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ISRAEL UNDER FIRE
 
I certainly encourage you to pray for Israel. As you know, on October 7, 2023, Israel entered a full-fledged war against the terrorist group Hamas. The war is a direct result of the barbaric attack perpetrated by Hamas that resulted in the death of 1200 Jewish citizens and others living or visiting in Israel at that time.
 
After enduring constant missile attacks on its homeland for years, the October 7th attack demanded a response to eliminate this enemy sworn to the utter destruction of the state of Israel. My friend, Israel has a right to exist and her citizens should not be under the constant threat of attack from the nations who surround her.
 
This war between Israel and her various enemies (all proxies of Iran) continues with no real end in sight. May we all pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel in the hope the world can step back from a larger regional war. As we pray, we should also with a fervent heart ask the Lord to fulfill his word to Israel. Such prayer is far reaching as we ask the Lord to keep his prophetic word. Rest assured the Lord will keep his word! Here is a chapter to read that serves to remind us the Lord will never make a full end of Israel—Jeremiah 30:1-24 (note verse seven and eleven).
 
If you are interested in news directly from Israel with some of the latest information about the war here is a link to a report from TBN Isreal:  IDF Penetrates Deep into Rafah; Egyptian Soldier Killed on Gaza Border   https://youtu.be/xjEi7FS4pNo?si=8HDAPFDFvhgq1kj9
 
PASTOR TO PARENT
 
One of the things every Pastor must do is watch for the souls of children. Of course, parents have the primary responsibility to teach children about the Lord and to keep them from the evil of this world, however, pastors need to equip parents by providing much needed teaching about the will of God in the home. With that in mind, I must address the issue of education.
 
Gone are the days when any Christian parent should trust the public school culture to assist them with the proper teaching and training of their children. If possible, parents should remove children from that setting and implement home schooling or the use of a private Christian school if one is available. (Here is a very helpful, balanced read on this subject from Brandon Clay of Answers in Genesis:  Christian Education vs. Public School | Answers in Genesis )
 
One issue parents with children in the public system face is the constant disregard for parental authority and the neglect of public school administrators to keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom.
 
Here is another recent example of what happens constantly across the nation and our local school districts are not immune to this problem. The headline reads:
 
‘Parents weren't notified at all. That shows a complete lack of concern for parental rights, alongside an unholy desire to corrupt kids,' says USPIE President Sheri Few 

 
Sheri Few is the President of the organization “US Parents Involved in Education.” Here is the content of their latest news release:
 
Campus Middle School in the municipality of Greenwood Village in Colorado required teachers to show a video promoting atheism. Staff also encouraged students to engage in LGBTQ+ “solidarity” activities including "Day of Silence" and buy related merchandise. All this without ever telling parents!
 
In a Day of Silence, created by LGBTQ+ activists and observed in hundreds of schools nationally, kids are encouraged to remain silent all day “in solidarity” with those whom activists claim are “bullied,” “marginalized,” and “harassed” for being gay, bisexual, nonbinary, transgender, or another trendy sexual behavior.
 
“At Campus Middle School, parents weren't notified at all. That shows a complete lack of concern for parental rights, alongside an unholy desire to corrupt kids,” says USPIE Founder and President Sheri Few.
 
“The ones being bullied here are kids who know right from wrong and have a traditional view of God, sex and marriage. They’re the ones being harassed in these woke school systems and told to shut up. Nothing here is remotely defensible, from the material itself to the school’s deliberate effort to keep parents in the dark. It was bad enough that they pushed acceptance of any and all sexual behaviors, but they also had students watch a video extolling atheism.
 
“That’s a First Amendment violation of the rights of religious students. Public institutions have no business establishing atheism as a preferred worldview. Parents need to take their kids out of the government’s Godless school systems that are indoctrinating them to distrust their parents, hate their country, embrace Marxism and identify with the latest LGBTQ+ trend,” Few says.
 
“The answer is two-fold: 1) Educate children at home or in private schools while 2) working as concerned citizens to shine a spotlight on the evils that schools commit in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and the sugar-coated LGBTQ+ agenda.”
 
