Just a smile from a village girl.

These are the type of girls we're trying to keep from getting deceived into the trafficking industry.

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Makwanpur Awareness Outreach

Great News Site

I like to get my news from a variety of online sites that are fairly substantive.
Here's one with meat that's worth listening to...check it out

Heavy Loads in the Mountains

Thought you'd like to see some village life

A Message worth dying for!

There is a King and there is a Kingdom that is available to man, but not every man or woman has heard of it. This Kingdom is a place of hope, love, comfort, and blessing. This kingdom is eternal and I have the right and privilege, now and in the future, to enjoy it forever. In this place of refuge there is no distinction of race ~ no Jew, Greek, slave, or free, no Barbarian, Scythian, male or female. All reflect the Lamb!

This Kingdom has already begun and you can become a citizen today. It is a conscious decision of the heart and not one kingdom of this earth that has ever existed is worthy to be compared to it. Its currency is love ~ its songs and news briefs are of the Lamb ~ its passport is grace ~ and on the worst day you may experience on this earth, when all seems darkness, the angels of our King dance in delight over you because you are loved by this King.

Only servants are lauded in this Kingdom and there is no power over another paradigm except that which belongs to the King. Yet this King is not like an earthly King! This one is approachable and all are welcome at the throne. This King is compassionate, wealthy beyond measure, eats with common people and even goes as far as to refer to those who name Him as brothers and sisters. This King will laugh, cry, and listen to you! In this Kingdom we are family, not social strata.

This Kingdom isn’t owned by a political party, a race of men, the intellectuals or the pundits. It isn’t Western, Eastern, Northern, or Southern, and every attempt to make it so only weakens the message of its vastness. There is no condemnation in this Kingdom. All who inhabit it have been cleansed by the Lamb and not one thing is held against them. The King sought them, the King bought them, the King showed mercy, died for, and gave them new status ~ thus we always exalt the King and not ourselves. He showed us the way of the servant and those who trust in position, pride, or status of name or notoriety are not welcome in this Kingdom.

This Kingdom is unshakable!! Depression, recession, drought, and famine don’t affect its boundaries. This Kingdom has no end and its servants don’t take up the earthly sword! The Kingdom Way takes many forms and has a variety of faces. Some go to a church, some go to the lost on the streets. Some sit quietly in a garden and enjoy His creation while some dance and sing with great exuberance. There is great flexibility in this Kingdom and the King takes delight in everyone whose heart is turned toward the Father. Little children are always welcome!

In this Kingdom, there are no taxes, no levies, no fines, or payments! The Lamb has made each one and all things are freely given. Wisdom comes from the Lamb for the asking! The Spirit is given from the Lamb for education! Every treasure in Heaven is in the Christ and available to each Kingdom member ~ nothing is withheld. The power of the Lamb is given to each member through the gifts and all are available. There is no anxiety in this Kingdom, no fear, or worry. Ultimate peace is everywhere for the asking! Nothing from man or earth has the ability to separate us from the love of the Father in this Kingdom. It is the Kingdom of God ~ Jesus is the King!

I would travel to the ends of the earth to speak of THIS KING should He send yet again. I would travel to the ends of the earth to represent THIS KING should He direct. And I have smiled with the Spirit’s light in my heart as I told those who never heard of this Kingdom and watch hope rise in their hearts. I’ve affirmed the power of this King with signs and wonders and I’ve watched with disgust as men, ministries, and denominations many times lift up their own name in the midst of those who seek this Kingdom attempting to draw men in their direction.

These are just some of the characteristics of the message and one I would die for. The extent to which we can embody this Kingdom is the extent to which we should spend our time and activities.

(k.h. Forest, VA 2010)


P.S. Remember ~ the Barnabas address has changed:

P.O. Box 2398
Forest, VA 24551

Economy of Love

Romans 8:31 - 39 to read slowly in times of trouble

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies; who is he that condemns? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (We win in the end!) k.h.

Because You Care...

Christians who have no money and are in need of medical help are being touched in Nepal and North India.

Christians are conducting outreach camps and correspondence courses for Muslims seeking more information about Jesus.

