Focus on the Family with Jim Daly

Phil Robertson: Therefore, as we have opportunity, you live your life, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. So I ask everybody if they’re listening here, what is the downside to that?

John Fuller: That’s Phil Robertson sharing from the New Testament Book of Galatians about serving our fellow man and sharing the Gospel as we do so. He and his son, Al Robertson, had a good visit with Jim not too long ago. Welcome to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, and today we’ll hear an inspiring conversation about telling others the good news.

Jim Daly: John, I got together with Phil and Al recently in their home stomping grounds in Louisiana, down in the Bayou. You been down there much?

John: Well, I’ve-

Jim: (laughs)

John: Not much, but I, I’m familiar.

Jim: Yeah, well, people know them primarily from one of America’s favorite reality shows from a few years back, Duck Dynasty. Actually, Trent and Troy got us hooked on it. I mean, they were already watching it. One night I sit down to watch it with them, I’m going, “This is good.”

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: But far beyond entertainment, they care most about spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that comes through in every interaction I’ve ever had with them, and I had a great dialogue with them about their lives and how they came to Christ after some really hard times. Their testimonies are powerful. Uh, both had a time of living in rebellion from God, but their lives have been redeemed, and you’re about to hear their amazing stories.

John: Mm-hmm. And Phil has a brand new book out. It’s called I Could be Wrong, But I Doubt It: Why Jesus is Your Greatest Hope on Earth and in Eternity. Call us for a copy. 800, the letter A and the word FAMILY, or visit focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. And there was also a movie released last year about Phil’s life called The Blind, really powerful, and you can find out more at our website. Let’s go ahead and join the conversation now with Phil and Al Robertson. Phil with his Bible in his hand, began by sharing about his own path to self-destruction as a young person. Here he is now on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.

Phil: I just never put Christianity into practice. Mom and Dad, they were faithful to the Lord, but uh, I don’t know how you, you look at the kids today, somewhere along the line, I just didn’t get it. When Jesus said, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men, they will kill Him, and on the third day, He’ll be raised from the dead.” Well, he says that. Every time he says that, if you’re looking, I, I put a little yellow pen on it.

Jim: (laughs)

Phil: I’m gonna die, be buried and raised from the dead. I missed it.

Jim: Yeah.

Phil: I, I missed it. There’s another-

Jim: Well, let me ask-

Phil: There’s another one here. You know, you turn two chapters. “We’re going up to Jerusalem,” sound like what he said a while ago, you know, “And the Son of Man will be betrayed unto the chief priest,” very religious, “teachers of the law,” very religious, “they will condemn him,” oh, no, “to death, and will turn him over to the gentiles to be mocked, flogged and crucified.” So he’s outlining the most brutal thing a person could have happen to him, just beat him to death, string him up like some kinda animal. Well, if you start there, that’s the middle of Matthew. He just keeps saying that all the way through. And look, when you get to the end, he says after he beat death, they did string him up, Peter and all of them hit the road, they said, “We need to get out of here. You know, they’re gonna kill us, too.” So everybody deserts him, he dies on a cross, he’s buried and raised from the dead. And look: “Therefore,” here’s Jesus talking after he was raised from the dead, I missed this. I didn’t know you could live forever. It, it, it didn’t get down to me. I just said … You know, that’s what it, they’ll give it to you, eternal life. I’m like, “Eternal life?” Well, let’s see. One of the reasons, you think about it, I didn’t get any Gospel which is what I’m quoting here. I didn’t get it from anywhere. My high school teachers, not a word.

Jim: But let’s- would it-

Phil: College professors, eight years I went to school, I got my master’s degree. No Jesus. None. None. Not, not, not one person-

Jim: Let me push you a little bit.

Phil: (laughs)

Jim: You sure nobody said anything? Or did you not hear it if it was said?

Phil: Whatever, I don’t think they said it.

Jim: (laughs) no, I mean, that’s-

Phil: No, if they’d have told me that, I’d at least have got a little, it’d a got my attention. All authority after he was raised from the dead in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples. That’s what we do now. That’s what I do. Other words, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. Teach him to obey everything I commanded you. I, when I ran onto the guy who showed me this, I said, “Give me a little time, because I’m going home and I’m gonna look over my notes on what you’ve told me about this Jesus, and I’m gonna find out if you’re telling the truth or lying, because that almost sounds too good to be true.”

