Hell, US Blog, Worms

Worms from Hell – “Where their Worm dieth not…

Mar 6, 2023 hell by Percy Parakh

The Worms from Hell

Article#: 1330

These are the very last days, the last lap of the race, and this final stretch will be the toughest. But the redeemed can take great confidence in the promises of God, for His promises never fail.
I Corinthians 10:13:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Hebrews 13:5 speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Strengthening one’s faith is the business of all God’s saints. It is time to redouble our efforts. It is time to press in with our might.

Luke 13:23-24

²³Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Building faith is the business of the saints.

Romans 10:17 declares the formula for building faith:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Immerse yourself in the Word of God. Jesus said in Luke 16:16:

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

Soon, Jesus Christ will return in the clouds to receive the born-again unto Himself. Will you be one of those He is looking for? Are you born-again, born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God? Terrible, terrible times are approaching and Jesus Christ is the only way of escape. John 3:3:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Are you ready to escape the wrath of God? Do you want all your sin and shame erased as though you never were guilty? Do you want the power to live a most beautiful life filled with promise and eternal purpose?

GodSaidManSaid has good news for you. Today is your day of salvation. Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. Don’t procrastinate. Your window of opportunity is closing. Do it now. We’ll wait for you here. Now for today’s subject.

GOD SAID, Isaiah 14:9-15:

9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

GOD SAID, Mark 9:42-48:

42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

MAN SAID: The Bible is not to be taken as the literal, inerrant truth. It was written by mere men thousands of years ago and it is laden with gross exaggerations, folklore, and fairytales.

Now THE RECORD. The absolute inerrancy of the Word of God is breathtaking. To those of childlike faith, the Bible is the very wellspring of life. Consider that the declarations in the Word of God that skeptics dub as foolish impossibilities have been, and are continually being, certified as the gospel truth. What carnal men call foolish impossibilities, such as a 6,000 year-old earth created by God; one mother and father of all; mankind being made out of dirt; the woman formed from man’s rib; all of the earth being once vegetarian; Noah’s Ark; all of the earth once speaking one common language; Sodom and Gomorrah; Joseph, the Grand-Vizier of Egypt; Moses and the plagues of Egypt; David slaying Goliath; Jonah and the whale; the animalization of Nebuchadnezzar; and so on are all certified by archaeology, paleontology, microbiology, history, and other sciences as true!

Welcome to GodSaidManSaid. This is feature article #591 that once again proves the full inerrancy of Holy Writ. All of these features are archived on GodSaidManSaid in text and streaming audio for the edification of the saints and as ammunition in the battle for the souls of men. Every Thursday evening, God willing, they grow by one. Thank you for visiting us today.

Thousands of years before man’s vaunted science begins to discover the truth of a particular issue, he finds that God’s Word is already there — knowledge that only the Creator could know. The Bible speaks of Hell’ fire, a place of tormenting heat that sits in the bowels of the earth. This is a place that was created for Satan and his angels and for all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour of their souls. At the very end of all time, Hell is cast into a place called the “Lake of Fire.” Revelation 20:10:

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Revelation 20:11-15:

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Jesus called this place outer darkness. Matthew 25:30:

And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Now, concerning Hell and the lake of fire, the Bible speaks of worms that exist in this most uninhabitable place of infernal heat, brimstone, and finally, utter darkness. As a side note to this feature is the Bible’s noting of brimstone. Brimstone is sulfur, and when sulfur is burned, it produces suffocating odor. Science now understands that brimstone is an important ingredient in sustaining the worms from Hell.

Following, you will find excerpts from various sources that once again certify the veracity of the Word of God.

Source: thefeaturecreature.com:

The Pompeii Worm (

) is a deep sea creature reaching lengths of up to 5 inches with red tentacle-like gills on their heads that can withstand temperatures that rival those in Hell. The worms live in tubes near black smokers, or hydrothermal vents, one of the most inhospitable environments on our planet. Their tail end rests near the source of the heat which gets up to 176° F (80° C) while their head pokes out into cooler, almost room- temperature water of 72° F (22° C).

water bears that have previously been featured

Source: Popular Science:

The giant tube worm is one of the most conspicuous members of a diverse community that forms around hydrothermal vents. Scientists once thought that no living thing could survive the harsh combination of toxic chemicals, high temperatures, high pressures, and total darkness at these vents. But, in 1977, researchers diving in Alvin discovered tube worms and other bizarre organisms thriving at a vent off of the Galapagos Islands. Similar communities have since been found at several hundred hot spots across the world. These creatures are like nothing else on earth.

