(uplifting music)- The following program

is sponsored by CBN.

- [Gordon] Coming up.

- This was getting worse.

- [Gordon] A patient bleeding to death.

- I would put his statisticsat dying around 70-80%.

- [Gordon] And no one knew why.

- Distraught is the onlyword I can think of.

- [Gordon] The frantic rush to the OR.

- He was barely hangingon to consciousness.

- [Gordon] And the miracle along the way.

- I felt God's peace inthe back of that ambulance.

I believe God healed me.

- [Gordon] On today's 700 Club.

(upbeat music)

Welcome to The 700 Club,

let's go over to the CBN Newsroom

for today's top stories.

- Thanks Gordon, as Congress battles

over COVID relief checks,

the virus continues to take lives,

including Louisiana'snewest Republican member

of the House of Representatives,

Luke Letlow was just daysaway from being sworn in,

as Heather Sells reports,he's one of thousands

falling victim to the latest surge.

- [Heather] 41-year-oldCongressman-elect Luke Letlow,

died Tuesday night inthe intensive care unit

of a Shreveport hospital.

Across the Nation, COVID hospitalizations

have hit a record 127,000.

And health officials in Colorado

have discovered the first known US case

of the new variant of the coronavirus,

initially found in the UK.

It is considered even more contagious,

although not more deadly.

There's also concern about the pace

of the vaccination campaign.

So far, only 2.1 million vaccine doses

have been administered,

although the Trump administration

promised 20 million by year's end.

- The effort to distributeand administer the vaccine

is not progressing as it should.

- [Heather] On Tuesday,President-elect Joe Biden

criticized the distribution,

but the administration says

there's a lag in reporting

and that the FederalGovernment can only do so much.

- The Federal Governmentdoesn't invade Texas or Montana,

and provide shots to people,

we support the statesand locals in doing that.

- [Heather] In Washington,lawmakers are battling

over COVID relief.

The big sticking point, stimulus checks.

President Trump ispushing to increase them

from 600 to 2,000.

The House has approved it,

and more and more GOPsenators are on board,

including David Perdue

and Kelly Loeffler,

both in Georgia's run-off elections

next week.- And I said,

"Absolutely, we need to getrelief to Americans now,

"and I will support that."

- [Heather] But on Tuesday,

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

blocked a move to bringthe increase up for a vote.

The administration says those $600 checks

start going out today

and people should look forthem the first week of January.

Heather Sells, CBN News.

- Updating you now on the suspect

in the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville.

Anthony Quinn Warner's girlfriend

reportedly warned the Nashville police

back in August, 2019,

that he was making bombs in his RV.

That's according to theNashville Tennesseean newspaper.

After her report, policevisited Warner's home,

but he did not answer and theydid not search the premises.

The department passed theinformation to the FBI,

which ran a check and said ithad no information on Warner.

The world has seen a lotof suffering in 2020,

the late evangelist Billy Graham

took on the issue ofsuffering in a 1981 book.

As Paul Strand reports,

his son Franklin thinksthis is the perfect time

to reissue his father's book.

- [Paul] Billy Graham's, "Who's in Charge

"of a World That Suffers?"

tackles tough questionsabout troubles and woes.

His son Franklin Grahamdoes a new introduction

for this just reissued book.

He writes, "Suffering isno surprise to the Lord.

"Jesus warned that wewould face uncertainty,

"persecution and trouble of every kind.

"He, himself, suffered for us."

- A god, no question, is in charge,

but we also know that theworld in which we live

is a fallen world,

and that the god of this age is Satan.

And we know that he controls

so much of what is going on in the world,

the bad things that are going on.

- There's so much darknessrising these days,

Graham suspects we're beginning to enter

the time of the Book ofRevelation, the end of days.

- This is, I think, an exciting time,

it's not something we should be afraid of.

But we need to know thatGod is still in charge,

and that he writes thelast pages of history.

It's not gonna be the Republican Party,

the Democratic Party,or the United Nations,

the Lord Jesus Christ comes back

and establishes his kingdom.

And for those that have puttheir faith and trust in him,

we know that our soul willbe secure in his hands.

- And there will be for eternity,

but that certainly doesn't mean Christians

are immune from sufferingwhile here on Earth.

- We're not exempt, we don'tlive in some kind of a bubble,

and we are gonna go through suffering,

and I think this book deals with that,

"Until Armageddon,"was the original title,

but we all face theseArmageddons in our life,

as we go through life,these storms of life.

Jesus, himself, was in a storm,

he was with his disciplesout on the Sea of Galilee,

and a storm came up,suddenly, without warning,

and it was swamping the boat, sinking.

- [Paul] So his disciples woke Jesus,

who commanded the storm be still.

- Of course, the wind and the waves

is gonna obey his voice,'cause he created it.

And when we put ourfaith and trust in him,

if we're in his boat,we don't have to worry,

because his boat doesn't sink,

and we just need to makesure we're in his boat.