Jim: Huh.

Phil: I said, “Remove everything, rotten, filthy thing you’ve ever done and raise you from the dead? Give you eternal life?” I said, “I, I miss that. But, so I need to check this out.”

Jim: How old were you when that conversation…

Phil: 20, about 28.

Jim: 28.

Phil: By the way, I’m 28, so I’ve gone across the country since that time, for the last 50 years, telling people Jesus died, was buried and raised from the dead. He, he’ll raise you from the dead. He’ll remove all your sins. I said, “I mean, you, you, you get it all when you come to him.” So what I figured, I went home and studied what the guy had showed me. I said, “How in the world did I miss that?” So…

Jim: That’s a fair question. I mean, that’s what gives you the passion today to say it the way you say it, right? You wanna make sure everybody hears it.

Phil: Try my best.

Jim: Yeah, yeah, and you do a great job. Al, you’re the oldest son. You kinda saw the change in your dad. How old were you, uh, and, and kinda what environment were you in?

Al Robertson: From, from my perspective, Jim, it was, we, we started out, Dad wasn’t quite where he got to. You know, the, uh, usually that bad lifestyle takes a while to accrue, and that’s the way it was with Dad. So my earliest memories, and we were there, small town, South Arkansas. Dad was teaching school. He walked me to school every morning. You know, there were, there were a lot of good memories. I mean, I looked up to my dad a lot, so even when things got bad from a kid’s perspective, it’s still your dad.

Jim: Oh, I know that feeling.

Al: Yeah, and you still love him, it, it, it’s not healthy, it’s not good, but you still love him, you respect him, and so that’s the way it was for me, so you know, we moved to that bar situation, and at that time, I was seven years old, and so I had an awareness of everything that was happening. And, and I, but I didn’t know yet that this wasn’t good, this is just-

Jim: Right, this is life.

Al: Was the, and so like, when Dad would come out and beat some guy up, you know, for doing something outside the bar, and I’m watching the fight, I thought, “Man, that’s my dad.” You know? I mean, “He’s he’s the baddest dude in South Arkansas.”

Jim: And that’s all that matters.

Al: And that’s all that matters, so that’s kinda I think how it was for me. I was very, Mom relied on me a lot to help with my brothers, ’cause you know, we had a, this small family that was so fractured, and I didn’t realize they were having the problems they were having, ’cause they, again, they kinda shield that from their kids. And so I just thought it was my role to take care of my brothers, you know?

Jim: Oldest son.

Al: Oldest son. And that’s what you do. And you’re the responsible one.

Jim: Phil, that fork in the road, this is probably the most common thing we face as human beings. My dad didn’t make a great decision. He was an alcoholic, he, I remember the night he and my mom started their divorce. I was five years old.

Phil: Yep.

Jim: And I came home, my older brothers and sisters were at the house and he was drunk and he was, had a hammer and he was hammering holes in the wall and telling us he was gonna kill mom when she got home, and, and uh, it was chaotic. The police came, arrested him, put him away. And that was really, for the next six years, that was the last time I saw him. I went and lived with him for a year after my mom died when I was 11, and it was better, but he never made the decision that you made.

Phil: It had to have been rough for a 10, 11 year old.

Jim: Well, it was. It was. But the point of that is, it’s like, that’s what I miss as a boy. I didn’t get a dad to say, “Okay, I believe in Jesus.” And what a blessing that had to be for your kids.

Phil: Oh.

Jim: And for Miss Kay.

Phil: Yep.

Jim: And that takes courage.

Phil: Yep.

Jim: I mean, a lot of men don’t have that courage for some reason. Why?

Phil: It, it took a while for me to get on my feet, but it was just a step by step, you know? You know, it’s, it, it was hard for me to introduce the thought that my sins were not being counted against me, ’cause I was like, I was like this. But I was moving in the right direction, just kind of a slow get go. I tell the story about the, one of my buddies, they came down and wanted me to go up the road and get drunk with them, and I said, they tracked me down to this place right out here, and uh, not, not a mile from here. So I said, “Boys, the one you all are looking for, I’m a different one.” And of course they sitting there, you know, they take a drink. They say, “What?”

