- [Announcer] The followingprogram is sponsored by CBN.

- [Narrator] Coming up,

"The Tyranny of Big Tech".

- [Hawley] These companieshave unprecedented power

over our lives.

- [Narrator] They'retracking your children.

- [Hawley] Building profiles of them.

- [Narrator] Twisting your minds.

- They absolutely are swaying votes.

- [Narrator] And silencing your voices.

- You can't do anything about it.

- [Narrator] Senator JoshHawley sounds the alarm.

- We have to break these companies up.

- [Narrator] On today's "700 Club".

(upbeat music)

- Hello, everyone.

Welcome to "The 700 Club",

thank you for joining us today.

A cease fire between Israel and Hamas

has ended the heaviestfighting since 2014.

So why are the Palestiniansclaiming victory

in the name of a new Palestine?

And why do most Israelis saythe ceasefire came too soon?

Chris Mitchell brings usthis look at the aftermath

of the brutal battle and what comes next.

- [Chris] In 11 days, Hamasfired more than 4,000 rockets

into south and central Israel

that sent millions ofIsraelis running for shelter.

In response, Israel launched a massive

and surgical bombing campaignto stop those rockets.

Despite devastating damage toits military infrastructure

Hamas and its supporterstook to the streets

and declared victory.

(speaking a foreign language)

- Netanyahu the Zionistenemy and his army said that

they will destroy thetunnels above our resistance.

And I tell him today

that our fighters are nowstriding proudly in the tunnels.

- [Chris] Iran suppliedmany of the rockets to Hamas

and in Tehran, the head ofIran's Revolutionary Guard

boasted a new Palestine has emerged.

In a live address, Israeli primeminister Benjamin Netanyahu

told the nation.

(speaking in a foreign language)

- The only thing that leadsme in making decisions

is the security and safetyof these Israeli people.

If there was a need to enterGaza with ground troops

we would have done it,

but I believe that wecould accomplish our goals

without doing so.

- [Chris] US President Joe Biden pressured

Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

to stop the fighting.

- I commended him for the decision

to bring the currenthostilities to a close

in less than 11 days.

I also emphasize what I saidthroughout this conflict.

The United States fully supports

Israel's right to defend itself.

- [Chris] Yet in Israel, nearlythree quarters of Israelis

felt the cease fire came too soon

without eliminating Hamas'sability to wage war.

Hamas' charter calls forthe destruction of Israel

and Islamic expert Dr.Mordechai Kedar told CBN News

that for Hamas, the 11 dayconflict was a jihad, a holy war

and Israel was on the front lines.

Kedar says while the west maylook on this as a ceasefire,

Hamas sees this through the eyes

of the Arabic concept of hudna.

- Means a temporary ceasefire,

which is used by the jihadists

in order not to start the cause of peace,

but in order to regain his power

in order to have a bettera jihad in the next phase.

- Israeli leaders now go back

to trying to form a government.

Even though most Israelisfelt the war ended too soon,

many approve of how Israeliprime minister Netanyahu

handled the crisis.

So he may yet survive thechallenge to his leadership.

And it's possibleIsraelis will also end up

heading to the polls once again,

the fifth time in justmore than two years.

Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Jerusalem.

- So the term being usedis temporary ceasefire.

Let's not stop prayingfor Israel at this point,

feeling like somehow thishas all been quelled.

I mean, it's a temporarycease fire and on top of that,

there's so much confusion politically.

It's an opportunity for us to pray,

to ask God to intervene inthe midst of all of this,

to see change, to seepeace come to Jerusalem.

Well, here at home, Republicansstrongly supported Israel

during it's fight with Hamas,

but many of them on CapitolHill are growing concerned

about the weakening Democraticsupport for the Jewish state.

John Jessup has that story

from our CBN News bureauin Washington, John.

- Thanks Terry.

For decades, the Democratic Party

has been a champion of Israel,

but the party support hasbegun to erode in recent years.

Several Republican senators

criticized congressionalDemocrats this week

for a lack of support for Israel

during the fight with Hamas.

In the meantime, someDemocrats are taking a stand

against the Jewish state.

CBN Capitol Hill correspondentAbigail Robertson

has that story.

- Lawmakers here havehistorically been unified

in their support for Israel.

Now Republicans say they're concerned

with the growth of anti-Israel rhetoric

from their Democratic colleagues.

- Israel's a democracy,Hamas is a terrorist group

- [Abigail] But not all lawmakers agree.

- Well I think The Squadused to be a fringe element

of the Democratic Partywhen it comes to Israel,

probably still are,

but more and more Democrats

like Elizabeth Warren andBernie Sanders and Chris Murphy

are openly siding with thismoral equivalency argument

that there's problems on both sides.

- [Abigail] Senator LindseyGraham tells CBN News

he's shocked by the number of Democrats

reluctant to firmly stand with Israel.