In my mind, this story (and many others like this one) illustrates the urgency for Christian parents to remove their children from the public system and provide an educational setting where God, Christ, and the Bible are honored. I encourage Christian families everywhere to wake up to the spiritual dangers threatening every child exposed to the godless, immoral, secularism that now defines public education.
 
If you would like to follow the work of USPIE here is a link to their website:
https://uspie.org/
 
VISIT MY WEBSITE FOR SERMON NOTES AND MORE
 
I am currently preaching through the book of St. Luke on Sunday mornings. Sermon notes from those messages and links to the latest videos of those sermons are available on my site. Check it out here.
 
I appreciate your prayers as our team works diligently in the ministry of a local church, a private Christian school, and a far-reaching broadcast ministry touching communities in Ohio, Michigan, and now via streaming potentially across the nation. In closing, please take note of a special event coming up at CBM on July 14th at 6pm. We are pleased to welcome the Lore Family (well known Southern Gospel group) for a wonderful evening of ministry. Make plans to come and be with us!
 
May the Lord bless you is my prayer.
 
Pastor Rusty Yost
 
 
 

     Can our homes be a haven from the world? Can we successfully limit the influence of the world upon our children? Can we guide our children away from a culture that lies in spiritual darkness? Must our children “catch” the culture? Are they destined to simply conform to a lost world? Must parents resign themselves to the inevitable loss of their children to a godless culture?
 
     What do you think? How can we equip ourselves to stand against the flood of ungodliness that threatens our homes and the spiritual well-being of our children?
 
     Looking at the landscape of American culture the situation can appear hopeless. However, the Word of God has our answer. Wisdom gleaned from obeying the Word of God bears the fruit we so desperately want to see in our children.
 
     Understand this: while certain things are unique to our times one thing remains constant from generation to generation. Since the fall of Adam, through the days of Noah, until the time of Christ, and up to our present hour the spirit of the world remains the same. The Bible says, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:16-17).

     One of the first things a parent must come to grips with to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in child training is the necessity of separating from the world. With purpose a parent must set their children apart to the Lord and apart from the world. This will play out in the practical ways a parent allows the world to influence their children.
 
     Let me quickly say the issue at hand is not normal interaction with the world around us as a child grows up. However, whenever a parent allows consistent influences upon their children that have the power to shape their thinking contrary to the Word of God we have a problem.
 
     Let me site an example alive and well in our pop culture today. Recently a news release came to my attention I think you need to be aware of:
 
Alex McFarland warns against a ‘new model of morality’ for teens on social media
 
‘By training young brains to seek positive reinforcement from social media, we are allowing the world to mold young minds rather than the Holy Spirit’
 
GREENSBORO, N.C. —  A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has confirmed the suspicions of many regarding social media’s effect on youth. The study found that “social media checking behaviors in early adolescence may be associated with changes in the brain’s sensitivity to social rewards and punishments.” Teenagers who spend excessive amounts of time on social media sites such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are adjusting their perception of “good” and “bad” by how their peers respond to content, leading them to be more easily manipulated by social platforms. 
 
Youth, culture and religion expert Alex McFarland commented on this disturbing phenomenon, stating that if the results of the study, which suggests long-term detrimental effects to youthful minds, show even more irreparable intellectual and spiritual harm than the research reveals.
 
“‘Thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ has become the new model of morality for millions of teens,” McFarland stated. “Peer approval can be a painful false god, and it’s incredibly easy for teens to get sucked into the online world and miss the truth of the Gospel. Not only can excessive social media negatively affect young people’s brains, the ideology of altering your viewpoint to garner more ‘likes’ is patently anti-Christian. Christians were called to be a light in the darkness, despite however the world perceives us. By training young brains to seek positive reinforcement from social media, we are allowing the world to mold young minds rather than the Holy Spirit.”
 
(An ordained minister for more than 25 years, McFarland has personally counseled thousands of families and individuals, and he is passionate about helping America’s youth build successful lives in the face of ever-diminishing morals, ethics, and values.)
 
