In this thought-provoking episode of Washington Watch, host Tony Perkins offers a heartfelt tribute to President Jimmy Carter, emphasizing his achievements that extend far beyond his presidential term. We explore the pressing issues of wildfires in Southern California as we await ground reports from Samaritan’s Purse. Additionally, the show breaks down legislative efforts focused on border security and the impact of recent Title IX court rulings on women’s sports, featuring insights from key political figures and analysts.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works, and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. And today, many think he was from a bygone era. But in reality, he saw well into the future.
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That was President Joe Biden at the National Cathedral today, where our nation’s leaders paid their final respects to America’s 39th president, Jimmy Carter. Good evening and welcome to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Thanks for joining us for this Thursday edition. Well, meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Southern California is ablaze, creating what many have described as an apocalyptic scene.
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We continue to confront a big one-level firestorm. Historic winds and extensive drought have created a perfect storm that has driven people from their homes and have taken people’s homes and that has taken people’s lives.
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That was Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass earlier today. There are currently five major wildfires with the two largest still uncontained. The Palisades fire is reported to be the most destructive in L.A. history. Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, joins me later to discuss the situation and pending relief efforts. In other news, the Biden administration’s efforts to redefine sex in Title IX were struck down today by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, who ruled that the administration had overstepped its authorities. Meg Kilgannon with FRC will be here to explain what this means for women’s sports and beyond. And before leaving Washington for the weekend, the House passed legislation sanctioning the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The measure passed with bipartisan support, 243 to 140. We’re going to talk with California Congressman Doug LaMalfa later here on Washington Watch. And also Dr. Ronnie Floyd joins us, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, to discuss the supernatural power of prayer and fasting. And frankly, I can’t think of a more appropriate time to not just talk about prayer, but to actually pray. So with that in mind, mark your calendars for two upcoming prayer events, Sunday, January the 19th, Inauguration Praise and Prayer Convocation at 2 p.m. just down the street from the Family Research Council. If you plan to be in the area, I invite you to join us as we worship the Lord and pray for our nation. leading up to the presidential inauguration. Registration is free, but space is limited. So to attend, you have to register. Go to frc.org slash prayer. That’s frc.org slash prayer. You can also join via the Stand Firm app if you’re not able to be in D.C. And then mark your calendar for Wednesday, February the 5th, the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, which will be at the Bible Museum. We invite you to come and join us for that. Find out more, go to the website, TonyPerkins.com. All right, we’ve got a packed program, so don’t go anywhere. Just a little while to go. The U.S. Senate voted to advance the Lake and Riley Act by a vote of 84 to 9. This is the first of the border bills to be advanced by the 119th Congress. Here to discuss this is Congressman Mark Alford, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Small Business Committee. He represents the 4th Congressional District of Missouri. Congressman Alford, thanks for sticking around and welcome back to the program. Thank you, Tony. Good to be with you. So before we talk about some of the other wins that the Republicans scored this week, let’s go over the Lake and Riley Act. The House passed that this week. Now the Senate takes it up. They advance it. Talk a little bit about what this bill would do and why it’s important.
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Well, the reason it’s important is because Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas have left some 12 million illegal aliens into our great nation, compromising our security and our national security, our security here in the homeland. And because of that, last February, almost a year ago, Lakin Riley, a jogger, a student in Georgia, was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra. He had been let out of jail three previous times by police, and yet he was not detained by ICE, not detained by anyone. No one cared that he was an illegal alien out on the streets. And he continued to perpetrate his crimes. And his last one was the rape and murder of Lakin Riley. And so now we passed Mike Collins’ bill from Georgia Very proud to know him. He worked hard on this bill to get it through committee and on the House floor, and we got the votes. And in fact, we got 48 Democrats this time to vote along with us in the U.S. House of Representatives. And we’ll make sure that illegal aliens who are arrested for shoplifting, burglary, theft, and what have been considered maybe minor crimes that should not lead to incarceration or deportation, repatriation of illegal aliens, We’re going to make sure that happens now. They are going back after they serve their time back to their home country.
