During a recent speech to the National Religious Broadcasters, Attorney General John Ashcroft called on Americans to look to their faith when questioning whether the Justice Department is acting appropriately.

He said the United States is called to defend freedom, which is not granted by government, but given by God. He warned that while God gives individuals freedom, they must use it to make wise choices, because all actions have consequences. He said, terrorists living within the borders of the United States exploited God's gift. The Attorney General said, "The guarding of freedom that God grants is the noble charge of the Department of Justice." He added government must respect freedom, nurture it and use it to unleash the potential of every person. According to the Attorney General, the difference is "between those who die to save the innocent and those who would die to destroy the innocent."

Americans are privileged to live in a nation that values freedom so highly. Our consideration must be, what will I do with the freedom God grants me. The terrorists choose to destroy and kill, we can use this freedom to serve the Lord and others.

Galatians 5:13 NIV "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love."

—www.foxnews.com, February 19, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

During the 1960's when there was a significant cultural shift in America. The rules began to be challenged. People thought that if there were any rules at all then there is no freedom. True Freedom meant no rules at all. No laws, no morals, no community standards - just true freedom. This lead to Free Love, Free Drugs, Free Sex - Free Everything! If it feels good—do it, became the war cry.

Where would this philosophy lead us? Imagine if everybody did whatever they wanted to. No limits, no laws, no regulation. Everyone just did as they pleased. Suppose that we go into partnership to buy a rowboat, with each of us paying half the cost. Then we draw a line right down the middle to divide it up evenly. We get in and start rowing out to sea. Just as we get out of sight of land, I take out a drill and start making what I call "freedom" holes in the bottom of my end of the boat. When you scream that my "freedom" is sinking the boat, I respond by saying, "But I have a right to express myself on my end of the boat and you have no right to censor my creative expressions." The question is: When does my freedom become our funeral?

Proverbs 16:25 KJV "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

These days, there is no more dangerous place to drive than Iraq. In that newly freed nation, anarchy is the only rule of the road.

After decades of dictatorial rule under Saddam Hussein when running a red light could result in arrest, Iraqi drivers now delight in ignoring regulations, especially on the road. Most traffic lights in the Iraqi capital still don't work, and many drivers ignore the ones that do.

Accidents or disputes are often settled with fists, headbutts, or guns. Even though Iraq has driving rules and requirements to hold a license, many of the regulations are ignored because drivers know the local police are too busy with more serious crimes and violence to prosecute them for minor traffic infractions.

The director of the Riyadh Driving School, Ziyad Khalid says, "People drive like this because there are no laws, even educated people. Of course our students are nervous."

One traffic policeman said, "People are insane, no-one follows instructions These are hardships we have to put up with every day."

—Reuters, Driving Schools Prepare Iraqis for Traffic Anarchy, October 14, 2003, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Galatians 5:13 NIV "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."

On June 25, 1998, the Supreme court ruled on NEA v. Finley. Their ruling shows that freedom has its limits.

Four artists, whose works often dealt with sexual themes and in some cases involved nude performances, sued the Federal Government because of a law Congress adopted in response to criticism of the funding choices of the National Endowment of the Arts.

The law was enacted as a result of several objectionable projects funded by the NEA. One project was a career retrospective exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's works, including homoerotic photography, while another exhibit included one of Andres Serrano's work a photograph of a crucifix immersed in the artist's urine.

The Supreme Court upheld a controversial 1990 law that required the National Endowment for the Arts to consider decency standards when deciding which artists should get grant money.

The justices, by an 8-1 vote, overturned a federal appeals court decision striking down the law for violating constitutional free-speech and due-process protections.

“We conclude that (the law) is… valid, as it neither inherently interferes with First Amendment rights nor violates constitutional vagueness principles,” Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the majority.

The law required that the NEA use “artistic excellence and merit” as the criteria for judging funding applications, taking into consideration “general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public.”

In essence, the court's decision said an artist's freedom to create art does not negate the NEA's freedom not to pay them for creating it. Freedom does not come from a world without limits or without truth, it comes from discipline, and submission to the truth.

John 8:31-32 KJV "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Let's start today with a pop quiz. Get out a piece of paper and write down the five members of the Simpson family. Now write down the five freedoms outlined by the First Amendment.

A new study conducted by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found American apparently know more about television programs and advertising slogans than they do about the basic freedoms guaranteed to them by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The study found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five members of the fictional Simpson family, while only one in 1,000 people could name all five freedoms outlined by the First Amendment.

The study also found more people could name the three judges from "American Idol" than their first three rights. Respondents were more likely to remember popular advertising slogans from television than their basic freedoms. The survey found many people misidentified their basic rights. One in five thought the right to own a pet was protected, and 38 percent thought the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination was in the First Amendment.

Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the museum was surprised by the results. He said when the museum dedicated to helping visitors understand the First Amendment opens, they will have their work cut out for them. Madeira added, "Part of the survey really shows there are misconceptions, and part of our mission is to clear up these misconceptions."

