- [Narrator] The followingprogram is sponsored by CBN.

- [Wendy] Coming up, a horrific accident.

- [Sherry] I was callinghim, but he didn't answer.

- [Wendy] This biker isthrown from his motorcycle.

- It was surreal.

- [Wendy] He has brainbleeds and a broken neck.

- They just said, "He's not doing well."

- [Wendy] So, how does hebecome a walking miracle?

- He should've been dead many times.

There's no explanation, but Jesus.

- [Wendy] Seven Days Ablaze continues

on today's 700 Club.

- Well, welcome to The 700 Club.

Get this, benefits of 70 to $100,000.

What are they?

That's what a family offour could have received

in federal aid withoutworking one single minute.

No wonder half of smallbusinesses in America

can't get their workers back.

They simply can't competewith free tax exempt money.

But what did those trillions of dollars

in federal aid cost our country?

And now that expandedunemployment benefits are gone,

will Americans start going back to work?

Mark Martin has the story.

- About seven million people are affected

by the loss of thoseunemployment benefits.

Some economists say endingthem is good for the economy

because it will encourage more people

to return to the workforce.

The pandemic-related benefitsfor unemployed workers

over the past 18 monthsinclude aid to self-employed

and gig workers, benefits for those

who have been unemployedfor more than six months

and a federal $300 weeklysupplemental unemployment check.

Congress passed the much needed aid

after the country's unprecedentedCOVID shutdown last year,

a move that killed jobsand threw the brakes

on a strong economy.

Single mother, April Stokes,who hasn't worked full time

since last year, says the extra money

kept her family afloat,citing affordable childcare

as a major hurdle.

- Four job interviews this week.

Getting a job's never been an issue,

it's what do I do with the kids

when they get off at school at four

until seven o'clock whenI get home from work?

- [Mark] Economist and formerTrump economic advisor,

Steve Moore, says the policieskept some from taking jobs.

- Half of small businesses in America

cannot get their workers back on the job.

Enhanced food stamp benefits,increased payments to people

for not working aremaking it very difficult

for small businesses andmedium sized businesses,

construction firms,restaurants, manufacturing firms

all throughout the country are just having

a very difficult time gettingpeople back on the job.

- [Mark] Moore pointedout just how generous

the policies have been.

- Families of four with no one working

could get benefits of 70 to $100,000

and not work a single hour.

So, yes, these programsare deterring people

from going back to work.

And, by the way, that's badfor our small businesses.

- [Mark] Businesseslike Davis Professional

in Chesapeake, Virginia.

- And it's hard to competewith free money right now.

- [Mark] Owner Jerry Flugeven rolled up his sleeves

to help.

- It's all hands on deck.

Over the past couple weeks,we've jumped in the truck,

cleaning carpets, strippingand waxing floors,

whatever it is needed to be done.

- [Mark] According tothe Labor Department,

there are still 5.7 million fewer jobs

than before the pandemic.

Still, for those willing and able to work,

some 10 million jobs are open.

- Factory jobs are open,trucking jobs are open,

business services jobs are open

and, by the way, thoseare not poor paying jobs,

these are not, for the mostpart, minimum wage jobs,

many of them pay, you know, 50, 60, 70,

$80,000 a year to start,so it is good news

we're finally suspending theseextra unemployment benefits.

- [Mark] Meanwhile, theBiden Administration

has encouraged states touse COVID relief money

to keep the unemployment programs going,

but none plan to do so.

Mark Martin, CBN News.

- Thanks, Mark.

Ladies and gentlemen, thisis what the government can do

when it starts messingwith the private economy.

Our chief financial editor, Drew Parkhill,

is here for more on the impact.

Drew, well, what has thisthing done to the employment?

Are people ever gonna go back to work?

- Pat, you know, when youdrive around this area,

and there's a lot of traffic out there,

so the economy is strong, but you just see

"Help Wanted" signs everywhere.

I have never seen somany "Help Wanted" signs

as I'm seeing now.

I mean, all kinds of businesses, too.

Now, I want to lookat, bring you this poll

that was done by MorningConsult a few weeks ago.

They were asked, "Why aren'tyou going back to work?"

"Why are you on unemployment?"

13%, the number is basicallytied for number two answer,

said, "I get enough moneyright from unemployment,"

and then you drop down to number five

and another 12% said, "I'mnot being given enough money

to return to work."

Now, part of that may wellbe is because they're getting

these generous unemployment benefits.

And you could go deeper into the poll,

but there are peoplewho are openly saying,

"I'm just not, I'm getting enough money,

I'm not gonna get enoughmoney if I go back to work

compared to what I'm getting,"so they're openly saying it.

- Well, now we're talkingabout this incredible budget

that they want to put through

and the numbers are just staggering.

What's coming?

And explain the political implication

of this upcoming battle.

- Okay, there are twoaspects, Pat, to this budget.

Now, we have talked here a lot here

about the three and a halftrillion dollar price tag.

Well, Axios reported lastnight that Joe Manchin,

the democratic senator from West Virginia,

has been telling the White House

he is not gonna vote for that.

He wrote a piece inthe Wall Street Journal

about it last week and he said, you know,

I might only support up to oneand a half trillion dollars.

