Sorry, but we won’t re-write the Bible for gays and lesbians

Oct 21, 2021 lgbtq by Percy Parakh

In response to my open letter to Isaac Archuleta, who describes himself as a bisexual Christian, Richard S. posted a lengthy comment on my personal Facebook page, including this statement: “The logical conclusion to your theology (gays can change and if they don’t it must be because they don’t have faith or are deceived) is extremely damaging to the souls of gay people.

That was the point of Isaac’s letter. No amount of nice words will erase the damage. Only honest reconsideration of your theology will bring healing. Please don’t discount/deny the faith of your gay brothers and sisters. They have much to contribute to the church.”

Of course, Richard has completely misstated what conservative Christians believe (we don’t say or believe that if gays don’t change “it must be because they don’t have faith or are deceived”), just as other parts of his comment not quoted here were also based on serious misunderstandings.

But that is secondary to the bigger issue, and Richard is one of many who are telling serious Bible believers that, “Only honest reconsideration of your theology will bring healing.”

He could not be more wrong.

First, what Scripture says on homosexual practice is not negotiable, and no amount of new books or videos or personal stories will change that.

As I explained in my book Can You Be Gay and Christian?, “no new textual, archeological, sociological, anthropological, or philological discoveries have been made in the last fifty years that would cause us to read any of these biblical texts differently. Put another way, it is not that we have gained some new insights into what the biblical text means based on the study of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Instead, people’s interaction with the LGBT community has caused them to understand the biblical text differently.”

Simply stated, if not for the sexual revolution, no one would be reexamining what the Scriptures state about God’s intention for His creation.

No one would be wondering if two men or two women could “marry” or if a husband could also be a wife.

No one would be doubting that the Lord made men for women and women for men and that any deviation from that pattern was contrary to His design and intent.

As one New Testament scholar was candid enough to admit, it was clear to him that the Bible forbade homosexual practice, but when his own daughter came out as a lesbian, he changed his opinion on the subject.

That’s why I’ve often stated that there is not a single argument that can be brought from God’s Word to defend homosexual practice, but there are powerful emotional arguments that can be brought. In that context, I’m often reminded of Jesus’ words that, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:37).

The father of a “gay Christian” activist changed churches when his home congregation rejected his son’s views on homosexuality. When asked about these words of Jesus, he commented that there were other churches he could go to, but he had only one son.

I could only wince when I heard his words, so loving in one way but so destructive in another.

Second, if there was something to reconsider in our theology we would gladly do it. The truth be told, as impossible as the “gay Christian” arguments struck me, I went to the Lord about them, buying the books that defended this new way of reading Scripture, reading the stories and listening to the stories of professing gay Christians, allowing my heart to be torn and my mind to be challenged.

At the end of the day, as a biblical scholar, a lover of Jesus and a lover of people, it was impossible for me to accept their arguments. The Word is just too clear on this, and without some kind of emotional or social or other pressure to reconsider what Scripture states, no one would deny this.

Third, those who argue that Christians agree to disagree on lots of things without denying each other’s faith fail to realize that they do not agree to disagree on behaviors that Scripture strongly condemns—unless they themselves are living in some kind of moral compromise.

We’re not dealing here with a question of whether speaking in tongues is for today or whether Christians are required to tithe or whether Jesus is coming before the tribulation.

We’re dealing with redefining the very meaning of marriage and claiming that a behavior that is plainly condemned in the Old and New Testaments—I’m talking about same-sex cohabitation—is now blessed by God.

And while God alone is the judge of every professing Christian, be that person gay or straight, we cannot embrace as fellow brothers and sisters those who are affirming, practicing and even celebrating homosexuality.

We will put our arms around everyone who struggles with same-sex attraction, loving them and embracing them and encouraging them in their walk with the Lord, whether their walk entails transformation from homosexual to heterosexual or whether it entails celibacy.

But we will not and cannot affirm and bless what the Lord Himself opposes. To do so is to do a disservice to those in the LGBT community.

