- Well, welcome to this special
edition of the "700 Club".

Today we'll be celebrating
the miracle of Christmas.

And we begin by taking
you to the Holy Land

and following in the
footsteps of the wise men

who sought the baby Jesus.

- They were guided
by the brightest star

anyone had ever seen,
the star of Bethlehem.

Chris Mitchell
brings us the story.

(newsy music)

- Hello, this is Chris Mitchell

and I'm standing in the middle
of the Judean wilderness.

To the east is the Jordan
Valley and the mountains

of the modern state of Jordan.

In Bible times this area was
known as the land of Moab.

To the west, about 10 miles
away, is the city of Jerusalem.

If we were here about
2,000 years ago,

we might've seen
the Magi come by,

the wise men described
in the Gospel of Matthew.

They came in search of the
one born King of the Jews.

This is how Matthew
described it.

"Now after Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judea,

"in the days of Herod the king,

"behold wise men from the East

"came to Jerusalem saying,

"'Where is He who has been
born King of the Jews?

"'For we have seen
His star in the East

"and have come to worship Him."

Who are these wise men
who came from the East?

Obviously men who
studied the heavens.

As it says in Genesis, "The
stars can tell a story."

During creation, God said,

"Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heavens

"to divide the day
from the night.

"And let them be for
signs and seasons,

"and for days and years."

And in the Psalms,
the psalmist said,

"The heavens declare
the glory of God

"and the sky above His handiwork

"and night after night
reveals knowledge."

Some believe the Magi came
from Babylon, modern day Iraq.

They studied the heavens and
found something miraculous.

The stars heralded the coming
of the Messiah of Israel

and the Savior of the world.

In his documentary,
"The Star of Bethlehem",

Rick Larson says, "A first
century historian named Philo

"described what Magi were like."

- And Philo does discuss Magi.

And he describes a
particular school of Magi,

calls it the Eastern School.

And these Magi he
praises, he says,

these guys understand
the natural order

and they're able to explain
the natural order to others.

And they were, according
to Philo, probably

what we might call something
like proto scientists,

they were the
scientists of their day.

At least this fancy
Eastern School of Magi

was of that character.

Now we don't know that
these Magi in scripture

are from that Eastern School,

but don't you think
it's interesting

that Matthew wants us to
know they came from the East?

I think he's telling
us these Magi

were from the good
school, impressive Magi.

I have a theory about this
Eastern School of Magi

that perhaps they were
descended from Daniel's day.

Daniel never went home, he
stayed there until he died,

and I'm sure was training
people to come up behind him.

That may well be
the Eastern School

that gets described in Philo.

- Larson wonders if the
Magi might have been

of Jewish descent since
they were searching

for the King of the Jews.

As they traveled to
the Judean wilderness,

they set their sights
on the city of Jerusalem

and its King Herod.

This is the place where
the Magi would've come

2,000 years ago.

Today it's the Tower
of David Museum,

but when the wise men came, it
was the palace of King Herod.

I'm standing on one of
the towers that he built,

it overlooks the
city of Jerusalem.

And over there on
the Mount of Olives,

it's likely the Magi
got their first look

at the city of
Jerusalem and its King.

This place is called the Kishle

and may have been where the Magi

and King Herod met.

About 20 years ago,

it was discovered
that this was part

of the palace of King Herod.

And this is how Matthew
describes their meeting

after they ask Herod,

"Where is He who has been
born King of the Jews.

"When Herod the king heard
this, he was troubled

"and all Jerusalem with him.

"And when he had gathered
all the chief priests

"and scribes of
the people together

"he inquired of them where
the Christ was to be born."

Then the chief priests and
scribes provided the answer

the wise men needed to
find the King of the Jews.

"So they said to him,
'In Bethlehem of Judea,

"'for thus it is
written by the prophet.

"'But you Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,

"'are not the least among
the rulers of Judah;

"'for out of you
shall come a Ruler

"'who will shepherd
My people Israel."

It's important to
remember the wise men

had been on a journey for months
and had studied the heavens

perhaps up to two years.

Herod wanted to know when.

Matthew reports.

"And he sent them to
Bethlehem and said,

"'Go and search carefully
for the young Child,

"'and when you have found
Him, bring back word to me

"that I may come and
worship Him also."

The next scene in the story

of the Magi takes place
here in Bethlehem,

about five miles from Jerusalem.

This is the Church of
the Nativity, the place

where many people believe
Jesus Christ was born.

Most nativities sets display
prominently the wise men

along with the
shepherds, Mary, Joseph

and the baby Jesus in a manger.

