← Focus on the Family with Jim Daly
Focus on the Family with Jim Daly
Best of 2025: What Does the Bible Say About the Supernatural? (Part 2 of 2)
00:27:35
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- [00:02]
A
Hi, this is Jim Daly. I hope you and your family are experiencing a godly sense of hope and joy this Christmas season. I'm so thankful you've joined us today for more Bible based encouragement for your marriage, parenting and faith. And in this season of giving, we invite you to join our support team here at Focus on the Family. At this time of year, we typically raise nearly 50% of our annual budget. That means your financial support is crucial, especially now when we have a matching gift opportunity of $8 million. That represents a lot of ministry and every little bit you contribute will have double the impact. $25 becomes 50 and 50100 and so on. This is your opportunity to be part of our family rescue team. Give now before December 31st to help us meet this match. Call 800-A- Family or donate at Focusonthefamily.com/family.
- [01:06]
B
Nevertheless, there are modern miracles that and again, I'm a skeptic. So I want documentation, I want corroboration, I want investigation. And so what it does for me is it does two things. Number one, it gives me more evidence that God exists. And number two, it gives me more confidence in the Gospels and in the Bible because if Jesus did miracles in the first century, a lot of people find that an impediment to believing the Gospels as being true. But if we're still seeing miracles today, then they certainly could have taken place in the first century.
- [01:37]
C
That's Lee Strobel sharing his enthusiasm about seeing the supernatural move of God in everyday life. And on this best of 2025 episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, Lee's going to share that enthusiasm with you. Thanks for joining us. I'm John Fuller.
- [01:54]
A
John Lee is so good at digging deeper and talked a lot about the supernatural yesterday. So if folks missed that, go back and listen to it. We covered so much territory and it really, it made me feel so buoyant spiritually. I just was into it. And I know you were as well.
- [02:11]
C
Very much so, yes.
- [02:12]
A
And you know these things that we talk about when it comes to the supernatural, whether a dream or dreams or people being healed in Africa and other places, we tend to shy away from it even as Christians when we should actually run to it to explain what's happening and to be anticipating that God can still do these things, we don't want to be phony baloneys. Right. We do believe God can still do miracles. And we're going to talk more with Lee Strobel today about his great book, Seeing the Supernatural.
- [02:39]
C
Yeah. Lee is the Founding director of the Lee Strobel center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christian University. He's written so many books and he's done so many different things, let's just say yes. The book title that we're covering today is Seeing the Investigating Angels, Demons, Mystical Dreams, Near Death Encounters and Other Mysteries of the Unseen World. Get a copy of the book from us here at the ministry. We've got the details in the show notes.
- [03:07]
A
Lee, welcome back.
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B
Thank you. Great to be with you again.
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A
Good to be with you. Have you made arrangements for this to be a TV series? Because it has that title.
- [03:15]
B
You know, it's funny. Supernatural was the name of a show, as you know, and the pilot of that show did so well. It went for 10 years, which really shows the interest.
- [03:24]
A
That's the question. Yeah. Why people have an interest in this? What is the appetite within us?
- [03:28]
B
I think there's a curiosity. Is there something beyond what I can see and touch and how do I know that there really is? And people, you know, 8 out of 10 believe in something beyond this world. A sizable percentage believe in angels and in demons and in Satan. Although, interestingly, that number has gone down in the last 10 years or so.
- [03:47]
A
Why do you think that is?
- [03:48]
B
I don't know. It's a good question. There was a big outbreak of angel interest back in a number of years ago in the United States and that kind of juiced people's interest in angels. Everybody was writing about angels and talking about angels. That kind of waned and I think that caused the interest to go down a bit.
- [04:04]
A
Yeah. It's so fascinating though, because over the generations, that seems to be a consistent insight. People that have no connection to Judeo Christian values, people in Asia and other parts of the world where they're certainly over the centuries somewhat isolated, still have this concept of good and evil.
- [04:22]
B
Yes.
- [04:23]
A
What is good and evil and does it exist?