- [Paul] You can find out how to be sure

in the pages of BillyGraham's, "Who's in Charge

of a World That Suffers?"

In his introduction to the book,

Franklin writes, "Thereis no need to worry,

"there is no need to wrestle,

"and there is no need to wonder

"who is in charge of aworld that is suffering.

"Look to Jesus Christ and live."

Paul Strand, CBN News,

Washington.- Jesus, and say,

"Don't you care?"

- In other news, Louisville police

are moving to fire two police officers

involved in the Breonna Taylor raid.

Taylor died when police returned fire

after her boyfriend Kenneth Walker

shot an officer whenthey burst into her home.

Police say they identified themselves,

but Walker and otherwitnesses say that's not true.

The interim chief isaccusing the detective

who prepared the warrant oflying on the application.

The department is also seekingto terminate the detective,

who, the FBI says, "Fired the fatal shot."

20,000 innocent people arebehind bars in America,

and the man you're aboutto meet was one of them.

As Charlene Aaron tells us,

he spent 1/4 of a century in prison,

wrongly convicted of murder.

- Jonathan Fleming spentnearly 25 years in prison

for a crime he didn't commit.

Thanks to attorneys takinga closer look at his case,

Fleming was released,

and now wants to help others

who have also been wrongfully convicted.

In 1989, jurors convictedFleming of second-degree murder

in the death of a New York drug dealer.

Fleming, who also solddrugs and knew the man,

says he had a solid alibi.

- I happened to be inFlorida with my family

at the time when my friend was killed.

I had took my sons, I took my son,

my oldest son, to Orlando, Florida,

for his birthday, for the ninth birthday.

- [Charlene] Prosecutors argued Fleming

could have returned toBrooklyn to commit the crime.

They also produced a witness

who testified seeingFleming pull the trigger.

- She said that she actuallyseen me do this murder,

and I know for a fact,I would say to myself

that it's not true because I wasn't even

in New York on that day.

- [Charlene] Fleming,however, was found guilty

and spent the next 24 yearsof his life behind bars.

- Prison was really rough,

I was in prison for something I didn't do,

so I did start gettingin a lot of trouble,

you know, but I was very angry.

- [Charlene] And that anger consumed him,

until an experience at a church service.

- And I don't rememberwhat the word that day was,

but I found myself standingup and I walked forward,

and I turned my life over to God.

- [Charlene] A spiritual transformation

that answered longtimeprayers for his ex-wife.

- And I just listened to him

go on and on and on aboutwhat the pastor had preached

and how he's found himself getting up

and going towards the altar,

and, "Yeah, this just feels so good,

"and I don't know what I'm feeling,

"but I'm excited, Trish, I'm excited."

And I was like, "God is just awesome."

- [Charlene] Fleming spent years

trying to prove his innocence,

and a break finally came

when Brooklyn's convictionreview unit took his case.

Attorney's found evidence proving Fleming

could not have been in NewYork at the time of the murder,

information authorities never turned over

to his defense team.

- We were able to discover a document,

a receipt, which had beentaken from Mr. Fleming

at the time of his arrest.

That, of course, meant thatthe eyewitness testimony

that had been produced in that case,

to the effect of an eyewitness

saying that they saw Mr. Fleming

commit the shooting homicide, was false.

- [Charlene] These investigative teams,

also known as integrity review units,

are spreading across the country.

And in 2018 alone, statistics show

they helped free 58wrongfully convicted people.

- There were probablyless than 20 such units

around the country,

since that time and thesuccess that we had initially

and continue to have

with regard to our conviction review unit,

that number has more than doubled,

to the point where we havemore than 40 such units

around the country.

- [Charlene] A new team in Georgia

helped free DarrellHall, sentenced to life

for possessing two gramsof cocaine in 1991.

Media mogul, Tyler Perry,

recently gave him a jobat his Atlanta Studios.

- And he said he was havingtrouble getting a job.

I'm like, "Well, look around,

"we got lots of room around here,

"come on, let's go to work."

And it just shows you the level of how

if you're poor and blackand disenfranchised,

how you don't even have achance at justice in most cases.

- [Charlene] In Fleming's case,

justice arrived on April 8th, 2014.

- It was like my lifestarting all over again,

I was so happy.

And the judge said,"You're case is dismissed,"

and the first thing I did,

I turned around and Iwent right to my mother.

- While Fleming is grateful

for the work of attorneysand investigators,

he says, "The real credit goes to God."

- And he released me and delivered me

when he felt that I was ready,

but it wasn't until Iturned my life over to him

that things started happening.

- [Charlene] That includesletting go of anger

towards those responsible for robbing him

of nearly 25 years of his life.

- I was able to forgive,

because he forgave me forthe things that I've done.

