The 700 Club - June 17, 2011

Idol star Mandisa talks about her new CD. Plus, she’ll sing her latest hit. Well, welcome to The 700 Club. Polls show that currently Mitt Romney is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president. And he’s hoping to turn his popularity into votes. You know what, Gordon, one important place where Romney could get those votes would be in New Hampshire. David Brody looks at how Romney is doing in that key primary state. Mitt Romney wants to be known as a regular in places like Marianne's Diner. It helps that the candidate served as governor next door in Massachusetts. Many here see him as a middle-of-the road Republican. That plays well in the more moderate Granite State. It's time for somebody to be in the middle, which is one reason right now why I'm very supportive of Mitt Romney, because I think he represents the middle ground more than anybody. When you're seen as leading the pack, you can count on two things: the media following your every move and politicos analyzing your chances. The sense here is not that he is just this formidable frontrunner. It's that he's the frontrunner by default. That’s because most of the field is unknown and most voters haven't made up their minds yet. With a Mormon faith and questions about changing positions on some social issues, Romney will bypass evangelical-heavy Iowa and focus his effort here. For Mitt Romney, the frontrunner supposedly, but a nominal frontrunner, because he's not got the size of the lead that we've seen in past campaigns, everyone knows he has to win New Hampshire. Romney wants to be seen as an economic turnaround artist. To create jobs it helps to have had a job. I had a job for 25 years in the private sector. That experience will help me, if I'm elected president, craft solutions that actually make a difference. His big challenge will be to convince Republican voters that he is a true blue free market conservative. That might be tough since he devised the Massachusetts-run healthcare plan often compared to Obamacare. While he says each state should come up with its own plan, Romney has yet to detail how he would tackle healthcare at the federal level. If he can speak convincingly about a de-centralized system, a devolution of power, a Reagan solution, and he can be convincing, I think he can get by this issue. But he needs to complete that thought. He also needs to complete the race and is counting on New Hampshire to give him a strong start. David Brody, CBN News, in Derry, New Hampshire. Well, that’s more in our continuing story. We want to bring you the stories of all the candidates, so you can be informed. If you want to follow more, all you have to do is go to the Brody File on CBNNews.com. Wendy Griffith has the rest of our top stories from the CBN Newsroom. Wendy. Thanks, Gordon. The US Justice Department has entered the court battle over a tough new Indiana abortion law. The law disqualifies Planned Parenthood from getting funding from Medicaid in that state. The Justice Department calls the law unconstitutional. John Jessup has this look at the battle over abortion in the states and in Washington. Within weeks of regaining control of the house, Republicans stamped the words pro-life over their agenda. A ban on taxpayer funding of abortion is the will of the people and it ought to be the will of the land. The house has passed several anti-abortion measures since the start of the session in January. But in the Senate chamber, Democrats hold the power. It's incredibly frustrating to see things stop at the Senate, and even if it didn't stop at the Senate, it would stop at the doors of the Oval Office. Now just because these bills stall or die in the Senate doesn't mean it's slowed momentum. Instead, what it has done is it has shifted focus from what's taking place on the national stage to state capitols around the country. Alabama is the latest state to advance a fetal pain bill, banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It joins about two dozen other states taking action this year. This is a fire moving across the country. Right now, it is burning brightest in Indiana. Last month, Governor Mitch Daniels made headlines by signing a law defunding Planned Parenthood. It is now illegal for Indiana to contract with health care providers that perform abortions. Planned Parenthood of Indiana responded by calling Indiana “one of the most anti-woman states in the country,” claiming that “94 percent of the health care it provides is preventive.” Now a federal court judge will decide by July 1st whether to step in and put the law on hold. In the meantime, a powerful ally has come to Planned Parenthood's defense, the Obama Administration. It has threatened to pull more than five billion dollars from Indiana's Medicaid funding, arguing the new law restricts patient access. A Medicaid national director sent a memo warning other states against following Indiana's example. Pro-life leaders worry that that kind of pressure might force the Hoosier state to back down. Every other state that is looking to defund Planned Parenthood right now is looking to what happens in Indiana. And so standing strong there will have huge repercussions across the country. It's critical what's happening in the state level. Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan encourages pro-life supporters to stay strong, saying this is ultimately a debate about values that shape America. If we don't win in that fight, if we don't prevail in that debate, we may not have the toughness that it takes to prevail in the economic concerns and the foreign policy and terrorist concerns that we face as a nation as well, so that one is critical. And it all centers around government protecting the sanctity of human life. John Jessup, CBN News, Capitol Hill. The New York State Senate is going down to the wire in its debate over legalizing same-sex marriage. And former New York Giant David Tyree has spoken on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage, defending marriage as a union between a man and a woman. He says same-sex marriage would lead to, quote, “anarchy.” I believe that many things are subjective, but I don't believe that truth is subjective. And so marriage is one of those things that is the backbone of society. So if you redefine it, it changes the way we educate our children. It changes the perception of what is good, what is right, what is just. Tyree is best known for an incredible catch in the 2007 Super Bowl. The play helped the Giants win. CBN sat down with Tyree shortly after the Super Bowl. He talked about his football and his faith in God. And you can watch that entire interview on our website. That’s at CBNNews.com. Well, the world’s financial markets are watching Greece today. The prime minister replaced his finance minister, hoping to keep that country from a disastrous default, creating a crisis that could affect the US economy. Efrem Graham has that story. Financial disaster is a near reality in Greece, where there are protests and riots in the street. This is not just a European crisis. It’s impossible now to have a financial crisis contained to one corner of the world. When it affects Europe, it's going to affect the United States as well. The impact of Greece's financial crisis on the US was felt this week when the market dropped on fears Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy. It affects ordinary Americans, too, because many of their 401K's include European stocks. American companies that export to Europe are also concerned, because if Europeans suddenly have less money to spend, it could bring the slow moving jobs recovery in the US to a halt. Our products go to events that happen now globally. It's not just about the US anymore. It's about sort of an interconnected world and interconnected economy. Efrem Graham, CBN News. And back here at home, Vice President Biden and congressional negotiators are trying to reach a deal to raise the government’s debt ceiling to let Washington borrow more money to keep operating. Democrats are against cuts in Social Security and Medicare, and they want to raise taxes on upper income Americans. Republicans want to cut two to two and a half trillion dollars in spending, but they oppose tax increases. Some things never change, Gordon. That’s right. You can literally go back to 1980, and it’s the same script. The Democrats oppose cuts. They want to raise taxes. Republicans oppose taxes and they want to cut wherever they can. We’ve got to come together on this, because the deficit we are all facing, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican or an Independent or none of the above. We’re all facing it if you’re an American citizen, and at 1.5 trillion a year on top of a 14 trillion dollar deficit, we are spending out of control. And until we get to some kind of agreement and quickly, those riots you saw in Greece could happen here. But most importantly, will we be able to pay our financial obligations? Will we be able to pay the Social Security checks? Will we be able to pay for Medicaid, Medicare? Will we be able to even pay the interest on our debt? Those are big questions, and I hope we can come to some kind of agreement quickly. Kristi. Well, speaking of questions, Gordon, have you noticed that when you’re outside . . . . It’s hot. It’s hot. But have you noticed a lot of bees? Not these days. Not these days. Really? Really, well, I think that’s kind of a common trend. So here’s the question: where have all the honeybees gone? Well, it’s a mystery that has all the experts buzzing. Millions of hives have been lost. And the real value of the bees is crop pollination. You wouldn’t have an apple if the bees weren’t there when the apple tree was blooming. The case of the vanishing bees. That’s coming up on The 700 Club. Also ahead, we’re going to Bring It Online. Our chat room is open. There you have it. Hey, guys, just for fun, will you wave? Come on, guys. Wave. They won’t even wave. Thank you very much. So if you have a question for Gordon, there you go. Give it up for Kristi. Log on now to CBN.com, because Gordon loves to answer your questions. So does Kristi. Yes, okay. Coming up later . . . . . . . . Mandisa minus 100 pounds. How she did it, on today’s 700 Club. Attention if you have diabetes. If you have diabetes, I have groundbreaking news for you. Citizens Medical has a way for you to test glucose nearly pain free. Imagine no more pricking your fingers. With this new meter you can test from a tiny sample taken from your arm, so it’s virtually painless. 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Father, raise him from the dead. . . . . next week on The 700 Club. Well, five years ago, a Pennsylvania beekeeper sounded the alarm about the mysterious death of honeybees around the world. Mark Martin tells us why these bees are so important and if researchers are any closer to figuring out what’s causing them to vanish. For some people, the buzzing of bees can send a shiver down the spine. For experts in agriculture, it's a symphony, especially now when honeybees continue to die at an alarming rate. Millions of hives have been lost, and the real value of the bees is crop pollination in our country and in Europe. Honeybees help pollinate about one-third of our food supply, including many favorite fruits and vegetables. Here’s another way to look at it: 100 crops provide 90 percent of the world's food, and more than 70 are pollinated by bees. You wouldn't have an apple if the bees weren't there when the apple tree was blooming. You would have to move that pollen from tree to tree, and bees are the key to that. That's why researchers like Dr. Jeffery Pettis are trying to unlock the mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. Since 2006, seemingly healthy bees have abandoned their hives and never returned. Researchers estimate nearly one-third of all honeybee colonies in the US have disappeared. The fruits and vegetables have a bit higher value both monetarily, and I think, nutritionally, than do rice, corn, and wheat. Those are staples. They'll keep you