But it's likely they arrived
months, if not up to two years

after the birth of Jesus.

Matthew says they came to
a house not to a manger.

But after months of travel

and years of study, the wise
men finally came to the end

of their once in
a lifetime quest.

Larson describes the star of
Bethlehem the Magi followed

as a starry dance and
a heavenly rendezvous

of the constellations, stars
and planets to announce

the birth of Jesus.

He summed up the
celestial sequence

and the timeframe of
the Magi this way.

- Let me give give you
the chronology now.

In September of 3 B.C.,
Jupiter crowned Regulus in Leo,

up rises Virgo
clothed in the sun,

new moon birthed to her feet,

Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year.

Nine months later, the
biggest planet goes together

with the brightest planet
to make the brightest star

anyone alive had ever seen.

Where, right over
Jerusalem as it sets,

the Magi ride in.

They get there sometime around
November, they go to Herod

and they say, "We've
seen the star,

"where's the baby King?"

Herod says, "Bethlehem."

So they're leaving
the gates of Jerusalem

to go to Bethlehem,
five mile trek,

and they look up and
there's the star,

there's Jupiter right over
the little town of Bethlehem.

One of the guys is the guy who
does the math for the group.

He's going, "Wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait,

"it's in full
retrograde, it stopped

"right over the little
town of Bethlehem."

They ride down to
Bethlehem and 12:25 2 BC.

We know that's the date 'cause
that's when the star stopped.

- When they found Jesus,

Matthew describes the scene
of jubilation and adoration.

"When they heard the
king, they departed

"and behold the star which
they had seen in the east,

"went before them till it came

"and stood over where
the young child was.

"When they saw the
star they rejoiced

"with exceedingly great joy.

"And when they had
come into the house,

"they saw the young child
with Mary his mother,

"and fell down
and worshiped Him.

"And when they had
opened their treasures,

"they presented gifts to Him:
gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The wise men prophesied
through their precious gifts.

Gold represented the
earthly kingship of Jesus;

frankincense, His godliness;

and myrrh foretold of
His death for mankind

as the Lamb of God.

They found the One
the heavens announced

as the King of the Jews
and Savior of the world.

But the story wasn't over.

Back in Jerusalem, King Herod
hatched a plan to kill Jesus.

But God warned Mary and
Joseph and the wise men.

"Then being divinely
warned in a dream

"that they should
not return to Herod,

"they departed for their
own country another way."

This is the grotto in the middle

of the Church of
Nativity, in the spot

where many people
believe Jesus was born.

The wise men who came
to see Jesus spent

months away from home
and traveled hundreds

of weary miles on their
spiritual pilgrimage.

2,000 years later, their
diligence is an example to us.

And the saying is true
today as it was then:

"Wise men still seek Him."

Merry Christmas

- And let us seek Him.

The wise men of the East.

And whether that
goes back all the way

to Daniel, we don't know.

But isn't it wonderful to know

that God has raised up people
from all around the world

to come and give witness.

Now, could it be Daniel

and his three other companions
in the Book of Daniel,

God is giving them knowledge
and skill and wisdom.

Could that have been with
them for hundreds of years

so that they show up to
give witness to the Messiah?

Regardless of whether
that's the case,

this Christmas let's show up
to give glory to the Messiah.

To say, yes, a star
was in the East.

We're following that
star, the bright

and morning star
that is our Messiah.

Let us celebrate Christmas,
the coming of the Savior.

And in that celebration,
let's look forward

to His soon coming again,
that we can all rejoice

and from every nation
and every tribe

and every tongue, we can
gather around His throne

and say, "You are
the worthy one.

"Holy is your name." Terry.

- 40 weeks pregnant,
no signs of labor.

DeAnna was more than
ready to be induced.

Than after four hours of labor,

something went terribly wrong.

Her uterus ruptured
and she and her baby

both needed a miracle.

- I didn't believe it at first.

Just out of the blue.

- We were so excited
'cause we'd prayed so much.

- [Terry] The news
had come as a surprise

to DeAnna and Lee Mork.

They were pregnant.

It had been eight years since
they had had their first

and only child, Abby, in 2011.

Even then, it took five
years of fertility treatments

and the couple had all

but given up on
getting pregnant again.

- We were just amazed
that it had happened.

So we knew God had
given us this child.

- [Terry] All the
regular checkups

and ultrasounds showed the
baby was normal and healthy

and revealed the couple
would have a son.

DeAnna couldn't
wait to meet him.

Lee, however, felt
something wasn't right.

- I thought, God,
why am I, why am I?

why am I worried for God? Why?

