Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - June 2015 (Part 1)

My wiring is not yet perfect. But my lights will continue to burn.

I'm not here to teach. I'm here to learn and to share what I have learned with you.

Shun publicity and popularity and seek only God.

Oh God, what am I to do? I have waited and waited and waited. I know that I should keep on hoping. How can I let my hope die? This is the nature of the strife involved in the God-centred life. And let me today not be found lacking. Supply strength and hope and faith and everything else that I need. O Lord, come to my rescue today.

God will not answer my prayer because of my good behaviour. But He will answer my prayer because I believe in His goodness while knowing well my own wretchedness.

When God speaks it is absolutely clear. So wait till that clarity arrives.

Today let me say a sincere prayer for others, and for those who are silent to me. May God bless them and keep them.

Let me be without greed and the desire to be popular. Let me rejoice in what God created me to be.

There is a time for folly and there is a time for wisdom. There is a time for lust and there is a time for love. There is a time for worldliness and there is a time for spirituality. There is a time for slavery and there is a time for freedom. One will come after the other.

When everything falls apart you will be ready to believe in God.

If I succeed in bringing anyone to God, it will be God's doing from the beginning to the end.

A great risk to the health of the world is a lack of politeness, which is observable in many places. Politeness is an outcome of respect. Respect is what we need to show to a fellow human being regardless of what he believes and where he comes from. We need to give one another the respect that we give ourselves.

If only Christians would spend as much energy building one another up as much as they do in tearing one another down, Christianity might have a chance at approaching a certain unity. But this approach is rarely seen in Christian communities.

A holier-than-thou attitude is the best way to turn people away from Christianity. And this attitude does not seem scarce in Christian communities today.

I am suffering so that I may understand those who are suffering.

Silence is the best answer to provocation.

The last thing I will do is to let myself be provoked immediately.

It is my privilege to pray for even the dog that barks at me.

When God humbles a man it is an act of love.

Today if you want to receive love give love first to someone who is not expecting it.

The greatest thing a human being can aspire to do is to love selflessly his fellow human beings. Such love is greater than any knowledge whether human or divine. Such love is greater than even faith in God. Such love is the door to knowing and loving God.

Read, but don't over read the situation. Appreciate, but don't over appreciate something. Give thanks to God for good things even though you may not always know what they are.

As Christ welcomed the unwelcome ones, let Christians welcome those whom they would normally shun.

Christ came into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world. As followers of Christ let us endeavour to do the same.

God is not a terrible person. He is not the awful disciplinarian that I thought he was. I have come to see him as a loving, understanding and sympathetic God. And he is not out to punish me. He loves me and wants me to share his love with others.

Caring for others is caring for God.

The more I am crushed the more I am hopeful.

The best argument for seeking God is not that we are living in end times and that we will be destroyed by the wrath of God if we fail to turn from evil, but that there is no other way of finding true happiness and contentment in life. Without knowing God and receiving his love this life will be a seemingly endless pursuit of worldly pleasures that neither satisfy nor last. Those who say that God is not love or does not exist have not seen the inside of their hearts and how God still cares for human beings despite what they secretly think and desire every day in their lives. How do I know that God still cares or that he even exists? Simply by observing this. We exist. Our very breath testifies to his existence. The continued human presence on earth testifies to his love.

To those who say that we are living in end times, I say, we've been doing that for over 2000 years. To those who believe that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent, I say that their belief is not very different from what the first century Christians believed.

We conquer this world not by what we do but by what we are. We are born of God and become children of God when we choose to believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord. In that very moment of becoming God's own we become one with Christ and his victory over sin and death becomes ours.

If you have suffered much your pain is not without purpose. Your suffering will make you even stronger in faith. Just rejoice in this today. Remember what Paul said. Our present sufferings are really nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Rejoice in this today.

Desire no change except only what God can bring about in his own way in his own time.

It is for light that I was born. It is to speak the words of light that my voice was given. So let me stay in the light and walk away from the darkness.

Today if you want to get do not fail to give.

To give love without expecting to get love can only be God's way. To love those who are not easy to love can only be God's way. To repay evil with good can only be God's way. The devil cannot take credit for any of these actions.

Our very breath testifies to a living God.

Pride is not good. It is not at all good. It keeps me from tasting the truth and living the life that God has for me. Every day God breaks my pride degree by degree. Every day God reveals to me my littleness and my wickedness. And for this I am thankful.

My deadness to sin I must declare every moment of my life. Sin must not reign in me; at least sin must never think that it has a prominent place in my life.

Faith is more inward belief than outward declaration.

Let this moment not pass from my active memory. God has again considered my request and granted it. My waiting that seemed endless has now ended in his conclusive answer. And it is the one I wanted. Surely my God answers prayers and grants the petitions of his children if they are willing to wait. Rejoicing surely came in the morning.

You can read the entire Bible and still miss seeing God.

There is hatred for God in this world. The way to counter this hatred is to present God who is essentially love. The reason why some people hate God is that they do not and cannot see love in him. I see God as utterly in love with Man. It is my belief that when a person sees this he is on the road to being transformed by the love of God.

In showing what love is I am glad that God did not just send us the words that Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians, but he actually demonstrated that love in the life and in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without this flesh-and-blood demonstration of love no one would have ever known what God's love is, and it is a most wonderful thing, and it is available to all who seek it, irrespective of caste, creed and colour. This is the good news that the world needs to hear: God's love is available to all, and by accepting his love we are saved from the wretchedness of our lives.

That God forgives all sins and loves all people is a fact that is hard to accept for some people. Even some who call themselves the followers of God have a problem with God showing grace to others even though they themselves have received the same grace.

In a world where everyone feels that he is right there will be conflict and division and hatred and unbearable pain.

Absolute humility is required when you belong to Christ. You must keep absolutely silent when provocative remarks and annoying suggestions are made. Sometimes you feel like lashing out as Job did at his sanctimonious, platitudinous friends. Sometimes it's good to call a spade a spade. But it's so much better to say nothing, to rein in that vicious impulse. I choose not to speak the vehement words not because I lack the vocabulary but because I prefer to bless the offender with my silence, or if I receive the grace I will bless him verbally.

I am thankful for my many weaknesses. I have been greatly humbled by them.

What I really do not want is to look weak before others. Even when I try to look weak I want to look strong.

Our elderly are our precious gifts. They may have little time left. We may have little time left. So let us use every moment of our time well and let us love our aged relatives and friends and celebrate their presence in our lives.

The best worship is to say "thank you".

Your resolve never to sin again will fail every time. So resolve never to make such resolutions. Just trust in Jesus. His grace is sufficient for everything.

If Christ lives in you then say to lust and every other stirring of your flesh, "God is greater than you. He always overcomes you."

It's God job to provide. It's my job to wait expectantly.

Sin in me is serious. But Jesus in me is far more serious.

I embrace my suffering in the hope that God will indeed finally reward me with his healing presence and joy, which no man can take away from me.

A certain boldness comes when you are desperate. A certain determined faith arises when you are pushed to the very edge.

I must have compassion when I deal with anyone, especially when I deal with someone very flawed in my eyes and who has disappointed me in some way. I must deal compassionately even with my enemies.

Fear is the last thing that should motivate you to enter into a relationship with God, who is your Creator. God is perfect love and drives out every fear. There is no fear that can consume you if you truly know the love of God. You should go to God because he made you for himself and without him there is no meaning and purpose to your life.

We can find something good even in someone who appears without merit if we look deeply with sympathy. And when we find the good we must declare it and celebrate it, so that the person may feel good and desire improvement. We cannot help people through unfavourable criticism and disparaging words. Such methods kill the spirit of others rather than give life to it.

Why do we emphasize what God hates? Why don't we emphasize what God loves? If God is indeed love then we must emphasize what he loves and study why he loves it.

It is I and only I who LET my heart be troubled. It is I and only I who choose to be miserable and without hope. If I put my trust in God as I say I do, then I must trust him enough to believe that he is sufficient for all my needs and that he is capable of guiding me through every difficulty and even able to solve all my problems.

Admit to God that you are weak. And admit to the world that you are weak without God. When you announce your weakness the world may judge you. There is a price to paid for honesty. Human beings may not always react well to honesty. But God is always pleased with an honest person.

It is to God I have asked a question in public. Though people may answer and though God's voice may sometimes be heard in what people say, I shall wait for God's answer, his quiet answer in my mind. He alone knows my heart. He alone has travelled with me on this journey. He alone knows what I need.

God has not strengthened us so that we may condemn others and tell them that they are wrong. No God has strengthened us so that we may bear with others and help them realize their error by showing ourselves as loving and compassionate humans who are ruled by the love of God.