alive. You can survive on staples, but you can't thrive. You can thrive on those other fruits and vegetables and nuts. Wild blueberries in the state of Maine depend on honeybees. Without their pollinating travels, you can scratch the number one antioxidant fruit in the world off the menu. As the state apiarist, Tony Jadczak Maine’s beekeeping operations. We brought in roughly 65,000 hives this year from all over the United States to pollinate the wild blueberry crop. Commercial beekeepers truck their bees all over the country. These particular bees which are pollinating the blueberry crop in Maine came here from Florida, and prior to that, they were pollinating the almond crop in California. After they’re done here in Maine, they head down to Massachusetts to pollinate cranberries. All that moving around has some wondering if this extra stress is a part of CCD. You'd think it would cause some stress, and I'm sure it does, but it doesn't seem to be a major driver of what we're seeing. Those beekeepers who are stationary, don't move their colonies, are suffering the same losses as the migratory beekeepers. So are researchers closer to finding a cause for this disorder? One recent study by a Swiss researcher suggests cell phone signals could be the problem. Pettis, who is one of the leaders in the US research effort, disagrees. He says while his team has uncovered evidence to rule out that and other potential causes, they have not found the smoking gun. Initially, we were looking for that one pathogen or that one new virus that we thought might be the cause, and so far to date we haven't found that. Pettis and other scientists instead focus on what he calls the “three Ps,” poor nutrition, pesticides, and pathogens. (Beltsville, Maryland): Here is one of several labs of the federal government’s bee research laboratory. It’s known as “the bee disease diagnostic lab.” Samples from all over the country come here from beekeepers wanting to know, “What killed my hive?” The scientists will look at the bee samples and determine if there are any parasites or diseases. One suspect: the vicious Varroa mite. Not only is it literally sucking the blood out of the adult bees and the developing bees, but the mite is also a vector of various viruses. As researchers search for the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, they encourage beekeepers to concentrate on the health of the bees they do have. When they're in times of the year or in an area where they think there's not enough pollen coming in, beekeepers are feeding extra protein, and that seems to help, seems to produce healthier colonies. And that can lead to healthier diets and a healthier economy. Workers at Wyman's in Maine know this all too well. Well, with 15 billion dollars worth of produce that's pollinated by bees annually, everybody is going to have something on their dinner table that is pollinated through honeybees. The country's leading grower, packer, and marketer of wild blueberries has taken a hit because of CCD. Senior manager Darin Hammond says pollination costs have gone up around 35 percent. I think that the cost of beekeeping and the cost of renting bees is going to continue to increase over time. Still, Hammond says Wyman's is pressing on, providing grants to universities for CCD research. Scientists and researchers appreciate the funding. And Pettis says he also welcomes divine intervention in solving the mystery. We'll take all the help we can get. Mark Martin, CBN News, Beltsville, Maryland and Washington County, Maine. I’ll bet he will take all the help we can get. This has been a global problem. A few months ago, I thought they had identified a virus behind it, but now it seems that that was not one of the causes. Whether or not cell phones, I think that is going to make the rounds on the Internet for some time. But they seem to have proven that it didn’t. Have you got any theories? No. But I was watching and reading about the story. As soon as I did read about the cell phones, my ears perked up, because I thought, “I wonder if technology does have an effect on insects.” There are all these things, waves going out into the air. And I wonder if it affects the bugs. And then I thought, I don’t know, maybe I’m getting too into it. What do you think? I have no idea. I really don’t. I wish I knew, because then that’s the first step to solving it. Exactly. But you look at the impact on what we eat and what the ecology of the world—this isn’t just our problem. This is the world’s problem. What would happen to all the fruit trees? And you sort of go, wow. Yes. It’s like you never realize the power of a bee, or a honeybee. Be good to your bees. Don’t kill them. Don’t swat at them. On that note, we’ll be right back. Just love your bees. Coming up next . . . . . . . . Idol star Mandisa talks about her new CD. Plus, she’ll sing her latest hit, after this. Do you have money to burn? If not, you need to know that the paper dollars you've invested your life savings in are being consumed right now in a growing blaze of inflation and declining value. Economists know why the dollar is burning and at risk of crashing. 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What I love about my dad is that he’s a lawyer, and I’m a lawyer; and we do very different things. But I can call him anytime day or night with a question, and he always knows the answer. My dad was always there for me. He would always encourage me in every sporting event, even driving me to events. They would come to every game and still afterwards he would pat me on the back and say “Good game.” Welcome back to The 700 Club. Well, during the fifth season of American Idol, Mandisa mania took off. But the singer’s popularity was not all about her performance. Mandisa captured the hearts of viewers when she disarmed her cruelest critic, Simon Cowell. But five years later, just wait until you see her now. She goes by her first name, Mandisa. She made it to the top nine on American Idol in 2006. But the end of her competition was the beginning of a new