Samuel Godfrey George

Sunday, 6 May 2012

The Bible

The Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - Plain Speaking

To pretend that we are better than those who killed God when he lived on earth is to believe in what is not true. We are as evil as any who have ever lived. What saves us is the presence of God's own Spirit within us and the knowledge that he brings us of God's love. These alone may ensure that we do not murder God again when he chooses to return to us.

If I speak what you wouldn't and perhaps couldn't speak there is a reason for that. I have walked in places where you would not dare to go. I have dwelt among demons that you would not allow anywhere near you. I have penetrated the darkness when all that you want to do is to stay outside and look at it. So I shall speak of what I have seen with the boldness of the man who has surely seen what he speaks of. He who shakes his head at me should do so for that is the grace that has been allowed him.

A man should tell the truth as he hears it. He must speak to anyone who is willing to listen. If he must he should speak in empty places where people are few. He must speak even if no one is willing to listen. He must speak and continue to speak in the hope that someone will listen.

May I walk beside you? The journey is long, and my mind will soon wander away. Let's walk together now before everything fades away.

It is through abuse that you learn how to use. It is through sin that you develop a hunger for righteousness. It is after encountering the devil that you long to meet God.

I will not scratch your back today. You may scratch mine if you like. Maybe then your scratching will be unselfish.

Be grateful for everything, even for the beggarly gift. You are not entitled to anything, and yet you have been given.

Forgive not because forgiveness is good for you. Such forgiveness is worthless. Forgive because everyone whom you will ever forgive is as weak and flawed as you are. People need your forgiveness as much as you need theirs.

It is good not to ridicule anyone or anything. We are all quite ridiculous anyway.

Speak the truth even if everybody speaks it. Speak it especially when nobody speaks it.

Rejection is not always bad. In some cases it is an absolute must.

What startles me from my complacency? This is the only thing worth looking forward to.

God should reward me for the many expletives I did not say to those who richly deserved them. I could have cut them down without any mercy. But I refused to do so because of God and because of decency, my own decency. That deserves an award.

If you can turn an absolutely rotten thing that some rotten person said to you into something strikingly brilliant and beautiful, then you are surely a man of God, because it is only God who can make something beautiful out of something utterly rotten.

God rewarded me well when I was at my worst. Can it therefore be said that he shall reward me more when I improve my behaviour? And if he rewarded me more when I behaved better, then he surely rewarded me for my improved behaviour. I know that God is gracious, and if he rewarded a man for his behaviour then that reward cannot be gracious as it is merited. Thus I conclude that a perfectly gracious God cannot and should not base his reward on behaviour. Needless to say my conclusion is based on human wisdom, which is not as wise as God's foolishness.

To conquer the thing you fear you must do the thing you fear. Then you must wait and learn.

There is wretchedness in the goodness. And as the wretchedness grows sharper in focus one is increasing in goodness.

To impress someone is the lowest of all joys. But to live to one's full potential in obedience to God, that is the highest joy in this life.

Whether one is viewed 300 times or 3 times when one broadcasts a message does not really matter. Whether one has said what one wanted to say in the manner that one wanted to say it, that matters.

You've got to get a little angry sometimes, at least to know the use of anger. Anger is never useless. It may be needless.

Do misunderstand. Only then shall you understand.

Never react immediately. Delay your reaction by days, months, preferably by a year or two.

Learning to be silent is more important than learning to speak.

So what if the world finds my faith laughable? I shall not laugh along with the world.

I shall let you remain only to remind me of how unsatisfactory you are, of how futile the pursuit of the unsatisfactory is.

Sunday, 29 April 2012

Running The Race

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12: 1)

Can we live any way we want?

The Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - Temptations and Addictions

To like a person for his or her looks, what a deceptive thing that is! I have fallen for looks many times and I am far from being victorious in this area. Thankfully God is with me to guide me away from such superficial attractions. With God I have learned to look into the hearts and minds of people. I do not have the prowess of God in such a task. But I certainly have his Spirit in me, and He gives me insight into human nature.

What is evil? Anything that distracts you from God is evil. Even if the thing is harmless in itself, as long as it draws your attention away from God and denies Him the first place in your heart it is undoubtedly evil.

Be your own thought police. Say, “This kind of thinking can’t go on, as it militates against what I know about God.” Even if it moves only a fraction off the Godly way, even if it should look harmless and good and

desirable, discard it, kick it and demolish it. Consider it dead and buried.

Lucifer whispers, “Don’t only think about God. Think about other things too. You will be missing out on all the good things in life. Even God does not mind your enjoying these things. He created these things and He wants you to enjoy them. He is not so severe as to ask you to stay away from these. As long as God is in you, you cannot cross the line. You will be in control. Just experience what you want to experience. Express the longings of your heart. This is how you truly experience life. And this is how you glorify God by truly enjoying what He created.”

It is not in wanting but in not wanting that strength is expressed. You should not want what you cannot have. And when you cannot have something it is strong not to want it.

