Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - April 2016, Part 2

Seeking the Lord always, seeking his face always - this is the key to our living well.

A pure heart is a gift from God. No human has it at any point in time. Purity, if possible, is only in Christ.

God is stronger than some people imagine him to be. He knows human nature thoroughly, and he is no longer shocked by it. There was a time when he was revolted by the depravity of the human heart. But God is no longer surprised by human misbehaviour. In any case his love is stronger than any human sin, and can overwhelm any depravity that the heart can think of. God is not quite the Victorian prude or the Puritan of the pre-restoration times. He is also not identical to the moral police of this day. He created the human. So he knows what the human is all about. Sin is indeed offensive to God. But he is also very aware of sin and sinners. One third of his angelic sons, were led astray by one extraordinary angel that God himself lovingly created. Human sins cannot hold a candle to angelic rebellion. Also God has paid the required price to erase the guilt of Man.

No good parent withholds forgiveness from his or her child because that child has not yet asked for forgiveness. I believe the God of the Bible can do better than a good human parent. And in fact, he has done that already. When Jesus Christ was nailed on the cross thousands of years ago, it was for one purpose only - to pay for the sins of humanity. When the payment was made, forgiveness was granted. Now what humans ought to do is not to doubt that forgiveness, and believe that they can merit it by asking penitently for it. They should just receive it gladly and boldly.

Who insincerely asks God for forgiveness? Such an act if possible, is a terribly self-defeating one. Only a great fool will be guilty of that. Still God is more tolerant than most human beings give him credit for. He is willing to forgive even without being asked. Jesus forgave his killers, because they didn't know what they were doing. God does take human ignorance and moral bankruptcy into account, when he chooses to forgive. Those who even think of asking God for forgiveness are those in whom remorse has already planted its seed. Finally those who ask God to forgive them do so with the help of God. No repentance or remorse is man-made.

When a man wonders whether God would forgive him for his past misdeeds, he is surely at the threshold of repentance. No unbeliever or godless person ever wonders like that.

Do you have to ask God for forgiveness to be forgiven? Does your child need to ask for your forgiveness so that he or she may receive it? Do you normally harbour unforgiveness in your heart before someone asks you to forgive him or her? Did Jesus Christ wait for his killers to ask for his forgiveness, before he pleaded with his Father to forgive them? Did he wait for people to ask for his forgiveness, before he forgave them in the accounts we read in the Bible? True, repentance is a divine requirement. But repentance itself is a grace from God. It is not humanly produced. What a human needs to do is to recognize his need of God and take a step towards him. And then God will move forward, and the rest will follow in God's timing and working.

Prayer may not be enough. You should show that you care by doing something about it, if you can.

Be encouraged. There are some who are fighting the same battle. God is for us. And though it may look terrible, we are already victors. And no matter how many times we fail, we have already triumphed in Christ. Stand firm in this.

Christians reveal Christ to the world. Christ is God. And God is love. But when the world looks at Christians does it see love? Or does it see bigotry and hatred and petty narrow-mindedness and ridiculous in-fighting? Does it see a community that is willing to love the marginalized and the downtrodden? Will Christianity welcome the criminal and the prostitute? Will it be a haven for all those who have committed unspeakable acts of sin? As an observer of the world, I see Christians likely to be more unlike Christ than like him. And when people see Christians they are likely to see a degraded Christ incapable of grace. And that is putting it mildly.

Learning is an act of humbling, sometimes great humbling, and a disarming loss of pride.

You are a great person in Christ. When you know that, you will feel a lot better.

If God be for us, who can be against us? Don't be afraid. Just believe. We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us.

Satan is near the person who seeks God. Satan is always near those who trust in God. And Satan will do all that he can to destroy their trust in God. Don't be surprised by your temptation to disbelieve in God. It comes from Satan. And he will not tire of offering that temptation time and again.

If you think God is like people, who say they will forgive, but will not, then you will expect God to be the same. But God is not like man. When he says he will forgive, he will forgive. He has forgiven us of all sins already. All our sins have already been paid for. There is no other payment to be made. Your sins are forgiven. All that remains for you to do is to accept that forgiveness, and accept your privileged position as a child of God. Will you dare to believe in the forgiveness of God today? Or will you cringe in unbelief and treat God as a liar? It is a decision that will determine the quality of your life in the long run.