Source: Mother Nature Network, June 3, 2011, under the heading, “Worms from Hell unearthed that were 8 feet long:”

A complex life form has been found living 1 mile below the Earth’s surface, according to a study published in the journal

, proving life can thrive in a place where only bacteria were thought to exist. Nicknamed “worms from hell,” the newly discovered nematodes were found living in several South African gold mines, shattering scientific assumptions about the conditions needed for multicellular life. To find animals with nervous, digestive, and reproductive systems so deep underground is like finding “Moby Dick in Lake Ontario,” study co-author Tullis Onstott of Princeton University tells

. “This is telling us something brand new,” he says. “For a relatively complex creature like a nematode to penetrate that deeply is simply remarkable.”

. But the duo ended up finding the elusive nematodes, formally named

, living in extremely hot water fed by subterranean rock fissures and pools — essentially “uncovering a new realm of biology on Earth,”

reports.

Source: LiveScience.com, June 1, 2011, under the title, “Worms from Hell? Deepest multicellular life:”

How low can worms go? According to a new study, at least 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers) below the Earth’s surface. That’s the depth at which scientists discovered a new species of worm, dubbed

in honor of Faust’s demon Mephistopheles (a nickname for the devil). The worm, reported this week in the journal

, is the deepest living multicellular organism ever found.

didn’t go for that.”

Source: Venitism Blog, August 14, 2011, under the title “Unearthing worms from hell:”

After digging holes in the Earth’s crust for nearly two decades, Princeton University geoscientist Tullis Onstott is now making headlines for unearthing worms from hell.

Source: Discover magazine, July/August 2012. Geologist and biologist Tullis Onstott interviewed by Discover:

Interviewer: Then you found still more perplexing discoveries in other South African mines — for instance, microbes similar to those previously seen only at the bottom of the ocean.

Interviewer: That’s amazing, since we usually think of radioactivity as deadly — but these organisms were actually living on radiation?

Interviewer: And does that microbe interact with other species down deep?

is entirely self-sufficient. It has its energy source, radiation. It contains everything it needs to exist, and it requires nothing from another organism. The fact that we’ve found it almost by itself tells us that it’s a one-species ecosystem. Such things aren’t supposed to exist. We thought all organisms depended on others, but this one doesn’t. We’ve found a whole new way to live.

Jesus said, Mark 9:44:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

God said worms and brimstone. Man said it’s impossible — at least until now.

God’s Word is true and righteous altogether. Surely a place to build a life.

GOD SAID, Isaiah 14:9-15:

GOD SAID, Mark 9:43-44:

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Call, Important Role, US Blog

All Important Role – God’s Call and Its Responsibilities

Feb 28, 2023 Responsibilities by Percy Parakh

1 Peter 2:1-12 NIV

2 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house^[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”^[b]

⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”^[c]

⁸and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”^[d]

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹²Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Hurt people, US Blog

Why Hurt People Hurt People?

Feb 28, 2023 Pain by Percy Parakh

Why hurt people hurt people?

1. Hurt people often transfer their inner anger onto their family and close friends Often those around them become the recipients of harsh tones and fits of rage because they have unknowingly become the vicarious recipients of transferred rage.

2. Hurt people interpret every word spoken to them through the prism of their pain. Because of their pain, ordinary words are often misinterpreted to mean something negative towards them. Because of this, they are extremely sensitive and act out of pain instead of reality.

3. Hurt people interpret every action through the prism of their pain. Their emotional pain causes them to suspect wrong motives or evil intent behind other people’s actions towards them.

4. Hurt people often portray themselves as victims and carry a “victim spirit” Often hurt people can cry “racism,” “sexism” and “homophobia,” or they often use the words “unjust” or “unfair” to describe the way they are being treated, even if there is no truth to this. (That is not to say that sometimes there really is racism or sexism in some instances; this is just used as an example.) Hurt people have a hard time entering into a trusting relationship. Hurt people often carry around a suspicious spirit.

5. Hurt people often alienate others and wonder why no one is there for them They often continually hurt the ones they love and need the most with their self-destructive behavior.