Whether God grants my request or not I will still praise Him.

No more hateful fantasies and vengeful dreams for me - I shall hand them over to God and borrow from his heart of love.

I will thank God for everything, for every good thing, both little and big, for even the trouble that he sends. I will look forward to every opportunity to give thanks to my God.

Don't worry about what is wrong. Rejoice in what is right. Give everything to God. He will make your wrongs right.

What do I teach? I teach that God is love. And that he loves the world so much that he does not want anyone to perish. And that he can deal with outward differences that upset human beings. And that he accepts all who accept him and his love. And nothing shall separate us from his love. This I believe and this I teach.

God's people will never be ashamed. So I wait in hope for God. He will save me from my enemies and he will not let me be ashamed before them.

I may be no biological father. But I have a felt a love throb in my heart in the presence of a young child. I felt a deep sense of anguished joy at the task of raising a child for God. And that is the task of a father, plain and simple. A father needs to raise a child for God. He has to approach this task with the help of God, who will direct his every step and correct his every mistake. For the raising of a child is no task for a godless man.

Don't force anyone to believe in Jesus Christ. Tell those who do not know Christ the great story of his life, and what he and he alone could do for humanity. And when you tell them leave them with the vivid impression of God's immense love. And let the Spirit of God continue your work and let him be the one to work in the hearts and minds of those who hear. Finally let those who hear respond from their very being and whatever their response let it be theirs.

It is most difficult to forgive one's enemies. It seems unthinkable that one should pray for those who have hurt us. But that is exactly what Jesus did on the cross as he was dying, and by doing it he was showing us by example that forgiveness is what he expects from us. We cannot forgive like God without God in us. And God will be in us only if we believe in Jesus whom he sent to us. We should not only believe in Christ's perfect sacrifice for all human sins but we must also accept his example in compassion and forgiveness. And when we do so Christ will empower us to live and to forgive like him.

It is easy to hate. It is difficult to love. Those who are in Christ are called to do the difficult thing. The day before he died, Christ issued a new command to his disciples that they should love one another as he loved them. He was calling them to love to the point of sacrificing their lives for others. This is not only difficult but also impossible to all those who operate in the natural. But with God everything, even this kind of love, is possible.

You can be a people lover. But you cannot be a people pleaser. You please God and God only. And you do His work as He tells you, not in a manner than suits people. That is why the work for God can be a thankless one.

I'm in the business of sharing love. I'm in the business of sharing God's goodness with others. So I will share, even take the risk of sharing God with those who do not desire him. One never knows what may happen.

With God on my side why should I worry about my mistakes? He likes me just as I am, and if I am of a certain type it is He who made me that way. Why should He object to the work of His own hands?

Where there is no help but God's help, that's the best place to be.

Troubles have come, anxiety has stayed, but I will not forget the faithfulness of God.

Wear the sun on your face and walk into the depths of darkness.

It is all about learning to trust God. All the suffering that you go through takes you to a place of total trust in God.

Disciple of God, don't forget that in the worst storm there is a God beside you well in control of the situation.

I am neither an evangelist nor a prophet nor a pastor nor anything requiring a title before my name. I seek God. And God seeks me. And I speak about how desperately I cling to him. It is in fact the song that I have been asked to sing continually.

You can't love God and be afraid of him.

The great lesson that God teaches is to show a man what is in his heart.

Now that I have chosen to work for God and spend my time exclusively on spreading his message I must believe that God will take care of my needs. I must believe that God will provide even when it appears that he hasn't provided. I must be willing to wait patiently for God's gracious gift. I must trust in God and in his promises. God does not always work in the way I expect him to. Nevertheless God works silently but surely. And God cares about my plight. This I must believe.

Whatever happens don't be afraid. Don't let your mind be ruled by fear. Give without restraint and love without fear. And how you are received when you do that is not your concern at all.

When you don't have something, which you previously used to have, and you miss it badly now, thank God for the time when you did have it, when he mercifully gave you what you desired. The Lord who gave then still has the power to give.

God does everything. But for him to do everything we must cooperate. We cooperate by believing in his power to change us, and we allow him to change us by surrendering our will to him. With his help we learn to surrender our hearts and our minds. Yes God does everything, but we must let him. We must desire to change.

One thing I have finally realized. My life is not in my hands. It is in God's hands. I have left it there a long time ago. And nothing that I can do now can change that fact.

By doubting what God is doing in you you don't become what you really were meant to be.

When nothing happens simply wait.

Let me teach myself before I teach others. Let me read to myself before I read to others. Let me attend to myself before I attend to others.

We should be more concerned with our own faults than with the faults of others. For every fault we may find in another there may be in us two, which we must attend to.

When people try to upset you don't give them what they are looking for. Give them the opposite of what they expect from you. Bless them with a smile and give them a few kind words. That will show them what they are.

If God works the way we want him to work, then trusting him is no problem at all.

“O Lord save me! Have mercy upon me. I am a sinner struggling with my sin, I have no power over it except what you have given me. Continue to empower me O Lord. Help me obey you O Lord. Let me love what you love and hate what you hate. Apart from you I can do nothing. Problems have come to strangle the joy out of my life. But I will not lose hope. For my hope is in you. And nothing is difficult for you. Today I lay down all my burdens at your feet O Lord. Please do not despise my broken and contrite heart.” This is the prayer that I say today.

Before Jesus died he said to his disciples, "Love one another as I have loved you." Love is the main theme of Jesus' teachings. Without love nothing is possible. Without love nothing is worthwhile even if possible. Love is greater than faith and hope. Those who love will always be first, will always enter God's rest before those who have faith in God and yet are without love. So loving one another without discrimination of any kind and expectation of any kind is the best way to live.

You arrive at clarity only after a great deal of confusion.

The knowledge of truth is not enough. The practice of truth is what ultimately matters. This King Solomon lamentably demonstrated.

I cannot let sin reign in my mortal body and then wonder why I cannot spiritually ascend.

The life of faith must be lived on God's terms. Much as we like to know, God does not reveal everything and seems to withhold information. This is so to encourage trust, for it is only through obedience and trust that a man achieves his salvation.

"Thank you Lord" is the simplest and the sweetest thing to say to God now and for evermore.

The adverse reaction of people will not impact the man of God who is speaking for his Maker. People may respond favourably. Most often they may respond unfavourably. And at other times there may be no response at all. But the work of God must be done and will be done regardless of people's response.

You can give love and still be rejected. You can speak the truth and still not be heard.

The best time to pray for someone is right now. Praying for others is the hardest kind of prayer. A human being is naturally self-conscious and vulnerable to self-centredness. He promises to pray for others, but his prayers are usually focused on his own needs. He must overcome this tendency in the strength of God and in the knowledge of the lover that he is divinely designed to be. As a lover he will discover that his prayers are most rewarding when they focus on others, even those whom he has never met and from whom he has little hope of ever receiving thanks.

It doesn't matter how far you've gone and how much you have wasted. Let the prodigal sons return to their father.

Let the offence go. Hand over the offender to God. He alone can make restitution.

Your God will not desert you. Just wait for him quietly believing in his faithfulness.

It takes more courage to believe in God than to disbelieve in him.

Don't let the devil tell you who you were. Let God tell you who you are.

We have all rebelled against God and fallen short of his glory, and the glorious image in which we were made. Yet only some of us feel sorry for our rebellion.

How foolish of me to try to complete what God started in my life! What God does, no man can do.

Every time human beings have tried to predict doomsday they have failed. And they will continue to fail. It is better to live life assuming that this could be the final day of our lives. This way we may do what we need to do before it is too late.

"I will think the thoughts of God. I will speak the words of God. I will do the deeds of God." This should be the resolve of every child of God.

To love someone is to bless someone, and when we love someone we experience the greatest blessing.

The best answered prayer in my life are the two women who have lived with me till this day. When they became seriously ill, I cried out to God for their lives. And God answered me, and added years to their lives. Now they are in their eighties and are still going strong. Thank you God for my mother Hannah and my aunt Mary Helen Indra. They have been my greatest companions in this journey called life.

Belief in God is a risk. You could end up looking like a total fool, as you lay down your life for him. Still take the risk. The joy of heaven is worth that risk.

My greatest problem in faith is that from time to time I don't trust God to solve my problems.

I can't run away from God because I don't want to run away from God.

Sometimes it pours. Sometimes it drizzles. Sometimes nothing arrives from the sky. Be thankful for everything from the pouring rain to the dry season. Be firm in faith that everything will turn out for your good. For God is good and He likes to do something good for you.

