"The fact that you have a relationship with Jesus Christ makes you wealthy no matter your financial situation!”  

Your God knows what it is to sigh. He knows what it means to be troubled beyond words. He hears your groaning and even your sighing, and He understands. He is YHWH.

Pray for and grieve with those who are hurting and grieving. As you do so, resist the urge to be anxious or fearful. The brokenness of our world is in plain view, and we can be assured it will continue to be present. You can be equally assured of a peace that passes all understanding when your mind is stayed on Jesus (Philip. 4:7). 

The policy decisions of the world’s superpower matter. That includes economic decisions such as the federal funds rate. These are issues worth understanding, and in some cases worth factoring into your decision making.

They do not, however, impact your eternity, and this reality should dictate your level of fixation on them (translation: the federal funds rate should have no impact on your peace).

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philip. 4:7).

Justice and vengeance belong to the Lord (Rom. 12:19), and the perpetrator of this horrible act will face earthly justice. But you and I, my friend, are called to love and forgiveness. That is a difficult calling. It requires us to be open to our enemies turning from evil even after inflicting evil upon us.

Will you embrace that level of love for your enemies? It will truly set you free.

Your God is unchanging. He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb. 13:8). But He shows up in the most unexpected ways.

He shows up in what seems to be both victory and defeat. 

He shows up in mountaintop moments and in times of immense grief.

He is seated forever at the righthand of God the Father. But he was first a pre-teen from the neighborhood.

Have you recognized Him? Have you noticed His presence in your everyday?

There is great strife in our world today. But your God is in the midst of it all, and He is who He claims to be. He is the Messiah!

This story continues to be on loop. While the two major U.S. political parties have divergent priorities, including on matters of spending, shutdown politics has become ubiquitous across all versions of partisan control. In every variant of partisan control, Congress and the White House have been unable to fund the government under anything close to regular order.

The result is perpetual government shutdown watch. We have said it before—when one deal is reached to avoid a shutdown, it is really just setting the date on which you can expect the next shutdown threat.

So how should you as a Jesus follower—knowing the facts above—interact with a story like this?

This week, no matter your prime minister, president, or earthly king, allow your status as an eternal citizen of heaven to inform the way in which you “seek the peace and prosperity of [your] city” (Jer. 29:7).

The policies and actions of the U.S. military carry enormous consequence. As the world’s most powerful and sophisticated fighting force, the actions—and even the posture—of the department responsible for overseeing that force are of immense importance.

Governments of men—and their leaders—are fallible, and their reign will come and go (Dan. 2:21). All of them. This is a challenging truth to grasp when our preferred leaders are in power, but it is one that is essential for both flourishing and the preservation of our own sound thinking (2 Tim. 1:7).

Everyday life in France was significantly disrupted last Wednesday as nearly a quarter million people took to the streets to “Block Everything.” The protests and unrest are in response to President Emmanual Macron’s selection of Sebastien Lecornu as the new prime minister. Hundreds were arrested, and it is likely that additional demonstrations will happen in the days ahead.

Have you ever been—or are you now—totally depleted? Do you know what it means to come to the end of yourself and yet look around at how much more is required of you? It can be an overwhelming feeling, wouldn’t you agree?

Charlie Kirk, 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated while speaking at an event on the campus of Utah Valley University last Wednesday. Kirk leaves behind a wife and two young children. Four days before he was killed, Charlie posted on X, “Jesus defeated death so you can live.” 

Your task is to simply be attentive enough to hear clearly what God is asking, and humble enough to articulately prepare the message for the herald on the run.

You are the vessel not the Message. The Word God is speaking to you may not be for you or even intended to be delivered by you. But it is for someone, and it is to be delivered. Will you be faithful to carefully and plainly record it?

Have you set boundaries in your life? Have you established reminders to help you avoid crossing into places that would bring about destruction? Do you have support around you to remind you of those limits? It is easy to think of these boundaries as restrictive, but in truth they are life-giving and life-preserving!

Each of us is not only intentionally designed by a loving God but also called by name and claimed by God.

There are many variations of losing touch with this clarion call on our lives, but your mission and mine includes reminding those around us they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14), and intentionally designed for a specific purpose (Eph. 2:10).

You are to be an agent of comfort and compassion when tragedy strikes those around you (2 Cor. 1: 3-4). As you pray for those who are living under Taliban rule and are now facing the devastation of an earthquake, ask your loving heavenly Father to show you how to best serve in this trying moment.

Go. Wait. Do. Don’t. The answer is yes to whatever He asks, because your path is wherever He leads.

You, as a Jesus follower, are almost certain to at times find yourself aligned with the majority party or a pending nominee, and at others unaligned with one or both. Regardless of your current status, you should seek a multitude of godly counsel (Pr. 11:14) and expect the same of your elected leaders.

Dr. Dobson’s life changed the world for many, and it did so through faithful service. It is a legacy worth pursuing.

God’s Word repeatedly reminds us to persistently pursue peace because true and lasting peace will not be fully attained until eternity. That does not reduce our tenacity in pursuing it (we should aim to model the Prince of Peace), but it should provide a bulwark against discouragement when peace proves to be elusive.

You very likely have zero knowledge about whether John Bolton is guilty or innocent. Likewise, you have no visibility into whether the motives of law enforcement are pure or tainted. You do, however, have the ability to avoid pre-judging either question and—to the extent you choose to follow this story at all—commit to a fair evaluation of the facts on both sides before coming to even an internal conclusion on the merits.

We as The Equipped community remain in steadfast prayer for those living in a war zone. We also remain steadfast in our pursuit of peace (Ps. 34:14), while acknowledging that true and lasting peace requires far more than just the cessation of war.

For sports fans, the beginning and ending of the various sports’ schedules marks the seasons as much as any calendar. In my world, it will still be baseball season until early November, but for many, football now takes centerstage from a sports perspective. As we look towards the new season, it is wise to plan (Pr. 6:6-11). But remember to trust the God of the universe to make firm the ground beneath your feet (Ps. 37:23)!

This week, pray that world leaders would abandon a course of gathering authority unto themselves and instead embrace a humility that seeks broad counsel.

In a similar way, let’s you and I commit to carefully considering the trusted counsel of godly friends as we endeavor to follow Jesus through life’s tricky decisions.

You need a plan for fixing your eyes on Jesus rather than the crazy out there. This is not a call to ignorance, as Jesus himself rebuked the religious leaders for failing to discern the signs of their day. But the crazy out there is not the object of your affection or attention. The object of your affection and attention must be Jesus, the lover of your soul.

There are two lions, and each is powerful. But 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!” 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!

The National Guard has been authorized to deploy to the streets of the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. Let’s together pray that all of DC’s leaders, both federal and local, act with the wellbeing of DC residents in mind.

Let’s together make a daily decision to be agents of love and healing in our world.

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.

As the war between Israel and Hamas continues to wage, outcry over the ensuing humanitarian collateral damage is growing.