6. Hurt people have the emotional maturity of the age they received their (un-dealt with) hurt. For example, if a girl was raped by a man when she was 12 years old, unless she forgives that man and allows Christ to heal her heart and allay her fears, in that particular area of her life (sexuality with a man) her emotional growth will stop; even when she reaches her later years she may still have the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old.

7. Hurt people are often frustrated and depressed because past pain continually spills over into their present consciousness. In many instances, they may not even be aware of why they are continually frustrated or depressed because they have coped with pain by compartmentalizing it or layering it over with other things over time.

8. Hurt people often erupt with inappropriate emotion because particular words, actions or circumstances “touch” and “trigger” past woundedness. I have been in situations with people in which there was a gross overreaction to a word I spoke or an action that was taken. Although I was shocked and thought this reaction came “out of left field” it was really the person responding to an accumulation of years of hurt and pain that could not help but spill over in various situations. I myself have been in situations where I felt hurt, troubled or overreacted to something because it touched a nerve with what I was still dealing with due to a wound I received in the past. In these situations I have attempted to reason through the situation as objectively as I can with much prayer and introspection so I would not say or do anything damaging to another person or myself.

9. Hurt people often occupy themselves with busyness, work, performance and/or accomplishments as a way of compensating for low self-esteem. Often ministers are not motivated by a love for Jesus but a drive to accomplish. It is important that pastors and ministers be led by the Spirit instead of being driven to succeed.A minister should not preoccupy himself with making things happen. He or she should walk in integrity and humility and allow God to open up doors and provide a ministerial platform according to their assignment for their life and ministry.

10. Hurt people often attempt to medicate themselves with excessive entertainment, drugs, alcohol, pornography, sexual relationships or hobbies as a way to forget their pain and run from reality. Until the church learns to deal with and emphasize the emotional life and health of the believer, the church will be filled with “half-Christians” who pray and read the Bible but find no victory because they do not face the woundedness in their soul

Enemy, US Blog

I was looking for the Enemy, but the enemy in Inna Me!

Feb 28, 2023 Inna me by Percy Parakh

I was looking for the Enemy, but the enemy is Inna Me!! (Please read this!!)
Galatians 5:16-24 New International Version (NIV)

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Poor, Rich, US Blog

The Rich and the Poor – God’s Call and it’s Responsibilities

Feb 22, 2023 Responsibilities by Percy Parakh

James 2:1-12 NIV

Favoritism Forbidden

2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. ³If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

⁸If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^[a] you are doing right. ⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”^[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”^[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,

The Rich and the Poor (NOTES)

Hebrews 13:2 New International Version

2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Matthew 25:40 New International Version

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

James 1:1 New International Version

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

James 2:1 New International Version

Favoritism Forbidden

1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.

Matthew 22:39 New International Version

39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[a]

Obstacles, US Blog

The Obstacles to Maturity

Feb 21, 2023 Maturity by Percy Parakh

The Obstacles to Maturity

“Therefore, laying aside all malice all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as new born babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:1-3.

1st Obstacle: Unwillingness to take up the cross: Matthew 16: 21-27.

Peter was refusing to take up the cross when he said to the Lord, “far it (the crucifixion) be from you, Lord; this shall not happen to you!” (16:22). The unredeemed mind is not accepting the things of God from His point of view. The unregenerate or fleshly mind is at enmity with God and so cannot comprehend His plans: Romans 8:6-8.

Peter was thinking as a man and letting Satan influence him. Peter needs to learn to die to himself, his own wishes, preferences & opinions. And let Christ rule totally without contradiction and without opposition.

Bearing the cross means, when your self-will and your confident attitude cross the will of God and you humbly choose to follow God’s will, you have taken up the cross.

How many believers and Christians are willing to take up the cross? Many want to enjoy the entertainment in the church and get benefits of being in the church community but not willing to die to self-will nor humble themselves.

So many fights and divisions happening in the churches are due to not willing to take up the cross. As long as you are not willing to take up the cross, you will never grow to spiritual maturity.

