Prayer Alert from the Slavic Gospel Association

This is a letter that I received regarding a pastor in Azerbaijan. As stated later in the letter, the iron curtain to the Gospel is falling once again. We all rejoice for the time that the countries in the former Soviet Union were free to preach and hear the Gospel. But after only about decade, that door is slowly closing again. It's a comforting thought that God does indeed control the affairs of this world and this is no surprise to Him. And yet, although God controls all, He still commands that we pray, and so we should that the door would stay open in the former USSR. The freedom that we experience here to worship God, learn more about Him, and preach His word, is one that is relatively new-found to those living in the former USSR. And one that already is gone to some of the countries therein. This freedom is pivotal to get the word out to the spiritually starved people across Russia and the surrounding countries. Certainly, not all of those countries in the former Soviet Union are closed or closing, but the situation is precarious as this letter reveals.

Azerbaijan Pastor Imprisoned

Dear Precious Partners in the Gospel,

Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A serious matter has arisen calling for urgent prayer, and I wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware of it.
Evangelical church leaders in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan are asking for urgent prayer in connection with the case of 44-year-old Rev. Zaur Balaev, a Baptist pastor in the village of Aliabad, in Azerbaijan’s far north. An Azeri court has sentenced Pastor Balaev to two years in prison without possibility of parole after his conviction on what church leaders say are trumped up, false charges.

On May 20, 2007, police raided Pastor Balaev’s church during a worship service and ordered a halt to the proceedings. The congregants left as ordered, but two hours later, the police returned and arrested Pastor Balaev. They charged the frail Balaev with beating up five policemen, damaging a police car, and conducting illegal meetings without state registration. According to the leaders of the Azerbaijan Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists and witnesses at the scene, these accusations are totally false.

Our UECB brothers tell us that village authorities in Aliabad had made several attempts to close the church on the pretext that the church is not registered. However, it is almost impossible to register a church in Azerbaijan, even though the Aliabad congregation belongs to the national UECB.

There are also deep concerns over Pastor Balaev’s health. He has problems with his heart and kidneys, which could well be exacerbated by the harsh conditions in Azeri prisons. As have other believers, this faithful brother is having to endure oppressive heat in prison, along with the cruel taunts and other possible abuse of the prison guards. UECB leaders are asking believers worldwide to pray for Zaur Balaev and are pledging to do everything in their power to seek his release. They have launched appeals to a higher court. Next, if necessary, they plan to appeal to the Azerbaijan Supreme Court and will follow up as needed with an appeal to the European Court of Justice. Pending these appeals, Pastor Balaev is being held in a detention center and will be remanded to prison if his appeals are not successful. Meanwhile, the church continues, being led by a deacon, and meeting in the Balaev home.

This is yet another example of how oppression of believers is increasing and doors are closing for ministry in many areas of the former Soviet Union.
Pastor Balaev has a wife named Selminaz and two children, 20-year-old Grigory and 17-year-old Natia. Zaur’s imprisonment will mean great hardship for the family, as he raised produce in the fields to support them. Their church members are mostly made up of retirees, with only eight people employed and even that providing only limited income. The Balaevs need a minimum of $200 a month to make ends meet.

Please join us in prayer over this tragic situation. And as always, please know how much I appreciate your faithful partnership your support and the prayers you are already offering up on behalf of our ministry.

For our Savior,
Bob Provost President, Slavic Gospel Association

More Thoughts on Israel...

Israel: a little, tiny, Jewish country amid the vast Muslim world. How could this little piece of land, occupied by relatively few, be the cause of headline after headline and constant Middle East strife? There may be multiple reasons, but one is quite clear: Israel is Jewish and the Middle East is Muslim. Israel promises freedom of worship, and accepts Western influence. The majority of the rest of the Middle East does not. Quite literally it is "become a Muslim or suffer" for most of the Middle East. This is one reason why I for one support our country's strong ties with Israel. A country that as general rule promotes freedom and liberty, especially one in the Middle East, is one that should be supported. As a general rule, that is. Certainly not a blind support, in the occasion that she should make a wrong decision. Another reason for this sentiment, is the ties that God has with Israel. Although (as stated previously in another post) God has temporarily put Israel aside because of her hard heart, He will return to her. And when He does I would like to be on Israel's 'good side', as it were. Although, it isn't as though countries will really matter by that time. For when that time comes, it will only matter if one part of God's kingdom, not what kingdom anyone belonged to down here. But it remains a good thought to be have been an ally to the country God will restore.

God says to Abraham in Gen. 12.2-3 "I will make you a great nation;I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Now, as to whether or not Genesis 12 applies to today is a bit of a question since Israel is being set aside at the moment. If it does apply to today, then there would be every reason to support Israel, after all "I will bless those who bless you". If it does not apply, well, there seems to be little harm in backing a country with such historic importance in our faith, and in the plan of redemption. To me this is rather an important issue. With friends going to and from Israel fairly often I would like to think of the country that they are going to as a friend and not a foe of the United States. I would also enjoy the comfort of knowing that we would support Israel with military power if need be should she come under fire. I don't know where military action would land constitutionally, (if someone does, I would love to learn) but in this case I believe that for the various reasons stated, it would not be an altogether unwise decision if it should come to that. But I hope that long before that would ever be necessary that God's people, the Church, would give the call to arms in prayer. To pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for the hearts of those who live in her as she struggles in the midst of a land filled with war.

******************************************

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
Psalm 122.6-7

How do they score?