Water, livestock, clothing, and basic necessities are being supplied to poor Christian communities in the Himalaya Mountain Range of Nepal.

Christians left destitute by the flooding in Pakistan and ignored by a Muslim government are being given water, shelter, and food for their little ones.

Villages in India are being reached with the Good News and young Nepali girls are being saved from a life of slavery and prostitution.
Because you care…….thanks for joining the team...

It's Your Peace....receive it

ASV John 14:25-27 These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abiding with you. But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

It was a wonderful conversation I was having when this brief word was ministered to me by a long time friend of Barnabas. We were talking about all the anxiety and worry in the world and even the lack of joy that seems to permeate many Christians. Brothers and Sisters alike are living lives of stress and mental pain. And yet, Jesus said, “I give peace.” Our friend ended with the idea that peace has been given, but many followers of the Way seemingly have problems receiving it.

The Biblical concepts of Shalom (O.T.) and Eirenen (N.T.) are massive ideas that I can’t delineate here. They encompass so much. But just to encourage you I want to share one thought ~ the concept of peace as used by our Lord isn’t just the idea of a treaty. It’s not just a lull in conflict or an interlude until the next battle or war. The peace Jesus is talking about is “a state of rest.” There is no more conflict, no more war, no more danger.

Now this sounds a bit surreal considering the world we live in. But I’d remind you that the peace we have been given is “not as the world gives.” Just like our relationship with the Master, He loves us as a brother. He delights over us each day. He gives joy and blessing upon blessing. He gives wisdom that only need be asked for ~ never begged for or requiring hour upon hour of Bible Study. He gives his fullness and He gives every treasure in the Heaven. There is nothing more required of us. It’s His covenant, brought about by His work, in His time, for The Fathers glory, so that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Are you anxious? You have been given peace!

Are you full of worry? You have been given peace!

Are you fearful of the times? You have been given peace!

Is your heart troubled and are you living a life of stress? You have been given peace!

The Christian church in America is full of good things and accomplishes much. Yet it is also full of people who say they are followers of the Christ but live lives in despair and worry. Brethren, the Peace of God that passeth all understanding is apprehended in the heart. You are loved; you are blessed; you are unconditionally accepted by our Master. He knows your needs and He has won each and every battle. Walk worthy of this calling. We win in the end!!

Ken and Diana Harbour

The Economy of Love ~ Tension

Who needs a Pastor?

Great word for a new perspective!

Islamophobia and Ministry!

I spent part of yesterday visiting with Ifrahim Mathew. He is Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of Pakistan, founder of Potohar Evangelistic Outreach, and long time partner of The Barnabas Fellowship. We have a relationship of cooperation that goes all the way back to 1989.
 
Ifrahim was catching me up on the situation in the flooded Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan and what is currently being accomplished by the mission. There are several camps where as many as 200 Christian families are trying to survive. They have literally lost everything. And in a land where Christians are on the bottom of the food chain, it’s very tough.
 
I was sharing with a friend two days back when they were talking about the “mosque controversy” in New York, how I had always had more difficulty raising funds for work among Muslims. It didn’t matter whether we were distributing Bibles in Iran, providing funds for outreach in Pakistan, hiding converts in our “safe house” while they sought to escape angry families, or supporting the wonderful job Brother Edison Christian and Al-Bashir are doing in India…raising funds for Muslim ministry is just plain tough. And we aren’t the only ones. Here’s an example from The American Red Cross!

* In 2004 the American Red Cross quickly raised over 100 million for the Indian Ocean Tsunami

* For Hurricane Katrina the organization put together over 670 million dollars
 
* For the relief effort in Haiti it has raised 230 million
 
* Now get this— for Pakistan it’s managed to receive 2 million
 
Here’s my point! What I’ve encountered for years trying to serve among those in Pakistan is easily reflected in the general psyche of the American public. People just don’t want to help folks in Islamic countries. It’s not in their heart. The answer is something like “Let the Saudi’s do it.”
 