I know God says, "What I
start I'm gonna finish."

I shouldn't have any worry.

But then it started me praying.

- [Terry] Then at 40 weeks,
DeAnna had no signs of labor

and doctors decided to induce.

On the way to the
hospital, Lee decided

to share his
concerns with DeAnna.

- He said that he had just
been having these feelings

that something was
gonna happen to me.

And I kept telling him,
"Everything will be fine."

- [Terry] After
DeAnna was induced,

Lee's concerns became a reality.

After four hours of labor,
she still hadn't progressed.

- I felt like something tore

and I was having
this unbearable pain.

My blood pressure dropped

and I was throwing up
in the garbage can.

It was horrible.

- [Terry] Now both DeAnna
and the baby were in trouble.

DeAnna was rushed in for
an emergency c-section.

- I was so worried about Jack
and I was in so much pain.

At one point I worried, am I
gonna make it through this?

- Everything that
I've been afraid of

was happening right here.

I knew Jack was gonna be okay,

but I was really worried I
was about to lose my wife.

- [Terry] As Lee waited outside

the operating room praying,

he called on family and
church friends to pray.

- I see people start running
down the hall with equipment.

I have cried out to God

and screamed, "God,
please, You've promised me.

"You told me he's gonna be okay.

"You said what You
start You'll finish."

- [Terry] Finally, DeAnna
was out of surgery.

Her uterus had ruptured and
she had lost a lot of blood,

but she was okay.

The baby they'd
named Jack was not.

- When he was born his
heart wasn't beating.

He was unresponsive.

- [Terry] It had taken
the staff 23 minutes

to revive the newborn who
weighed in at 11 pounds.

Concerned for the baby's life
or permanent brain damage,

doctors decided
to transport Jack

to the neonatal
intensive care unit

at a nearby hospital
in Birmingham, Alabama.

DeAnna remembers seeing her
son before they took him away.

- They rolled him up in
this little clear box

to the side of the
bed and I got to rub

the back of his little hand

before they took him away.

And that was all I saw.

- I went in the room and he
is got the tube and all this.

And I said, Jack, he
turned looked at me,

and he grabbed my finger.

I knew he was gonna
be okay right there.

- [Terry] At Grandview Hospital,

doctors put Jack
on cooling therapy

to prevent further brain damage.

They gave the
couple little hope.

- Even if he does live,

there's a strong chance he's
gonna have brain damage,

cerebral palsy or
developmental problems.

- We didn't get to
hold him for 10 days.

He was hooked up to,
you know, so many wires.

It was overwhelming,
just overwhelming.

- [Terry] After two weeks,

baby Jack was
breathing on his own,

but was largely unresponsive
and wasn't eating.

- You worry about
your child's future.

You know, what kind of life
will they be able to live?

- Everybody around
you is telling you

how serious it really was.

It really tests your faith.

'Cause you hear
one thing from God,

but I'm seeing
another thing there.

- [Narrator] By now,
a groundswell of
prayer on social media

had gone global.

Meanwhile, doctors performed
a second EEG and MRI.

The results were hopeful as
they showed no brain damage.

Still Jack wasn't eating and
had problems with his GI tract.

- We asked God to heal him,
and we just kept praying that.

- I'm like God, he's alive.

And I know He saved Him,
but I want him to be whole.

- [Terry] Then a sign of hope.

After spending
thanksgiving in the NICU,

Lee and DeAnna began to pray
for a Christmas homecoming.

Jack was improving,

but doctors wanted all his
medical issues resolved

before he was discharged.

By Christmas Eve, however,
they changed their minds

and sent Jack home.

- That was the best,
best Christmas ever,

the best Christmas gift
anyone could ever give me.

- [Terry] DeAnna and Lee knew

it was still a waiting game.

- The doctors still
said that he may have

a lot of developmental
issues, cerebral palsy.

- [Terry] Follow up appointments
with Jack's neurologist

revealed a different story.

One by one, Jack met every
developmental milestone.

- He was just amazed,

he was like, "You
have a miracle baby.

"There's no explanation for
this other than he's a miracle."

- [Terry] Three years later,

- You wouldn't know now that
that he was basically dead

for 23 minutes because he's so
strong and healthy and happy.

- None of the things happened

that they thought could happen.

God healed him.

He's not just well,
he's more than well.

- [Terry] Jack will even
tell you who healed him.

- Jesus heal me.

- If God hadn't intervened,

he and I may not be here, but
I'm so thankful for prayer.

I'm just overwhelmed
by God's goodness.

- We can be thankful for prayer.

Just think, we get to go to
the creator of everything.

