Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - January 2015

We may look for solutions to our problems and suffer needlessly. But if we wait on God, He will provide what He alone can give.

If we know the love of God it is our blessing to show it to those who do not know it.

There is nothing impossible for him or her who believes. So let's believe that we'll conquer our difficulties despite the hopelessness of our situations.

Let's decorate our minds with the love Jesus wanted us to show to one another.

Let God's grace not be a license to sin. Let it be a freedom to do what pleases God.

I will not abandon hope in God, for to hope in God is the surest thing in the world.

Don't forget to say thank you for every blessing that you know and for every one that you do not know. Great love is given to us sometimes without even our knowing it. Every moment of our life is a testament to a divine love.

The best miracles are the unexpected ones.

Only God makes the ordinary into the extraordinary. Only He can transmute the base creature into something glorious. And credit entirely belongs to Him.

If you need help, help someone. If you want God to help you, pray to God for someone else who needs help. To reap you must sow.

I believe that God is free to do whatever he wants. He always chooses to do good, because he is good. And though his good may not always seem good to us, it is in fact good. He can certainly do bad, and sometimes it does seem to us that God does bad things as well. Job admitted this: "Shall we accept good from God and not bad?" God can do bad but this is not what he ultimately does. God's love and God's goodness eventually overpower whatever we see as bad within him. Yes, God can be seen as hateful and destructive. But he eventually emerges as love. Because God is ultimately love, it is his love that will have the final say. God may seem bound by his promises. But this is what results from the irrevocable nature of his words. However this does not impair his free-will.

In a trouble-filled life Jesus is the person the afflicted one turns to every time. Jesus is everything to the person who has nothing else.

I must continue to do the work that God inspired in me. And I will do it as he inspires it. We may not differ in the crucial aspects of Christianity at least in my eyes. But where you see a difference that makes you separate yourself from me I see only diversity, a mark of the human race, which will continue to resist homogeneity. I maintain that differences should not drive us apart but bring us together. As far as I know I have said nothing that is against the spirit of Christ. Christ was never here to condemn the world but to save the world. And he saves the world by love and by accepting it just as it is. The people who were with him will not be suitable companions to most of us even today. Yet that is how Jesus lived and that is how the followers of Jesus should also live.

Now that I am Job I will have to hear out three or more friends.

To give the lie the appearance of truth, you must mix the lie with the truth.

The spokespersons of Satan believe that they speak the truth. They may even believe that they speak for God.

The purveyors of deception are themselves deceived. That's the salient point.

To care about something and to do nothing about it is not caring at all.

The man of God is supported by God through His people.

I do not work for humanity. I work for God. And as far as he takes me forward, I shall gladly go. What one sees now is only what one has been allowed to see.

Someone is praying for you even when you cannot pray. God himself is praying. And I will pray too.

"What am I doing with my life?", I have often wondered. Am I frittering my life away pursuing an imaginary goal set by an imaginary god? Or am I truly following the voice of the living God? I try to speak for God and about God as well as I know him. I want to be as honest as possible about my knowledge and experience of God, so that I am not unworthy of my calling. But do I really succeed? Is my message really heard? Is anyone really benefited and guided to God through my voice? That is a question that has not been answered yet at least clearly.

I study the Bible. I read Christian authors. I read experts on religion. I even read the atheists. I speak for God. I speak about my own experiences. I read the Bible on YouTube. I try to enthuse others about God. I do little else.

I fooled around a lot. I spent my time on worthless activities as well. I abused my speech, i.e. overspoke and misspoke. But after all the nonsense I went back to sense refreshed.

I wasted a lot of time on the pleasures of the world. At least this is what I thought sometimes. But at other times, I realized that I needed to waste time so that I could learn from it. There is much to learn from nonsense and idiocy. And after you spend time on the useless you can turn to the useful with great hunger.

My first obligation is to God. My only obligation is to God.

Let's not forget how great wonderful God's love is. Whatever we are going through today we have God's love with us.

Don't be in a hurry. Be willing to go at God's pace.

If you want to see Jesus Christ today, you will have to see him in the people in whom he lives.

We speak of light because we are filled with light. It is not the light of our own. It is the light of God who lives in us. So let us not be proud of our light, or expect commendation for it. Instead let us praise and thank God for filling our darkness with his light.

How can we learn to serve without expecting gratitude and thanks? This should be our most urgent question to God today.

Today and every day our attitude to others should be: what can we give to others without wanting to take anything from them?

We are all rebels. Let us not measure the extent of our rebellion. But let's remember this. We now belong to God despite our rebellious hearts. You and I belong to God.

It is best to be weak. When you are weak, then you are strong. The Lord works best in our weakness. Just say to yourself, "I belong to God no matter how I feel and regardless of what I think and do."

