Who were the Nicolaitanes in the Church at Ephesus?

Apr 26, 2020 Ephesus, Nicolaitans by Percy Parakh

Revelation 2 (KJV)

1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Question: “Who are the Nicolaitans mentioned in Revelation 2:6, 14-15?”

Answer: The exact origin of the Nicolaitans is unclear. Some Bible commentators believe they were a heretical sect who followed the teachings of Nicolas—whose name means “one who conquers the people”—who was possibly one of the deacons of the early church mentioned in Acts 6:5.

It is possible that Nicolas became an apostate, denying the true faith and became part of a group holding “the doctrine of Balaam,” who taught Israel “to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.” Clement of Alexandria says, “They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence.” Their teaching perverted grace and replaced liberty with license.

Other commentators believe that these Nicolaitans were not so called from any man, but from the Greek word Nicolah, meaning “let us eat,” as they often encouraged each other to eat things offered to idols. Whichever theory is true, it is certain that the deeds of the Nicolaitans were an abomination to Christ. They, like the Gnostics and other false teachers, abused the doctrine of grace and tried to introduce licentiousness in its place (2 Peter 2:15, 19; Jude 1:4).

Jesus commends the church of Ephesus for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans as He does (Revelation 2:6). No doubt the leaders of the Ephesian church protected their flock from these destructive heresies and kept their people from committing the same evil deeds.

All sin is hateful to Christ, as it should be to His followers, as we hate men’s evil deeds, not the men themselves. For the church at Pergamos, Jesus had not commendation, but censure. Unlike the Ephesians, they actually embraced the teachings of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15).

Jesus warns them that unless they repent, they are in danger of the judgment that is sure to fall on those who teach false doctrine, attack His church, and destroy His people. The sword of judgment is poised over their heads, and His patience is not limitless (Revelation 2:16; 19:15).

The lesson for us is that the church of the Lord Jesus throughout the ages has been plagued by those of the Nicolaitan spirit. The only way to recognize false teaching is to be intimately familiar with truth through the diligent study of the Word of God.

US Blog

I’m really not that old and other funny stories I wouldn’t tell anyone!!

Apr 14, 2020 Funny Story, Old by Percy Parakh

This reminds me of a funny story!!!.

It was my first semester at Washington University, as a student in Electrical Engineering, and I was barely scraping by (financially) and sharing a one room efficiency apartment with my roommate friend, paying my tuition for graduate school.

I was already getting tired of trying to bum rides from my other friends, to buy groceries every week. So I made a bold decision to buy a used car.I confided my need to my friend Bill at school and he said he would be glad to help me find one. He inquired how much of my budget I could spend for the car? So quite sheepishly I told him about a Hundred Dollars!!He burst out laughing and said something like it would be hard to find a shopping cart for that amount!

Nevertheless he was a real sport, and said he would try.Next thing I know, he said he personally knew an old guy who was a mechanic, who would let me have a 1969 Chevy Corvair for that price, that was in pretty good running condition! That very same evening I saw the car. It was love at first sight! So I bought the car!!

I was so excited about my first set of wheels that I forgot to get more gas, drove the car straight to Wash U, and it ran out of gas right in the Parking Lot!! Well so much for that!!.

I had to walk a couple blocks till I found a gas station, and the guy let me borrow his gas can and I bought me a couple of gallons of gas. I walked back proud holding my gas can.

When I reached my car, I walked all around the car trying to find the gas cap. I searched all over and couldn’t find the gas cap on either side. I even opened the trunk, to see if these Yanks had maybe hidden it in the trunk. But no such luck! Here I was a Graduate student with a gas can in his hand, not knowing where to put it in

I finally mustered up enough courage to stop another student, and ask him that question. I was feeling like a total idiot at this point. “Let me see, mister, you have a car, you have gas, you have a gas can and…… you don’t know where to put it?” Here bend over

He walks to the back of the car, and pulls down the license plate, and says heeere!! And started walking away. I almost swear he said under his breath “you dumb foreigner!!” Please do not forward this to your friend!

Cancer, Grace, Testimony, US Blog

Percy 2.0 – We overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of our Testimony!

Apr 12, 2020 Covid-19, Sickness by Percy Parakh

PERCY 2.0 🙂🙂

This might encourage somebody facing a seemingly imposssible situation with Covid-19 (Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE forJesus! He is Awesome, all Glory belongs to God!)

Six Years ago I was diagnosed with Fourth Stage Throat Cancer. I prayed and asked God to heal me, and the answer I got was “My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness!!”

So I went through Surgery to remove my Tumor, and immediately 2 months of Chemo, and 2 more months of Chemo and Radiation.
During my ordeal, by the Grace of God, I continued working, and hardly missed 5 days of work.

I would get up every morning and pray “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”, ‘I will live and not die and proclaim the works of the Lord!” and go to work. Even the Doctors were amazed when I said I was still working.