- When the Iranians and Hamas hear

Democratic members ofCongress and the Senate,

basically showing,

seeing no differencebetween Israel and Hamas,

it only incentivized more violence.

- [Abigail] Senate MinorityLeader, Mitch McConnell adds,

when it comes to Israel and Hamas,

they play by very different rules.

- When Israel strikes, for example,

they call the building and say,

please get out of the building,

because we're about to attack it,

in order to minimize civilian casualties.

Hamas is lobbing rockets andto Israel to kill civilians.

There is no moral equivalency here.

- [Abigail] Both Senatorssupport Israel defending itself.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib

who has Palestinianrelatives in the West Bank

confronted presidentBiden Tuesday in Michigan,

over his support for Israel,

reportedly sharing a message similar

to her recent House speech.

- As long as the messagefrom Washington is that

our military support forIsrael is unconditional,

Netanyahu's extremism,right wing government

will continue to expandsettlements, continue demolish homes

and continue to make theprospects for peace impossible.

- [Abigail] The WhiteHouse announced Wednesday,

President Biden spoke toIsraeli prime minister

Bibi Netanyahu.

- [Karine] The presidentconveyed to the prime minister

that he expected asignificant deescalation today

on the path to a ceasefire.

- [Abigail] Graham describedBiden's Israel responses uneven

and also criticized his plans

to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal.

- Why would you go backinto a nuclear deal

with the largest statesponsor of terrorism?

- [Abigail] Pointing to Iran's role

in the current attacks on Israel.

- Without Iran's support for Hamas,

there would be no 3,500 rockets.

- As the situation continues in Israel,

Senate Republicans agreed that until Hamas

stops targeting Israeli civilians,

there should be no ceasefire.

Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.

- All right, thank you, Abigail.

While Islamic groups from Gaza

fired rockets in Israel in recent days,

another battle took place online

when Islamic groups attacked

one of the largestChristian pages on Facebook

that brought millionsof Christians together

to pray for Israel andthe peace of Jerusalem.

Here again, Chris Mitchell from Jerusalem.

- [Chris] That Jerusalem Prayer Team

established nearly 20 years ago,

with a reported nearly 77million followers on Facebook

saw it suddenly shut down.

Mike Evans tells CBN News,

an antisemitic campaign of hatetargeted the Facebook page.

- An organized Islamic campaigncoming out of Pakistan,

Indonesia and Turkey targeted our site

with over 1 million comments.

So Facebook rather thancontact Bible believers

and find out the truth,

they responded to radicalIslamic 911 would-be's

and pulled us down.

- [Chris] The cyber campaign happened

in the middle of the team's prayer time

during the conflictbetween Hamas and Israel.

- We've been praying for peace,

we have been praying forGod to protect Israel,

we've been praying for peace in Jerusalem.

We've been praying for ablessing over the Jewish people,

protection over Jewish people.

We've been praying forprotection over Arab Israelis.

- [Chris] The attack campaign was twofold.

First came the negative Facebook comments.

- People coming from antisemitic groups

calling for for a second Holocaust,

people attacking us personally,

people making threats upon us personally.

- Second, the hackersspread a false narrative

that Facebook created thepage during the conflict,

and then had people like thepage without their consent.

Dozens of videos with thousands of views

across social platforms

celebrated the news that thePrayer Team's page was down.

Al Jazeera also reported on the situation.

- I'm incredibly disappointed right now

basically that instead ofthese anti-Semitic people

who are attacking Christians

for praying for peace in Jerusalem,

for praying for peace andan end of the bloodshed,

and instead of stopping

those antisemitic attacks against us,

Facebook has shut our page down.

- The Jerusalem Prayer Teamis appealing that decision

and Evans has enlisted thehelp of US and Israeli leaders.

CBN News reached out to Facebook

and they provided us with this statement.

We removed JerusalemPrayer Team's Facebook page

for violating our rules against spam

and inauthentic behavior.

- My prayer right now is that Facebook

would start to act with hopefullyintegrity on the situation

and restore our prayers.

You know, in this era,

the fact that your prayers couldbe canceled on the internet

is an unimaginable thing.

- [Chris] Evans came to Israel

to report from the frontlines of the conflict

as part of a television special

that includes many Christian leaders.

- But it's to bring solidarityfor the state of Israel

and to oppose the lies to theevangelicals of the world.

- [Chris] Evans sees the special

as an effort to win the media war

and counter what he says

is the mainstream media believingthe lies of radical Islam.

Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Jerusalem.

- Thanks, Chris.

Terry, it's stunning to think that a page

or a group of people prayingfor peace would be shut down.

- That's really true, John,but it's not the first time

that we have seen conservativeor Christian messages

shut down or taken off, even temporarily.

You know, it's unfortunate

because many of us enjoybeing able to follow

family pictures, familyinformation on Facebook.

But this is one of the things that happens

when you allow monopolies to exist,

and we've got informationabout that coming up for you.

We live in the age ofinformation, don't we?