Jim: Yeah. (laughs)

Phil: I said, I said, “I’m not the one you’re looking for. He died.” I was speaking of my baptism. I said, “He died, was buried.” I said, “This is the new one. Been raised from the dead.” You know? And they, they looking at me, you know? Of course I noticed they kinda didn’t mind hitting the road. They said, “Huh, I don’t know about him, he done gone nuts.” So I left. 12 years later after I sent them all down the road, one of them called and said the doctor said he could die at any point, had an aneurysm near his heart. He was telling me that. I said, “Remember 12 years ago you wanted me to go get drunk with you? You wanna know why I didn’t go get drunk with you? Because if I had had an aneurysm, and it might pop anytime, I’m gonna need some help or I’m gonna die here hell bound.” The first thing he said, he said, “Go back over the whole thing and let me hear it.” So I preached the Gospel with him, baptized him, and look, he fell dead about two months later, standing on third base coaching. You know, he’s a coach. He just fell dead right there. But he made it. But he cut it pretty thin.

Jim: Right, no kidding.

Phil: And they asked me to come to the church to do the funeral, and I’m like, “Oh, wait a minute, here. Wait a minute. I, I don’t, I don’t do funerals. I’m not actually a preacher or anything.”

Jim: (laughs) You’re not a preacher.

Phil: They said, “Well, he said if he died, he wanted you to do the funeral.” So I said, “Well, that’s what he wanted. I’ll give her a whirl.”

Jim: (laughs)

Phil: So I got up there, you know, and I had a pretty good, packed house there. I said, “I’m fixing to preach the Gospel to everybody, now.”

Jim: Oh, yeah.

Phil: Based on wherever, he was in the casket right there, you know?

Al: Yeah.

Phil: My final word with him was, when I was giving the sermon, was, “I’ll see him again.”

Jim: Yeah. Man. The, uh, this is interesting. I just heard it the other day. I was talking to a psychologist, a Christian, but he had done some research and his, his expertise is cataclysmic events, like school shootings, or hurricane survivors. And they found one element that a, a human being needs to possess to get through those catastrophic events and thrive. And I’m thinking, “Okay, here it comes.” You know, resiliency or something like that. He, he said it’s humility.

Phil: Hm.

Jim: And as I hear your story, I mean, that ends up being the element that you can be humble enough to say, “I need help,” and that other guy, your old guy, probably wasn’t, right?

Phil: I found once I had turned to Jesus and said, “You will be Lord from this point on,” I found that the greatest thing he gives us is peace of mind.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Phil: Peace of mind. Peace of mind is a hard commodity to reach. (laughs) But only in Jesus will you ever find peace of mind. It’s the only, he’s the only way to, to do it. See, I’m looking at it now, I’m like, “Boy, you, you’re never gonna get peace of mind through doing drugs, you know, being immoral, you know, and cursing. Like, it, it’s not gonna give you peace of mind. It’s just the opposite.

Jim: But you have to be humble to recognize that, I think, and that, that’s the thing.

Phil: You have to be humble.

John: This is a fascinating conversation Jim Daly had with Phil and Al Robertson, and uh, as Phil has been sharing, the simple truth of the Gospel of Christ, we wanna invite you to learn how Jesus can set you free and become the best friend you’ve ever had. Uh, get a copy of Phil’s new book from us. I Could be Wrong, But I Doubt It. And you can call us for that. Our number is 800, the letter A and the word FAMILY, or stop by the website and you can learn more, focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. And, uh, while you’re there, you’ll also see a link to more information about the movie of Phil’s life. It’s called, The Blind.

Phil: “All authority in Heaven and the Earth has been given to me, therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptize them.” So he’s that’s marching orders, so when I read that, I thought, I said, “you know, when you get right down to it, it’s not rocket science.”

Jim: Right. And he wrote it down for you: “Here’s how you should behave.”

Phil: (laughs)

Jim: And then we say to ourselves, “How should we behave?”

Phil: It’s not rocket science. I mean, you know, people say, “I don’t know, it’s so hard to be a Christian.” I said, “It’s so hard? So it’s not hard out there running up and down the road getting drunk, high, ended up in a, in the, the prison, and the, all these different things they’ve erected for y’all.” I said, “Why don’t you just repent and receive Jesus as Lord and do what he says?”