chapter in her life. Since the show, Mandisa has worked to overcome her personal pain and food addictions. With her third album, What If We Were Real, she inspires others to walk through their struggles, to find they’ll be stronger in the end. So please welcome to The 700 Club Mandisa. Mandisa: Hi. It’s so to see you. Thank you very much. And can I tell you, yes, yes, yes. Absolutely. Before we even get started, sister, you look fabulous. I feel fabulous. Fabulous. Thank you. Okay, so much how much weight did you lose? About 120 pounds. Who does that? Okay, one more round of applause. We have to. Thank you. Because that’s just crazy awesome. I’m so proud of you on so many different levels. Thank you very much. I also, along with every one in America, watched American Idol when you were on it and was rooting for you, because your voice was so powerful. And I loved you, because I was like, she’s so a Christian. I can tell. But I remember that day when Simon Cowell just said something that just made us all want to beat him down and hit him. So before we actually talk about it, tell us what happened, and then we’ll go into the questions. What happened that day? It was my first audition, the first time I ever met him. And going in, my worst fear was that Simon would make fun of my weight. Tell me I sing bad. Tell me I didn’t make it to Hollywood. Fine. But do not talk about my weight. Right. And I did my audition. And I was relieved, Kristi, because he was so sweet. He said, “Mandisa, you have such a beautiful face.” And then he said I was everything he wanted me to be when I walked into the room. So I was just relieved that he was so nice. And then a couple of months later, I was watching the premier episode, and I found out that he did make comments about my weight, but he made those comments after I left the room. So I found out with you and 30 million of my closest friends exactly what he said. And I was devastated, my worst nightmare come true. Yes. But something else happened that I thought was the bomb. And that was this, that after you saw that and you saw him, you said something. What did you say? Well, I got in front of him. And I said, “Simon, you hurt me. And I cried. But I have chosen to forgive you.” I said, “The reason I can forgive you is that Jesus Christ died so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, so I can certainly extend that same grace to you.” Come on, sister. When you said that, I was jumping up and down, and tears were—I was like, I love her. I just thought that was such an example of true Christianity from the heart, because it would have been so easy for you to pound him, because that’s what we all wanted to do. Sure. And that’s what I think the producers wanted me to do. Right. But I think a lot of people had yelled and screamed, but nobody had really shown him grace. And he didn’t really know what to do. He apologized. He gave me a big hug. And he’s been really great to me ever since. I love it. Well, you’ve impacted so many different people. And in fact, we’ve opened our Facebook up. You have a lot of Facebook fans. And one of them actually sent us a question. It says, “Mandisa, I admire how you publicly forgave Simon. How did you do such a courageous act?” And how did you feel afterwards? Well, I felt amazing. It was probably my most memorable moment to date. How did I do it? We’re often told that we forgive because we’ve been forgiven so much. And forgiveness has been a big lesson for me, because Simon could have gone the rest of his life and never given a second thought to what he said about me, but I would have held onto it, and I would have become bitter. And who knows what kind of an impact. So to be honest, it was more for me than it was actually for Simon. I think forgiveness sets the forgiver free more than the person being forgiven. Isn’t that the truth? Now, Simon wasn’t the first person that you’ve had to forgive in your life. There are other people that have really wounded you and hurt you in the past. And it really, what they did to you was a catalyst that really changed your course of life. Tell me what happened to you as a child. Well, I’ll just say that some things happened to me as a child that should not happen to anybody. I was molested at a very early age. And then I was 16, I was raped by my best friend’s next door neighbor. And, gosh, I just think that there is something that cannot be put into words that happens to a child when that happens to them. And I did not forgive immediately. I didn’t really know to. But as I began my weight loss process, I realized that I began turning to food at an early age to kind of shelter me and protect me. And food was my comfort. And furthermore, men weren’t looking at me as much when I was at my heaviest. And so I felt protected by that. But I’ve come to understand, one, that I had to forgive those who abused me, and, two, that I had to learn to turn to God instead of turning to food. And that’s been probably the most important part of this journey. The eating right and the exercising, you’ve got to do. But it’s getting to my heart and getting in my mind. That I think has been the biggest battle and I think the thing that people leave out of a weight loss journey the most. One of the things, when I’ve talked to different people about challenges that they have faced in their life, many people say, “I don’t want to be in this situation. I don’t want to live this way anymore, but I just don’t know how not to, how to even start.” I look at you and instantly applaud, because you have lost 120 pounds. Girl, if you lost 10 pounds, I’d still be applauding you. So how did you conquer that mountain, that hurdle, to say, “I can move forward one pound at a time.” Well, that’s the key, is that when I looked at where I began, I had so far to go. I was super morbidly obese, and I had a lot of weight to lose and still have weight to lose. The thing is, instead of looking at how far I had to go, I learned just to take it one day at a time, and that’s a lesson that I learned from Beth Moore, who