FROM THE PULPIT: RELIGOUS FREEDOM BILL LIMITS FREEDOM

In late March 1996, I stopped off for a seven-day visit with our mission team working in Moscow, Russia. It was great to spend time with Marion and Belinda Ferrell, although I had just finished a whirlwind 21-day tour of Athens, Israel, and Egypt. I was exhausted.

On Sept. 10, 1997, I returned from a ten-day visit to Moscow. Again spending time with Marion and Belinda Ferrell and the Joe Paul Bryant family. These two families work in a team effort to spread the Gospel in the Northwest section of Moscow (a city of some ten million residents).

Upon arriving in Moscow (Sept. 2) the Duma (lower house of Russian governing body) had sent a Religious Freedom Bill to Russian President Boris Yeltsin which would limit the activities of foreign mission groups. President Yeltsin had refused to sign the bill. However, on my third or fourth day in country, the President yielded to pressure from the Orthodox church and sent another bill to the Duma, which restricted foreign religious groups even more than the original proposal. Politics?

The news came last evening (Sept. 24) via e-mail: "The Duma passed the law today, Friday, 19 Sep. The vote was 357 to 6. The experts say its passage by the upper house is now certain."

Although the news was not what we wanted to hear -- the church will continue to survive in Moscow. She has always survived under adverse conditions. In fact the church had its greatest growth period under severe persecution.

I am not supporting that our missionaries and churches are being persecuted in Moscow. They, for the most part, live fairly normal lives. Normal by Russian standards; they have few of the luxuries we Americans enjoy everyday.

One of the greatest luxuries we have in our country is Freedom. What would you do without freedom. Very few, if any, people reading this article has ever lived without freedom. We are spoiled in America with all our freedom and luxuries. Everyone should take a trip to Russia or Egypt. Then perhaps you would begin to sense the importance of the freedom we take for granted every day. You would see how the rest of the world lives and how pampered we really are in the USA.

Now, I'm not anti-pampering. I enjoy the luxuries as much as anyone. I'm certainly not anti-freedom. I cannot imagine living without freedom. I am simply reminding myself and you that we need to be more appreciative of what God has allowed us to enjoy. We need to use our opportunities to help others.

Continue to remember our missionaries working in Russia. Pray that God will intervene and allow them to continue their work with as little interference as possible. We serve a great and power God who listens to the prayers of his children.

By the way, if you are interested in world travel, plus visiting some wonderful Biblical sites as you go, give me a call. I have a great trip planned in March of 1998 to Israel and Turkey. I would be glad to send you a brochure.