Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - February 2016, Part 1

We worship God best by loving one another.

Sometimes in life we go through interruptions. Let us learn to continue after an interruption.

The moment we fell we became needy. We became poor. We became incomplete. And we began an endless search for satisfaction, wealth and completion. And we found many things in the world, which promised to be the things we seek. And still none of them truly satisfied. None of them truly enriched our souls. None of them truly completed us. But the search has not stopped despite the findings being the same over and over again.

Let's not rehearse before God. Let's do it live. Let's do it plainly. Let's do it honestly.

There should be no methodology as far as prayer is concerned. Say it simply. Say it clearly. Say it honestly.

God is a giver. In love he gives what people need. In love he also does not give what people do not need. Knowing this and accepting this will prevent many headaches.

Time is an indicator of closeness. The more close you are to someone the more time you spend with that person. So if you want to know how much you mean to another person, you should consider the time that person spends with you.

Every creation of God gives out an aroma. Whether it is wonderful or not is in the way we respond to it. I always try to smell the wonderful. It is not easy.

God is love. So smile and be happy. Such observations barely skim the surface of the truth. That God is love is a truth that still does not bring a smile to many faces. Those people who are not smiling may well be those who have not experienced the love of God personally in their lives. Or they may be people who know that love and also the pain that comes along with it. God's love is not without pain. And receiving it may not happen without a feeling of being lost. It is the lost and the wandering who get to taste the love of God. Others may experience it and feel that there is nothing special about it. The story of the Prodigal Son illustrates these truths. The teller of the story himself was known as the Man of Sorrows and not as the Man of Joys. His most victorious words, "It is finished!" were not uttered with a smile, but before a final agonising gasp in a terribly agonising death.

Don't invest too much in a smile. A smile may or may not indicate an inner happiness. But happiness need not manifest as a smile. Happiness is the confidence that all is well despite all being not well. Happiness is knowing that God is in control when everything is out of control. Happiness is moving on even when everything is standing in our way. Such a happiness is an inward strength and may not always be manifested in the creasing of a face into a smile. The happiest among us are also the ones who have walked hand-in-hand with the greatest despair.

Are all these billions of people who hear about Christ hear about the same Christ? Do they know that God loves them despite what they have done? Do they still feel condemned? Are they still in fear of God's terrible judgement against sinners? Do they still feel like sinners, as they are struggling to overcome sin in their own strength? More than rejoicing in how Christianity has spread so far those who care about Christ and the truth of God's love should consider the above questions seriously. The strength of Christianity is not in its numbers, but in its grasp of the essential truths of God. That God is love and his love is Christ and Christ has finished his work of salvation, and by placing our belief in Christ, we accept his salvation free of cost - these are the core truths of the Christian faith, which we should not only know but also live by as our guiding principles.

If you are lost and wondering whether God cares, make a note of this. God loves you and cares for you. He has not stopped loving you and caring for you. He will never stop doing that, no matter what you do. For his love and care are not based on your actions. His love will go on, however you may behave. You may turn away from God today and live a self-defeated, rebellious life. But God will still love you and care for you. The sad thing is you will not know this love of God and experience his care until you turn back to him. He is waiting for you, his lost son or daughter. If you would turn back to him, you will find him with a smile and outstretched arms. But would you go to him, no matter how ashamed and unworthy you feel inside? You should. For all who went to him before were ashamed and unworthy.

My weaknesses don't charm me, but they calm me enough to view others with weaknesses with a sympathy that I would like others to show me when I am weak.

Happiness is not a vacant smile. It is a pregnant gaze.

Happiness is what you dare to feel despite a sadness gnawing at the sides of your mind.

Happiness is a state of mind, not a state of the face.

It is best to be humble. It is best to be aware of one's inadequacy. It is best to know one's shortcomings. Let this blessing be mine always.

It is not a bad thing when others seem to have more than you. The realization has an unmistakeably humbling effect.

To see God we must seek God. And we must search for him everywhere till we find him in each and every one of us.

To see God we must seek God. And we must search for him everywhere till we find him in each and every one of us.

To receive the blessings of God even more, learn to honour him more, and seek him first. And make a habit of thanking God for every thing in your life.

Honour God more than you honour anybody else in this world. Seek God first. Look to him first when you are in need. Know that he alone can supply your need. And you will be well.

Don't fall into the trap of dwelling on your failures. Dwell on your successes. Dwell on all the good that you have done with the help of God. Your life is in God's hands. And he is working in you. You may not feel changed in the deepest places. But God knows what he is doing in you. And no matter how rocky your ride is, believe that God is in the driver's seat. And he is well in control. Just believe. And smile today.