SPEAKER 04 :
Congressman Alford, there’s actually several bills related to the border that were in the rules package last week that will be fast-tracked. This was the first. What other measures can we be looking forward to?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I think there’s a whole host of them. And this is part of the president’s agenda, part of the mandate that the American people said, we have got to secure our border. Some of these things are going to be talked about this weekend in Mar-a-Lago. I’m not going to be there, but I know other members of Congress are. The reconciliation package is also a big, big part of what we’re going to be doing in the first 100 days. But securing our border is number one, making sure we have the funds available. And I’m on the Appropriations Committee, so I’m going to be working hard on that, that we have the funds available to build the wall, to reinstitute the Remain in Mexico policy. A new member, Brandon Gill, is introducing a Remain in Mexico policy to make sure that that gets back into play. And that basically, Tony, for the viewers who may not know, you have to stay in Mexico or your home country while you appeal or while you apply for asylum into our nation. Only about 10% of those who apply for asylum have a legitimate claim. And yet the Biden administration has let those people into our country. Most of them never show up for their hearings. It takes 10 years to have these hearings. And by the time it’s all done, only 10% of them have a worthy claim. And so this is going to say you have to remain in Mexico and have that heard there before you come to our nation.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was the policy that the Trump administration put in place during their last administration, which basically shut down this flow coming into our southern border. One final question for you, Congressman Offord. You mentioned reconciliation. The president last night meeting with Republican senators to discuss reconciliation, whether reconciliation one bill or two bills. He said he was leaning toward the one bill, one big, beautiful bill. I spoke with the House Speaker this morning, and that was his preference. And it sounds like that’s the direction it’s going to go.
SPEAKER 07 :
I certainly hope so. Look, we’ve got to get this done. We don’t have much time to get it done. The American people, we have to educate folks as we move along. And we’ve got to get people on board, not just the American people, but everyone in our conference. So if we can do that, if we can get the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Jason Smith, our chairman of Ways and Means, wants in there. He wants one bill, by the way. If we can get that done, we can raise our debt ceiling. That doesn’t mean we’re going to spend up to that level, but that’s going to give the President of the United States some cushion and keep the bond markets settled while we reduce spending some $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years. That’s $250 billion in savings that we are going to make through various programs. And each committee is going to be charged now with finding these savings, not cutting into Social Security, and Medicare, but finding the savings where we can to hopefully within 10 years balance our budget. That’s what our budget director, not our budget director, but budget chairman Jody Arrington is aiming for. We’ve got a lot of work to do and a short time to get there.
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Well, that would be huge and much needed. Congressman Mark Alford, thanks so much for joining us today and have a great weekend. You too, Tony. God bless you. All right. Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri. Well, in other breaking news today, a federal district court judge struck down the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in the Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for women in education and athletics. U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky’s Northern Division ruled that the Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX would exceeded the Department of Education’s authority under Title IX and violated the Constitution. So what does that mean? Well, joining us now to discuss this, Meg Kilgannon, Senior Fellow for Education Studies at FRC. She previously served in the U.S. Department of Education during the first Trump administration. Meg, thanks so much for joining us on this breaking news.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks for having me, Tony. It’s a really great day.
SPEAKER 04 :
So you’ve had a chance to read through the opinion. What are we looking at here? What does this do?
SPEAKER 16 :
This basically, as they say, as the judge says at the end of the decision, vacating this rule returns the state of play to the status quo of the last 50 years. And we know that that state of play for the last 50 years has been that men are men and women are women, and we can each have our spaces, and women don’t have to have men on their sports teams. So this was a really good ruling. It said that the rule, as the Biden administration had conceived it, was unconstitutional, that it compelled speech, that it overstepped the bounds that were allowed to the department in terms of writing a rule like this. And so it was a short but a really thorough ruling.