There is only one reason to live. There is only one reason to do anything in life. It is to acknowledge the source of life. It is to please the Giver of all gifts. It is to glorify God. It is to proclaim that we belong to Him.

Feeling hope when it is hopeless is good. Giving hope to another when it is hopeless is better. Clinging to hope after many disappointments and offering hope to others even after many rejections is best.

There is always an English teacher in me even if I have walked many a mile away from teaching English.

The devil takes something beautiful and turns it into something ugly. God takes that very ugly looking thing and reveals its true beauty.

When Saint Paul asks us to flee evil he is not asking us to run away from evil in fear. We should not run away from evil. We should confront it in the strength of Jesus Christ and defeat it. When we run away from evil we acknowledge that evil is more powerful than we are. The truth is that we who are in Christ are more powerful than evil. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. We are more than conquerors in Christ. So let us act as conquerors and confront evil and defy it in the power of God. When Saint Paul asks us to flee from evil, he is asking us to walk away from evil deeds in the power of Christ.

It's God who keeps me going. Let me not take any credit for it.

You try so hard to impress people. What makes you think that they even care? And if they do care why should you even bother?

Maybe it is the man who appears to fail in the world who achieves success with God.

God understands better than any man will ever understand. God forgives more than any man will ever forgive. I prefer God to a man any day.

Smile through the pain. Hope through the disappointment. This is the way to honour your God.

I shall expect favour in the most unfavourable situation. I shall hope in the moment of total despair. I shall celebrate victory in the moment of defeat. Thus I shall conquer the forces against me.

To say hello to someone you have not spoken to in a while is good. To smile at even a stranger is good. Let humanity not forget this simple service of love.

To see what has been seen already, why should one be passionate about that? But to see what has not been seen, that is something one should be passionate about.

You cannot be destroyed if God is with you. You cannot be brought down if God is in you. You may fail every now and then to rise to your expectations. But God is truly more tolerant of you than you are of yourself. He would not have died for you if you could have died for yourself. He knows your frailty and tolerates it better than you imagine. So walk tall and straight. You will reach your destination, for He who holds your hand will not let go of it.

The benefit of evil is that when you see and experience it you want to walk away from it. In fact you want to run to what is good.

The journey started in pain. It is to be conducted in pain. It is to end in pain. Pleasure and joy are unwelcome to the student of pain. For they do not bring remembrance but forgetfulness of the precious knowledge gathered in pain. In that knowledge there is no empty joy but heavy pain.

Thank you God for life. It's good to be alive today. I could be unborn or dead. But I am still alive and able to praise you for your goodness and thank you for your love and kindness. Be with me today.

If I want to praise my God today with songs and prayers who can stop me from doing that? Who can stop me from worshipping my God? Worship is my decision. God is my God. No one, absolutely no one can stop me from worshipping God today.

You work for God, so be a servant in your thinking. Desire the well-being of your God and not your own well-being. Strive to spread His name and not your name. Be content to stay in His shadow even if you cannot be seen. In the glory of God is your glory. In His shelter is your eternal destiny.

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice", said Saint Paul. What does this mean? Why should we rejoice in the Lord? And why should we rejoice always? The Lord loved the world and proved his love by dying for us on the cross. The shedding of his blood makes it possible for us to taste the joy of belonging to him, of being children of God. We who were dead in our sins and doomed to go to hell have now the undeserved reward of eternal life with God. Not only should we receive this priceless gift with joy, but we must also celebrate this always, for there is much suffering in life and this will make us forget the tremendous gift that we have been given. Rejoicing always in the love of God and in the promise of an eternal life with him will help us bear the troubles on this earth.

What God usually looks for is humility. Whoever is aware of his powerlessness is usually the right person for God. What God really wants to know is whether a person genuinely acknowledges his need of God. If a person is genuinely dependent on God, then he is the right person for God. All of us are morally and spiritually corrupt. None of us is fit for God to work in us. However, it is only the humble among us who are fitted for God's work, and God himself does this fitting. What God resists is not talent but pride.

Be thankful to God for all gifts: the gifts that have come, the gifts that will come and the gifts that will never come. God is good. All that He does and does not do is for your good. Believe that today.

Do you want to progress spiritually? Then you must believe even if your belief appears ridiculous. You must wait though waiting seems hopeless. You must endure even if endurance means your ultimate doom. You should walk into a fiery death still hopeful of triumph.

I have the mind of Christ. I have the vision of Christ. This is what I will choose to believe even if my mind and my eyes deceive me at times. Let my choices and my path be dictated by what I choose to believe. There is a path that seems right, but let that path not be mine. There is a path that only God knows is right. Let that path be mine. There is a life that God has prepared for me. Let that be my life. Every other desire no matter how good and legitimate, let it vanish from my life.

This is the truth: it is humility that God is driving a man to. It is pride that a man is seeking to enlarge. And this is the source of all resistance to God.

To accept God's will when it goes against your own will is the greatest feat of enlightenment.

You cannot discard anything without the grace to do so. The ability to shun evil and choose good is a gift from God and comes only to those who humbly wait in the knowledge that only God can grant their need. And God will grant their need exactly when and how he chooses to.

Let me be grateful for every little bite I have to eat. Let me thank God for every moment, every joy, every sorrow, every lesson and every blessing. I'm alive now. I can still breathe, feel, think and thank.

It all begins with a simple "God bless you". A relationship begins with a simple smile.

Don't be eager to move ahead in this world. Be content to stay back as far as possible. Do not desire wealth or fame or position. Seek only God. Desire only his humility.

The most beautiful person is the one who admits that he is wrong and is willing to change.

Jealousy can make the prettiest person monstrously ugly.

God has a way of accomplishing His work. No twelve-step programme is required to harness the power of God. All that it takes is trust and surrender. A man must desire to change and must realize that only God can change him. He must allow God to work and must trust Him to complete the work. The rest is a matter of waiting and receiving.

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to speak too soon. We speak too soon because we arrive at a conclusion too soon. Let us cultivate the habit of thinking about something and thinking about it again and again until we know what we are dealing with. And then let us speak slowly.

If you are troubled today, it is likely that you will not be troubled tomorrow by what troubled you today.

There is a certain path that needs to be taken. There are certain things that must be cast away. There is a certain waiting that needs to be endured. And then that day will come.

Today whatever happens I know that God is with me. The power of the Lord Jesus Christ is here with me. I shall no longer fear what is to come. Where God is, there is no place for fear and uncertainty. Whenever trouble is near God is nearer.

What really hurts the Christ worker is not rejection by non-Christians but rejection by Christians. I have said this before. I say it again. Christianity is hurt most by Christians.

There is a terrible truth regarding words. We can't undo the words we speak. And it is impossible to tame the tongue. Let us pray today and ask God for mercy and grant us the grace to speak words that will not destroy both others and us.

I just want to take my eyes off the world and look only at God. This is my prayer today.

It is God who empowers me to love. By myself I am a bitter, hateful little man.

We will do this again and again until you get it right. I hear God saying this to me.

Let us not sow bad seeds today. Let us not punish people for their behaviour towards us. Let us not fail to show kindness to everyone, especially to the one who has hurt us. Let us ask God to give us the strength to do this.

Fear is from the devil. Faith is from God. Yet we cannot see the power of faith in the absence of fear. When faith rises above fear and hopes in God even in dire circumstances it becomes glorious.

Prayers

Give me the grace to live this life. I am weighed down by this trial. And your answer to my prayer troubles me. My life is riddled with difficulties and I am without what I used to have. Should I go on when I can do something about this? Yet this has been a long labour conducted unwaveringly. For many years I was frustrated by no obvious gains. But now after many years, the work seems to be getting results. Yet I am not sure. Is this the fruit that I was meant to bear? My doubts are aimed at the root of my plant. So come to my rescue today. Set me right. Steady my mind. Strengthen my heart. And give me the grace to live this life as you want me to live it.

O God, please restore order in my house. Let your example of love shine before us and show us the way to your dwelling place. Let us resolve to love one another just as you loved us. Let us forgive one another just as you forgave your killers on the cross. Let us not fight worthless battles seeking our own way. Let us not speak bitter, hateful words that can only destroy and kindle the worst in others. Teach us how to overcome evil with good. O God, please fight our battles for us. Let us learn to rest in you.

O please give me the mind to seek you today. Give me the eyes to see your many wonderful works. Give me the desire to see what you have made with joy and love. Give me a heart overflowing with gratitude for the gift of life. O Lord, even the shortest life on earth is better than not having lived at all.