That's way below what Bernie Sanders

and the White House wantand the progressives,

so this is all gonna be aboutdemocrats versus democrats

on two fronts, Pat,this is very important,

number one is the price tagand number two is this policy.

They're trying to turn us into Europe.

Here is the New York Timesheadline from yesterday

where they were talkingabout from cradle to grave,

in other words, aEuropean style government

with womb to tomb coverage and that's,

that headline went on to say that

it would touch virtually every American

at every point in life,from birth to old age.

So, that's a big thing andthat would institutionalize

these programs and what it would mean

was they'd be a big heavyweight on the economy

'cause we definitely talkingabout a lot of higher taxes.

And let me conclude with this,

you asked about the political implications

and democrats will say,"Well, the polls show

this is popular," yeah, because the polls

don't go very deep, butlook at this poll, Pat.

And I know you know politics.

This was from a few weeks ago,

more than two-thirds ofvoters in 33 swing districts

and closely watched Housedistricts polled by this group,

no labels, are concerned thehigh spending from Washington

could hurt their pocketbooksthrough inflation,

higher taxes or other possibilities.

So, next year, when the House races are up

and the Senate races, therepublicans would us big spending

against the democrats, they'd say,

"You're a socialist, you're a socialist,

you're a socialist,"and you better believe

a lot of democrats in Congressare very aware of that.

- Joe, thanks so much.

Ladies and gentlemen, I told you,

there's gonna be a tsunami.

It's, the question iswhether we can recover

with an inept presidentand the awful things

that he and KamalaHarris are doing together

and whether it's possible to recover.

But, if we can hold on tilthat next House election,

there's going to be a tsunami.

People are so disgustedwith so many things

that are being done, theopen border, they don't like,

the disaster in Afghanistan,they don't like,

but beyond that, they don't like the fact

that there's an inflationand that there haven't been

adequate jobs and all the rest of it.

And I'll tell you, theHouse is going to flip,

the Senate's going to flip and then,

it's a question of timebefore the White House goes,

but the question is whetherwe can hold on long enough

before all that happens.

Well, in other news, a daringescape from Afghanistan.

A Texas mother and her three children

made a 300 mile journeythrough 20 Taliban checkpoints.

So, who helped them get out and what about

other stranded Americans?

Why hasn't anyone been allowedto board six waiting planes?

Oh, our wonderful State Department.

Tara Mergener has more.

- [Tara] A Texas motherand her three kids,

making the dangerous 300 milejourney out of Afghanistan,

stopped at 20 Talibancheckpoints along the way,

reportedly paying as muchas 500 to $4000 per person

at every stop.

A team of military veterans,funded by private donations,

led the effort and saidthe State Department

was of little help.

As the Taliban claims totalcontrol of Afghanistan,

1 to 200 remaining Americans, like Nasria,

are desperate to leave.

She says the Taliban is going door to door

trying to find them.

- Am I gonna end up living here?

Am I gonna end up dying here?

What's gonna happen?

- [Tara] In Mazar-i-Sharif,empty commercial planes

that could carry some 600 passengers

are still waiting forclearance from the Taliban.

The State Department confirms Americans

are among those stuck.

The six private planeschartered to rescue Christians

by conservative media hostGlenn Beck's charities.

- They're not gonna allowAmerican citizens to leave

until they get full recognition

from the United States of America.

- [Tara] But the WhiteHouse says there is no rush

to recognize the Talibanas the official government

of Afghanistan.

Speaking in Doha, Secretaryof State Anthony Blinken

said he is unaware of any,quote, "hostage type situation"

and that Americans are among the groups

stopped by the Taliban.

- They have said that thosewithout valid documents,

at this point, can't leave.

But, because all of thesepeople are grouped together,

that's meant that flightshave not been allowed to go.

- Meanwhile, an email obtained by Fox News

shows the State Departmentis putting restrictions

on private evacuation flightsover security concerns,

stranding some Americans.

And the Taliban is now filling out posts

in its new government.

The cabinet includes several men

on the U.S. and the U.N. terror list.

Four of them spent timein Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

in the detainment facilitybefore they were traded

for an American soldier back in 2014.

And, Pat, by the way, the U.S. is offering

a 10 million dollarreward for one of them.

- Well, Tara, I understand that the women

are rising in public protest.

What's happening to thosewomen in Afghanistan?

- Well, Pat, what they wantis inclusion, equality,

a voice in the new government,

but what they're beingmet with is violence.

Just yesterday, there werea couple of demonstrations

and witnesses say they werebeat by sticks, by rifle butts,

by metal pipes, they were tear gassed

and what finally broke everything up

is the Taliban fired shots into the crowd.

So, it's gonna be a verylong road for these women

who want to have anysay in this government.

- Tara, I'm personally shocked,

what you're saying in this report

is that we have airplanes, that Glenn Beck

or some private individualshave chartered airplanes,

they're sitting there on the tarmac

and our own State Departmentwon't give them clearance

to take off?

Did I hear that right?

- Well, the BidenAdministration, you know,

claims it's the Taliban, but Plan B,

that is a private groupthat is facilitating

some of these flight evacuations,

says it is actually the State Department

that is holding up the whole show.

But, again, the Biden Administration

says that's not thecase, it is the Taliban.

Who do you believe?

- I heard, Tara, we dida report a few days ago,

that there were actuallyflights in the air

with American citizens on board

and the State Departmentasked other countries

not to give them clearance to land.