SPEAKER 04 :
The speech related to the pronoun usage, forcing teachers and others to use certain pronouns. So 26 states, previous states, had challenged this. This came as a result of about three or four states challenging this in their districts. So what’s next? Does this put it to rest? Is it over? Or what will be the next step?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, you know, today’s a national day of mourning and the government is closed today. So we haven’t heard anything from the Biden administration to react to this ruling. But they, I suppose, could try to appeal to the Supreme Court. I think that they don’t have time to do that, obviously. And I think it would be a dangerous thing for them to do. But hopefully we will just see the rule withdrawn. And we will then go back to continuing to fight for the rights of women and girls in states where these kind of rules are being enforced at the state and local level. And sadly, that’s happening in about half the country. The state of California, states like Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, they have rules similar to this Title IX rule on their books already. And so they can be… they can be changed in the future. And I think that’s where our movement in the fight to protect children is gonna have to focus. We need to make sure that we are rooting this out of our own states because in plenty of red states and school districts in red states, there are policies like these and children are being harmed by them and teachers are being forced to enforce them. So we have to make sure that we’re continuing to fight this ideology because it’s not rooted out yet.
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That’s the great opportunity that’s here on so many fronts is under this incoming administration, we have the ability and opportunity to do some very important work that will have lasting effect. But we can’t just assume it’s going to happen. We have to make it happen. Meg Kilgannon, thanks so much for jumping in here at the last minute and giving us that update.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
So with the Biden administration, Department of Education, on its way out, the bell is ringing on this administration. The next administration is certainly not going to defend this rule, this change. So as Meg says, it goes back to status quo. And that’s what we have because the Trump campaign and the incoming administration has said, we’re going back to the way it used to be when men were men and girls were girls. A novel idea. Coming up next, Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse joins me as we talk about what’s happening in California. Don’t go away. We’re back after this.
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During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we’re making an eternal impact. 2024 has been another year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. This fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC’s outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with a community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Launching in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us for another year of standing for faith, family, and freedom.
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Looking to grow closer to God in the new year? FRC’s Stand on the Word spiral-bound journal is here to help. Dive deeper into Scripture with thought-provoking questions, note-taking space, and context for each book and author. This second edition, covering Isaiah 2 Revelation, will guide you in tracking your journey through God’s Word while deepening your faith in Christ. Order now at frc.org slash store or text journal to 67742. Perfect for you and your loved ones.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us on this Thursday. Well, much of Los Angeles County remains under a red flag warning through Friday night as firefighters continue to battle multiple major wildfires. Roughly 179,000 residents have been told to evacuate and thousands of structures have been damaged or totally destroyed in the outbreak of at least five fires that have been spreading across the Los Angeles area. Five people tragically have lost their lives so far, but officials say the death toll is likely to be higher. Firefighters work to contain the fires. Our friends at Samaritan’s Purse are monitoring the situation and waiting for officials to give them the green light to go ahead and provide physical and spiritual aid to those affected. Joining me now to talk about this and more is Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. Franklin, welcome back to the program.
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Thank you, Tony. Good to be with you.
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Franklin, before we jump into what’s happening there on the West Coast in Los Angeles today, it was a day of mourning for the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. The state funeral was today. Your father had a close relationship with him. What should people keep in mind at moments like this?
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I’ve heard people say Jimmy Carter was a better president after he left the White House than when he was in the White House. I would disagree with that, Tony. I look at the one moment where he brought Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin together at the White House, and they signed that peace accord, the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel, which is still in effect today. This was huge. And of course, when he did leave, he was just a one-term president, but when he left, He just didn’t sit around. He did things. He helped people. He had a real burden for parts of Africa that were suffering from the Guinea worm. He focused on that and tried to draw attention to get funding for it, to help relieve suffering to people. He built houses. He was an incredible emissary for our country around the world after he left the White House. And he just, one of the most positive people And I’ve spent quite a bit of time with him and he was always kind and gracious. A Southern gentleman, Tony.