Keep trying as long as it takes. Be determined to get it out of you. See someone who is in touch with God. Above all set your mind on God and focus on him alone. There are demons in all of us. But let us choose to see the higher presence. Greater is he who is in us than the devil who is also with us.

We may not believe in the effectiveness of our prayers. But the name of Jesus Christ is enough as long as you trust in its power. Just trust. Be absolutely determined. You belong to Christ. Believe it. Say it a hundred times and even more.

Just say, "Deliver us from evil. Deliver me from evil." Pray for all your brothers and sisters caught in similar webs. Focus on God. Fix your eyes on him. And this is what he says to all of us, "Fear not, I am with you." He will neither leave you nor forsake you. He is right there beside you, near you and in you. Remember him and look to him.

I know. It seems unfair. And God seems distant and uninterested. If we didn't believe in God we would think that he is a terrible cheat and a liar. But we do believe in God and we accept his goodness and faithfulness by faith. So let's hang in there with a devil or many devils, as God wills. You take it easy. The battle belongs to the Lord and never to you, though it seems like it's all yours. Don't lose heart. Fix your eyes on God and just relax. Believe that you are well already. Just believe it and declare it, though it may feel like you're fooling yourself. Think about the good in your life. Celebrate the goodness of God that you have observed in this world. God's there for you. That's what I choose to believe. I'm praying.

You will have whatever God wants for you. Just say the greatest prayer everyday. "Thy will be done in my life."

Be strong in the Lord. Declare yourself to be strong and free. You are God's child. And you are blessed and you cannot be cursed. You belong to God alone, and no matter how you feel, know that God will never let you go. Speak to Him and seek His wisdom. Listen patiently till you hear His gentle voice within you.

When you are weak then you are strong. He is always with you no matter what you do. Sometimes when I struggle with myself I remember what Paul said, "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." I just say this to remind myself of what I could be, what I ought to be. But In Christ, we are already more than conquerors. Let us run this race to win.

Despite what the enemy tells we will believe in God. The enemy is persuasive and the evidence seems to confirm his harmful suggestions. But we will trust in the Lord, won't we?

Life seems like a never-ending struggle. Still God does show up every now and then, and infuse hope into what seemed like a hopeless situation. I know that. And I wish every child of God knows that.

We are well. Let's believe that and live accordingly.

But even Elijah knew fear. And Moses was not exempt from it. Fear may not be bad. Sometimes it leads us to seek God even more.

Pray for a heart that seeks God above all things. But distractions may also serve a purpose. The more we are distracted the more we are aware of what we need to follow. I think distractions are only distractions. The obsession will stand out against the distractions.

I like human approval as well. But the more we seek it, and the less we are satisfied by it, we will eventually turn away from it. Or at least we will not glamorize it any more.

If Satan is telling you anything, it is so because He sees you as someone who belongs to the other camp. If you belonged to his camp, He will not waste any time with you.

Remember the mystery about weakness. When we are weak, then we are strong. It is when we are weak that God works best.

Satan preys on our weakness, which is ignorance. Remember what God said. "My people are destroyed out of ignorance." We are ignorant of this: that we are weak, and this, far from being a barrier to God, is really the mindset in which He works best. We are sinful. But Jesus has washed away our sins. So let us not be obsessed with our sins, and worry about sinning. The process of sin is not halted in this life. And if we sin, we are directed to confess to God who will wash away our iniquity. So why should we worry about our place with God on account of sin? We are in His hands, and nothing, not even our weaknesses and sins, can pluck us away from them. Yet this is exactly where Satan attacks. He wants us to believe that we can ruin our relationship with God by our sinful acts, which are already atoned for.

If you are uncomfortable about Satan that is a good thing. The people who belong to Satan are those who are so comfortable with him that they do not even know that he exists.

You can't sell your soul to Satan now. It is not yours to sell anymore. When you accepted Christ He became the owner of your soul. Only He can sell it or give it away. And He will do neither.

Weeping may endure for a night. And the night may seem endless. But remember this, and look forward to this, REJOICING COMES IN THE MORNING.

How supremely confident we ought to be be in what God is doing in us, when we are actually afraid of what might happen to us.

And let the laughter continue. For He who makes you a conqueror never ceases to do so.

Satan is most persuasive many times. But there comes a time when one must look beyond and see through his lies. And then one will see God who till then appeared unlikely to be the truth.

Yet our fears hold us back. We must abandon our fears altogether if we are to be with God.

I will surrender all to Him. That is the key to being relieved. As long as I hold on to my baggage, I will never feel relieved.

I surrender all = I abandon all

We surrender only when all other hope fails.

Someone asked me what's in a name. Quite a lot I think. Remember Jacob who became Israel.

We all doubt. And we all learn to reject our doubts. That is the way of faith.