I’ve also watched as church buildings were built in Muslim countries and the incredible bias those from the Muslim community would show Christians. I’ve always said, “In America, there’s freedom of religion, you could build your place of worship.” Wow, guess everything is relative, isn’t it? Treating your neighbor as yourself is a great Sunday School lesson, unless the neighbor is a Samaritan or a Muslim. We must be different, Folks…Jesus was!

Who will touch the unlovely?

Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia and the rest of those diseases of the mind are all fear-based and many times full of hate, malice, and every evil thing. Eighty years ago a former wallpaper hanger in Germany named Adolf, used the tenants of these diseases to justify the murder of millions. How will we win the hearts of those in these difficult areas without a true compassion? How will the present day church answer their Master when they so often turn a deaf ear to a suffering believer or non-believer (much less lay down their life.)
 
I tell you plainly, Friends, every time you turn on your TV and hear someone talk with disdain toward a particular people group, their religion, or their culture, then beware. The rhetoric ironically enough seems to play well in the more conservative Bible-based areas of our land and there is NO WAY the Great Commission will be carried out in our time if Christians allow these things to root and fester in their minds.
 
The Barnabas Fellowship is not making a plea for your money in this note. We just want to thank you for hearts. Hearts that are open to touch the “unlovely” and reach out to those others may turn away from. His kingdom is very big and we have brothers and sisters in Pakistan and many other Mid-eastern countries.
(We win in the end) k.h.

Very difficult time in Pakistan

Remember those having problems ~ it is a blessing to be safe tonight!

From Thomas A Kempis

"At the day of judgment, we hall not
be asked what we have read,
but what we have done."

Cholera in Pakistan ~ video

Go take a look...

Got a nice bunch of pics from Himalayas this morning of new toilet facilities we are building across several villages. Having a clean place to go...can be a beautiful thing!

Traffickers being caught!

The guy sitting with the eleven children in this picture didn’t know three things! First, he didn’t know our project had stepped up surveillance on the border of Nepal and India. He was wrong, Barnabas was there. Second, he thought since Krishna Nagar was so remote and corrupt there wouldn’t be anyone there checking his passage across the border illegally with children. He was wrong, our partnership was highly vigilant. Third, after being caught with eleven children he was trafficking into India, he had no idea that after posing for this picture it would be distributed to authorities along the border and end up in a Barnabas Letter in the United States. He couldn’t have imagined it. This guy had a bad day ~ we had a good one!

We have a number of pictures depicting such scenes. Since we only send out one newsletter per month we can’t share them all. But how encouraging to know that our labor together is producing such good results. WHAT IF THIS WAS YOUR LITTLE BOY OR GIRL? WHAT IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHERE THEY HAD GONE? WHAT IF THEY WERE MISSING?

Those are the questions that remain in my mind when I approach this project. We don’t throw money at an effort out of unchecked emotion, but we do have a sense of compassion and ask ourselves questions like those I’ve posed above. In my spirit I can never forget the woman crying in that small Nepalese church one morning long ago because her daughter had been kidnapped. She feared she would be trafficked into India. That story turned out well. We were able to find the daughter who had indeed been taken. But what about the hundreds and hundreds of other young children.

I’m so grateful to be able to share this picture with you. Friends of Barnabas feed orphans, clothe widows, put women and men to work, offer hope, tools, livestock, medicine, and Good News. They also save young people from a life of hell and horror. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

These little guys and girls in the picture will not understand for a while the misery and anguish they have narrowly escaped. They will hopefully go on and live out their lives in their country being as productive as they can in an incredibly poor nation. But somewhere in the annals of glory, a note was made and an inscription was put down in eternity ~ someone stepped up and helped deliver them.

We win in the end!

Ken and Diana Harbour

The Depths ~ Jeanne Guyon

“I would like to address this chapter to to those of you who may not be able to read. Because you cannot read, you may feel that you are in a weaker state than most Christians. You may feel you are unqualified to know the depths of your lord. But, in fact, you are really blessed. The blessing in not being able to read is that prayer may become your reading! Do you know know that the greatest book is Jesus Christ Himself? He is a Book who has been written on within and without. He will teach you all things. Read Him!
The first thing you must learn, dear friend, is that ‘the Kingdom of God is within you.’” (Luke 17:21)

(From Library of Spiritual Classics ~ Seedsower ` 800-228-2665)

A Word of Encouragement

The role of the church is to cultivate people who “can risk being peaceful in a violence world, risk being kind in a competitive world, risk being faithful in an age of cynicism, risk being gentle among those who admire the tough, risk love when it may not be returned, because we have the confidence that in Christ we have been reborn into a new reality.” –John Howard Yoder

Going to or Being Church

Video of the moment....

