

So often, my default setting—and I dare say, yours—is to ruminate. You were wronged. You were hurt. Damage and harm were inflicted upon you. It was real. It IS real! And so you ruminate in the wound because the pain cries out for your attention. It is a natural reaction.

But my friend, by ruminating, your eyes are distracted from the source of your help and your deliverance from that wound and its very real pain! As your eyes remain lowered on all the carnage around you, you remain in the midst of it!

Lift your eyes! Your help and your deliverance are near, and it is designed specifically for you! The Heavenly Father loved you so much that He sent His only son to a cross for you (Jn. 3:16). He sent His son that you would have access to Him, yes! But He also sent Him that you would have the ability to lift your eyes off your wound, and to set them upon the object of your help and your rescue!

So, my friend, this week, don’t ruminate in your wound. Choose restoration. Lift your eyes to the mountains, because your help comes from the one true and living God!

U.S.

12:01 p.m.

At 12:01 p.m. on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47^th President of the United States. President Trump joins Grover Cleveland as the only presidents in U.S. history to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. The carefully timed transfer of power marks the culmination of a process that began back on Election Day, November 5, 2024, when now-President Trump defeated then-Vice President Kamala Harris 312-226 in the electoral college.

After taking the oath of office, President Trump announced a wave of executive orders (46 orders were formally posted on the White House website) spanning a wide range of issues including immigration and border security, government efficiency, government posture on gender, and pardons. Additional executive orders are expected, as well as debate on Capitol Hill on legislation to make changes in statutory law.

Analysis and eternal perspective: If you are an American citizen, every Inauguration Day is an opportunity to give thanks for the democratic republic in which you live, and for the opportunity to witness another peaceful transfer of power. World history, including American history, provides us countless reminders that the written guarantees of self-governance and limited power we find in our founding documents are only as strong as the personal restraint embraced by both the citizenry and its leaders. Human beings occupy the constitutional roles of leadership in our government, and in order for our way of government to continue, human beings must be willing to both step into public service and graciously out of it.

The Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution sets “noon on the 20^th day of January” as the official end of the expiring presidential term, paving the way for the incoming term to begin at 12:01 p.m. In modern times, this transfer of power is often followed by swift changes in a number of policies and priorities within the purview of the executive branch (the limits of which are often debated and even litigated). Changes in statutory law must wait for legislative approval by Congress.

As Jesus followers, the changes that occur on Inauguration Day will sometimes bring joy and other times heartache (and often a mix of the two). No matter whether your party or preferred candidate is leaving or entering the White House, you can set a firm course for your own personal civic engagement by setting your eyes toward your eternal home (Philip. 3:20), and choosing the power, love, and sound mind given to you by God (2 Tim. 1:7). Within this framework, you would also do well to embrace the practice of personally engaging with source material (i.e., the actual language and text of the newly issued executive orders—linked above) for news items.

We end where we began: What a blessing from God to live in a land with the possibility of liberty and self-governance.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1).

U.S.

Pardons, Pardons, and More Pardons

Inauguration Day proved historic in terms of the presidential pardon power, both for the outgoing and incoming presidents.

First, outgoing President Joe Biden announced a list of pardons signed a day prior, including for members of his own family, members and staff of the January 6 Select Committee, General Mark Milley, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Next, after being sworn in, incoming President Donald Trump commuted the sentences of 14 individuals “convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” and issued a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” All told, the decree ended the legal cases of more than 1,500 defendants.

Analysis and eternal perspective: As we as The Equipped community have discussed together before, Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution clearly grants the President the “Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” This power is widely acknowledged as legitimate, if not so widely embraced as desirable. Its use has also dramatically changed over the decades, and, as evidenced this week, has been increasingly used to benefit both personal and political allies.

A change to the scope of this presidential power would require a constitutional amendment, which, as prescribed by Article V of the U.S. Constitution, requires approval by a two-thirds supermajority of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states.

In the meantime, Jesus followers should both, a) Consider the decrees of each president directly and objectively according to the merits, and b) Acknowledge that no political leader is free from the human limitations of personal and political bias.

Even more important, we should humbly remind ourselves that God “works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed,” and is simultaneously “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Ps. 103:6-8).

You deserve judgment. I do, as well. Instead, we have been granted a full pardon according to the abounding mercy of our heavenly father.

While this Truth does not necessarily justify the actions of either president, it should produce in us a heart of deep gratitude and joy for possession of a grace we do not deserve!

World

First Steps of Freedom

The first phase of a tenuous ceasefire is underway in Israel and Gaza, and Hamas has released three Israeli hostages in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners. The multi-phase deal, which is to play out over the course of the next few months, is designed to accomplish the release of all remaining hostages and secure a permanent end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Both parties, as well as world observers, acknowledge the fragile and tenuous nature of the agreement.

Analysis and eternal perspective: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed” (Ps. 126:1). The release of three hostages, and the anticipation of additional releases, is cause for rejoicing. It has been more than 15 months since Hamas invaded Israel and took more than 250 hostages. Nearly 100 hostages—including more than 30 believed to be deceased—remain in captivity.

As we have discussed many times as The Equipped community, we are to seek peace (Ps. 34:14) while also acknowledging the critical role justice—and a defense of the oppressed—plays in accomplishing a lasting peace (Is. 1:17).

The Jewish people have faced hatred and attempts to eradicate them since the Old Testament. It would be foolhardy to expect the current ceasefire to truly be permanent. Even so, we can rejoice with all those made in God’s image to whom it grants a temporary reprieve, and we should continue to raise our voice for those who remain in captivity.

The Beautiful

Linger

There is simply no replacing time in God’s presence. Yes, He can and will meet you in the small and in-between moments, but He also longs for you to linger with Him. To be still and wait on Him. To gaze upon Him, and to listen for His voice. When you choose to slow down for the purpose of nothing beyond being with Him, His beauty will be revealed to and in you!

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Ps. 27:4).

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