Bill Harbeck's Blog

This is the 11th time Joree has faced a major surgery in her life.  Today she was stuck with needles a dozen times.  Yesterday they put in an IV line and a Pick line.  Two procedures no one would choose to experience.  Joree has been poked, prodded, and stuck over a hundred times leading to surgeries.  Once again, all day I was humbled by her courage.  Never a whimper, never a complaint, never and angry gesture.  I am quite sure she is well aware of what the hospital means when she arrives now.  This is going to be painful.  This is going to be hard.  I wish I could just go home.

It is awful what sin does to this world.  It is awful that a child has to suffer.  It is heart wrenching to sit by feeling helpless.  I wish many times that Jesus would just swoop down and carry her home.  No more pain…no more suffering…just take her home.  But once again for the 11th time, Joree is teaching me what it means to be broken and dependent.  I am learning again what it means to suffer with grace.  I am learning what it means to be closer to God.  Joree has been teaching me about our wounded healer from the day she came into my life.  Tonight, I am praying for my hero.  Tonight I am praying I can be like her.

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle… That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”                                                                                                                Brennan Manning

I was going through the toughest stretch of my life when I was introduced to a man whose life experience helped me understand brokenness.  Brennan Manning passed away last Friday.  I have read his books over and over and had the great joy of hearing him lecture and meet him in person.  Small in stature, a giant intellect, and honesty that made him real.

He was conflicted nearly all of his life with his own brokenness and deep fear that God could or would never love him enough.  He wrestled with religion and the religious and I believe was misunderstood, or maybe more resented for his earnestness to minister to the disadvantaged.  His battle is all of ours and his honesty to face his broken heart and dependence and say so will forever be an inspiration for me.

We will miss a great warrior.  Thank you Brennan.

One of the cardinals that voted for the new pope last week was quoted by Reuters this week saying, “From my experience, pedophilia is actually an illness.  It’s not a criminal condition, it’s an illness.”

The headline of the article reads, “South Africa cardinal says pedophilia not a crime”. Herein lies the power of the present media to distort and then manipulate public perception and thinking.  Evil has been using sexual abuse forever to silence and cripple victims and now with the power of modern technology evil is manipulating the message to destroy the purveyors of hope and truth.

Notice the cardinal said, “From my experience, pedophilia is actually and illness.  It’s not a criminal condition, it’s and illness.”  The cardinal is quoted again in the article saying that he knew of at least two priests who became pedophiles after they were molested as children.  The cardinal is affirming my position that nearly 100% of “sex offenders” and or pedophiles were sexually abused at some point prior to acting out.  They were traumatized, which led to shame, which leads to acting out.  Excusing criminal behavior is not the point the cardinal is making.  He is saying the acting out is a result of prior influence.

The problem for the cardinal is that is all well and good but it cannot be used to excuse the criminal behavior.  He says in the article, “Now don’t tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who chooses to do something like that.  I don’t think you can really take the position and say that person deserves to be punished.  He was himself damaged.”

The law is quite clear that sexual molestation is a criminal offense regardless of the motive.  You cannot molest children.  The world today is consistently shifting blame rather than accepting responsibility.  Yes, it is horrible that pedophiles always have a history of their own childhood abuse, it does not excuse their behavior.

Here is where it gets really sinister.  The hidden agenda of Reuters is the Church.  The liberal progressive world desires to discredit, demonize, and rend the church irrelevant in the modern world.  So the article also slips one sentence in, “The Catholic Church has had its image deeply tarnished by a widespread child sex abuse scandal”.  A confusing sentence structure but communicates the message the organization wants heard.  Which is, the church in its infinite hypocrisy preaches and teaches holiness and yet is saturated with pedophiles in stark contrast to its message.  Therefore, the church and its message are illegitimate.  Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier from Durban affirms for us that pedophilia should not be a criminal offense.  The ultra liberal viewpoint is that pedophilia is just the natural evolution of human sexuality.

Sexual abuse is the most sophisticated weapon the enemy uses against the Kingdom of God.  It is brilliant from a tactical viewpoint.  Destroy the dignity of the enemy at the very core of his nature and you cripple him for life. The attack renders the victim’s silent and you disable your opponent and his or her community in one blow. Then, influence a like-minded media to destroy those providing care and healing and you have total control.  Genius.