So Here's My Question?

If the people of your church were to show up on Sunday morning, and “the show” were canceled for the morning, would they know what to do?

What is Ecclesiology?

Come to Jesus ~ not Bible study or Church

Listen with openess

Ken at Patan Square Nepal ~ 2009

Diana took the pic ~ couldn't remember exactly how I sat but gave it a shot.
Not puny this time ~ got my travel partner along who keeps us healthy.

Ken at Patan Square Nepal 1990

Yeah ~ I made it! Puny but pressing forward.

European News

Two sites are important for us when want to know what's going on in Europe.

Here's the first ~ World News Europe

And here's an example of REAL news of what's going on in Hungry ~

You won't get this information on Cable News or Local Channels.

Be informed!

Ken Harbour

To Honor Good Friend ~ from Rumi

Those who don't feel this love pulling them like a river,
those who don't drink dawn like a cup of springwater
or take in sunset like supper,
those who don't want to change,
let them sleep.

This love
is beyond the study of theology,
that old trickery and hypocrisy.
If you want to improve your mind
that way, sleep on.

I've given up on my brain,
I've torn the cloth to shreds
and thrown it way. If you're not
completely naked, wrap
your beautiful robe of words
around you,
and sleep.

Which Jesus Do You Worship ~ ......

1. Jesus in a tuxedo or t-shirt Jesus
2. Jesus - a ninja fighting off evil samurai
3. Jesus - eight -pound, six-ounce newborn infant Jesus (The Ricky Bobby)
4. Jesus - the hippie, diaper, halo Christ
5. Jesus - the white supremacist
6. Jesus - the colonialist ruler
7. Jesus- the Republican, Democrat, Independent
8. Jesus - the Capitalist or Communist
9. Jesus - the slave-owning Christ
10. Jesus- the nuclear bomb-dropping Jesus
11. Jesus- organ music stain glassed nostalgic-sentimental one
12. Jesus- prosperity, get rich sales-manager
13. Jesus-the institutional white-shirt-and-tie
14. Jesus-the Native American loving Saviour
15. Jesus-the slaying genocidal one who goes to war
16. Jesus-the cuddly omnipotent Christmas one - never harms a soul
17. Jesus-the male-chauvinist Jesus (men are first, women are second)
18. Jesus-the homophobic "God hates fags" one
19. Jesus- the South African pro-apartheid Jesus
20. Jesus- the Joe-Six-packs Christ
21. Jesus-the anti-Semitic Nazi Jesus
22. Jesus-the anti-Muslim Crusader Christ
23. Jesus-the Baptist, Bible-believing one
24. Jesus-the theological idealistic third-word liberator
25. Jesus-_________________fill in the blank! After all, He's your object of worship......

Adapted from "Who is Jesus and Why is He Important" ~ Brian D. Mclaren
(A New Kind of Christianity p.122)

A new look at 1 Cor. 13

"Though I interpret the biblical text with state-of-the-art- hermeneutics
and preach sermons with flawless homiletics, though all my theologies
are systematic, all my books, blogs, and podcasts scrupulously orthodox,
and my books always best-sellers, without love I am static on a
radio or an error message on a computer screen. Though I can show
decadal church growth in the double digits and raise millions of dollars
In building funds, though I have files full of testimonials from people
saved, healed, delivered, and blessed through my ministry, without love
I’m just another clever, two-bit purveyor of goods and services in the
religious-industrial complex. Though I have worldwide impact, traveling
by private jet and broadcasting on cable, satellite, and the Internet,
though my budgets balance and my seminaries are bursting with beautiful
and handsome valedictorians (all of whom are above average in every
way), and though presidents invite me to the White House and consider
me a 'key person,' without love I am nothing. "
Brian D. McLaren (A New Kind of Christianity. pg.168)

A Message I beleive in very much - buku!!!!