Whether you like it or not.

Well, the tech giants are collecting data

on you and your kids and just,

what are they doing with all that intel?

Senator Josh Hawley tells usabout the tyranny of big tech.

And then later, she thoughtboys were loved more,

so she planned to become one.

How did a webdesign help this transgender

find her true identity?

You'll see, that's later on today's show.

(upbeat music)

(upbeat music)

This friends is the bookcorporate monopolies

don't want you to read.

That's how RepublicanSenator Josh Hawley describes

"The Tyranny of Big Tech", and no wonder.

In his new book the Senatorreveals alarming facts

about how the giants of big tech

are tracking children online,they're swaying voters,

censoring pro-life groups,silencing speeches,

we just saw a few moments ago and more.

So what can be done to stop them?

Well here's Capitol Hillcorrespondent, Abigail Robertson.

- Senator Josh Hawley hopes his book

brings renewed attention to thenegative impacts of Big Tech

from monitoring young children,

to influencing elections worldwide.

- This really started for me as a parent.

- [Abigail] That's when Hawley realized

these companies were trackinghis kids and millions more.

- These companies we'refollowing around the kids online

and building profiles of them.

And so that really led to meto getting interested in this.

- [Abigail] As MissouriAttorney General at the time,

Hawley led the charge byfiling antitrust investigations

against both Facebook and Google,

which he says has expandedto include similar suits

in all 50 states.

- I think at the end of the day,

monopoly power is always bad for liberty,

monopoly power is bad for free speech,

and these companieshave unprecedented power

over speech, over our lives,

and we've got to reclaim that power

for us as individuals and as families.

- [Abigail] Now a US Senator,Hawley is fighting Big Tech

on a federal level.

- I think from a political point of view,

we have to break these companies up.

- [Abigail] Laying outthe case in his new book,

Hawley exposes his alarming discoveries.

- I think they absolutelyare swaying votes.

- [Abigail] And points to whyhe believes big tech companies

influence millions of voters,

citing Hill testimony

from people such as Dr. Robert Epstein.

- In 2016, Google search algorithm

likely impacted undecided voters

in a way that shifted at least

2.6 million votes to HillaryClinton, whom I supported.

- [Abigail] Epstein warned Congress

that companies like Google

have likely been determiningthe outcome of 25%

of national electionsworldwide since at least 2015.

- Dr. Epstein, he walkedthrough experiments that he did,

analysis that he did,

where he took the auto-completesuggestions on Google,

and just showed that

in the 2016 presidentialelection for instance,

that if you typed inHillary Clinton's name,

the auto-complete suggestionswere overwhelmingly positive.

If you typed in Donald Trump's name,

they were overwhelmingly negative.

- [Abigail] Hawley alsowrites about a 2019 meeting

with Mark Zuckerberg

where the Facebook founder and CEO

apologized for censoring thepro-life group Live Action.

- Currently, you know,if that happens to you,

if that happens to it to aChristian pro-life group,

you can't do anything about it.

I mean, you can ask Facebookto change their mind.

You know, you can beg them,

but you don't have any rightsyou can enforce against them.

- [Abigail] And from his standpoint,

the tech giant has yet tomake any significant change

in providing accountability.

- I think we ought to allowpeople to go to court,

have their day in court.

And if the companies can really defend it,

if they have a good explanation,

if they've followed theirown terms and procedures,

then they'll be fine.

But if they really have singled out

conservatives or people of faith,

that there's gonna be a problem.

- [Abigail] Hawley believespower is in the wrong hands

when companies like Facebook and Twitter

police free speech in America,

such as censoring people likeformer president Donald Trump.

- The only reason people care

is because Facebook is so powerful.

Listen, if Facebook hada lot of competitors,

then president Trump could justgo to a competitor platform

and say, all right, fine,forget you Facebook,

I'll go over here to this platform.

The whole point is Facebook doesn't have

any real competitors inthe social media space,

so what they do really matters

because they're the only game in town

for all intents and purposes.

- On the Hill, is therea bipartisan support

for taking action to breakup these tech companies?

- I think there could be.

I think there should be.

I think that breaking them up

is where we oughta come together.

- [Abigail] Until then,

he encourages individuals and families

to commit to cutting back on social media

while taking a closer lookat protecting their privacy.

- Try to take all the steps that you can

to limit the amount of information

that you're voluntarilygiving over to these companies

and that means spending less time online,

it also means being sure touse browsers for instance,

that will help keep yourdata as private as possible.

- Hawley believes realchange is up to the voters

and can only happen whenthey decide to stop allowing

Big Tech to raise their kids

and run their government.

Reporting from Virginia,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.

- You know, in these scenarios,

we can either complain aboutit and just sit and whine

or we can do something.

The Senator talked abouttaking back our rights,

taking back our privilegesand getting rid of

there being only one option,

breaking up some of these monopolies.