- [04:25]
B
Yeah, it does exist because there's a God who provides that measuring rod of what is good and evil. It flows out of who he is. And absent God, if there is no God, then there is no standard of good and evil. You can't call something good and evil because there is no absolute standard. Well, we know there is an absolute standard. We know that it is wrong in any culture at any time, in any place to torture a baby for fun. So there are certain standards that find their root in God being real. So, you know, if people deny the existence of God, they're also denying the existence of universal right and wrong.
- [05:02]
A
And last Time you described and people, again, you can go listen, get the app for your phone. You got access to everything there. Go to the website, etceter, to hear the program yesterday. But you described a car accident where a man showed up and he left as quickly as he showed up after saving this man's life. So they can take on that human kind of appearance.
- [05:23]
B
Apparently, they can become embodied at some point. They can do miraculous things if God empowers them to do that. I'll give you an example. Billy Graham would tell this story about a missionary in the South Hebrides, I believe it was called the South Pacific Islands. He was from Scotland, and he and his wife had a little cottage there. And they were trying to share Jesus among these tribes that lived back then. And the tribes got upset about this. They didn't want to hear the gospel. And so one night, a mob came to kill him and his wife. So here they are, they're cowering, they're afraid in their little cottage, and they begin to pray. God protect us. God, what do we do? Save us. And so forth. And they prayed all night. And after a period of time, the crowd of this mob dissipated and went away. And they were fine. Well, about a year later, the missionary led the head of that mob to faith in Jesus Christ. And so he became a friend. And so one day he's talking to him and he said, by the way, what happened that night? You all came to kill us, and we were surrounded, and yet everybody walked away. He said, what happened? And the guy responded. He said, well, we couldn't attack and said, why not? Because your house was surrounded. There were these muscular men, and they all had swords that were drawn protecting your house. So that's why we left. That's why we walked away. Well, what are they talking about? Angels. Angels can be warriors. Angels can be. We see the story in the Old Testament of Elisha, who was being threatened by troops, and yet. And his servant was all afraid. God opened the eyes of that servant to see the angels that had come to protect them. So one of the roles that angels can perform is protective roles. Yeah.
- [07:10]
A
And Lee, I mean, we have so many listeners. We're such practical people here in the west, and certainly a focus on the family. We want you to do your marriage well and parent well. And you're going, what are they talking about? But there are kind of three types of Christians. Those that are gonna look for it everywhere, those that aren't gonna admit that it even exists today. That was back in the apostolic state when they were healing and that no longer happens. And those in the middle, where we're going, wow, okay. It talks about miracles. Miracles can still happen. I just don't see them that often. Am I describing that fairly? Within the body of Christ and how we temperamentally look at it? I mean, there's a bit of me going, wow, okay. We just lean more into materialism and the natural state. That's just the way it is. We live in it. We're steeped in it. But to say these kind of things could happen. Angels surrounding my home, really, you know.
- [08:04]
B
There are what are called cessationists who are Christians who sincerely believe, based on their interpretation of Scripture, that some of them believe that the miraculous no longer occurs, that God has stopped doing that in our midst. Some believe that no miracles still occur, but the gifts of the supernatural, gifts of tongues and so forth, are no longer operative. They're sincere, wonderful Christians who. That's the way they interpret scripture. I think there are Christians, though, like you say, that are kind of in the middle. I was sort of like this embarrassed because I had an encounter with an angel. And I never used to talk about this because I was embarrassed. And I remember my ordination, when I was being ordained as a pastor. I thought, do I bring this up? Are they going to think I'm nuts? And I told them the story, and they all said, yeah, okay, that easy routine. But I tell you, there were two forms of corroboration to this experience I had. I was about 12 years old, 10 or 12 years old. It's the only dream I remember from my childhood. It was a vivid dream. I'm in my kitchen and an angel appeared to me and began talking about heaven and extolling how wonderful heaven is. And I'm listening and I'm saying, well, I'm going to go there someday. And he said, how do you know? And I was stunned by, what do you mean, how do I know? I'm a nice kid. I obey my parents. I've actually been to Sunday school a couple of times. I try to do good things. And the angel looked at me, said, that doesn't matter. And a chill went through my body, and he could see I was chilled. And he looked at me and he said, someday you'll understand.
