Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - June 2015 (Part 2)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

When I entrust something to God I know it is in the best hands. Today I gave something to God. And he turned it around.

Will you scratch my back only if I scratch yours in return? Then your scratching is not inspired by God.

Let nothing be nothing. Let everything be everything. This is my prayer today.

If you cannot help don't offer to help. Just say a prayer for the one you want to help.

When my life is not going according to my plan I believe that it is going according to God's plan.

After a moment of extraordinary weakness comes a moment of extraordinary strength. Be at peace with your weakness today.

Children of God, I greet you today with the love placed in me by God. May we rejoice in the love that God lavishes on us without our having to do anything to receive it. Let us stand firm today and let us stand together, holding on to what commonly binds us - the love of our 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.

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.

The human being is the most compelling evidence for God. We stand apart from the entire animal kingdom in our ability to reason. In the very act of our questioning God's existence we prove that we are unlike other living forms, and that we are unique in this ability to question and verify every concept. Thus we prove the biblical assertion that we are the crown of God's creations and made in the image of God. Like God we seek what is true and even question truth in the process of knowing what is true.

One of the best things we can do for others is to pray for them. But if there is something more that we can do for them, and we still choose only to pray, we reveal a reluctance to move out of our comfort zone. Prayer is very essential, Yet doing something to help, when such help is possible is even more essential.

There is only one way in which evil is overcome. And it is by doing good to those who do evil. It is by blessing those who curse you, and praying for those who hate you. You do this only in God's strength, for God alone is love, and his love alone can extinguish the hatred glowing in human hearts.

We should give thanks to God even when nothing makes sense. For this is what God expects of us at all times, and especially at such times.

Those who follow Jesus Christ and worship God should be honest with one another. They should be kind, considerate and helpful whenever they can. They should honour their word and if they cannot do so they should explain and even apologize to those who are affected. The God we worship would find a lack of honesty and kindness among his people more lamentable than the grief he supposedly feels over the way his people celebrate Christmas and Easter, which are described by some as pagan in origin. What God cares about is the way we treat one another. His final commandment to us is that we should love one another as he loved us. I believe God cares more about this than our celebration of festivals.

Love even those whom God did not give you. For all need love.

Instead of telling people that they might fry in hell, tell them that they will be forever in the embrace of God. That will make a world of a difference in the way they respond to God.

Faith minus love is nothing.

Regardless of how I am today God will be great.

Today look for what unites you with others. Don't search out what tears you apart.

Love is the safest investment in the world. It always provides returns.

God is love. And love is the language of his creations. The one language all living beings understand and respond to is love. So learn to speak love.

Appreciate when you want to find fault. Compliment when you want to rebuke. Just love people today despite their faults. For the day will come and may have already come when you need the same thing from others.

The worst thing we can do for God is to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude while dealing with his people.

Now that we are in with God we must look forward to suffering. Those who are with God become the enemies of the devil. And he will fight against the children of God all day every day. Be ready. Above all be willing.

Just say, "God will not fail me", even if the ground under you is shaking.

Approach with love and give joy to others. You cannot fail.

"Love one another as I have loved you", said Jesus to all his disciples. How did Jesus love us? Did Jesus separate himself from sinners and unbelievers? Jesus came to save those who were in darkness. Surely saints and believers are not in darkness. The great commission of the Lord is to spread the message of love to all people in all parts of the world. So we the followers of Jesus must tell unbelievers about the love of God. Separating ourselves from them and forming Christian clubs will hardly appeal to those who are not aware of God. We must be inclusive and not exclusive. And we must always reach out, especially to the most resistant.

He may have a stern exterior. But no one understands and sympathises with the human being as much as God. So approach him boldly today expecting to receive his kindness. He will not disappoint. 

Should we be scared? Or should we be bold? Should we be bound? Or should we be free? Let everyone answer this question himself or herself. This is how I answer. I should be bold and free. I should be bold to live without the fear of punishment, for all my sins are already paid for. I should be free to serve God without the fear of condemnation, for I am the very righteousness of God in Christ. And this is not a truth that can be erased. 