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Yeah, that was my sense as well. And I do want to just say, as you pointed out, the critical role he played in facilitating the peace between Israel and Egypt, that really is a cornerstone of peace in that region, which I think the Abraham Accords were able to build on in the last Trump administration.
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No question. What Jimmy Carter did opened up the door. And so we just pray that as President Trump comes next week, as he comes into office, that he’ll be able to get that rolling again. And hopefully we can see some peace initiatives once again in the Middle East.
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All right, Franklin, let’s shift gears here from the historic hurricane of Helene there in your backyard to the other side of the country just a few months later. We’ve got these historic fires in Los Angeles. Help us make sense of all this, and what do we need to do?
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Well, Samaritan’s Purse, we have a ministry center in Fullerton. We keep trucks and equipment and supplies in a warehouse there. So we’re ready to move once the local authorities let us go in. One of the problems you have, first of all, the fire’s still raging, so we’re not firefighters, and you have to just let this play out. But once it plays out, we have to wait for the local officials to give you the green light to go in. One of the problems is there could be bodies that are still in homes that were burned in the fire that they have not discovered. And they will have to canvas the area and go to home by home to make sure that they’re clear. And at some point after that, they will give the green light for people like Samaritan’s Purse to come in and homeowners to come back to their homes. And we will help. One of the big things that we do is sift through the ashes. These fires leave nothing behind. But there may be a mother’s wedding ring or maybe a picture album, something that might’ve survived. And so we’ll take teams of people, go in and we’ll sift the ashes, looking for things of value. We’ve found coin collections, we’ve find diamond rings, we have found things in the past. And you give that back to the homeowner and just to be able to have something that survived that fire that they can hang on to. And it’s very important. Now, some counties don’t allow us to go back to do anything else. Many communities where we have these problems, they allow us to come and help clean off the lot, get the homeowner into a position where they can build again. And I just don’t know what they’ll do there in L.A., but I’m sure they’ll let us come in and help sift through the ashes. And then we have, of course, chaplains. And we want to talk and pray with people that have lost everything. A lot of people are asking why. And that’s a hard question to answer is why. But we want to reassure them of God’s love and God cares for them. And he hasn’t turned his back on them. So we’ll have chaplains there helping as we have volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse sifting.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I can’t say enough positive things about Samaritan’s Purse in both the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the chaplains, and then the hands-on volunteers. But I was just looking in the last 20 years, we’ve had the 10 most costly natural disasters in the history of this country. These things are growing with their frequency. I think the church has to be prepared. I think it’s a sign of the times, but we need to be prepared to minister in these moments because people are open when they’re hurting.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, they are. And that’s when you have an opportunity to share with them God’s love that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, from heaven to this earth to take our sins. And he died and he shed his blood for our sins and was buried. And on the third day, God raised him to life. And if we’re willing to repent of our sins and just by faith, simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, we’ll be saved. And this is the message that we need to share with everyone, Tony. And of course, the world’s population has doubled in my lifetime, your lifetime. And so there’s more people and there’s gonna be more storms. And of course, everybody has a cell phone, an iPhone, takes a picture, able to send it to everyone around the world. So we see it instantly now where we didn’t have that before. So I don’t know if we have more frequency, but it is affecting more people because our population has doubled.
SPEAKER 04 :
Franklin, very quickly, we’ve got about 20 seconds left. How can people find out more about helping Samaritan’s Purse?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, go to Samaritan’sPurse.org, our website. You can check on what we’re doing here in North Carolina, but also there in California, and how they can volunteer and be a part of this. We do need volunteers.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. We will continue to check in with you as things progress there. Franklin, thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Tony.
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All right, folks, stick around. We’re back with more after this.
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So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
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I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I absolutely love my experience interning at FRC.