- [09:36]
A
Wow.
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B
Sixteen years later, I'm in a church. I'm an atheist, because I discounted that that was just a dream that wasn't real. Sixteen or 20 years later, I'm in a church. My wife had brought me, and the pastor presented the gospel and said, it's not by our good works that we're saved. We can't earn our way to God. It's not being a nice person. It is receiving this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus purchased on the cross when he died as our substitute to pay for our sins. We receive it in repentance and faith. It's a gift. And as soon as I heard that, I flashed back to that angel, and he was right. Someday I would understand. And it wasn't the good deeds that I thought were gonna earn my way to heaven. And so I was always embarrassed by that. I never told people about it until now. I'm writing this book and I'm hearing other stories that have this kind of corroboration. Like the angel told me something I didn't know, number one. And made a prediction that came true 16 years later. So that's two forms of corroboration I.
- [10:34]
A
Do need to touch. You know, we're talking about angels, of course. Demons are fallen angels that went with Lucifer that kind of rose in rebellion against God, against heaven. And they were excommunicated. And that's been the battle. That's the story. That's what we understand about good and evil. Lucifer and his pride. And the angels that went with him. Describe for us what that is. Like this idea of demons.
- [10:58]
B
Yeah. Demons are, as you say, fallen angels. They are not. Some people think sa Satan is the counterpoint to God. He has the same powers as God. No, he's a fallen angel. He's not omniscient like God is. He doesn't know our minds. He can't read our minds in a way that God is omniscient. He's not omnipotent. He's not all powerful, but he is a powerful being. He is an angel. And so sometimes there are instances, and I document this in my book, where demons will possess a human being. And I have a story in my book that's amazing from Richard Gallagher. Richard Gallagher is a Ivy League educated psychiatrist. Medical doctor. Doctor. He's a professor at major medical schools. And he got involved with some Catholic priests who were looking into the demonic. And one day he got a phone call. This is a number of years ago. And the Catholic priest said, do you mind if tomorrow I bring by your house at nine in the morning this woman who claims that she's a high priestess of a satanic cult? Would you examine her as a psychiatrist and give me your opinion? Is she authentically possessed by demons or is she mentally ill or whatever? So he said, yes, bring her by Tomorrow morning. His family had two cats, and these two cats loved each other. They were good friends and never had a problem. The night before, these two cats went crazy. They attacked each other. They're clawing at each other. They're trying to kill each other. And finally had to separate them and keep them separate. And said, this is weird. You'd never see anything like this. The next morning, the doorbell rings at 9:00'. Clock. He opens the door. There's a Catholic priest and there's this woman who claimed to be a high priestess of a satanic cult. And this woman looked at Dr. Gallagher and said, how'd you like those cats last night?
- [12:39]
A
Oh, my.
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B
Yeah. The demonic is real. And through his experiences as a credentialed professor of psychiatry, he documents cases. And in my book, I describe some of those cases of people who speak in languages that they do not know Latin. People who are possessed by. The one case was six eyewitnesses where a person levitated. These are authentic cases of possession. Now, Christians cannot be possessed by Satan, by demons, because we're indwelled by the Holy Spirit. But we can be hectored. We can be bothered by demons. Sure. That's why the Bible talks about spiritual warfare and the fact we should put out the armor of God and live in scripture and protect ourselves against these kind of influences. But I think we make a huge mistake when we relic the demonic to motion pictures like the Exorcist.
- [13:33]
A
Well, that's what I was going to say, that we have to be careful as believers not to discount this underworld, this hellish world that exists. I mean, we believe it to an extent, but then when it becomes real, like a manifestation of it, we kind of go, okay, that was odd. That may be a Hollywood thing, but we of all people, again, should be the ones to decipher for people what that experience is. Like this Catholic priest.
- [13:57]
B
That's right.