     This news release touches upon the world of social media.  Every young person under the age of 20 has grown up with this new phenomenon. There is a lot to be said about the tsunami called “Social Media.” However, for now just focus on the powerful influence the world can wield on the minds of your children if they are left to themselves with social media.
 
     The wise parent will keep their children away from social media as long as possible simply to allow their children to grow up in a normal childhood!  Furthermore, as the teen years come along clear guidelines must be established for interaction with social media.
 
     The spirit of the world seeks to invade our homes from every direction. However, it is in the power of parents to limit this influence by shutting down the sources by which the world meanders into our home life. With that said, it is even more important to keep the Word of God front and center in the thinking of your children as they grow up and eventually come of age. Your practice as a parent is to INCREASE EXPOSURE TO THE WORD and LIMIT EXPOSURE TO THE WORLD.
 
     Our homes can be a haven from this world. We can limit exposure to the spirit of the world. We absolutely can guide our children away from the culture of this world. Our children will not be prone to adopt the culture of the world if they are a part of a “Christian subculture” in which convictions are developed from godly parents, pastors, and teachers.
 
     Thankfully, no parent need resign themselves to a guessing game about how their children will turn out. While it is true each child must inevitably make their own choice for Christ, diligence has its place. Fight the battle to win! I assure you those parents who limit the world’s influence upon their child and see to it that the life of their children is built upon the Word of God will make their way successful.
 
Pastor Rusty Yost
 
 

I think any American who simply pays attention to what is going on in our country will not sleep well unless they know the Lord.
 
Think about the unprecedented pressures coming to bear on our nation as we begin 2022:

• Very real inflation that shows no sign of slowing down
• The utter destruction of the dollar as government socialist spending (financed with the printing of several trillion more dollars) erupts like a volcano under the Biden Administration
• Practically no border security as the current administration does little to nothing to stop the influx of illegal immigrants coming by the thousands
• The ugly rise of open crime in our major cities with a record number of murders and the looting of stores in broad daylight
• Unconstitutional vaccine mandates that threaten the jobs of millions of Americans
• The very real attack on religious freedom from the elites promoting transgender confusion
• Rising threats from Chinese and Russian aggression with the very real possibility of a major war in the Mideast as Israel prepares for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities
• Deep concerns over voter integrity at the State level as the nation preps for the 2022 election in November
• Constant philosophical conflict between those who embrace traditional Americanism and those who desire to expunge our history, burn our constitution, and plunge us into the nightmare of a Marxist/Communist government
• A blatant, in-your-face deceitful media that refuses to report the truth; once they filter the “news” through the narrative they staunchly defend the truth often lies dead in the street!
• The corruption of our university system which has basically sold out to Chinese influence

 
This is not a pretty picture as we enter 2022 and to think this is not all the problems we face. What are Christians to do about this mess?
 
A lot comes to mind as I think about encouraging those I am called to serve as a minister of the gospel. However, if I could boil my advice down to a single point this is it: MAKE 2022 A NEW YEAR OF OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST.
 
No believer is ready for what might happen in 2022 without a life of obedience to Christ. I challenge you to take spiritual inventory as 2022 begins. Everyone who names the name of Christ needs a revival of personal obedience to Christ in 2022.

The simple illustration of our Lord in Matthew chapter seven needs to be revisited earnestly by the average believer. In verses 24 through 27 our Lord gives us the parable of two builders. One built upon the rock and the other built upon the sand.
 
Of course, we all understand the importance of a strong foundation. Houses and other buildings built on a weak foundation cannot endure the test of time. When the right storm comes along, they will collapse.
 
However, those structures built upon the secure foundation of solid rock can bear up under the stress of a terrible storm. Surely we can understand our Lord’s illustration.
 
The point is those who hear the words of Christ and DO THEM (this is obedience, not lip service) are like the wise man who built upon the rock.

Here are a couple of devotional thoughts that come to mind:
 
Obedience makes the Lord our hiding place
 
Only submission to the good shepherd leads us into green pastures.


Through-out this new year build your life upon obedience to Christ. It is the only way to possess a heart dominated by the peace of God. Trust me. You will need the peace of God ruling in your heart as we navigate the choppy waters of 2022.