There is no mystery as far as God's intentions are concerned. God is good and wants to do good. He may not do it the way we expect him to. Sometimes he exceeds our expectations. At other times he falls well below them. Sometimes he does things that are inexplicably troublesome. The mystery that people speak of when they think of God lies mainly in their own minds and their preconceived notions of God. God may not be like what we think him to be. If he were identical to our imagination, then there is little mystery about him. Yet we cannot say he is predictable. We often don't know what he is about to do. But we hang on to the eternal truths, believing in their essence, without knowing how these truths express themselves in our lives.

It is after seeing Jesus we find God appealing. Before Jesus God seemed like a jilted lover bent on revenge. After Jesus, God seems like a lover who would go to any length to save his sweetheart. It is in Jesus God reached out to all. Before Jesus, God was only the God of the Jews. After Jesus, God became the God of all people.

The highest love is the one that embraces all by forgiving all.

Those who know by heart the words of God and still cannot accept someone who is unlike them, are they being biblical? Those who attend churches and display the various behaviours of a typical Christian, and yet fail to keep their word, are they being biblical? Those who say that God won't accept this and that, and thus marginalise and belittle people, are they being biblical? There are some biblical people of this kind in the world.

What is unbiblical? Can love of a universal kind be unbiblical? Can loving one's fellow men regardless of religion, caste and creed be unbiblical? Can loving one's children regardless of their philosophies and sexual orientation be unbiblical? Can the love of a Christian parent for his non-Christian child be unbiblical? Can the love of a Christian wife for her non- Christian husband be unbiblical? There is a lot that the Bible does not clearly spell out. But if God is love, then what sort of love is he? Is he a discriminatory love that is essentially limited? Is he a divisive love that puts people in neat, incompatible compartments? Some people of God think so. I don't think so.

Surely our God is one who hides himself. He does not hide primarily because he likes to play hide and seek. He may well enjoy that game. He hides because he wants us to seek him. The more he hides the more desperate we are to seek him. The greatest seekers of God are those who have experienced a hidden God to the maximum.

Pray to God and wait for your answer. Wait as long as it takes.

Don't look for expensive solutions. If you are in trouble, pray. Pray to God and believe that he will solve your problem.

Stay loyal to God. He is not easy to find. But he is always near you and will never leave you. And he will take care of you every time.

We give because we have received. We give because we need to receive.

Let our love for good unite us. And good is what is good to us, without being bad to someone else. If we seek this good, then we will be united.

To be addicted to God you need God's help. To desire the addiction, and then to have it, is purely a blessing from God.

Let your addiction to God be first. Then all other addictions will fall into place.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - January 2016, Part 2

The only doctrine that I follow is the doctrine of love. I need to love myself well, for God loves me. And then I need to love others as I love myself.

Pray for the wretched. Pray for the man who will not help you though he is able to. Pray for the one who said that he would help and then remained quiet. Pray for the man who gave you the appearance that he did something for you, and later you found out that he did nothing. Pray for this miserable fellow today. May God be with him and reveal his love to him. May he receive that love and then share it with you.

It appears that God wants to teach his hardest lessons only to those who have no hope but him. Every other person appears to have an easier time, and probably do.

Don't raise hopes to dash them to pieces. Don't mislead the innocent into thinking you will help, when you won't. If you are planning to be selfish, don't even pretend to help someone. If such is the case the kindest thing you can do for that person is to admit that you cannot help him or her. God will not be pleased with pretenders of this kind.

Don't lose heart. Nearly everything has gone wrong. Your expectations have been dashed to pieces. People have abandoned you. Some have not lived up their word. But there is God. And he is still there. And he is still working on your behalf. Don't give up hope. Keep on believing in him, and he will help. You will see this happen eventually, if you keep holding on.

Today I remember an alcoholic who has come into money. I hope he uses this money to help his family members in need. I hope he does not use this money to buy his drinks. May God be with this man and guide him to do what is right.

Whatever I do let me do it with dedication, even if it is a seemingly insignificant task.

Just because a biblical text could be human assessment of God does not make it a fabrication. If so it is remarkable that a group of men from many backgrounds and periods of time have all fabricated more or less the same story. That certainly defies probability for me.

My friend is also someone who is willing to walk with me the tortuous road to truth. He or she is willing to wait with me as we consider the mysteries of this life. A friend shares with me in my confusion, so that he or she may delight with me when clarity arrives.

My friend is also a person who sees the best in me. He or she is constantly trying to tap into the most beautiful things in my heart. A friend is someone who celebrates the beautiful with me.