- [Charlene] Meanwhilethe state of New York

awarded Fleming six million dollars

for his wrongful incarceration,

something he hopes to use to help others

through the Jonathan Fleming Foundation.

- When I came home, I had no housing,

I had to stay with my cousin

for the first eight months,

when I came home, I didn't have nothing.

And I wanna help peoplewhen they come home,

try to provide them withhomes, places to stay,

places that they could goto when they are released,

because a lot of time,we are just pushed out

with no where to go.

- [Charlene] Charlene Aaron, CBN News,

Raleigh, North Carolina.- You need to get this framed.

- What a powerful testimony,

and now he's givingback, that's wonderful.

Well, Gordon and Terry will be back

with more of The 700 Club

right after this.

(upbeat music)

- And the Bible is goingback to public schools,

it may surprise you,

but that's not against the law.

A teacher in Virginia is on a mission

to put Bibles in schoollibraries across the country.

And it's not just any Bible,

these are Action Bibles.

Mark Martin explains.

- But God did a miracle,

he protected Daniel'sfriends from the fire,

not one of them was burned.

So that was like worsethan being in a fireplace.

- [Mark] Brianna Jimenez is reading

the Action Storybook Bible to students

at this afterschool programin Richmond, Virginia.

It contains Bible stories

and is designed like a graphic novel.

The creation story is the favorite

of fourth-grader Kimberly Rodriguez.

- Because it shows how God made things,

by just like, he just spokeand then they appeared.

- [Mark] Even as a young third-grader,

Didier Madrid believes reading the Bible

has changed his life for the good.

- I used to like say alot of bad words and stuff

with my friends, and weused to do bad stuff,

like breaking intopeople's houses and stuff.

And then after like Istarted reading the Bible,

I didn't do that no more.

- Hi, my name is Hannah Sailsbury,

and I'm an elementary teacher,

in Virginia, in a public school.

- [Mark] public schoolteacher, Hannah Sailsbury,

says God put it on her heart

to donate the Action StorybookBible to school libraries.

Her mission also includesgetting the Bible

in classrooms and afterschool programs.

- I started to prayerwalk around our school,

and as I would pass everywindow in our school,

I would pray for my coworkers by name,

and I would pray for the students

that entered the building.

And it was one particular day

that I prayed that Jesus's name

would be mentioned in the classrooms

and hallways of our school.

And little did I know,

that that prayer gotanswered in bigger ways

than I could've imagined.

- [Mark] One bigger way came in April,

when Sailsbury launched

the nonprofit organization,Bibles in Schools.

- And God really openedmy eyes to realize,

if we have this old Bible in our school,

how come we don't havea more engaging Bible,

that's fun and that has pictures in it?

- [Mark] The movement has now spread

to 18 counties inVirginia and seven states.

Since people started donating the Bibles,

Sailsbury says, "Around 125 students

"have checked them outfrom their libraries."

- You might be asking yourself,

"Is a Bible even allowed

"on the shelves of apublic school library,

"or am I even allowed to donatea Bible to a public school?"

On her website, Sailsburyurges you to know your rights

and then to use them.

- Anybody can donate anythingto their library at school.

If they take other donations,

then they have to acceptthe Bible donation,

but the librarian does nothave to put it on their shelf.

So that's where prayer really comes in.

As teachers, if you have other literature

on your school shelves,

you can have the Bible on your shelf.

- [Mark] Art teacher Chelsea Joyner

believes God woke her up early one morning

and planted the idea to puta Bible in her classroom.

- And it just, 3:00 a.m.,and I can't even explain it,

like it just, "You need to put

"one of these on your bookshelf,"

and I was like, "Okay,let's do it." (laughing)

- [Mark] The ActionBible is also available

in versions for middle and high school,

which means Levi will be able

to stay in the word through graduation.

Why do you like this Bible?

- Just 'cause I like to learn about God.

- [Mark] Why do youlike to learn about God?

- 'Cause he's the best and good.

I like the part when he died on a cross

and take our sin, and come back alive.

- [Mark] Mark Martin, CBNNews, Richmond, Virginia.

- Congratulations to Hannah,

what a wonderful idea, very creative.

And if you wanna get involved,

here's an easy way to do it.

For more information on

Bibles in School and the Action Bible,

all you have to do is go to our website,

cbnnews.com, and be a part of it,

let's get Bibles placed inevery school in America.

- What a great idea,

and it looks like it's really fun

to go through and read.

Way to go, Hannah.

Well, still ahead,

she was once on welfare and food stamps,

so how did this savvy senior

become the president of herown real estate company?

The secret to her success is coming up.

But first his chances of dying

on the way to the hospital, 80%.

What happened to this man

during his 30-minute ambulance ride,

and what shocked thedoctors upon his arrival?

(upbeat music)

A frantic trip to the hospital,

a supernatural encounter in the ambulance,

and a total shocker upon arrival,

these events made news anchor Scott Swan

part of the headlines himself,

take a look.