Jim: Phil, let me, let me push on that. In Galatians, the, the fruit of the other guy, as I like to refer to it.

Phil: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jim: Those are the big ones, the sexual ones.

Phil: Oh.

Jim: And we as Christians say, “Oh good, I’m not doing that,” but in that list are some things that we do do.

Phil: Yep.

Jim: Like division.

Phil: Yep.

Jim: Gossiping. Sowing dissension. These are things that we tend to do.

Phil: So listen to this: do not be deceived, he goes on to say here, “Don’t be deceived. A man reaps what he sows.” (laughs) Yep. “The one who sows to please his sinful nature,” I did it from 18 to 28, about a 10 year run. “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest and we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, you live your life, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. So I ask everybody that they’re listening here, what is the downside to that? (laughs)

Jim: (laughs) Plain spoken.

Phil: Just get up, and behave yourself.

Jim: Yeah.

Phil: Somebody will say, “You talking to me?” I’m like, “Yeah. I mean, you’re, you’re out getting drunk, high, tearing up stuff, dangerous.” I would say, “Your parents don’t know where you,” I, I said, “Why don’t you just try following Jesus? And you will reap benefits that was far beyond your thinking at this point.”

Jim: So true.

Phil: And it’s the best way to roll.

Jim: And that’s why we’re here. (laughs)

Phil: That’s it.

Jim: Al, listening to your dad, I mean, talk about being a, a hellion, basically, from 18 to 28.

Al: Yep.

Jim: You decided to start a little earlier, about 14, right?

Al: Yeah, yeah.

Jim: I mean, that’s your story. And people would say, you know, the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. But he changed.

Al: Right.

Jim: And you were still kinda caught in what was, and probably modeled, and not all your dad’s fault.

Al: No.

Jim: Just what you saw all around. So what was your story at 14?

Al: You know, I think, I think, Jim, just from my experience, and I’ve been in ministry for so long, teenagers all have to face a decision when they kinda get to that age of awareness. You know, kinda one day, girls look different, things look different, and I’m starting to think differently. And you, you usually will follow a pattern one way or the other.

Jim: Yeah.

Al: Either how you came up, you don’t like it at all so you wanna do something totally different. Or, you fall into the pattern of what you knew. And so I think in my case, it was that. Like, I had been a solid kid. Like, like I said, dependable. The oldest son. You know, I, I had been in church. Like, Mom and Dad never went, but all those years when Dad was running the bar, the preacher and his wife came and picked me up and took me. So I had every advantage even coming out of a non-Christian home, to still have a Christian experience, a spiritual experience, ’cause I feel like now, looking back, God put people in my life to give me things that I would need later.

Jim: Right.

Al: But when I got to 14, I had a decision to make, but instead of making the right one, you know, now our lives were so good, I chose the other path, and it was just a darkness that every, I think every person has to face at some point in their life. For me, it was 14. By the time I was 17, I’d graduated school early, and Dad, now my lifestyle was a double secret agent for a long time. You know, I was, I was living this life on the weekends, but then Sunday, I’m at church, I’m trying to do right. Mom and Dad, you’d begin to hear things, ’cause when you’re a double secret agent, your truth comes out.

Jim: (laughs) Yeah.

Al: And so finally, Dad sits me down in his truck and says, “Al, you know, your life is out of control. I got people showing up here, you know, you did things with their daughter.” I mean, now you can’t hide it anymore.

Jim: Right.

Al: It’s there. And so Dad’s like, “You know, we love you son, but you know, you’ve gotta make a decision. You’ve either got to change the way you’re living and get back in here with us and do the right thing, or you gotta hit the road and go see what it’s all about.” And he just gave me that choice. And of course at that time, I wasn’t ready yet. You know, just kinda like, he wasn’t-

Jim: And you’re how old at this point?

Al: At this point I was 17 years old.

Jim: 17.

Al: Just graduated high school. And I was like, “All right, I’m outta here, then.” And so I just chose my path. The one good thing I’ve always appreciated about Dad all through my years is he knows that we have to make our own call.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Al: And so he didn’t like run after me and, “Oh, please don’t go.” He was like, “Okay, you gotta go see, go see.” You know, and I’m sure he and Mom spent a lot of nights praying during that next two years that I was off in the world that I would come back; but at the same time, he knew he couldn’t make me do it anymore. Then when I got into it, I went to New Orleans and lived down there, just debauchery. It was terrible. And then I finally down there came to my senses. I was just like that kid-

Jim: Yeah.