Is that a true story?

- You know, I don't know.

Nobody really knows for sure,

but in the meantime,all of these passengers,

and 600 passengers at least,are sitting on that ground,

many Americans among them,not knowing if or when

they're ever gonna take off andwhether the State Department

is responsible for some of this.

I am sure that will comeout in the days ahead.

There are reports thatand that there is evidence

to prove that they areparticipating in some of this, Pat.

- Thanks, Tara.

Ladies and gentlemen, it'sthe most shocking abuse.

You talk about, they say,"Well, why don't you impeach?"

It won't, impeachment won't work,

it won't be in time.

But it's the most fecklessunbelievable violation

of the oath of officeto defend and protect

the United States of America.

We have a president who has,has cognitive impairment

and we have a secretaryof state who's incompetent

and the generals and the other

that are up and down the line,

they're not getting the people out

and they've made terrible blunders.

I know we shouldn't havegotten into this mess,

I mean, a long time ago, weshould have just been content

to have a few of theDelta Force and Seals team

in there working andlet the rest of them go,

but we've gotten inthere, but the coming out

has just been an absolute disaster.

It is probably the worstforeign policy disaster

in the recent history of theUnited States of America.

And the suffering people ofthose who worked with us,

we no longer have credibilityaround the world anywhere.

Nobody of our enemiesfear us and our allies,

they won't want to work withus because they don't trust us

and they know, they allknow that we have a man

in charge of this governmentwho has cognitive impairment,

he doesn't know what's going on.

And then, we have somebodywho has a nervous laugh

when she's told abouttragedy and where is she?

She's not worrying about them,

she's out in California doing campaigns

for Governor Gary Newsom,who's facing a recall.

So, are they really concernedabout all these Americans

who are, I mean, are facing death?

Not really.

Biden not only is inept, heapparently has no compassion

and that's shocking.

Well, also in the news,this was a shocker, too,

the Justice Department is urgently,

he used that term, quote,"urgently" exploring ways

to challenge a strict newabortion law in Texas.

Well, now, why would they becoming in to challenge a matter

that is strictly inthe state police power?

The federal governmentshouldn't be doing that.

But Merrick Garland is leading the charge

and think what have happened if he was

on the Supreme Court.

Well, that's just one of many laws

that the challenge Roe versusWade, the Supreme Court.

And, meanwhile, the pro-life community

has come up with a different approach

to winning the abortion battle.

It's kind of a good one.

Charlene Aaron has this report.

- After almost 50 years sincethe Supreme Court decision,

people still spread wronginformation about abortion

and the life issue.

This new tool, "What To SayWhen: The Complete New Guide

To Discussing Abortion",is designed to focus

on converting hearts insteadof winning arguments.

- There's a lot of thingsthat we naturally tend to say

when abortion comes up thatcan either be insensitive

to the other person or just plain wrong.

- [Charlene] 40 Days forLife president, Steve Carney,

co-author of the book, callsit an apologetics approach

for pro-lifers.

- We don't have an argument problem

in the pro-life movement,we have a confidence problem

and a lot of people honestlydon't know what to say when

and we've gotten thousands ofrequests for a book like this.

- [Charlene] It includes how to respond

to the popular "Mybody, my choice" slogan,

adopted by abortion proponents.

- There's a lot that are in laws

that don't allow us todo with our own bodies.

We have to wear seatbelts.

We're actually not talkingabout the woman's body,

the abortion takes placein the woman's body,

but it's done to anotherbody, which is then discarded.

- [Charlene] Other topicsinclude how to navigate

the changing and oftenbizarre promotion of abortion,

bringing the balance backmore toward converting hearts

instead of winning argumentsand knowing what to say

or not say if and whenthe subject comes up.

- Some of the new argumentsbeing used by politicians

or those in the media orcertainly the abortion industry

just get more bizarre andweird to the average person.

And that was really themotivation for the book,

to cover traditionalarguments for abortion,

but also to cover the new andstrange and bizarre arguments

that we hear.

- [Charlene] In theend, Carney hopes to arm

the pro-life communitywith the right information

in order to defend those whocan't speak for themselves.

- And I just think it's gonnahelp people have confidence

to go after hearts andminds and there are ways

to respect a person andnot respect their points

or their arguments and webalance that in the book

and it's been proven to work.

- [Charlene] "What To SayWhen: The Complete New Guide

To Discussing Abortion" is out this week

and it's availablewherever books are sold.

Charlene Aaron, CBN News.

- Well, I don't know whatarguments are being used,

but there's one clear one, 60 million,

60 million potential scientists,

60 million potential inventors,

60 million potential pastors,

60 million potential police officers,

doctors, lawyers,leaders, mothers, fathers,

60 million have beenaborted in this holocaust.

You figure what Adolf Hitler did,

that was the most horriblething you could conceive of,

at best, his, the holocaust in Germany

amounted to about 50 million people

and this was a horrible,horrible thing that took place,

but to think that we havekilled more in America

than Adolf Hitlerkilled, I say 50 million,

you know, that's about the right number,

but 60 million here inAmerica we have aborted

and it's too much.