It is not how much Bible you know or how many theology degrees or how many titles or positions you hold that matters to God but whether you are willing to deny self and surrender wholly to follow His perfect Will at any cost! Be challenged!LikeCommentShare

Encouragement, Trust, US Blog

Trust and Encouragement – God’s Call and its Responsibilities

Feb 14, 2023 Responsibilities by Percy Parakh

2 Timothy 1:3-14 NIV

Thanksgiving

³I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

⁸So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

⁹He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

¹⁰but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

¹¹And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

¹³What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Trust and Encouragement (NOTES)

Matthew 10:8 New International Version

8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 New International Version

6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 1:9 New International Version

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 New International Version

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[a]

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[b]

2 Corinthians 11:16-33 New International Version

Paul Boasts About His Sufferings

16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!

Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

Acts 28:16-31 New International Version

16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Paul Preaches at Rome Under Guard

17 Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19 The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. 20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

21 They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

26 “‘Go to this people and say,

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

27 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]

28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” [29] [b]

30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

James 2:17 New International Version

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Matthew 25:14-30 King James Version

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Desperate, US Blog

Are we desperate enough for Revival?

Feb 14, 2023 Revival by Percy Parakh

I am hearing of this Spirit-led movement on the campus of Asbury University, also known as Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

No human leader. Spontaneous hunger! Chapel service on Wednesday has not ended. Students are staying all night. No bells and whistles. So refreshing! Here is a report: God is moving at Asbury – in 1970 a 10 day revival broke out at Asbury.

Currently they are on day 3 no plan of stopping. It is now spreading to other universities. Busses are coming!! Never planned all spontaneous Holy Spirit driven. People prostrate, shoes and socks off as the tangible presence of God is among them.

My question….do we hunger for God? What are the conditions to revival? Would we sense this outpouring? We need to become desperate for God. It’s clear we are but we each have to know it. That thought alone should drive us to the ground. Come Holy Spirit Come!!!!

One Step, US Blog

The One Step We Miss – Ron Hutchcraft

Feb 14, 2023 Miss by Percy Parakh

The One Step We Miss

It all started with an S.O.S. from a counselor at a conference where I was speaking. I’d just extended an invitation for young men and women who wanted to make a commitment to following Christ. There were many young people in the counseling room after that, and a counselor came back and said, “You’ve got to talk to Kelly. She’s really hard.”

Well, I went back and sat down with her, and she seemed to really shut down. After some small talk to try to break the ice, I said, “Kelly, why are you here in the counseling room?” She said, “I want to know Christ.” I said, “Well, that’s great. Why?” She said, “Because part of me is missing.”

I showed her some Scripture that showed her that it was Christ who was missing from her life. And I said, “It sounds to me like you’re ready to open your life to Jesus.” And then her face turned very, very unexpressive and she said, “If you only knew how many times I’ve come and prayed and accepted Christ and nothing has ever happened.”

I was stuck for a moment. What do I do, just have her go through it again? It was like always meaningless and it didn’t work. I said, “Lord, if there’s something You know and I don’t, would you tell me what it is?” And then He gave me one question for Kelly, and it made all the difference. It might change everything for you.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The One Step We Miss.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 7:10. It identifies for us the step we so often miss. “Godly sorrow,” it says, “brings repentance that leads to salvation.” Now, in that conversation with Kelly, the question I asked her that broke the log jam was this: I said, “Kelly, all those times you’ve made a commitment to follow Christ, did you ever tell the Lord you’re really sorry for your sins, you’re sad about your sins, and you’re ready to change?” She said, “No.” Oh, Kelly had said yes to Christ a number of times, but she missed the other step – saying “no” to sin.

I explained to her, “You can’t hold Jesus in one hand and junk in the other – that junk is what He died for; that’s the junk that killed Him.” When you start to name the sins of your life and you start to confess them to the Lord, you finally realize what it is you need a Savior from. And then you go to that cross to be saved from that sin; from your sin.

Repentance is so often the missing page in our Gospel. In God’s Word it says you have to have Godly sorrow that leads to repentance that leads to salvation. There’s no real conversion until you repent. Jesus told His disciples to “preach repentance and faith.” There’s no real power in your life if you keep sinning; until you let your heart be broken over your sin because of what it did to Jesus; what it took for Him to pay for it on the cross.

When I told her the step she’d missed, tears came to her eyes. She said, “I’m so sick of the junk! I want to get away from it.” Then confession began, and saving faith reborn.

Could it be that the reality you’ve been looking for begins with you being sorry for the sins that have broken God’s heart and drove His Son to the cross? Maybe this could be the day that it really comes together for you.