Friend, may God be with you today. May he protect you from all evil. May he grant you his desires and enable you to live life to the full. May you be happy today and may people know the reason for your happiness.

Today pray for a drunkard who cannot quit drinking. Pray for an addict who cannot say no to the thing that entices him. Pray for a man who has been given a gift but cannot give it. Pray for a man who is determined to ruin himself because he cannot see a way out. Pray for his family whose lives have turned into hell as a result of his violence. Pray that they will still hope for a miracle. Pray that this man may see Jesus and walk into his welcoming arms. Pray that he and his family may find lasting peace.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - May 2015

The best thing in my life is that I get to share God with the people in the world, even as I go through a certain storm.

The heat can affect your mind. But let your heart be steady.

When you don't receive an answer to your prayer, pray for someone else.

When you can laugh at yourself you have grown.

Now I can agree with what I previously disagreed with. That's the passage of time and the thing that comes along with it called growth.

Don't fight for preserving numbers. Fight for preserving sense.

There is the need for advancement in every kind of knowledge. But as far as spiritual knowledge is concerned, some prefer it as old as the hills. Old is best. The inspired biblical writers are the only available sources of divine knowledge. Also no departure beyond the written text, preferably authorised by King James is recommended.

It is either don't worry or worry. It is either God has paid for all your sins or you must pay for all your sins. It is either focus your attention on loving somebody today or focus your attention on feeling sorry for your many sins today. You can't mix these opposites and then call it good news. Yet this is what is often referred to as good news.

Trust no human wisdom if you are out to seek God.

You must go through your mistakes to know what is wrong with them. You must live out their consequences to flush them out of your system. In short before you divorce them, you should be married to your mistakes.

No matter how many times you fall today know that you will rise in the strength of the Lord.

Those who want to love must be willing to suffer for that love.

You can speak volumes about Jesus love. Or you can go out and serve someone, and be the best friend that you can to that person.

You love by showing. Show your love today.

We have all rebelled against God and fallen short of his glory, and the glorious image in which we were made. Yet only some of us feel sorry for our rebellion.

We were created to be perfect. But we became imperfect when we chose to believe in God's great enemy.

Let the addict not accuse the society of feeding his addiction. Let the corrupt man not look at God and accuse him of faulty craftsmanship. Let the sinner admit his sin and take responsibility for it. For the weak man should learn to say he is strong. He must discover his original strength, when God created him in his own image.

Let the drunkard not accuse his wife of infidelity. Let him look deep into himself and see the moral failure that he is. Let him admit his insecurity and his inadequacy. And let him seek God who alone can make him secure and adequate.

We are all rebels. Some of us are ashamed of our rebellion, while others can live with it.

Don't let the devil tell you who you were. Let God tell you who you are.

It takes more courage to believe in God than to disbelieve in him.

Let us give glory to God because he gives us the strength to go through trouble. This is a greater gift than just delivering us from trouble. God wants us to discover our true strength, the strength that we find in him, in the midst of trouble.

Your God will not desert you. Just wait for him quietly believing in his faithfulness.

If you want to keep a friend, don't like him too much. Be moderate in the way you respond to a person. Never show excessive attention to anyone. Let everyone be equal in your eyes.

I'm learning the most unforgettable lesson. In this walk called life God alone is constant. At least he emerges eventually as the only one who can be found at one's side when all have left.

Loving God and all that he created is the greatest act of obedience.

God has thought of me. He has not forgotten me. In my time of trouble God has reached out to me. As I struggle on in life, trying to do what God inspired in me, I called out to God for help. And he responded. His grace is sufficient for me. Let me believe in this today. And let me give thanks to God for his kindness to me. May God be kind to all his people. May he supply their needs today.

From God I have learned to shut up.

Along with the ability to use words, I have also gained the ability not to use words, when words can only damage.

At the core of worship is gratitude. At the core of gratitude is contentment.

It is impossible to be grateful if you are not happy with who you are.

Be what God made you to be. And God apparently didn't want all of us to be the same. There is variety in his artistry, and there is difference within everything he made. Let us then be ourselves no matter how different that may be. This is the way we truly celebrate life. Let us be grateful for our individuality today.

God's apparent slowness and indifference may send the wrong signals to the believer. But the believer must determine to see things God's way and trust in the faithfulness of God to complete what he started.

Will Jesus Christ come back soon? This is not even on my mind. Will I believe in Jesus Christ today despite his apparent indifference to me? This is the question on my mind that requires an immediate answer.

I don't think about the end times. I think about my own end, and how I want to do something of value before I die. This keeps me going.

From fearlessness I have moved to fear. But this is no fear of man or what humans can do to me. It is the fear of God, and of who he is and what I cannot be without him.

To withhold the sword is the greatest feat in power.

I will declare that I am strong even as I feel weak. For the Lord keeps me at peace even in the most difficult times.

The idea of God is that no man should boast and consider himself better than others. If faith makes a man feel better than another who does not have faith, then that faith is not from God.

"Holy Spirit filled Christian", "born again Christian" - these are only man-made labels that seek to distinguish and glorify human beings. Before God we are either yielded or rebellious. If we are yielded, it is not by our own effort, for faith from the beginning to the end is a work of God.

People react in many ways to the Bible. It is desirable that they see hope instead of despair, tolerance instead of bigotry, love instead of hatred as the goals to pursue after reading the Bible. But such a reaction is by no means guaranteed. A reaction that runs contrary to this is more often seen among those who claim to have read the Bible.

We are all Holy Spirit filled if we are believers in Jesus Christ. This is nothing new and deserves no special attention. That we have the Spirit in us reveals nothing about us that is praise-worthy. Faith from the beginning to the end is the work of God. The human just hangs on to the faith given to him, and does that by the grace of God.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are the follower of the Servant. The follower of the Servant is a servant too. So be prepared to do whatever you need to do to serve God and his people.

Today is the day to submit to God. Today is the day to prepare for his coming. It is as simple as that.

Even a lesson, especially a lesson is a blessing.

God's way is best. But Man must have his way, and live it to the full. Only then will he accept God's way as the best.

If you desire sanity in the heat of your madness, then you are sane indeed.

All misunderstandings must be realized. All misconceptions must be given up ultimately. Yet this is a process. You'll have to misunderstand and misconceive again and again until realization and disillusionment ripen to the point of falling off your tree. You may pluck the fruit prematurely, but its early loss will be mourned.

Let the offence go. Hand over the offender to God. He alone can make restitution.

Extreme care is extreme fear.

The worst thing a human can do is to define God and godly actions. There is no one formula that fits all. Each and every one of us has to discover God in his or her own way.

This is the reason why I live. This is the reason why I work for God. And if I ever doubt God, what he has done in me in the last ten years and more attests to his transforming power.

Bible study is essential. But practising love is vital.

Knowing the heart of God is more important than knowing his head.

Sin drives me to God. Once sin became visible as sin, the road to God appeared along with it. And the strength to walk the road is directly proportional to the enormity of my sin.

"Will I be known?" is no longer relevant to me. "Will God be known through me?" seems a worthwhile question to ask. Anyway I am a little player in a very big game. That's all I see these days. Any focus on my own agenda seems ridiculous now. With God I can only shine. So I will not think about my personal goal any more.

I'm waiting for God, not for any human. I wait for God to come down and marry his bride, and I hope to be united with him in an unending relationship. I hold flowers only for him.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - April 2015

Have the humility to correct yourself. You'll need to do it many times in life.

This is humility. To know that one can do nothing apart from Jesus Christ, to know that nothing good can ever happen to a person apart from God willing it, in short to know nothing is essentially a personal achievement for everything is a work of God, is humility.

I'm waiting for God, not for any human. I wait for God to come down and marry his bride, and I hope to be united with him in an unending relationship. I hold flowers only for him.

Reading the word of God is not the same as knowing the word of God. Knowing the word of God is not the same as agreeing with the word of God. In short you can read the Bible well and not be a friend of God. There's one more thing. Knowing the word of God is not knowing God as someone you want to follow. To know him like that you must know the indispensability of his love. For without it none of us will escape from the uncompromising fire of his judgement. If we have received such love, then the least that we can do is to share it with other humans.

Today you may listen to one voice or the other. One is the voice of God. The other is the voice of the devil. To listen to God you must hear what he has to say. And what he has to say will not be pleasant to the ears. But if you would suffer for him, and will suffer with him, he will lead you to a place of quiet even as terrible noises are heard all around you. But if you choose to listen to the devil, he will have something pleasant for your ears. He will encourage you to be selfish and do your thing, even if it is something you can barely whisper to another person. He will lead you to joys that are as temporary as your life, and in them you will forget yourself and everyone around you.

