December 24, 2025

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

On this Christmas Eve, our family joins with yours in praising the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, born a babe into this world He came to save. Tomorrow we celebrate Immanuel, God with us!

The True

Good, Better, Best

“Good, better, best!” That phrase has become a rallying cry of sorts for those of us who are long-suffering Chicago Bears football fans. For the uninformed, the Bears are nearly always bad. They last won a Super Bowl in the 1984-85 season and they last made the playoffs in 2020 (but haven’t won a playoff game since 2010).

Bottom line: Bears fans are used to losing.

But this year has produced a very surprising string of wins and just this week the Bears clinched a playoff berth with a win over their rival Green Bay Packers. Our oldest son, Jude, and I danced around the living room and screamed silently (most of the family was long ago asleep) when the victory was sealed.

After all, we had waited a long time (Jude doesn’t remember the last playoff win)! The celebration was intensified because of the long anticipation. After the victory, the now-familiar cheer rang out in the winning locker room:

Good, better, best!

Never let it rest!

Until your good gets better!

And your better gets best!

There is probably another conversation to be had about how leadership and team dynamics contribute to wins on the field—and in life. But this week, as we in The Equipped community look toward Christmas morning, our pending celebration is building size and steam because of our long anticipation!

Yes, that includes the anticipation from the Advent season, in which we sit and reflect in the period of death and burial our Savior endured for us. That reflection of Advent builds our anticipation.

But it also includes the wait from Adam to Jesus. It includes the 400 years of silence between Old Testament and New. It includes the generations and generations of waiting for the appearance of the promised Messiah. It includes countless births and deaths without full realization of the promise. Finally, it includes your personal anticipation of the day on which there will be no more tears, pain, or suffering (Rev. 21:4).

Friend, you have been waiting. You have been longing for the fulfillment of what is promised. Your anticipation has been building. The wait can seem long and the pressure of the building anticipation intense.

But the celebration on the other side of the anticipation will be oh so worth it! It will make the jubilant celebrations in the Chicago Bears’ locker room feel like a dirge by contrast!

The long-anticipated Savior of the world has come! We celebrate the end of the waiting on Christmas! Death is defeated and the silence is no more! Allow the built-up pressure of your anticipation to burst forth into rejoicing!

After all, if a losing football team that transitions to winning is worthy of a “good, better, best” chant, surely the arrival of the King of Kings deserves your loudest “Hosannah in the highest” (Matt. 21:9)!

Finance

Precious Metals Soaring

The spot price for both gold and silver is at an all-time high after both precious metals rode a wave upward throughout 2025. The price for one ounce of gold on New Years Day 2025 was around $2,600 and now stands at more than $4,500, while silver has risen from around $29 per ounce to more than $70. While the price of both metals has historically increased fairly steadily, the dramatic rise over the last twelve months is by far the most sustained surge experienced by the metals in the twenty-first century.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Economic observers have a variety of opinions on the leading factors driving the rally of precious metals, but most agree that global uncertainty, reduced interest rates, and declining confidence in fiat currencies—including the U.S. dollar—are among the most significant factors. Where spot prices go from here is a perilous guessing game, but many interested parties are carefully watching the news about who will replace Jerome Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve for a clue about the near-term monetary policy of the U.S.

As a Jesus follower, your posture toward money, wealth, and material possessions is one of the most important factors in your aim for a vibrant walk with Jesus. That statement might seem a little jarring, but God’s Word repeatedly returns to money matters to determine the health of your heart.

If we are honest with ourselves, we know this instinctively. I have an instinctive—and insatiable, if left to my own accord—inclination to obsess about material security. Sometimes it is a craving for wealth, but more consistently it is a certain desperation for comfort and security. It dresses up as duty and responsibility to provide for my family (a biblical duty expressed in 1 Tim. 5:8), but in reality, it stems from a dependence on myself over a confidence that God will provide all we need.

