Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - June 2015 (Part 2)

Jesus Christ did not come into the world to begin a religion called Christianity. He came into the world to reveal God's love for all people in the world. Let us not pretend that God is only for a select group of people called Christians. And even Christians are terribly divided and uncertain of any commonality. Our greatest act of worship is love, modelled on the love of God for all people. If we wish to honour God, let us love and respect one another and believe in our equal access to his throne of grace, despite our various, dissimilar paths. On the contrary, to believe that Christians alone have an access to God denied to others, and Christ can be perceived only by Christians, may be a severe underestimation.

If you are worried about the one who knocks on your door, remember that you too knocked on Christ's door disfigured and distorted by sin. He took you in just as you were. If you are in Christ, then you are like Christ. And if you are like Christ you cannot turn away the person who knocks on your door, no matter how terrible he is. However this belief is neither accessible nor practicable to all. We are still a fear-ridden, self-protective group of people desperate to be like Christ, yet without the daring to be like him.

Only God can recover his own territory. And the territory that God prizes the most is the human heart. And slowly but surely human beings are turning back to God.

Our love for one another must reflect God's constant love for us. If God is constant the people of God should also be constant. To be constant one must commit to loving at any cost, to enduring any situation or reaction. It is to persist in understanding love, persevering despite the challenges in the expression of that love. This alone can be our greatest act of worshipping a constant God.

God does not always answer prayers affirmatively. When we do not receive an answer to repeated prayers, we must still thank God and affirm our faith in his greatness. We must trust in him to do what is best for us in his time.

Take time to enjoy the blessings that are out there right in front of you now. And celebrate God's love for you.

The eye is the lamp of the body. To be able to see like God is the greatest of blessings.

Let our eyes be fixed on God. Let his loving words dwell in our hearts. Let his promises be the rock on which we stand. Let us not be distracted by the hatred around us, and let us not pay attention to the curses uttered to us. Let us absorb God's love and forgive the vilest offender today. O God grant us the grace to do this!

To be able to turn to God any time we sin, in the confidence that he will hear our prayers and forgive us, is the great confidence that God has blessed us with.

When I entrust something to God I know it is in the best hands. Today I gave something to God. And he turned it around.

Will you scratch my back only if I scratch yours in return? Then your scratching is not inspired by God.

Let nothing be nothing. Let everything be everything. This is my prayer today.

If you cannot help don't offer to help. Just say a prayer for the one you want to help.

When my life is not going according to my plan I believe that it is going according to God's plan.

After a moment of extraordinary weakness comes a moment of extraordinary strength. Be at peace with your weakness today.

Children of God, I greet you today with the love placed in me by God. May we rejoice in the love that God lavishes on us without our having to do anything to receive it. Let us stand firm today and let us stand together, holding on to what commonly binds us - the love of our God.

Let us not forget what God is calling us to do today. He is not calling us to lament over something, or complain about something. He is not calling us to denounce and curse others who we feel are unfair to us. He is not calling us to be rude and impolite and hateful. He is calling us to rejoice over his goodness, and to trust in his timing. He is calling us to love and bless others with our words and deeds. He is calling us to be like him. For all that he expects from us, he has already done for us. If we are his children, we must act like him.

A touch of love is more than enough most of the time, One word of love can quieten the fires of fury that are intent on destruction. Yet to speak this word of love sincerely we need a mountain of strength. That can come only from God.

The human being is the most compelling evidence for God. We stand apart from the entire animal kingdom in our ability to reason. In the very act of our questioning God's existence we prove that we are unlike other living forms, and that we are unique in this ability to question and verify every concept. Thus we prove the biblical assertion that we are the crown of God's creations and made in the image of God. Like God we seek what is true and even question truth in the process of knowing what is true.

One of the best things we can do for others is to pray for them. But if there is something more that we can do for them, and we still choose only to pray, we reveal a reluctance to move out of our comfort zone. Prayer is very essential, Yet doing something to help, when such help is possible is even more essential.

There is only one way in which evil is overcome. And it is by doing good to those who do evil. It is by blessing those who curse you, and praying for those who hate you. You do this only in God's strength, for God alone is love, and his love alone can extinguish the hatred glowing in human hearts.