The only time I missed work was when the Doctors would insist I don’t work when my white cell count was very low, as I could catch an infection from someone else who was sick.

I would go for Radiation treatments at Memorial Hospital on my Lunch Breaks, PTL!!

By God’s Grace I did not miss a single day of Church on Sunday, or my Choir Practice!! Thank you for all that prayed for me, and for your kindness towards me at Church!!

I had my Six Year Checkup from my Doctor four months ago, with no trace of Cancer, and I am healed in Jesus Name!!. What the enemy meant for evil, God turned it around for my Good!! Now I testify about it wherever I go, even in Bombay India!! Halleluah!! Hallelujah!!!

The Picture below is after my Last Radiation Treatment at Memorial Hospital Six Years ago!! (We overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony!!!) 🙏🙏🙏🙏🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

India Blog, Syncretism

What is Syncretism and why is it strictly forbidden in the Bible? – The Subtle Sin of Syncretism

Apr 9, 2020 Subtle Sin by Percy Parakh

2 Kings 17:30-33 The men from Baby-lon made Succoth Benoth, the men from Cuthah made Nergal, and the men from Hamath made Ashima; the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. They worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places.

They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.2 Kings 17:39-41 Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies. They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

Syncretism

Syncretism is the fusion of different forms of practice or belief. Syncretism is not a sin when biblical truth and moral standards are not involved. The fact that Mexican culture and American culture are so intertwined that tacos are just as American as Mexican is syncretism, but it is not sinful syncretism.

The fact that baseball is just as much Japanese as American and the martial arts are now as American as Asian is syncretism, but it is not sinful syncretism. However, when vestiges of pagan religions and unbiblical beliefs and practices are mixed in and fused with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not only syncretism—it is sinful syncretism.Sinful syncretism is subtle.

It doesn’t happen overnight. Changes usually occur slowly and insidiously. Little by little the culture drifts away from God and His standards. This is exactly what happened in the 8th century B.C. when the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. The sinful syncretism that resulted is a lesson from history for growing Christians today.

Background Notes

King Hoshea was the last of the 19 kings who ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel. After assassinating King Pekah in 732BC (2 Kings 15:28), Hosea reigned from the capital city of Samaria until 722BC, when the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrian Empire. In 2 Kings 17:2 we read that King Hosea “did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.”

This does not necessarily mean that Hoshea was more righteous than the other 19 kings of the northern kingdom. It may mean that he couldn’t promote the calf worship (which was established 200 years earlier by Jeroboam I) because the calf idol had already been removed from Bethel by the Assyrians.

This had been predicted by the prophet Hosea back in the days of prosperous King Jeroboam II. (See Hosea 10:5-6.)Shalmaneser V of Assyria forced Hoshea to pay annual tribute or taxes (v3). After making a treaty with Egypt, however, Hoshea refused to pay the tribute to Assyria. This treaty failed to provide protection for Israel, and Shalmaneser invaded and besieged the heavily fortified capital for 3 years (725-722BC).

The city of Samaria finally fell to Sargon II, Shalmaneser’s successor. According to Assyrian records which were found by archaeologists, Sargon carried 27,290 Israeli captives into exile and resettled them in Assyria. They never returned from captivity.

Doctrinal Points1. Rebellion against God leads to captivity.

Verses 17-23 explain why God allowed the downfall and captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel. Instead of gettingrid of all the pagan practices that had infiltrated the land given to them by the Lord, Israel adopted the idols, the pagan rituals, and the false gods behind them. They broke all the commandments of the Mosaic covenant. They “sold themselves” to the worshipof the golden calves (v16). They becameinvolved in astrology, sorcery and other occult practices.

They even practiced the horrible pagan ritual of sacrificing their children “in the fire” to false pagan gods (v17).In His grace, God sent warnings to His people to forsake their evil ways. He allowed foreign powers to plunder and afflict them. He sent prophets to speak His message and plead with His people to repent, forsake their false gods, and turn back to Him. But they “persisted in all the sins… and did not turn away from them… so the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria”(v22-23).

Rebellion against God leads to captivity.This truth is just as true today as it was in 722BC. People think that they can gain personal fulfillment by ignoring or “reinterpreting” God’s moral standards in order to free themselves of any restraint. But ironically, the very opposite is true. Unwittingly, people who rebel against God become captives to their sin and to Satan.

Ephesians 2:1-3 makes an unbeliever’s situation very clear: unbelievers are dead in sin and captives of Satan. “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.

Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”However, even Christians who rebel against God become captives of the enemy in certain areas of their lives! Christians can gradually stray away from the Lord into sin in the areas of false doctrine, or undue emphasis on worldly security, or various types of immoral sexual practice.

It’s possible that both unbelievers and rebellious believers are in view in 2 Timothy 2:25-26, where Paul urged Timothy to instruct these people, “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Rebellion against God leads to captivity.2. Rebellion against God leads to syncretism.

