Freedom

SO I was sitting here thinking about July 4th, our independence day here in the US, and what it means for us to have independence. It means we have freedom. The freedom we take for granted so often. Freedom is a privilege we have, and yet somehow, because we think we have a right to it, we take it for granted. Without thousands of people dying in wars that cross decades, even centuries, we would not be free.

Russia was a communist nation until the early nineties. Under communism, there was virtually no freedom. You were not free to worship as you desired, not free to make money the way you conceived, many times, not even free to live where you wanted to. When communism fell, that all changed... Russians now not only have freedom, they have hope. The kids growing up there that are my age have not even been free their entire life. They are first generation free Russians. They hardly know what to make of freedom, let alone exercise it to its fullest extent.

My prayer is that this young generation of free Russians, many of whom have never even heard of Christ, because of the Communist oppression, will discover the freedom and hope in Him. Imagine how our world could change if Russia started to transform into a nation of Christians. A nation of people truly serving Christ would impact our world in unimaginable ways.

But Russia needs a lot of help. Its young people need direction. The nation has been devastated by the choices their government has made in the last 60 years. I leave this coming Friday. Please surround me with your prayer, impact Russia, through your prayer.

I am off to experience some of my glorious freedoms.