January 1, 2025

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

Happy New Year to The Equipped family! Praying for God to be glorified in and through you in the year ahead!

The True

Limits of Legacy

You want to leave a legacy. You want to lead a life that makes a difference and leaves an impact. You want the world and those you love to be better as a result of your life.

For the most part, it is a healthy desire. In My Fame His Fame, I wrote about the value of a family heritage, which is a concept the prophet Isaiah writes about in Isaiah 38:19: “The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness.” A legacy and a heritage passed down from generation to generation provides strength, stability, and purpose. It is a good thing, and even a God thing (a positive legacy is proclaimed in Gen. 17:7, Joel 1:3, and beyond, and a negative legacy is referenced in Ex. 20:5).

It is safe to say you should aspire to leave a Godly legacy and heritage for your children, grandchildren, and for the generations who follow them.

Even so, there are limits to legacy. A heritage—even the best or worst of them—is anything but an automatic pass to a blessed (or cursed) life. You can surely think of numerous examples of this—someone who overcame a challenging upbringing or, conversely, someone who squandered a Godly legacy and heritage.

Why is this true? Why is it that God designed you to be impacted by legacy and heritage but also clearly implemented limits and bounds on that impact?

I challenge you this New Years Day: Stop right now and read Isaiah 43 to find the amazing answer. Seriously, click over and read it!

The chapter (you just read it, yes?) is full of acknowledgements of both the good and the vile that confront you. But in case you missed them, here is just a sampling of what God says about why He made you and why there are limits on both the good and the bad that come from your heritage:

“I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (v. 1).

“[E]veryone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (v. 7).

“[T]he people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (v. 21).

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (v. 25).

Did you catch it? Even in a world marked by evil and danger, the very purpose for your being is to glorify your God. He made you for His glory. He called you by name and marked you as His own. He instructed you to praise Him and forgave your sins for His sake!

We say it a lot here in The Equipped community, but your life is all about God’s glory! That is why there is a limit to the value of legacy and heritage. It is a blessing from the God of the universe if you have a Godly heritage, and you should be endeavoring to pass along a Godly heritage to those who follow you.

But God wants YOU! He does not desire simply an inherited faith or belief. He wants a relationship with YOU! He wants YOU to engage directly with Him in a way that brings new glory and honor to His name!

In the same way life is not primarily about you, it is also not primarily about your heritage or legacy. It is about God calling you into intimacy with Him for His own glory!

Legacy has its limits. But the glory of God is limitless and finds a unique expression as it moves through you!

World

Three Presidents and a Plane Crash

A wild month in South Korea continued this week as an arrest warrant was issued for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. Both the impeachment and the warrant stem from Yoon’s invocation of martial law, which lasted for six hours but set off a domino effect in the country. After Yoon’s impeachment, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting president before being himself impeached. Choi Sang-mok, formerly the Finance Minister, is now the acting president and the third person this month to hold the highest political office in the country.

Meanwhile, a major plane crash killed 179 people at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea. It was the deadliest plane crash in South Korea’s history and further complicates the already chaotic political moment in the country.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Chaos often begats chaos. It is true in politics, world events, and your personal life. The political chaos in South Korea is intensifying and potentially disrupting the focused attention that would normally occur after an accident of the magnitude experienced over the weekend. South Korean leaders of all political persuasions must now balance and prioritize internal political maneuvering with the very real tasks of governing and responding to crisis.

While we remember both the families of the victims and the citizens of South Korea in our prayers this week, we should also take to heart the truth that, “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). The same chapter encourages us to think beyond cultural norms and customs when it comes to hearing the voice of God. It reminds us that none of us have a full and complete revelation of Truth and that we need each other in order to grow in a more complete knowledge of Him. But, in the process of embracing this robust intake from a community of believers, we are reminded that, “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Cor. 14:40).

Chaos begats chaos. Order begats order. God empowers and send us into situations with plenty of chaos, but our presence in those situations should lend order to them if we are operating in His spirit.

U.S.