Fourth, God’s message of grace and truth brings healing and wholeness and deliverance and freedom, as millions of people from every walk of life can attest, including large numbers of people who once identified as LGBT.

I’m quite aware that there are genuine homo-haters in the Church. I plan to address this yet again in the coming days; God is their judge as well. I’m quite aware that Christians have often failed to demonstrate Christlike love and compassion to the LGBT community—to put it mildly.

But I’m also quite aware that when we speak the truth in love and people actually hear what we’re saying—not the interpretation they put on our words but the real message of our words—if that message is received, it will bring life not death.

To all of you reading this article who say, “I’m gay, I’m Christian, I’m involved in a same-sex relationship, and we’re thriving in the Lord,” I invite you to call my radio show, to send me your story or, if you live in my city, to get together with me and some of your friends—not for the purpose of debate but for the purpose of honest, loving, heartfelt interaction.

And if you have time, would you watch my video, Can You Be Gay and Christian? and tell me what I don’t understand and where I don’t display genuine empathy?

And if you’d like to read my book by the same title and you genuinely can’t afford it, email me your story, include your address, and I’ll send you a copy for free. You will not find a hateful word in the book, but you will find someone who cares.

In the end, though, your issue is with the Lord, not with me.

I can assure you that He understands and He will provide everything you need if you truly entrust your life to Him.

Pride, US Blog

The Real Reason Our Society Is So Divided

Oct 21, 2021 Competition by Percy Parakh

Paul wrote to the Galatian church to show them, among other things, that a lot of barriers between people exist because we try to justify ourselves—to declare ourselves righteous and good—through something about us.

Jews did this through the law. They had a whole system of rules that distinguished them from the world. The Old Testament alone contains 613 laws, and, in addition to those, Jews made a “hedge about the law,” rules to keep them from even approaching breaking the rules—and that list got up into the thousands.

Having a list of things to do for acceptance is not unique to Judaism, of course. All religions have lists like this. It’s instinctive to who we humans are. We are always trying to justify ourselves, to set ourselves apart from others. Life is like one big episode of “Survivor,” and we’re trying to convince everyone else we’re not the ones that should be thrown off the island. (I may be dating myself a bit with that reference, but I think you still get the idea.)

Our lives are eaten up with pride. And so, we’re in constant competition with others, because the essence of pride is competitiveness, and this fuels division. We have to protect and defend our distinctives because they give us value and worth above others.

Charles Spurgeon, the 19^th century British pastor, said he saw three of these divisions in his society, and it’s amazing how evident these are still in our society today.

1. The pride of race

For many, their ethnic identity becomes a way of distinguishing themselves above others. They take pride in their white-ness, their black-ness, their Indian-ness, or their Asian-ness. A racial distinctive makes them who they are and forms their identity.

Our cultures are beautiful things, created by God like a many-sided diamond to reflect his glory. But when culture becomes our primary, distinguishing identity, it causes division.

People can and should honor their culture. But the moment they start vesting their culture with pride, they’ll begin to protect and defend that culture, because their culture gives them a sense of identity and sets them apart.

But do they not understand the gospel?

There’s only one race of people: the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. We have one core problem: sin. We have one hope: the blood of Jesus that cleanses us all alike. Paul says in Romans 10:12, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him” (ESV).

Sometimes the root of racial division is that our ethnic identity has become too large. If we hope to overcome any division among us, a crucial step is that our identity in Christ become greater—much greater—than any other identity we possess.

2. The pride of face and place

We tend to see people in categories—the successful and the unsuccessful, the intelligent and the dull, the beautiful and the ugly, the fit and the fat, the rich and the poor. We look down on those who are less than we are in these areas and feel intimidated by those who are more so. We think some personal accomplishment or characteristic sets us apart and justifies us before others.

I know I recognize myself in that. Perhaps you do, too. But do we not understand the gospel?

First, do we realize how little of our talents we can actually take credit for? Our parents gave us our genes, and God gave us the health and opportunity to pursue them. Do we really think if we’d been born as orphans in a village in Somalia, we’d have succeeded like we have? All that we have is a gift.

