Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - December 2015, Part 1

Don't be defined by others and what they think about you. Be defined by what God thinks about you. You are preciously unique in his eyes. He put you here on earth for a purpose. And if you will allow him he will show you that purpose and let you fulfil your destiny. Hold on to that realization and celebrate it consciously every day, especially on the days when you are about to lose hope.

There is much to celebrate today though there is something that rankles. We need to rejoice in the good in our lives without being unduly bothered by what seems unfair and wrong. This should be our approach every day.

I wish people well even though they may not wish me well. I give to them even when they do not return to me. That I believe is the mark of the one who is in me.

If we are human we will sin, no matter how spiritually regenerated we are. As long as we are trapped in sinful flesh we will sin. The sooner we are at peace with this the better for us. God accepts us sinners just as we are, and it is only by his spirit that our lives are steered away from darkness. It is by his grace alone that we have any power to do good. But even the spiritually regenerated humans will sin even as they do good with God's help.

Sometimes it is right to denounce something. But let us take care to denounce only the thing and not the person who displays that thing in his or her behaviour. If we denounce the person along with the thing, then we adopt a holier-than-thou attitude. It is all right, when we criticise the wrong that we see without belittling the person who does it.

We are well now if God is with us. We can be happy now if God is with us.

If we have learned to speak the language of love, let us speak nothing else.

Repetitive sin, as long as it is not a deliberate revolt against God is an outcome of a bondage to sin. Jesus Christ not only understands those who are struggling with sin in this way, but he also gradually frees them from such bondage, if only they will allow him to work in their lives.

A sin is a sin. Even a little sin can still stand in our way. But the Lord Jesus Christ has erased all our sins away. Let us accept his forgiveness and desire his mastery over us. Let us ask him to be the lord of our life. Our sins will certainly be behind us though we may sin every day in our lives. As long as we remain in the flesh we will not be able to stop sinning.

Our victory lies in Christ. Let us read Romans 7 if we haven't done that already. And even if we have, let us read it again. We fail unendingly if we try in our own strength. We cannot triumph over sin on our own. We can do that only in Christ. In fact by faith we have already done that. We are even now more than conquerors in Christ. Let us see ourselves as conquerors first. And then we will surely conquer. We are more than conquerors even now without conquering anything in our own strength. And how is that possible? Because we are in Christ, who has already conquered sin for us! That's all to it. Let us not focus on our struggle though we struggle every day. But let us focus on what God has done for us. And it is done. And we are free. Let us believe that.

God loves us even when we indulge our sinful, sexual thoughts. And he will not love us less on account of them. But let us remember this. Nothing in this world is as good as God. Our desire must be for him. If we cannot desire him in that way right now, let us not lose heart. Let us ask him to fill us with an undying hunger for him and his righteousness. Let this be our prayer even if we sin.

Sin is anything that takes us away from God. So what we must do is to seek God with all our might even as we are being dragged away from him by harmful habits. Sexual sins draw us away from God for a while. But they cannot keep us away from him forever, if our hearts are set on being with God. Let us desire God today, and do all that we can to seek him. Let us ask him to fill us with a hunger for him, which will simply not go away.

God understands our weaknesses and sympathises with them. If we do something that we cannot control on our own, then we must ask God to help us with that. His help may not come the way we expect it to come. We may continue in a habit for many years without any real improvement. But we must trust in God, and believe that he is working in us. And we must expect improvement always.

Be at peace with who you are. God knows your struggle. And he accepts you as his own. God is with you, so you have nothing to be ashamed of. He accepts you just as you are. It is too good to be true. But it is true. He accepts each and every one of us just as we are.

Our sexual instincts often misfire as a result of our fallenness. Something happened in the garden of Eden, which permanently distorted our sexual thinking. Sex is indeed a gift from God, but when sexual instincts are wayward, and lead us away from God's plan for it, we encounter several, even severe difficulties. To avoid this we should be in tune with God and this is neither easy nor straightforward. It involves consistently unlearning the way of the world and denying the fleshly self. Above all it means spending as much time with God and familiarising ourselves with his ways. Battling against one's natural instincts may seem like a hopeless task to some people. But it is a battle well worth fighting, and it is what God recommends. So don't be alarmed when your sexual thoughts seem deviant. For such is the way of human sexuality. But with God in us, we can be hopeful that these impulses will one day surrender entirely to his will. But we must keep fighting and we must keep hoping.