- [13:58]
A
You know, Lee, let's move. I mean, there's so much to. And we're just getting there. But in fact, John, let people know how to get ahold of the book. That's a good place to go. I'm picking it up and we're moving.
- [14:09]
C
Yeah, give us a call. 800, the letter A in the word family. 800-232-6459 or online. We've got all the details for you, and the link is in the show notes.
- [14:21]
A
All right, we've got some ground to cover. So this will be like the lightning ground for the 15 minutes, but deathbed vision. Yes, we did want to cover that.
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B
Yes.
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A
That's a spirit moment.
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B
Yes.
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A
And explain it.
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B
We see this in Scripture, in the book of Acts, where Stephen is about to be stoned to death and he looks up and he sees heaven. He gets a glimpse of the afterlife. And we have tens of thousands of cases of people who right before they die, they get a glimpse of what's to come.
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A
Often reaching, often reaching.
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B
And you know Jesus, when he told the story about Lazarus and the rich man who died, and the rich man goes to separated from God. But the beggar Lazarus is escorted, Jesus said, by angels to a paradise. Many people will see angels as they're about to die. I'll give you an example. Billy Graham's pulpit partner, Charles Templeton, who lost his faith, became an agnostic, if not an atheist, wrote an ugly book against Christianity in Canada called Farewell to My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith. But on his deathbed, he said to his wife, Madeline, Madeline, can you see them? They're here in the room. What do you mean you can't see them? They're right here. The angels have come. They're beautiful. I never heard such singing. This is, I'm going to heaven. I'm going to be with God.
- [15:41]
A
Yeah. And you know, Lee, one of the things that has come out, and I think your friend, my friend John Burke has debunked this to a great degree, especially in the near death experience, which we'll talk about in a moment. But people in this phase of dying, so many medical professionals will say, well, it's an endorphin release, it's a brain chemistry thing, and it's how our bodies are eased into death. Describe what you have found to be.
- [16:06]
B
True, especially in the deathbed vision as well in near death experience. They're different phenomena, but they're similar. There was one case of 3,000 cases of deathbed visions that were investigated. And the conclusion of the researchers was this cannot be accounted for by hallucinations, by a dream state, by a medical condition, by endorphins. They rule those out. Having investigated 3,000 of these cases, that just does not add up, especially when you see corroboration. I'll give you another example of corroboration. There's a well documented case of a very prominent scholar in the United Kingdom whose wife was a medical doctor and she was tending to a woman who was dying. And in that case, the woman saw angelic beings and then she saw her father in heaven who had died a number of years previously, and her father was there as if to welcome her. And then she Got perplexed and she said, vita is with him. Vita is with my father. And she was confused. And then she died. And they said, well, who was Vita? Well, it turned out Vita was her sister who had died a short time before that nobody had told her because she had been ill and they didn't want to upset her. So she had not been told that her sister had died. And yet she's seeing her in a.
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A
Right, so that's not a biochemistry thing.
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B
Exactly. So that argues against this idea that it's something conjured up in her own mind or produced by some sort of endorphin.
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A
Wow, that's really amazing. Lee. We talked about John Burke a couple of times being a mutual friend, and he's been on the program several times. He and you talk about Mary story about this woman. What can we take away from her story?
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B
Yeah, Mary's a great story again of corroboration. And the corroboration is she was bleeding to death. She was taken to a hospital emergency room in London and she was clinically dead. I mean, and yet she said, I was conscious the whole time as she described how her spirit had separated from her body. She was watching the recessive efforts from above. She got a glimpse of the afterlife and so forth. But then she recovered and her spirit returned into her body. And she said, by the way, the ceiling fan here in the room, on the top of a blade of the ceiling fan is a red sticker. And they said, well, you couldn't see it from the room because it was on the top of the blade. But she saw it from her position when her soul had separated from her body. She was looking down, she saw it. And so they got a ladder and they went up and they. And sure enough, just as she said, there's the red sticker on the top blade of the ceiling fan. That's the kind of corroboration when people in a near death experience see things or hear things that are impossible for them to have seen and heard unless they had an authentic out of body experience.