is an author and a speaker that I got to travel with for many years. I’ll never forget her saying, “Don’t look at how far you have to go. Just today, what can I do today?” And those days start to add up. And so instead of looking at how much I had to lose, I just said, “What can I do today?” And eventually, after so many days of eating right and exercising and battling the mind and memorizing scriptures and quoting them and praying, the days added up. And 120 pounds later, I can say I’ve never felt better. And all of the tears and the pain and the blood and sweat was definitely worth it in the end. It was worth it. And you know what’s so wonderful is I know people always say that you’re beautiful, and it isn’t just about the exterior, but it really is your interior, which exudes and comes out the Holy Spirit is all over you. Let’s talk about singing. Yes. You wrote this song. Is it called “Stronger?” Yes. I didn’t write that. Oh, you didn’t write it. That is the first single from my latest album. Okay. Yes. All right, I’ll still give you the credit. I’ll take it. Well, let’s talk about the song. I’m just laughing, because I’m like you still could write it. So what happened just before you went out to record that song? Something huge. Yes. Well, I had been on this weight loss journey, if you will, and things had gone well. I had lost about 70 pounds. But then I hit a wall. And I think so often you hit a plateau. And, girl, I was frustrated. I was eating right. I was exercising. And I tried to weigh every two weeks. I got up one day. It was the day I was going to the studio. And I got up, and after the holidays and after realizing that I was going back to my old ways, I knew I was starting to put weight on. But for some reason, that day I chose to get on the scale. And I discovered I had gained over 20 pounds back of what I had lost. I knew I had gained. I didn’t know I had gained that much. And I was so upset, because I was trying so hard, and I just felt like such a failure. And I had to go in the studio and sing all about how strong I felt and was not in the mood. I wanted to cancel. I wanted to call my producer and say I couldn’t make it. But I knew I had to do it that day. And as I was in the studio singing these lyrics, I got to the bridge that said, “If He started this work in your life, He’ll be faithful to complete it, if only you’ll believe it.” And I realized it was not the end of the world. It was 20 pounds. And that God was doing a work in my heart and that this was a journey that I was on. So the words started to have an impact on me and that song has such a tremendous effect on me, because I remember how God brought me out of that and how He brought me out stronger than when I went in. Well, come on, I’m ready to shout, so as I go in the back and shout, you sing. Okay. You ready? Sounds good. All right. Mandisa’s new CD is called What If We Were Real, and it’s available wherever music is sold. And also, if you would like to hear more from Mandisa, just go to CBN.com. We have a web exclusive interview with her. And to watch that just click on the In the Green Room link. And now, here’s Mandisa singing “Stronger.” “Hey, heard you were . . . .” Coming up later . . . . James Bond had the respect of everybody. . . . . a man tries to imitate the movies . . . . And I wanted women; and I realized in order to have the women, I needed the money. . . . . and ends up on the wrong side of the Mafia. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Come on and cross over to the all new Cross Country radio from CBN.com. Cross Country, where Country meets the Cross. You'll hear real Christian Country from great Country artists. The all-new Cross Country radio where Country meets the Cross. Cross Country. It's only on CBN.com. This dining set is almost $1700. This dining set? Less than 1100. This living room? Over $4600. The same living room, $3500. It's not a sale. It's not a closeout. It's a whole new way to buy over one million products for your home all at huge savings. That's DirectBuy. And right now you can get a 30-day membership free, so you can start saving today on virtually everything for your home. Our first project with DirectBuy was our kitchen cabinetry. We saved roughly around $27,000. DirectBuy lets you buy without any of the hidden retail markup you'd pay in stores, saving you hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Imagine getting this entire room for nearly half of what you would pay in stores. Start saving today. Call now for your free 30-day membership certificate. Don't wait, Call DirectBuy at 1-800-839-2075; that's 1-800-839-2075. Call today. Welcome back to The 700 Club. Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel has been diagnosed with a rare disorder. The former Florida quarterback is receiving outpatient treatment for Guillain-Barre syndrome. He is expected to make a full recovering. Wuerffel is the head of Desire Street Ministries, a Christian charity serving the poor in New Orleans. Operation Blessing surprised a Joplin, Missouri couple with a home makeover. The couple has been living in a tent since the deadly tornado that struck the city back in May. OB agreed to help the couple repair their roof, but instead, Operation Blessing, along with the Home Depot, gutted, rebuilt, rewired, and reroofed the couple’s home. They were able to complete the project in only seven days. They also surprised the couple by painting and furnishing the home. Wow. And you can find out more about Operation Blessing by going to their website. That’s OB.org. Gordon and Kristi will be right back after this. When you look in the mirror, can you imagine erasing years of aging? That's what I used to look like. Lifestyle Lift takes only about an hour. 