Try to think about something else when you want to indulge your lustful thoughts about someone who is not your spouse. Try to think of something good. Try to distract your mind to something that God would approve of. It won't be easy. You may fail many times. But keep on trying. God will help you. And God will understand if you fail while trying sincerely. It may seem like an endless battle. But as long as you are battling you are fine. Guilt is a major problem, but if you are in Christ, you have nothing to fear. For there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Keep fighting the good fight.

The believer can never persuade the unbeliever with his arrogant, disparaging attitude, speaking hurtful, judgemental words in a cocky, self-confident way. All these are repulsive to those who wish to be introduced to God.

Let not the one who has not suffered in the same way counsel the one who is suffering. What meaningful insight can emerge from one who has not experienced what the other is going through? It takes empathy to be able to relate to a suffering. It takes a non-judgemental attitude and an unqualified desire to accept the other, no matter how flawed he or she is. His flaws should be deemed to be as serious as our own. We are all flawed. And none of us should believe that he is less flawed than the other, if he intends to follow the way of Christ. Yet one finds in life, many ineligible people offering advice in a judgemental, holier-than-thou way in the name of God to those who are afflicted, believing that they are the sincere spokesmen of God. However they do not reveal God's love that bears all things. They reveal their discrimination and even condemnation though they say that they are willing to accept people as they are.

Don't be anxious about anything. Just believe that God is with you and is guiding you. Believe this and you will experience the peace and understanding that only God can give.

The last thing a Christian should do is to display a holier-than-thou attitude when dealing with those who are struggling with their sins. All Christians should bear in mind that they are sinners themselves, and may have sinned even greater sins than those whom they deal with. Christians experience peace and joy only because of God's grace and not because of any inner merit. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. And none of us has any reason to be satisfied with himself. Let the Christian beware that there is the danger of thinking that he is better than the one who is seeking the pardon of God. He himself needs the pardon of God as much as the other person. This is the truth that should never be forgotten.

Time along with separation is the test of love. Set free the one whom you love. Let that person live his or her life. If that person returns to you, then there is love between the two of you. Hold on to that love and celebrate it continually. The love that endures is the only love that you should seek.

For a marriage to work, you need the help of God. And not only you, but the one you are going to marry also needs a lot of help from God. Your love for each other by itself will not be enough.

A husband should love and care for his wife. He should respect her wishes and treat her as he treats himself. A wife should love her husband as the Church loves Christ, and should submit to his authority, as the Church submits to the authority of Christ. This is God's idea of marriage.

We are all bad. We cannot find anyone good among us. But we can find the person that is right for us. But before we do that, we should be willing to forgive the other person when he or she does not measure up to our standards and expectations. This will surely happen, and if we can learn to forgive such failings, we can learn to love.

Everyone who comes to Christ and lives in him, believes that he is the Son of God, and as such he is very much God. To deny the deity of Christ is to deny God himself.

But God promises to be our strength. In believing him our fears are dispelled. A man truly steps out of fear, when he steps towards God.

There is no one fearless among us. We are all afraid because we are all weak. The knowledge of our weakness makes us afraid.

You will always be scared. Don't be afraid of fear. That is all.

Learn to love God first. Learn to love him more than any other person. Love God more than you love human beings. God's love will endure forever. Human love is often short-lived.

So expressing ourselves is not expressing our sinful impulses. It is expressing our godly impulses and thoughts. It is the driving force to be who we were created to be. And we were created by a good God to do good in this world. Let us never forget that.

When I say "express yourself" I mean, express yourself as far as you are allowed to go. Ultimately all freedom is restricted for our own good. We are ultimately subject to the laws of our nation, our world and above all our God. We are limited in this way for the collective good of humanity. Humans are not gods, though they are made in the image of God. They have the tendencies of God without having his ability to do good always. So let us examine ourselves thoroughly before we say or do anything in this world. Let us take every thought and impulse to Jesus Christ, who alone should have a say on whether we ever bring it into action.

Love who God created you to be. Don't love what you want to be. There is a uniqueness about each and every one of us. And we need to discover it and express it humbly, in the knowledge that none of us is better than the other, and that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God, who made us. The knowledge of our sins keeps us humble and seeking God for everything. For nothing is in our power to do without Jesus Christ enabling us to do it.