If you say to Jesus, “You know, Lord, you were supposed to run my life. I hijacked it. I’ve been running it, and I know now I have broken your heart. It cost you your life to pay for that rebellion against you. And I turn from the running of my own life. And Jesus, I am now pinning all my hopes on what you did on the cross. When you died on that cross it was my sin you were dying for. Jesus, right here, right now, I’m Yours.”

See. repentance isn’t some good work you do to get Jesus. No, it’s simply realizing that when you turn to Him, you’re turning your back on the sin He died for.

You want to make sure you belong to Him? That’s what our website is for. Please go there – ANewStory.com.

Repentance. Could that be one step you’ve missed?

Foolishness, US Blog, Wisdom

Wisdom and Foolishness – God’s Promises

Feb 7, 2023 Promises by Percy Parakh

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 NIV

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”^[a]

²⁰Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

²²Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,

²⁹so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[b]

Wisdom and Foolishness (NOTES)

1 Corinthians 1:18-3:4 New International Version

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[a]

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[c] 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”[d]—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[e] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?”[f]

But we have the mind of Christ.

The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

Isaiah 55:8-9 New International Version

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Men's Work, US Blog

Men’s Work – Women’s Work

Feb 7, 2023 by Percy Parakh

Men’s Work – Women’s Work

At our house as the kids were growing up, you didn’t have to wait for the Fourth of July to have fireworks. No. All you had to have was one of those days when one of my sons declined an assignment with these wonderful words, “Nah, that’s women’s work!” Oh, no! No, don’t wait for the Fourth of July. No, my wife and daughter were nowhere near excited about that particular philosophy of life. They had a problem with that idea that there are certain jobs that a man is above. Actually, I have a problem with that idea. Actually, I think God has a problem with it.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Men’s Work – Women’s Work.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 13. I’ll begin reading at verse 2. We’re going to read an episode from the life of the most secure man who ever lived; a man who had nothing to prove – the ultimate man, Jesus Christ. “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.”

Okay, now wait. Here’s the most complete man that ever lived, and He is demonstrating His sense of manhood and identity in a very graphic way, in a surprising way. He knows who He is. He’s coming from God; He’s going to God. He’s got it together, and He demonstrates that as it says in verse 5, “He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.”

Here’s the only Son of God. He’s not too good to do the lowliest job in the house. Well, the real man is man enough to choose to be a servant; to pitch in on the dirty work; to be as manly doing the laundry as he is lifting some heavy furniture; to be as macho changing a diaper as he is changing spark plugs.

Not too long ago there was an interesting comment from the wife of a friend of mine who had just come back from a great tour of speaking…kind of the conquistador, you know, and they loved him where he was. He came in and he wanted to tell all his war stories of how much they loved him there, and his wife said, “Honey, do you know you always come home like a spoiled king.” Ohhh… and you know what? He had to admit, she was right. He said, “I wanted the world to revolve around me.”

Well, I’ll tell you, there’s nothing very manly about coming home like a spoiled king. It’s small; it’s selfish. Jesus was just coming off Palm Sunday with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in His ears, and yet He went and washed the disciples’ feet. How many of us men make our wives feel totally insignificant by implying that what she does all day long is too unimportant for us to touch?

See, the sign of a real man is that he makes a woman feel important. And he does that when he arrives in her world like the Cavalry arriving just in time. He demonstrates his manhood when he serves his wife. Not because he’s a wimp, but because he’s secure and strong enough to love her in the ways that really mean something to her.

You demonstrate your dignity, not by how many people do things for you, but how many people you do things for. That’s manhood! Jesus, the ultimate model of manhood – a muscular carpenter – can be a foot washer. The mighty Son of God can be a servant. That’s the kind of real man that a woman loves to love.

Good Works, US Blog

God Gives the Power to do Good Works – J. D. Greear

Feb 7, 2023 Power by Percy Parakh

As a child of God, you are chosen—according to the purpose of God, by the power of God, for the glory of God.

And that is the greatest, most empowering, most life-giving truth in the universe.

Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ESV).

God predestined that your life would be filled with good works, to the praise of his glory. That means that the burden of “fixing” your life is not on you. God has already decreed and supplied the power for it!

