August 6, 2025

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

The True

Warring Lions

“You’ve got a lion inside of those lungs.”

It is a lyric from Brandon Lake’s song, Gratitude, but it points vividly to the biblical concept of warring lions in your life—a concept I am confident is all too real for you.

The imagery of God’s Word is epic in the literal sense of the word. The big story of the Bible is one long and poetic narrative that folds together a myriad of smaller storylines that compliment and reinforce each other. One of those smaller and intensely descriptive components is that of warring lions.

You know the first lion well. It is the lion of 1 Peter 5:8: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

You have a very real enemy, and unless you take proper precaution, that enemy is lethally dangerous. His mission is to destroy you, and he is not stationary. He is on the move and actively pursuing you. He is looking for your weakness, and he aims to use it against you.

There are two very significant dangers here.

The first is pretending as though this lion doesn’t exist. It is ignoring the fact that your demise is seeking you out. It is failing to prepare for an encounter with this first lion.

The second danger is giving too much quarter to this first lion, because he is but a housecat compared to the Lion Who lives in you!

This second Lion, the Lion of Judah, is prophesied about in the opening pages of God’s epic (“You are a lion’s cub, Judah” – Gen. 49:9) and reveled in amid the closing pages of it (“See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed” – Rev. 5:5).

Make no mistake about it: There are two lions, and each is powerful. But my friend, the through line of this epic storyline is two-fold: 1) The first lion is of no consequence in the presence of the second triumphant Lion, and 2) The second Lion lives in you!

It is no wonder Proverbs 28:1 calls the righteous, “bold as a lion” (I told you warring lions is a biblical theme)! You, as one of the righteous, should be bold as a lion even as you are pursued by a dangerous enemy, and the reason for your boldness is because the Lion of Judah walks with you!

Yes, the enemy pursues. Yes, there is a lion around the corner and at the gate and in your path.

But it is not The Lion.

The Lion lives inside your lungs. Why the lungs? Because the power of The Lion is wielded through The Word that lives in and moves through you. Hebrews 4:12 describes it this way, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit.”

The power of The Lion lives in your lungs and is deployed when you speak the Truth of His Word into the world of lesser lions.

Do not pretend as though the first lion doesn’t exist. He does, and he is capable of destroying you if you don’t take proper precaution.

Even so, do not give that lion quarter or permission he is not due. Because The Lion lives in your lungs! Speak His truth and walk boldly as one of the righteous!

World

Starving Hostages

Israeli hostages held by Hamas are facing starvation. This reality was driven home this week by propaganda videos released by Hamas showing two of the hostages in an emaciated condition. The videos come just a week after many world leaders sounded the alarm about famine conditions in Gaza and the growing threat of starvation in the region. As the war between Israel and Hamas continues to wage, outcry over the ensuing humanitarian collateral damage is growing. The surviving hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023 have now been held for nearly 22 months.

Analysis and eternal perspective: War is so very ugly. If you are a regular reader of The Equipped, you may recognize the mirrored similarity between last week’s leading story and this week’s leading story. The simple truth is this: People are starving in Gaza. People of varied races and background, and people on opposing sides of the war. It is far from the only devastation as a result of the ongoing war, but it is perhaps the most stark example of the need for a true and lasting peace.

There is another simple truth that everyone should be able to stand firmly on: Every hostage should be released and allowed to return home.

A full release of the hostages would not resolve the underlying war, but it would remove a significant impediment to peace and reunite families so brutally torn apart nearly two years ago. It is time (far past time, actually) for world leaders and people everywhere to speak with one voice: “Release every hostage now.”

As a Jesus follower, set your heart on the truth that every suffering human is a person deeply loved by God. As we have done repeatedly as The Equipped family, continue to faithfully apply a biblical framework to the devastation in the Middle East, and be encouraged by the promise of Psalm 126, which opens this way:

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them’” (Ps. 126:1-2).

U.S.

Jobs Lost

​Nearly 300,000 fewer jobs than expected were added in the U.S. during the months of May-July 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The monthly jobs report routinely issues revisions to the previous two months’ data, but this month’s revisions were far higher than normal. The report also indicated an increase in unemployment to 4.2%.

Shortly after the report was released, another job was lost as President Donald Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer and expressed his belief the report was faulty.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Economic factors consistently drive public sentiment in the U.S. It is worth nothing—especially in light of our leading story about war and starvation on the other side of the world—this fact alone is an indication of a relatively comfortable existence. Many of us reading this have the luxury of being concerned about the economic winds surrounding us rather than the reality of living in a war zone.

Even so, it is a very stressful thing to lose a job. It is a stressful thing to live in fear of losing your job and your means for provision. As a Jesus follower, you are reminded that God cares for the “birds of the air,” but deems you “much more valuable than they” (Matt 6:26). You are invited to give Him your anxiety and to trust Him to provide (1 Pet. 5:7). Finally, you are assured that building your life on the words of Jesus ensures a rock-solid foundation (Matt. 7:24-27). The economic winds will howl and rage, but they cannot touch a life rooted in the eternal.

U.S.

Not Unanimous

The Federal Reserve Board voted to leave the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged. However, in a noteworthy departure from the norm, the vote was not unanimous as two board members voted to lower rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the disagreement within the board as healthy, and the decision by two members to dissent as “serious” and “nonpartisan.”

Note: Simply put, the federal funds rate is the rate at which commercial banks lend to each other on a daily basis to manage liquidity. The target range for this rate is set by the Fed and has a trickle-down effect on more common interest rates, such as mortgages and credit card debt.

Analysis and eternal perspective: More economic winds. You almost certainly have no control over what the Fed decides to do about interest rates. You do, however, have a great deal of responsibility to wisely steward the resources entrusted to you.

While we talk a great deal here at The Equipped about not being overly fixated on the temporal (see the last story as a prime example), God’s Word is also crystal clear about our mandate to be wise and faithful stewards of that to which we have been entrusted. You are to:

- Work diligently and prepare for economic adversity (Pr. 6:6-11).

- Faithfully apply your abilities and resources for an increased eternal return (Matt. 25:14-30).

- Live frugally and be generous (Pr. 21:20; 11:24-25).

There are countless reasons to embrace the biblical approach to finances, but this week consider this one: Precious little will cause the world to sit up and take notice more than a people who are unburdened and generous with what they have. My friend, if our shared mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there may be no better way to do it than by modeling an economic peace that comes from being sheltered under His principles of financial stewardship and generosity.

The Beautiful

Why Color?

Why color? Why fragrance? Why texture? Why variety?

Have you ever stopped to wonder why the Creator injected all these things into the world around us? Consider Psalm 19, which begins with the familiar refrain, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

It is as though the creative Creator God is saying, “All of it is to bring me glory!”

The details of creation reflect the beauty of the Creator—your Creator! So why color and fragrance and texture and variety?

I imagine God smiling and responding, “Why not?!”