January 14, 2026

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

Perhaps the most controversial story in my family this week is the Bears' playoff win over the Packers. For once, I am on the victorious side of that rivalry, so for all you Packers fans out there (friends, family, and beyond), please be patient with me this week as I am just so very used to losing to you! Bear down, Chicago Bears! (Note: Feel free to send good-natured complaints to theequippednewsletter@gmail.com.)

The True

On Mission

It is two weeks into the New Year, so it is time to ask: How are you doing with your resolutions? While it is hard to accurately measure, many studies report approximately one in four resolutions are abandoned in the first week, and nearly half of them are given up on by the end of January.

So if you are still going strong and reading The Equipped after returning from the gym, you are beating the odds! Keep it up!

No matter your resolution—it could be anything from exercising to eating healthier to getting enough sleep—I invite you to pursue it with the following question always in mind:

“Are you on mission?”

You have probably heard of the one-percent rule. In short, it is the idea that doing just a little bit at a time but ensuring it is performed regularly and aimed consistently in the same direction will result in huge progress.

When I think about the one-percent rule, it certainly rings true. The biggest challenge for me—and perhaps for you—is staying consistently on mission. There are so many obstacles to this, and the enemy would love to occupy you with anything but the mission God has given you, so let’s dig in and figure out how to stay on mission every day.

First, in order to truly be on mission, you need to clearly identify your mission! Obviously, God has called you to many aspects of being an ambassador for Him on Earth. His Word says He works in all things “for the good of those who love him [and] have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). So there will be many ways in which you walk this out, but pause for a moment and truly think about this:

Can you articulate precisely what portion of His work God has called you to?

Let me give you a personal example. You and I talk regularly about how God’s Word repeatedly reaffirms the Truth that we were made for God. Once again, my favorite depiction of this is Isaiah 43:21: “[T]he people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” So I was made for God, and to be a vessel for His praise.

But that can look like a lot of different things on a day-to-day basis, and so God and I have been having very regular and very specific conversations about the precise mission He has assigned me. Because we serve a relational God, this is never a one and done conversation, but God has been speaking to my spirit that His assignment for me is to invest in healthy followers of Jesus.

So every day I am reminding myself to prioritize that mission. I am telling myself (often out loud, and sometimes to the bewilderment of those in earshot) to “stay on mission.” I am resolving to do a little each day to invest in the health of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

So what about you? Do you know with precision your mission? There’s no shame if the answer is no. In fact, you can run to God in exuberance and ask Him to show you (Matt. 7:7-8)! He is longing for you to ask! That is part of His rationale for our design. He wants to be in relationship with you. So ask!

But if you do know your mission—if you can articulate it and put it into words—how consistently are you staying on mission? Are you redeeming every day and every opportunity for that mission? Or, as the days and weeks go by, is your resolve fading?

My friend, we may be two weeks into the New Year, but the best day to get back on mission is always today!

What is your mission? Do you know it? Can you define it? If yes, endeavor to stay on mission today (Ecc. 9:10)!

U.S.

Deadly Protest in Minneapolis

A protestor identified as 37-year-old Renee Good is dead after being fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis last week. The shooting was captured on video by both the agent’s body cam and multiple onlookers. The videos show Good interacting with ICE agents after stopping her vehicle sideways across a residential street. The agents order Good to get out of the vehicle while her wife, who had exited the vehicle and was also filming part of the interaction, can be heard instructing Good to “drive.” Upon accelerating forward, Good was fatally shot and killed.

Anaysis and eternal perspective: Here we are again, friends. Another story where it is nearly impossible to read coverage of it (including the basic blurb above) without having objections to the way it is described. Even when an incident is captured on camera from multiple angles, the speed at which competing narratives are formed, disseminated, and adopted with fervency will make your head spin. To oversimplify the competing narratives in this story, one side asserts Good was murdered in cold blood and the other side asserts Good was killed in an act of self-defense after she attempted to run over the agent.

Here at The Equipped, we will not be able to mediate that dispute. It does not make it an unimportant one. In fact, as the judicial process plays out, the actions of both the agent and Good will be very relevant in determining culpability and liability. Law enforcement must be able to defend themselves from the threat of harm and must also act with proper proportion of force to an active situation. The legal process will rightly seek to determine which of these—or what mix of the two—occurred.