Many people feel so defeated, thinking they have to summon the will to overcome a particular sin or heal their marriage or be a bold witness for the gospel.

But that’s the wrong picture of the Christian life. God has already provided the power for you to do the good works he planned for you.

You can be confident in his plan to use you, because Jesus said that’s why he chose you: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (John 15:16).

The Bible teaches that you are chosen, not to unravel the mysteries of how God has worked in your past but to give you confidence of what God wants to do in your future.

When you think you’ve failed miserably as a Christian—and you will sometimes—you can have the strength to get up. Proverbs 24:16 says, “The righteous falls seven times and rises again.”

If you are discouraged by how much you fall, remember that the righteous person shows their righteousness not by never falling but by getting back up.

Falling just demonstrates that you are not perfect. Getting back up when you fall demonstrates that you believe the gospel.

Gladness, Restoration, US Blog

Promises Of Restoration and Gladness

Feb 6, 2023 Promises by Percy Parakh

Joel 2:21-27 NIV

²¹    Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
    be glad and rejoice.
Surely the Lord has done great things!
²²    Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
²³Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
    both autumn and spring rains, as before.
²⁴The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

²⁵“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm^[a]—
my great army that I sent among you.
²⁶You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
²⁷Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

Empty Rituals, US Blog

Living Right V/S Empty Rituals!

Jan 21, 2023 Living Right by Percy Parakh

Isaiah 58:6-10 NIV

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

Living Right Over Empty Rituals (NOTES)

Isaiah 58 New International Version

True Fasting

58 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.

2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 58:1-12 The Message (MSG)

Your Prayers Won’t Get Off the Ground

58 1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins! They’re busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people— law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ and love having me on their side. But they also complain, ‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’

3-5 “Well, here’s why: “The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit. You drive your employees much too hard. You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won’t get your prayers off the ground. Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like?

6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’ A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again

Matthew 25:35-40 New International Version

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Righteous, US Blog

The Just Shall Live By Faith!

Jan 21, 2023 Faith by Percy Parakh

💫 ❤ BE NEAR 💖

🌞 My friend was going through some difficult challenges in her life and family. I didn’t know what to say or do, and I told her so. She looked at me and said, “Just be near.” That’s what I did, and later on we started talking about God’s love.

🙇‍♀ Many times we don’t know how to respond when others are grieving, and words may do more harm than good. Serving others requires that we understand them and find out what they need. Often we can help by meeting practical needs. But one of the best ways to encourage those who are suffering is to be near — to sit beside them and listen.

🙇‍♂ 🙇‍♂ God is near to us when we call out to Him. “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles,” the psalmist says. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” By putting ourselves in the shoes of others and allowing our hearts to feel compassion, we can help those who are hurting. We can be near them as God is with us and sit close to them. At the right time, the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say, if they are needed. — Keila Ochoa

God, grant grace throughout this day
To walk the straight and narrow way,
To do whatever in Thy sight
Is good and perfect, just and right.
— Huisman

The best way to encourage others may be to just be near.

🎊 Stay Blessed My Friend 😊 🌹

Move, US Blog

Make Every Move Count

Jan 21, 2023 Count by Percy Parakh

💫 MAKE EVER MOVE COUNT ❤

🌞 Car racing legend Bobby Unser faced the toughest race of his life—and won. He and a friend, Robert Gayton, were snowmobiling in New Mexico when both of their sleds quit working.

Snowdrifts as high as their chests, temperatures as low as zero, and winds as stiff as 70 mph hampered their attempt to find shelter. They even had to spend one night in a snow cave they made.

Late the next day they found a barn with a heater and a phone. After the rescue, Unser said, “Every decision we made had to be right.” He and his friend had experienced a terrifying struggle with the elements they couldn’t control as they did everything possible to stay alive.

🙇‍♀ We are living in a world that is hostile to our spiritual survival. Every day we go up against forces that could destroy us. Some are internal — our pride and selfish desires. Some are external forces — ungodly media influences, acquaintances who don’t support our faith, the stresses of life. Wrong decisions as we face these “blizzards” can lead to destruction.

🙇‍♂ Every move we make – each word and action – must be done in His name. We must live according to God’s principles and act as we think Jesus would. That will make every move count. — Dave Branon

May everything we do—
By word or deed or story—
Be done to please the Lord;
To Him be all the glory. — Roworth

When making a decision, ask, “What would Jesus do ?”