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It’s a miracle that all of our lives were spared. They’ve seen them . . . . God Himself rescued me. . . . . from divine encounters . . . . Jesus picked me up and moved me. . . . . to miraculous healings. Miracle after miracle after miracle, God just kept showing up. Unlock the secrets of the supernatural . . . . Father, raise him from the dead. . . . . next week on The 700 Club. My dad was the seventh child. He has six siblings that were older than he is. And he’s kind of almost like the patriarch of the family, of our family, obviously, and of his whole family collectively. I just became a father myself. If I could be half the dad that he was to us, then I’ll be doing pretty good. When he was growing up, David Hoskins never had much of a relationship with his dad, but he always longed for one. And that longing sent him on a quest for attention and acceptance in all the wrong places, including the underworld of the Russian Mafia. David Hoskins had one passion as a young boy. He wanted to be like James Bond. James Bond had the respect of everybody. He drove the latest sports cars. He traveled to exotic places. And he was surrounded by beautiful women. And in my heart, that’s who I wanted to be. But the reality was, David was awkward and didn’t have many friends. I was really poor at sports. I just had a terrible self image. And so, when you grew up with that you start looking for ways to get attention. You start looking at what’s going to bring me value. You know, “How do I get attention from people?” As the son of an evangelist, David grew up going to church. But his dad was often away because of his ministry obligations. I didn’t get a lot of time with my dad. These are the people that should love me the most, and if they’re not giving me their most valuable asset, which is their time, what’s wrong with me? So he looked for other ways to get the attention he craved. What I quickly discovered, making money was better than sports, and better than being good at school, because that got you immediate recognition and respect anywhere. The only reason I wanted money is because I wanted women. And I realized that in order to have the women, I needed the money. But he needed a plan. So when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, David saw a business opportunity. He turned to his father for help. We’d seen TV of what was happening in the former Soviet Union with lines of people standing out waiting in line for basic needs. So my dad gave me 500 bucks, and his credit card, we bought a ticket, and I went to Russia. David discovered he had a knack for business. He started a printing company and then expanded into other areas. I started contracting with big US companies that knew the future of business was in Russia. So we’d bring in all kinds of things from pantyhose to cosmetics. And the money was just pouring in. Then he made connections with the Russian Mafia to secure his business. You had what was called your Comecon. That was the man that did the business. Then you had what was called your krysha, which was your roof. And the roof was the person that protects your business and made sure that you’d get paid. They were the real Mafia at that point. Throughout the time we did business there, about 20 percent of your expense was security, was as your business grew the more guys you had to hire, almost this army, this personal army, to make sure that people respected you. He expanded his businesses to restaurants and nightclubs. I had clubs. I had strip clubs. We did big raves, big concerts. So, to get yourself up for the night, I usually had an ecstasy around seven o’ clock, and then by eight, nine o’ clock we were doing coke until four or five o’clock in the morning. Then you’d have another joint in the morning just to calm down. And you do that over and over again, day after day. David felt invincible. He had the money, women, and power, but his family back in America never gave up on him. My parents had always been praying for me. Their friends had been praying for me. Then David’s life began to fall apart. It started at a rave party. I had had the bar man put some ecstasy in the punch bowl, and we’d invited the heads of Mafia from all over Russia. And one of the wives of one of the top guys had an allergic reaction to the punch and they had to rush her to the emergency ward. Afterward, the Mafia families turned against him. They took over his businesses. In one day, he lost everything. They spared his life, but still, he had to answer to the mob boss. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and said I had to leave St. Petersburg, basically in exile. When I got to Moscow, I was as depressed as I’ve ever been. I was drinking. I was on drugs. While he was in exile, his father visited. And he’d put his arms around me and say, “David, never forget that God has an incredible purpose for your life.” And he could tell that I was really down. And before he left, he had a Bible with him, and I said, “Dad, could you leave me your Bible?” As David read the Bible; he realized that God still loved him. For the first time in my life, I was broken. I got to Romans where it says, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God. No angels or demons, life or death.” And I just said, “God, please, just love me.” And for the first time in my life I felt the presence of Jesus, and I felt this overwhelming love flow over me. David eventually moved back to America. He says that in God, he’s found the love and acceptance he was looking for. Once that desire for the women was gone, the desire for money was gone, also with the alcohol and the drugs. So once that primary addiction is gone, the other addictions tend to lose their power. What I really realized was that it was that little 12-year-old boy that needed to be loved, and needed to know that he was all right. And when I realized how much God loved that little boy and that God had brought that little boy where I was at that point, and felt God’s love, that was the healing process. That was the moment that I was free. You can have that moment, too. You can be free. You don’t have to be a slave to anything. God never intended you to be a slave to drink or to drugs or to sex or to money or fame, position, power. What is it that you’re doing, that you’re trying