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They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord. It’s really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC’s internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
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I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they’re responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that, but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
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The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it’s never gonna be on the ballot. He’s the King of Kings, and he’s the Lord of Lords, and nothing’s gonna change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we’re to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
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America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10-week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, and prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You’ll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls. Text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation. Welcome back to Washington Watch. You can find out more about Samaritan’s Purse at tonyperkins.com. But I highly recommend that if you’re going to help, help Samaritan’s Purse. Help through Samaritan’s Purse. Volunteer. Give money. They do a great job. Also pray. This is another example of why we’re doing Operation Prayer Shield. So if you’d like to join us in praying for our country, we’re extending this beyond the inauguration on January the 20th. Text SHIELD to 67742. Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court and their officials, which you may recall, issued a arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for their actions during Israel’s war against Hamas. The illegitimate Court Counteraction Act passed by a vote of 243 to 140, with 45 Democrats joining Republicans in support of it. It now heads to the Senate where the Majority Leader John Thune says he will put it onto the floor and advance it. So what message does this send to the world and what does it tell us about what we could expect out of the 119th Congress? Here now to discuss this and more, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who is a member of the three House committees, a member of three House committees and chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus. He represents the 1st Congressional District Congress. of California. Congressman LaMalfa, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 12 :
Tony, thanks so much for having me. I appreciate your covering today.
SPEAKER 04 :
First, before we jump into this topic, you’re from California, very familiar with fires. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago you had fires in your northern part of the state. What can you tell us about what’s happening there in California?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, ours is a little more seasonal up in North where we do get rain and snow and Southern California being more arid. Well, it’s not a surprise that the threat is there every year. Every year you can count on the Santa Ana winds coming in and, you know, possibly affecting fire if one’s occurring. And so at this time, They were extremely unfortunate in how severe it was this go around. But it’s to be expected every year. And so what is our level of readiness for being able to have a chance to fight the fire or the resiliency against a fire that will happen occasionally anyhow? So are homes being built out of the right material? And is the lands around there being treated in such a way that you don’t have the brush and the fuel that will carry the the fire to areas where you really don’t want to burn.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is the criticism of state and local officials there justified?
SPEAKER 12 :
In fairness, yes, because the priorities have been something else. You can see how the fire department down there has been hiring DEI-type people. priorities instead of just who are the best people they can bring in. You might have seen a video from a fellow last name Corolla who tried to join the fire department, had to wait seven years merely because he was the wrong gender or color or something. That’s ridiculous. And then we saw with the city there chose to downsize their fire department by about $17 million in funding. And that doesn’t reflect that there’s a lower fire risk in the area. And obviously we’re seeing that, that the fire risk is still very high, especially with the Senate.
SPEAKER 04 :
So policy matters. The policies we adopt matter. It affects people.
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s what directly affects people by what government does, yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. All right. Well, let’s talk about this. Tell us about the bill voted on earlier today, the ICC that would sanction the ICC. Tell us exactly what it does and why it was important for Congress to take this up first in the 119th Congress.
SPEAKER 12 :
It sends a strong message that the disinformation that’s been around Israel and and this whole battle here in Gaza was, obviously Hamas is the aggressor on that. I mean, until two October 7th ago, There really wasn’t an issue like that. So they’ve taken this to the next level on the whole phony concept of what Palestine should be, which is more fictitious than anything. And so the whole, you know, Israel’s bent over backwards for most of its existence to try and accommodate. You know, the Gaza was a kind of a land for peace deal. And they never got peace. So they were setting up rockets before the settlement was, the ink was even dry on that deal. And so… We know the source of the attack, the heinous things, the ugly things that the Hamas-related people did to those people starting on October 7. That’s all on their lap. The blood is on their hands. Israel is doing what should be done. It’s actually bending over backwards and maybe succumbing to world pressure, unfair pressure by UN and media and others. And I think some pretty bad handling by the Biden administration, where they should have had stronger backing by the United States from the beginning. This would probably be over a long time ago. And the hostages either released or if these guys were going to torture and murder them, as we’ve seen happen with some of them, the situation would have been settled and still it drags on. So now when you see with Trump coming in, they’re paying more attention and it seems like there’s gonna be a stronger effort to end this thing as it is. But it has to be pretty much unconditional. We can’t allow Hamas to continue to doing what they’re doing with that massive tunnel system. And there’s a cell everywhere that they can launch rockets from and abduct people. So for the ICC to be somehow blaming Netanyahu as some kind of war criminal because he’s resisting and pushing back and trying to end this. Israel has always sued for peace. It’s always… And even when they do an airstrike or try and wipe these guys out where they are, they send leaflets and they send warning. Hey, we’re going to do this very surgically. They don’t just indiscriminately bomb everything like those rockets that they launched indiscriminately into Israel. They don’t care who they kill or what it affects. So it’s ridiculous that the ICC would even… Consider that. This just shows the politics of the U.N., the Security Council, and a lot of the really irresponsible world media on blaming it on Netanyahu.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it’s certainly encouraging to see Congress taking this up in their first week. Doug, we’re out of time. Up against the break.