Own Devices, US Blog

Not By Our Own Devices – God’s Promises

Jan 17, 2023 Promises by Percy Parakh

Isaiah 48:3-8 NIV

³I foretold the former things long ago,
    my mouth announced them and I made them known;
    then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
⁴For I knew how stubborn you were;
    your neck muscles were iron,
    your forehead was bronze.
⁵Therefore I told you these things long ago;
    before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
    ‘My images brought them about;
    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
⁶You have heard these things; look at them all.
    Will you not admit them?

“From now on I will tell you of new things,
    of hidden things unknown to you.
⁷They are created now, and not long ago;
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
⁸You have neither heard nor understood;
    from of old your ears have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
    you were called a rebel from birth.

Isaiah 48:17 NIV

¹⁷This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is best for you,
    who directs you in the way you should go.

Not By Our Own Devices (NOTES)

Isaiah 48:1-2 New International Version

Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel

and come from the line of Judah,

you who take oaths in the name of the Lord

and invoke the God of Israel—

but not in truth or righteousness—

2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city

and claim to rely on the God of Israel—

the Lord Almighty is his name:

Numbers 23:19 New International Version

19 God is not human, that he should lie,

not a human being, that he should change his mind.

Does he speak and then not act?

Does he promise and not fulfill?

Numbers 23:19 King James Version

19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Titus 1:1-2 King James Version

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Isaiah 42:8 King James Version

8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Revival, US Blog

Let Revival Begin With Me

Jan 17, 2023 Me by Percy Parakh

What comes to mind when you hear the word “revival”? A widespread movement sparked by a prayer meeting or a sermon? Outdoor services held under a tent? An emotional experience?

Our parent ministry, Life Action Ministries, defines revival as “a renewed relationship with Jesus that revolutionizes relationships with others.” It’s not something you can schedule on a calendar. It’s not a feeling you conjure up during a worship service, nor is it synonymous with evangelism. It’s a Spirit-induced change of heart that transforms both your vertical and horizontal relationships.

While revival can gain momentum and affect hundreds or thousands, it cannot begin until at least one individual completely surrenders his or her life and will, saying “Yes, Lord.”

The Impact of One Revived Heart

In 2 Kings 22, we find an example of how one man’s tender heart changed the course of an entire nation. The story takes place during the reign of Judah’s young leader, King Josiah, who ordered that the house of the Lord receive some much-needed maintenance. However, what’s notable in this chapter is not the repairs made at the temple but King Josiah’s response to a discovery made within it.

For years, the divided nations of Israel and Judah lived in direct opposition to God’s Law, having both figuratively and literally lost track of the written words of the Lord. But that all changed when the high priest found the forgotten scroll among the rubble and took it to the king. Upon hearing the words read aloud, King Josiah realized how the nation of Judah had failed to keep the Law, and he mourned over their sins. The passage says the king tore his clothes, humbled himself, and wept (vv. 11, 13, 19).

God did not ignore King Josiah’s cry for mercy:

“Because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD . . . and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD” (v. 19).

God delayed His just punishment against the kingdom. Because of one man’s humble response and reverence for God’s Word, an entire generation was saved from sure destruction.

The characters in this narrative have long since left this world. But our God has not. He is still alive, watching over His people. Judgment is coming, but there is yet hope. The God who answered Josiah’s plea for mercy promises to hear the prayers of “he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66:2).

Who Needs Revival?

While the fate of the nation may not depend upon you (who knows?), what about your family or community? Is there a repeated generational sin that needs to stop with you? Your refusal to acknowledge and repent from destructive habits or sinful behaviors can affect not only yourself but your children and grandchildren and close community.

We need the Lord’s help to overcome sin and temptation. That’s why we must cry out for mercy. When you rely on yourself for personal reform, you are scorning God’s wisdom and grace. Self-reliance cheapens and discredits the cross, blinding you to your sin and your need for a Savior. You must come to a place of full surrender and brokenness for God to continue His work in your heart.

Revival is not for the unsaved; it’s for the children of God who have drifted away from following His Word. It’s for believers who have become allured and ensnared by lust and worldly pleasures. It’s for the self-righteous, the ignorant, the rebellious. It’s for you, and it’s for me. We cannot content ourselves to simply pray for revival for the masses. Revival begins with the reflection you see in your mirror.