We should give thanks to God even when nothing makes sense. For this is what God expects of us at all times, and especially at such times.

Those who follow Jesus Christ and worship God should be honest with one another. They should be kind, considerate and helpful whenever they can. They should honour their word and if they cannot do so they should explain and even apologize to those who are affected. The God we worship would find a lack of honesty and kindness among his people more lamentable than the grief he supposedly feels over the way his people celebrate Christmas and Easter, which are described by some as pagan in origin. What God cares about is the way we treat one another. His final commandment to us is that we should love one another as he loved us. I believe God cares more about this than our celebration of festivals.

Love even those whom God did not give you. For all need love.

Instead of telling people that they might fry in hell, tell them that they will be forever in the embrace of God. That will make a world of a difference in the way they respond to God.

Faith minus love is nothing.

Regardless of how I am today God will be great.

Today look for what unites you with others. Don't search out what tears you apart.

Love is the safest investment in the world. It always provides returns.

God is love. And love is the language of his creations. The one language all living beings understand and respond to is love. So learn to speak love.

Appreciate when you want to find fault. Compliment when you want to rebuke. Just love people today despite their faults. For the day will come and may have already come when you need the same thing from others.

The worst thing we can do for God is to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude while dealing with his people.

Now that we are in with God we must look forward to suffering. Those who are with God become the enemies of the devil. And he will fight against the children of God all day every day. Be ready. Above all be willing.

Just say, "God will not fail me", even if the ground under you is shaking.

Approach with love and give joy to others. You cannot fail.

"Love one another as I have loved you", said Jesus to all his disciples. How did Jesus love us? Did Jesus separate himself from sinners and unbelievers? Jesus came to save those who were in darkness. Surely saints and believers are not in darkness. The great commission of the Lord is to spread the message of love to all people in all parts of the world. So we the followers of Jesus must tell unbelievers about the love of God. Separating ourselves from them and forming Christian clubs will hardly appeal to those who are not aware of God. We must be inclusive and not exclusive. And we must always reach out, especially to the most resistant.

He may have a stern exterior. But no one understands and sympathises with the human being as much as God. So approach him boldly today expecting to receive his kindness. He will not disappoint. 

Should we be scared? Or should we be bold? Should we be bound? Or should we be free? Let everyone answer this question himself or herself. This is how I answer. I should be bold and free. I should be bold to live without the fear of punishment, for all my sins are already paid for. I should be free to serve God without the fear of condemnation, for I am the very righteousness of God in Christ. And this is not a truth that can be erased. 

There is only one way to run this race. And it is not by being afraid.

There is only one thing that matters today. We need to love one another despite our many irreconcilable differences.

My father was a Hindu. Could I have rejected him and failed to fellowship with him because of his religion? No I could not have done that. My father is my father. Ultimately I don't care about his religion. And my father cared even less about my Christian faith. Our father son relationship rose above all these man made distinctions. After he died I cried for many days. I wept for a man whom I couldn't love when he was alive. And whatever trouble I had with him while he was alive had nothing to do with religion or faith. After he died, all that buried love was resurrected from my heart. And that I believe was a work of my Christian God. Think of that. A Christian God awoke the love in my heart for my Hindu father. If I have a son someday, and if he were a Muslim, would I fail to fellowship with him? Absolutely not. I would love my son unconditionally. He is my son. I am his father. And that is all that matters. Anyone who withdraws himself from another on the basis of religion or any other distinction is someone who does not know the first thing about love.

Fill me with your love O God. Your love alone will help me absorb the wickedness of this day.

We may not always know what a blessing is. But it is important that we know that God is with us always and that he desires to bless us.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

We are all little yet God esteems 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.

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

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.

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

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.

Whatever trouble you go through know that God is with you. And you will never be separated from His love.

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

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

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.

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.

No blessing is small. Let us remember our blessings today, even the ones we think are small, and give thanks to God.

The greatest hindrance in a time of dryness is the inability to count one's blessings. For life is not only what it is but also what it was and what it will be.

It is hard to imagine a God who would bless beyond a person's imagination when he has not yet blessed within that person's imagination. It is hard to think of great blessings even when small blessings have not arrived. Yet this is what Abraham was asked to believe even as he spent many childless years, dreaming of being the parent of many nations. God tells us to stretch our faith beyond reason and even sanity.