The bad news is, as long as those with the arsenal to stop and destroy the enemy remain silent, evil will just grow stronger.  The good news is, this battle is already over.  The King won this battle on the cross by defeating death and declaring his soldiers victors.  The requirements…live it…shout it…share it…Jesus is the only hope…with joy, confidence, and determination…hold on to that hope…

Article is from Reuters  March 16, 2013  David Dolan; Editing by Jason Webb

Hundreds of times throughout the Bible the phrase “Don’t be afraid”  is uttered by angels, prophets, and Jesus.  Afraid of what?  Doom? Yes.  Judgment? Yes.  Attack? Yes.  Criticism?   What?  Who’s afraid of that?  Apparently Senator Rob Portman is terrified so much so that he changed his conviction. Well, maybe it wasn’t conviction after all, maybe it was just his feelings.

Jesus was well acquainted with criticism.  It never changed his “conviction”.  When you believe in truth, when you hold fast to your convictions especially in this present world you will receive criticism.  Jesus words were never more relative. Don’t be afraid when others cast insults against you because of me.  When so-called convictions change because of fear we lose our ability to be respected and in the long run our voice.

Senator Rob Portman doesn’t believe his conviction of opposing same-sex marriage was really a conviction.  His son came to him at age 21 and told him he was gay.  Was this an instant revelation?  Was there no indication prior to that moment?  Is he convinced now that it wasn’t his son’s choice?  Were his convictions based on Biblical truth? If so, did the Bible change?  Did the truth that homosexuality is against God’s design change all of a sudden after 3000 years?

Politicians are not the best representatives of perseverance of convictions, however they are not alone.  In a very short period of time shaming others has been successful in weakening convictions.  What someone else chooses to do is not my problem.  Who are you to determine what’s right for me? God loves the sinner so should I.  Loving a sinner has nothing to do with changing your conviction from wrong to well….

Same sex marriage is wrong…always has been…always will be.  Do not be afraid to stand by your convictions where there is no compromise with God’s word.  Be ready for the criticism…but don’t be afraid.

40 years ago today was one of those moments.   58-57 was the final score.  We had beaten the opposing team twice that year, once by over 25 points.  But this time despite a rush at the end we came up short.  The career was over in an instant.  All these years later that one moment in time stays etched in my memory.  What if?

Last night, the same high school entered the same game and the final score was 45-44 and once again they were on the losing side.  Same exact story, same theater, different actors.  In that moment, I thought my life was over.  But the sun came up the next day and has ever since.  I feel for the young men today that are enduring the disappointment.  Good news, the sun will come up again tomorrow.

What do these men have in common?

Darwin = No God

Marx = Communism

Freud = Sexual Freedom

Dewey = Government Education

Wellhausen = Liberal Theology

Kierkegaard = Existentialism –

                                                Keynes – Short Term Economics –

They are all DEAD…100 plus year’s dead…

and as the author and philosopher Dave Breeze detailed in his brilliant book, they are “The Seven Men Who Rule The World From the Grave”  Moody Press 1990

Today their ideas are the sand foundation of a sinking America. Their ideas have faulted secularism to the heights of insanity.  The Tsunami came ashore in the 60s and 70s and the wave hasn’t crested yet.  Every day some brilliant thinker (unfortunately many in the government) proposes an idea as a new law, statute, or regulation to better the evolution of the culture and remove the old thinking that has kept societal growth from perfection.  Same Sex Marriage, Late Term Abortion, Trans Gendered restrooms.  No demented ideas are unacceptable.

We are approaching 150 years since the gentlemen listed above walked among us.  Independently yet nearly contemporaries their ideas coalesced into a worldwide paradigm that took hold in Europe and spread to America in the early part of the 20^th century.  Electricity and the inventions that have led to the technology of today accelerated their ideas into the mainstream of America.  Now we are experiencing the answer to the core question.  Can man live without God?

I am growing weary of the talk show “experts” that for the last ten years have made a lot of money stating and re-stating the obvious… America is in trouble.  They are all well intentioned, but how many more years will we listen to them abuse the expired horse?  Unfortunately, they are products of the seven men’s ideas too.  They are great evaluators, but poor prognosticators.

2000 years ago another man walked amongst us.  His ideas have consequences too.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Lay up treasures in heaven not here on earth.  I am the only way to truth.  Follow me and I will help you lead men.  Happy are the pure in heart, they will see the creator.  Happy are the meek and kind, they will inherit the earth.  Happy are those that are mistreated because of me, your reward will be great.

I don’t believe there is any way back to the America the talk show personalities opine about.  The Tea Party with all of its determination is not going to roll back 50 years of secularism entrenched in the educational institutions of this land.  We are 150 years down the road from the seven men whose ideas control this world and getting closer and closer to what that man warned us about a long time ago.