If there's anything
wrong in our lives,

if we have any problems,
we get to go to our creator

and we get the enormous
privilege of saying,

"Daddy, could you help me?"

Who breathed you into
existence? Who created you?

When you have that
relationship with your creator

where you know how
much He loves you,

how much He cares for you,

how He numbers every
single hair on your head.

Well then everything
should come to Him,

all of your issues, all
of that can come to Him,

and you can have the assurance
that He's taking care of you.

So whatever problem you have,

I'm here to tell you
God is the answer.

Jesus is the answer
to every human need.

We're going to pray.

We've gotten your
prayer request.

I'm gonna read the
ones that I have.

"Total healing of my
2-year-old granddaughter

"from a relapse,
neuroblastoma cancer,

"to be healed of leukemia.

'That I would be delivered
from drug and alcohol abuse,

"ready to live God's way.

"Please pray for me.

"I want to hear
the voice of God."

What do you have?

- Lots of people
traveling this season?

And here is someone
asking for safe travels

for their children during
this holiday season.

Another request, "Healing
for my aortic aneurysm.

"Doctors say there is no cure."

And then also
healing of our eyes.

"My husband and I are
both going blind." Wow!

And then, "I'm in a
horrible financial mess,

"I need a miracle."

I bet that's true for
many of you as well.

We wanna take some
time to pray for you

that during this very
special time of the year,

God would speak right
into your place of need.

So let's pray.
- Let's pray.

Lord, first of
all, we come to You

and we ask 'cause
someone is asking

that they would hear your voice.

We ask that You
would open our ears,

that You would open our eyes,
that You would give us a heart

of understanding
that we would know

the greatness of Your power.

Lord, so often the problems
of this life overwhelm us

and drown out Your voice
that we're listening

to other voices, we're
listening to other reports.

We're not tuned into You.

So Lord, we right now, we
turn our hearts to You.

We focus the the eyes
of our soul on You,

and we ask that You
would open them,

that You would open our ears,

we want to hear Daddy's
voice, that still, small voice

that speaks words of
comfort and healing

and forgiveness
and encouragement.

Be with us now, Lord God.

Now we pray for these
prayer requests,

for the one with leukemia,

for the granddaughter
with cancer,

for anyone with cancer,
leukemia, any physical disorder,

any problem with eyes,
any problem, Lord God,

we lift it all to You,

for we know that
You are our healer.

For anyone suffering
with drug addiction,

with substance abuse, with
addiction to anything,

whether it's to pornography,
gambling, whatever the problem,

you are the deliverer.

And we ask now

that You would deliver their
souls from destruction,

that You would deliver
their heart and their spirit

and their mind so they
would be restored to sanity

and come and worship You.

- And Lord, we pray for all

who are struggling
financially right now.

God, sometimes it's
by our own hands,

sometimes it's by
situations we didn't expect,

and sometimes it's
just something that's
come against us.

Lord Jesus, we just
commit all of this to You.

We ask You for wisdom.

We ask You for
peace in our hearts

and our minds that we could
release all of these needs

to You, set them on the altar

and walk away knowing
that You will pick them up

and that You'll respond
right to our deepest needs.

God, thank You for
Your faithfulness.

Thank You that You stand strong
in the midst of our hearts

and our minds and our
lives this Christmas.

We just worship You Lord.

We thank You for who You
are and for Your greatness.

- And Lord, this Christmas,
we thank You for Jesus.

We thank You that
You set Your Son,

that You so loved the world,

that means You so loved us,
that You sent Your best gift.

You sent the greatest
gift we've ever received,

the gift of Your Son.

We thank You for it.

We praise Your name for all
that You've done for us.

We receive it all
in Jesus' name.

Amen, and amen.
- Amen.

- If you need someone to pray

for you this Christmas,
we're here for you.

All you have to do
is pick up the phone.

And we're here 24
hours a day, all day,

every day, any
day ending with y,

we're here for you.

We want to pray with you.

All you have to do is call us.

1-800-700-7000. Terry.

- Nothing says Christmas fun

quite like baking
cookies for Santa.

Here's Ashley Key with
a quick and easy recipe

that the whole family can enjoy.

(Christmassy music)

- Good boy. It's so good.

It's Cody's first
Christmas ever.

My friends call me Snow White

because I love all the
animals, all of the creatures.

(birds chirping)
(Christmassy music)

So we are gonna
make these delicious

Christmas sugar cookies.

First things first for
these Christmas cookies,

they're very simple.

I don't do a lot of things
from scratch, that's just me.

I know a lot of people
out there will agree.