Syncretism is the fusion of different forms of belief or practice. In 2 Kings 17:24-41 we read that the Assyrians not only took some of the people of Israel away to Assyria as captives, but they repopulated the land with peoples from other areas of the Assyrian Empire.Intermarriage took place, and this mixed race became known as the “Samaritans.” This was the origin of the Samaritan people, who are mentioned in the New Testament at the time of Christ and the apostles, and who are still in existence today in north central Israel.

The fusion that took place between the people of Israel and the foreign settlers was not just the physical fusion of intermarriage. A fusion of religion took place as well. The Jewish people who were left in Israel should have returned to the Lord and taught the Law of God to the new residents. Instead, they joined in the worship of the foreign gods that the new settlers brought to the land.

Because of Israel’s worship of false gods, the Lord allowed lions to come down from the hills and kill some of the new residents of Samaria. When the king of Assyria heard this, he decided to placate the “god of the land” by ordering that one of the priests who had been taken captive be sent back to teach the people what “the god of the land requires” (v27). Unfortunately this “priest” had most likely been a priest who had served at the golden calf shrine established by Jeroboam I at Bethel, and thus was neither willing nor able to teach anyone what the Law of God required.

As a result, religious syncretism took place. “They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines of the high places. They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods” (v32-33). This was a direct violation of the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Rebellion against God leads to sinful syncretism—then and today.In many countries around the world today we can find religious syncretism—a fusion of Christianity and vestiges of pagan religions.

Why? Because of rebellion against the First Commandment. Other gods were not completely removed. For example, festivals for pagan gods or seasonal revelries were “christianized” to allow “traditional” or “ethnic” sinful celebrations to continue. This is the subtle sin of syncretism at work.

Practical ApplicationWatch out for syncretism in your own life!

Syncretism has a “ripple-down” effect. What’s forbidden in one generation is tolerated by the culture in the next generation and becomes acceptable and part of the culture in the followinggeneration. The negative aspects of syncretism become less noticeable, and a practice which is not acceptable to the Lord becomes more acceptable by Christians as time goes by.Let’s take a familiar example.

What does Christmas mean to you? Is it a profusion of gifts and Christmas trees and parties and decorated homes—and also a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ? Are you practicing a form of syncretism?Let’s ask ourselves what our words and actions signal to our children and grandchildren and our unsaved friends. Are we reflecting a message of truth, or a mixed and confusing message?

Is the birth of Jesus Christ and the astounding truth of the Incarnation fused with the materialism of our culture? While gift-giving and holiday decor are not wrong in themselves, excess in these areas can drown out the message of “Immanuel,” that is “God with us.” We must be clear in our own minds so that we are able to pass on the unadulterated truth to the next generation, and give a clear witness to our friends and colleagues.

Another example of syncretism is the insidious fusion of Christianity with the “culture of success.” Satan has effectively used the “success syndrome” to undermine Christians in our country. It’s easy to rationalize our desire to be “successful.” Our culture says, “If you’re not prosperous and affluent, you’re a nobody, and who wants to listen to a nobody?” Or, “the more money you have, the more you can give to the Lord.”

And a variety of TV preachers tell us that “God wants His children to be healthy and wealthy.”However, 1 Timothy 6 teaches that “people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (v9-10). And notice that these verses don’t apply to unbelievers only! Look at the end of verse 10: “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus very pointedly taught that mixing God and materialism is impossible. “You cannot serve both God and Money.” What “god” do I serve?We need to ask ourselves—what message am I communicating to my neighbors? To my coworkers? To my family? Are the desires and goals for my life any different than an unbeliever? What are my aspirations and goals for my children?

Is my emphasis on financial security and desire for personal possessions sending a mixed message of syncretism to the next generation? How will the ripple-down effect of syncretism in my life affect the next generation?Spiritrual syncretism is insidious and disastrous. Watch out for syncretism in your own life!

Covid-19, India Blog, Ventilator

Low Cost Portable Ventilator designed and built by IIT students

Apr 7, 2020 IIT, Low Cost by Percy Parakh

IIT Rourkee students have made a low-cost Ventilator for patients suffering from the COVID-19 Virus.

The closed-loop ventilator does not require compressed air and is useful when hospital wards and open areas are converted into ICUs, a press release from the premier institute said.

It is low-cost, safe, reliable, and can be quickly manufactured. We have successfully achieved the ventilatory requirement on a test lung, and it can be used for both infants and even overweight adults

Covid-19, Songs, US Blog

Worship Song Medley of Don Moen as sung by me! Be healed in Jesus Name!!