When doubts arise in your mind and fears regarding the faithfulness of God engulf you, think of your starting point. It is God who brought you from a state of being nothing to a state of being something. You who were nothing, an absolute zero, became something in a human womb, when God made you. If he can take you from zero to one, he can take you to 100 or 200 or wherever you have to go.

Jesus said, "The enemies of a man will be the members of his own household." At an external level, this statement seems very improbable. But I have tasted the bitter truth of this in my own life. I now say openly that I am living with enemies. No one has troubled me as much as the people in my own home. Is this a cross I need to bear? I suppose so. May God help me carry this cross.

If Jesus Christ carries the weight of the world upon his shoulders, I know that he will carry each and every one of us, if we would only go to him.

My desire to glorify God persistently is my great blessing.

Despite the troubles in my life, I'm still happy to do the work of God. This is the joy of the Lord.

Even if you let go, God will not. Remember that you are in his grasp, and not the other way round. And no one can pluck you out of his hand.

When things fall apart, try to do one thing right. Treat those around you well. Speak kindly, If you can't, speak nothing. At least smile. Do that one thing well.

Just don't feed a person. Know that person.

Belief in God is a risk. You could end up looking like a total fool, as you lay down your life for him. Still take the risk. The joy of heaven is worth that risk.

Let the tares be removed by angelic professionals. Just let them tangle around your wheat for a while.

Don't shear off the black hair. There's pure woolly white growing underneath.

Every fall has a purpose and a lesson to teach.

If you've fallen today remember that God is there to help you rise.

Don't look for an excuse to sin. Don't look for a justification to surrender to a weakness. Believe that you are strong in God. Declare it again and again, even if it makes no sense. And believe that this tempting thing shall pass.

What we do with God is far more important than what we do for God.

Do I feel like a new creation in Christ? It doesn't matter how I feel. What Christ has done and is doing will be continued until completion.And as long as I live, whatever battles I fight, I will not lose confidence in the newness of what Christ created in me.

To love someone is to bless someone, and when we love someone we give the greatest blessing.

God does not force us to accept his love. Nor does he force us to express our love for him. There should be nothing forced about love, either God's love or our love.

The thing that keeps me going in this life of suffering, in a seemingly indifferent world, is the knowledge that God in some great unknowable way cares about me, and everything that happens to me. He cares about all that troubles me, more than anybody else, even more than what I can guess. This hope alone steadies my walk even as the hostile gales of life blow hard against me.

If we let lose our natural instincts, they will lead us to insanity, not to mention horrendous crime.

Hoping in God seems to be a most treacherous road. Still strangely it keeps me going,

He who hopes in God must be ready to see many doors slammed shut in his face. For hope is what remains even after many disappointments. Such hope can only come from God, and is inspired by uncompromising belief.

We shouldn't stop doing good because someone is not grateful to us. We should always be willing to do good for God's sake. God gave everything to us when we were utterly ungrateful and unaware. Then how can we withhold our God-inspired actions in the world because people are not grateful to us?

Don't let the evil thought reign in your head. Cast it away in the name of Jesus Christ. Be prepared for a long battle. Even if you lose many times, do not ever give up your resolve to cast out the evil thought.

Let God always be in my head. Let every thought proceed through him and be blessed by him. Let God always be in my heart. Let every feeling be channelled through him and meet with his approval. Let God always be with me until the very end of my life. This should be our prayer as children of God.

If Jesus Christ has set you free, then you are free indeed, no matter how you feel.

It is not by gritting one's teeth and clenching one's fists that the great victories in faith are won. It is by trusting in the promise of God, who will never leave us or forsake us. This we must remember even as the ground beneath us is shaking and our world is appearing to collapse.

"I will think the thoughts of God. I will speak the words of God. I will do the deeds of God." This should be the resolve of every child of God.

The body of Christ should be a place where the most unwelcome people find welcome. The church should be a place where the most broken and twisted people find refuge. The people of Christ must be grace-givers like Christ. A policy of not associating with such people and keeping them out actively only shows the separatist, exclusivist tendency of the church, and this is not only un-Christlike but also treacherous on the part of those who were once broken and twisted themselves. We who were lost in our sins have been saved so that we may welcome others who need to be saved. If we fail to do this we fail utterly to show gratitude for our salvation. Any excuse for our alienation of such people, including a biblical justification for separating ourselves goes against the very concept of love, which was lavished on us even while we were out-and-out rebels.

Don't wait for me to say sorry. Embrace me before that. That's how the God you love is.

This is my wish for you. May God fill the vacant places in your mind and your heart. And may nothing be lacking in your life.

I'd like to visit a church, where practising prostitutes and active criminals frequent. I wonder whether such a place exists.

You were right. And I was wrong. So what? Let's be friends. Let's show some sweetness while we still can.

Nothing makes a person so unappealing as a hard heart does.

Let us not forgive people by casting them out.

When I go to church it is to see people worship. When I see them worship I know that I am in the presence of God.

If churches are places for respectable people, it is best to avoid them.

When someone knocks on your door please open it. Don't pretend that no one knocked. If you must send him away do so. But let your rejection be plain.

Why this hardness? Be soft. Be forgiving. Be like the God that you say you love. Show me some love today. I may not always be here. You may not always be here. Let's show some love while we can.

My work for God is not dependent on who walks in and walks out. People are always invited. In fact there is no justification for work without people to serve. But the reaction of people will not adversely affect the course of my work.

It takes a lot of inner strength to be cheerful around a complaining person.

An inflexible doctrine may be the worst thing in faith. Our knowledge of God is always growing and changing. Some things will never change. God will always remain great even though our perception of him changes.

Intolerance is the ugliness of life. It is the ugly thing that disfigures the Christ doctrine of unconditional love in Christian circles.

If you are still struggling with sin after inviting Jesus Christ in you, remember this: you are already more than a conqueror in Christ. You have already attained the status of an overcomer. And though you're still struggling, and still feeling the pain and disappointment of the struggle, remember that this is the sign of God living in you. Unless God is in you, you will not experience the struggle that you are now going through.

I minister to myself. Thus I minister to others. God made me a chief carrier of disease, so that I can learn all about it, and then apply to myself the self-help tools that such knowledge brings, and then apply to others the same tools. With grace these should work.

I would like my life to be trouble-free. But the closer I get to God I realize more that my life will not be trouble-free. But if I am a man of God, I must believe in the promise of God who said that he will deliver me from all my troubles.

I don't know whether Jesus is coming soon. I guess that many of us are going to die soon. It is wise to make the best of life today. We must enjoy the gift of life before it is too late. And we must give as freely as we have received to know the ultimate joy in life. And we must seek God tirelessly even as we contend with innumerable distractions in this world.

Every time human beings have tried to predict doomsday they have failed. And they will continue to fail. It is better to live life assuming that this could be the final day of our lives. This way we may do what we need to do before it is too late.

Love is the greatest blessing we can receive. Love is the greatest blessing we can give. Let us not fail to receive and give love today.

In anger one wants to lash out words of death. But we who follow Jesus Christ must remember his final silence in the most terrible hours of his life. We must learn to forgive like him and speak blessing instead of curse.

The followers of Jesus Christ are the followers of love. The love they follow is the love of Christ. It is a love that forgives and erases sins. It is a love that accepts the unacceptable and celebrates the return of lost sons and daughters of God. It is a love that does not judge or condemn anyone. It is a love that only Christ can teach. It is a love that must be received first. And then it must be given away to those who need to receive it.

People who invite Jesus Christ into their lives will fail to live their lives. For Christ will live for them and in them, and they shall die forever, so that they may live forever in him. This life that Jesus lives in them is not always obvious or overpowering. Yet Jesus is in there, in them, guiding them, keeping them, and he will not let them go, no matter how slippery the places where they walk may be. For Christ never loses the ones who are given to him. His Father's hand will not yield those who are firmly in its grasp. So let those who are in Christ abandon the fear, and welcome the faith. Nurture it. Speak it. Shout it from the rooftop: "I live in God. He lives in me. And nothing can separate the two of us."

How foolish of me to try to complete what God started in my life! What God does, no man can do.

Just believe. Just believe in a God who is watching out for you. Just believe in a God who wants the best for you. Just believe in a God who knows what you need even before you ask for it. Just believe. Dare to believe. Don't be swayed by what you see. For what is seen is temporary, and what is not seen is permanent. There is a loving, caring God in the invisible realm, who cares more about you than anyone in the visible world.

