The Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - December 2012

When we rejoice in life and share our joy with others we serve God.

Do it wrong till you do it right. Just remember this: when you are doing something good wrong know that you are not doing it right. Endeavour to do it right even as you are doing it wrong. Believe in your power and believe in a higher power. And believe that you will do it right someday.

Guard your mind ferociously.

Let me not rush to the next moment. Let me savour this moment until it is fully appreciated.

Jesus answers prayers. He has answered many of my prayers. Today I prayed for my aunt's health. She was shivering and unwell. I asked that she be filled with the warmth of Jesus and His pure life. Jesus granted my request.

My heart continually seeks pleasure and my mind constantly meditates on gain. And within me is a spirit that longs to connect with my God, the conqueror of hearts and selves.

The hardest part is being still.

The sickness of numbers has gripped me again. I never really was totally out of it. But now I am considering the numbers again. Do numbers really matter to a man who is devoted to serving God? When I consider numbers I must really question my servitude to God. Am I in this for God or am I in this for myself? And I should not be afraid to face the answer.

The person that God most needs to hear from is you, at least as far as the resolution of your problems is concerned. When people are in trouble I ask them to pray for themselves. There is nothing like a prayer that a person says for himself, believing in his own relationship with God.

It is easier to do the wrong thing than to do the right thing. The right thing is less rewarding and extremely painful. At least this is the initial impression and the dominant one.

No one has ever connected with everyone, not even Jesus Christ or Buddha.

You just cannot connect with everyone and that is the truth. And it is better to accept it now than later.

Dysfunction makes function desirable.

Enjoy the old. You may not have it with you much longer.

The worst of my thoughts I submit to Christ. The best of my thoughts I take from Christ.

Don't be desperate to connect with people. Be desperate to connect with God.

I'm in a fight with God. I'm going to struggle with him till he blesses me. I shall fight till the point of death, the death of my self.

Do not be desperate to go forward. Prefer to stay behind. Prefer to stay out of view.

When you let your sinful desires run they will run far. And there is little you can do to control them.

When I experience my greatest weaknesses every morning I do not despair any more. I submit them to Christ Jesus who lives in me. He alone can handle these weaknesses. He alone can give me the strength to overcome them. Truly greater is he who is in me than all the cravings of my flesh.

What people do with my work is not as important as what I do with what God has placed in me. What is my reaction to God's goodness and his transforming work in me? This is the question that I need to answer every day.

O Lord, let me see myself today as you see me. Let me discover what you already see in me. Let me do what you already know that I can do. Let me please you today.

If we were as concerned about what goes on inside our minds and hearts as we are concerned about what goes on outside us, we will certainly grow spiritually. I am concerned about the stains on the physical walls of my home. But I don't seem equally disturbed by the marks on my psychological and spiritual walls left by my sinful thoughts and deeds. In me and many people there is the tendency to focus on the exterior and overlook the interior.

Oh no, this is not about myself. I know that now.

Everything that God made is good and beautiful.

Don't make the silly mistake of seeking human approval.

God is great. God is good. And God is in control of my life. This I should remember and declare throughout the storm.

There is no fear in love. But in lust you must fear.

In Christ ALONE I have learned to stand. I have learned to distrust and despise my own strength through many bitter experiences and painful lessons. There are some things that one will have to learn again and again until there comes a point when you cannot possibly remove that lesson from your active memory. And standing in Christ alone is chief among those lessons.

When I am tempted I have learned to say, "Your grace is sufficient for me". Does this work? Does the temptation go away? In order for this to work I must exercise faith and not doubt. It is not possible for me to discard my doubts, but it is possible for me to focus on my faith. And that is what I do, and when I do that the temptation does not go away but diminishes in strength in the awareness of a greater strength, the strength of Christ, the strength of God within me.

God alone will do what God alone can do. All that you can do is let God do what he alone can do in his own time. And as you let God, believe that God will complete what he alone can do.

What is the greatest disaster that will mark the end of the world? Is it the loss of human life? Is it the massive and unprecedented wreckage of this beautiful world? Why are some human beings afraid of an impending doomsday? The world will certainly end some day, according to many religious faiths and civilizations. Whether the world ends in December 2012 or later is not something that anyone can predict accurately. Some people in the world are preoccupied by thoughts of the end and are actively discussing the various disaster scenarios. The physical end of all human life is indeed a terrible outcome. But there is something even more terrible.