- [18:46]
A
I think John also had that story about a child in the hospital who had an out of body death experience. She followed her family home and he talked about the tennis shoe on the roof of the hospital.
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B
That's right, another one.
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A
And the nurse went up, the doctor said, go check that out.
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B
That's right.
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A
And they found it. A tennis shoe.
- [19:02]
B
There are multiple cases and the contribution that John has made that's so important and others who have researched these areas of near death experience and deathbed Visions is the correspondence with biblical teaching. In other words, one scholar who investigated Deathbed Visions found 47 points of correspondence between the Bible and deathbed visions. Consistency. And as John Burke points out in his books and in his research into a thousand cases, that what we see in near death experiences is entirely consistent with what the Bible talks about when it talks about people transitioning into the world today.
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A
Yeah, and I so appreciate that he buttresses these things with Scripture.
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B
That's right.
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A
And even saying and suggesting that Paul, when he is stoned to death or almost stoned to death, that he had probably an out of body because he talked about not being present in his body but being in heavenly places. And John said, you know, I can't prove that, but it's like, like Paul is talking about experiencing this. Let me ask you on behalf of the atheist. God loves them, therefore we should love them too. That person that might argue why, if God is a good God, why does he send people to hell?
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B
Yeah, I think there's a misnomer there about him sending people to hell. There's a lot of misunderstandings about hell. God doesn't send people to hell. We go there because of the life that we have lived and the rejection. And the rejection, the fact that we have turned our back on him and he allows us to make that choice and make that decision. So he's not sending people as much as people. It's an outcome of a person's life of rejection of God and his ways. You know, Romans 1:20 says that there's plenty of evidence from our world to see that there should be no doubt that God exists. And yet the Bible says we suppress that, our tendency because we want to be God. We don't want to be ruled by some other. We want to be God.
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A
This is Adam and Eve.
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B
Adam and Eve. And the Greek imagery of the suppression is like a petal. So when we begin to realize, wait a minute, what about this evidence for God? We suppress it like a petal. And then later we see something else and it suggests that God exists and we suppress it again. And so we're sending ourselves to hell. And by the way, hell is not a torture chamber. There is torment, but torment comes from within. It comes from that regret we feel and so forth, not from God in a sadistic way inflicting torture on us. But it is a natural consequence of a life lived contrary to God's teachings, showing no interest in God and ending up in a place where you know your wish is granted. You are not going to be anywhere Near God and no presence of God or influence of God.
- [21:45]
A
You know, it's interesting, I had never thought of this, but you know, the fact that God chose to write about that in scripture for us, to give us that warning, I mean, not to scare us, but to say this is the outcome if you don't come to me.
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B
That's right.
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A
It's actually quite kind of him to do. I have never thought about it in that way. Yeah, and we don't.
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B
That's a good way to look at it.
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A
We don't relish it in that way.
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B
Yeah, It's a holy warning, right? Yeah.
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A
You know, that's an incredible kindness of the Lord to say, here's what awaits those that don't embrace me. That's like a parent.
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B
Don't touch that flame. Don't touch that stove.
- [22:23]
A
It's hot. Lee, we're right at the end of the second day and I mean I could just keep going forever. And I think you could feel that enthusiasm because I love this context of the generosity of God, his heart for all of us, his desire that all should come to know him. I mean I think of that person watching on YouTube or listening on the radio or listening on the app, whatever it might be and you know, we experience a high number of, of salvation's through focus. I think we just did the data something like almost or just over 290,000 people in the last 12 months.
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B
Oh my goodness.
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A
Family is a great conduit for thinking about these deep ideas.
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B
Praise God. That's awesome.
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A
Yeah. You know, we never talked about it in that way, but I'm thinking of the person who's tipping into this conversation who doesn't know the Lord, likes the concepts, likes what we talk about, is a decent person, perhaps everything we've shared today, but really doesn't know the Lord. Can I ask you to pray for that person and then we can make some suggestions on follow up that they can do.
