instability

How does the Word taste, to you? Does the Word taste like medicine? Does the Word taste bland? Or does the Word taste like honey?  

The pages of history are rewritten when believers fast and pray. This week we discuss 4 examples of when Derek Prince fasted and prayed and major world events were changed. Now is the time to fast and pray for our nation and the nations around the world. 

The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies cover all His works. —Psalm 145:9. Isn't it great to know that if it doesn't have mercy on it it's not from God? Mercy is the way God spares us and mercy is the way God exposes us. In God, mercy and truth are perfectly married to one another. 

Happy Valentine’s! Love doesn't let us get away with sin because it is the mercy of God that we get caught. Love exposes us so our sins can be forgiven but love also covers to protect us when we are weak. How do you know which side to choose? Ask Love. 

God told Abraham He was going to bless his life to make him a blessing. God will bless you in a way that you understand only to call you into a life you have no understanding of. Jesus took Peter, a fisherman, and gave him more fish than he could ever imagine and then called him into a life he would have never imagined. 

Spending time with God should cause you to think differently than everyone else. When we are porous to the environment around us we take in what everyone else is thinking but we have no power to change what people are thinking. So when we face problems God's thinking must be rooted deep in us or we will get the same results as everyone else. 

Many Christians believe that God has the power to heal but He's not always willing. But God would rather us doubt His ability to heal than His willingness. If the life of Jesus showed us anything, it is that Jesus healed every person that came to Him. If the disconnect is not on God's end what is the point of contact we could be missing? 

Is God telling you no? Is He ignoring your urgent request? Maybe, or He might be trying to provoke faith out of you so you can have what you are asking for. 

This episode covers the role of US and Chinese domestic politics in the US-China relationship. There are many drivers of US-China strategic competition, and domestic politics is among them, and has become increasingly important, though it has not been well researched and analyzed in recent years. One reason for the lack of analysis on Chinese politics is that since Xi Jinping became China’s top leader in 2012, domestic politics in China has become even more of black box than previously. 

Bonnie is joined by Dr. Evan Medeiros, who has recently published a pathbreaking study that seeks to update the understanding of political forces in China and the United States that are influencing the bilateral relationship. Medeiros is one of the world’s leading experts on Chinese foreign policy. He is the Penner Family Chair in Asia studies and the Cling Family Distinguished Fellow in US-China Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. The report we will discuss today is titled: "The New Domestic Politics of US-China Relations" and was published by the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis where Evan is a senior fellow for foreign policy. During the Obama administration, Evan was on the NSC staff, first as director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, and then as special assistant to the president and Senior Director for Asia. 

Timestamps

[02:14] Influence of Domestic Politics in the US and China

[03:32] Differences between US and Chinese Domestic Politics

[05:19] Weakening of Historical Forces for Stability

[08:35] Most Important Driver of Change to America’s China Policy

[13:34] Xi Jinping Shaping Domestic Politics in China

[19:38] Reversing the Downward Trend in US-China Relations

[21:44] Close Connections between Domestic and Foreign Politics

[24:49] Biden and Xi as Leaders in the Bilateral Relationship

Demons leave when we speak the name of Jesus but you cannot rebuke something someone has willfully agreed with. Past agreements made apart from God must be renounced. If repenting shuts an open door, renouncing locks the door. When we have used our authority to make agreements with the enemy we must use our authority to break past agreements.  

Is there a delay? Are you waiting for an answer from on High? What are you doing in the delay? Is your faith persistent or casual? Don't let your faith run low when the answer is taking longer than you expect. Most of all don't let delays change who you know God to be.  In the delay something is being built deep in you.

Does God test us? James 1:13 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God" for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone." But in John 6:5-6 Jesus says to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? But He was saying this only to test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do." So does God test us? Or maybe the better question is how does God test us?

Do you need healing at the root of where you were rejected? King David did not lose the kingdom for adultery, but King Saul had the kingdom ripped from him for his need of approval. Rejection breeds rejection. Even though we feel rejected, it is our attitude, our need for approval, that is causing us to be rejected. 

What is in man that causes him to not just survive but to overcome? It is not what happens to you but what is inside you that matters. The life of Joseph is the perfect example of Personal Inner Strength. 

How does comparison work for you? In Genesis 1:31, God said, "God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good." Self-comparison is a trap.  It doesn't matter if you come up with reasons you are better than others or are worse off than others; either way, it is a trap.

A teaching from 2016 - Gratitude cures 90% of spiritual ills but being ungrateful causes some problems. "I hate ingratitude more in a man than lying, vainness, babbling drunkenness, or any taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits our frail blood...Ingratitude is monstrous; and for the multitude to be ungrateful, were to make a monster of the multitude." - William Shakespeare.

The gospel is Good News. God came to give us an abundant life, a life beyond our wildest dreams that continues all of our days into eternity. But we cannot make the same mistake as the children of Israel. They got themselves into trouble by not believing the good report they were given about the Promise Land.

Are you hearing multiple voices? It's not as big of a problem as you think. The real problem is when you don't know the difference between the Shepherd's voice and the stranger's voice. 

There are churches today that don't have the revelation you can hear God speak…BUT God never intended for there to be deaf sheep. God gave us ears so that we can hear HIS voice.