- Scott Swan.- April 26th, 2017,

news anchor Scott Swanhad just powered through

another midday newscastfor WTHR, in Indianapolis,

but now, he could nolonger ignore the pain

that had plagued him for days.

- I went into the bathroomand felt very clammy,

I felt lightheaded,

I just felt this enormouspain down in my stomach,

and just knew that, you know,

this was getting worse,progressively worse.

- [Reporter] Scott's wife Janaewas in Mexico on business,

when he texted her thepain had gotten worse.

- And that's when I finallyshot him the text, all caps,

you know, "Go to the doctor today."

I just knew it wasn't gettingbetter, he needed to go.

- I don't know if I feltfear, I just felt pain,

and I just wanted the pain to go away.

- [Reporter] Still hewaited until after work

to check into an emergencyroom near his home.

After finding Scott's bloodpressure dangerously low,

doctors ordered a CAT scan.

Vascular surgeon, Dr. Randy Irwin,

was home when he got a franticcall from the ER doctor.

- And he had called me,

even before Scott gotout of the CAT scanner,

and found that he wasbleeding into his belly.

He was barely hanging on to consciousness,

we knew he was bleeding to death,

but we didn't know why.

- [Reporter] What they did know

was that Scott neededsurgery, as soon as possible.

- I immediately tried to get him

flown down to the big hospital,

at St. Vincent's on 86th Street,

but we couldn't do it

because of an impending storm coming in.

(siren wailing)So we had to bring him

down by ambulance, even though pressure

was kind of between 60 and 80.

I would put his statistics

at dying on the way down to see me

probably around 70-80%.

- [Reporter] Meanwhile,Janae was trying to get

a flight home from Mexico.

With spotty cell service,

all she knew was that Scotthad checked into an ER,

but now needed to betransferred to another hospital.

- I had no idea, really, theseverity of what was going on.

I'm not getting information,

it was very hard to communicate,

and I was stuck, I couldn't leave.

And all I just wanna do was sit and pray,

and like I was just, I guess,

distraught is the only word

I can think of.(siren wailing)

- [Reporter] But Scott, nowin a 30-minute ambulance ride

and running out of time,

was having a much different experience.

- I don't remember feelingthe pain, at that point.

I just knew that, I sensedthat God was with me.

And while I couldn't speakand I couldn't open my eyes,

I felt God's peace in theback of that ambulance.

- [Reporter] By the time Scott arrived

at St. Vincent's Hospital,

Dr. Irwin was waiting

and had him wheeled straight into the OR.

He had been receivingupdates on Scott's condition.

- His blood pressure was very low,

at one time it was down to the 50s,

and when it gets that low,

it's hard to get enoughblood flow to your brain

and he'd lost a lot of blood.

I would say he probably losttwo to three liters of blood.

- [Reporter] At once,Dr. Irwin tried to locate

the bleeding artery using a catheter.

Instead, he made a startling discovery.

- It looked like Scotthad stopped bleeding,

it stopped on its own,

but we could clearly seesome arteries inside there

that were not normal.

And then after that, wekinda stopped everything.

- [Reporter] As surgerywas no longer needed,

Dr. Irwin sent Scott to intensive care.

The next day, he inserteda coil into Scott's artery

to prevent further bleeding.

Having finally found a flight home,

Janae arrived at thehospital later that same day.

Slowly the details ofScott's brush with death

began to unfold.

- He was in the ICU, at that point,

and I just ran into the room

and I was just so excitedto see him, you know,

he's been my best friendfor almost 40 years,

and it just really hit mehow close he was to dying.

- [Reporter] After 12days, Scott went home.

By then, doctors had discovered

he had a rare autoimmune disorder

that attacked the arteriesaround his stomach.

It could be controlled by medication,

but some things callfor another explanation.

- Had no other complicationsand his CAT scans

recently have shown that the arteritis,

or polyarteritis nodosa,has completely gone away.

And I think there's no doubt

that if Scott didn'tstop bleeding on his own,

then he probably would've died

before he got down here to see me.

- To me, there's nogood medical explanation

to why that artery sealed

and why I stopped bleeding.

As a Christ follower, Ibelieve God healed me.

- [Reporter] Scott andJanae say this experience

has revealed God's power to them

in ways they've never seen before.

- I know that the Lord takes something

and just makes it better,

and that's what he'sdone with the situation,

by creating a miracle, saving him,

and now for him to havea platform like this

to go and spread the goodnews and to encourage others.

- And I read through scriptures,

God is my rock, God is myfortress, God is my healer.

Those were just words before,

but I've experiencedall of those firsthand.

God is my healer, God is my savior,

he is my God of miracles.

I want people to know

that whatever you'regoing through in life,

that God is with you.

- I hope that today youcan receive that word

because it's for all of us.