Second, do we realize how worthless our talents are when it comes to the things that really matter? Our SAT scores and bank accounts and promotions cannot justify us before God. Before God, there is only one kind of sinner: hopeless.

This is good news for those of us on the bottom of the heap. It doesn’t matter if I am not that intelligent now, because I am promised I will inherit the mind of Christ. It doesn’t matter if I’m not beautiful now, because I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ. It doesn’t matter if I am not successful now, because I have all the promises of God in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t appreciate me, because in Christ I have the undying love of the eternal Father.

If we could have saved ourselves by our merit or good works or beauty, God would have let us do that. But we couldn’t do it! What we have now in Jesus is worth infinitely more than any of those things.

3. The pride of grace

Maybe worst of all, Spurgeon said, is the pride that comes from having lived a moral or religious life—or, at the very least, having avoided certain shameful sins or mistakes.

You feel a sense of pride because you have lived a good life; you’ve never been to prison or fired from your job. You didn’t get pregnant before you were married. You come from a good family, and your parents never got divorced.

And so now you feel a sense of distinction, even superiority, over others who have gone through those things.

But, friend, do you not understand the gospel?

In Christ, there are no “good people” or “bad people,” “winners” or “losers,” “people who have it together” or “dysfunctional people.” There are only bad, dead, sin-sick rebels, without God and without hope in this world, whom God saves by a sheer act of grace. The “pride of grace” is really a denial of grace.

By J. D. Greear

Joy, US Blog

Only You – Called To Praise God

Oct 8, 2021 Shout by Percy Parakh

Psalm 100 NIV

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Joy, US Blog

The Joy Of Giving And Receiving Gratitude!

Oct 8, 2021 Gratitude by Percy Parakh

A fisherman who was fishing east of the Farallon Islands (just outside of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California) spotted a whale who was fully entangled and bound in a fishing net.

The fisherman radioed for help and within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that the whale was so badly tangled that the only way to save her was to dive in, cut the ropes and untangle her…. a very dangerous proposition as one slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles.

She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, nudged them, and pushed gently, thanking them. Some said that it was the most incredibly beautiful experience they had ever had.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the entire time and he will never be the same. May you be so fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude

Storms, US Blog

Trust God Even In The Storms Of Life

Oct 8, 2021 Trust by Percy Parakh

TRUST IN GOD! by Varghese Augustine

A man just got married and was returning home with his wife. They were crossing a lake in a boat, when suddenly a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless:

The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and any moment they were going to be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was happening.

The woman was trembling and she said, “Are you not afraid ?”. This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise death is certain.

Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something? The man laughed and took the sword out of its sheath. The woman was even more puzzled:

What he was doing? Then he brought the naked sword close to the woman’s neck, so close that just a small gap was there, it was almost touching her neck

He said,” Are you afraid ?”She started to laugh and said,” Why should I be afraid ? If the sword is in your hands, why I should be afraid? I know you love me.”

He put the sword back and said, This is my answer”. I know God Loves me, and the storm is in His hands.SO WHATSOEVER IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS GOING TO BE GOOD.

If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good, because everything is in His hands and He cannot do anything wrong.

Moral: Develop Trust. This is the trust which one needs to imbibe and which is capable of transforming your whole life. Any less won’t do!
In Isa. 49:15 God reminds us “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! “

Celebrating, US Blog

Celebrating In Unity – God’s People Offer Praise

Sep 26, 2021 Unity by Percy Parakh

Acts 2:32-33 NIV

³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Acts 2:37-47 NIV

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Unbreakable, US Blog

Unbreakable in Jesus – The Story of Louis Zamperini

Sep 26, 2021 jesus by Percy Parakh

Louis Zamperini’s military plane crashed at sea during the war, killing eight of eleven men onboard. “Louie” and two others clambered into life rafts.

They drifted for two months, fending off sharks, riding out storms, ducking bullets from an enemy plane, and catching and eating raw fish and birds. They finally drifted onto an island and were immediately captured.