We wanna thank Senator JoshHawley for leading the way,

I think he is beginning a charge

that many of us can standbehind, and so let's do that.

His book is called "TheTyranny of Big Tech,

Being Informed is Half the Battle".

You can find it wherever books are sold.

Well, still ahead,

she thought she was a manliving in a woman's body,

so she tried to changeher body into a man's.

See why she transitionedinto another gender

and then went back, right after this.

(soft music)

"In Our Hands",

it tells the epic story ofthe battle for Jerusalem

during The Six Day War, you'llhear what led up to the war

and how Israel miraculously won,

from both historians and soldiers

who were on that battlefield.

For your gift of any dollar amount,

we'll send you a DVD copyof this gripping docu-drama,

you'll also get instantstreaming access in stunning 4K,

all you have to do is goto cbn.com/inourhands,

or you can call 1-800-700-7000,

but it is quite inspiring and powerful.

I think you'd really love to have this

in your video library.

"In Our Hands, The Battle for Jerusalem".

- Well Laura Perry lived asa man for almost nine years.

Then after hormonetherapies and surgeries,

she made a shocking discovery.

What was it?

And how did it lead Laura towalk away from her partner,

her job and her financial security?

You're about to find out.

- As a little girl, I was full of energy,

I was very hyper, I was very athletic.

I had a really hardrelationship with my mom

and my mom was very quiet,

and my mom was much closer to my brother

that was the very quiet obedient child.

And so I really began to believethat boys were loved more.

I think just very early in life,began to believe a lie that

that I wasn't loved as a girl

and everything in life sort ofgot put through this lens of

I should've been a boy.

When I was eight years old,I was molested by a boy

that was only a year older than me.

And that really began to change me,

and I became very sexualized.

I got into pornography asa, like middle school age.

And so in high school, I wastrying to be more of a girl,

be more feminine to getthe attention and the boys,

but as I did, I begansleeping around a lot

and just giving them whatever they wanted.

And the more I did that,

the more they just treatedme like absolute trash.

It was after that that

I really started torun away from the Lord,

and I told God that I wouldnever serve him again.

And so over the next few years in college,

I got more and more into pornography.

I started going all over the state just,

for random sexual encountersthat I would find online.

And it was like nothingwas satisfying anymore.

And so I began to rememberall fantasies I had as a child

of feeling like a boy.

And I said, that's the problem there,

that's why I'm never happy

because I was supposed to bethe man in the relationship.

I began to transition, Ibegan to take the hormones.

And at first it was thegreatest thing ever,

I was just on cloud nine.

I started to begin to grow facial hair

and began to grow a beard and sideburns

and my voice began to get lower.

Even the body shape beganto change a little bit.

2009, I had my name legally changed.

And eventually later that year,

I went to have my chest surgeryand had a double mastectomy

with a chest reconstructionto look like a male chest.

And I thought this was the epitome

of everything I'd ever wanted.

Even though I was reallyexcited about the results,

and I liked how it looked physically,

I realized that my surgeryhadn't made me a man.

I was legally male,

and I could look down at mylicense on my birth certificate

and it said, male.

I still am the same personjust without breasts,

and that was devastating to me

'cause I really had believedthat I would become a man.

I'd hardly talked to my parents in years,

other than I would call themfor an occasional birthday

or something like that,where I felt obligated.

But one day my mom askedme to make a website

for her Bible study.

And I didn't have anyinterest in the Bible but,

I thought, okay, I'llmake a website for you.

And as I began to read her notes,

I was blown away by what I was reading,

and I thought I have neverseeing the Bible like this,

I had always thought of theBible as God's rule book.

I called her one day and I said,

mom you've got to explainsome of this to me

and I was so curious, Icalled her again the next day,

and again, the next dayand all of a sudden,

I went from never talking to her

to talking to her every single day.

And I would call her after work

and I just couldn't wait

to talk to mom at the end of the day.

And then one day something had happened

and I don't remember what,

some kind of crisishad come up in my life.

And I'll never forget that day she said,

honey, you just need to trust the Lord.

And I was like, I wasblown away at that moment,

because I had never heard my mom say that.

And I said, mom what has happened to you?

You are a totally different person

from the one I grew up with.

And she had been so radically transformed

and it was at that moment thatI knew the gospel was true,

that I knew that Christ was alive,

and that there was a transforming power

because I could see how my mom

had just been totally changed.

And so that night I prayed

and I asked the Lord into my heart,

but I really wanted to be a man of God,

and I thought, this is great,

now I can find my identity in Christ,

but I thought I could still stay as a man,

because as much as I had Irealized I couldn't be a man,

I could not face being a female.

But after about a monthjust crying out to the Lord,

night after night after night,

I had a clear visionof Jesus Christ himself

getting down on one knee,

he reached his hand intothe pit and he said,

do you trust me?

And so I did.

I took his hand, I walkedaway from my entire identity,

my partner, my job, my financial security,

the life that I had built for myself

and left it all to follow Christ.