to fill up that hole? Maybe like David, it was something that started early. And you just didn’t seem to fit in. You never seemed to be loved. You never seemed to be accepted. Maybe you thought like David, “Well, if mom and dad don’t have time for me, maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s not them. Maybe it’s me.” And you’ve been trying to make up for that ever since. Well, I’ve got good news for you. God loves you. Yes, you. And He loves you because He made you, and He knows the potential that you have. He knows the great plans He has for you and how you can have a hope and a future if you just let Him. And on top of that, He wants to love you in ways that you have never felt before, unconditional, total acceptance. It sounds incredible, but it’s true. All you have to do is ask Him for it, just as David did. Here He is, He’s broken. He’s lived life the way he wanted. He went for the things he thought would fill that hole up. Here he is broken, and he says, “God, will you just love me?” And God did. And He’ll do that for you if you just ask Him. And when you do, you find what you’ve been looking for all along. You can’t fill up that hole with the things of this world. There is not enough success in the world. There’s not enough money, not enough fame. There’s not enough drugs. There’s not enough alcohol. You can’t do it. The Bible says He has put eternity in our hearts. And that only gets filled with the eternal one. And when you come to Him you find what it really means to be whole, to be accepted, to be loved. And understand that that was God’s intention all along. You were made for a relationship with Him. That’s what He wanted from the beginning. He wanted you and I to live in a garden, have perfect peace, and He’d come down in the cool of the evening and talk with us. That’s what He wanted. Now, when you start understanding this, it’s the love of God that leads to repentance. It’s not fear of punishment. It’s the love of God. When you start understanding that love is there for you, and all you need to do to get it is ask for it, well, then you’ve got it. And you can ask, and He’ll give it to you. Now, if this is what you want, don’t change the channel. But today let today be the day where you say, “I want to meet Jesus. I want to understand this.” It’s a very simple prayer. “Jesus, if you’re there and if this is true, if you really do love me, if you love me enough that you would die for me, will you show me?” And the Bible promises that when you seek Him with all your heart, then you’ll find Him. This isn’t some game. This isn’t some magic formula. It’s with all your heart. David had to get broken first before he went looking for Him. You don’t have to get broken, but you do need to search with all your heart, if you mean it. Will you bow your head? Will you say that prayer? Will you ask? And He’ll do it. He’ll come to you. Just as He’s done for so many others, He will do it for you if you just ask. So right now, bow your head, close your eyes, say a simple prayer, and let God do all the rest for you. Pray with me. “Jesus.” That’s right. Say it out loud. “Jesus, I come to you, and I want to know that you love me. And I want to know that you’re there, and I want to know that you have a plan and a purpose and hope and a future for me. So right now, I open my heart, and I ask that you come in. I ask that you make me new again, that you forgive me, that you accept me, and that you’ll be with me all the days of my life. And Jesus, if you’ll do this, I want to follow you. I want to know you. Hear my prayer, for I pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Father, for those who just prayed, I pray a baptism in your love. Let your love fill them now to overflowing. Let it be all around them. Let them taste and see that you are good, for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. If you prayed with me, the Bible says that if you do one more thing, if you confess with your mouth, then you’ll be saved. And what I want you to do is make a toll free call. It’s 1-800-759-0700. All you’ve got to do is say, “I prayed with that guy on TV, and I asked Jesus to come into my heart.” When you call, we’ve got a free packet for you. It’s called “A New Day.” And yes, you just took the first step on a brand new day. In there is a CD teaching on how to live the Christian life. There is also a booklet with Bible verses. We encourage you to get a copy of the Bible. Start with the Gospel of John. And we also encourage you to join a local church. But it starts with that phone call. Make it right now: 1-800-759-0700. Kristi, over to you. Thank you so much, Gordon. Well, guess where I am? I’m here in the chat room, and we are ready to Bring It Online with your questions, so whatever you do, don’t touch that remote. Next week on The 700 Club, Secrets of the Supernatural. A woman hopelessly trapped suddenly lifted by invisible hands. God sent an angel to pull Lisa out of that car. A fatal heart attack victim . . . . He's dead; he's gone. There's no life in him. . . . . returns to life one hour later. Meet these and other ordinary people touched by the supernatural hand of God, on The 700 Club, next week. My name is Roger Stump, and I’m a cancer survivor. The surgeon said it's inoperable. “It's already in your liver.” My wife, Brenda, sat there and cried; and I'm thinking, “I can't die right now. I'm only 52 years old.” I was so distraught. I've heard Cancer Treatment Centers of America have experience with pancreatic cancers. It was like night and day. The hospital just breeds an environment of hope. You get a CT scan, and the next morning the results were read to you. We’d go up there; I just knew it was going to be a good result. You could just see the joy on Dr. Granik’s face. Call now and we’ll show you how the most compassionate people anywhere put you at the center of everything we do. Together, we'll explore real treatment options you may not even know exist. Roger Stump: Cancer Treatment Centers of America. It is such a different place, because they