Roe versus Wade was a disaster,

it was a setup by the ACLU,

it was called Blackman's abortion,

it had no constitutional authority,

it was strictly using materialfrom Planned Parenthood,

which was erroneous andit was Roe versus Wade

and Doe versus Bolton, two state and two,

the law cases that came up and we've had

a holocaust ever since andit's time to overturn it

and I think the SupremeCourt is going to do it

and this is just one break in the dam,

this one Texas law thatapparently has survived

some legal challenges.

Wendy.

- Thanks, Pat.

Coming up, violent crime is on the rise.

In the city of Cincinnati, 200 shootings

in the first few monthsof this year alone.

Now, there's an outcryto defund the police.

Who's stepping up tostop this new crime wave?

And the broken biker.

This man fractured his neck, skull,

most of his ribs and his hip.

Even the paramedics called him a dead man.

So, how is he alive to tell his story?

Stay tuned to find out.

(upbeat music)

- Defend the police, you hearthat over and over again.

That became a rallying cry

after a Minneapolis police officer

killed George Floyd in atelevision event across the nation.

Well, police officers were then demonized

and calls were made to slash their budgets

and the result, obviously,a spike in crime,

with 200 shootings in thecity of Cincinnati alone

this year so far.

So, what's one Cincinnati church doing

to combat crime and support the police?

Mark Martin has that answer.

- [Girl With Megaphone] What do we want?

- [Crowd] Justice.

- [Mark] George Floyd's murder

led to calls across the country

to overhaul police departments.

Cincinnati, Ohio has notbeen immune to the protests.

- Have there beenoutcries and frustrations?

You know, there've beencalls to defund the police,

there've been calls to, you know,

reimagine the police here in Cincinnati

just like there have been in other areas.

- [Mark] The city is also on track

for an especially violent year,

with one report showingnearly 200 shootings,

29 deadly in the first six months of 2021.

Still, Captain SteveSaunders is pushing forward.

- We're not giving upbecause crime goes up.

We find a way to worktogether, to partner,

to build collaborations and partnership

to address those problems.

- [Mark] One partnershipinvolves Seven Hills Church,

a large congregation in thegreater Cincinnati area.

Pastor Marcus Mecum says as a part of

an area pastoral group,Seven Hills was assigned

to reach out to police.

- These are human beings, they have souls,

they have families, they havefutures, they have dreams

and we just do our bestas a church to be there.

- [Mark] Its support during the pandemic

led the Cincinnati police department

to name the church its 2020Community Partner of the Year.

- During COVID, you had a lotof the different race riots

and, you know, we weredown there as a church

supporting the policeby just feeding them,

giving them water, someof them were on call

for sometimes up to 20 hours.

- [Mark] Saunders recallsother times of generosity.

- They brought small giftbags for all of our officers

and all of our civilians.

We have about 1,200 employees.

- [Mark] A specific memorable moment came

when members prayed overPolice Chief Elliot Isaac.

- And to have people in thecommunity praying for you

and lifting you up andlifting your family up,

it created a hedge ofprotection over Chief Isaac.

- The church also helps promote

connections with communities.

For example, the churchand the Hamilton County

Sheriff's Office brought inretired Harlem Globetrotters

to suburban Lincoln Heightsas part of a basketball clinic

for kids there.

Organizers describe the event

as more than an entertaininggame of basketball.

They say it's an important tool

to help develop a healthy relationship

between law enforcement and the community.

- We have a basketball courtand it's filled with kids

and it's filled with adultsand some of those adults

wear uniforms and some ofthose adults work in a church

and some of the adultsare there to help people

with whatever they need.

And when the kids see thatand when parents see that,

they're so much more likelyto say positive things

at the dinner table, positivethings to their community

about what the black andgold means to this community

and all through Hamilton County.

- But, God worked it out where it's here

and for our young people here,

I'm just blessed, man,to be able to share it

with our communities 'cause sometimes

our kids feel neglected, overlooked.

Like I said, they have their challenges,

but they're kids who love life,

who need stuff like this, that positivity,

especially from adults.

- When you hear that thework that you're doing

is making a difference in your community,

of course, that's so encouraging,

but would we do itwithout the recognition?

We would, you know,because this is ultimately

what we feel like Jesus would do.

He didn't come to be served, but to serve.

- [Mark] Mark Martin, CBN News,the greater Cincinnati area.

- Great news.

You know, you hear a lot ofbad news, that's good news.

Wendy.

- Thanks, Pat.

Well, still ahead, the case for heaven.

Do we have proof of an afterlife

or can science explainwhat some people have seen?

Author Lee Strobel shares his discovery

and personal journeylater on today's 700 Club.

But first, meet theposter child for miracles.

That's what this biker calls himself

after he was nearly killed.

How on Earth did he survivethis horrific crash?

Find out right after this.

(upbeat music)

- Marty Cowling was thrownfrom his motorcycle,

smacked his head with such force

it actually cracked hishelmet, fractured his skull,

broke multiple bones throughout his body.

When a farmer found Marty, he was lifeless

in a pool of blood.

Doctors had little hope for his survival.

Well, how did Marty become the, quote,

"poster child for miracles"?

See for yourself.

- It was hard to believe.

I was, I think I was prettymuch in shock the whole ride.

I just remember sittingin the backseat of the car

looking out and I keptasking the same questions

over and over, just really was praying

and trying to hold it, hold it together.