I had made the decision to move home.

My mom gave me this pile of cards

from these women in her Bible study.

And I said, mom, what is this?

And she said, these women havebeen writing cards for you,

they're so proud of you,they're so excited to meet you.

The next morning when Ishowed up at the Bible study,

they surrounded me withmore love and joy and hugs

than I've ever felt from women in my life.

They were so overjoyed

at seeing their prayers of years answered,

and it was at that moment that

I was flooded with love from women,

and I felt loved as a woman.

And it was like thattransgender light is broke.

And I knew I was not meant to be a man.

So many transgenders I know get to a point

where they realize the same thing I did,

that it's not real.

You can change your outward appearance,

you can change your body,

and ultimately you arewho God created you to be

and you were put on thisearth for his purpose.

God loves you more than youcould ever even imagine.

- Boy, Laura hit the nail on the head

with what she just said.

We are put on earth for his purpose.

Our goal, of course,the thing inside of us,

the drive that we feelis why am I here God?

Who are you?

Who are you to me?

What are you to be in my life?

There is an enemy of God,

and what do you think his goal is?

His goal is to keep you from finding out

why you were put here.

His goal is to separate youfrom the one who created you.

You know, life has so manythings that happen to us that are

unfair, that are challenging or difficult.

You know, when Laura was a girl,

you can understand whyshe would think that

boys were more loveable than girls,

something as simple as that,

because we have such a drive to be loved,

such a drive to be accepted,

can so change the way we see ourselves,

change our thinking about things.

But this is what the word of God says,

says I knew you before you wereformed in your mother's womb

and saw every day of your life.

This is your creator speaking this.

You know, the one who createdyou created you with purpose,

with intention, you're here for a reason.

He created you to be relational with him.

He created some of usfemale, some of us male,

and when life happens

and something happens insideour neediness, our soul,

you know the enemy is waitingfor an entry point like that,

and he comes in with what?

His lies.

This isn't who you really are.

If you did this, you would be happier.

You know, it all started inthat garden years and years ago

with a lie that we believed,with a choice that was made

and the consequences that followed.

And yet, even then, wayback then at that point,

God had a plan.

He had a plan forredemption, to redeem us,

to take back what the enemy has stolen

and to declare us to be his,

to declare us to be forgiven,

to declare us to be his children,

to declare us to berighteous in his sight,

not because we are righteous,

but because we have a savior who was.

God had a plan even in the garden

and Jesus walked that plan out

so that we could be free.

Today, I want to ask you isthere something in your life

that you need to be free from?

Maybe you're strugglingwith gender issues,

but maybe it's not that,

maybe it's something else that'sgot its grip on you so much

that you cannot come hometo the father, heart of God,

which is what you were created for.

So I ask you today, are youwilling to take a chance?

That's what God asked Laura,are you willing to trust me?

And so I'm asking you that today,

are you willing to trust God?

Are you willing to let go ofall the stuff that you've tried

to fill your life withthe choices you've made,

the people you've hung with,

the things you've done?

In your heart of hearts

you have known when youstepped over the line

and yet you've done it anyway.

Today you have a chance

to come home to the father, heart of God.

It's real, it's legit.

Jesus, this is what yousay, Jesus I have sinned

and I'm asking you to forgive me.

I am lost, and I'm asking you to save me.

I want to come home to you.

I want to know what I was created for.

I want to experience what it means

to have a relationship with you.

Would you come into myheart, teach me your ways,

show me how to live for you

and fill me with thepower of your Holy Spirit.

And we're asking this prayertoday, Lord, in Jesus' name.

If that's your heart desireand you've prayed that prayer

then let us help you grow inyour relationship with God

because the prayer is just the beginning.

We have a packet called "A NewDay" that's been put together

just for you.

We want you to have it, it's free.

The call is toll free.

It's 1-800-700-7000.

Just say I'd like that "New Day" packet,

we'll get it out to you right away.

We'll still ahead,

America's other epidemic,

and this one can't be cured by a vaccine.

Millions are strugglingwith mental health issues.

So how could they get the help they need?

Plus, the wanderer finds his way.

What's the one questionthat saved his life.

Rock and roll Hall of Famer Dion DiMucci

will tell you himself.

That's later on today's show.

(upbeat music)

(upbeat music)

- Welcome back to Washingtonfor the CBN Newsbreak.

Well, you can pitch a tent,build a fort or light a fire

as you tune in to Trail Life USA's

national Backyard Concert and Campout.

The concert will feature

two-time Grammy award winningartist For King and Country

and other special guests,

all while encouragingyoung men to live lives

that honor God.

It's an event for the whole family

to get together and enjoyan evening of music,

fun teaching and nationwide fellowship

with other believers around the country.

You can catch Trail LifeUSA's Backyard Concert tonight

at 9:00 Eastern on the CBN News channel,

or on our digital platforms.