- [23:27]
B
Yeah, let's do it. We can summarize the gospel in 1 verse 21 words. For the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. The consequence of a life of sin is ultimate separation from God forever. But the free gift that we have, a salvation of eternal life of heaven, it comes when we pray a prayer of repentance and faith and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Can I offer a prayer for those that want to take it? Yes, absolutely. Just if that's your inclination. God knows your heart. So just in your heart Say, Lord Jesus, as best I can. I do believe that you are the Son of God. You proved it by returning from the dead. And right now I confess the obvious. I'm a sinner. I know that I've done things. I knew they were wrong before I did them. I did them anyway. I've sinned. And right now I confess that. And I want to turn from that. And in an attitude of repentance and faith, I want to receive. I want to receive that free gift of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus, you purchased for me on the cross when you died as my substitute to pay for all of my sins.
- [24:36]
A
Sin.
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B
Thank you for loving me so much that you endured the torture of the cross so that we can be reconciled forever. Help me, Jesus, to live the kind of life that you want me to live. Because from this moment on, I am yours.
- [24:54]
A
Yeah.
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B
And now those that pray that prayer, Father, we pray that you would, now that they've been adopted into your kingdom forever, that you would guide them, lead them, that they would become part of a vibrant church, that they would grow in their faith, that they would be baptized, that they would become your deep and devoted followers to change their life and the lives of those around them. And we'll give you all of the glory in Jesus name. Amen.
- [25:21]
C
Amen. Well, what a great way to end our time with Lee Strobel on today's episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. As he prayed for God to change lives. And we know he's going to do that. So I trust that you've learned more about how God works in all of our lives in really unique ways.
- [25:41]
A
These insights are so solid. God has gifted him in such a way to be able to clearly share evidence that supports our Christian beliefs. I could listen to him for hours, really. And to you, our listener, I hope this has strengthened your faith in Christ and given you hope. You know, this is why Focus on the Family is here. We want to give you the tools that you need to build a solid relationship with God and live in his peace and his love. And we have so many resources to help you do that. If you're needing some guidance, please get in touch with us. We have many, many resources we can put into your hands to help you whether you're seeking God or if you've been a believer for many years. We also have the amazing book by Lee Strobel, Seeing the Investigating Angels, Demons, Mystical Dreams, Near Death Encounters, and Other Mysteries of the Unseen world. It's full of astounding stories and solid evidence that points to God's strong, tangible love for you and we'd like to send you a copy of that book. When you give a gift of any amount to Focus on the Family today, no amount is too small. Your support of Focus on the Family delivers hope and joy to families in crisis this Christmas season and beyond. You'll help couples strengthen their marriages, parents who are stressed out and not sure to do, and so much more. Give today and join us in ministry.
- [27:10]
C
Yeah. And right now through a special match opportunity, your year end gift will be doubled dollar for dollar and God will use your gift to bring healing and redemption and hope to twice the families. And don't miss your chance to grab our free audio collection featuring this year's most popular Focus on the Family with Jim Daly episodes. You're going to hear powerful encouragement to strengthen your marriage and to parent with purpose and grow in your FAI trusted biblical perspective. The special set includes inspiring programs with voices like Sheila Walsh, Dr. Gary Chapman, J. John, and the late Dr. Gregory Jantz and many, many more. Get the audio collection Donate and get your copy of the book Seeing the Supernatural when you call 800 the letter A in the word family or look for the details in our show notes coming up. Coming up next time, we're going to hear some heartwarming ways that you can show love to the elderly in your family.
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B
As somebody gets older, it is even more important, I would say, for us.
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A
To provide some human connection to bless.
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B
An older person with just presence, with relationship.
- [28:21]
C
Thanks for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I'm John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
- [28:35]
A
Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of truth. As we celebrate his birth this Christmas, I hope you'll be inspired to share God's truth with grace and love. Become better equipped by listening to my podcast Refocus with Jim Daly from Focus on the Family. Every episode I talk to fascinating guests about important cultural issues and how we can reach people for Christ and share his Joy. Listen at refocuswithjimdaily.com or wherever you get your podcasts.