He is our rock, our healer, our savior,

he's there, in time of need, he's there,

in the good times, he's there,

in the bad times, he's there,

he's got plan and purposefor your life and power.

And so today, on the heelsof this amazing testimony

of what God did for Scott,

we wanna pray for you.

We don't know what your needs are,

but we know that many of you have things

that you're asking God to intervene in,

to touch, to change, to heal.

And so we wanna encourageyour faith further,

Gordon, this is an email from Julie.

She says, "My husband andI do an annual mission trip

"to Guatemala each July.

"He is a retired physicianand I was a surgical tech.

"We spend much of our time

"helping to build cinder block homes

"for families that live aroundthe Guatemala City dump.

"I was extremely grieved

"when I developed extreme joint pain,

"especially in my wrists,

"and a recent diagnosisof rheumatoid arthritis.

"Just a few days priorto our trip to Guatemala,

"my husband and I werewatching The 700 Club

"when Gordon had a word of knowledge

"about someone with arthritic pain,

"especially in the hands.

"I jumped up saying, 'That's me,'

"I ripped off my wrist guards

"and although my wrists stillfelt weak at that moment,

"by the next day, all the pain was gone.

"We traveled to Guatemala,

"and I was out therewith all the young ones,

"shoveling and filling up buckets,

"singing praises to our wonderful Lord."

Hallelujah, that's.- Hallelujah,

here's another hallelujah.

This was Brenda from Live Oak, Florida.

She had been treated for stomach ulcers

since she was 12 years old,

recently was hospitalized,

and then, one day, she wasflipping through channels,

came across The 700 Club and hears Terry.

And Terry's praying,"There's someone suffering

"with ulcerative colitis.

"It's so painful and nothingthat doctors do for you

"seems to alleviate your pain.

"Today is your day, Jesus is healing you.

"It will be more than a little bit better,

"it will be gone, in Jesus' name."

Well, Brenda received the word.

Normally after eating,she's had trouble swallowing

and felt a terrible burning sensation,

Brenda had breakfast without any issues.

The symptoms left have stayed gone.

Since 12 years old she had that.

- Wow.- Now, it's gone.

Today is your day, it's your day.

Today is the day of salvation.

- Jesus.- Realize that Jesus

is there for you.

He is your very presenthelp in your time of need.

And just start visualizingJesus right before you,

Jesus above you, I use thegreat prayer of St. Patrick,

Jesus above you, Jesus below you,

Jesus to the left of you,Jesus to the right of you,

Jesus behind you, and then Jesus in you.

For in him, we live andmove and have our being.

You don't have to wonder

can he come down fromheaven again for you,

he's right there.

So Terry and I are going to pray.

And the Jesus who is right there with you

is going to answer,

you can reach out and touch him

and you can get your healing today.

Let's pray.

Lord, we lift those who have needs

and we just ask thatyour manifest presence

would be with them,

that they would sense you all around them

and in them right now,

and how you are the sameyesterday, today and forever.

You are able to heal,you are able to deliver,

you are able to restore.

So Lord God Almighty,

manifest yourself intheir bodies right now.

There's someone, you've got tumors,

and they have spread andyou're beyond stage four,

God Almighty, right now,is dissolving those tumors.

They are all going away,

you are having a tremendousmiracle throughout your body.

Just stretch forth yourhands and receive it

and begin to praise him forwhat he is doing for you.

Tumors, be gone now, burn away now.

In Jesus' name, letthere be no more cancer,

no more reproduction, inthe name of Jesus, Terry?

- Yeah, in keeping with that,

there's someone, you have a tumor,

it's behind your right ear,

but it's inside your head,

and it's blocking your hearing.

And bad prognosis foryou, but not anymore.

Today, Jesus has healed you,

as quickly as that came, itis going to simply melt away.

- Someone else, you have agrowth by your right eye,

and God's able to take that away,

it's obscuring your vision.

And in the name of Jesus be healed

and be restored.- Be healed.

- Someone else, you'vegot a detached retina

and you're having vision problems from it,

and God is healing that,he's able to restore it.

- Thank you, Jesus.- Someone else, you've got

problems with theinternal jelly in the eye,

and just God is able to heal all of them.

In Jesus' name, be healed,eyes were made to see,

see now, see perfectly, see gloriously,

in the name of Jesus.

- Now, someone else,you have a painful lump

under your right arm,very concerned about it,

large enough for you to easily feel.

God is healing that for you right now,

it's just going to dissolveand be gone in Jesus' name.

- Now, there's many people,you've seen the stories,

you've heard the reports about colitis,

and you heard the report

about the healing of thearteries in the stomach,

and you've got bleeding ulcers,

there are several who have colitis,

and you're saying, "Please,say those things for me."

So we're them for you right now,

colitis be healed, letthere be normal digestion,

no more pain, no moredoubling over in pain.

God heal, in Jesus' name.