Well CBN's OperationBlessing provided hope

for a desperate mother in Costa Rica.

Kimberly is a single momof three who worked hard

to provide for her children.

She wanted to be a baker,but didn't have the tools.

Her dreams were shattered whenshe got laid off from her job

because of COVID-19.

Food became scarce at homeand bills were left unpaid,

but thanks to the support ofOperation Blessing's partners,

Kimberly and her childrenreceived bags of food

and they gave her the gift of a lifetime,

supplies she needed to starther own baking business.

She thanked Operation Blessing

for being able to support herchildren with her own business

and feeling proud of herself once again.

Well you can find out moreabout Operation Blessing

by visiting ob.org.

Terry will be back withmore of today's "700 Club"

right after this.

(upbeat music)

(upbeat music)

- Amber's family doubled in 2020.

During the pandemic thissingle mother of two daughters

took in her two sisters.

The extra mouths tofeed meant every dollar

had to be stretched.

So how did she make itwork on an airman's salary?

Take a look.

- [Narrator] U.S AirmanAmber enjoys her job

at Vandenburgh Air ForceBase in central California.

As a single mom, raising two daughters

on an E-4 salary isn't easy.

- I did the best that Icould with what I had.

I did a lot of hoping and trusting God

that things would be provided.

- [Narrator] Amber'sfinances got even tighter

when she took in her twosisters, when the pandemic hit.

Their mom had cancer and was considered

high risk for infection.

- The stress of having mytwo sisters going out places

as things started open up,

she couldn't risk having them to come back

and give her COVID.

- [Narrator] Their parentshelped financially,

but budgeting for twoextra kids in the house

was more than Amber anticipated.

- There was a lot morejust mouths to feed.

There was a whole bunch of other things

that needed to be provided to them

that I had to pay out of pocket.

- [Narrator] Another majorchange in Amber's life

was meeting John.

Soon they married,

their finances took a hitwhen Amber moved off base

and the couple moved into a home

that would accommodate the family of six.

First and last month'srent, plus security deposit

exceeded what they had.

- Plain and simple, we didn't have it.

So it was definitely a burden

and it was something that was definitely

heavily on our minds.

- [Narrator] John andAmber took out a loan

to pay for the moving expenses.

They relied on their faith

that they could pay it off quickly.

- God definitely played a part

and our faith did play a part.

The peace and comfort that God gives us

as we go through struggles in our lives.

- [Narrator] That's when their Pastor

with Cross Point Church

asked Helping the HomeFront to get involved.

Pastor Jon Stone surprisedthe couple on a Zoom call

with good news.

- Cross Point and CBNhave worked together,

and we are going to reimburse you $3,000

to offset the expenses that you incurred

when you brought in your sisters.

- Amazing, we didn't expect anything.

- How does that hit you, John,

what would you say to that?

- I'm still trying to process,

wow that's unbelievable.

That's a huge, huge blessing.

- It is.

- And that's not all,

we want to pay off the$7,000 loan so that you can

start off your married lifewithout having to be in debt.

- This isn't a dream?

- Can you breathe John?

- Hardly.

(soft music)

- There is a God in Heavenwho cares for our needs.

- I don't even know what to say.

- I don't either.

- Nothing like this hasever happened to me.

- No words can expresshow grateful we are.

- [Narrator] Thanks to CBN partners,

John and Amber have afresh financial start.

- But you guys have no ideawhat the church and CBN,

Helping the Home Front has done for us.

- Now that's an opportunity to say

thank you for your service, isn't it?

You know, Helping the Home Front

is just one of the things theCBN members make possible.

That's why today we're askingyou to join "The 700 Club"

if you haven't already done that,

65 cents a day, $20 a monthmakes you a "700 Club" member.

So will you go to yourphone and call right now?

Our number's toll free,it's 1-800-700-7000.

There are several club membershipslevels for you to join at

I'm telling you about theinitial club membership

of 65 cents a day, $20 a month.

But look at that,

you could be a 700 ClubGold member at $40 a month

or join our 1000 Club.

Ask God what he'd have you to do

and then call knowing thatyou are changing lives

here at home and all aroundthe world with your generosity

and your kindness.

We say, thank you in advance.

And we want to say, thankyou right after you join

by sending you, "God is For Us".

This is Pat's latest,

Verses of Salvation, Peace and Victory,

all from the book of Romans, read by Pat.

We think it'll be a blessing to you

even as you've decided to bea blessing to other people.

So please call us now.

Well, Dion DiMucci had 12 gold records,

but not much else.

At the height of his careerDion felt unfulfilled and then,

one day he had a conversationwith our Scott Ross.

Recently, he told Scott about

how that talk changed his life.

Take a look.

- [Scott] American singerand songwriter Dion DiMucci

has been rocking the musiccharge since the late 50s.

Inducted into the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame in 1989,

the 80 year old is still making music.

His recent album "Blues with Friends",

features the likes of Bruce Springsteen,

Paul Simon, Van Morrison and others.