Deception is saying the unholy thing in the holy way. It is falsehood uttered like truth. It is pain conveyed like joy. It is hell portrayed as heaven.

What is the use of a beautiful exterior without a beautiful interior? The exterior may only point to the interior. But without a beautiful interior the beauty of an exterior is worthless.

Can you run away from what troubles you? Can you fly away from every temptation? If so, will you not be running all your life? Is it not better to confront the problem and deal with it? Is it not better to bring in all that you have learned from previous mistakes to resolve the problem? Is it not better to believe that you can deal with your problems rather than believe that they are too difficult to deal with?

To see and to not reach out, to have and to not experience, to possess and to not retain, this is strength, this is how you overcome the irresistible impulse. You can never run away from the thing that pursues you. But you can live with it and discard it through the knowledge of the self.

Does the sore still itch? Does the wound still produce a tingle of pain? Is your sleep still disturbed? Are you dreams still unpleasant? Don't worry. Don't give it undue thought. Know this, Jesus is at work within you. He has saved you from your sin, even if you don't feel saved. If the Son has saved you, you are saved indeed. Believe in this and walk by faith.

When Christ is in you, all will be well. No matter what the conflict, no matter what the urge, Christ will have His way in you.

Are you as incapable as you think you are? See what reduces you to powerlessness. See it well. May be when you see it completely you will regain the power that you surrendered to it.

It is water that you must discipline yourself to drink. There is many a flavoured drink around. It is the Living Water that you must thirst for. There is many a man-made god around.

The only lie in the mind of the addict that needs to be dispelled is that the addiction is too strong to be overcome. When the lie is rejected and the addict realizes and finds his strength, the addiction will be broken.

When the tempting thing is pushed away it shall tempt you even more. Abstain from a temptation and it shall tempt you worse than before. But stay close to the temptation, look it in the eye, study it from all angles, experience it in deep concentration, and then you shall taste and see the littleness of it. And the more you see the littleness of it the less its hold over you.

You can either face something that tempts you to the core and overcome it or die trying to overcome it. Or you can run away from it and keep running away for the rest of your life, savouring the thought that you could not find the courage to confront the thing that most challenged you.

The next time you want to fool around with something, because you get a kick out of it, ask, "Is this all I can get out of it? Is there anything else I can do with it? Can I exercise a degree of control over it?" And then maybe you will stop and do something else with it.

Even the decapitated head of a snake may bite I have heard. If true, then one must beat the head into a pulp after the decapitation, as no risk may be taken with snake heads, both real and imaginary.

There are many beautiful forms in the world. You may look at all of them. But there is a danger in looking at even some of them. You may lose yourself in your desire for them. You may wander in desert places with an undying thirst. Beauty is not all. Beyond beauty there is something else.

Just do two or three things. Don't be obsessed with one thing.

Don't submit to the weak desires. What weakens you is a weak desire. Submit only to the strong desires, those that strengthen you and make you the person that you know you have to be.

Don't beat your head about the mistake that you made today. Let this not ruin your hope in God, who has paid for all your mistakes. So let not your latest error pull you away from the love of your Lord who understands your vulnerability. Rest in His undying love. But continue to hope and strive towards betterment, for the Lord is your strength, and the closer you draw to Him, the greater will be your strength.

Power over evil is to be able to do evil and still be willing to refrain from doing it. It is only he who can do evil and yet does not choose to do evil that has any power over evil.

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Not everything is beneficial

Everything is permissible for me

The Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - Advice to the Young

There is no need to be rude to make a point. All that you need to do is to say it quietly yet forcefully, dispassionately yet memorably, and gently yet uncompromisingly.

Don't be hard on yourself for the mistake you made today. Let this not ruin your hope in God, who has forgiven all your mistakes. So let not your latest error pull you away from the love of your Lord who understands your vulnerability. Rest in His undying love. But continue to hope and strive towards betterment, for the Lord is your strength, and the closer you draw to Him, the greater will be your strength.

It is good to be friendly to others. Still examine your heart as to why you are friendly. Are you showing affection without any desire for a return gesture, or are you seeking something from the person to whom you are being friendly? Are you willing to face rejection and still continue to show affection, or will you cease to be friendly when you realize that your attentions are spurned? The only kind of friendliness that passes the test is the one that is given without any expectation and is willing to suffer rejection.

Don't submit to the weak desires. Submit only to the strong desires, those that strengthen you and make you the person that you want to be.

I will not scratch your back today. You may scratch mine if you like. Maybe then your scratching will be unselfish.

Just do two or three things. Don't be obsessed with one thing.

Speak. But never speak completely. Always withhold the very essence. You shall not be known.

Be grateful for everything, even for the beggarly gift. You are not entitled to anything, and yet you have been given.

Some things are slow. Some things take a long time. If you are prepared to wait they are surely worth the wait. But if you are not prepared to wait, either you are not worthy of them or they are not worthy of you.

If you want to teach something practise it yourself. No one teaches as powerfully as he who displays the qualities that he intends to instil in others.