Jesus wants you to stop doubting. Just as he said to Thomas. You are hurting yourself more by your doubts. And that's what He really cares about. May God ease your soul, and let it enter into His rest. Just determine to believe that He is good and faithful, no matter how it looks.

God is great. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. We ARE free despite how we feel.

Rest in His faithfulness. Submit everything and everyone to God.

Yes. But this is a long battle. It will take some time, but we're getting there.

We're all selfish. But with Christ, our selfishness will be slowly stripped away. But this is a process. And we must learn to live with our imperfections for now.

If only we would be at peace with our weakness! This is the one thing that nails us to the cross.

Remember that it is when you are weak you are strong. If you desire strength, that is fine. But now, cling to your weakness. That may well be the road to your strength.

Know your weakness. But don't despise yourself. Because God sees you as His workmanship. Love what you are going to be when God is done with you.

Love God and do whatever you want, said Saint Augustine. When you love God you will only do what He wants. You can't love Him and cheat. You can't love Him and be selfish. Just pray that God fills you with love, the love for God and godliness. Meanwhile don't be so hard on your human nature. For it will surely pass.

Yes, it is scary. Our boat will surely be rocked. But who is in our boat apart from us? Let us remember Him.

If Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith and everything else about us, then we should just trust and walk on.

We have nothing to lose, when we are with God.

You will not be destroyed. Just cling to God and declare that you belong to God. Say that you have been freed by Christ and are certainly free. Believe and then speak. Don't be afraid. Be clear about this. You belong to God.

God is real. His love for you is real. That Christ died for you is real. That the Holy Spirit is with you is real. Hold on to that. By faith.

I don't know whether God speaks audibly to his people. But we are required to believe by faith. If faith is required, then God will by and large avoid anything that overrides the need for faith.

The only voice you need to hear is that of God. And he has already spoken loud and clear. In the Bible.

You should value your life. It belongs to God. But you must rest now. Rest in the knowledge that no matter what, nothing shall separate you from the love of God, which is in Jesus. Say this to yourself: "NOTHING shall separate me from God's love, neither angels nor demons will be able to separate me from God's love." Stand up in faith. And God will be faithful.

No demon can pluck you out of God's hand. We all fall and we all make a fool of ourselves. But that's all right. For God knows how hard it is. And he will forgive and restore. Think about the goodness of God and not about the badness of the devil.

Don't give up. God is good despite our worst doubts.

Now let's hope for the best. We all need help. None of us have made it.

We cannot give up, though it seems impossible that any good will come out of this. We must persist in faith, for there is no other alternative.

We have the mind of Christ, whether we experience it or not. And we have everything that is required to live the godly life. To be sane is to know that God is good even when He appears to be anything but good.

Remember, the last thing we need to do as Christians is to worry. When we submit a problem to God, we should learn to take our eyes away from it to Him, who is able to do whatever we ask of Him.

Love God more than you love anyone else. And you'll be well.

To have faith is to believe no matter how hopeless it looks.

We are in a great battle right now. But let's not lose sight of this. The battle belongs to the Lord. We should only stand and watch our deliverance. Will we stand? Let's pray for strength and determination.

We all have a major distraction in our lives. If we could only make God our only attraction these distractions will fall into place. Keep fighting. Ask God for an undivided heart. Take control of your mind and think about something else. Love someone. Help someone. Rejoice in what you can still do. Don't focus on what you can't do.

Don't worry. We're all in God's hands. And He won't drop us. No one can pluck us out of His hands.

I am strong. I am rich. I am dead to sin. I am a conqueror. I am the righteousness of God. No matter what we feel like, all these are true of every one in Christ Jesus.

Don't try so hard. You're more than a conqueror in Christ. What you need to triumph over you have already triumphed over in Christ. All that you need to do is to discover it gradually.

My righteousness does not come from my acts. My righteousness comes from Jesus Christ who gave it to me in exchange for my sins.

This is what we should remember today and every day. It's not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit that we go on.

The greatest challenge in faith is to believe in the goodness and faithfulness of God when he appears to be anything but good and faithful. The greatest challenge is to be still, and to be hopeful, when nothing seems to happen and everything seems to deteriorate.

A prayer is the most beautiful offering we can give to God. Yet sometimes we can do even more.

A prayer of David is still the need of the hour. May God give us a clean heart and a steadfast spirit today.

Be untiring in your appreciation of others. For that's exactly how you would expect them to be with you.

The one who wants to share cannot be shy. Share everything, give away everything. Withhold nothing that can help anyone.

We are all little yet God values us greatly. Let us also respect and like one another despite our faults and shortcomings. Let us learn to look at others as God looks at them. This is how we discover the image of God in us.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I WILL NOT be in want. This is not merely a declaration of faith. I believe it has already happened, though I am still very much in need. For this is the way of God's people. They live by faith. They look at the unseen in great hope without being defeated by the hopelessness of what is seen.