SPEAKER 12 :
And thank you for joining us. This also affects American citizens, possibly. So I want to protect them, too. Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Have a great day. Don’t go away, folks. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn’t be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 02 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Thursday. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Let me remind you, two prayer events coming up. January the 19th, we’ll have our prayer preceding the inauguration of President Donald Trump. That’ll be 2 p.m. in the afternoon. To find out more about how you can be a part of that, go to frc.org slash prayer. If you can’t make it to town, you can still join us on the Stand Firm app. And then February the 5th, we have the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, which will be at the Museum of the Bible. I encourage you to come and be a part of that. This will be our third year. Dr. Jim Garlow will be joining me. And we’ll talk more about that later. Well, speaking of prayers, we watched the devastating wildfires in Southern California continue to rage. And as I was talking with Franklin Graham earlier, it was just three months ago that we saw the historic level of destruction in the Carolinas with the Hurricane Helene. And we just look back to all the many natural disasters our nation has faced in recent years, and somebody’s saying, how do we get through such challenging times? And I do, number one, I think the Lord warned us that as we move toward the end of time, we’re going to see more things like this. We need to be prepared. And one of the ways we respond to this is in prayer. We do preparation. But we, just knowing that this is not unusual, that these things, I mean, it’s unusual, but we’ve been warned that it was gonna be happening so that our peace would not be robbed from us, nor our joy. And it’s interesting, throughout history, our nation’s history, Christians have turned to God in prayer, asking for hope for healing and guidance during disasters. And that’s needed now perhaps more than ever. But also, as we were talking earlier with Meg Kilgannon about the opportunities that we have with this incoming administration, I want to encourage you not to think we’ve crossed the finish line, but rather this is the starting line. And the way we affect change as believers is first in prayer, and then we walk it out. Well, with me, joining me now to talk more about this, about the power of prayer and its role in both personal and national transformation, is Dr. Ronnie Floyd, pastor emeritus of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas and author of the recently released book, The Supernatural Power of Prayer and Fasting, 12 Ways God Will Change Your Life. Dr. Floyd, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, Tony. Great to be with you always.
