December 17, 2025

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

The True

Would You Like a Sample?

“Would you like a sample?” I hated shopping as a kid, but that one question made me fall in love with Costco and Sam’s Club!

Let’s be honest, nothing has changed. I still hate shopping . . . unless there is free food involved!

It makes perfect sense for the store, too! What better way to convince someone to buy frozen cheese sticks than to give them a piping hot one to eat right at the point of sale? Genius!

This idea of trying a sample is a concept we shared this week with those who partner with the nonprofit Brooke and I lead, A Fearless Life. It is a concept I offer now to you with two caveats: 1) It is a dangerous one, and 2) If the sample convinces you, we have nothing to sell you and there are a thousand different ways to walk this out!

Here goes . . .

Adopting a child isn’t for everyone. That said, you can’t read scripture and tell us orphan care isn’t for you. Seriously. There is a rather short list of things repeatedly mentioned in scripture as “must-dos” and caring for the orphan is on it (you can start with Jam. 1:27, Is. 1:17, and Ps. 82:3, but there are plenty more examples).

Quite simply, we are all required to sacrifice for the fatherless.

In our view, the best way to walk this out is to “sample” a few different ways to serve. Start small. Take a meal to a foster or adoptive family or sign up to provide respite care over a weekend. Offer to babysit so foster parents can have a much-needed date or give to an organization serving foster or adoptive families.

No matter what it is, do something! Dip your toe in. Get some proximity to the need and get your hands a little dirty. Try a sample!

We’re not going to hide the ball from you here, though, so here’s your warning: Once you get a taste of this, there is no going back! As a Jesus follower running after the heart of the Father, once you get a sample of serving in this way, your heart will be drawn deeper. So this is not a trick. It is, however, a very critical way to grow your heart toward the Father’s, and it will lead to more!

So what will it be? How will you sample this work? Don’t close this email without deciding. Start small. You can make a tax-deductible gift to A Fearless Life or another trusted organization (#sameteam). You can call up the family you know who might need a date but be lacking a babysitter. You can order carryout (you don’t even have to cook) for a family in the thick of serving.

But do something. Start small. Try a sample. You won’t regret it, but you will also never be the same.

World

Beach Shooting in Australia

Fifteen people were killed and dozens more injured on Sunday after a father and son opened fire on a Hanukkah gathering on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Authorities say the attack appears to have been antisemitic and inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group. The deceased victims range in age from 10 to 87, and the 50-year-old shooter was killed at the scene while his 24-year-old son was injured. The pair targeted a large gathering of beachgoers attending a festival marking the beginning of Hanukkah. A festival attendee was able to tackle and disarm one of the shooters, very likely saving lives.

Analysis and eternal perspective: The evil of antisemitism is pervasive and corrosive. It is evident in every corner of the globe and has repeatedly reared its head in violent ways. While every form of human hatred is contrary and hostile to the way of the Gospel, antisemitism strikes at the very heart of God.

We know from Deuteronomy 7:6-9 that the Jewish people are God’s chosen people, and Genesis 12:3 gives followers of Jesus a mandate to honor the covenant God made with them. History suggests the need for this divine mandate stems from a pervasive and sustained attempt to eradicate the Jewish people. This evil agenda includes biblical accounts like Haman and Queen Esther, modern atrocities including those at the hands of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, and numerous one-off attacks like this one at Bondi Beach.

Tragically, strains of antisemitism have become evident even among professing followers of Jesus. This hatred is often wrapped thinly in a veil of a public policy debate but has achieved noticeable traction and a significant following, especially on social media.

As you work to intentionally root yourself in Truth and beauty, and as you regularly monitor your information intake, be intentional to remain true to this mandate to honor God’s covenant with the Jewish people. It is this covenant that is extended to all people through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. There should be no room or quarter in our midst for this pervasive evil.

World

Oil Tanker Seized and Boat Strikes Continue

The U.S. operation aimed at the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ramped up this week when an oil tanker was seized by U.S. forces off the coast of Venezuela. According to reports, the vessel was falsely flying the flag of Guyana at the time it was seized, and White House officials confirmed the U.S. will engage the legal process for seizing more than a million barrels of oil that was onboard. Shortly after the seizure, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers into Venezuela.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military operation targeting boats allegedly trafficking illicit drugs continued with three strikes on vessels in the eastern Pacific that killed eight onboard. There have now been at least 25 strikes in recent months, and nearly 100 are believed dead as a result.

Analysis and eternal perspective: International law is always tricky as nations have varying levels of adherence to international norms. What one sovereign nation adheres to is often very different from that another sovereign nation chooses to follow. This is particularly true in international maritime law, and this story is a prime example.

The U.S. White House believes that both the seizure of a previously sanctioned oil tanker flying a false flag and the continued effort to destroy drug trafficking vessels is well within their legal authority. Predictably, critics of these operations view that authority more dubiously.

You are very likely neither an international law scholar nor a maritime law expert. However, those on both sides of this debate will attempt to woo you into a reflexive posture on one side or the other of this story. If you choose to engage on that level, it will be important for you to commit to a serious evaluation of both principles of sovereignty and obligations for military actions in international jurisdictions. These are complex questions, and coverage of these stories is riddled with sweeping assertions either supporting or castigation the legal justification for the actions. You should be wary of drawing a conclusion before directly considering and evaluating the facts.

Finally, be in prayer for both the authorities tasked with making these weighty decisions and those responsible for carrying them out. These principles outlined in Romans 13 are often difficult to walk out in our world, but you should be consistent in your prayer that those in authority are “God’s servant for your good” (Rom. 13:4).

Sports

Michigan Football Coach Fired and Arrested

As the college football season moves toward its final stretch, the University of Michigan is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Two years removed from a national championship in 2023, the school has fired head coach Sherrone Moore for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Shortly after being fired, Moore was then arrested and charged with stalking and home invasion after allegedly breaking into the home of the staff member and behaving aggressively. His defense team entered a plea of not guilty at his initial court hearing.

Analysis and eternal perspective: The human condition needs protection from itself. That may seem like a strange place to start, but it is the biblical truth in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” It is a difficult reality to grapple with, but as we together endeavor to consider all things through a biblical lens, it is necessary to acknowledge that your heart and mine are prone to unthinkable sin. It is easy for the actions outlined in this story to be shocking—and they are—but the truth is that every Jesus follower should be carefully guarding against a similar downfall.

To be sure, the suspect in this story, while presumed legally innocent until proven guilty, is rightly facing the likelihood of significant consequences for his actions. The continued unfolding of the case against him will likely be of little direct consequence for you but should serve as a cautionary reminder!

What accountability do you have in place in your life? This is not simply advice but rather the direction of scripture. Hebrews 10:24-25 instructs us to “stir up one another to love and good works,” and James 5:16 reminds you to “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

Your heart is beyond cure. But it is not beyond redemption, and God’s plan is that it would be protected and defended by fellow believers, and that you would do the same for them!

“Two are better than one . . . If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecc. 4:9-10).

Who is close enough to help you up when you fall? Who are you prepared to help up when they fall? This is the human condition, and God’s redemptive plan for us is that we together protect each other from our own hearts.

The Beautiful

Waiting for Christmas

“I can’t wait for Christmas.” It is such a common refrain, especially for children. The arrival of the big day is exciting! But in so many ways, the wait is in fact the best part! The anticipation, the preparation, and the reflection of the Advent season provide so much beauty!

Look around you today and this week as you anticipate, prepare, and reflect. Do you see it? Have you noticed the beauty in the waiting. It is there if you will just take notice!

Christmas is coming and it will be beautiful. But the beauty of the waiting is with you now!