You see the truth. But will you remember the truth in the time of the test? Will you hang on to it? Will you wield it to destroy the falsehood that has a temporary appeal that is greater than the truth? This is the question that you must affirmatively answer.

If someone is truly your friend he will search for you. Allow him to search for you. Separate yourself from him. Deprive him of your company. And you shall see how much you mean to him.

Delay everything you long to do by a few hours. You may discover that your longing may diminish with time.

It is good not to ridicule anyone or anything. We are all quite ridiculous anyway.

Sometimes when you do something people notice. Sometimes when you do something people do not notice. Regardless of how people react, do something. Do something as long as you want to do something. Do something only for that reason.

Speak the truth even if everybody speaks it. Speak it especially when nobody speaks it.

Spell out even painfully your expectations. Declare them as truth even if they should look utterly improbable. As light came to dispel a huge darkness your hope will eventually dismantle the barriers that seem impregnable.

To conquer the thing you fear you must do the thing you fear. Then you must wait and learn.

A step-by-step approach is best. It is good not to achieve the goal immediately. Let achievement and addition be gradual and spaced out. In this way every event can be studied and judged. Thus one can maintain a greater control over something.

To let something grow one must be willing to ignore it.

Everything that crushes hope redefines your soul and renews hope that will better endure the realities of life.

You say that you have tried hard. But have you put in your best effort? You say that you have, but have you really done that? Have you deliberately concluded that you have put in your best effort when you know that you haven't?

Do not create strange places of discomfort but familiar places of comfort. Where there is comfort there is hope. Where there is hope there is strength.

Dig deep into yourself. There is no telling what you will find in there. There is no limit to self-discovery.

When you launch your thought into action, there is every opportunity for learning and realization no matter what the outcome of the venture. Lose or gain, happy or disappointed, you will return with knowledge as long as you are receptive to it.

Whatever the cost, when you know that something is wrong and that you can do something about it, step in and do something about it.

God bless you my dear. You are more important than any mistake that you might have made. I was upset about something that you did not remember to do. But the unhappy feeling lasted only a while. The joy of having you in my life, and the joy of knowing you outlast any unpleasantness that you may have occasioned.

You must not be ashamed to love. If there is a tender muscle in your body exercise it now.

Give it time, only give it time, and the thing that you do not think is possible will happen.

Do you know why you are depressed? You do not take joy in the little things. There are many beautiful things happening in your life. But you do not notice them, for you are waiting for the big thing to happen. Nothing that is useful no matter how small should be ignored. Rejoice in the little things, and you will be happy.

If you want something badly you must be prepared to wait for it.

When something does not happen, just will it to happen. Don't lose hope, but be absolutely certain that it will happen.

It's a good thing to feel pain. Don't be alarmed. It's good to be dissatisfied and hungry. It's good to keep on longing. By far this state is better than that of the one who is content with the present situation. Keep striving for the extra, keep longing for the elusive, keep dreaming of achieving and keep hoping in God, who shall make everything possible.

The requirement for an approach that allows for mistakes is the ability to live with mistakes. A man who is willing to make mistakes should not cringe from living with his mistakes.

Are you as incapable as you think you are? See what reduces you to powerlessness. See it well. May be when you see it completely you will regain the power that you surrendered to it.

Do what stimulates you. Exercise the mind and the body regularly. This is how you show your gratitude for the gift of life.

Distinguish between what you really want to learn and what you will not mind learning. Then focus your mind and direct your heart to all that you really want to learn and discard everything else.

When Christ is in you, all will be well. No matter what the conflict, no matter what the urge, Christ will have His way in you.

Sometimes you can try your best and still fail to produce the desired effect. That's when you should draw from within and continue in the same vein. It really does not matter how you're received as long as you perform optimally.

You are waiting for a glorious moment. But what do you think about this moment? Are you not celebrating today? Do you not rejoice in the present moment? Are you not already so far ahead from where you were once?

Every trickle of blessing that comes your way, stop and give thanks. Cease your relentless search for joy, pause and take note of God's act of kindness, though it may be little. Thank God with all your heart. Celebrate the little things, the little strokes of love from God's fingers.

To succeed in communication, restraint is more important than expression. Language is powerful, and he who can restrain from the unnecessary use of language is most powerful in his use of it.

You've got to get a little angry sometimes, at least to know the use of anger. Anger is never useless. It may be needless.

Do misunderstand. Only then shall you understand.

Never react immediately. Delay your reaction by days, months, preferably by a year or two.

The advantage of pain is that you become stronger through experiencing it. So don't be afraid of pain. Don't treat it as something undesirable. Take it and experience it. Love it and learn from it. It is going to tell you something that no joy no matter how wonderful can convey to you.

Learning to be silent is more important than learning to speak.

If you can create something and give it to others and then walk away from what you created without looking back, then you have gained mastery over your creation.

To work well you must learn to work in silence. Do not depend on anything or anyone. Just draw from within what has been placed by divine hands. Believe in yourself, believe in your strength. And draw from within in utter silence. And when you produce your work and present it to the world accept nothing but silence in return.