So literally all you have to
do is go get this cookie dough.

It's Pillsbury
Sugar cookie dough.

You just need one roll of this,

or I guess however many rolls

because of however many
cookies you wanna make.

I'm just making a small
batch, so I just got one roll,

I think it'll be enough.

And then you're gonna need
a 1/4th a cup of flour

to kind of mix in
with the cookie dough.

Here's the cookie dough.

The direction say

to really just kind of
do it and divide it.

So this is like half of this.

Put the other half
in the fridge,

and just once you're done
making cookies with this,

go and get the other
half from the fridge,

add some more 1/4th a
cup, you're good to go.

I also have some extra flour
just as I continue to work.

I think I'll need it for
whenever I cut the cookies

to place the cookie
cutter in here

and then cut the cookie dough.

So again, you'll need
one roll of this,

a 1/4th a cup of flour
and some extra flour.

You'll need one of
these thing-a-bops.

Don't really know
what it's called,

but you know it's the rolly,
rolly thing, roll pin,

I think that's what it's called.

You will also need just
basically a flat surface,

and then of course you
need cookie cutters.

Okay, we have these cute ones.

Make sure you have your
arrangement of sprinkles.

(sprinkles rattling)

Some red sprinkles
and green sprinkles

because, hello, it's Christmas.

And then of course red
icing, white icing,

and then green icing.

So I'm actually
gonna break this up

and just kind of
smash it together.

So my niece and nephew
love sugar cookies,

they really like the ones
from Panera, like a lot.

Who doesn't like a sugar cookie?

It's just simple and like good.

And honestly I don't have kids,

but obviously I have
a niece and nephew,

they're a young age and
I feel like my sister

has done this with them before,

especially around the holidays.

And it's just, you know, a
cute little family activity.

And it's easy for them
to get involved with.

You know, they can
roll out the dough,

put some flour on the dough,

but then also it's just
something really simple like,

you can just bring to a cookie
swap party or something.

You know, I feel like baking
is actually very relaxing.

I don't know about you,
but I'm not much of a cook,

like I can cook, but I
would prefer to bake.

And what I've found is you
don't wanna get the dough

too thin or else the
cookies will kind of like,

it won't really cut well.

And then what I'm gonna do is

take one of the cookie
cutters, dip it in this flour,

and then I'm just
gonna go in for it.

And that kind of helps
when you press down,

kind of divides it really well.

Pull out.

Kind of pull it back
from the cut pieces.

And then this dough is
not gonna go to waste,

we are just going
to basically do

the same exact thing we did,
which is roll it together,

and do the same thing over
again until we have enough.

All right guys, well you know,

we've got a casualty, (laughs)

a little bit of his arm
came off, but that's okay.

Doesn't have to be perfect.

(upbeat music)

Make sure you preheat
the oven at 350,

and then you're literally just
gonna put them in the oven

for 8, between 8 and 11 minutes.

(Christmassy music)

Christmas.

Okay. All right.

This is hilarious,
look at them. (laughs)

Ah, they are quite
fluffy and plump.

Yeah, those didn't
go as planned, but
that's okay. (laughs)

(Christmassy music)

Wow! (laughs) Those
are going to cool.

You wanna make sure that
before you ice these bad boys,

they have to cool
because if not the icing

is just going to melt and
it's not gonna look cute.

So we don't want that.

Alright, so it is decorating
time. That's right.

You just take artistic liberty,
you know what I'm saying?

Like, it's okay, even
if it doesn't look cute,

you know what?

It's the act,
right, it's the act.

("Jingle Bells")

Go like this.

Anyone, anyone know what
that's from? (chuckles)

(Christmassy music)

And voila!

All right, there's my first one.

(Christmassy music)

Ginger.

Something is wrong
with the green.

Woo-hoo!

Little artistic snowflake.

You get the hang of it.

So it doesn't have
to be perfect.

The whole point is
to just have fun.

This is a fun family activity.

You can do it with your friends,

you can do it with your spouse.

And this is the
finished product.

Oh yeah! Look how
pretty they are.

- [Daniel] Okay,
lets (indistinct).

- [Janet] Yeah, there it is.

- Do you like it?

- [Janet] It's a good cookie.

- Thanks for making
a cameo guys.

But I hope you guys enjoy this
super simple sugar cookie,

Christmas cookie recipe, and
I hope you guys just have

an amazing Christmas with
your family and friends,

and God bless you.

(upbeat music)

- I don't know who
had more fun on that,

Ashley doing it
or we watching it?