Someone has accepted Jesus Christ. What does it mean? Is it a moment's acceptance captured by a camera? Or is it something deeper, less obvious, and more prolonged? I believe that to accept Jesus, we must also accept our own severely flawed selves and the love that God shows us despite our apparently unending sins. This love is expressed mainly as forgiveness, and this we must not just accept but also learn from. We have been exposed to so great a love, so that we may reflect it to others. So to accept Christ is no momentary event, which can be captured and displayed for public awareness. But to accept Christ is to be transformed by his love, and inspired by his forgiveness, and this takes time, very much beyond a single moment.

I say to God today. Give me the grace to forgive. For forgiveness is the outcome of divine love. If God could forgive me, and I know what I have done, I should be ready to forgive anyone and everyone any time and every time. Let me not fail to do this.

To love God is to love beyond disappointment.

If I can wish my enemy well today I am well today.

At a certain point in our lives, all of us who want to be near God must say, "This is enough. I can't go on any further like this. I must stop what I am doing. For this is not what I am. I am a child of God. I think like God. I feel like God. I want to do like God. I belong to God, so this bondage, this thing that I do repeatedly, is not what I really am. I am better. I am higher. I am nothing like what this thing is making me out to be. I'm done with this. I'm going to be what God has made me to be."

"The evil that I do not want to do, this I keep on doing." When I read this line and the passage from which it comes, I was stunned by the realization that Saint Paul had written about my life. And now it has become rather clear that he had written about all of us in this world, who want to be like God, but are struggling hopelessly against sin.

It is being sick that keeps the doctor next to you. So if you need the doctor at your side be at peace with your sickness.

Love is what happens after you do not get what you want. If you continue in your love despite the disappointment of not receiving from the one you love, then your love is surely a love from God.

If we humans do good because God programmed us to do good, then that kind of good is not really good at all. God gave us the freedom to do either good or evil, so that we may choose to do good as he does. Only when we choose to do good are we really doing good.

Our ultimate aim in life is to learn to be like God. God has given us the freedom to live any way we want, so that we may ultimately choose to do good as he does.

We were told not to grow weary of doing good because one is perfectly capable of becoming weary of doing good. There comes a time in the process of doing good, that it appears futile and thankless. And the doer of good gets deeper and deeper into trouble for his good intentions. That's when he wants to quit. So he is told by God not to quit at a time like that, for a reward is coming in due season. Yes, we humans do good for a reward, whether we like it or not. So let us wait for it and do as God says.

I feel like a work frustrated and halted on many occasions. Is God really working in me? Is he such an inefficient worker that he has to take such a long time to craft me? Yes, God seems terribly slow and woefully inefficient. Yet he is God. And I must trust him, and believe that he is all powerful. Today it is difficult to believe this. Yet I will believe. For this is the essence of faith - to believe in the impossible, to expect the improbable, and to contemplate expectantly what seems hopeless.

Every experience is good, especially the bad experience. Nothing teaches and equips one as much as a bad experience, for in badness much is revealed, if only we would open our eyes and see.

There comes a time when external noise should not reach our inner places. That is the time we must fix our eyes on God, and just behold him in stillness.

Pray for the afflicted one today. Yes pray for that person who afflicts you with her affliction. Pray that God may touch that person and fill her with his love. You may be the only person who is praying that for her.

Let the insults you have received turn into opportunities to bless others. Remember what Jesus said. "Bless those who curse you." If you can bless those who have cursed you, you can certainly bless those who have insulted you. Look at it this way. An insult is a doorway to blessing. Yes, by blessing others who have insulted you, you bless yourselves.

Don't carry the insults of others on your back. Give them away to Jesus Christ, and carry his love and forgiveness in your heart and give them to those who have insulted you. Let the insults you receive turn into opportunities for you to bless those who have insulted you.

To love your neighbour as yourself you must excuse your neighbour as you excuse yourself.

The act of listening to God in my life has been the act of listening to silence.

Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. So hear what silence tells you today.

There will be change only after pain. Be ready to suffer to be able to change. Those who are happy with what they are will never change.

We cannot live for ourselves. We have been bought at a price. We have been made in a certain way. We cannot pretend forever that we have the right to live our lives any way we want. When we hear the voice of God, let us pay attention to him, and be willing to abandon our way for his.

There is something paranoid about the tendency to give God all the glory. The glory belongs to him anyway. None of it belongs to the human for the human is a work of God. Knowing this is enough. Mentioning it often does not increase its factuality or augment the speaker's veracity.

Very often in life we find things not working out as we wanted to. That's when we must learn to accept the will of God. He wants the best for us, even if we don't like what is happening in our lives. God is with you. Just entrust everything in his hands. And look away from your problems. Acknowledge these things and feel happy. Above all you have God. You can never walk away so far that God cannot reach you. Just remember that.

Be strong.There is a lot in you that is admirable. Just find it. And hold on to it. And whatever your problem, give it to God. Just speak to him as though he is sitting next to you. Tell him everything. And ask him to take care of you, as only he can. After that just turn your attention to everything that seems beautiful and hopeful in life.

As far as I know myself, I have found out that I am exactly what God is not. To know God then, I had to know myself. Still it was God who revealed to me who I am, and when I saw myself I saw what God was not. Or to put it another way, God is what I am not.

After knowing myself till now, I believe that God is everything that I am not.

The truth of God is always the same. The truth of Man changes every now and then.

Today I will say only two prayers. "Thank you" and "Your will be done."

You cannot know God without knowing yourself.

When you are with God, it is never too late or too hopeless. Just call out to him and you will know.

Knowledge by itself is not enough. Experience by itself cannot sustain a good life. What sustains a good life is God's grace, which a person must constantly need, for grace alone can remedy the many ills of life. A man who is constantly weak constantly seeks God, who constantly strengthens him. This is the only way out of the mess that life can so very easily be without God.

When I started my work for God I was alone with God. Now as I continue my work in the midst of a few people I am still alone with God.

I don't become a man of God because people call me so. I don't stop being a man of God because people fail to call me so.

The hardest thing to do is to forgive people who don't seem to be sorry for what they have done. Yet this is what Jesus did on the cross, and we, his followers must learn from this.

Rejoicing in God is not a matter of feeling, but is a matter of will. Let us decide to rejoice in God and in the great gift of life today, no matter how we feel.

It doesn't matter how far you've gone and how much you have wasted. Let the prodigal sons return to their father.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - March 2015

Blessings are of many kinds. Some seem good, others seem bad.

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.

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.

Let me pray for the offender today. Let me pray that she recognizes a God who loves her just as she is. Let her receive the love of God today, and when she does, she will be able to accept God's forgiveness. And when she knows that she is forgiven she will be free to love and forgive everyone who irritates her.

The offender is a greater victim than the person she victimizes.

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.

Knowing that there is a God who loves us unendingly is our greatest blessing.

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!

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

God's love is our greatest blessing. It is not based on who we are but on who God is. And God's love never ends.

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

To live well you must dare to experiment. You must be willing to fail in your attempt.

With God you are most likely to walk into uncharted territory. And the only way to do this is to stop questioning and start trusting.

If I could only tolerate myself as God tolerates me, I will be at peace.

You must learn to live with your imperfections to be at peace with yourself.

The undeserving me is the best candidate for God's grace.

A day with myself is the best therapy for my pride.

The first step in love is forgiveness. Forgiving who you are and forgiving what others are are the necessary ingredients of this forgiveness. We need to forgive ourselves for our moral ugliness, and forgive others for theirs. And the next step in love is tolerance. If we can tolerate who we are, when we know who we are, then we should do the same for others. If we cannot do so we are being terribly unfair.

When I know myself, I can only love others.

People are people. You either welcome them with open arms, or do a background search to screen out the undesirable, and then let in only those who make you feel comfortable. I wonder what the Jesus approach is.

With God it is impossible not to enjoy life.

Let what happens in my life today be according to God's will. Let God govern every thought, word and act that proceed from my mind.

How many outsiders will look on the Christian community and see a loving, tight-knit group of people devoted to glorifying God without being negatively impacted by individual differences and peculiarities that mark people in general? How many will see Christians as a compassionate group of people who are driven purely by the motive of sharing God's unconditional love with others in the same unconditional way?

What is the use of faith and devotion when you can't treat one another well? What is the use of knowing the Bible like the back of your hand, without being able to be kind and considerate in your dealings with others? As Saint Paul said, all the heavenly and earthly knowledge amount to nothing if we don't have love. Let us today focus on the one thing that makes us something - love. And let us first receive that love from God graciously and then give it to others also graciously.