All these named peoplethat are on this new album

and I love that title ofthat song, "Hymn to Him",

how'd you come up with that?

- I just started it.

I, you know,

it sounded clever, but so true, you know.

- Yeah it is.

- When I go out for a walk,

I'm always like singingpraises to God, you know, just,

I feel so blessed,

married 57 years I havethree beautiful girls

and five grandchildren.

- [Scott] Dion started hiscareer in the late fifties

as a crooner with thedoo-wop group The Belmonts.

In 1960, he launched a solo career

that brought a string of worldwide hits,

including the chart toppingsongs like "The Wanderer",

and his number one hit, "Runaround Sue".

But after years of struggling

with drugs and alcohol addiction,

his life took a drastic aftera conversation I had with him.

We could go backhistorically with both of us,

when I think made someimpression to you about Jesus,

didn't I?

- You said something profound to me

that I've said to a lot of people, since.

I had 12 gold records on the wall,

I was, by the worldstandards, I was successful.

But make a note here,

success and fulfillmentare two different things.

So I got on my kneesand I asked God for help

and he removed the obsessionto drink and drugs,

I believed in God's power.

I wasn't aware of his very reality.

And you said to me, you know, Dion,

you said I see you believe in God,

I hear what you're saying andGod is present in your life.

Ask him who Jesus is.

Do you trust that God that you pray to?

I said, you bet.

I said, you bet, you said,

if you ask him for bread

you think he'll give you a stone?

I said, no.

He said, ask him if Jesus is his son.

And I thought, thank you.

You know, you trusted me, right?

- Yeah.

- Well, I got an answer when I asked.

I didn't get an immediate answer,

but I'll tell you this, Scott

I haven't been the same for over 40 years.

- [Scott] Dion gave hislife to Jesus Christ

in the late 60s.

So the Lord is in your life,you're grounded, you're rooted,

but you're still in showbusiness in so many ways.

How have you been able todance around all the trappings?

- Well, once you open your heart to God

and you have a relationship with him,

he shapes your desire for those things.

- [Scott] In the decades since

Dion's music has continued to inspire

with messages of togetherness and unity.

One track on his new albumcalled "Here in America,

A Song for Sam,"

it was written in response

to the recent upswell ofracial tensions in the US,

but the song is inspired by a friend

and fellow artist from the sixties,

the late music legend, Sam Cooke,

a man he saw take the high roadwhen confronted with racism.

- When I saw Sam Cookein certain situations

that were really unnerving,

to me, I walked over to him I said, Sam,

why don't you give that guy,

you know, just give him one right hook,

you know knock that guy out.

And he said, Dion, I wouldn'tlower myself to go down.

He said, you know, and he taught me,

he said, Dion racism is apeculiar way to become a man

or feel that you're a man, it's peculiar.

You're talking about howto share Christ with people

and change is going to come, he wrote.

- Oh yeah.

- He tried to get topeople through his music,

through his love, throughhis understanding,

through his friendship

and talking about God.

- [Scott] There's onemore song on that album

I need to mention,

featuring Bruce Springsteenand his wife Patti Scialfa.

It's a perfect reflectionof his faith in Jesus

and a message of hope and healing for all.

He calls it, "Hymn to Him".

When you came around towriting the song, "Hymn to Him"

we'll come back to that now,

what were you thinking?

I mean, the lyrics say it all.

They really do.

- I'll tell you, I'll read the song,

it says if the winds of disaster

have blown hard through your night

and the dreams you have cherished

can't begin to take flight,

take his hand through the sunlight.

Lift your head high above.

Let your blood flow foreverwith the warmth of his love.

Blend your life with his blessings,

drink the wine of tomorrow.

Yesterday must be banishedwith the seeds of your sorrow.

You know, you walk with God,

you have this peace.

Everything makes sense.

There was a time when I didn't know him,

and everything looked bleakto me and you know, you just

when you're walking withhim, the world makes sense.

- That's the truth, isn't it?

Thanks Scott, for that great interview.

Dion's latest album we want you to know

is called "Blues with Friends",

it's available now,wherever music is sold.

Well up next,

it's the second leading cause of death

for Americans aged 14 to 24.

And it's only gottenlethal over the past year.

How can we stop this silent killer?

Pastor Ryan Casey Waller

takes on America's mentalhealth crisis right after this.

(soft music)

(upbeat music)

For Ryan Casey Waller,rock bottom happened

when he was leading a Sunday service

and he was completely drunk.

If you had asked him how hewas doing just the day before,

he would have said fine.

But after that Sunday disaster,

Ryan couldn't deny it any longer.

He suffered from depressionand he needed help.

- [Narrator] Ryan Casey Waller

is a licensed psychotherapist,lawyer and pastor.

He also suffers fromdepression and anxiety.