Anyone with an ulcer, be healed,

all of that infection,all of that discomfort,

all of that burningsensation, be gone now,

in the name of Jesus, be healed.

- Someone else withkidney issues, be healed,

in Jesus' name, it's gone.

- Lord, we thank you,

we thank you, you are the healer,

for by your stripes, we are healed.

You come, you forgive all our iniquities,

and you heal all our diseases,

in the name of Jesus, we receive it now.

In the fullness of it and in Jesus' name.

Just wanna repeat that kidney word,

it's in your right kidney,

and it's inflamed, and just terrible pain,

God has healed, and he'sjust taken all of that away.

You felt a touch go into the right kidney,

and you're being healed.you're being set free.

- Thank you.- Lord, we thank you,

we thank you.

Amen, amen.- Amen.

- If you've been touched by God,

let us know, give us a call,

1-800-700-7000.

And if you need prayer,we're here for you,

all you have to do is pickup the phone and call us,

1-800-700-7000.

Terry?

- Well, still ahead, she's in her mid-70s,

but nowhere near retirement,

this Zumba instructorand real estate mogul

has the energy of someone half her age,

her secret will surprise you.

And that's coming up.

Plus, he was a terrifying rageaholic,

she hung out with HellsAngels and the Mexican Mafia,

any hope for their hot-mess marriage?

Stay tuned, find out.

(upbeat music)

- Welcome back to The 700 Club

for this CBN Newsbreak.

a Tennessee family is thankful to be alive

after a fire destroyed their home.

The mother says shebelieves God woke her up

to discover the fire.

Nicole Davidson says shewoke up her husband Chris,

and they were able to fight the blaze

to get two of their threechildren out of the house,

but they could not getto their toddler's room.

Chris tried from the outside,

but couldn't reach his daughter.

He says his seven-year-old son Eli

was ultimately able to getthrough the outside window

to rescue his baby sister.

Eli told reporters he was scared,

but did not want his baby sister to die.

A GoFundMe account wascreated for the Davidsons,

who lost everything.

So far, it's raised almost$350,000 for the family.

Between Christmas and New Year's,

many are navigating difficultemotional challenges.

Health experts say theso-called holiday blues

are temporary feelingsof anxiety or sadness,

and they can be broughton by extra stress,

unrealistic expectations,

or memories that accompany the season.

Novant Health offers a few tips to help

if you're struggling inthese last few days of 2020.

Stick to normal routines when you can,

get enough sleep, takeme-time, but don't isolate,

spend time with loved onesunder the CDC COVID guidelines.

And you can always getthe latest from CBN News

by going to our website at cbnnews.com.

Gordon and Terry will be back

with more of The 700Club right after this.

(upbeat music)

- Now, one time, Maria Miller

couldn't open a checkingaccount or get a credit card,

she was also on food stamps.

Well, today she lives in her dream home,

runs her own real estate business.

What caused her reversal of fortune?

Take a look.

- [Reporter] Maria Millermay be in her mid-70s,

but she has more energy thansome people have her age.

- I do a lot of Zumba,

usually three times aweek, an hour each time.

I really enjoy it,

so much so, I decidedto become an instructor.

- [Reporter] And that's not all she does,

Maria is also the president ofher own real estate company.

- It's Maria, yes.

- [Reporter] She loves helpingpeople find their dream home,

and remembers when there was no way

she could buy one herself.

After her divorce, shehad liens against her,

she couldn't open a checkingaccount or get a credit card.

- I was left with three kids to raise,

so there wasn't much money at all,

we struggled just to pay rent.

And for a time, I was onSection Eight and food stamps.

We ate a lot of rice, a lot of hamburger.

- [Reporter] Friends helped her get a car

and her parents used theirsocial security income

to pay her rent.

Still, Maria needed afinancial breakthrough.

She gave a church andwatched The 700 Club.

While she'd supported CBN at times,

now, as a single momworking on commission,

she didn't think she could afford it.

Then, one day, someone fromCBN called to check in on her,

and Maria mentioned her money problems.

- She said, "Well, why don'twe pray for your finances?"

I'm like, "Ah, why don't we, thank you."

So then she prayed for me, you know,

and so after I hung up,

I was like, "I need to go back

"and, you know, start giving again."

- [Reporter] So by faith,Maria started consistently

giving $20 a month to CBN.

Before long, she became atop producer in her office,

making twice what she'dmade the year before.

- The only reason I can think of

is those extra $20 a month.

I was like, "Whoa, this works."

- [Reporter] Other agents started asking

where her success was coming from.

- I'll tell you my secret,

you know, you have to giveabove and beyond your tide

to further God's kingdom.

- [Reporter] With her increased income,

she paid off her debt, andfaithfully gave even more.

Once she gave $1,000 to CBN.

- It was like the HolySpirit said, "Do it,"

and I just kept making more sales.

And I thought, "Well, I wonder

"if I can buy, you know, a home?"