For two years Louie was beaten, tortured, and worked mercilessly as a prisoner of war. His remarkable story is told in the book Unbroken.

Jeremiah is one of the Bible’s unbreakable characters. He endured enemy plots (Jeremiah 11:18), was whipped and put in stocks (20:2), flogged and bound in a dungeon (37:15–16), and lowered by ropes into the deep mire of a cistern (38:6).

He survived because God had promised to stay with him and rescue him (1:8). God makes a similar promise to us: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). God didn’t promise to save Jeremiah or us from trouble, but He has promised to carry us through trouble.

Louie recognized God’s protection, and after the war he gave his life to Jesus. He forgave his captors and led some to Christ. Louie realized that while we can’t avoid all problems, we need not suffer them alone. When we face them with Jesus, we become unbreakable.

Celebrating, US Blog

Celebrating Expectantly – God’s People Offer Praise

Sep 26, 2021 Praise by Percy Parakh

2 Samuel 6:1-5 NIV

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

6 David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. ²He and all his men went to Baalah^[a] in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,^[b] the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.

³They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart ⁴with the ark of God on it,^[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it.

⁵David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,^[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

2 Samuel 6:12-19 NIV

¹²Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.

¹⁴Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, ¹⁵while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁶As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.

¹⁹Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

Prisoner, US Blog

Returning Home After Being A Prisoner

Sep 26, 2021 Home by Percy Parakh

Returning Home

Walter Dixon had five days to honeymoon before he shipped off to the Korean War. Less than a year later, troops found Dixon’s jacket on the battlefield, with letters from his wife stuffed in the pockets. Military officials informed his young wife that her husband had been killed in action.

Actually, Dixon was alive and spent the next 2.5 years as a POW. Every waking hour, he plotted to get home. Dixon escaped five times but was always recaptured. Finally, he was set free. You can imagine the shock when he returned home !

God’s people knew what it was to be captured, moved far away, and to long for home. Due to their rebellion against God, they were exiles. They woke each morning yearning to return, but they had no way to rescue themselves.

Thankfully, God promised He’d not forgotten them. “I will restore them because I have compassion on them”. *He would meet the people’s relentless ache for home, not because of their perseverance, but because of His mercy*: “I will signal for them . . . and they will return”.

Our sense of exile may come because of our bad decisions or because of hardships beyond our control. Either way, God hasn’t forgotten us. He knows our desire and will call to us. *And if we’ll answer, we’ll find ourselves returning to Him — returning home.*

– Winn CollierIn this world of sin and trouble Where so many ills are known, If I shun the ways of evil, I am kept by Him alone.- Smith *God’s presence is a life preserver that keeps the soul from sinking in a sea of trouble.*

*Stay Blessed My Friend*

Enthusiasm, US Blog

Celebrating With Enthusiasm – God’s People Offer Praise

Sep 9, 2021 Celebrating by Percy Parakh

2 Samuel 6:1-5 NIV

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

2 Samuel 6:12-19 NIV

¹²Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.

¹³When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,

¹⁵while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁷They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.

¹⁸After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.

¹⁹Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

India Blog, Universe

Is The Universe God? Why God Created The Universe!

Sep 9, 2021 NewAge, Universe by Percy Parakh

The Universe is Not God. God created the Universe to Display His Glory and Majesty!

Of late a lot of people, and some even Christians throw around terms like “Karma”, “The Universe”, etc. not even knowing what they are talking about.

A lot of New Age Spirituality, is trying to creep into society, and even the Church. So please watch the Video above to gain clarity on the Truth. Just because “Truth Really Matters”

India Blog, New Age

What Is The New Age Movement

Sep 9, 2021 Spirituality by Percy Parakh

The expression “New Age” came into existence in the 1970s and 1980s. It was promoted by the circulation of the New Age Journal and a book by Mark Satin called New Age Politics. Marilyn Ferguson’s best-selling Aquarian Conspiracy was a presentation of the social agenda and philosophical vision of the New Age.