In the meantime, you and I—while very likely having strong and reasonable feelings about this story—should intentionally slow down enough to pivot our focus toward that which is absolutely true, including:

- Both Good and the agent have souls that are precious to God (Mk. 8:35-36).

- Law enforcement officials are in a place of authority, are to be respected, and carry out a very dangerous duty (Romans 13:1-7).

- Speech (even unpopular speech and protest) is legally protected by the First Amendment. Acts of violence are not protected, and the legal process is responsible for dividing the two.

- We are to pray for both those in authority (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and our enemies (Matt. 5:44).

This is one of those stories where heeding the instructions of scripture may get you vilified. But the instructions above are not about playing “both sides” or burying your head in the sand. Rather, they are about faithfully walking out the duties assigned to us and remaining clear-eyed about the how the white-hot questions involved will be adjudicated.

Americans should be thankful to live in a place with due process and where competing legal arguments are heard. A byproduct of this system is that the modern-day desire for immediate resolution and vindication cannot be satiated. Knowing this, let’s lead the way in using this interim space to pray for all those involved: the authorities making the deployment decision, the agents carrying out the orders, and the families of both Good and the agent.

Prayer: “Heavenly Father, may You use this tragic event to draw many into relationship with You.”

World

Tinderbox in Iran

Hostilities in Iran are intensifying. As Iranians take to the streets in mass protest of their government, the Iranian regime is attempting to deny its people access to the outside world by blocking the Internet and other communication methods. The United States government has instructed American citizens to “leave Iran now,” and private communication companies—most notably Starlink—are attempting to provide reliable Internet access despite the regime’s efforts to block it. Reports indicate the death toll is rising significantly, though as communication in and out of Iran becomes more difficult, it will be more challenging to accurately determine the extent of the casualties.

Analysis and eternal perspective: The human heart longs to be free because it was created to be free (Gal. 5:1). This sounds like a repeat because it is. We rarely feature a story in back-to-back issues of The Equipped, but this story is rapidly intensifying and also vividly depicts an absolutely critical principle for followers of Jesus: You were created to be free, and you are designed to stand in the gap for those who are not (Gal. 5:13, Ps. 82:3).

Unfortunately, this has been a recurring cycle in Iran. The people rise up in protest, and the regime retaliates with force and suppresses the uprising. But eventually, another wave of protest arrives and the regime again attempts to suppress it.

It can feel hopeless. But one of the most sustaining forces in the world is an assurance you are not alone. It is why one of the central struggles in Iran right now is over access to communication. This is a concept we discussed in The True just a couple weeks ago. If the Iranian people can access the knowledge they are not alone in their struggle for freedom, the regime will have a much more difficult job suppressing them. The regime knows this and is therefore doing everything in its power to jam all communications in or out of the country.

You and I have two takeaways:

1) Don’t let the enemy jam the signal of your communication with God.

2) Stand with the Iranian people in both prayer and public support as they yearn for, and even risk their lives in pursuit of, freedom.

U.S.

Fed Chair Investigation

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The alleged cause for the investigation is the veracity of Chairman Powell’s congressional testimony about the ongoing renovation of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters, a project which has been at the center of an ongoing feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chairman Powell. The Chairman, however, released a two-minute video statement claiming the investigation is due to the President’s disagreement with the Federal Reserve over interest rates.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Interest rate policy is important. Truthfulness before Congress is important. Limitations on governing power is important.

There is a lot going on in this story, and much of it competes with itself. It is clear the President and the Fed Chair have both policy and personal differences. It is disputed whether those differences are the motivation behind the newly opened investigation. This is a regular occurrence these days, and as always, we begin with a reminder to heed Proverbs 18:17 in considering this story: “In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines.”

Should this investigation continue, one of the central questions will be determining the extent of the President’s authority over it. The Federal Reserve was created by Congress in 1913 and is designed to operate independent of political forces. That said, Article II of the U.S. Constitution gives the president wide authority over the executive branch. While the personal feud is likely to dominate the headlines, it is the jurisdiction dispute that will be at the center of any legal proceedings.

Jesus followers would do well to regularly return to Romans 12:18 as this story progresses: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

It won’t always be possible or depend on you, but when it does, choose peace over conflict.

The Beautiful

Rain of the Word

Your world can be very dry and gray. But the Word of God is refreshing and beautiful!

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Is. 55:9-11).