Love yourself because God created you to be unique and wonderful. Love yourself because God loves you and cares for you. Love yourself, because without loving yourself, you cannot appreciate what God has done for you. Without loving yourself, you may never want to use your gifts to do what you alone can do in this world. You need to love yourself to be who God wants you to be.

This world will not be so interesting, if all of us were the same and thought and acted in the same way. Variety characterizes life from the beginning to the end. Though all human beings are composed of the same biological materials, they are designed to express themselves differently. Though humans should approach a common code for life, they should not suppress their unique thoughts and approaches to life. Some of these may indeed be their greatest contribution to the collective good of humanity. The most interesting people in the world are those who are uniquely different, and express themselves in new and startling ways. But all of us are indeed unique, yet many of us may never discover it, for the fear of public opinion and the slavery to trod the beaten path, keep many of us tethered all our lives.

Terrible is the slavery to human opinion. If we cannot be at peace without the approval of those around us, it reveals a wretched misunderstanding of life. We are not here to earn the good opinion of others. We are here to contribute uniquely to life by being what we alone can be, and doing what we alone can do. This is why we were created. It is good to be in harmony with others, and receive approval and encouragement of those around us. But it is not as important as being what we were meant to be. That is what each and every one of us needs to find out and express in this brief lifetime.

We were created to be individuals, not copies of a certain type. We have the potential to do something that only we can do. Let us not forget to be ourselves today. Let us not be afraid to express ourselves and do what we alone can do.

You need to love yourself so that you may do your thing in your way without being affected by what others think and say about you.

Don't be defined by others. Be defined by you.

If you cannot love yourself, think of how much God loves you. He loved you enough to come down to earth and die for your sins. He loves you enough to stay in your rebellious heart and guide you into the paths of truth. If you could only see what God sees in you, you can love yourself. And it is necessary that you love yourself. For if you cannot love yourself, you also cannot love others.

Some people cannot understand the wisdom of God existing in three persons. It seems like a needless division to the carnal mind. It complicates matters for the simplistic man, who is asked to believe in one God in three forms. It is not something that is comprehensible or even acceptable to him.

God loves you and wants the very best for you. But be with God first. And the best will follow.

Faith comes from God. Look to him. Seek him. Desire him. For all these you need his grace.

To those who want to know about my spiritual insights, I have only this to tell. I found God. Or God found me. And the rest simply happened.

Let your first love in life be God. For he will never leave you. Love God more than you love any human. He will stay beside you forever. Now if you want a person who will love you as well as a human can, ask God to show that person to you. And wait for God to do that. It may take time. It may not even happen. Trust in God's will for you, and accept whatever it brings.

You are never alone if you are with God. He is all that you need for ever.

If God loved us so that we might love him in return, his love is not admirable at all. God, in fact, loves without expectation. He loves because he is love. He laid down his life for us, in love. He did not do that to expect a response from us. He allows us to respond freely to his great love. We can be moved by it to the degree that we lay down our lives for him. Or we can simply ignore it and live as though we were never loved like that. The choice is ultimately ours.

God's love is most compelling. Yet it does not expect a certain response from us. We humans are free to respond to God's love any way we want. Some believe it and are moved it by it to lay down their lives for God. Others simply admire it and move on in their lives doing what they want to do. Still others do not believe in it, and may even scoff at the idea, denouncing it as nonsense. However, the best response is to pause for a moment and ask if it is really worthwhile to go on living the way we want to, when we don't know enough to save ourselves from eternal death. Could we not pay attention to the one who has gone to great lengths to save us from that terrible fate? Is he not the best person to guide us to a safe place even in this life? A considered response to God's love is best. But for that to happen a belief in God is an inescapable starting point.

Receive the love of God for you. And then you will learn to love yourself.

Very few people love themselves, if there are any. But God loves each and every one of us. That's why we should love ourselves.

Try again and again and again to see yourself as God sees you. If God could die for you, then you were certainly worth the laying down of his life. If you can see yourself like that you can love yourself. See what God sees in you. Don't see yourself in the present form. For now, you are full of defects and failings. But God sees you as a finished product, perfectly reflecting his glorious artistry. This will not be clear to you now. But it will become clearer in the days to come.

If you can't love yourself, consider how God loves you. God sees you as a unique creation, with a unique purpose. If you see yourself as God sees you, then you can learn to love yourself.