Well, we have more. (laughs)

- You wanted (laughs)-
- I've gotta apologize

to all the cooks in
the audience that-

- I love it.
- Yeah,

I tried to raise her better,

but no, she doesn't want,

her idea of cooking is,

"Let's go get it in
the grocery store

"and put it in an oven."

- Hey, who, let's be
honest, who has not done

that at some point when you've
run out of time for things?

Gordon Robertson, yes.

Never does anything
that's not from scratch.

- And then the Jackson version

of cookie decorating,

- (laughs) I love
it. It's awesome.

- I'll those finish
cookies in full disclosure,

we're done by others and
then presented on TV.

- But be like Ashley.
Be like Ashley,

- Yeah, she's having fun.

- So are we.

♪ Joy to the world,
the Lord is come ♪

- [Gordon] While most Christmas
carol's focus on the story

of the nativity in the past,

one well-known hymn
encourages Christians

to look forward to the future.

- There is one Christmas carol
that is unlike all others.

That song "Joy to the World"

is not about the
first coming of Jesus,

that hymn is about the
second coming of Jesus.

- [Gordon] Joy to the world
was originally part of a book

of poems written by

the great English hymn
writer, Isaac Watts, in 1719.

Based on the 98th Psalm,

the poem was never intended
to be a Christmas song

or any kind of song
for that matter.

And Watts never knew
that he had just written

one of his most famous hymns.

A century later, a Boston music
teacher named Lowell Mason

discovered the poem
and set it to music.

Because it was released
at Christmas time,

it quickly became
a holiday favorite

and went on to become
the most published

Christmas carol in America.

- "Joy to the world
the Lord has come.

"Let Earth receive her King,

"let every nation
prepare Him room

"and heaven and nature sing.

"He rules the world
with truth and grace

"and makes the nations prove
the wonders of His majesty."

It's about when He
comes again finally,

and rules in power
and justice and mercy.

♪ And wonders,
wonders, of His love ♪

And wonders, and
wonders, of His love

♪ Joy to the world

♪ To the world

♪ To the world

- John Marc is an
energetic three-year-old

who loves to run and play.

Yet not long ago he suffered
with juvenile cataracts.

His doctor said without
surgery he'd go blind.

Here's how you gave this
young boy the gift of sight.

- Mylene is a single mom

raising her three-year-old
son John Marc

with help from the
boy's grandmother.

They live in a small fishing
village in the Philippines.

Early on, Mylene said she
noticed John squinting

like he was struggling
to see clearly.

- [Interpreter] He often
looks like he's mad.

He can barely open his eyes
when he squints like that.

- [Narrator] To earn
money to provide for them,

Mylene travels to work in
a large city far from home.

- [Interpreter] It hurts that
I can't always be beside him,

hug him and comfort him.

It's difficult to
be a single parent.

- [Narrator] Then she got
a scary call from her mom.

- [Interpreter] I remember
I was at work and mom called

and said she saw something white

growing in the
pupils of his eyes.

- [Narrator] John Marc was
diagnosed with cataracts

in both eyes.

The doctor said that only
surgery could fix them

and that it would cost $3,000.

Mylene earns about $3 a day.

- [Interpreter] They
said that if my son

didn't have surgery
he would go blind.

When I heard that, I felt
like falling on the floor.

I felt so hopeless.

- [Narrator] Then the
boy's ophthalmologist,

Dr. Rachel Milante, reached out

to Operation Blessing for help,

Operation Blessing then
met with the family

and paid for John Marc

to receive free
surgery in both eyes.

After the operation,
John Marc was all smiles

and seeing clearly for the
first time in his young life.

- [Interpreter] He can
recognize people easily.

He runs around and doesn't
fall or bump into anything.

I'm so grateful to
God for the doctors

and for Operation Blessing.

- You know, "700 Club"
members, you do so much

around the world
with your giving,

whether it's giving sight,
or life, or provision.

I mean all of that is
because of your generosity.

If you're not a
"700 Club" member,

I can't think of a
better time of the year

than right now for you to join.

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

Just go to your phone

and call our toll free
number 1-800-700-7000.

Say you wanna join
the "700 Club".

Lots of club levels,

and general membership is
the $20 a month membership.

But you could go up
to "700 Club" Gold

if you're already a
member, $40 a month.

Or come in at the 1,000
Club, $84 or more a month.

We have 2,500 club members
joining us at 209 a month.

Our founders $417 a month.

Ask God what he'd have you to
do and then go to the phone

and call knowing that you're
touching and changing lives.

When you do that, would you
do it using Pledge Express.