- [Narrator] October2019, while Sherry Cowling

was away on a cruisewith friends and family,

her husband, Marty, took asolo weekend motorcycle trip

through Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Marty had been ridingmotorcycles for 40 years

and had thousands of milesthrough the United States

and Europe in his rearview mirror.

On Sunday, Sherry called to check on him.

- I was calling him, but he didn't answer,

but I knew he was trying to ride home.

The goal was to be home bychurch Sunday night at 6,

so I figured he's trying to get in

every minute he can riding.

- [Narrator] Sherry had no way of knowing

that afternoon Marty hadbeen in a terrible accident.

His body was found over 120 feet

from his wrecked motorcycle.

Sherry didn't get word of the accident

until two days later whenher ship arrived at port.

Marty's brother and sister-in-lawmet her with the news.

- First thing we did whenSue told me is I said,

"Let's sit down, we gotta pray."

So, I always heard when you have problems,

first thing you do is prayand then you take action.

- [Narrator] They spentthe next eight hours

on the long drive to the hospitalin Little Rock, Arkansas,

praying and hoping for Marty's survival.

When Sherry finallyarrived, she wasn't prepared

for what she saw.

- It was surreal.

Kind of like a dream gone bad.

How can this be?

This strong man that I'veknown since the sixth grade,

my soul mate, my bestfriend, always so strong

and there for me, and just laying there,

and I just, I justcouldn't leave his side.

- [Narrator] Marty was in a coma

with a fractured skull and neck.

He had multiple brainbleeds, yet, somehow,

he clung to life.

Sherry says her church family joined her,

pleading for Marty's survival and healing.

- People I didn't evenknow would, were praying

and doing things and sending us stuff

just 'cause word got around, many people,

they were covering us withprayer and everything we needed,

physically, mentally, spiritually.

Could have never made itwithout family and friends

and our church body.

I've never seen a church bodysupport somebody like that.

My whole world was upsidedown and they were there.

- [Narrator] After three weeks in the ICU,

Marty was transferred to along term acute care facility.

Soon after, his blood pressure crashed

and his organs began shutting down

as he battled renalfailure, sepsis, pneumonia

and a host of otherlife threatening issues.

Cyndy Holter is a volunteerchaplin with their church

and was there to pray for Marty.

- The nurses and doctors wereworking frantically on him,

it seemed like his life was in the balance

and every time I would goin and check with the nurses

they didn't say anything,they just shook their heads.

They just said, "He's not doing well."

- [Narrator] In themiddle of their efforts,

a nurse reminded Sherry to keep praying.

- Everything was shutting down

and finally she justlooked at me and she said,

"I'm praying for Marty, you need to pray

and you need to geteverybody you know to pray."

And then she spun around and ran back in

and we just startedcalling everybody we knew.

- [Narrator] Their churchresponded in prayer once again.

As prayers of faith roseup on Marty's behalf,

he eventually stabilized.

- Immediately we're seeingthe great power of prayer,

especially united prayer ofagreement by many people.

Just covering him in prayer and faith,

that's all I knew to do'cause everything else

was out of my control.

- [Narrator] His conditioneventually stabilized,

but the extent of damage tohis brain was still unknown.

As they brought him out of his coma,

Sherry tried to communicate with him.

- I would say, "You werein a motorcycle accident,"

and he goes, "That's not good."

It was so exhilaratingbecause he was tracking

as he started getting stronger

and you could see that his mind was okay,

he wasn't paralyzed or anything like that.

I mean, all the thingsthat could be wrong,

everything was just morehope and more encouragement.

- [Narrator] Marty hada long, hard recovery.

It took three monthsbefore he was strong enough

to return home.

He then spent several moremonths in physical therapy.

Now, Marty and Sherrycelebrate God's goodness

and the prayers that helped him through.

- Now he's here and he's like100% or very close to it,

he's normal, we're together.

Yeah, this proved that, yeah,

nothing is impossible with God, nothing.

- You know, it wasn't my desire

to be the poster child for miracles,

but seeing how prayeractually impacted my condition

and restored me, it really encourages me

to reach out to others, youknow, in their time of need,

knowing that, you know,God can intercede for them,

just as he intercededfor me through prayer.

It's nothing short ofa miracle in my mind.

- Every time I see Martyit is just a delight.

I'm just so thrilled thatGod would resurrect him

and raise him up and thathe's gotten his life back.

- He should have been dead many times

and the circumstances wereso dire and just beyond hope.

There's no explanation,but Jesus, but the lord.

Every time I look athim, he's walking proof

that God is alive and in control

and our hope is in the lord.

- I like that, though, Godis alive and he's in control.

Now this is what we call Seven Days Ablaze

and I have in front of us here

some of the thousands of prayer requests

that have been writtenin, the urgent needs

of people in our audience who are saying,

"God, please help me."

Now, here are some very seriousones that I'll read to you.

This one says, "I've gotcongestive heart trouble."

Another one has a brain stem injury.

Somebody else has got,said, "I've gotta be freed

from bondage of drugs and alcohol."

And somebody else says, "Iwant to pray for the finances

to pay off medical and dental bills."

- Here's some, Pat.

"That my 11 children," 11 children,

"will come to know Jesus andput him first in their lives."

Amen.

"That God would help all students,

especially those with learning challenges

to catch up to their grade level."

And, "To be healed of over 50years of migraine headaches."