—http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11611015/. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

(By the way, the Simpson family is Lisa, Marge, Maggie, Homer, and Bart. The First Amendment Freedoms are freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition for redress of grievances.)

Galatians 5:1 (CEV) "Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again."

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recently encouraged graduates at Northwest University in Washington State telling them, "You are not meaningless, you are meaningful." Ashcroft, who served as the nation's chief lawyer during some of the nation's most trying times, mixed humor with religious and moral references. He even referred to his unsuccessful bid for a seat in the US Senate. Ashcroft lost the race in 2000 to Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan who died in a plane crash less than three weeks before Election Day. He quipped, "It may sound funny, but you try it."

Integrity was a major theme of Ashcroft's address. He said, "We have a moral responsibility of making a difference. We are not in the business of making trivial decisions, we are in the business of making meaningful decisions." He added, the "presence of consequence that gives freedom its meaning."

Many students said the speech affected them. Katy Dacanay, a 23 year-old, who hopes to attend law school, said, "What I take away from this speech is that there has to be consequences to your actions in order to have freedom."

—www.seattletimes.com, Ashcroft tells Northwest University Grads to give life real meaning, May 8, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Galatians 5:13 (MSG) "It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows."

Large numbers of Iraqis turned out to vote in the 2005 election, that nation's first free election in fifty-years despite threats of mortar attacks, suicide bombers and calls for a boycott. The mood seemed almost festive as many Iraqis took time to help others vote. They pushed friends in wheelchairs or carts if they couldn't walk. One election worker escorted a blind man back to his home after he voted. Another women, too frail to walk by herself, arrived to cast her vote riding a cart pushed by a young relative. There were reports that entire families showed up in their best clothes just to cast a vote.

Despite the string of attacks and mortars from the early morning into the night, and though suicide bombers killed 44 in attacks on polling stations, the fact that the vote was actually held amazed many observers. One elderly man who walked an hour with his wife to reach a polling place said, "God is generous to give us this day." 53 year-old Shamal Hekeib walked twenty minutes to a polling station said," I am doing this because I love my country and I love the sons of my nation." He added, "We are Arabs, we are not scared, and we are not cowards." An election official echoed Hekeib's words saying, "We broke a barrier of fear."

—Associated Press, January 30, 2005, Iraq Voters Defy Threats, Boycott Calls. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Galatians 5:13 (NIV) "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."

A Chicago hotel has begun offering technology addicts a chance at freedom from the electronic leash. The program offered by the Sheraton Chicago Hotel was the brainchild of General Manager Rick Ueno. He says the program grew out of his own personal addition to his Blackberry device. His one-step recovery program was switching back to a regular cell phone.

Ueno said, "I was really addicted to my Blackberry. I had an obsession with e-mail, morning and night." He adds, "There came a time when I didn't think it was healthy...I quit cold turkey." Ueno believes guests might want to try the same thing for day or two to give them time to focus on meetings, business, or even socializing while at the hotel. He promises to take personal charge of Blackberrys or similar devices guests want to surrender and place them in his office, locked up, until guests want them back. Regarding his post-Blackberry life, Ueno says, "I run a hotel with over 900 employees and thousands of guests. I think I'm more effective. I feel better. I sleep better. My family likes it."

—http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1973609,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 Corinthians 6:12 (NIV) "'Everything is permissible for me'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible for me'—but I will not be mastered by anything."

As a symbol of the new policy of openness citizens of Hungary planned an event at the border to the free nation of Austria. Originally, they planned to take a bus over the border, visit a small Austrian village and return. Plans changed when several hundred East Germans heard about the event and decided to use the afternoon as an opportunity to escape to freedom outside the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain.

Lt. Colonel Arpad Bella was on duty at the border with 4 other guards when a group of 150 East Germans made up of young people and families with small children. Rather than comfort the group, Bella and his men let the group cross in Austria. Bella said he knew his men would have been overwhelmed if they had tried to stop the group. Bella said he was surprised by the response of the people when they reached freedom. He said, “They embraced, they kissed, they cried, and they laughed in their joy. Some sat down right across the border, others had to be stopped by the Austrian guards because they kept running and didn’t believe they were in Austria. It was an incredible experience for them.”

Laszio Nagy who helped organize the picnic says the events of that day lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall three months later, and eventually to the collapse of the Soviet Union. He said the East Germans left behind hundreds of cars and possessions to make the short walk to a new life. Nagy said, “Some of them were waiting for the moment for 20 or 30 years. They left behind everything because freedom has the greatest value.”

