New Year's Eve At Wesley Church

God gave me the opportunity to visit churches on New Year's Eve. In Wesley Church, Hyderabad, India, I give thanks to God for the years that have passed and the year that is about to come.

Prayer Before The New Year

Before the New Year began I said this prayer:

"O Lord, I'm grateful for this year, this year, which is passing away. This old year is passing away; a New Year is about to be born in our lives. Thank you for 2013. Thank you for all that we received from you. Psalm 103 begins in this way: "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:"

O Lord, thank you for all your benefits in the year 2013. How much we have received from you! Every day is a blessing. Every moment is a blessing. Every breath is a blessing. Every day of health is a blessing. Every friend we've made, every relationship in our lives is a blessing. Every opportunity to speak about your love, every opportunity to share your message is a blessing. And you gave me so many blessings. You gave my family so many blessings during this year. Thank you very much O Lord.

And as we usher in 2014, we say to you, O Lord, "Bless this year. May this year be a year of new opportunities, new ideas, new learning, new sharing, O Lord. Thank you Lord, thank you. Thank you for the New Year. Thank you for being in us. Thank you for persisting with us despite our faults, despite our mistakes, despite our sins. You continue to be with us. You continue to give us your light. We are so grateful. Thank you Lord. Thank you for this New Year. May you bless us and may you bless all your people in the world. May you bless all your children, as they look up to you right now in prayer and ask you to guide them in the coming year. May you guide us, O great Jehovah, as you have done all our lives. In Jesus name, in the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen."

Blessing The Lord - Psalm 103

I begin the New Year by blessing my Lord with the divine words of Psalm 103.

Along With Trouble You Will Find God

As I enter a New Year in my life I realize that troubles are still with me. Afraid as I am, I believe that along with troubles God is present. The promise of God is most obvious, is most desirable. I seek the promise of God. I trust in the promise of God, who said, "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. I have a good plan for you, not a plan to harm you." In this I will rest today.

Our Questions Should Lead Us To The Ultimate Truth (Transcript)

How soon this year has passed! Years have passed. Thank you O Lord for the years. Thank you for this year. Thank you for the privilege of life. One is privileged to live. Human beings are the crown of God’s creations. Human beings not only live, but they also think, they also wonder. They rationalize. They come to conclusions. They believe in God. They seek God. I’m one of those human beings that seek God. And I’m grateful to be in this position.

I wrote a little while ago: “God may not view time as we do. The Roman calendar is in our consciousness. We are aware that a year is about to end. Another year is about to begin. We ask ourselves questions, ‘What have we done this year? What have we not done? What should we do in the coming year?’ Our consciousness of the passage of time is good. It makes us think about our lives and it ultimately leads us to reflect on who we really are. This is what we really are: the creations of God made to be in union with God. In this life we encounter trouble. And we suffer with weakness. But these are also what lead us to God and make us cling to him.”

At the end of a year we ask ourselves questions: “What have we done this year and in the previous years? What have we not done? What should we do in the coming year?” These questions may trouble us. They may lead us to self-analysis. They may reveal certain truths about us. But this is the truth that we must be aware of: we are the creations of God made to be in union with God. We are made to be in union with God. And if we are not united with God we will not find purpose in our lives. We will always search for purpose and we will be very sad and dejected when we do not find it. But this is our purpose: to know God, to know the one who created us, to know the one who gave us life, who gave us the privilege to live in this beautiful world, who gave us the privilege to be able to think, to be able to wonder, to be able to even ask this question: “Does God exist?”

Some of us wonder whether God exists. Do we wonder why we exist?  Do we have any doubts regarding our existence? Is our existence something that needs to be proven to us? We are certain that we exist, aren’t we? Why can we not be certain that God exists? How could we come into this world without being sent? We’ve been sent, in fact, we’ve been made by God. This year has passed. God may not view time as I do. God may not view time as people do. But the passing of a year and the beginning of another year make us consider certain basic facts concerning life. These basic facts are the most important ones. We are here for a purpose. Have we achieved that purpose? Do we know why we are here? Do we know who we really are? This, these questions should remain with us and should stir us and lead us to the ultimate truth: God.

(Transcript of the speech made by Samuel Godfrey George on 31 December 2013)

The Scenes Will Indeed Change, So Expect God's Goodness

The New Year Message of Samuel Godfrey George, 2014:

If you are worried about your future, if you are not happy at this time, if you are worried about the New Year, if you think you have been going down steadily, and if you are worried that you will go down further in the New Year, let me say this to you: the scenes in life do change. They cannot always remain the same. And it is not necessary that a bad situation is followed by a worse situation. God may reverse, may God reverse the situation in which we find ourselves today. May God bring us relief in this difficult time. As the scenes are poised to change in our lives, let us believe that God will bring in a season of refreshment, a season of rest, a season of joy, a season of peace. Shall we do that at this time of the year?

Let us hope in God. Every New Year gives us a chance to hope, gives us an opportunity to exercise our faith. Let us exercise our faith in a positive direction. Let us exercise our faith in such a way that we believe in good things, that we expect good things, that we expect the good things of God. Let us expect his goodness, let us believe in his provision, let us trust in him and let us look to him. This is my message for this New Year. Have a blessed and secure New Year in God. Amen.

- Samuel Godfrey George, 1 January 2014

New Year's Eve At St. Mary's

New year or old year, it really doesn't matter. Thank God for every moment of your life. Be grateful that you are alive.

2013 Was A Productive Year

This (2013) has been a productive year in my life. I have done a lot of work. I have spoken for God many times. I have connected with people. I have conveyed the love of God. And this is important to me.

Our Questions Should Lead Us To The Ultimate Truth

The passing of a year and the beginning of another year make us consider certain basic facts concerning life. These basic facts are the most important ones. We are here for a purpose. Have we achieved that purpose? Do we know why we are here? Do we know who we really are? This, these questions should remain with us and should stir us and lead us to the ultimate truth: God.

A New Year With No Fear

My security is in God. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want courage. He has guided me all these years and He will guide me in the coming years.

Our security lies in God. Our security lies in His presence. And as long as He is with us, we will want nothing.

When Friends Die Before Knowing Jesus Christ

Many of us fail to tell others about Jesus Christ. And someday it is too late for some of them. It is too late for us to tell some people about Christ because they pass away without hearing about Him. But we must endeavour to tell people as tactfully as possible about the Lord Jesus Christ and the importance of committing to Him entirely and believing in Him entirely. We are saved. And that's not enough. We must think about other people's salvation as well. There are others out there who need to hear about Christ.