What Is Sacred Ground?

"If we live continuously in the contemplation of the invisible
Presence and Power underlying all things,this very place whereon we stand is holy ground." J.Goldsmith

Kabir ~ on God and the Breath

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in Indian shrine rooms,
Not in synagogues, not cathedrals,
Not in masses, nor sacred songs.
Not in legs winding around your own neck,
nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly.
You will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: “Student, tell me, what is God?”
He is the Breath inside the breath.

Acupuncturists Without Borders in New Orleans

Just a brief encouragement about the power of a simple acupuncture involving the ear. 3500 years of empirical evidence doesn't lie. Blessings from Barnabas

Barnabas Fellowship thinks this is great!

It's just a few needles in the right place ~ but so much healing

Luke ~ The Beloved Physician!

I just got off of a phone conversation with a long time friend. He’s a professional in the medical field, and a proven “brother indeed” throughout the years. While discussing our common Barnabas interests and the current needs in Haiti, I was please to hear him agree that priorities were medicine, medical professionals, water, and food. In any time of acute trauma, everyone should get out of the way and figure out how to let the pros get at what they do best to have the greatest impact. That’s when he told me that a common friend (doc-type and former church Elder of ours), had been to Haiti to help save some lives. I smiled in my heart. The guy he was talking about is the son of a missionary doctor and a gifted family practitioner whose heart is in the right place as far as Barnabas is concerned. When my friend emailed me a file with information of this physician’s trip to Haiti ~ all amputee pics included ~ Diana and I were smiling again because here was our brother, getting his picture taken with Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo wasn’t the star in our book.

So my thoughts turned to Luke from the New Testament as they do often. There are things I love about Luke and find an endless source of devotion. I’ve written on them in the past, but with the crisis in Haiti, the current healthcare debates continuing, and the visible involvement of the Harbours in a complementary therapy like Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine ~ I think it’s a good time to just nail them down again.

First ~ Luke stayed to the end. Check it out in 2 Tim. 4:11. Paul says, “Only Luke is with me…” I can’t emphasize this enough. It brings emotions to my heart. Tell me, who sticks closer than a brother? Who shows up when everyone else retreats? Who perseveres? I love Luke’s integrity and character! This is a quality Bro. that’s worth considering Folks. Think about it! Who can you really count on?

Second ~ He’s a healer. Contrary to what you may think, the education of a physician in the first century A.D. wasn’t a small thing. Nor were the educational demands lessened by ancient times—in fact, they may have been more. Anyone who takes time to review ancient literature on the extent of knowledge that was required of a “recognized physician” then would heartily agree.

Third ~ His talents were submitted. Luke penned the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Luke. His style of Greek is easily recognizable by those schooled in Greek literature and his precise dating is impeccable. Luke’s ego didn’t get in the way either when he saw healings performed by the Apostles,. In fact, he probably was used himself to perform works of power - apart from any early medicine he might have consider giving. Lukes Gospel is known for its multiple references to the Spirit’s work and moving. Luke wasn’t afraid of spiritual things either philosophically, or experientially. He’s my kind of guy and he’s definitely my kind of Doc!

Finally ~ Luke was apostolic and unashamed of Jesus. He traveled with Paul, took part in hardships, was used to lay foundation in the early church and then was used extraordinarily to meet needs after those foundations were laid. And in all this Paul refers to him as “beloved.” (agapetos ..Col. 4:14) He has a track record of being steadfast.

Diana and I have good friends who are beloved physicians. We know Docs going to Mumbai and to Sudan, keeping late hours and giving of their life in numerous places (physically & financially). We have friends and family working in hospitals, providing services to physicians and clinics. Friends work to support hospitals and medical clinics, are nurses, PA’s, RN’s, etc…..there are a host of them. We know some “good physicians.” Hope you do! At Barnabas and BlueCrane Acupuncture, our first medicine is Jesus, our first prescription is compassion, our waiting room is love and peace, and our bottom line is the creative extension of His Kingdom. Yeah..you know what comes next….we win in the end!