Wow.

And "To be healed of ovarian cancer."

Just a few of thesethousands of precious prayers

that have come in, Pat.

- Well, listen, the Bible says,

"Where two of you wouldagree on Earth as touching,

anything they ask would be done for them

by my father in heaven."

Now, Wendy and I are gonna agree with you

and, therefore, we're gonnaagree with all these people

and we're gonna ask God,we don't have the ability

or the time to read all of them,

but God heard every one of them,

they're in his preciousheart and he knows your need.

Now, we're going to join hands

and I'll ask you to pray with us

and the one thing, all I'll ask you to do

is just don't fight what God's doing,

open your heart and receive it.

- [Wendy] Amen.

- Father, in Jesus' name, we pray together

and we pray for all these people.

Lord, they have so much suffering,

so many people are in bondage,

so many people are crying out,

oh, God, there's so much suffering

and we know that we have asavior who has been touched

by the feeling of our infirmities.

You know what it's like to suffer

and so, we bring them before you, Lord,

and we cry out and sayin the name of Jesus,

touch them, Lord.

Now, somebody has a broken hip.

In the name of Jesus, that hip right now

is knitting together, it'll be a miracle,

in the name of Jesus, shall he touch him.

Now, Wendy.

- So many calling outfor miracles right now,

so many people with lovedones in the hospital

that, you just saw the story and you saw

that there is still hope,so that's what the lord

is giving you right now, hopethat your loved one will live,

start declaring it, start decreeing it

and getting people to pray

because you're about to see a miracle.

In Jesus' name.

- Again, I've had this before,

but I believe there's somebodywho didn't take it before,

it's the eighth cervicalvertebrae in your spine,

the lord has just healed itand you can sit up straight,

everything's going to be fineand all the pain's taken away.

Thank you, Lord.

Somebody else with a lumbarproblem in their spine,

I don't know, God is justfixing spines right now

and he's just walking up and down,

you will sit up straightand the lord has healed you.

Terry, I mean, Wendy.

- Yeah, there's someonewith, you've had laryngitis,

you lost your voice andit has not come back

and you are very nervous and scared.

God is going to heal you.

Just put your hand onyour throat right now,

your voice is coming back, in Jesus' name.

- There's a woman named Meredith,

you're pregnant, you'rehaving morning sickness

and you just have cried out to God,

even as you're watching this program,

you throw up, you're so sick,

and God is going tospare you in childbirth

and this nausea isgoing to pass right now,

you'll feel something go through your body

and from that moment on,you're gonna feel strong

and you will bring forth a healthy child

to the glory of God.

Now, Father, in Jesus' name, once again,

we come before you for this nation.

Lord, we know, as anation, that we have broken

your commandments, we know thatwe have sinned against you,

we know we have exploitedthings that are terrible

in your sight and we ask, Lord,that you would forgive us,

as a nation, we ask for your forgiveness.

And, Lord, spare us, spareus from what might be coming,

but we know that rightnow we are so vulnerable

because we have such weak leaders.

Give us righteous leadership.

In Jesus' name, we ask for it.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.

- [Wendy] Amen.

- And amen.

Wherever you are, please give us a call,

we'd love to hear from youand it's always a blessing

to hear the answers to prayer.

It's 1-800-700-7000.

Call in and say, "Hereis a prayer request,"

or "Here is the answer," andwe'd love to hear from you.

- Yes, because we are in the middle

of our annual Seven Days Ablaze

and if you want us to pray for you,

please call us right now,the number is toll free,

it's on your screen,1-800-700-7000, 1-800-700-7000,

or visit cbn.com/prayer and you can submit

a prayer request online anytime.

We invite you to joinus each day this week

at noon Eastern for live prayer

with Gordon Robertson and Ashley Key.

They will be taking requestsand praying for you live

at cbn.com/prayer.

Well, up next, the answer tolife's most important question,

what really happens to us when we die?

Author and investigativejournalist, Lee Strobel,

has done the research.

So, what does it reveal?

See for yourself right after this.

(upbeat music)

In recent years, we've seen no shortage

of so-called heaven tourism stories.

Some people have written books

that have become bestsellers about heaven,

others have recanted their testimonies.

So, who and what should we believe?

That's exactly what LeeStrobel wanted to find out.

- [Narrator] As a younginvestigative reporter

for the Chicago Tribune,whose wife had found Jesus,

Lee Strobel made ithis mission to disprove

or prove his existence.

Lee's journey to faith becamea popular movie in 2017.

After a brush with death 10 years ago,

Lee added another book to hispopular "The Case For" series,

this time, examining the afterlife.

"The Case For Heaven" is Lee's answer

to what he says is life'smost important question.

- Then, what happens tous after we close our eyes

in this world for the last time?

- And that's the million dollar question.

Joining us now via Skype is Lee Strobel.

Lee, welcome back to the show.

- Well, thank you so much,great to be with you.

- Well, Lee, 10 yearsago, you had a close call.

Doctors said you were twosteps away from death.

What happened?

Tell us.

- Yeah, my wife found meunconscious, called an ambulance,

I woke up in the emergency room,

the doctor said, "You'reone step away from a coma,

two steps away from dying,"

and then I fell back unconscious.

I had a rare conditioncalled hyponitremia,

which is a precipitous dropin my blood sodium level.