SPEAKER 04 :
So let me just ask you first off, what prompted you to write this book?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, Tony, I have been on journeys of fasting really since my collegiate days and was approached about doing it because I haven’t written about it in about 14 years in a book. And so that’s what it was. Plus, I felt like the moment in America and across the world where is perfect in relationship to the church stepping into this space, which is desperately needed by individual believers, as well as churches where we spend time in prayer and fasting, not only for ourselves, but also for our country.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you headed up National Day of Prayer for a season. I mean, prayer has been fundamental to your ministry, you know, the power of that prayer. So this is not new. Is this a culmination of experiences that you’ve had as you’ve walked in prayer and fasting?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it probably really is. God shapes our lives and God gets us ready for various things in life and preps us through the course of life. And I believe that this book really speaks clearly and soundly biblically as well as practically and spiritually, that it should inspire people to walk into those moments at a little different level with God. You know, Tony, I was thinking the other day, while the church today must always be the salt and the light, one thing the church can do that the world cannot do is to really pursue God with deep prayers and fastings over our nation and the condition of our nation. And I think in this time in America, I’m telling you, you know, it’s prime time and we need to be praying for those who lead our nation.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, many see prayer as, It’s almost therapeutic. It’s just so you can express yourself and you can calm down. But it’s much more than that. I mean, when you look at what Jesus said in Matthew 18 about the keys of the kingdom, what we bind in heaven will be bound in earth. The actual activity is in heaven. And the way we, as you said, as believers, as followers of Christ, we have access to heaven. We are able to pray to God himself, who is the one, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who holds the keys that opens and shuts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, there’s no question about that. And those keys are the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of Christ that we’re able to share. And, you know, we have been given those keys because we are followers of Jesus. And we’re thankful that we get to represent Him, you know, in this world to be the ambassadors we need to be. And, you know, I just, I tell you, I just really… really appeal to people today to understand where this country is today. God is giving us a moment in history for us to pray like we’ve never prayed, to spend time in seasons of fasting, but also just really, really, really getting involved all across our nation in every way possible to make a difference in a positive way.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, this is definitely not the time to think we can put this on autopilot. It is going to work its way out. That our responsibility ended on November the 5th. It’s just beginning. Now, your book outlines the 12 ways that God will change your life through this process of prayer and fasting. In what ways? What are some of those 12 ways that God begins to change us through prayer and through fasting?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I believe that we will begin to experience the power of God in our lives. There’s something mysterious and powerful about obeying the word of God. You know, most people don’t know this, but, you know, there’s 57 verses in the scripture with the word fast or fasting. And it’s mentioned 69 times in those 57 verses, and all of them have to do with the abstinence of food. So in relationship to this, you know, it was prominent in God’s Word. God only has to say it one time, and He’s called us to do this. And I think it’s so important that when God leads us and when we know that we are pleading with the lord that we’ll do that and when we do we will experience god’s power you know one of the things tony that that we think at times that when we fast and pray or or just pray we think we’re going to change the mind of god and perhaps you know i don’t know about all that i don’t understand the divine in that manner but here’s what i do know the divine will change us God will change us. Even if we go to God in the midst of prayer and fasting, pleading with God, pouring our hearts out to God over one item in our life or over several items in life or in the country or wherever we are, we can be assured when that fast is finished, if God has not met that just as we need to to see him in our minds, You know, God gives us a peace in our heart because what happens is we realign our will with God’s will. And that’s the power of prayer itself.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I mean, I don’t understand it all either. The ways of God are higher than our ways. But I know Hezekiah prayed and the Lord heard his prayer and reversed the order that he had given that his life was over, that he was going to die. And he gave him additional life. time on this earth. So we know that God does hear our prayers, but you’re right, we’re the ones that are transformed by them. But there’s also a peace, a joy. When you talk about the power of God, it’s a peace and a joy. It’s the ability to have the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give us by abiding in him. It enables us to walk on the waves of the turbulent life in which we live.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, there’s no question about that, Tony. And one of the groups, obviously the most important group in that other than the church would be the family. And this book talks about how to believe God for your family in prayer and in fasting. And I think it’s really important that we understand that the fight, while we think at times it’s out there, It really is in us and with our family where we need to do what we need to do to minister in prayer and at times in a season of fasting for our family because we need to see our families being representatives and instruments of God all across the world.