give you hope. I would strongly urge you to call them and get a second opinion. Please call today. My dad is a retired minister who at age 70 went back and got his commercial driver’s license and is now in his fourth year, he’s age 74, driving 3,000 miles a week for Operation Blessing in their 18-wheel tractor trailer. I’m hoping that I have half his energy at 74 that he has. Happy Father’s Day. I hope you can spend it with your father. Anyway, Bethany Travis is a techie working at home. She’s all about reaching out and staying connected. That’s why she’s a big fan of CBN. See for yourself. When it comes to high tech, Bethany Travis knows her stuff. She’s a trainer for a national communications company and also a CBN partner. I love how we have things like the website, a presence on Facebook, all the CBN Interactive. We have all of these ways of reaching today’s audience. I like how CBN didn’t stay kind of in the past just with our grandparents’ audience. It’s reaching today’s audience as well. Bethany says she uses CBN.com’s media center to share her faith with others. One of my favorite things about CBN is that if I see a segment on a program that I really liked, I can go to the website and I can see it again, and I can link it in to e-mail and send it to people and say, “Hey, watch this testimonial.” She also uses CBN’s Pledge Express. I pay all my bills online. Pledge Express, because it’s the same time every month, it’s really easy to work into my budget. Bethany recently increased her pledge to the Founders level. She says it’s not about the technology; it’s about connecting with today’s generation. Back in the day when Dr. Robertson felt the call to create this television program, that was fantastic. But I like how CBN hasn’t just stayed with television. I like how CBN has recognized that in the 21st century there are all these other ways to reach people, especially young people who live in this world of technology. Let’s speak their language to bring them into a loving relationship with Christ. If you want to be a part of everything we do, all that CBN does, we’re a lot more than just producing television shows. We’ve got Internet. We’ve got text messaging. We’re doing things throughout the world in Asia, Africa, South America. You can be a part of the new Superbook series. You can be a part of Operation Blessing, Orphan’s Promise, everything we do, just by joining the 700 Club. How much is it? Well, it’s 20 dollars a month. That’s only 65 cents a day. When you join, we’ve got something for you. It’s called Life Beyond the Grave. Meet some real people who have died. Some have died in a hospital and they report, “Well, I went to Heaven. I met Jesus. I talked to Him. I saw some things.” And they describe them. Some of them went the other way. They went to Hell. But they still came back, and they’ve got a message. If you want to hear that message, we’ve got it for you. Life Beyond the Grave. Meet real people who went to Heaven and Hell. And it’s yours when you join the 700 Club. If you join at 700 Club Gold we’ve got a bonus for you. We’ll send you two more, so you’ll have a total of three, so you can share this with friends and family. I think this is an important message for the world today. We’re hearing so many people say, “Heaven is just a myth. God is just a myth.” Meet some eyewitnesses who say, “Uh-uh. Been there, done that, and I came back to report.” So if you want it, call us: 1-800-759-0700. Got some time for some chat questions. What’s first? We do, because time is ticking. So we’re going to jump right in with Becky, who says, “I asked Jesus into my heart and to forgive my sins. I pray with The 700 Club every night, but yet nothing in my life has changed. I still have financial problems. I still have relationship problems. What am I doing wrong?” Becky, sometimes on the financial side, it takes time. And so what are you doing to control expenses, and then it sounds like you’re tithing, but are you also saving? So are you following what I call the 80-10-10 rule, where 80 percent of your income goes to your living expenses, 10 percent to the tithe, and 10 percent to saving. If you do that consistently over time, your financial problems are going to go away. In terms of relationship, realize that same law of sowing and giving applies. If you want to receive love, you need to give it and give it unconditionally and let it go and not expect the person you give it to, to bring it back to you. Expect God to bring it back to you, not the person. And if you do that and do that consistently over time, you’ll see that the whole world will fall in love with you, because it will change everything. You’ll no longer be looking at the world through eyes of what’s wrong. You’ll be looking at the world through eyes of love. And it’s going to take some time to change your thought process so you always are looking with love. If you do that and do it consistently, you’ll see the change. We leave you with these words from Romans 4 . . . . . . . . “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Here at CBN, we see amazing things happen when we stand together. That’s why we want to say thank you to the thousands of you . . . . . . . . who recently pledged to join the 700 Club. Your monthly gift makes it possible to bring crucial help to those who need it most. You help heal the sick, feed the hungry . . . . . . . . and preach the Gospel across America and throughout the world. You’ve brought health and hope to people in desperate need. And changed their lives forever. This widow was so poor she had to search for food for her children. Many times all she could find was ant larvae. When her daughter became ill with a deadly parasite, you sent a free medical clinic that saved her life. You also gave this family a small poultry business, so they can support themselves. Your love ended their despair. So please watch for this mailing and send in your pledge. This year millions will know . . . . The love and saving power of Jesus Christ. And that only happens, because you were there.