This one’s about healers!

We know about a lot of needs. The world is full of them. This guy in the pic with our brother Timothy Dahal has needs too, and we helped meet them. But this Barnabas Letter is about healers ~ more specifically, physicians. I hope you take time to pray for those you know who are “good physicians” and “beloved physicians.” Not all are.
But you don’t have to have eight years of schooling to be a healer. The Proverbs says,

“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”
And again, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

It’s easy to talk about the medication your on, the cost of healthcare, and the aches and pains you have. It’s easy to crush someone's spirit and it’s easy to prescribe death with your mouth. Rise of men and women of God. Display your power and be a healer in word and deed. Talk is cheap but talk is powerful. k.h.

Taking Pulses On The Five Lies

When Diana and I take someone's pulse in our clinic, we look for 24 to 28 different pulse qualities at various levels. You see, the Chinese developed a way of comparing these qualities over 2000 years ago to diagnose disease that’s incredibly profound. And yes, we get our share of confused and questioning looks. Most people here in the U.S. are used to the old blood pressure cuff in the doctor’s office or a nurse putting her finger on your wrist and looking at the second hand on a watch. That’s about where Western medicine places emphasis on the pulses today. But this wasn’t so in ancient cultures. It was much deeper.

Early Egyptians were aware of the significance of the pulse as early as 2600 B.C. The Ebers Papyrus which dates from 1550 B.C. clearly speaks of the variety of examinations regarding pulses. Remember, these were the guys who built the pyramids, and we still haven’t figured out how they did it. In Ancient India, two Ayurvedic Medical texts from the 7th century B.C. describe nearly as many pulse qualities as the Chinese do. One thousand years before the birth of Christ, Indian physicians were already performing surgery in North India.

Bear with me, Folks, I’ve got a point to make. Greek physician Democritos and his contemporary Hippocrates who lived around 450 B.C. wrote and taught about pulses. Galen, of Pergamum (the Pergamum mentioned in Revelations) wrote over eighteen treatises on pulses and established over 100 pulse types (more than the Chinese) ~ and Galen’s text was used by European physicians up until the 18th century. The great Persian physician Avicenna and Rashid al Din Hamdan wrote extensively on pulse taking and by the ninth century, documents were available across the Middle East on the subject in Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit, Pali, and Hebrew! (Enough of that)

The point is this: because of a cultural lack of knowledge, what we today, consider strange, or potentially useless, is incredibly revealing from the perspective of the trained ancients. Wise men and seekers from every major culture in the past have developed skills, abilities, and disciplines in many fields that we have difficulty understanding. In other words ~ the apex of knowledge isn’t just 21st century stuff.

What do you think those of the past would say if they took a cultural pulse today? What if they were able to sit with us for a moment and look just under the surface of our life rhythm and then give us some philosophical or theological suggestions. The ones easily seen, but seemingly not understood. Upon closer inspection, I believe they would tell us of at least five hazards in our daily environment. These, I call “the five lies.” They are as follows:

1. Money brings happiness - this is the least observed pulse in our society and one that eclipses most others. I like money. I like having things, and I like giving it away. But in no way does it or can it actually bring happiness. I’ve seen those in poverty overwhelmed with happiness, and I’ve seen those with great assets looking for better days because of things confronted in life. You can see the converse too! The poor with depression and the wealthy with vision. As the King said, “Life does not consist in the abundance thereof.” The determiner is not cash! But what do your eyes tell you ~ look around!

2. Bombs make us more secure. They certainly make us more dangerous, more paranoid, and bring more leverage. But they are useless in the war to win men's hearts and those who strap them on their chests and blow up innocent civilians, and those who drop them from planes and blow up innocent civilians basically eat from the same plate of delusion and fear. Neither are truly powerful nor brings real security.