Ferguson’s writing attained status as the unofficial scripture of the movement. As Russell Chandler, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, wrote in Understanding the New Age, “If Ferguson wrote the New Age ‘Bible,‘ Shirley MacLaine is its high priestess.”

Shirley MacLaine’s book, Out on a Limb, chronicles her reluctant conversion to New Age belief. This book describes her travels and studies, which include science fiction-like dimensions, out-of-body travel, contact with extraterrestrial beings, “trance channeling” (séances), and a “guided tour” of the unseen world.

MacLaine’s second book, Dancing in the Light, tells about her reach into the world of yoga, reincarnation, crystal power, Hindu mantras, and past-life recall experiences mediated through acupuncture. Her spirit guides informed her that each individual is God, and she passed along the “wisdom” that the person is unlimited. One only has to realize it (Chandler, page 6-2).

New Age thinking has its roots, then, in Eastern mysticism, which attempts to bypass the mind. There is a new organ of perception—the third eye—which gives spiritual light. One needs to get to the “psychic self” by training one’s self to ignore messages from the mind or to see that the mind is actually achieving “cosmic consciousness.” The mind can create reality.

Neil Anderson in his book, Walking Through the Darkness, writes this: “The New Age movement is not seen as a religion but a new way to think and understand reality.

It’s very attractive to the natural man who has become disillusioned with organized religion and Western rationalism. He desires spiritual reality but doesn’t want to give up materialism, deal with his moral problems, or come under authority” (page 22). Anderson goes on to summarize New Age thinking (pages 22–24) as follows:

(1) It is monism. The belief that all is one and one is all. History is not the story of humanity’s fall into sin and its restoration by God’s saving grace. Rather, it is humanity’s fall into ignorance and the gradual ascent into enlightenment.

(2) All is God. If all is one, including God, then one must conclude that all is God. It is pantheism—trees, snails, books, and people are all of one divine essence. A personal God who has revealed Himself in the Bible and in Jesus Christ is completely rejected. Since God is impersonal, the New Ager doesn’t have to serve Him. God is an “it,” not a “He.”

(3) There is a change in consciousness. If we are God, we need to know we are God. We must become cosmically conscious, enlightened, or attuned to the cosmic consciousness. Some who reach this enlightened status will claim to be “born again”—a counterfeit of biblical conversion.

The essential is not whether we believe or meditate, but whom we believe in and what we meditate upon. Christ is the true, personal, objective reality, as He said that He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

(4) A cosmic evolutionary optimism is taught. There is a New Age coming. There will be a new world order, a new world government. New Age thinkers believe that there will eventually be a progressive unification of world consciousness.

This, according to the Bible, is a counterfeit kingdom led by Satan himself. Christ has the true kingdom, and He will one day rule on earth with peace for all who accept Him as Savior and King (Revelation 5:13).

(5) New Agers create their own reality. They believe they can create reality by what they believe, and, by changing what they believe, they can change reality. All moral boundaries have been erased.

There are no absolutes because there is no distinction between good and evil. Nothing has reality until one says that it is reality or says that it is truth. If finite man can create truth, we are in desperate trouble in our society. Unless there are eternal absolutes from the eternal God, man will eventually be his own destruction.

(6) New Agers make contact with the kingdom of darkness. Calling a medium a “channeler” and a demon a “spirit guide” has not changed the reality of what they are. This is the kingdom of darkness of which Satan is the head.

Those involved in this kind of activity are in contact with a world that is totally opposed to the biblical God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, who defeated Satan (Matthew 4:1–11; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14–18).

The New Age movement is a counterfeit philosophy that appeals to the feelings of individuals, leading them to think that that they are God and can enhance their lives through their own person. The reality is that we are born, grow up, live a while on planet Earth, and die.

Humans are finite. We can never be God. We need someone greater than we who can provide us forgiveness and life eternal. Praise the Lord for the God-man, Jesus Christ. Through His death and bodily resurrection, He has won for us what we desperately need: forgiveness from God, a life of purpose and meaning in this life, and eternal life beyond the grave.

