A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever. - Dr. Martin Luther
Dear CHESS Families,
The words above say it all. As the darkness and attacks of the hateful evil one become more and more evident every day, I pray that God’s people will also trust more and more in the Lord of Sabaoth, that we will obey His Word, rely on the Spirit, and use the gifts that are ours: God’s Word, prayer, sitting under Godly preaching, fellowship of the saints, and the exhortation of one another while it is called today.
Over the past several years, I have met with many families who have been horrified and aghast at what their children were being taught or subjected to at their public school; and they want out! What you hear that is happening in our nation’s public schools is true, even in our own back yard - in our county of Weld. If the wicked one is going to seek to crush a society and attack God’s truths, one of his main strategies is to work his evil on the vulnerable saplings. And that is just what he is doing.
Parents, I encourage each one of you who have taken up homeschooling. Stay the course. Be thankful. When those hard days come, remember why you are homeschooling, and take a prayerful breather. Don’t believe the philosophy that says we must expose our children to the world so they know how to live in it. Our children have a hard enough time managing the normal growing up process than to add to it having to sort out, and yes, fight against, the evil philosophies of the world that is set on infiltrating their young hearts and minds. Also, our children are NOT missionaries. To place our children in amongst the wicked woke philosophies so that they can be a witness may be a sincere desire, but it is misguided. Let this type of witnessing be done by us, not by our children.
CHESS families. I am thankful for each and everyone of you. I know that homeschooling is not easy. Sometimes we have so many doubts if we are doing everything right, and we worry about our children’s future – will they get into the right college or trade school, will they get a job, etc. Truth to be told, no parent does things perfectly. But our attempts to do the right thing must be bathed in prayer. God is so merciful to take our feeble efforts and turn them into something glorious for Him. We can be confident of the outcome because of His mercies, not because of our abilities or lack thereof. Remember, we are raising our children to serve Him in His Kingdom wherever He deems is best, and we must encourage our children with this truth as we guide them regarding their future. Serving Him in His Kingdom in the days ahead will be a challenge like none of us older folks have every experienced in this country. That is why it is even more important that we are faithful to prepare our children while they are in the nest, so that when they leave, they will be “Sons vigorous and tall as growing plants. Daughters of graceful beauty like the pillars of a palace wall.” Psalm 144:12 - Principal Brown