The hypocritical talk regarding sin must stop first. Who has not sinned in this world? By God's definition everyone has sinned and is actively sinning every day. There's nothing we can do about it as long as we are in this world. So if we have anything to say, let us lift one another up, and encourage one another. There is a God in this world who loves us despite our sins. This is the message that we must send out. This is the joyful truth by which we must live.

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.

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.

If you are troubled and you believe in God, remember that Jesus Christ told us not to worry. To worry is to betray fear. And to worry a lot does indicate a flagging confidence in God. Let us remember the times in the past when God stood by us and saved us from many difficulties. What he did then he will do again, if we would only believe.

To forgive you must love.

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.

Who are the children of God? And where are the children of God? Do the children of God necessarily carry the label Jew and Christian? Are they located geographically in certain pockets of the world? A child of God is any human being who has gone through a process of regeneration, when his spirit has been transformed into divine likeness by the mysterious work of the holy spirit in all those who have believed in God's love for the world expressed in the act of sacrificing his own son, Jesus Christ, on the cross as the expiation for all the sins committed by humans from beginning to end. Such a transformed person cannot carry any label other than the child of God, and any other man-made label such as Christian or Jew or anything else is only secondary in nature. He may be found anywhere in the world, and groups of people like him may also be found anywhere in the world, not necessarily in a politically defined geographical area. In essence the children of God are transformed spirits existing everywhere and anywhere in this world.

The entire world is God's territory. And he will have it bit by bit if necessary. But he will have it eventually and entirely. According to the biblical story, the world was given to Man for safekeeping. And Man gave it away to Satan, when he became the devil's slave through his fallen nature. The world will now be wrested away from the devil and his demons degree by degree. The first and the foremost act in this direction was accomplished by Jesus Christ through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead many years ago. Now God is gradually reconciling humans to himself by the preaching of his gospel to the ends of the world, and by turning men and women to himself, he is recovering the most important territory, the hearts and minds of people. This is far more significant than any geographical conquest.

It is difficult to remember the great deeds of God when we tread a problem-ridden path. Every time we face a problem on such a path, we tend to panic and even lose our faith. No one saw miracles of the kind that the Israelites witnessed on their way out of Egypt into the promised land. Yet frequently they panicked and lost hope. They gave up on God many times. But God did not give up on them. Today as we go through problems in life, let us remember the times when God saved us in difficult, even impossible situations. And let us keep the faith when we come upon bitter waters in a time of great thirst.

Do not embrace your weakness. Embrace your strength.

We shall fall, and we cannot prevent that. But we shall also rise every time we fall in the strength of God. This we must not fail to do.

Christ lives in us. But we are responsible for the extent to which we allow Christ to be seen in us. And the more we reveal Christ along with our prejudices and insecurities, he will come across to others as a god who is also marked by prejudice and insecurity.

God exists. He exists in us. When people see us they see God in us. Let us take care as to how we reveal God to others.

We teach love by showing love. Let us show love today. And let us show it to everyone regardless of who he or she is.

We are never in a position to discriminate between who is good and who is bad. We are certainly not in that position at a moment's notice. The danger of not letting someone in is this: this person may be someone whom God has sent to us for a purpose, and only by letting him in will that purpose be fulfilled. If we let our superficial, faulty judgement of the character of this person come in the way of our ministering to him, or his ministering to us, we miss out on God's will either way.

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.

When someone knocks on your door, the most Christ-like thing you can do is to let him in.

Spiritual arrogance is more deadly than worldly arrogance.

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.

No one should be absolutely sure that he belongs to God. God alone will decide who is his and who is not his. We must always seek him in the awareness of our own unworthiness, the depths of which we have not fully discovered.

A discriminating mind is not a loving mind. To discriminate people based on differences is not the way of love. Ultimately we are all children of God, not just the Jews, not just the Christians. To glory in our state of being the elect, is a terrible kind of arrogance, which is not in keeping with what Jesus Christ taught.

Fear is from the devil. Faith is from God. Yet we cannot see the power of faith in the absence of fear. When faith rises above fear and hopes in God even in dire circumstances it becomes glorious.

It is never too late to say thank you. Say thank you to someone today, no matter how delayed your thanks may be.

Let us never treat the elderly with disrespect. They need us and let us be there for them, no matter how difficult they are to be with.

Be kind to your brother and sister today, even if this person has hurt you.

Let us not sow bad seeds today. Let us not punish people for their behaviour towards us. Let us not fail to show kindness to everyone, especially to the one who has hurt us. Let us ask God to give us the strength to do this.

Faith in the absence of fear is no faith.

Faith must walk alongside fear and overcome it.

Do not fear today whatever the trouble. Cast your cares on God. Trust in him to deliver you. Sing a song of praise no matter how you feel. Believe. Just believe.

A love for God and all that God has done is what will unite the people of God. Doctrines and theologies emerging from human understanding can only divide.

I entrust all my cares to God. And I will be happy today. For this is God's will for all his children.

Great weaknesses bring about a great humility.

I need to have a child-like faith in God above all book knowledge and spiritual wisdom.

I have lost many things in this life lived for God. Still Jesus Christ will always remain mine, and I will always remain his.

Let all brothers and sisters learn from Joseph, son of Jacob. He did not curse his brothers even once, though he had much reason to. God has not given us brothers and sisters so that we may curse them, no matter what the provocation. Let us learn to forgive and coexist in love. It is certainly good and pleasant when brothers and sisters live in harmony.

What can a human curse do to me when I have God's blessing on me?

If someone curses you, bless that person. Forgive that person and pray to God that he may heal that person Say boldly, "I am blessed and I cannot be cursed, If God is for me, no one can be against me."

The greatest need today is to receive God's love. If we taste God's love we can forgive anybody and anything.

No day is a bad day to say thank you to God.

God will not let his children be humiliated. So just believe that you will be all right.

It is sad when the children of God instead of building each other up are tearing each other down. Instead of looking at what is good and admirable in others they are distracted by what they find bad and distasteful. No one in this world can satisfy another perfectly. Since each one of us falls short of the glory of God, and still God accepts everyone just as he or she is, we must do the same for one another. If we fail to do that we prove that we only want to receive grace but not return it to others.

Jesus has proved conclusively that we are absolutely in no position to throw stones at anyone. So let's put down our stones, and remove the beams from our eyes.

Do you work quietly. Love everyone. Judge no one. Leave everything to God.

Do the right thing. Don't do the selfish thing. It brings immediate satisfaction. But the right thing brings lasting satisfaction even if it hurts at the beginning.

There was a time when I gave and very few were willing to receive. But I continued to give. That is why I'm still giving and there are now many who are willing to receive.

Even if some people don't welcome you, you welcome everyone.

God, help me see the good in everyone. And let me not be quick to judge anyone. Grant me compassion to see people as you see them, so that I will not condemn them.

I just want to take my eyes off the world and look only at God. This is my prayer today.

Losing our temper is our excuse for uttering curses. We say that we spoke in anger and didn't really mean it. If we didn't really mean it, we should have never spoken those hurtful words. Once we have spoken them we have become responsible for them. And we will not escape from being condemned by them.

Let our rage not become our excuse to destroy others. We are all capable of verbal destruction. But blessed is the human who can rein in those terrible words even after a horrible provocation.

Even an unuttered curse in our hearts is as bad as an audibly spoken curse. And we must account for that.

If we want a blessing we must bless others. It is that simple. Yet the last thing we do sometimes is to bless others. In fact many times the first thing we want to do is to curse others.

Let's do a hard thing today. Let's bless the one who has cursed us. Let's pray for this person and ask God to heal the mind of this person.

There is a terrible truth regarding words. We can't undo the words we speak. And it is impossible to tame the tongue. Let us pray today and ask God for mercy and grant us the grace to speak words that will not destroy both others and us.

God requires people to show faith in him. Without faith it is impossible to please God. So those who ask for proof to believe in God are wasting their time.

A particularly good test of Christ-likeness is when one is repaid evil for doing good.

What really hurts the Christ worker is not rejection by non-Christians but rejection by Christians. I have said this before. I say it again. Christianity is hurt most by Christians.

There is no point in running away from temptation. You must face it boldly and study it thoroughly. You must know yourself, and know your weakness. You must ask God to grant you his strength, for you cannot overcome your weakness without the strength of God. And the release from your bondage will be gradual. You must trust in God and believe that he will grant you the grace to overcome your temptations degree by degree. Finally don't run away from your weakness. For when you are weak then you are strong. God works best in your weakness.