That's electronic
Monthly giving,

it means your bank
does all the work

you don't have to
manage any of it,

you can stop it
whenever you want.

But it means your
gift gets here faster

and it saves us some
additional dollars

so we can put even more
of it right into the lives

of families like the
little family you just saw.

When you use Pleasure Express,

we're gonna send you
"Power for Life" teachings.

You're gonna get one
of these every month.

We think there'll be a
great blessing to you.

Also, a reminder to you

of the difference
your gift is making.

So call now, say, "I wanna
join the '700 Club'."

(Christmassy music)

- Lucas served his
country in Iraq,

and after two tours of
duty, his memories of bombs

and bullets haunted
him for years.

And then one Christmas
they nearly cost him

everything he held dear.

- [Narrator] For Lucas, a
husband and father of two,

Christmas is more
than a holiday,

it's a reminder of
everything he loves

and everything he almost lost.

- Our unit would find an
IED almost every single day.

So every bump you're going
on, it's like, is that IED?

Is that IED?

You don't know which person
is gonna throw grenade at you.

You don't know which vehicle's
coming at you to blow you up.

And I'm like, "I don't
wanna die up here."

- [Narrator] Long
before he was a Marine,

Lucas dreamed of
serving in the military.

- [Lucas] As a kid
I watched Rambo.

I was like, "Ah, cool."

He was tough and he could
take care of himself.

I pictured myself like that

'cause I had to figure
out things on my own.

- [Narrator] The youngest
in a broken home,

Lucas grew up a loner,

always afraid that one day
he'd become like his father.

- We'd always heard stories
that he had murdered people

and that he was
gonna try to kill us.

Seriously, my own
dad wants to kill me!

That's pretty messed up.

And then the thoughts
that get to me,

He was alcoholic, a drug addict,

so I always thought in my head,

"Oh, I have this addictive
personality as well.

"Maybe I would kind
of turn out like him."

- [Narrator] So he prayed every
night hoping he'd be saved.

- I read the Bible every day.

I knew that it talked
about sin a lot

and that you can go
to hell for sinning,

so I repented my sins
every single night.

It just brought even
more fear into the mix.

- [Narrator] At 18, he
joined the Marine Infantry.

As a patrol driver, he
didn't see much action

until one night when
his squad was attacked.

- I just wake up to these
tracers over my head

and just machine gun fire and
just bullets flying everywhere

and you don't know
where it's coming from.

(soldiers shouting)
(guns firing)

It was like, God,
please help me now.

Then everything stops.

(dramatic music)

And that was like really
frightening for me.

Shortly after that,
I started noticing

that my memory was going

and I was getting
more fearful, angry,

and the vigilant and would just
get up and I'd be paranoid.

My way of escaping
was suck it up.

You know, that was like
a motto, suck it up.

Everything, you know,
you're tired, hungry, cold,

don't show it, you
know it's weakness.

- [Narrator] And when
he returned stateside,

he began self-medicating.

- [Lucas] Something was missing
and there was something off,

and so I drank to
cope with that.

I would drink every single day.

- [Narrator] Just
before his second tour,

Lucas married Ashley.

He hid his symptoms in
drinking until shipping off

to Fallujah as a team leader
ready to train Iraqi soldiers.

But upon returning
home to Ashley,

he could no longer
bury his fears.

- If there was like
a cardboard box

or debris on the road, he
would swerve like a madman

'cause he thought that there
was a bomb underneath it.

If we go to a restaurant,
he had to sit in a place

where he could see
the whole room in case

someone was gonna attack us.

- I started having nightmares
and I was sweating.

I always had my hand on
my knife, even in church,

like I'm playing out in
my head how I'm gonna get

to this guy and stab
him, like in church.

- [Ashley] I knew
immediately that he had PTSD,

but he didn't believe me.

- [Lucas] Back to that
whole Rambo thing.

He could take care of himself,
I can take care of myself.

I don't need anybody
helping me, I've got it.

- The only thing I
could do is pray.

I was like, "God,
please just have him

"be aware of it, please."

- [Narrator] Eventually
Lucas agreed to counseling

where he was diagnosed
with PTSD and medicated.

Four years later he was working
as an insurance manager,

raising twins and
still battling PTSD.

To cope he began drinking more,

but his symptoms
only intensified.

- Too proud to ask for
help and ashamed, I guess.

The person that I
didn't wanna become

was kind of who I was becoming.

- [Narrator] Then one
night Lucas got drunk

at a Christmas party.

When Ashley refused to
let him drive, he lost it.

- He grabbed my hair

and he smashed my face
in the middle console.

I just was screaming
for him to get out.