What do I look for in a friend? Someone who appreciates me in spite of all that I am that he or she does not like. A friend is someone who is able to appreciate another despite differences and shortcomings, and reaches out to convey a kind appreciation of another. If you are such a person, you are indeed my friend.

"Lord, have mercy upon you!" I heard someone say in a movie, just before he sent some people away to be hanged to death. My question today really is, why can't humans show mercy to one another? Why do we expect God to do what we won't do? If God lives in us, it is we who need to show mercy to one another. If we can't forgive, how will God forgive? Is it not written, "Father forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us?"

When nothing becomes everything one is out of balance. When everything becomes nothing one is out of knowledge. But when what has become everything returns to nothing, and what has become nothing returns to everything we regain balance and knowledge and thus health.

The only way to break an addiction is to overwhelm it with another. Be addicted to God and your other addictions will have to bow down.

Seek help. Seek God. And your addiction is on the way out.

Seek God more than you seek anything else. And you will be well.

Always give God glory. Praise him for every good thing in your life, no matter how little it may seem. Never miss an opportunity to do so, for we will not have a life without God.

If I am afraid today, let me ask myself this question. Of what am I afraid? Is not God my Father, and will he let me suffer what I cannot endure? Will he not be with me as I go through my trouble? Will he not ultimately deliver me from all my troubles? Will he not uphold the one who trusts in him? Then why am I afraid? Where is the fear coming from? Should I entertain fear, because I do not see God working? Should I arrive at a conclusion based on what I cannot see? Does God not usually work without being seen? Do not the people of God walk by faith and not by sight? If these are true, then I should not be afraid, even if I cannot see God intervening on my behalf. Even if things go from bad to worse, and even if I think the situation is hopeless, I will just wait. And I will tell my fearful heart to be quiet and still, and wait for God to be god.

If you have family members in need and don't help them, when you are in a position to do so, you do not have the love of God. But if you promise them help and fail to do so, you are the very enemy of God.

Why so many words? Say your prayer in a few words. Lord, do for another what I want you to do for me. Bless the one I hate. Love the one who hates me. And give me your love so that I can love that person.

More than words, speak your faith through your heart. And show it as love for others, even the ones whom you truly hate.

There are graver issues in the spiritual world than the idea of asking Mary, Mother of Christ to intercede for us. We should look at the way we treat one another. We should look at the way we treat our own family members. Most importantly we should take a good look at our hearts and see the pride and selfishness that still rule over them.

Don't doubt what God essentially is. Doubt what God cannot be. God is good. And God is great. And he is your Father. And you are his child. What father will remain inactive when his child cries out to him? Only a terrible and an inept father will do that. And God is neither terrible nor inept. If that is good enough for you, rest.

Don't be a beggar before God. Be his son or daughter.

God is your father. You are his son or daughter. The realization is enough. You don't have to remind him of his fatherhood in every sentence of your prayer.

When Man is imperfect what he creates will also be imperfect. Let us expect imperfections in human beings and in what they create. Then we will be at peace when things go wrong.

We must learn to face life as it comes knowing that there is a God who cares for us. He is always there near us and with us as we go through life. And life is troubled and sometimes very troubled. At such times we should derive strength from knowing that God is with us, enabling us to go through difficulty. Somehow God will help us through this situation. He may intervene miraculously and save us instantly. Or he may walk beside us giving us strength to face whatever is to come. We should be prepared for both outcomes. Miracle or no miracle, we can take comfort from that.

Miracles do happen. But if they happen every day you will despise them soon.

You have a God who takes cares of you like a father. That is enough. You don't need a miracle on top of that.

Look forward to no miracle today. Just look forward to whatever life is about to bring to you.

To have faith in God is to rest in the knowledge that he will take care of you, no matter what comes your way.

Just say, "Jehovah Jireh, you are my provider. If you won't provide where will I go? Please rescue me from my trouble. You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. You are my shepherd, so I shall not be in want." Believe in God first, and then say what you believe, and expect favourable results. God bless you. May God provide for you and for all his people.

Why should we not be in love with ourselves, when God is in love with us? When we love what God loves, there is no conflict. If I love in myself, what God loves in me, then there is nothing wrong with that love.

I don't know about the Bible being the mark of the beast. It is certainly a book that can misguide and misinform people who do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them into an understanding of God. But let us bear this in mind. The same disciples who received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, were also familiar with the Holy Scriptures, and they deemed these as necessary for their overall understanding of God and his ways. The Scriptures were not discounted by them as conveyors of truth. Though Jesus Christ revealed God to us and the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus Christ to us, neither of these will be known to us without the Bible informing us.