There is only one way to run this race. And it is not by being afraid.

There is only one thing that matters today. We need to love one another despite our many irreconcilable differences.

My father was a Hindu. Could I have rejected him and failed to fellowship with him because of his religion? No I could not have done that. My father is my father. Ultimately I don't care about his religion. And my father cared even less about my Christian faith. Our father son relationship rose above all these man made distinctions. After he died I cried for many days. I wept for a man whom I couldn't love when he was alive. And whatever trouble I had with him while he was alive had nothing to do with religion or faith. After he died, all that buried love was resurrected from my heart. And that I believe was a work of my Christian God. Think of that. A Christian God awoke the love in my heart for my Hindu father. If I have a son someday, and if he were a Muslim, would I fail to fellowship with him? Absolutely not. I would love my son unconditionally. He is my son. I am his father. And that is all that matters. Anyone who withdraws himself from another on the basis of religion or any other distinction is someone who does not know the first thing about love.

Fill me with your love O God. Your love alone will help me absorb the wickedness of this day.

We may not always know what a blessing is. But it is important that we know that God is with us always and that he desires to bless us.

Those who curse are the weakest ones in the world. They deserve our pity, even our blessing.

I need only one recognition. That is God's recognition. Every other recognition is ultimately useless.

I'll not forget the benefits I received from God. This day and every day I will remember His many kindnesses to me.

Don't give up on yourself. God has not given up on you.

Everything is a miracle. Every breath is a miracle. This day is a miracle. And if we are here tomorrow, tomorrow is a miracle as well.

The situation seems impossible. Hope seems hopeless. But God is with you. And He is faithful.

There's nothing to fear. That there's something to fear is the great deception. You won't get lost. God redeems your life from destruction and leads you in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You can't get lost. God's name is at stake. And he won't let it be tarnished.

We don't worship an inept God who does not know how to keep us. We are safe in his hands. And though we may wander a fair distance we are never really out of his grip. No one can pluck us out of his hands. If we believe this we can rest.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I WILL NOT be in want. This is not merely a declaration of faith. I believe it has already happened, though I am still very much in need. For this is the way of God's people. They live by faith. They look at the unseen in great hope without being defeated by the hopelessness of what is seen.

We are all little yet God esteems us greatly. Let us also respect and like one another despite our faults and shortcomings. Let us learn to look at others as God looks at them. This is how we discover the image of God in us.

A prayer is a beautiful offering we can give to God. Yet sometimes we can do even more.

The greatest challenge in faith is to believe in the goodness and faithfulness of God when he appears to be anything but good and faithful. The greatest challenge is to be still, and to be hopeful, when nothing seems to happen and everything seems to deteriorate.

Love God more than you love anyone else. And you'll be well.

We have the mind of Christ, whether we experience it or not. And we have everything that is required to live the godly life. To be sane is to know that God is good even when He appears to be anything but good.

Whatever trouble you go through know that God is with you. And you will never be separated from His love.

Don't give up. God is good despite our worst doubts.

God is great. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. We ARE free despite how we feel.

Weeping may endure for a night. And the night may seem endless. But remember this, and look forward to this: REJOICING COMES IN THE MORNING.

Don't forget to say thank you for every blessing that you know and for every one that you do not know. Great love is given to us sometimes without even our knowing it. Every moment of our life is a testament to a divine love.

No blessing is small. Let us remember our blessings today, even the ones we think are small, and give thanks to God.

The greatest hindrance in a time of dryness is the inability to count one's blessings. For life is not only what it is but also what it was and what it will be.

It is hard to imagine a God who would bless beyond a person's imagination when he has not yet blessed within that person's imagination. It is hard to think of great blessings even when small blessings have not arrived. Yet this is what Abraham was asked to believe even as he spent many childless years, dreaming of being the parent of many nations. God tells us to stretch our faith beyond reason and even sanity.

I pray to the Lord to give me the strength to carry out the tasks that he has assigned me. I am going through a lot of trouble trying to connect with the world with the message of God. A lot needs to be done to improve the facilities that I have now to carry out the work. I ask God to supply my needs as soon as possible. I have been waiting long with the hope that some relief will come soon.