I just wanted him out.

It was over.

- [Narrator] Lucas took
off and Ashley drove home.

The next day he had no
memory of what had happened.

Then Ashley confronted him
and left with the kids.

- I basically just
turned into my dad.

I was heartbroken
that I did that

and that I screwed
up the family.

On the Christmas tree

there was a picture of my
kids and I looked at them

and it just like
melted my heart.

(sorrowful music)

So I said to God,
I said, you know,

"I screwed this up,
but if You can fix it,

"I'll give it to You."

- [Narrator] Lucas quit
drinking and sought counseling,

and for the first time in
his life he felt no fear.

- It felt like a peace,

and I was kind of
infatuated with this peace.

Like this is pretty nice.

Just gradually I could tell
that things were changing.

- [Narrator] And when Ashley
spoke with Lucas on the phone,

she noticed something
was different.

- He dramatically changed

and he had like this confidence

that everything
was gonna be okay

and God was gonna
take care of it.

And it made me angry
because I'm like, you know,

"I'm divorcing you, like,
you ruined our whole family.

"Like this is not okay."

And finally I got on my knees

and I cried out to God,

"God, You have to do something."

It's like I felt a break

and I just knew that
God had fixed it.

I could love him again.

- [Narrator] Together,
Lucas and Ashley

learned to trust
God and each other.

And through that trust, Lucas
has found freedom from fear.

- God healed me.

He needed me to let go of myself

and just to fully trust in Him.

God was the only way.

- There's nothing else out
there that can really fix

your marriage, your
life, your heart,

your mind like God.

If you really do
surrender yourself

and kneel to God, he
will restore things

and make them better
than they've ever been.

(hopeful music)

- If you're struggling
this Christmas

and you're wondering, is
there a way, maybe like Lucas

you've come back from
war and you've got PTSD.

Maybe life has come
at you really hard

and you're traumatized with it

and you're reacting.

Maybe like Lucas, your
parents were addicted

or one parent was addicted,

and you're wondering,

"Am I turning out
just like my father?

"Am I turning out
just like my mother?"

If you're going through
these kinds of struggles

and you're finding,
is there any answer,

is there any solution?

What can I do?

I encourage you to do
just what Lucas did.

And it's such a
wonderful prayer.

"I screwed this up,

"but if You can fix
it, I give it to You."

When you acknowledge that you
can't do it and you surrender

and you say, "I can't make it.

"I can't change myself.

"I can't fix this,
can't fix my marriage,

"I can't fix my life.

"Lord, if You can do
this, I give it to You."

For Ashley, she's wounded.

None of this is her fault.

She didn't have
PTSD, what she had

was a husband who
was prone to rage

and then he would forget

and he wouldn't even
remember what he had become.

And she's going through,
"I just wanna leave you."

If you're Ashley and you're
having that kind of problem

in your marriage, you
can pray the same thing.

It's not that you screwed it up.

You can just say, "God,
this is screwed up,

"but if You can change
it, I give it to You."

You can have that same prayer.

Lord, I surrender. I
surrender all of it.

If you want to do this,

and if you want to come
to that same realization

that Lucas did, that Ashley did,

and in that surrender you
actually find the victory

that you need, that with
God, you can do all things.

Without Him, you can't
accomplish a thing.

You might be able to have
some success in life.

You might be able to have
some success in a career,

but are you going to
have that true success,

that true knowledge that He's
got you, He's got your future,

He's got you for all eternity,

and He's able to fix
whatever needs to be fixed

in your life, in your marriage,

in the deepest part of
your soul and your heart.

If you want this,
let's pray that prayer.

Let's ask Jesus to take it.

Surrender to Him, don't try
to pick it back up and say,

"Okay, I've got this," no.

When you truly surrender
and say, "It's all Yours,"

that's when the miracle happens.

Let's pray.

Jesus, I just confess
right now, Jesus,

this is screwed up.

I've screwed it up.

I've made a mess of things.

Jesus, if You can fix it,

I give it all to You.

I give You my life.

I give You every thought I have.

I give You my entire being.

And if You can fix
it, if You can use it,

Lord, it's Yours.

Come into my heart, make me new.

Forgive me of the things
that I've done wrong.

And Jesus, if You do this,

I want to give You
every single day.

I want to follow You
all the days of my life.

Hear my prayer, for I pray
it in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you prayed with me,

there's one more thing
I want you to do.

Let somebody know.

Call us: 1-800-700-7000

When you do, I've got
a free packet for you.

All you have to do is call,

we'll send it to
you free charge.

Here's a word from John

"And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us,