Don’t miss out on who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for you. Read John chapter 3. Ask Christ to be your Savior. Your life will be transformed, and you will know who you are, why you are here, and where you are going.

India Blog, Psychics

Christian View Of Psychics and Fortune Tellers

Sep 9, 2021 Fortune Tellers by Percy Parakh

The Bible strongly condemns spiritism, mediums, the occult, and psychics (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13). Horoscopes, tarot cards, astrology, fortune tellers, palm readings, and séances fall into this category as well.

These practices are based on the concept that there are gods, spirits, or deceased loved ones that can give advice and guidance. These “gods” or “spirits” are demons (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

The Bible gives us no reason to believe that deceased loved ones can contact us. If they were believers, they are in heaven enjoying the most wonderful place imaginable in fellowship with a loving God. If they were not believers, they are in hell, suffering unending torment for rejecting God’s love and rebelling against Him.

So, if our loved ones cannot contact us, how do mediums, spiritists, and psychics get such accurate information? There have been many exposures of psychics as frauds. It has been proven that psychics can gain immense amounts of information on someone through ordinary means.

Sometimes by just using a telephone number through caller ID and an internet search, a psychic can get names, addresses, dates of birth, dates of marriage, family members, etc.

However, it is undeniable that psychics sometimes know things that should be impossible for them to know. Where do they get this information? The answer is from Satan and his demons. “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Acts 16:16-18 describes a fortune teller who was able to predict the future until the apostle Paul rebuked a demon out of her.

Satan pretends to be kind and helpful. He tries to appear as something good. Satan and his demons will give a psychic information about a person in order to get that person hooked into spiritism, something that God forbids.

It appears innocent at first, but soon people can find themselves addicted to psychics and unwittingly allow Satan to control and destroy their lives. Peter proclaimed, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

In some cases, the psychics themselves are deceived, not knowing the true source of the information they receive. Whatever the case and wherever the source of the information, nothing connected to spiritism, witchcraft, or astrology is a godly means of discovering information.

How does God want us to discern His will for our life? God’s plan is simple, yet powerful and effective: study the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and pray for wisdom (James 1:5).

https://www.gotquestions.org/psychics-Christian.html

Celebrating, US Blog

Celebrating With Song – God’s People Offer Praise!

Sep 6, 2021 Praise by Percy Parakh

Exodus 15:11-21 NIV

¹¹Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

¹²“You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies.
¹³In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

¹⁴The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
¹⁵The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people^[a] of Canaan will melt away;

¹⁶terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone—until your people pass by, Lord, until the people you bought^[b] pass by.

¹⁷You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

¹⁸“The Lord reigns for ever and ever.”
¹⁹When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen^[c] went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

²⁰Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.

²¹Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”

Underground Church, US Blog

The “Underground Church” in Afghanistan is now at home with the Lord.

Sep 6, 2021 Martyred by Percy Parakh

The “Underground Church” in Kabul, Afghanistan is now at home with the Lord.

“We received news that the underground church in Kabul Afghanistan has been martyred. “

Our friends have been in contact and met together last night in deep prayer. The last words she spoke were, “We feel your prayers because this supernatural boldness came over us and we were singing in the Spirit.

Even the kids said mom we will not deny Jesus.” As they were on the phone they heard screaming and gun shots. God is so powerful they went to be with the Creator filled with joy.

“We will be fasting tomorrow for the churches.”

Return, US Blog

Return To Me With All Your Heart

Sep 6, 2021 Heart by Percy Parakh

Warning Lights

I didn’t think that the hesitation in my car engine and that little yellow “check engine” light on my dashboard really needed my immediate attention.

I sang it away, saying that I would get to it tomorrow. However, the next morning when I turned the key to start my car, it wouldn’t start.

My first reaction was frustration, knowing that this would mean money, time, and inconvenience. My second thought was more of a resolution: I need to pay attention to warning lights that are trying to get my attention — “they can mean something is wrong.”