Hungary remembers picnic that cracked Iron Curtain, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090819/ap_on_re_eu/eu_hungary_picnic_to_freedom; August 19, 2009. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Philippians 3:7-8 (CEV) “But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. (8) Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ”

A teenaged Indian boy worked for years to earn enough money to free his mother on bail. Kanhaiya Kumari was born in an Indian prison because his mother was five months pregnant when she was arrested for murder in 1993. Both mother and son remained in prison together for six years, and then Kanhaiya was sent to a home for juveniles. He was released after seven years, and learned that his mother had denied the charges against her and had been granted bail. Since his father was unwilling to post bail for his wife, Kanhaiya began looking for a way to earn enough money to free his mother. He found a job in a garment factory and was able to earn the 5,000 rupees ($89 U.S.) to allow his mother to be released. Though the case has prompted Indian authorities to take a closer look at the prison system in the country, Kanhaiya says all he cares about is having his mother back. He said, “I was very sad. Without her, I had no one by me. I worked hard to get the money for the release of my mother. I’m very happy now.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

On bail for 19 years, son born in jail works to raise bond for mother, by Peter Shadbolt, http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/30/world/asia/india-bail/index.html?iref=allsearch , Accessed May 30, 2013.

Galatians 5:1 (CEV) Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again.

In the movie The Mission, Robert DeNiro's character, Mendoza, a kidnapper and slave trader of the indigenous people of South America, repents from his ways and turns to God. Mendoza repeatedly carries a load of armor tied to his body while climbing up a cliff as a form of penance for killing his brother and enslaving the natives. When one of the Jesuit missionaries cuts his load as he is halfway up the cliff, he goes back down to tie it back on and bring it back up the cliff. Later in the movie, when he finally makes it to the top with his load, a tribesman threatens to kill him but then cuts the load and drops it into the river below. The tribesman offers grace instead of punishment and frees Mendoza from the burden of his sin. —Jim L. Wilson and Abigail Davis

Galatians 5:1 (HCSB) Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Eric Talmadge is a veteran journalist working for the Associated Press’s Pyongyang bureau in North Korea. Since 2013 he has spent about ten days a month inside the country, always accompanied by an agent of the state. “I just assume that everything I say, to anyone, is on the record,” says Talmadge. Of course those restrictions limit the stories he can report on.

This assignment in a totalitarian state has given Talmadge a new perspective on his own life. “Every time I fly back home, I wake up the first morning thinking, I can go anywhere I want today. Even if, in the end, I just stay home and eat potato chips on the couch, it’s a very liberating feeling. I don’t take it for granted anymore.”

Political freedom is a wonderful thing. Religious freedom is a right men and women have fought and died for. But total freedom was purchased for us at Calvary, when Jesus paid our way out of bondage to sin. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

In 2014, authorities arrested Michael Reed for destroying the Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma statehouse. This time, he rammed his automobile in a similar monument at the Arkansas statehouse as he shouted “freedom.”—Jim L. Wilson

Acts 13:38–39 (CSB) “Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.”

“Refugees from the Berlin wall, to Vietnamese and Cuban boat people, to the DMZ, the prisoners of communism run in only one direction: toward liberty and self-government.” A 24-year-old North Korean soldier joined the race to freedom. He commandeered a jeep in North Korea and sped toward the De-Militarized Zone that separates the two Koreas; the communist north and the capitalist south.

North Korean border guards opened fire on Staff Sergeant Oh shooting him five or six times in the back. Oh finally collapsed onto South Korean ground where he was treated in a South Korean hospital.—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

After the 2018 midterm election, officials initially thought there was one precinct that did not have anyone turn out to cast a ballot. After looking at the final results, they realized that the small precinct actually did have one vote cast. Precinct 2807 only has 14 registered voters, and the one person who came to vote arrived just as the station warden was beginning the process of shutting down the machine. Since the vote could not be counted by the machine, it had to be placed in an envelope and hand delivered to the Board of Elections to be counted manually. Four people voted in the precinct in 2016 and officials said, though the lone voter was running late, his/her voice was heard.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Galatians 5:13 (CSB)“For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.”

A study conducted by the American Automobile Association established that Americans spend an average of 20 more minutes driving each week than they did in 2014. The study found, over the course of a year, American spend a total of 70 billion hours behind the wheel, which is an eight percent increase over the figures from 2014. Each week, the average driver travels more than 220 miles, or approximately 11, 496 miles a year. That is the equivalent of making two roundtrip cross-county tips from San Francisco to Washington D.C. Executive Director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Dr. David Yang, said, “The more drivers spend behind the wheel, the greater their exposure to risks on the roadway.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Galatians 5:13 (CSB) “For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.”

In this unusual atmosphere of Covid19 shutdowns, there have been some strange orders instituted by State governors. In Nevada, the decision to close churches while allowing casinos to operate was challenged in court. It has made it all the way to the supreme court where the court allowed the state to keep churches closed and casinos open. Justice Samuel Alito writing a dissent to the ruling stated, “The Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack.”

Our freedoms are precious and need to be protected in every way. — Jim Wilson and Rodger Russell

For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.