I pray to the Lord to give me the strength to carry out the tasks that he has assigned me. I am going through a lot of trouble trying to connect with the world with the message of God. A lot needs to be done to improve the facilities that I have now to carry out the work. I ask God to supply my needs as soon as possible. I have been waiting long with the hope that some relief will come soon.

It does appear at times that God is not interested. It does appear at times that God is absent. It does appear at times that God is even an enemy. But we are told that God is our friend. Saint Peter said, "Cast all your cares on God for he cares for you." Saint Paul said, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory." Let us be reassured today. No matter how difficult life is, let us trust in God, for there is simply no one else whom we can trust. God alone can be trusted. King David said, "Some trust in chariots, others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Shall we learn to trust God like King David today? Shall we declare our faith along with him?

There are times in my life when God came to my rescue. And there are other times when God appeared absent. But I'm still going on. I'm still here. I'm still holding a camera. I'm still speaking despite the difficulties, despite the wreck that my life appears to be. Despite the troubling, dismal outlook I'm still here, still doing the work of God. And for once, it appears that I'm being heard.

If you want to succeed you must be prepared to fail many times.

To trust in God means to stay with him, even when he appears to go against your wishes.

There is no ultimate profit in blocking the love of God. God loves us though we may block him again and again, We who are loved by God try to love like God, and we too are blocked by our objects of love. Still we go on loving, expecting our love to be received someday, no matter how determinedly we are blocked. Blocking is a childish attempt to go on in one's strength. But it is in receiving, in acknowledging our need of love, that we will be fulfilled. If we block always, we are blocking ourselves forever from the one thing that will eventually save us.

Conquering evil with good is no piece of cake. But let's do it as Christ did it on the cross. It will be excruciating stuff.

God is your best friend even when he appears like your enemy.

When a person notices what no one else noticed or bothered to notice, he or she is special.

You don't have to carry your burdens. God cares about you, and is waiting for you to cast all your cares on him.

A faith in God based on fear of punishment, no matter how right it feels, is ultimately wrong.

The thing that breaks me is also the thing that makes me. What weakens me is also what strengthens me. What fills me with despair is also what fills me with hope. This is the irony of life. This is the game that I have long played, and this is the game that I must learn to play without fear.

Will you not speak? Will you always remain silent? Will your voice always be marked by no audible sound? Will you always be something I long for and never find? Will your words be only sweet sounding theory totally out of place in the world that I live? Will I always fail to please you, for you are so hopelessly out of my reach? Will this great love of yours never give me the courage that I ought to have, but always end up filling me with fear and the thought of punishment? Why is such a beautiful truth so terribly distorted? Why is such a happy tale so sadly twisted? Why do I feel like crying when I should be smiling endlessly?

Today I was afraid and hopeless. For I fell again. It feels like I will always fall no matter how uprightly I walk. I cannot walk even a short distance without falling. The more I try to be like you the more hopeless the transformation appears. Am I to be like you in my own strength? How does this process of being like you work? I can hardly feel any change except the cosmetic kind. Sometimes deep within I know that I feel differently. But always I am reminded of who I am and what I think and how I feel. And it is most humiliating. Should I even try to be like you? Is that even desirable? Yet this wretched condition begs to be rid of. This darkness yells to be ended by your light. Will you just have your way with me? Will you just overpower me and make me yours somehow in the way only you can? Will you end this hopeless speculation and just whisper it is all right?

When you accept me just as I am, why can I not accept myself? Why am I ashamed of who I am? The truth is I am yours. You are my father, teacher, friend, and everything. If you will walk beside me, and talk to me, and live with me, why can I not be happy with that? Why should I better? Why should I try to be something that I am not? No parent ever forces his child to be anything that he is not. You cannot be that. You will never be that. At least I hope so. Yet the pressure of being like you, and measuring up to you is so great that this makeover process seems ridden with a certain hopelessness. But why should I try to be like you when I cannot be that in my own strength? The only way I am going to look like you is if you say so. You must share your glory with me. You must fill me with yourself for me to be anything like you.