It does appear at times that God is not interested. It does appear at times that God is absent. It does appear at times that God is even an enemy. But we are told that God is our friend. Saint Peter said, "Cast all your cares on God for he cares for you." Saint Paul said, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory." Let us be reassured today. No matter how difficult life is, let us trust in God, for there is simply no one else whom we can trust. God alone can be trusted. King David said, "Some trust in chariots, others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Shall we learn to trust God like King David today? Shall we declare our faith along with him?

There are times in my life when God came to my rescue. And there are other times when God appeared absent. But I'm still going on. I'm still here. I'm still holding a camera. I'm still speaking despite the difficulties, despite the wreck that my life appears to be. Despite the troubling, dismal outlook I'm still here, still doing the work of God. And for once, it appears that I'm being heard.

If you want to succeed you must be prepared to fail many times.

To trust in God means to stay with him, even when he appears to go against your wishes.

There is no ultimate profit in blocking the love of God. God loves us though we may block him again and again, We who are loved by God try to love like God, and we too are blocked by our objects of love. Still we go on loving, expecting our love to be received someday, no matter how determinedly we are blocked. Blocking is a childish attempt to go on in one's strength. But it is in receiving, in acknowledging our need of love, that we will be fulfilled. If we block always, we are blocking ourselves forever from the one thing that will eventually save us.

Conquering evil with good is no piece of cake. But let's do it as Christ did it on the cross. It will be excruciating stuff.

God is your best friend even when he appears like your enemy.

When a person notices what no one else noticed or bothered to notice, he or she is special.

You don't have to carry your burdens. God cares about you, and is waiting for you to cast all your cares on him.

A faith in God based on fear of punishment, no matter how right it feels, is ultimately wrong.

The thing that breaks me is also the thing that makes me. What weakens me is also what strengthens me. What fills me with despair is also what fills me with hope. This is the irony of life. This is the game that I have long played, and this is the game that I must learn to play without fear.

Will you not speak? Will you always remain silent? Will your voice always be marked by no audible sound? Will you always be something I long for and never find? Will your words be only sweet sounding theory totally out of place in the world that I live? Will I always fail to please you, for you are so hopelessly out of my reach? Will this great love of yours never give me the courage that I ought to have, but always end up filling me with fear and the thought of punishment? Why is such a beautiful truth so terribly distorted? Why is such a happy tale so sadly twisted? Why do I feel like crying when I should be smiling endlessly?

Today I was afraid and hopeless. For I fell again. It feels like I will always fall no matter how uprightly I walk. I cannot walk even a short distance without falling. The more I try to be like you the more hopeless the transformation appears. Am I to be like you in my own strength? How does this process of being like you work? I can hardly feel any change except the cosmetic kind. Sometimes deep within I know that I feel differently. But always I am reminded of who I am and what I think and how I feel. And it is most humiliating. Should I even try to be like you? Is that even desirable? Yet this wretched condition begs to be rid of. This darkness yells to be ended by your light. Will you just have your way with me? Will you just overpower me and make me yours somehow in the way only you can? Will you end this hopeless speculation and just whisper it is all right?

When you accept me just as I am, why can I not accept myself? Why am I ashamed of who I am? The truth is I am yours. You are my father, teacher, friend, and everything. If you will walk beside me, and talk to me, and live with me, why can I not be happy with that? Why should I better? Why should I try to be something that I am not? No parent ever forces his child to be anything that he is not. You cannot be that. You will never be that. At least I hope so. Yet the pressure of being like you, and measuring up to you is so great that this makeover process seems ridden with a certain hopelessness. But why should I try to be like you when I cannot be that in my own strength? The only way I am going to look like you is if you say so. You must share your glory with me. You must fill me with yourself for me to be anything like you.

Whatever I do and no matter how well I do it, it is never going to be good enough for me me to enter where you are. In you alone I am what I need to be. So let me not forget this today as I wrestle painfully with my inadequacy, as fail I yet again, and condemnation and denunciation set in. Let me remember that I am already what I need to be in you, and no improvement is possible.

