The Pour Over Today - Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Episode Date: March 2, 2022

Today, we’re talking about Russia ramping up invasion efforts, the blowback from governments and businesses around the world, President Biden’s first State of the Union address, and other top news for Wednesday, March 2. Stay informed, while remaining focused on Christ, with The Pour Over.So far, the TPO Community has donated over $14,000 to organizations like Roads of Hope and Voices of Children. Send an email to [e-mail] with your donation receipts so we can continue to track the TPO Community’s impact.Sponsored by Faithful Counseling. Get 10% off your first month by clicking here:https://faithfulcounseling.com/TPOWatch key moments of the State Of The Union address here:https://apnews.com/article/biden-state-of-the-union-4d6eb9fed9a46bb4efb63ea4e015725c

Today we're talking about Russia ramping up their invasion efforts and the blowback from governments and businesses around the world. We'll cover President Biden's first State of the Union address and other top news for Wednesday, March 2nd. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Today is Ash Wednesday, a day marked by reflection and repentance, and it's also the first day of Lent. Hebrews 12,2 says, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Let's get started with some espresso shots. Russia and Ukraine's first attempt at a peace talk yielded little progress, but Ukrainian president and potential future

member of the Avengers, Volodymyr Zelensky, has other ideas up his sleeve. In virtual talks on Monday, he asked EU members to quote, prove you're with us and requested that Ukraine be granted membership into the union. EU chairman Ursula von der Leyen said they'd seriously consider his request. But meanwhile, the fighting continues to escalate. A Russian missile hit the central square of Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second largest city, as satellite images captured the 40-mile-long convoy that's headed toward Kiev. Several report that Russia is using cluster and vacuum bombs, which are both condemned by international communities, and an estimated 660,000 Ukrainians have already fled, creating one of Europe's largest refugee crises ever. God is not surprised by this crisis, nor are his ultimate plans threatened. Even in the face of evil, we should remain people of hope and look forward to the day when war is no more. Isaiah 2,

4 says, in the last days, they will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war. Though no nation has officially joined in the war, many countries are making it difficult for Russia to do almost anything. Switzerland broke their 500-year vow of neutrality and froze all Russian assets in their banks. Many businesses have jumped into boycott, including BP, Shell, and Equinor, who divested multi-billion dollar Russian oil projects and investments. Disney, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Sony have paused their movie releases in Russia, and yesterday, Apple even suspended their product sales in Russia. Sports federations are piling on. FIFA kicked Russia out of the World

Cup, and the NHL ended their Russian partnerships. Formula One dropped the Russian Grand Prix, and Taekwondo revoked President Putin's honorary black belt. These actions, when combined with the severe economic sanctions, have set the value of Russia's currency, the ruble, to below one cent. It's easy to feel helpless in a situation like this, but the Bible promises that prayer is powerful and effective, and there are many great organizations with boots on the ground that we can support financially. So far, the poorover community has donated over $14,000 to organizations like Rose of Hope and Voices of Children. James 2, 15 and 16 says, if a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, stay warm and be well fed,

but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? Last night, President Biden addressed Congress at his first State of the Union address. It was going to be a full speech for Biden, whose approval rating sits below 40 percent even before last week. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced Biden to balance advocating for his domestic agenda with highlighting the international condemnation of Putin's actions. Topics of the address included efforts to combat inflation, falling COVID cases, Biden's appointment of Katonji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and sanctions meant to threaten Russia's financial

stability. You can watch key moments in our link in the show notes. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who gained national attention for her criticism of the White House's pandemic response, delivered the Republican rebuttal. Luke 632 says, if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. It's a great verse to consider after a night of watching political speeches. Today's podcast is brought to you by Faithful Counseling. We'd say it's been a tough couple of years, but let's be real. Life was hard even before the pandemic. Families were divided before modern politics, and it's never been a bad time to invest in your mental health.

And now, Faithful Counseling is making that crazy simple. Faithful Counseling is not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It is professional counseling done securely online. This means that you can log in anytime and send a message to your counselor. No driving, no waiting rooms, no delay. You'll be paired with a Christian mental health professional, and if you don't click with them, just switch to someone new. No awkward breakup required. Intrigued? Visit the link in our show notes to get 10% off your first month. In other brews, we've got a rapid round of updates. MLB has canceled opening day after failing to reach an agreement with the Players Association. Additionally, former Yankees captain Derek Jeter stepped down as CEO of the Miami Marlins, reportedly over frustrations with the owner's refusal to spend more.

Yesterday, U.S. stocks slid 1.5 percent and oil climbed to $106 a barrel, which is the highest it's been in seven years, as investors continue to forage through the implications of Russia's every move. Meanwhile, the Russian stock market remains closed and their central bank raised interest rates to 20 percent in an attempt to prevent a run on banks. Mardi Gras parades were back in New Orleans after a pandemic hiatus. Parades marched along a shorter route due to police shortages, but people came out in droves yesterday to New Orleans' first full-dress Mardi Gras since 2020, one of our very first super spreader events. since 2020, one of our very first super spreader events. TikTok has an innovative new idea,

longer videos. The platform announced it will allow users to upload videos up to 10 minutes long, an increase from the current three minutes and a massive shift from the 15 seconds maximum they originally allowed. That's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're thinking, I want to help more Christians stay informed while remaining focused on Christ, here's the best way you can support us. If you're listening on the Apple Podcast app, you can give us a five star rating and drop a review. We do actually read these and take them to heart. If you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. There is also an option to leave a five star rating, but it's a newer feature and it's only doable on your phone. And finally, the simplest way to help us grow

is to send this episode to a friend. We hope you have a great rest of your day and we'll see you back here on Friday, March 4th.