“For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earth quakes in various places.   All these are but the beginning.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one that endures to the end will be saved.  And this gospel (good news) will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Hold on to the Hope of the truth.  Jesus, is truth.  He is the answer.  Time is short…

Grateful cannot describe how fortunate I am to have the Christian heritage I am blessed to know.  Legacy is the word used often, but even it pales in defining God’s grace.  Yesterday I had the joy to be with mentors and friends that shaped my life over 40 years ago.  Maybe common people in the world’s terms, but giants of the faith.

In 1966 I was 11 years old when I attended Camp Awana for the second year.  My cabin leader, a young man named Dick Sisson.  Yesterday I was reunited with him 47 years later.  He was part of the foundation laid in my life that helped me weather the storm of sexual abuse that would begin that same year.  What an honor to thank him after all these years.  We spoke of the other men that were such an impact on my life.  Lance Latham and Art Rorheim, the founders of Awana took time to personally mentor me as a young boy and teenager.  Ken and Grace Frizane were my youth leaders in junior high and high school.  They organized the reunion yesterday and it brought to light the importance of perseverance and faith…a lifetime of faith. Arne, and Marty, and so many others that just took the time to live into young people.  What a gift.

I pray that those that come behind us will determine in their hearts and lives to live the truth, to nurture those younger and to demonstrate by their lives our Lord’s grace.  The world has changed a lot in the last 50 years.  Yesterday was truly another gift of grace.  Thank you Lord and thank you all that have had an influence on my journey.  I am eternally grateful…

Democratic Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo is pushing to pass legislation to allow late-term abortions in the state of New York.  The current law restricting them makes it inconvenient for women as they have to leave the state to secure the procedure.  Governor Cuomo desires to make access more convenient.  The usual tag of “only if the life of the mother is in danger or the fetus is not viable.”

History has proven that definitions become the interpretation of the policy.  “Danger” has a very broad definition in this arena as does “viable”.  Both words are defined to appease the conscience of those with the worldview that the sanctity of life is not as important as individual happiness. Down the road it goes and the barbaric practice of late-term abortions is infused into the thinking of the culture.  The cry that these procedures are a last resort practice then allows cover for earlier procedures to seem less cruel.  It allows “choice” to be the perceived mainstream consensus and the society is desensitized to the truth of the sanctity of life.  I wonder if Governor Cuomo would agree to allowing a video be released through his office to play on You-Tube of a late-term abortion to help gain support for his conviction on this issue and his ultimate worldview.

Jesus is not confused on this issue.  Every single human being conceived from the beginning of time is an image bearer of the Creator.  Age, viability, health of the mother, rape, disability…none of these or any other exception is ever considered in the mind of Christ.  Each creation is His.  I feel so helpless that I could not save the millions that have been killed in my lifetime.  I feel so angry that there seems to be nothing we can do to stop this evil.  We can pray.  Pray for forgiveness.  Pray for mercy.  Pray for a heart of repentance.  Just keep praying.

Jesus Let Us Come to Know You

Let us see you face to face

Touch us hold us use us mold us

Freely let us live in you

Jesus draw us ever nearer

Hold us in your loving arms

Wrap us in Your gentle presence

When the end comes bring us home

Calvary covers it all…

All my past with its sin and every shame

All my guilt and despair Jesus took on Him there

And Calvary covers it all…

Thank you to our friends in New York.  What a week.  This was the first time Jillian has raveled with me since the ministry began. It has been our goal since the beginning that we would be able to share the good news of hope together. I pray we can do this every time moving forward.  Just her presences provided so many a different perspective and allowed so many more to open their hearts to the truth of hope for healing.

We have a whole host of new friends. Thank you Christ the King Center for a great day of renewing and encouragement.  Thanks Christa for believing in this message.   Thank you Frank and Clair and the home church in Greenwich, New York for an evening of joy and blessing.  Thank Dom and Jo and Calvary Tabernacle for the courage to expose the prevalence of abuse and the willingness to take it on.  Thank you Art and Kim and the Celebrate Recovery group at Bethany Assembly of God for a night of praise and sharing.  And to our dear friends Daniel and Kim Johnson whose determination and transparency as a couple and family have made the way for us to be a part of the Albany area community.

Jillian and I are planning to return this spring to continue to share this needed message.  Keep this in your prayers.  The enemy will move to block the progress and the future.  Now worries, the King is triumphant in the Capitol region and we are his soldiers.  We will battle the curse together and pray He rescues the wounded.  To the King…