And I lost a kidney in the process

and I hovered between life anddeath for quite awhile there

and as difficult as that experience was,

it was a very clarifying experience

and really motivatedme to want to make sure

what really does happenafter we close our eyes

for the last time in this world.

- You didn't see, youdidn't go to heaven, though,

when that happened to you?

- No, I didn't havewhat's technically known

as a near-death experience,but I had a brush with death.

But, you know, I was a skepticabout near-death experiences,

I thought that they were kindof a new agey sort of thing,

they were not well-documentedand yet, in my investigation,

I found there are over900 scholarly articles

in scientific and medical journals,

investigating near-deathexperiences over the last 40 years.

And what shocked me aboutthat is we have corroboration

of many of these experiences,

which I talked about in my book.

In other words, people whosesoul separated from their body

at the time of clinicaldeath and they saw things

or heard things that theyotherwise could not have seen

or heard, and this corroborates the fact

that indeed they did havean out-of-body experience

and it means that our spirit,our soul, our consciousness

can actually survive physical death.

- Lee, but can't science sort of explain

what people go through when they're dying?

I mean, they have theseendorphins are released

as you're dying and it makes you smile,

can science, you know, can prove anything?

- That's a great question.

That's what I thought.

I thought, "Okay, this wasjust oxygen deprivation

or the dying gasps of abrain or hallucinations,"

but an article in The Lancet,

which is the prestigiousBritish medical journal,

said that there are noalternative explanations

to near-death experiencesthat stand up to scrutiny

when they're thoroughly investigated.

None of them can explain this away.

Especially the corroboration.

For instance, in the case of Maria,

who died during surgery, herspirit floated out of her body,

she watched the resuscitation efforts,

her spirit actually floatedthrough the hospital

and out of the hospital and then when she,

her spirit was reunited with her body,

she said, "By the way,there's a tennis shoe

on the roof of the hospitalon the third story landing

and it's a men's bluetennis shoe, left footed

and there's a littlewear mark over the toe

and the shoelace istucked under the heel."

And they went up and investigated

and sure enough, there it was.

- Okay, that makes mea believer, for sure.

Well, you interviewed aprofessor named Scott McKnight

and he says heaven isn'tjust some beautiful place

in the clouds.

So, what does he believe?

- Yeah, I mean, what the Bible teaches

and what a lot of people,you know, mistakenly believe

is that heaven is a veryethereal experience,

we're up in the clouds,we're just spirits,

not physical bodies, that'snot what the Bible teaches,

the Bible teaches therewill be a new heaven

and a new Earth, that Godwill renew his creation.

So, it's gonna be a very physical place.

The Book of Revelation does not say

that God's gonna make new things,

it said he's gonna make all things new.

And so, our world willbe a physical world,

it will be theocentric,that is centered around

worship of God, but also,there'll be relationships,

there'll be activities, we'll do things,

we'll have responsibilities,we'll explore,

we'll have adventures and so forth.

So, you know, God is infinite,

so we'll have an infiniteamount of time to explore God.

- And you say that the Christianworld view of the afterlife

offers the best possible outcome

and the best hope for all of us.

Why is that?

- Yeah, even the atheist, Luc Ferry,

admits that of all the religions,

Christianity's view of theafterlife is the most appealing

if you're a believer'cause it is a world of joy

and adventure and fulfillment,no tears, no suffering

in the presence of God,himself, for eternity.

There's relationships that are renewed

and new relationships that are made,

so it's really, if it's true,it's a incredible promise.

And I believe, as my bookdemonstrates, for many reasons,

it is true and especially when you look at

the resurrection of Jesus, which I believe

is one of the best attestedevents of the ancient world.

We have good evidencethat he's an eye witness

to the afterlife.

Not only that, but he's shownthat he's the son of God

and so, he created the afterlife.

And what does he describe it as?

Like a home.

That this is not ourhome, but that is gonna be

a home for eternity.

- Well, your new book iscalled "The Case For Heaven,"

and, by the way, I thoughtthe movie about your life,

"The Case For Christ", was phenomenal

and I've been tellingeverybody they gotta see it,

so maybe this'll become a movie, ay?

- It will, it'll be inmovie theaters next March.

- Oh, okay, wow.

- Yeah.- Breaking news,

breaking right here.- Yeah.

- That's fantastic.

Well, great.

Well, "The Case For Heaven" is available

in stores nationwide.

Lee Strobel, God bless you.

Thank you so much for being with us.

- My pleasure, blessings to you.

- That's a book everybody should get.

- Yes.- That's fantastic.

- He's a phenomenal investigative reporter

and, again, the movie.

- The Apostle Paul said,"The one thing I want

to attain the resurrection of the dead,"

that's the most important,I'm looking forward to it

and it's gonna be great.

Well, then I had LeeStrobel, what a terrific guy.

Well, deep trouble, that'swhat Jyoti knew she was in

after COVID-19 hit.

Jyoti lost her job, could not pay her rent

and had no money for food.

Well, where did shefind work and the answer

to all her prayers?

Just watch.

- [Narrator] Jyoti usedto work cleaning schools.

- [Jyoti's Interpreter]When we were hit by COVID-19

and lockdown started, thenschools were also shut down.

I was in deep trouble.

I had no money to payfor rent or to buy food.