God's immense cross-bearing love conquers hatred and sin. His love outweighs the collective hatred and waywardness of humanity. May we taste his love today, and we will then be able to swallow the bitterness and hatred that flow from human hearts and tongues. We will welcome them with a smile on our lips and our hearts will be ready to forgive their wrongs. No sin is greater than God's love. No insult can repulse his outstretched arms. For he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. Still he will not let go of this dust till he has renewed our inner beings, for he has formed us in his own image.

Bless all those who are hard to bless. Forgive all those who are hard to forgive. This is the way of God in Christ.

God's love will reign in our hearts today. We will not be provoked to anger and bitterness. But we will forgive and bless. We will love even as we are hated today. In this way we will glorify God and show our allegiance to Jesus Christ.

It is the decision to believe when all others will have stopped believing that ultimately distinguishes the people of faith.

When nothing makes sense, close your eyes and think of God as your very best friend, who is working for your benefit and will not let you down.

One of the kindest things you can do for people is not to raise hopes which you do not have the will to fulfil.

Anyone can show faith. But it takes a special person to live up to his or her word.

What is the most compelling theme of the Bible? Is it love or judgement? Can it be convincingly said "God loves you so much that he saved you", while at the same time saying, "You will go to hell if you cannot accept God's love." Can a person be inspired to love by saying, "You were a hopeless case. But God loved you and still loves you. So you should love God." No. God's love for human beings is a most beautiful thing. It is the love of a father for his children. It is the love of a creator for his creations. It is an unending, unquenchable love that no disobedience or sin could limit. It is love that survived great disappointment and anger. It is love that refuses to let us go. It is love that reaches out to those who are determined to walk away. It is love that waits patiently for the most rebellious runaways. It is love of a kind that we desperately want but do not know where to find. And if we know where to find it, we could never run away from it. There is a father out there waiting for his runaway son, who broke his heart. The father is waiting for his son to return, and his arms are aching to hold him again. This is the most compelling message of the Bible.

After reading the Bible I ask, "Now what? Do I really love anyone except myself? Can I love people who are often quite unlovable? Can I love God whom I don't see, and from whom I want things? Can I love God without an ulterior motive? Is there any point in following any commandment of God when the breaking of one commandment means the breaking of the entire law? How can it be said that I fulfil the law by just being in Christ? Am I really in Christ, when I feel like I'm still a part of this world? How do I have a relationship with God who seems nowhere to be found? How am I a new creation when I feel terribly old? How do I make sense of the jumble of messages in the Bible? Am I saved by works or by grace? Is it Jesus or Paul that I must consider? Is it Paul or James?" The Bible is the starting point to a study of God that must go well beyond it. God is the one who wants to be found. I am the one who should seek him. And he wants to be found in the world, disguised and hidden in the most unlikely places.

To love God you must love those who bear the image of God no matter how terribly disfigured that image is.

The Bible is only an introduction to God. An experience of God requires us to seek God beyond the Bible in the world among those around us who bear the image of God.

A church could be a place where people make an insincere attempt to please God. The world is a place where people will either sincerely demonstrate their closeness to God or their distance from him simply by the way they react to everyday situations. A spiritual person is best observed outside the church.

If we should spend hours reading the Bible without spending a few minutes loving someone, we are still very far away from God.

The key to our living a life that is pleasing to God does not lie in our understanding the Bible or our acceptance of its doctrines. It lies in our recognition of God's heart which loves and forgives. It lies in our knowing and receiving this love and forgiveness. It lies in our reflecting this love and forgiveness in our own conduct toward others. No reading of the Bible or attending a church can ensure this happening. It comes from a personal determination to be like God when when we see God as he really is.

We can read the Bible and sit in churches all our lives. But we may never do what we are ultimately expected to do. We should care about others as we would care about ourselves. We must be willing to forgive at all times without giving in to bitterness and rage. We must learn to be silent in the face of all opposition, and put our trust in God, who alone can fight our unending battles. These things one may not learn from the Bible or the church. One may learn this only from real life experiences that one lives through in communion with God.

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.