God used the prophet Joel to encourage His people to “pay attention to the warning light on their spiritual dashboard”. Prosperity had caused them to become complacent and negligent in their commitment to the Lord.

Their faith had degenerated into empty formalism and their lives into moral bankruptcy. So God sent a locust plague to ruin crops in order to get His people’s attention, causing them to change their behavior and turn to Him with their whole heart.

What warning lights are flashing in your life ? What needs to be tuned up or repaired through confession and repentance ? And remember repentance is something that is always to be carried out now. – Marvin Williams

When I tried to cover my sin, my guilt I could not shake; But when I sought Your mercy, Lord, my sin I did forsake. — Hess
“Conviction is God’s warning light.”

Stay Blessed My Friend!

Be Confidant, US Blog

Be Confident – Faith Gives Us Hope

Aug 29, 2021 Faith, Hope by Percy Parakh

2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:10 NIV

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Awaiting the New Body

5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

²Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

⁵Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

⁶Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷For we live by faith, not by sight.

⁸We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Affliction, US Blog

Before I was Afflicted I went Astray

Aug 29, 2021 Astray by Percy Parakh

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”‭‭(Psalm‬ ‭119:67, 71‬ ‭NKJV‬)

This actually happened years ago. It was in 1968 on an airplane headed for New York — a routine and normally very boring flight. But this time it proved to be otherwise.

As they were on their descent pattern, the pilot realized that the landing gear was not engaging. He messed around with the controls, trying again and again to get the gear to lock into place…without success.

He then asked ground control for instruction. As the plane circled the landing field, the emergency crew coated the runway with foam and fire trucks and other emergency vehicles moved into position.

Meanwhile, the passengers were told of each maneuver in that calm, unemotional voice pilots do so well. Flight attendants glided about the cabin with an air of cool reserve. Passengers were told to place their heads between their knees and grab their ankles just before impact.

There were tears and a few cries of despair. It was one of those “I can’t believe this is happening to me” experiences. Then, with the landing only minutes away, the pilot suddenly announced over the intercom: “We are beginning our final descent.

At this moment, in accordance with International Aviation Codes established at Geneva, it is my obligation to inform you that if you believe in God you should commence prayer.”

Scout’s honor…that’s exactly what he said! I’m happy to report that the belly landing occurred without a hitch. No one was injured and, aside from some rather extensive damage to the plane, the airline hardly remembered the incident.

In fact, a relative of one of the passengers called the airline the very next day and asked about that prayer rule the pilot had quoted. The answer was a cool, reserved “No comment.” Amazing.

The only thing that brought out into the open a deep-down “secret rule” was crisis. Pushed to the brink, back to the wall, right up to the wire, all escape routes closed…only then does our society crack open a hint of recognition that God may be there and — “if you believe…you should commence prayer.”

Reminds me of a dialogue I heard on the tube shortly after Mount St. Helens erupted. The guy being interviewed was a reporter who had “come back alive” from the volcano with pictures and sound track of his own personal nightmare.

He was up near the mouth of that mama when she blew her top, and he literally ran for his life…with camera rolling and the mike on. The pictures were blurred and dark, but his voice was something else.

It was eerie, almost too personal to be disclosed. He breathed deeply, sobbed, panted, and spoke directly to God. No formality, no clichés — just the despairing cry of a creature in crisis.

Things like, “Oh, God, oh, my God…help! Help!” More sobbing, more rapid breathing, spitting, gagging, coughing, panting. “It’s so hot, so dark…help me, God! Please, please, please, please….”There’s nothing like crisis to expose the otherwise hidden truth of the soul.

Any soul. We may mask it, ignore it, pass it off with cool sophistication and intellectual denial…but take away the cushion of comfort, remove the shield of safety, interject the threat of death without the presence of people to take the panic out of the moment, and it’s fairly certain most in the ranks of humanity “commence prayer.”