The devil is described by Jesus as a liar. And so he is. Yet the lies of Satan have always appealed to humans, for these are exactly what human beings want to hear. Eve's sin began before she ate the forbidden fruit. Her sin began when she nursed a desire to taste what God forbade her to eat. Satanic lies appeal to hidden desires within us, and he wakes them up with the offer of immediate fulfilment. Humans are usually not willing to wait for the best that only God can offer. So they accept the offer of immediate pleasure that the devil ceaselessly makes.

The Bible has its uses. It can point us to God if we are led by the Holy Spirit. Those who read the Bible without the Holy Spirit, can get misdirected seriously.

I agree that Jesus cannot be known fully by reading a book called the Bible. But at the same time it must be said that there is no way of beginning to know God or Jesus without the Bible. The Bible is the starting point of all knowledge regarding God, and this knowledge should grow through a personal experience of God as a man steps out of his selfishness and seeks the eternal truths of God in his daily life in the world. And one is indeed right in citing the Holy Spirit as the ultimate teacher of God's truths.He is the one who makes the Bible plain to us. Without him in us, there is no way we can be called the sons of God, and we cannot be regenerated and resurrected without him.

The Bible is a record about God as witnessed by Man. It is a human record conveying divine truths. When verses from the Bible are used to support the assertion that the Holy Spirit is the only way through which God speaks to his people and that the Bible should not be trusted, such an argument is self-defeating.

Today I fix my eyes on you O God. My salvation comes from you. My help comes from you. I have walked many a mile, and I have been lost many times. I have been waylaid by your enemies. I have squandered much of your precious wealth on worthless things. But now I have come so far that I will not turn back again. I walk towards you seeking you alone. Accept this prodigal son of yours and receive me with joy.

It is the constant onslaught of trouble that breaks the rebellious heart. A person who has postponed obedience to God indefinitely is finally broken by the relentless outpouring of trouble in his life. If he will not willingly obey God, then God will allow a steady overflow of trouble in his life, until the pain of it is too much to bear. It is that agony that will eventually bring the rebellion to an end, and that is how the wayward human finds his way to God.

Obedience to God is the only way forward. We may resist obedience as long as we can, and hope in God's great mercy and compassion. We may hold on to our sins, saying that they are too difficult to give up. And we may live on like that for a while. But the day will indeed come when we must face ourselves, and consider the terrible damage that we have allowed into our lives. And we should understand that we alone are responsible for what we failed to do. And we failed to obey God. And when we realize that our lives are too damaged for us to go on in disobedience, we should turn away from our sins and go to God, who will even then be ready to help us. And he will turn us around.

There is no human friend who will be enough for the one in pursuit of God.

My only friend is God. Let me not forget that today or any day.

True love continues to give beyond rejection.

We are called to love others. We are not called to be loved by others. We should love and go on loving no matter what the response to our love is.

We should learn to walk by faith and not by sight. God may not always send signs to help us believe. It is then we must show our faith in his unchanging goodness.

Simply say to God, "I need you to make this clear to me. I need to know what is right and what is wrong. Speak to my mind and my heart. Let me know your thoughts. And give me the grace to accept your wisdom and live according to it."

Adults need to respect children, as much as children need to respect adults. We are all one in God, and our young people need not only our love but also our consideration. A child's heart may be the most delicate thing. Let us handle it with care.

I pray for a child, who needs help. I pray for a boy, who needs the guiding love of God. I pray that God grants him a calm mind, and a forgiving heart. May he learn to love like God. May he learn to forgive the ones who have not treated him well. May he rise above his anger, and let it go so that he may enjoy the peace of God.

Please help me God. Please make me well. Let my prayer be simple. Let it be sincere. And let it be focused. And let me believe that my request will be granted.

Envy and bitterness can be the end of you. Learn to be content. Learn to live without what God has not given you.

It is very hard to believe in God at a certain time. There comes a time when God appears unfaithful and unhelpful and unconcerned. It is the worst moment in faith, when God appears to be all these. Yet the picture of God that emerges from the Bible is that he faithfully cares for his people and this may become clear only very late in some cases. But the one who wants God's help should be willing to wait as long as God takes. And he could be very long in coming. Let the waiter be warned of that.

A great test is when you see someone close to you get what you really want. A great test is when God gives to someone near you what you have patiently waited for. May you not fail this test. May you not turn away from God.

Let me not glorify my pond today. Let me step out of it and see what is outside. And let me know where I am.