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. If we had our families in proper alignment with God, you know what? All of a sudden, our communities would be… You know, before you know it, our whole nation would be. So it does. It does start with the family. The supernatural power of prayer and fasting, 12 ways God will change your life. Dr. Floyd, how can people get a copy of the book?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, they can get a copy on Amazon. They can get a copy on Barnes and Nobles and get a copy on Christian books or even in your local region. There’s somewhere maybe that may be carrying it, but you can do it online immediately. And thank you so much for the opportunity to tell people about it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Before we wrap up here, Dr. Floyd, you know, we’ve been talking about it, but when you look at… Franklin Graham was on earlier with Samaritan’s Purse. But you look at, and I brought this up to him, the frequency of these natural disasters. Of course, he brought the point up that we’re more aware of it. But I do think that we’re living in the end times described in the church or in the scripture. Now, how long are those end times? How long is it? I don’t know. I don’t know everything. But I think we’re in that season. How do we not just survive but thrive during these times?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think keep perspective of even looking at what you just said, because I think what you said is correct. You know, what we must understand is that in this moment, in this era, for whatever reason, and God is doing something, and I don’t understand it all. I wish I did understand it all. I could tell everybody I did. But what I do understand is that what you said biblically is correct. That something is going on, and that something going on is that we are nearing the time, whenever that time is. And isn’t it amazing, Tony, the rapid succession of those things, of those events, of those times. Terrible circumstances. I mean, what is happening, you know, not only in the Carolinas earlier, but think about what’s happening today, what you just stated about the fires. I mean, that is beyond our imagination and is absolutely heartbreaking. And so it is definitely a great time to have a perspective biblically, but also go to God about it because he’s the one who can minister peace and healing and a future for everyone.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Jesus and John talked, he said, you know, I’m telling you these things so that you might have your joy, that my joy might be in you, that you won’t be robbed of your joy nor of your peace. And if you think about that, he was telling them in that context, he was saying, you’re gonna be hated. People are gonna be against you. Hey, but I want you to have joy. I want you to have peace. And he’s warning us that these times would come. But as you say, through prayer, fasting, and abiding in him, which would be in his word. I think those three things, if we’re in his word, we’re praying and we’re fasting, we’re going to have the strength not just to survive, but literally… thrive in this environment, whatever that environment might be, because God’s going to be able to use us to minister to others. And as Franklin was talking about earlier, when we come into these disasters, and you and I both have seen it, people are hurting, they’re looking to make sense of all of this, and they’re open to having deeper conversations about what life really means. And that’s an opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ with them, the gospel message that Christ died for them, and that they can have that abundant life. But in order to do that, we have to have our wits about us. That means we have to be prepared for these moments.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. Yes. And Tony, you know, following the Holy Spirit and his leadership and all that is just pivotal. Just like you try to follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership in every broadcast you do, every sermon you ever preach, everything you ever do with the FRC and through the FRC. And that should be our heartbeat out here with people every day. What does God want me to say? How can God use me today? And who needs to hear today? And ask God for the open doors. I really believe that when we pray, God will open those doors.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, He will. In fact, in Revelation 3, verse 7 and 8, He talks about, and I’ve talked about this a lot because it’s been a verse I’ve been chewing on, about Jesus at the Church of Philadelphia, the door that He opened because they… They did not deny his word, nor did they deny his name. And powerful. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us, and we’ll encourage people to check out The Supernatural Power of Prayer and Fasting, 12 Ways God Will Change Your Life. Thanks for being with us, and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks, Tony. You’re the same.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, you can find out more about the book. Go to TonyPerkins.com or go online to Amazon, get a copy of the book. I do want to encourage you that in these times, and I think they’re going to become more intense. I mean, we’re seeing the evidence of that. We need to be prepared. And I would encourage you, as you increase and enhance your prayer life, that you also have a regular time of study in God’s word. And if you don’t have a Bible reading plan, guess what? We’ve got one for you. It’s called Stand on the Word. And I invite you to join me every day for a devotional based upon that reading plan and get in the word. You can find out more about it by texting Bible to 67742, Bible to 67742. It is just a, it’s a journey through the word of God and it will change your life. All right, folks, thanks so much for joining us today. Always great to have you as a part of Washington Watch. Until next time, I want to leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, which we find in the Word of God in Ephesians chapter six, where he says, when you’ve done everything that you can do, when you’ve prayed and when you’ve prepared and when you’ve taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