Friends, the totality of scripture acknowledges this is a difficult thing to conquer, so do not despair if you, like me, find this challenging. It will likely remain challenging until heaven, but as shiny trinkets of metal soar in value, and as you responsibly steward the physical wellbeing of those in your charge, remember where your true treasure lies. Everything of this Earth will pass away, but the treasure you lay up in heaven will forever remain (Matt. 6:19-21).

U.S.

Document Dump

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun to comply with a recently enacted law requiring the release of most of the material related to the prosecution of Jeffey Epstein. The law, passed by Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump, requires the protection of certain victim identities but largely mandates the disclosure of all other material.

The DOJ released two tranches of documents over the last week and says there will be multiple additional releases to comply with the law. The initial releases include numerous photographs of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Prince Andrew, Duke of York. They also include flight logs and previously released photographs referencing or depicting numerous notable people including U.S. President Donald Trump. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blache indicated additional releases will occur before the end of the year.

Analysis and eternal perspective: The crimes associated with this story are horrific, and the victims of them deserve justice and our care. It is the only appropriate place to begin our analysis of this very troubling story. So much of the coverage of this story is consumed by the powerful social circle that surrounded Jeffrey Epstein. To be certain, it is incredibly important to determine who among that circle participated in these horrific crimes. But in order to heed the instruction of Isaiah 1:17 (to both seek justice and defend the oppressed), we must begin by acknowledging that an honest administration of justice is far more important than any political fallout.

One thing is clear and it is consistent with the track record of human history: The human heart is desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). It is easy to exclaim shock and acknowledge these crimes as horrific—and they are—but the inclination toward an evil like this runs naturally through your human heart and mine. But by the grace of God go you and I.

From that place of acknowledging we are all prone to a heart condition that makes all manner of evil possible, it is incumbent on us to use our voice to promote the administration of even-handed justice. As we do so, we should be clear-eyed about any narrative that attempts to describe these crimes as wholly the result of one political party or another’s mistakes. The devastation in this story is not rooted in politics but in sin, and sin is a force with which we must each deal.

But there is cause for rejoicing! The finished work of Jesus on the cross has redeemed your sinful heart (Eph. 1:7)! In fact, in a tie back to our previous story, the Bible is clear that our rescue was bought not with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:18-19)!

So as we stand together in favor of blind justice on behalf of the victims in this case, let us also rejoice in our redemption and humbly posture our sinful hearts before the throne of God’s abundant mercy.

U.S.

Fraud in Minnesota

Federal prosecutors allege that as much as half of the $18 billion of federal money used to support 14 Minnesota social service programs in recent years appears to have been stolen or fraudulently obtained. The allegations include shell organizations that submitted claims for federal reimbursements but never provided the services to warrant the reimbursement—services like feeding needy children, providing housing assistance, or access to medical care.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Once again, there is a political blame game running parallel to this story, and it certainly appears that governing authorities may have been negligent or worse. Much like our previous story, those who are ultimately found to be responsible for any proven fraud should be held to account, regardless of political affiliation.

This story also warrants a broader careful review of how the U.S. administers both federal and state programs. There will always be a debate about what types of programs and which specific programs deserve public financial support. This story signals that debate should also include a careful analysis of the structure of any such programs determined worthy of support. It is incumbent on elected officials to ensure the integrity of all government-run programs and a scandal this widespread suggests a very significant lapse in that integrity.

What about your life and mine? How squeaky clean are our personal and business practices? If held up to the light, would they pass scriptural muster? They should, but human nature is such that they only will if we subject ourselves to the scrutiny of transparency. Matt 10:26-27 reminds us that all which is concealed will be made known and encourages us to proclaim in the daylight what God has instructed in the secret place.

It is counter to human instinct, but that is precisely the point. Your human instinct and mine will lead us astray, but the disinfectant of God’s Word will redeem!

The Beautiful

The Revealing

“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecc. 9:10).

What has God revealed to you this Advent season? What beauty has He poured into your heart and hands? Do you perceive it? Have you received it? Will you carry it?