Apr 6, 2020 Healing by Percy Parakh

These are the Worship Songs of Don Moen. (Please use Headphones if you can for better Sound Quality.) It’s a Medley of three songs:

1) Give Thanks
2) You are the God that Healeth me
3) I will Bless the Lord

I feel like the Lord impressing on me that many people are sick today with all kinds of diseases including COVID-19. I feel if they will sing with me Song #2 as best as they can and believe what they are singing about, they will be Healed in Jesus Name.

Bad Deeds, Good Deeds, India Blog, Karma

Can my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds and I make it to Heaven?

Apr 3, 2020 Heaven, hell by Percy Parakh

Some Parsi friends of mine have made up this death certifi-cate just for fun! However notice the circled part. I think they truly believe that if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds they will make it to Heaven.

So can your Good Deeds outweighing your Bad Deeds help you to make it to Heaven?

When it comes to being saved, good deeds do not matter – simply because no one is good enough. This verse tells us clearly that we are saved apart from any good deeds: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). The salvation referred to here is that of faith making us righteous. Our good deeds could never give us a righteous standing before God.

Furthermore, good deeds are useless when it comes to escaping any punishment for crimes. For instance, if you were convicted of first-degree murder, it wouldn’t matter how many good deeds you’ve done. You must be punished for murder. Similarly, we’ve broken God’s laws, so we must be punished. That’s why we believe on Jesus – because he bore the punishment in our place.

Nevertheless, good deeds enter in when it comes to growing in faith. These good deeds are of an entirely different character than the deeds before salvation. Before we confessed faith in Christ, we acted out of personal decency and when it was advantageous to us. The gospel tells us, however, that despite all our good behavior, we were bound for @#!*% . When we acknowledged that truth and turned to Christ to save us, we saw our deeds in a new light – as directed by us and not God.

Because we acknowledge that our former way of life apart from God was sinful, we turn to the Word to learn how to live in a way that pleases God. That is a new motivation that we never had before. It gives rise to its own character of good deeds.

The Bible has much to say about good deeds. First, they are deeds reflecting a believer’s response to God as a servant of God. The Lord commands, and it’s our duty to obey (Luke 17:10). In the end, when our Master returns, we must give him an account of our service. At that point our deeds will be judged as to whether they’re worthy of a reward or not. If we are judged faithful, we will be handsomely rewarded.

Second, the good deeds Christians do will prove that they are taking their salvation seriously. Christians who persist in disobedience cut themselves off from many blessings in this life, and will forfeit some everlasting rewards for the time to come.

Third, good deeds, those which we do in faith and obedience, and those directed against sin, preserves our relationship with God. They show that we are holy, that is, set apart for God’s use in this world. Other reasons for good deeds exist as well, including the fact that God works through men and women who have yielded to him. Good deeds from such are God working through them in love. Through their faithful representation, the world can see what God is like.

What Do You Think?

a. If a man is on trial for first-degree murder, why should his good deeds matter? In the same way, if God has condemned the unbeliever for his bad deeds, why should his good deeds prevail?

b. If someone hurt you badly and destroyed his relationship with you, would you feel better if that person started doing good deeds in another area of the world? Why should that restore your relationship? In the same way, why should our good deeds restore a relationship with God if we continue to have nothing to do with God?

c. What religion practices the idea of good deeds outweighing bad deeds? Why would you have confidence in the truth of that system?

Balance, Tickle Ears, US Blog

Whatever happened to balance in Preaching God’s Word?

Mar 23, 2020 Negative, Positive by Percy Parakh

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Notice that Teaching and Training are POSITIVE and Rebuking and Correcting are NEGATIVE. The WORD itself is BALANCED. Two Negatives and Two Positives.

Read some sermons from CHARLES SPURGEON or MARTIN LLOYD JONES. When I read their sermons, I was surprised at their Strictness or Sternness. They never tickled people’s ears.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (KJV)
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV)
2 PREACH the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

Hindu, India Blog

Why should a Hindu consider becoming a Christian?

Mar 23, 2020 Christian by Percy Parakh

As a Hindu, you have great rever-ence for your sacred scriptures. You believe in one Supreme Being, worlds beyond this world, and the cycle of life that includes reincarnation. You accept belief in karma and respect for other faiths. As a Hindu, it is likely important to you to learn more about the worlds beyond this world and to better understand what takes place the moment after your life ends in this existence.

For example, will you reincarnate into another life form, will your spirit simply cease to exist, or does heaven or hell await? This important question is worthy of attention, as the consequences affect this life and could be eternal. It would be unwise to say such a discussion is unworthy or unimportant.

Where can we find answers about life after this existence? Hindu scriptures from the Vedas offer some assistance to Hindus. Yet the Christian faith offers a more comprehensive understanding from the Bible, a book revealed by the Creator God. Let us consider its teachings for a moment on the question of what happens after we die.