Al: in Luke 15. I was like, I literally looked around my, where my surroundings and thought, “Why am I here? I mean, I, I’m gonna die here.” Like, somebody tried to kill me, it was terrible. So I thought about home. And-

Jim: You, you said that kind of fast, “somebody tried to kill me.” (laughs)

Al: Yeah, well that’s, that’s a whole story.

Jim: I mean-

Al: So, so I was seeing this woman and I’m, by now I’m 18 years old. But I’m, I got a fake license that says I’m 21 so I can bar hop and all that. And so this woman that I’m seeing that I was working with, she was a nurse, she was 26, so I’m 18, and, but she thinks I’m 21 ’cause I, this is what I’m telling everybody. She’s married but says that they’re separated for a year. Well, it turns out they’ve been separated a month, which I’ve worked with enough couples now through the years to realize that’s not even, that’s not even a cooling off. You’re-

Jim: Yeah, you’re still-

Al: You’re still together.

Jim: Right.

Al: So this guy, this husband finds me one day, which is totally understandable. You know, he’s, he’s from the world. He was 23 or four, I think. Turned out to be a drug dealer (laughs) on top of that. And, you know, I’m sleeping with his wife. Well, how do men respond to that?

Jim: Yeah.

Al: He took a crowbar and, you know, just tried to end my life. That, that was the deal. And so it created this huge scene. It’s in New Orleans, and actually it’s in Kenner which is outside New Orleans, and there’s cop cars everywhere, and I mean it was a deal, you know?

Jim: Yeah.

Al: And it was amazing I survived it. But when I was sitting there with all that going on, with the police lights and all that stuff, I mean, that’s when it hit me. I thought, “This, this is not gonna end well.” Like, if I stay on this path, I’m gonna die here.”

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Al: And turns out, he was a police informant, so nothing was gonna happen to him, and the police let me know that. New Orleans cops are pretty tough. But one guy, the last guy, was a believer, and so every, all the cop cars left and one guy was left. And he saw an opportunity.

Jim: Huh.

Al: He saw me in that place, and he sat down next to me and he just had a conversation with me. And it wasn’t super preachy, but it was like, I understood ’cause I grew up a Christian, and so when he said, “You need to go home,” I was like, “Man,” that was music to my ears. And then I was thinking, well, can I? Would they take me back? Then I was like the kid in Luke 15.

Jim: Right.

Al: So I worked up my speech and put in a notice at the hospital I was working at, and when I got home, Mom and Dad came out to meet me in the yard, you know, just like the father did in Luke 15, and it wasn’t even, I was gonna give my speech and, you know, say-

Jim: Right.

Al: You know, here’s what I’ll do, I know I’ve messed up, and I had all this stuff planned to say, and I thought about it for that five hour ride, and Dad just says, “Welcome home, Son.” Mom hugged me and Dad said, “We’ve got duck calls to build.” And so I tell people now that we killed a fattened catfish and had a celebration. (laughs)

Jim: The fattened catfish. (laughs)

Al: Because the lost son had come home, right?

Jim: Man, it’s not, like, a dead parable.

Al: Yeah.

Jim: I mean, the, it’s exactly what is in the scripture.

Al: Exactly what happened, yeah.

Jim: And, and so-

Phil: I was just, I was just saying what, what’s, what’s gone is gone.

Al: But you know, if Dad had not made that decision, I wouldn’t have had a home to come home to.

Jim: Well, yeah.

Al: And like you were talking about earlier, about not having a father.

Jim: Right.

Al: That makes that decision, because maybe I would’ve never come home.

Jim: Yeah.

Al: ‘Cause there wouldn’t have been anything to come home to.

Jim: And Phil, in that regard, you look at the family now, starting with your decision, and Miss Kay supporting you, sticking with you. She had every right to leave you.

Phil: Oh, yeah.

Jim: But she did what a good woman would do and stuck with you.

Phil: I’m sure glad she stayed.

Jim: And then you look at the boys now. Of course, you, Al, have become a pastor.

Al: Yep.