Whatever I do and no matter how well I do it, it is never going to be good enough for me me to enter where you are. In you alone I am what I need to be. So let me not forget this today as I wrestle painfully with my inadequacy, as fail I yet again, and condemnation and denunciation set in. Let me remember that I am already what I need to be in you, and no improvement is possible.

God's immense cross-bearing love conquers hatred and sin. His love outweighs the collective hatred and waywardness of humanity. May we taste his love today, and we will then be able to swallow the bitterness and hatred that flow from human hearts and tongues. We will welcome them with a smile on our lips and our hearts will be ready to forgive their wrongs. No sin is greater than God's love. No insult can repulse his outstretched arms. For he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. Still he will not let go of this dust till he has renewed our inner beings, for he has formed us in his own image.

Bless all those who are hard to bless. Forgive all those who are hard to forgive. This is the way of God in Christ.

God's love will reign in our hearts today. We will not be provoked to anger and bitterness. But we will forgive and bless. We will love even as we are hated today. In this way we will glorify God and show our allegiance to Jesus Christ.

It is the decision to believe when all others will have stopped believing that ultimately distinguishes the people of faith.

When nothing makes sense, close your eyes and think of God as your very best friend, who is working for your benefit and will not let you down.

One of the kindest things you can do for people is not to raise hopes which you do not have the will to fulfil.

Anyone can show faith. But it takes a special person to live up to his or her word.

What is the most compelling theme of the Bible? Is it love or judgement? Can it be convincingly said "God loves you so much that he saved you", while at the same time saying, "You will go to hell if you cannot accept God's love." Can a person be inspired to love by saying, "You were a hopeless case. But God loved you and still loves you. So you should love God." No. God's love for human beings is a most beautiful thing. It is the love of a father for his children. It is the love of a creator for his creations. It is an unending, unquenchable love that no disobedience or sin could limit. It is love that survived great disappointment and anger. It is love that refuses to let us go. It is love that reaches out to those who are determined to walk away. It is love that waits patiently for the most rebellious runaways. It is love of a kind that we desperately want but do not know where to find. And if we know where to find it, we could never run away from it. There is a father out there waiting for his runaway son, who broke his heart. The father is waiting for his son to return, and his arms are aching to hold him again. This is the most compelling message of the Bible.

After reading the Bible I ask, "Now what? Do I really love anyone except myself? Can I love people who are often quite unlovable? Can I love God whom I don't see, and from whom I want things? Can I love God without an ulterior motive? Is there any point in following any commandment of God when the breaking of one commandment means the breaking of the entire law? How can it be said that I fulfil the law by just being in Christ? Am I really in Christ, when I feel like I'm still a part of this world? How do I have a relationship with God who seems nowhere to be found? How am I a new creation when I feel terribly old? How do I make sense of the jumble of messages in the Bible? Am I saved by works or by grace? Is it Jesus or Paul that I must consider? Is it Paul or James?" The Bible is the starting point to a study of God that must go well beyond it. God is the one who wants to be found. I am the one who should seek him. And he wants to be found in the world, disguised and hidden in the most unlikely places.

To love God you must love those who bear the image of God no matter how terribly disfigured that image is.

The Bible is only an introduction to God. An experience of God requires us to seek God beyond the Bible in the world among those around us who bear the image of God.

A church could be a place where people make an insincere attempt to please God. The world is a place where people will either sincerely demonstrate their closeness to God or their distance from him simply by the way they react to everyday situations. A spiritual person is best observed outside the church.

If we should spend hours reading the Bible without spending a few minutes loving someone, we are still very far away from God.

The key to our living a life that is pleasing to God does not lie in our understanding the Bible or our acceptance of its doctrines. It lies in our recognition of God's heart which loves and forgives. It lies in our knowing and receiving this love and forgiveness. It lies in our reflecting this love and forgiveness in our own conduct toward others. No reading of the Bible or attending a church can ensure this happening. It comes from a personal determination to be like God when when we see God as he really is.

We can read the Bible and sit in churches all our lives. But we may never do what we are ultimately expected to do. We should care about others as we would care about ourselves. We must be willing to forgive at all times without giving in to bitterness and rage. We must learn to be silent in the face of all opposition, and put our trust in God, who alone can fight our unending battles. These things one may not learn from the Bible or the church. One may learn this only from real life experiences that one lives through in communion with God.