The Bible teaches: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

On what basis does this judgment take place? While many religions teach that a person must follow certain rules or rituals to achieve God’s favor, the Bible is clear that no person can live up to God’s standards to win His favor. Every person has sinned or done wrong things and is therefore imperfect and separated from God. Romans 3:23 notes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory [or perfection] of God.” Our sins make us deserving of eternal separation from God: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Did you catch that last part of the verse? Our sins deserve death, but God offers us a free gift! What is this free gift of God? It is eternal life. God offers a perfect eternity with Him after this life, but it is not automatic. To receive God’s gift of eternal life, we must believe in God’s Son Jesus Christ. John 3:16 teaches, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus, God incarnate, was sinless and He died as a sacrifice for our sins. He then rose again from the dead, proving He is God and conquering the power of sin and death. Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

How can you believe in Jesus and receive this eternal life? It is not contingent on any of your works; receiving Jesus as Savior is by faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” God’s grace, or undeserved favor, changes our lives. When we believe in Jesus, not only are we welcomed into Heaven when we die, we experience meaning and purpose in life on earth. And all of this is a free gift, based on the work of Jesus and not on our works!

Are you willing to place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and receive this free gift of eternal life? You can do so right now. There is no special prayer or formula to follow. Remember Romans 10:9? All that is required is that “you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, [and] you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). If you believe in Jesus, you can confess this to Him through prayer. The following is a sample of how you might pray to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior:

“Dear God, I realize I am a sinner and could never reach heaven by my own good deeds. Right now I place my faith in Jesus Christ as God’s Son who died in my place and rose from the dead to give me eternal life. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to live for you. Thank you for accepting me and giving me eternal life.”

Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have read here? If so, please click on the “I have accepted Christ today” button below.

What do Hindus believe? What is Hinduism?

Does the Bible say anything about karma?

Is reincarnation biblical?

Why won’t being a good person get me to heaven?

Is it true that Jesus is the only way to heaven?

High School, India Blog

My Picture in Seventh Grade at St. Xavier’s High School in Mumbai (Bombay)

Mar 20, 2020 St Xaviers by Percy Parakh

This is my picture from Seventh Grade in St. Xavier’s High School in Bombay. Can you tell where I am in that Picture? Wow isn’t God totally awesome!!

The Video below is surreal, and gives me goosebumps. I was 11 years old then and did not know Jesus. But he still had his hand on me even then! Jesus saves to the Uttermost!This brings tears to my eyes!! “Oh what a Saviour!”

Please watch this video below:
150 Year Celebration of St. Xavier’s High School

Penance, Repentance, US Blog

The Difference between Repentance and Penance!! Please don’t confuse the two

Mar 20, 2020 Catholicism by Percy Parakh

Some-times folks confuse Repent-ance with Penance

PENANCE and REPENTANCE

Question: What is the difference between penance and repentance?

Answer: The Lord Jesus summarized the Christian message in the following words:Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:46,47).

The Gospel is the glad tidings of salvation to all people everywhere. Forgiveness and peace with God are offered to “all nations”. To show His readiness to forgive the vilest sinners, the apostles were commanded to begin their mission in Jerusalem, the dwelling place of His murderers!Sin can only be forgiven “in His name.”

There is no other fount where sinners can go to for cleansing. As prophesied in Scripture, it was necessary for Christ to suffer and die on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. The resurrection is the Father’s seal of approval on His Son’s redemptive work. Christians are forgiven in His name and they have no other message to a lost world but the promise of forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

REPENTANCE

Repentance and remission go together. As long as the sinner remains obstinate and without remorse, God will not forgive. Only when the sinner confesses his sin and turns to God, is he pardoned and reconciled.

Repentance is an inner change; the word actually means a change of mind. Yet this inner conversion shows itself outwardly. Genuine sorrow for offending God is often expressed in prayer and fasting. Life is transformed. The selfish becomes generous and kind; the dishonest becomes just and true in his dealings with others.

These are the “fruits of repentance” that John the Baptist spoke about (Luke 3:7-14) – the result and proof of true conversion.The good works that result from repentance are not reckoned as a punishment or a payment of the legal debt owned to God’s justice. God forgives gratuitously, freely; God forgives on account of Christ’s sacrifice.

Remission is in the name of Christ and not on account of anything we do. Our tears do not appease God’s wrath but only the blood of Jesus. The repentant does not live a good life to merit forgiveness; he lives a clean and godly life because he is forever grateful to God’s forgiving grace!

PENANCE

Sadly Catholic tradition distorts the biblical concept of repentance. Repentance is substituted by “doing penance” – a punishment inflicted on oneself to atone (make satisfaction) for sin.To be fair, Catholicism also speaks of penance as an inner attitude – “that disposition of the heart in which we detest and bewail our sins because they were offensive to God.”

We readily concur that genuine repentance is expressed by sorrow, and such acts as prayer and fasting, and that repentance results in “fruit” – good works that grow out of a changed mind.