- [Reporter] Soon, she wasa first-time homeowner.

Now, years later, she ownsseveral rental properties

and continues to give to CBN.

- Anytime I see where CBN just even buys

a sewing machine for somebody,

to make them self-sufficient

and to get out of their poverty,

just touches my heart.

To bring water to people

that are drinking from this disgusting,

that's all that money represents

is being able to help people.

- [Reporter] Maria encourages others

who are financially stuck

to follow in her footsteps and give.

- You just gotta trust God,

you give above your tideto further God's kingdom,

that's it, you can't outgive God.

The more I give him, the more I have,

and the more grateful I am,

so the more I give him,

so it's just never-ending.

- I love Maria's story and I encourage you

to adopt what she did.

Here's what she did,

she started praying for her finances,

and that started breakthroughafter breakthrough.

When you start praying over your job,

when you start praying over your finances,

it will lead you automatically

to say, "I want to be known as generous."

And then when you start that,

the law of reciprocitywill kick in for you.

"Give and it will be given unto you,"

these are the words of Jesus.

I'm not some kind of prosperity preacher,

but I am a preacher ofthe gospel of generosity.

For God so loved the world that he gave,

and when you start a lifestyle of giving,

and generous and cheerful giving,

wonderful things will happen.

God always stands byhis word to perform it,

he will perform it for you

if you just follow the same principles.

Now, if you wanna starta life of generosity,

over and above, and say, "Iwant to be known for that,"

give us a call, 1-800-700-7000,

and just say, "I wanna join The 700 Club."

Just like Maria's $20 a month,

that's just 65 cents a day.

If you can join at a higher level,

we have 700 Club Gold, that's $40 a month,

we also have a Thousand Club,

that's $1,000 a year, thatbreaks out to $84 a month.

At whatever level, call right now,

and when you call, ask for Pledge Express,

that's electronic monthly giving,

the bank is doing all the work

and we can send, as our gift to you,

"Power for Life," monthly teaching CDs.

So if you'd like those,

ask for Pledge Express when you call,

or just go to cbn.com,

when you give monthly on the internet,

you're automatically signingup for Pledge Express.

Do it now, 1-800-700-7000.

Terry?

- Well up next, after two weeks,

the honeymoon was over.

No surprise here, two toxic people

make an explosive marriage.

How did they hide it inside the church,

and how did a suckerpunch blow their secret?

(upbeat music)

Tommy had a raging temper,

Michele had trafficked guns and drugs

with Hells Angels and the Mexican Mafia.

The two of them got marriedjust four months after meeting,

and the combination quickly became toxic.

- [Reporter] When Tommy andMichele Hunter met in 2008,

they were both new Christianshealing from troubled pasts.

Growing up, they'd bothbeen victims of emotional,

physical, and sexual abuse,

leading them to lives ofanger, brokenness and violence.

- My mom was a single mom,

she dated a few guys

who were extremely physically abusive.

And I specifically remember, one time,

a guy coming in the houseand beating my mom up.

And I mean, I must'vebeen three years old,

I think, at the time.

And I remember takinga plastic machine gun

and beating him over the back,

and trying to get him off of her,

and him throwing me across the room.

You know, for what I was tryingto figure out for 40 years

was why was I so mad,

why was I so dysfunctional,

and why things around mealways seemed to fall apart?

- Most of my life, I wasinvolved in drugs and guns

and you know, worked withHells Angels and Mexican Mafia,

and I just really was very purposeful

at going the opposite direction from God.

And when I was 30, everythingpretty much caught up with me

and I was looking at avery long prison sentence,

and God rescued me out ofall of that, miraculously.

When I was let out of jail

and didn't have to spend20-something years in prison,

I made a decision that Ineeded to change my life.

- [Reporter] After four monthsof dating, they married,

but after only two weeks,the honeymoon was over,

and the reality of theirunresolved pain was revealed.

- Yeah, the physical andverbal abuse that I experienced

created a mindset that womenwere good for two things,

one, for sex,

two, for abuse.

- When Tommy would get mad,

his rage and angerwould just overtake him.

He was all intimidating,

and so there was a lot of screaming

and yelling and shaking his fists at me

and pretending likehe's gonna headbutt me,

so he'd get real close

and just like (roaring)in my face, you know.

- [Reporter] Michele turnedto prescription drugs

to cope with her husband's rage.

- So I felt like, if I was really numb,

I could keep from myselffrom being really upset,

or I could stay in control of myself,

meaning I wouldn't lash out at him,

I wouldn't start crying,

I would just be like, "Don't care."

- [Reporter] Meanwhile, the couple managed

to mask the tension at home

while serving as trustedministry leaders at their church.

- There was a perception in our church,

I think, when people looked at us,

that we were, you know, this great couple

and my husband was so charismatic

and he was a great preacher.

We would go to churchand we would play church,

and then we would go home

and it would be very destructive.