In the act of fearing the abrupt and disastrous end of his physical life, Man has paid little or no attention to his spiritual well-being. There is a spirit within Man that will outlive his destroyed body. And the spirit must merge with the Great Eternal Spirit, who is God, in order for it to live eternally. This can happen only if Man connects with God by seeking him and living for him. Man must turn away from self and focus on the eternal. If Man fails to connect with God through either disbelief or disobedience he will most certainly perish both physically and spiritually. There is little hope for such a man even if doomsday does not happen in his lifetime.

I shall fill myself with God and his ways more than I am filled with the things of my sinful self.

Yesterday I did not have much hope. Today I have hope and a lot of strength. Nothing visible has happened. Yet I feel stronger. This is God in me stirring in me as he always does, even when nothing appears to have changed.

When nothing happens simply wait.

I'm not going to hear the voice that says that God is displeased with me. I am going to focus on the truth that God loves me unconditionally and accepts me just as I am. My very acknowledgement of him will please him. And every effort I have made to speak for him will please him. The effort was mine but the strength was his. This combination works.

God appreciates the individual and his evaluative powers. God is open to questions and testing. He knows that it is rarely possible to have unquestioning belief. Such belief will not last.

In my country, India, I have not heard of any shootings in schools. When I go out I am not worried that somebody may have a gun pointed at me, for very few people in this country have guns. And those who do by and large use them responsibly. At least that is my hope. The shootings that have taken place are usually by terrorists and other unstable people, and these cannot be avoided, as there is a violent streak in human beings, which not all can effectively rein in. I have often felt that there is too much freedom in America, and the freedom to use guns can and will be abused time and again. The attraction to firing guns in the USA has something to do with cinema and television that have glamorised violence.

When we see suffering we see the need to act. We must get out of our selfishness and do something to alleviate the pain.

Everything I do is for God and by God. Nothing is for me and by me. At least this is my principle, and may it be a reality in my life.

The gun by itself is not the problem. It is Man's wickedness and his lust for power that are at the heart of violence. Man must certainly consider his ways. Given the universal tendency for violence among human beings it is intelligent to restrict the use of guns by people.

How do you intend to curb the violence in your country? By preaching peace and informing minds? There is indeed some merit in doing that. But you cannot give a gun to a human without understanding and restraint and expect him to cause little or no trouble.

My wallet is relatively empty these days and my dues are piling up. But in the essentials I am truly blessed. God has blessed me in the essentials. And the greatest gifts are still with me.

It is the 21st of December, 2012. And there will be a 22nd and many more.

For every weakness there is only one strength, and that is Christ. Every time I am weak there is only one thing to do, I run to Christ.

Being still, that is so hard.

To learn to use something you must first abuse it.

It is weakness that keeps me desiring strength.

What you don't have will seem precious till you have it. But when you have it you may want to discard it.

Stay close to what tempts you. You will terribly fail but you will also frequently arise. Every time you rise from your fall you will also increase in your awareness of what tempts you. And when you know exactly what tempts you then its power over you will diminish.

When something tempts you give it an hour and consider it again. And if you're still tempted give it another hour.

You don't run away from something when you can't handle it. Stay and do whatever you are required to do despite failures and frustrations. Fail as many times as you have to but be determined to succeed.

Let my life not be predictable. Let me not be familiar. These are my wishes.

Nothing is stable. No one is stable. Every one whom you rely on has the potential to betray you.

It takes fire to purify.

Be content to be where you are. This doesn't happen all of a sudden, but after a great deal of struggle and pain, you learn to be content to be where you are.

Even a plain thing can be beautiful if you have generous eyes.

When you don't know what to say, say "Thank you Lord".

If you wait long enough you shall be glad enough.

God is the only comfort and may those who seek comfort soon find Him.

Leaving a marriage is easier than staying in it. There are problems in a marital relationship and some of them seem insurmountable. But a simple belief in love and that it conquers all obstacles is necessary to sustain a marriage. Let those who are devoted to loving determine to stay in a difficult marriage and hope to overcome what seems impossibly difficult.

The problem of evil is a serious one, and Man must react seriously. But he must never react in fear but in confidence in a power higher than evil.

Faith is a matter of belief more than a matter of declaration.

There is no goodness without God.

The desire to pluck any fruit and eat is inherent in human flesh.

Direct paths are always more honourable than indirect paths.

What God has done has been done. It cannot be undone. God has done despite what I am. That is how God will continue to do. That is his very nature - to give despite my undeserving nature.

Don't be in a hurry to like anything. Don't be in a hurry to dislike anything. What you like today may turn out to be what you dislike tomorrow. And what you dislike today may turn out to be what you like tomorrow.

There are many ways of achieving success. The direct and the straightforward way is the best way.

If I ever did have a big moment it was when I gave just for the pleasure of giving with little or no thought of receiving. Such a moment is indeed rare.