Crisis crushes. And in crushing, it often refines and purifies. I’ve stood beside too many of the dying, ministered to too many of the victims of calamity, listened to too many of the broken and bruised to believe otherwise.

Unfortunately, it usually takes such brutal blows of affliction to soften and penetrate hard hearts. Remember Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s [1] admission? “Bless you prison, bless you for being in my life.

For there, lying upon the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the object of life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity of the human soul.” ― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956

Those words provide a perfect illustration of the psalmist’s instruction: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word….It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.” (Psalm 119:67, 71 )

After crisis crushes, God steps in to comfort and teach. This actually happens somewhere in our world every day.—Chuck Swindoll Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, “Commence Prayer,” in The Finishing Touch:

Becoming God’s Masterpiece (Dallas: Word, 1994), 550-52.Ref 1: Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn [1] Russian: Алекса́ндр Иса́евич Солжени́цын, December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008) [2] was a writer, who, through his often-suppressed writings, helped to raise global awareness of the gulag, the Soviet Union’s forced labor camp system – particularly in ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ and ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’, two of his best-known works.

Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 but returned to Russia in 1994 after the Soviet system had collapsed.

US Blog, US Mom

US Mom Rescues Afghani Girls Robotics Team!

Aug 27, 2021 Afghan, Girls Robotics by Percy Parakh

If you don’t think there are any heroes who took action to save lives right before the Afghanistan debacle, think again.

An Oklahoma mother of 11 took it upon herself to rescue 10 members of Afghanistan’s all-girls robotics team. She flew to Qatar earlier this month to try to get some of the girls to safety before the Taliban surprised the Biden administration by swiftly taking over the entire war-torn country.

What’s even more amazing is Allison Reneau is hoping to save even more girls before the Taliban, known for their brutal treatment of women and religious minorities, have free rein to implement totalitarian Islamic sharia law.

NBC News reports Reneau, a 60-year-old Harvard graduate, took it upon herself to try and save members of the girls’ robotic team.

She had been in touch with the team of girls ages 16 to 18 since meeting them as a board member for Explore Mars at the organization’s annual Humans to Mars conference in 2019. The team had been recognized as the future of Afghanistan and was an example of how far women’s rights had come since the U.S. liberation following the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

Reneau told NBC News she “couldn’t shake” the feeling that the girls were in danger while watching the news of the advancing insurgent army in early August. She called Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), a ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, but that “lead went cold” when the senator became “overwhelmed with the need to help our American citizens.”

Deciding to try by herself, she got on an airplane headed to the Middle East where she landed in Qatar, which is still thousands of miles away from Afghanistan. But she had a friend that could help.

“I remembered my former roommate in D.C. a couple of years ago was transferred to Qatar,” she explained. “She worked in the U.S. Embassy in Qatar… she was sure her boss would approve helping the girls.”

“She wrote up a request, and I got all of their passports together,” Reneau said. “She went back to the Embassy at midnight and worked all night to prepare the documents and packets for the girls.”

“It’s a very narrow window of opportunity,” she told NBC News. “I knew that if I didn’t run through that door now — it’s now or never. Sometimes you only get one chance.”

Thankfully, all 10 girls were able to make it to the American-held side of Kabul’s airport and boarded a plane.

“Several members of the girls’ Afghan robotics team have safely arrived in Doha, Qatar, from Kabul, Afghanistan,” a statement from the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) and Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.

The girls were taken to a secure location and will continue to pursue higher education.

Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown, a board member on the DCF told NBC News, “Ultimately the girls ‘rescued’ themselves. If it were not for their hard work and courage to pursue an education, which brought them in contact with the world, they would still be trapped. We need to continue to support them and others like them.”

Perfect Love, US Blog

Perfect Love – Faith Gives Us Hope

Aug 26, 2021 Faith, Hope by Percy Parakh

1 John 4:2-3 NIV

²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

1 John 4:13-17 NIV

¹³This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

¹⁷This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

1 John 5:4-5 NIV

⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

⁵Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Author: Percy Parakh

1. The pride of race

2. The pride of face and place

3. The pride of grace