The big problem with the Catholic doctrine is the intended purpose of such acts: penance is performed to make satisfaction for sin, as can be verified from the following citations from official Catholic sources:”Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must ‘make satisfaction’ for or ‘expiate’ his sins.

This satisfaction is called ‘penance.'” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1459).Penance “is meant not merely as a safeguard for the new life and as a remedy to weakness, but also as a vindicatory punishment for former sins” (Council of Trent, 14:8).”

Satisfaction or penance is that prayer or other good work which the confessor enjoins on the penitent in expiation of his sins” (Catechism of Pius X, Sacrament of Penance).Accordingly, even though a person is genuinely contrite and having confessed his sins, he is still required to atone for sin by performing various works of penance in this world and by suffering in purgatory after death. He is not fit to enter heaven until he has made complete satisfaction.

PRACTICAL EFFECTS

The practical effects of the doctrine of penance are most disturbing and hurtful to the Christian religion:

Faith – the Christian’s absolute confidence in the goodness of God and the sufficiency of Christ’s blood to cleanse from sin – is substituted by personal efforts and suffering.

Love – the Christian’s obedience to the commandments in response to the love of God, such as helping the poor – is mutated into a punishment! (Almsgiving is a principal form of penance).

Hope – the Christian’s joyful expectation to be in the presence of his Saviour – is changed into fear and dread in anticipation of the torments of purgatory.Back to the Bible! May every one of us truly repents – detesting sin and turning to God, fully confident in his mercy and kindness. Let us trust completely in Christ whose blood cleanses from all sin.

Let us love and do good works for no other purpose but to show our gratitude to God’s goodness. Let us hope to the end for the grace – God’s unmerited favour, our salvation – that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah, India Blog

I Raise a Hallelujah, my weapon is a Melody! Sung in Hindi!!

Mar 20, 2020 Melody, Sing, Weapon by Percy Parakh

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

I raise a hallelujah, with everything inside of me
I raise a hallelujah, I will watch the darkness flee
I raise a hallelujah, in the middle of the mystery
I raise a hallelujah, fear you lost your hold on me!

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

Sing a little louder (Sing a little louder)
Sing a little louder (Sing a little louder)
Sing a little louder (Sing a little louder)
Let’s sing a little louder (Let’s sing a little louder)
Sing a little louder (In the presence of my enemies)
Sing a little louder (Louder than the unbelief)
Sing a little louder (My weapon is a melody)
Sing a little louder (Heaven comes to fight for me)
Sing a little louder (In the presence of my enemies)
Sing a little louder (Louder than the unbelief)
Sing a little louder (My weapon is a melody)
Let’s sing a little louder (Heaven comes to fight for me)
Sing a little louder!!

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!
Oh, I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah!

Just begin to raise your own hallelujah
I can’t do it for you
There’s a song written on your heart only you can sing
And when you sing enemies flee
When you sing prison walls come falling down
When you sing heaven invades the earth
So just begin to lift up your hallelujah
Raise it like a banner
Raise it like a flag
Raise it in the middle of the storm
Let it rise, let it rise
Like a symphony to the King
Everything to You, Jesus
We raise it all
Sing a little louder!

I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah
I raise a hallelujah (In the presence of my enemies)
I raise a hallelujah (Louder than the unbelief)
I raise a hallelujah (My weapon is a melody)
I raise a hallelujah (Heaven comes to fight for me)

I Raise a Hallelujah My Weapon is a Melody (English)

India Blog, Past Lives

If Reincarnation is not true, why do some people remember their past lives?

Mar 18, 2020 reincarnation by Percy Parakh

Question: “If reincar-nation is not true, why do some people re-member their past lives?”

Answer: While the Bible never addresses reincarnation specifically, it is clear that the biblical model of life, death, and afterlife is incompatible with any form of reincarnation as posited in religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and certain New Age or Neo-Pagan belief systems.

In Hebrews 9:27-28, we are told that “just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” This passage alone appears to eliminate the possibility of remembering past lives/reincarnation.

Along the same lines, in Luke 23:43 Jesus tells the thief on the cross that he will be with Christ in paradise that very day, which assumes that the man will not be reincarnated back into earthly life. Similarly, passages such as James 4:14, which discuss the temporal nature of human life, are inconsistent with a reincarnationist idea of living earthly lives over and over for centuries, millennia, or all eternity.

On top of all this, if human souls were reincarnated over and over, then how could some people in the Bible see the spirits of long-dead people, like Moses being seen by the apostles in Matthew 17:3 during the transfiguration of Christ?

But what are we to do with those who claim they have memories of their past lives/reincarnation experience? The first and perhaps most important question we should ask is whether or not these “memories” are genuine. Human memory is notoriously unreliable (just ask any lawyer or detective), and people frequently misremember things, believing they remember things that never actually happened or not remembering things that did happen.

