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Jim Daly continues his conversation with television host Sheila Walsh, sharing from her new book, The Hope of Heaven: How the Promise of Heaven Changes Everything. If you’re looking for encouragement or a fresh glimpse of God’s love for you and your family, Sheila shares the incredible hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Get your copy of Sheila Walsh's book, The Hope of Heaven, for a donation of any amount.

Just as home offers belonging, rest, and security, so does a relationship with Jesus Christ. This article explains how to join God's eternal family. 

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What does heaven teach us about God? In this audio collection, you’ll hear stories and biblical insights about heaven from Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, featuring guests like John Burke, Lee Strobel, Randy Alcorn, and Erwin Lutzer.

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God repeatedly pledges his presence to his people. To Abram, God said, “Do not be afraid…I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1 NKJV). God told Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NIV).

In the ultimate declaration of communion, God called himself Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” He became flesh. He became sin. He defeated the grave. He is still with us. In the form of his Spirit, he comforts, teaches, and convicts.

Don’t assume God is watching from a distance. Isolation creates a downward cycle of fret. Choose instead to be the person who clutches the presence of God with both hands. We can calmly take our concerns to God because he is as near as our next breath. And because the Lord is near, we can be anxious for nothing!

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Our friends Marv and Annie were with us at a convention in Chicago. They’re from Denver; I was in my hometown. Annie’s doctor had let her make the trip to Chicago even though she was eight months pregnant. Well, we had a reception our first night at the convention downtown. I jokingly told her, “Hey, if the baby decides to come tonight, just call our room. This is my city, girl. I’ll take care of everything!” Yeah, well, it didn’t turn out to be a joke. The call came in the middle of the night, and minutes later we had a lady in hard labor in my back seat. Oh, my goodness! I thought we’d have time to get out to our obstetrician in the suburbs. Not a chance! I had no idea where downtown hospitals were. I never needed one before. Oh, boy! I finally found one - a veterans’ hospital. No maternity ward! Well, eventually I found a hospital with great facilities - just in time. Today we all laugh about it, but it’s certainly not one of my proudest moments.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Gospel Without Detours.”

I almost messed up the beginning of a new life - all because I went in the wrong direction. That’s easy to do with what the Bible calls being “born again.” If you belong to Jesus, I’ve got to believe you know folks who don’t, and that you want them to be in heaven with you. That can only happen if they’re born into God’s family by putting their trust in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for them.

But that rebirth can be aborted if you go the wrong direction in sharing Christ with someone. See, there’s a detour on the road to Jesus and you’ve got to avoid that detour at all costs. I call it the trap - one that is so easy to fall into when you’re having a spiritual conversation. When Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, she tried to deflect Jesus’ claim on her life by using the trap.

In John 4, beginning with verse 20, she tries to get Jesus to start down that deadly detour. Here’s what it is - talking religion. She said, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” In other words, “Jesus, the issue is we have different religions. Yours is good for you; mine is good for me.” Sound familiar? Jesus won’t go there. In verse 24, He says, “God is a spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” In other words, “This isn’t about what religion you are, Ma’am. It’s about your relationship with God.” Then Jesus introduces Himself as the looked-for Messiah. Jesus makes Himself the issue, and He still is today.

There’s just too much at stake for you to allow yourself to fall into the trap of talking religion with someone who needs Jesus. The issue really has nothing to do with religion. It’s whether or not you’ve had your sins forgiven so you can have a relationship with God. It’s really all about Jesus and all about his cross.

Paul said that in 1 Corinthians 2:2 when he said, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” It’s not about your religion. It’s not about your religious rules. It’s not about your rituals. It’s not about Christianity. It’s not about Christians. It’s not about attacking their lifestyle. It’s all about Jesus. So stick to Jesus. Keep bringing it back to Jesus; bring them back to His cross.

Your mission is clear. To take a person that you care about by the hand and lead them up Skull Hill to the foot of an old rugged cross, and point to the Son of God dying for them, and say, “Man, this is how much He loves you.” Any other direction is the wrong direction - one that leads away from the Jesus that they need. So, take them straight to Jesus.

Sheila Walsh shares about an intense conversation with another woman at a conference, and what God taught her through it.
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