Below I have listed the candidates that are running for the republican ticket. Beside each issue I have put my personal rating. 10 being great and 1 being very poor. I welcome all comments as to the precision of my remarks or any other comments for that matter. =)

Sam Brownback (Kansas Senator) (7)

-Iraq: he sees the need in Iraq to give the government over to the citizens, but he didn't specify how. He has not, however, given up hope on the situation there although he does see the precariousness of the situation there. (6)
-Policy regarding Israel: he thinks we should stand by her, I agree. (10)
-Life: emphatically pro-life. (10)
-Marriage: Emphatically pro-traditional marriage. (10)
-Border security: raises border security as it is now, and looks to cut down the amount of illegal workers in our country (7)
-Taxes: looking for lower, simpler/reformed taxes. (8)
-Family/ liberty: for the family (hence, anti- pornography etc.). And although he sees that it is the parent’s duty to shelter their kids from foul content, he is for stricter restrictions on the media that chooses to broadcast obscene or violent material. (9)
Caution: maybe a little too much like a politician.

Rudy Giuliani (Former mayor of New York City) (5)

Iraq/ terror: Giuliani is for an aggressive face toward terrorism. He is intent on wining this war against terror, which he believes was thrust upon us by the terrorists (I agree). In Iraq, he is against a timetable for withdrawal and is aware that failure in Iraq would have broad and deep side effects. (8)
2. Gun rights: a definite right for the American people. (7)
3. Life: personally may not be for abortion, and has voted for a ban on partial birth abortion, but is allowing for it to be the choice of the mother. (0)
4. Marriage: believes that marriage should be between a man and a women, but did not seem emphatic on this point. (6)
5. Border Security: not available on his site.
6. Taxes: he is for fiscal responsibility, and claims, like all other candidates, that he has cut taxes. (7)
7. Family/ liberty: again, fairly silent on his site, save that he believes in the preservation of the rights granted in the constitution. (6)



Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas (9)


-Iraq/ terror: Also against a timetable, and strongly believes that withdrawal would be disastrous for the Iraqis. Believes in continuing to fight the war on terror, but not always resorting to war, using diplomacy as well. (7)
-Israel: staunch supporter of Israel. (10)
-Gun rights: Very much for it. (10)
-Life: no shadow of a doubt, pro-life to the core. (10)
-Marriage: for traditional marriage to the core. (10)
-Border security: he is for increasing our border security, and for being firm with the illegal immigrants already here. (9)
-Taxes: for cutting over spending, and, as always, he claims to have reduced taxation. (8)
-Family/ liberty: As for the family, Huckabee is emphatic that our country was founded on faith. For him personally, he sees no distinction between his faith and his life. His faith is his life. (10)


John McCain (Senator from Arizona) (7)


-Life: McCain is indeed pro-life. He is dogmatic that the courts should not legislate in this matter or any others, but he believes in returning this issue to the state by overturning Roe v. Wade and then letting the states themselves decide. McCain does realize the importance of winning this war for life in the hearts and minds of people, and that government action on this is a long way from defeating abortion. (8)
-Marriage: Once again, no legislating from the bench...a state issue. But he is pro-traditional marriage. (8)
-Iraq: "We cannot fail." - says he. Not only would failure be bad for the Iraqi's, but also for our future safety. He realizes that Americans need to know the truth for why we are there. He is long-sighted and sees the consequences of defeat. He does have a plan, and is listening to good advice on the subject. (9)
-Border Security: sees the need to strengthen our borders and being tough on the illegal immigrants already here. (7)
-Taxes: desires to use common sense, restraint, and accountability in spending. (8)
-Family/ liberty: Gun rights are essential rights to McCain, and he has actively supported legislation that would secure the bad influence on the internet from children etc. (7)

When talking about his faith, McCain was horribly politically correct and did not specify which "higher power" he referred to. He claims, however, that his life is based on the fact that there is a God and he strives to live in honorably and ethically. (6)


Ron Paul (U.S. Representative from Texas ) (7)


1. Iraq: Believes that the war in Iraq was based on wrong information and although I did not see a plan for what to do now, it generally seems that he is against it in all aspects. (3)

2. Foreign policy: Believe that we should not meddle in other countries affairs. This is a great thing, the only concern I might have would be that there might arise a situation that poses no harm to us, but is evil and must be stopped (i.e. present conditions in Sudan.). Otherwise I see this as a great thing. (8)

3. Life: no question here; pro-life all the way. (11)

4. Taxes/debt: Low taxation creates a better America, says he, and so we all agree. In addition he sees a definite need to do something about our debt.(10)

5. Marriage/family: didn't see anything about this on his sight, but from other sources it appears that he would not oppose gay rights on a federal level but leave it to the states. I'm not even sure if he would oppose it on a personal level... (5)

6. Freedom: Ron Paul is THE most constitutional/ small government minded candidate there is currently running. (10)


Mitt Romney (former Governor of Massachusetts) (6)

-Iraq/ terror: Believes we must fight Jihad, and that we can do it by promoting peace and to support modern Muslim nations. (3)
-Taxes: keep taxes low, and simplify them. Sees the need to curve spending and borrowing. (7)
-Border Security: He is for immigration, but is intent on attracting immigration legally by making is easier to come in legally. (7)
-Life/marriage: He does see the need to protect life and family values, not especially dogmatic on this point, or at least it seems that way to me. (7)
-Education: sees a need to raise the standard of our failing educational system. (8)




Mike Huckabee is #1 in my mind; his strong faith in the One True God and his frankness about it is a top-ranking issue with me. Ron Paul is a somewhat close second. His desire to stick to the Constitution and his staunch small-government position is most appealing. His views on Iraq, however, I'm afraid I quite disagree with.