In the case of those claiming to remember their past lives, one can easily imagine them mis-remembering images from TV shows or movies, mental fantasies from books they read years earlier, or mistaking dreams for genuine memories. How can we know with any certainty that their past-life memories are not one of these things?

Is it really more logical to assume that their memories are genuinely from past lives rather than one of these other things? While some modern “past-life experts” claim to find evidence for reincarnation by connecting things like phobias and physical ailments in currently living people with traumatic events in past lives, the past-life “experts” are assuming the existence of a past-life (or past-lives) in explaining current health problems, not showing that those past lives actually happened.

The fact of the matter is that there is simply no solid, scientifically acceptable evidence that the memories of past lives claimed by some people are genuine, rather than mis-remembered events or simply make-believe.

Ultimately, the question comes down to whether we will find truth in the unreliable minds and memories of fallen and fallible human beings or from the timeless, holy Word of God. Christians can confidently assert that reincarnation is not a possibility for the human soul; when this life ends, our eternity in the afterlife begins.

Remembering Past Lives

Arrogance, Christianity, India Blog

Is Jesus the Only way? Isn’t this the height of arrogance?

Mar 16, 2020 Only Way by Percy Parakh

AREN’T ALL RELIGIONS EQUALLY VALID?

One of the most common accusations flung at Christians is that they are arrogant. “How can you believe that you’re right and Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims—all the thousands of other religions—are wrong?” Isn’t it the height of arrogance to claim that Jesus is the way to God? A way, possibly. But the way?

This issue haunts many Christians and makes us reluctant to talk about our faith. We don’t want to appear arrogant, bigoted, or intolerant. This pluralistic view of religions thrives very easily in places like Canada or Europe where tolerance is valued above everything else. It’s very easy slip from the true claim—”all people have equal value”—to the false claim that “all ideas have equal merit.” But those are two very different ideas indeed.

Let’s take a brief look at the “all religions are essentially the same” idea. Suppose I say that I’ve just got into literature in a big way. This last year, I’ve read William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf and Tolkien, but also Harry Potter and The Very Hungry Caterpillar—and I’ve concluded that every author is identical.

Would you conclude that: (a) this is the most profound statement on literature you’ve ever heard? Or would you conclude (b) that I don’t have the first clue what I’m talking about? I suggest that you’d probably choose (b). Now, what about the statement “all religions are the same”? Doesn’t it likewise suggest that the person making it hasn’t actually looked into any of them?

Because once you do, you realize it’s not that most religions are fundamentally the same with superficial differences but the reverse is the case: most religions have superficial similarities with fundamental differences.

A further problem with the idea that all religions are essentially the same is that it ignores a fundamental truth about reality: ideas have consequences. What you believe matters, because it will effect what you do.

To claim that all religions are essentially the same is to say that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere—and this neglects the fact that you can believe something sincerely and be sincerely wrong. Hitler held his beliefs with sincerity—that doesn’t make them true.

However, truth, by its very nature, is exclusive. If it is true, as Christianity claims, that Jesus was crucified, died, and rose from the dead, then it is not true, as Islam claims, that Jesus never died in the first place and that somebody else was killed in His place. Both claims cannot be true. Truth is exclusive.

But just because truth is exclusive, that doesn’t make truth cold and uncaring. Truth for the Christian is personal. The Jesus who said “I am the only way” also said “I am the truth.” In other words, ultimate truth is not a set of propositions but a person. As the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:12, “I know whom I have believed.” Not what I have believed or experienced but whom. Jesus Christ.

To ask why we think that Jesus Christ is the only way is to miss the point entirely. Jesus does not compete with anybody. Nobody else in history made the claims He did; nobody else in history claimed to be able to deal with the problems of the human heart like He did. Nobody else in history claimed, as He did, to be God with us. To say that we believe Jesus is the only way should have nothing to do with arrogance and everything to do with introducing people to Him.

—Andy Bannister
(Andy is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Toronto, Canada.)

India Blog, Re-incarnation

What does the Bible say about Re-incarnation?

Mar 15, 2020 Transmigration by Percy Parakh

Question: “What does the Bible say about reincarnation?”

Answer: The concept of reincarnation is completely without foundation in the Bible, which clearly tells us that we die once and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible never mentions people having a second chance at life or coming back as different people or animals.

Jesus told the criminal on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), not “You will have another chance to live a life on this earth.” Matthew 25:46 specifically tells us that believers go on to eternal life while unbelievers go onto eternal punishment. Reincarnation has been a popular belief for thousands of years, but it has never been accepted by Christians or followers of Judaism because it is contradictory to Scripture.

The one passage that some point to as evidence for reincarnation is Matthew 17:10-12 which links John the Baptist with Elijah. However, the passage does not say that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated but that he would have fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah’s coming if the people had believed his words and thereby believed in Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 17:12). The people specifically asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah, and he said, “No, I am not” (John 1:21).