Many are the troubles of God's people. But God will deliver us from them all eventually. This is the promise we must bear in mind as we undergo troubles in life. And God does not give us only troubles. He also gives us moments of relief and joy, when we can replenish ourselves to continue the struggle.

Without the Bible there can be no proper understanding of God and his mission in this world. The great story of God's love will not emerge in its present clarity without the biblical texts that progressively reveal the heart of God to the point of climax in Jesus Christ. For me, the Bible is essentially a message of love and forgiveness to the world, and a reminder of God's faithfulness to his people, whom he loved to the extreme extent of sacrificing his own beloved Son for them. It also presents God as the ultimate judge who cannot accept sin and those who sin and by sinning transgress his holy law. Still the perfectly just God emerges in the Bible as the one who above all knows that there is no human being other than Jesus, who can ever fulfil the requirements of his law and merit the reward of eternal life in heaven. That is why Jesus fulfilled the requirements of God's law for all of us. It is by resting in Christ by faith that we fulfil every commandment that God has laid out for us. When we do this there is no place for boasting in our lives, for nothing in our path to salvation is achieved by our own efforts. And the greatest of God's commandments are to do with love. We must love God with all our heart and mind and might, and this we can do only when we love one another as we love ourselves. This brings us to the ultimate point. How can we love ourselves? Can we love ourselves by rejecting ourselves? Only if we can do that we can reject others whom we love. Or can we love ourselves by not even knowing ourselves? Only then we can love others by not knowing them, by not even associating with them. None of God's commandments can we fulfil without being in Christ. When this is the case no man should boast of his ability to do God's will. And the will of God is that we should know his love and share it with others as we receive it ourselves. The Bible should lead us to this realization and not impede it. A legalistic and literal understanding of the biblical texts will lead to a strident, inflexible interpretation of the spiritual life, which is devoid of love and compassion, the ultimate guiding principles of life.

You can't find those who are lost by keeping your distance from them.

Abandoning everything to seek the lost is the distinguishing characteristic of Christ and all who follow him.

You can't choose the people you love. You can't run away from the people you love. The one who chooses and distances himself from those he claims to love, is no lover in the order of Christ.

Love is not love if it is controlled by fear. Love bears all things. Love conquers all. Anyone who says he loves and yet fears what might result from that love cannot love at all.

Ultimately the people of Christ should be characterized by love - accepting, embracing, forgiving and participating love. Such love must also show compassion for all those unlike us, because we ourselves were like them, when Jesus Christ reached out to us. Jesus did not leave us or forsake us even when we were lost in our sins. He was very much with us loving us until we recognized his presence in our lives. We, the body of Christ in whom Christ lives and works must learn to love people as Christ loved us. We must not reject or despise people for being different from us. We must not condemn or denounce them for their imperfections. We must love them even when they hate us and bless them even when they curse us. Above all we must care for them even when they reject and kill us. This is the love of Jesus, which must reside in us, if we are to be anything like him.

The difference between Jesus Christ and Saint Paul is this. Paul taught us love, but it was Jesus who showed us love. Paul spelt out the faith. Jesus demonstrated that faith through his own life. Paul led us to Christ. But it is Christ who saved us ultimately. Paul is a servant of God speaking for God. Jesus is God, speaking for himself. Knowing this difference will make it easier for us to understand the Bible.

Jesus said before he went to the cross, "Love one another as I have loved you." Our question as Jesus followers should be this. "How did Jesus love us? Did he love us even when we didn't love him? Did he love us even when we were sinners totally removed from his light? Or did he love only those who responded to him and sought his light? Did he love us by coming to us and spending time with the most despised among us, or did he love us by distancing himself from us? How did he respond to those who felt lost? Did he let them go, or did he go after them, determined to find them at any cost?" Once we arrive at the answers, we must ask a further question. "If Jesus loved like this, should we also not love like this, as he commanded?" And we must ask God to give us the grace to love like that.

God doesn't change people by teaching them. He changes them by loving them.

The last thing a sinner needs is a lesson in morality. Give him love and forgive him completely. That is what he needs to turn around.

To love people we must be with them without trying to teach them something. If possible let us try to learn from them.

If we spend our time being afraid of people then we will have no time to love them.

If compassion and humanity are the hallmarks of Christianity, then the world will pay attention to it.

The problem with being like Jesus lies in being with people we would rather avoid.

If you want to be like Jesus you must accept all who come to you.

I who hated and despised God have become a worker for God. I who hated and despised my human father was led to him just before his death, and given the grace to apologize and seek forgiveness. God has led me from darkness to light. And this testimony is true.

Don't let yourself be condemned today. Jesus Christ paid a price for you, and that is the one and only payment required. You don't have to do anything more to retain your salvation. The work of Jesus Christ is truly finished in you today.

Perhaps none of us is normal. Every one of us may be disabled in some way. Yet many of us find ourselves in many ways less disadvantaged than those whom the world labels disabled. Let us who find ourselves in this position give thanks to God for what we have.

Even I couldn't see God once. Now I see him in all the life forms around me. I see him particularly in the human being, who consciously desires to be good. This desire alone speaks powerfully for God, to whom the human seems irreversibly linked. Yet this is not a link that everyone discovers.

God is everywhere, even in your heart if you have welcomed him there. You can worship him wherever you are.

Now it certainly looks bleak. But it will not stay like this forever. Believe in God. Trust in his working.

Let us not give God give any time frame for acting. He will act in his time.

Some people don't like the idea of God because it seems so primitive, and so remotely detached from the intellectual giants that they have become. Also the acknowledgement of God may lead to the imposition of an external authority on them, which may not agree with their liberated temperaments. So to avoid this regression to God, they try their very best to progress to a godless scenario, which is difficult to demonstrate. Yet this difficulty cannot dissuade them from venturing further, for a godless universe is a premise that they will not discard.

God showed clearly through Jesus that he identified with the poor and the humble people of this world. So let us also stay with the poor and identify ourselves with them.

Sex is God's gift to Man. But when sexuality occupies a place that only God should occupy in a person's life, it has become a bondage. And no man can overcome this bondage on his own, for lust of this kind cannot be humanly tamed. It must be submitted to God, who alone can liberate a person from this bondage.

Show me love today, O Lord. And you will have shown me everything.

There is always something to be afraid of if you want to give in to fear. But if you have God in your life why should you fear? The last thing God wants you to be is to be afraid.

Do not fail to help those who are dependent on you. These are your family members and your spouses. Be firmly committed to helping and supporting them in their time of trouble.

Our troubles are very little in comparison with those of Christ on Calvary many years ago. His suffering is on a different scale and may even be in a different dimension. But we participate in the sufferings of Christ to be identified with him in death so that we may be identified with him in his glorious resurrected life as well. Though the intensity of our suffering cannot be the same as that of Christ, it is still rather severe and cannot be ignored. We suffer with Christ so that we may be glorified with him. This is the essence of it. And what we undergo to achieve this is by no means little.

Love the people you have in your life today. And love them well. This is the one task that you must fail to do. For if you do so you will also love God.

It is indeed good when brothers and sisters live together in unity. But will they? Let us pray for this unity.

It's good to crawl towards God. For once I was just sitting without moving towards him.

Love someone today who least expects your love. Show kindness to someone today who least expects your kindness.

The best parenting I've had is from God. I've had good human parents. But without God I cannot even stand.

Let there be more of hope and less of dread in my faith. The tendency to fear is so great in the human being that God had to repeat "Fear not" hundreds of times.

There is only so much I can do (and even that I cannot do without Christ living in me). Everything else must be done by God.

Don't be afraid of being weak. Because when you are weak, then you are strong. God works best in people who are so weak that they cannot function without him.

The best way to convey Christ to someone who does not know Christ is to love him unconditionally and do our very best for that person without forcing him to believe in Jesus Christ or imposing any other theological demand on him. Any forced act of belief is not belief at all.

The act of telling people about Jesus Christ does not automatically lead to salvation of souls. People may hear the audible message and fail to respond to it with their hearts. The act of conveying a message is twofold: one, the ability of the speaker and two, the receptivity of the hearer. The success of communication lies equally with the hearer, whose mental and spiritual states, if he is hearing about Jesus, are vital to his receiving the message. So ultimately success in the process of telling people about Christ does not lie in the hands of the speaker but in the hands of God who alone facilitates both the speaking and the hearing.

Tell children about Christ. But tell a story about him. Don't theorize. Don't get into theology. Tell the story of the prodigal son, for there is no other story that better illustrates our great forgiving God. And make it clear that God forgives so much because he loves so much.

Children cannot understand what Christ has done for them. Even I, a 43 year old, have not yet grasped what Christ has done for me.