If I am acceptable to God, I'm also acceptable to the world. If God made me this way and if He loves me, then the world can also love me. I will believe in what God has made me to be. I will not be ashamed of who I am.

I want my blessing. I want my place with God. I will wrestle with him and I will prevail.

You cannot merit grace. You can only receive it. And you can receive it only if you are unintentionally hopeless.

When I consider the problems of others my own problems seem little in comparison.

God is our father. We are his children. So he will not abandon us.

It is better to believe that God is on our side, that he will not forsake us, that he will supply all our needs eventually, that we will always have enough of his grace to draw from in every dire situation. This is what I choose to believe today even as I am staring at a very bleak scene all around me.

We don't worship an inept God who does not know how to keep us. We are safe in his hands. And though we may wander a fair distance we are never really out of his grip. No one can pluck us out of his hands. If we believe this we can rest.

There's nothing to fear. That there's something to fear is the great deception. You won't get lost. God redeems your life from destruction and leads you in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You can't get lost. God's name is at stake. And he won't let it be tarnished.

The situation seems impossible. Hope seems hopeless. But God is with you. And He is faithful.

Everything is a miracle. Every breath is a miracle. This day is a miracle. And if we are here tomorrow, tomorrow is a miracle as well.

When a miracle happens acknowledge it.

Rush not my son. Be content to walk at God's pace.

There is nothing wrong with love even if it is in a guise that you hate.

If religious bigots deal in hatred and exclusion let Jesus followers deal in love and inclusion. Let them dare to love even hateful bigots and overcome evil with good.

If religion is bad, it also necessitates the good. The bad creates the desire for the good. Just as darkness makes the light desirable religious prejudice and hatred make acceptance and love worth pursuing.

Religion is not so bad. I knew that there was someone called God only from religion. Religion is a starting point. Sadly some people just stay there.

What is an unbearable temptation will turn into a bearable temptation if you delay falling into it.

Focusing on God in this fallen world is hard work. But in the end it is well worth the strife.

No matter how great your trouble is don't fail to worship your God today.

Our convictions are at best suspect and at worst preposterous.

Don't fall so easily into what tempts you. Know the difference between what thrills temporarily and what pleases lastingly. Knowing this will take a little time, but acting on what you know and avoiding the temporary thrill may take a much longer time. Yet you must strive.

To be saved people should believe in Jesus Christ and what God did through Him. People are required to participate in their salvation, and even work it out with fear and trembling. It is not something that comes to all human beings automatically. Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus, when we apply it on us, and participate in His sufferings. They are not washed away by merely looking at His suffering as a spectator.

Shine as much light as you can till you can. This is how our little lights together can dispel the great darkness.

We cannot love everyone and everything. We are just not equipped for that. Let us then love those whom we can love and appreciate what we can appreciate, and let us do this well.

God has given each of us something to be very thankful for, and let us not lose any opportunity to thank Him for it.

To connect with people you have to appreciate them.

Don't give up on yourself. God has not given up on you.

I'll not forget the benefits I received from God. This day and every day I will remember His many kindnesses to me.

This life that I live for God and the work that I do for Him cannot happen without God's gracious help. Apart from God I can do nothing. This realization is clearer today than it ever was. I need God's help and plenty of it. May God send it now any way He chooses. I'm waiting in hope. May we who hope in the Lord not be put to shame.

Lord, teach me how to respond to beauty. Teach me how to respond to anything. I need to learn from scratch.

O Lord, you keep my smile going.

I need only one recognition. That is God's recognition. Every other recognition is ultimately useless.

Speak the message of love as many times as you can, till it is heard, or till your last breath.

The love of God endures all forms of human coldness. Let us aspire to love like God, without expectation and without letting our love be defined by human response.

When someone curses you don't curse back. Remain silent and forgiving. Bless that person. Ask God to reveal his great love and mercy to that person. And may he or she be transformed by that love. Every time someone curses us we have the great opportunity to bless. And when we bless the one who cursed us we render impotent the evil effects of the person's curse. For we overcome evil not with evil but with good.

Those who curse are the weakest ones in the world. They deserve our pity, even our blessing.

God is with us always. We may not always be aware of His presence. But His voice is heard at the right time. Sometimes when I'm about to do or say something rash, a voice speaks quickly, "Wait, don't do that!" That is God. At other times the voice is not so clear, yet I hear it, even when I do wrong. Sometimes God is quiet even as I do something wrong. And later I hear God but not in condemnation. He speaks compassionately and helps me amend my wrongs.

When we have so much wrong with us, it is not right for us to point out someone's wrongs and condemn the person for those wrongs.

We may not recognize a blessing when we see it. But we should know that God is with us always and that he desires to bless us.