Let It Begin with Me

The late Del Fehsenfeld, Jr, founder of Life Action Ministries, described well the effects of personal revival: “Revival awakens in our hearts an increased awareness of the presence of God, a new love for God, a new hatred for sin, and a hunger for His Word.”

Do you need an increased awareness of God’s presence? Have you left your first love? Do you see your sin for what it really is in God’s sight? Do you hunger for God’s Word like your life depends upon it? Have you let things or people take over your affections for God? Is there anything you have withheld from Him?

If the Spirit is convicting you right now, don’t ignore His prompts. Isaiah 55:6 tells us to “seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” Your very desire to see and know and love God is God-initiated (1 John 4:19). If He has brought to mind anything that has stolen away your affections from your First Love, humbly repent and mourn over your sin. Then stake your hope in the character of a holy God who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6).

To help you honestly examine your need for revival, ask yourself the following questions drawn from Seeking Him, a study on revival by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Tim Grissom. Confess each sin that God exposes, and praise Him for His power to forgive.

Was there a time in my life when I placed all my trust in Jesus Christ alone to save me?
Do I love to read and meditate on the Word of God?
Are my personal devotions consistent and meaningful?
Do I apply God’s Word to my everyday life?
Am I quick to admit when I am wrong?
Am I willing to give up all sin for God?
Is my conscious clear with every person?
Does my schedule reveal that God is first in my life?
Does my checkbook reveal that God is first in my life?
Do I love what God loves and hate what God hates?
Am I allowing Jesus to be Lord of every area of my life?
Am I devoted to Jesus, filled with His joy and peace, and making Him the continual object of my affection?
Am I more concerned with what God thinks about my life than with what others think?

Father, how good You are to your undeserving children. You are patient and kind and good, even though we are faithless, proud, and selfish. Thank You for loving the unlovable. Thank You for initiating a love story and pursuing me, holding me, keeping me, saving me. I love You, Lord. May those words not be a struggle to say but a joy to shout. Help me to know the height and depths and breadth and length of Your love. May it overwhelm me and overjoy me. I want it. I crave it. I need it. Help me to believe that in Christ Jesus it is mine! Thank You!

Promises, US Blog

God Promises – Fear Not

Jan 11, 2023 Fear Not by Percy Parakh

Isaiah 43:1-4 NIV

Israel’s Only Savior

1 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
²When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
³For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead.
⁴Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.

Isaiah 43:10-12 NIV

¹⁰“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
¹¹I, even I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no savior.
¹²I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.

God’s Promises Fear Not (NOTES)

Isaiah 42:7, 23-25 New International Version

7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

23 Which of you will listen to this

or pay close attention in time to come?

24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the Lord,

against whom we have sinned?

For they would not follow his ways;

they did not obey his law.

25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,

the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

Isaiah 42 New International Version

The Servant of the Lord

1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another

or my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;

before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

10 Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.

12 Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands.

13 The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.

14 “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.

15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.

16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

17 But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Blind and Deaf

18 “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!

19 Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the Lord?

20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”

21 It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?

24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.

25 So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

1 Corinthians 13:5 New International Version

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

1 Peter 4:8 New International Version

8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

2 Kings 23:13 New International Version

13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon.

Ezekiel 20:32 New International Version

32 “‘You say, “We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.” But what you have in mind will never happen.

Promises, US Blog

Promises and Consequences – God’s Promises

Dec 31, 2022 Consequences by Percy Parakh

2 Chronicles 7:12-22 NIV

¹²the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. ¹⁶I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

¹⁷“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, ¹⁸I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’

¹⁹“But if you^[a] turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you^[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

²¹This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^[c] who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²²People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Promises and Consequences (NOTES)

2 Kings 25:1-8 New International Version

25 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 2 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3 By the ninth day of the fourth[a] month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 4 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians[b] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,[c] 5 but the Babylonian[d] army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 6 and he was captured.

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. 7 They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 36:11-14 New International Version

Zedekiah King of Judah

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 1:3-13 New International Version

3 and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the Lord’s servant had made in the wilderness. 4 Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the Lord; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there. 6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

13 Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting. And he reigned over Israel.

2 Chronicles 7:1-10 New International Version

The Dedication of the Temple

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;

his love endures forever.”

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the Lord’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.