- [Narrator] Jyoti is a single mother.

She was married, but whenshe became a Christian,

her Hindu husband abused herand eventually abandoned her

and their children.

- [Jyoti's Interpreter] During that time,

in God, I received strength and comfort.

After that, in every step of my life,

God took care of me and God saved me.

For this reason, my heartis filled with gratitude

for God forever.

- [Narrator] Jyoti heard aboutan Operation Blessing kitchen

opening in the children's center

where her kids used to go after school.

- [Jyoti's Interpreter] Thanks be to God

that I got a job here.

He took care of all my needs.

Now I get a salary and I'm happy

that I can buy essential household items

and pay my rent on time.

And now, all my worrieshave been taken away.

- [Narrator] In addition toproviding for her own family,

Jyoti helps many families in her community

serving people in needwith the love of Christ.

- [Jyoti's Interpreter]This is all by grace of God

and I thank all those people who helped us

to open this communitykitchen and gave us a job

during the lockdown.

I wish them from the bottom of my heart

that may God bless them abundantly.

- Isn't that great?

And you say, "Well, where is she?"

We reached out to India.

Gave hope to a woman who'd been divorced

by her Hindu husband whenshe came to the lord.

We would invite you to participate with us

in helping people likeJyoti and millions of others

around the world.

And how do you do it?

It's just 65 cents a day, $20 a month.

It's a whole lot lessthan a can of soda pop,

if you're a smoker, it's a whole lot less

than a pack of cigarettes,but it's just 65 cents a day.

And when you join The 700 Club,

we have something thatI'd like to send you,

it's called, "God Is For Us!",

it's some verses fromRomans of inspiration,

salvation, peace and victory,

and we'll send that to you as our gift

because you are special to us.

Wendy.

- And guess what?

Barbara likes it.

She's from Ringgold, Georgia,

she says, "The Book ofRomans can be confusing."

"However, Pat, you made itso much easier to understand

as I listened to "God Is For Us!".

"Thank you so much for this recording."

And, Barbara, thank you forletting us know it's a blessing.

- Amen.- Time now for your questions

and Pat's honest.

- [Pat] Okay.

- [Wendy] All right, Lancewrites, "Pat, in Amos 3:7,

it says, 'Surely thelord, God, does nothing

unless he reveals hissecrets to his servants,

the prophets.'"

"In these last days, don't youthink it would be appropriate

for the lord to havea prophet on the Earth

that we can follow and be instructed by?"

"I appreciate your answer, thank you."

- Well, I totally agree with that

and I want you to know thatthere are a lot of people

that are hearing fromthe lord, not just a few,

but a lot of them.

And I remember some yearsago when it looked like

we were going to war in the Middle East

because the Russians weremoving in and I was praying

and the lord said to me, "Did I tell you

anything about that?"

I said, "No, you haven't."

And then he said, he said,"Do you any of your friends

know anything about it?"

I said, "No, they don't."

And he said, "Well,nothing's gonna happen."

And that was he willshow us and I pray a lot

to hear what God is saying andI think that a lot of others,

the same thing.

So, we're not looking for one voice,

that would be a danger, butthere are thousands of people

who are listening to the voice of the lord

and he is instructing themabout what's going on.

Like that tribe in Israelthat knew the times

to tell Israel what it ought to do.

And I think, I mean, Ipray daily asking God

for his inspiration on these matters.

Daily, I say, "God, showme what's going on,"

and others are doing the same thing.

All right?

- All right.

Irene says, "Pat, I reada lot of Christian books

about how to serve God and they have

lots of Bible verses in them."

"Is that like studying the Bible?"

- It helps, but not really.

I mean, I, you reallywant to go to the source.

And people are always, you know,

this is their interpretation,this is what it means.

Get yourself a fairly goodtranslation of the Bible,

by, likely, NewInternational or one like it

and start reading and let thelord speak to you himself.

You don't have to get somebody else's,

don't get your revelations secondhand,

get it direct from the source.

All right?

- Amen, good word.

Kevin says, "When is the earliest

that God reveals his will to us?"

"Especially when it comes tohis purpose for a job or career

that he has for us where wecan use our gifts and talents."

- Well, there it is, he reveals it to you

is when you're a little kid and you see,

well, what do you like to do?

And I think if you go back,what you really enjoy doing

while you were a youngsterbecomes what you like to do

when you get older andGod has given you talents

when you were a youngster.

So, that's what I think that answers it,

I don't know what else to say.

- When I was about 10, I was in a mall

in Knoxville, Tennessee where we lived

and I saw the local news anchor

and she was interviewingthe governor and his family

and I remember juststanding there thinking,

"I want to do that."

- Yeah.- And that was when

the seed was planted, thatwas when the seed was planted.

- God will show you.

I wish we had time formore of your questions,

but I guess that's all the time we got.

We'll leave you with thesewords from the Book of Romans.

"Don't let evil conquer you,

but conquer evil by doing good."

Tomorrow we've got ourfriend, bestselling author,

Joel Rosenberg, he's got a new book

about serious changes in the Middle East.

That's on tomorrow's 700 Club.

So, for Wendy and all ofus, this is Pat Robertson,

thank you so much for being here.

Remember our telephones are available,

even though we're not on the air.

1-800-700-7000.

See you later, bye bye.

(upbeat music)