A Legacy of Humanity

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100 (making him the longest living president in U.S. history). Carter served as the Governor of Georgia on his way to winning the White House in 1976. Four years later, he was soundly defeated by Ronald Reagan. Though Carter’s presidency is criticized by many, he dedicated the nearly 45 remaining years of his life to quiet humanitarian service, earning him the respect and admiration of many across the political spectrum.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Until he fell too ill to continue, it was common to find Jimmy Carter—former U.S. President and Georgia Governor—on the jobsite of a Habitat for Humanity build, or doing other public service. Unlike many VIP participants in charity events, Carter did not show up simply to promote the work; He showed up to do the work. Time and time again, Carter showed up, fastened his work belt, and set about the task of contributing to humanity in a tangible way.

It is a remarkable example of quietly declining to allow bitterness to chart his life’s course. While the analysis of a presidency is often mostly a partisan endeavor, Carter’s one term in office is among the less-celebrated terms in American history. It would have been very easy—perhaps even “normal”—for Carter to stew about the world events and circumstances that contributed to his challenging time in office. It would have seemed excusable to be defensive, and to counter the prevailing narrative that his time in public service had largely been a failure.

Instead, President Carter simply quietly went to work. In many ways, President Carter became just “Jimmy” again and embraced the role of serving his fellow man. It is this dedication that leaves behind a legacy of humanity, and it is this focus you and I should grow in today.

You and I often quote the first part of Gal 5:13 in the context of freedom: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” What a beautiful gift that freedom is! In reality, however, that freedom only maintains the value it is imbued with if it is used in the fashion directed by the second half of the verse: “But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Serve one another humbly in love.

In many ways, a former U.S. President has an abundance of freedom—including the luxury of choosing how to spend life’s remaining years with less concern for provision than most of us. We should learn from the way “Jimmy” used that freedom. He didn’t seek the limelight he could have easily attained. Instead, he put on humility and a work belt, and he quietly served humanity in a spirit of love.

May we as Jesus followers and The Equipped community be known for such a service!

U.S.

A Vote for Speaker and for Certification

Capitol Hill’s recent government shutdown drama is barely in the rearview mirror, but already newly elected Members are on the cusp of two highly anticipated moments—the January 3 election of a Speaker and the January 6 meeting to certify the 2024 presidential election.

Both scheduled events have a recent history of unpredictability, to put it mildly. Two years ago, it took 15 rounds of voting for Republicans to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. McCarthy was then ousted several months later, and it took 22 days to determine a replacement—current Speaker Mike Johnson. Four years ago on January 6, 2020, rioters entered the U.S. Capitol and temporarily disrupted the election certification proceedings.

Analysis and eternal perspective:Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution says, “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole power of Impeachment.” This straightforward authority has been mostly straightforward in application until recent years, and it is entirely possible it will again be less than straightforward this week.

While the GOP won a 220-215 majority of seats in the U.S. House, Rep. Matt Gaetz’s resignation is expected to result in the 119^th Congress convening with just 434 Members, and 218 votes will be needed to secure the outright majority for Speaker. There are many scenarios in which this math changes, but if all Members are present and voting for a candidate, Speaker Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican vote and still secure the Speaker’s gavel again. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has already pledged his opposition to Johnson, leaving zero margin for error. If a majority is not secured, the House will continue deliberations until a Speaker is chosen.

The January 6 scheduled certification is just that—scheduled. If a Speaker is not chosen by then, the proceeding will be delayed until the House can formally organize and convene. If a Speaker has already been chosen, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the certification of the election of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Both events have the potential to be disruptive and divisive. As Jesus followers, we are called to be ambassadors of peace, and further instructed to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Col. 3:15). No matter what transpires on Jan 3, Jan 6, in-between, or after, let us be committed to allowing the peace of Christ to rule over any chaos that ensues around us.

The Beautiful

Protective Refuge

Even chickens seek refuge! When you and I abide beneath the protective covering of the Almighty, the byproduct is a life of beauty and flourishing!

“Let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you” (Ps. 5:11)