Jim: I mean, you’ve gone from all that. I mean, some people are gasping going, “he had, he had an affair with a married woman? What?”

Al: That’s right.

Jim: But you know what? Here’s the reality: God uses broken people probably more than-

Al: Yep.

Jim: People that are trying to be perfect.

Al: Yeah.

Jim: Because they know who they are.

Al: That’s right.

Jim: And they know what they are, and they know they need the Lord.

Al: That’s right.

Phil: Yeah, I’m contemplating even buying a suit. No, I’m kidding.

Jim: (laughs)

Al: (laughs) So, so, that…

Jim: ‘Cause you’re so happy.

Phil: I’m just joking, don’t, don’t get nervous.

Al: Dad and I both look at, we’re both emboldened when we see the story of Saul becoming Paul, to know that God can do anything with anybody.

Jim: Yeah.

Al: If you can be a killer of Christians-

Phil: He even said I’m the worst of the worst.

Al: The worst, the chief of sinners. And so when I look at my own things, which are bad enough, and I look at those of them, I, I thank God for His Grace every day, at the same time I’m like, “You Know what? I didn’t kill Christians, and yet I still find a pathway to Christ,” so if, if Saul could become Paul, then he can do anything with me.

Phil: You bet.

Jim: Well, Phil, that, that’s, we’re, you know, drawing to a close here. I mean, give it your all. Someone listening right now, there’s gonna be several people that are on the bubble spiritually. They do, haven’t made that commitment.

Phil: Yep.

Jim: You’ve kinda laid it out there pretty clearly what needs to happen, but A, see the movie, it’s a great film and it will be even more descriptive than we could get to in this time together. But that soul that’s just going, “I don’t know if he’s full of you know what, or he’s really onto something here,” what do you say to that person?

Phil: Who’s that?

Jim: That, that person listening that’s just going, “Well, maybe Phil’s right,” but hasn’t made the decision.

Phil: Look, I know of two things. I know we’ve all sinned. Everybody is guilty of sin. And number two is, we’re gonna die. Well, if you run up on somebody and his story is, “I will remove your sin, take it away, considering you perfect, if you but just trust me here; and I will raise you from the dead and give you eternal life. You will live forever over this. Remove your sins, and I’ll make sure you live forever.” That’s what’s in this. I’m just asking them, you got a better story?

Jim: (laughs) that’s a good point.

Phil: I mean, what, what’s your story? If this, if that’s not it, all your sins removed, you’re gonna be raised from the dead, you’re gonna live forever; or just die in vain and with not having a chance at all. I’m like, whatever.

John: Phil Robertson on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, sharing the promise of God for those who put their trust in Christ. And Phil and his son Al have shared a really clear message of the Gospel today.

Jim: Uh, you can hear the passion that Phil and Al have for Christ, and the Robertsons are a very special family that we’ve gotten to know over the years, and it’s been great. They’ve shared the good news with millions of people through the platforms God has given them, and it’s easy to see that’s what they’re all about. And what you hear is really who they are.

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: I spent, I think, three or four trips down there with them, and that’s Phil. You sit there in the chair with him, and he just talks about the Gospel and pulls his Bible out and goes to different verses and it’s part of who he is. And you can know that same peace and that same contentment that both Phil and Al are sharing. Ask us for Phil’s new book: I Could be Wrong, But I Doubt It: Why Jesus is Your Greatest Hope on Earth and In Eternity. John, you’ll give all the details in just a minute. Let me turn to a very important aspect of the ministry, here. Families are facing so many troubles today, and as the Robertsons have shared, Jesus is the answer to every single one of them. When families are weakened, our country becomes broken, and I think you can see it and feel it, but you can help save America’s families by joining our Friends of Focus on the Family membership drive. We’re asking for 1000 people to join our community of monthly sustainers who care about families. So please, become a member of Friends of Focus on the Family, with a gift of any amount, and we’ll say thanks by sending you Phil’s great book. And if you’re not able to make a monthly pledge, please consider a one-time gift, and we’ll be glad to send the book to you, as well.

John: You can call 800, the letter A and the word FAMILY to donate today. That’s 800-232-6459, or donate online and request that book, uh, at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. And while you’re at the site, be sure to look for the link to the really terrific movie about Phil’s life. It’s called The Blind. Well, thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, inviting you back next time, as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.