Belief in reincarnation is an ancient phenomenon and is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religious traditions, such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Many modern pagans also believe in reincarnation as do some New Age movements, along with followers of spiritism. For the Christian, however, there can be no doubt: reincarnation is unbiblical and must be rejected as false.

What does the Bible say about Re-incarnation?

What does the Bible say about Transmigration of Souls?

https://www.gotquestions.org/past-lives-reincarnation.html

India Blog, Karma

What does the Bible say about Karma?

Mar 14, 2020 Heaven, hell by Percy Parakh

Question: “What does the Bible say about karma?”

Answer: Karma is a theological concept found in the Buddhist and Hindu religions. It is the idea that how you live your life will determine the quality of life you will have after reincarnation. If you are unselfish, kind, and holy during this lifetime, you will be rewarded by being reincarnated (reborn into a new earthly body) into a pleasant life.

However, if you live a life of selfishness and evil, you will be reincarnated into a less-than-pleasant lifestyle. In other words, you reap in the next life what you sow in this one. Karma is based on the theological belief in reincarnation. The Bible rejects the idea of reincarnation; therefore, it does not support the idea of karma.

Hebrews 9:27 states, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” This Bible verse makes clear two important points which, for Christians, negate the possibility of reincarnation and karma. First, it states that we are “destined to die once,” meaning that humans are only born once and only die once.

There is no endless cycle of life and death and rebirth, an idea inherent in the reincarnation theory. Second, it states that after death we face judgment, meaning that there is no second chance, like there is in reincarnation and karma, to live a better life. You get one shot at life and living it according to God’s plan, and that is it.

The Bible talks a lot about reaping and sowing. Job 4:8 says, “As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.” Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” Luke 12:24 says, “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

In each of these instances, as well as all the other references to reaping and sowing, the act of receiving the rewards of your actions takes place in this life, not in some future life. It is a present-day activity, and the references make it clear that the fruit you reap will be commensurate with the actions you have performed. In addition, the sowing you perform in this life will affect your reward or punishment in the afterlife.

This afterlife is not a rebirth or a reincarnation into another body here on earth. It is either eternal suffering in hell (Matthew 25:46) or eternal life in heaven with Jesus, who died so that we might live eternally with Him. This should be the focus of our life on earth. The apostle Paul wrote in

Galatians 6:8-9, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Finally, we must always remember that it was Jesus whose death on the cross resulted in the reaping of eternal life for us, and that it is faith in Jesus that gives us this eternal life. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Therefore, we see that the concept of reincarnation and karma is incompatible with what the Bible teaches about life, death, and the sowing and reaping of eternal life.

What does the Bible say about Karma?

What does the Bible say about Re-incarnation?

What is Transmigration Of Souls?

Men, One Thing, US Blog

Every Man a Warrior – Finding the One Thing found in Math 22:34-38 – Lesson Two

Mar 10, 2020 Quiet Time by Percy Parakh

Do you know the “One Thing“? There is one thing in life that is above all others and gives purpose and meaning even when life is horrible, as it sometimes is.

God designed you for this one purpose, and without it life is meaningless. How important is it to know that your life will count for something significant?

This lesson could radically change your life forever. The first building block of Discipleship is the “One Thing“, and is found in the story of Matthew 22;34

Please press the [ ] Full Screen Button on the lower right bottom of the screen after you press play. If you are using your cell phone to watch this, press the [ ] Full Screen Button and Rotate the phone, to watch in Landscape Mode on your cell phone.

Family, Men, US Blog

Every Man a Warrior – Helping Men Succeed in Life -Lesson One

Mar 9, 2020 Integrity, moral purity by Percy Parakh

Men deal with issues every day that test their core values, integrity and spiritual manhood. Issues like financial management, suffering, sex, moral purity, work and making one’s life count is the stuff that shapes a man’s character.

Every Man a Warrior hits these gut issues head on with no sugar coating. Every Man a Warrior is a tool that gives men what they need to spiritually grow and become the husband, father and man that God intended them to be.

India Blog, Women Pilots

India has more Women Pilots than any other Country in the World!

Mar 5, 2020 Women by Percy Parakh

The total number of Indian women pilots for airlines is almost equal to 13% of the total female airline pilots in the world. India has 1092 women pilots, including 385 women captains for commercial airlines, as of the year 2018.

The biggest US airlines, including United Airlines with 7.5% female pilots and Delta Airlines with even lower 4.4% female pilots, lag behind the national carrier of India, of which women pilots form 12.4% of its total pilots.

Christianity, US Blog

What does it mean when the Bible says that You must be Born Again?

Mar 4, 2020 Born Again by Percy Parakh

John 3:1-21 New Living Translation (NLT)

3 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ²After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,^[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.^[b] ⁶Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.^[c] ⁷So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You^[d] must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹²But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man^[e] has come down from heaven. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.^[f]

¹⁶“For this is how God loved the world: He gave^[g] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.^[h]”