In his book, "Depression, Anxiety,

And Other Things WeDon't Want to Talk About"

Waller not only shares hisstruggles with mental illness,

but he also examines theintersection of biology,

psychology and spirituality,

reminding us all that hope starts now.

- Ryan Casey Wallerjoins us now via Skype.

Ryan, thank you for being here.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- You are a pastor and a psychotherapist

who's also struggled with mental illness.

You know, a lot of people denythat any of that is happening

in their lives

because they think it's shamefuland they don't seek help.

What led you to seek help?

- I sought help because ultimately

my pain got to thepoint where I needed to.

You know, oftentimes withdepression and anxiety,

what can make it so difficult is

we don't know when thepain is going to end

and so when it gets bad enough,

we begin to not be able toimagine a future for ourselves.

And I was really at that place,

the first time my depressioncame around and it got so bad

that I couldn't envisionwhat life was gonna look like

if I had to go on

dealing with the kind ofpain that I was dealing with.

And so it was at that point, I thought

I really need to avail myselfto what else is out there.

And that was the firsttime that I sought the care

of a therapist and then ultimately,

also the use of medication.

- You know, this pandemic that we're in

has isolated people forlong stretches of time.

Has that exacerbated themental health crisis?

- Oh, it absolutely has.

You know, one of the worst parts about

suffering from depression and anxiety

is that your brain tells you that A,

nobody has ever felt as bad as you felt.

And that B, there'snobody that can understand

how it is that you're feeling.

And what's happened during the pandemic

as we've been pulled apart andseparated from one another,

anyone who was already experiencingsome of those feelings,

if they don't have astrong support network

or other people around them,

those feelings have only intensified.

And for people who havegone into the pandemic,

not already strugglingwith their mental health,

many of them have begun toexperience the same feelings

of feeling isolated and not connected.

You know, one of the primary things

we know that we need as human beings

is connectedness to other people.

It was the only thing inthe beginning of the Bible

that God said, wasn'tgood that man was alone.

So we desperately need one another,

and so it's absolutely madethese issues more difficult.

- You talk about three tools in your book

that help people who struggle,

therapy, medication and other people.

How does all of this workand why so important?

- Yeah, it's so critical,especially for Christians

because oftentimes we feellike if we avail ourselves

to the resources in themental health community

that somehow an indictment of our faith

that we didn't believe enough.

And what I want Christians to know

is that mental health suffering

is just like any other kind of suffering.

You know, God doesn't promiseto relieve our suffering,

but to fill our sufferingwith his presence.

And so one of the waysthat we can do that,

if we're struggling,

is to avail ourselvesto these three tools.

They're not going to work for everyone

but in most cases, one if not all three

are going to be helpful.

So the first is psychotherapy,

to availing yourself to a professional,

to go in, to sit down with a therapist,

somebody who's trained to listen to,

to diagnose, to understand what's going on

and then serve you

in a way that is onlyin your best interest.

So there's therapy and there'stremendous benefits to that.

Then there are also cases for which

depression and anxiety are biological.

And so for many people,just the introduction

of some sort of psychotropic medication

can significantly reduce thesymptoms that they're having.

Now hear me out,

there is no medication thatcan cure mental illness

but oftentimes when we combinemedication with psychotherapy

we can see a dramaticreduction in the symptoms,

you know, improved health.

But then thirdly, andthis is often overlooked

is the value of a really good community.

An addiction psychiatrist told me once

that if he can just get his patients

plugged into a communitywhere they know people

and they are known by others,then half the battle is won.

We're talking about peoplewho are seriously ill.

I said, you're telling methat the people who have

a life and death addiction,

they have a significant,better chance of getting better

if they just have a friend?

And he said, yes, that'sexactly what I'm telling you.

So I often encourage peopleif you're struggling,

avail yourself to a therapist,

see if that's helpful to you,

talk to your doctorpotentially about medication,

and find a communitywhere you can know people,

and they can know you soyou can not face this alone.

- You know, sometimes Ryan,when someone is physically ill

you can see what they're struggling with

and so your compassionand your understanding

just automatically come.

But often with mental illness,

I think people feel frustrated.

What can those of us who know someone

who's struggling withdepression or mental illness,

how do we help them handle that?

- Yeah, that's a great question.

The best thing that we can do is simply

not be afraid to ask the question,

and do it in a non-judgemental way.

So if you sense that someoneis struggling, ask them

are you feeling depressed?

Don't be afraid to evenask, are you considering

hurting yourself?

Do you want to die?

A lot of times we are frustrated

because we don't ask the questions

because we're scared if we do,

we don't know what to do if they say yes,

just be there.

- We've run out of time,

so I'm going to send people to your book.

It's "Depression, Anxiety

and Other Things We Don'tWant to Talk About".

It's available nationwidewhere books are sold.

We want to leave you withthis word from Philippians,

and the peace of God whichsurpasses all understanding

will guard your hearts andminds through Christ, Jesus.

Thank you for being with us today,

enjoy your weekend, God bless you.