3. Technology makes us healthier. This one is tricky because technology has its good days. Inventions and scientific achievement have propelled the world from days lived in the dark to bright lights and cell phones everywhere. Many, many things have been discovered with the aid of technology. Work has become easier (maybe), continents networked, DNA dissected, and iPods conquering all. But take a moment and ask just one little question ~ what is health? Are you, YOU, healthier because of medical knowledge? Or are you potentially over medicated, living in fear of no insurance (fear is not good for the health). Are people around the world more healthier because of these wonderful discoveries and inventions? Take a good look, Folks! The Prozac nation is obese and obsessed. The number of Americans using antidepressants DOUBLED in the last ten years. It’s not a pretty sight in a lot of countries worldwide either. Life hasn’t changed for a whole lot of the population of planet earth health-wise.

4. Bigger Churches are better. This one will probably get me a few emails, but I believe if the seers and prophets could take pulses on this one they’d agree. I believe they would point out the potential dangers inherent and historic when large groups of people came together under a single name ~ like Church of Rome, Church of Persia, Church of England, Willowcreek, or Lakewood Church and Bro. Joel Olsteen, or any other mega-church leader. Am I saying they’re bad—No! I’m just saying they’re an expression of the culture. Big churches guarantee us nothing but one thing—they guarantee big. They can do incredible good. But they cannot guarantee or by default create a more profound relationship with the Master...or another person either. In an age when men try to gauge their righteousness by the latest Christian book read, a doctrinal statement, or a particular worship meeting, I wonder if the potential for creating “form without power” is more real than ever. Just for the record ~ size is not the issue. I think you’d also agree that a small group of four to twenty can be a cultic mess too. But big is not better.

5. Things are going to get worse and worse. This is a massive lie bordering on the surreal and one which is sold daily with great gain. When I say at the end of the Barnabas newsletters “We win in the end,” that doesn’t mean we gotta wait for the win. Folks, we win every day in every way. 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But thanks be unto God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and makes manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place.” If you judge worse or better by what this world or society offers you, you’ve committed spiritual suicide. Brethren, “what shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress? Shall persecution or famine? Shall nakedness or peril or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly CONQUER through Him who loved us.”
This isn’t just a nice doctrinal sentiment is it? It’s life, IF your living as a citizen of heaven and not a cultural earth-licker. It boggles my mind to hear Christians talk like political figures such as Obama, Palin, etc….are either the salvation of all or evil embodied. Christians act like these personalities somehow should be the major factors in their happiness. It amazes me to hear Christ –loving people talk about losing their security because the stock market went down or China isn’t going to buy our debt any longer. Consider your calling ~ do you know we will judge angels?

So, I guess I should probably say that the ancients might take my pulse and declare Yours Truly off his rocker, in need of therapy, or a long vacation in Cancun (I choose Cancun) . That could be. I like sandy beaches, and it wouldn’t be the first time someone told me my views were skewed. But maybe, just maybe, they’d say, “check this guy out, he gets it.”

Here’s a thought. What if there’s a way to live, a way to think, and a way to perceive the qualities of life beyond surface level that give hope and faith instead of fear and confusion. Is it possible that there is still a treasure in the field that is worth selling or risking all for? Is there ONE available in whom are ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge? Is there a place, a condition and state of mind where it’s not the money, the health, the bombs and missiles, the buildings, denominations, Bible verses, or newshound illusions that determine life? A place unlike anything this world has to offer.
There is. Seek it.

The Death of Ego – That Would Be Me

Paul said, in the New Testament, “I die daily.” And the verse so often quoted by believers is Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ, never the less, I live, not I but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Recently I was re-reading a book by the poplar author Eckhart Tolle. I often notice parallels between ancient or contemporary spiritual authors, and the teachings of the New Testament. Here’s what Tolle says,

” A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it. I recommend that you experiment with this from time to time. For example, when someone criticizes you, blames you, or calls you names, instead of immediately retaliating or defending yourself – do nothing……..you realize that nothing real has been diminished, that through becoming “less,” you become more.” A New Earth p.215.

This is one of those ideas that is easy to quote (scripture that is) – but fairly difficult to do. Give it some thought.

Spiritual People

The French Jesuit Philosopher, Pierre Teihard de Chardin once said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Are You Living Fully?

“Most men die at 27, we just bury them at 72.” – Mark Twain