- [Reporter] As the years went by,

the arguments escalated.

One evening, after dinner and drinks,

the violence became physical.

- What happened in the car was,

because of the language that I was using,

Michele reached over andjust started punching on me.

- There was such chaos andcraziness happening in our car,

when he actually reached overand punched me in the face,

of course, I was hysterical.

- [Reporter] Police arrested Tommy

and he was taken to jail.

Once released, he reunited with Michele.

A month later, she foundout she was expecting

and gave up prescription drugs.

Five months into her pregnancy,

she caught Tommy cheating,filed for a separation,

and moved from California to Arizona.

Without Tommy by her side,

Michele gave birth to a stillborn baby.

Distraught and desperatefor a better life,

Michele cried out to God.

- I'd been through somuch in my life before

and I considered myselfto be such a strong person

that nothing that everhappened to me would break me,

but I was really broken.

I got ahold of some teachingsabout the love of God,

like who am I, like I'm not just a wife,

or a mother, like whois Michele, who am I?

And I started reallylike chasing intensely

after the love of God.

It was like I was resting andrelaxing in just his presence.

So it wasn't a show anymore,

it wasn't about going to church

and doing the Christian thing,

it was about being a Christianalone in my room, with him.

- [Reporter] Now divorced,as Michele allowed God

to heal her heart,

Tommy was finally dealing with his anger.

- And I started looking at,and I really broke down,

1 Corinthians 13 and so manyother scriptures about love,

that this was what I haddesperately been searching for

my entire life.

Because he was so patientand because he was so kind,

was that I knew that he was for me

and he had my back andthat he wasn't mad at me

and he wasn't disappointed in me,

he just saw me as his son

and he loved me so much

and he had such a greatjourney for me, ahead of me.

And there was a true repentancethat came in that moment,

or in that time frame.

- The love of God filledme with compassion,

understanding that myhusband was very broken,

that it wasn't that he wasan awful, horrible man,

it was that he was justas broken as I was broken,

just in different waysand it looked different.

And I just knew that no matter what,

I was gonna believe forrestoration of my marriage.

- [Reporter] Michele reached out to Tommy,

committed to showing himthe love God had shown her.

As God healed them both,

they longed to bereconciled with each other.

When Tommy asked Micheleto marry him again,

she said yes.

Tommy and Michele vowed

to never engage in physical abuse again.

Today, they find freedomand healing and wholeness

as they share theirtestimony around the world.

Together, they lead a marriage ministry

and are pastors of His Place Church

in Long Beach, California.

- My marriage is the most amazing thing

I've ever experienced in my life.

I am married to a big teddybear, who just loves God

and who loves me and loves himself.

- 'Cause, you know, you can'tgive away you don't have,

and for the first time, I really have love

and so I'm able to give itto her and everybody else.

I see Jesus in our marriage today

as the center of our marriage,

'cause, now, when wewake up in the morning,

our goal is to be Jesus to each other,

it's to love like he loved.

- [Michele] Today, I just can't imagine

life being any better.

- That's the goal, isfor Christ to live in us,

not just for us to know about him,

not just to make a commitment of words,

but to open up our hearts and our lives

for him to live within us,

to operate through us, to change us,

and then as others see what he's done,

for them to desire to be changed as well.

You know, we can't control

the things that happen tous when we're children,

and as Tommy said, "I wondered why,

"my whole life, I was so angry."

Well, when things happento us in our childhood,

we have to go back and inviteJesus into those places

and let him heal them

so we can be whole now, today.

It's so easy to say we are believers,

it's easy to say that we trust Christ,

it's another thing to give it all to him,

that's why we call itsurrender. (laughing)

It's a laying down of who we are

and a grabbing hold of who he is,

so that his spirit can fill us.

The Bible says, "The steadfast love

"of the Lord never changes,

"his mercies never come to an end,

"they are new every morning."

That's your inheritance ifyou are a Christ follower.

How do you begin that process?

You just come to him and say,

"God, I have so blown it,

"I've blown it in the past,

"I've made promises to you I haven't kept,

"I've blow it now.

"I'm coming to you today saying

"I wanna be done with me

"and I wanna be filled with you.

"Please forgive me,

"fill me with your power and your presence

"and teach me your waysso I can live differently.

"Holy Spirit, come into my heart,

"my mind, my spirit,

"I give everything that I am to you."

And then get into the word of God

and watch him begin to change you,

don't settle for anything less,

this is God's promise to you.

If you have a special need in your life,

and you'd like to pray with someone,

I want you to know, ourphone lines are always open,

the number's toll free, itdoesn't cost anything to call,

it's 1-800-700-7000.

There's a friend on theother end of that line

whose prayed that prayer,given their lives to Christ,

and would love to pray with you today.

We leave you with thesewords from 1 Corinthians,

"Love bears all things,believes all things,

"hopes all things, endures all things.

"Love never fails."