"Does God hate me because I fail so often? Does God want me to fail? Is God good to me? He seems to be good to others. He claims to be good. But he does not do good. He does bad. He has been bad to me. God's word is false. He is a liar." This is the testimony of some people. This is the conclusion of those who have failed badly after trusting in God. Such assessments do exist. In fact, almost all people experience disappointment with God. The question really is, "What do we do with this disappointment? Shall we let it lead us to unbelief and denial of God and his truths? If we do so, it is my belief that we are making a hasty and unwise decision. God is our Maker and the shaper of our destinies. It is never a good thing to be at odds with him. Everyone who has received the blessing of God has paid a price for it. Jacob paid it with his hip joint. Joseph paid it with many years in an Egyptian jail for a crime he did not even commit. David paid it by running away for many years from a king who was intent on killing him. Which man of God received his blessing without pain and suffering? Ask this question before you dismiss God from your life today.

When you face your fears, and not run away like a coward, you know what it is that frightens you. And when you know it well enough, you will be not frightened by it anymore.

The Lord speaks in our hearts. His assessment is more valuable than any human criticism, however worthy it may be.

So what should our response to life be, we who follow and worship God? How do we respond to an unfair life? Though life may be unfair, let us treat one another fairly. Let us show fairness despite the unfairness of life. We the children of God seek his order and fairness. Let us learn from God. Let us learn to treat one another as God treats us. So despite the unfairness of life let us treat one another fairly. Let us love one another and care for one another, because God loves us and cares for us. Let us not look at life and imitate its unfairness. Let us look at God and imitate his love and fairness. This will not be easy. We will have to know God. We will have to receive his love. Once we taste his love, we will be transformed by it. We will begin to love and we will begin to care.

Life is unfair. But it is not deliberately unfair. Life is not conspiring against those who are living. Life is the way it is because of a certain decision a human being made at the very beginning of history. A certain human being disobeyed God and bore the consequences of that disobedience. Not only did he bear those consequences, but all his descendants including us have also borne these consequences, and will continue to bear them. When the first human disobeyed God, he was sentenced to death. God pronounced the curse of death. With death came decay. Not only man, but all living creatures are also in a state of disorder.

Life is so tough that we cannot live it without God. It is to know him and to receive his love that we are alive. We just don’t receive his love and do nothing about it. We share it with everyone. We want everyone to know that there is a God, and that he loves us and cares for us. We can go to him with our problems. Life is tough. We need God’s help with everything. There is nothing we can do on our own. Let us seek him today. Let us ask him to help us. Life is tough. We need God.

God created us because he wanted to love us. God is a Creator who creates out of love. And we are the created beings. We are created to know God and to receive his love. And when we receive his love, we receive God in his totality. When we receive his love, we are enabled to be like him. When we receive his love, we learn to deal with one other.

God is the one who gives life. It is his life that we are experiencing now. It is his breath that keeps us living. Our very breath testifies to a living God. It is the belief of all those who are enlightened by God, that life is not something that happened without any reason. Life came from God for a certain purpose. What is that purpose? Some may think, “What purpose is there in life? Aren’t we here just to survive? Aren’t we here to take care of ourselves?” This is what I think. God has given us life, so that we may live for him. But to live for him, we need to know him. The purpose of life is to know God and to live for him. The purpose is to know the One who gave us life, and to find out this Person who is the reason behind our existence. He is God. And God is presented in the Bible as the Creator of all life forms. More than that, he is the Creator of the universe. In personal terms, he is my Creator. He is your Creator. He is everyone’s Creator.

Life is so tough that one cannot live on one’s own. Life is so tough that one needs the help of God. People live their lives. But not all of them live well. To live well one needs God. When a person is enlightened, he or she knows, that life is not accidental. Life is not just what happens. He or she will know that life is a gift from God.

Let us not see the sacred in a holy book. Let us see the sacred in each and every one of us. including ourselves.

Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - April 2016, Part 1

All humbling is good. Let us remember how powerless and hopeless we are without God. The great testimony has already been proclaimed. It is with God we stand even beyond death. Without God we are nothing, though the world may sill celebrate us as something, even after we die.

We love God by turning to Him for everything. We love God by making Him the head of our lives, letting Him manage everything, and believing that He is in control. We love God by placing our own understanding below His knowledge, and in trusting in His word even when it does not seem acceptable to our rational minds. We love God by loving and caring for His people, even the most unlikeable of them.

Though we are under considerable strain, we should learn to stand upright. For our Lord is strong, and he is a capable worker. And though we don't understand his work, and at times we cannot even appreciate it, we should go on in faith that he will not ultimately let us down. There is much ugliness in life, but as King David said, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.

I submit to your wisdom today, O Lord. I just don't understand why I need to go through this. Why should such an irritation even exist in my life? Why should such flawed humanity be brought forever before my eyes? But I trust you. If you think there is a need for such ugliness in my life, I shall welcome it and learn to coexist with it. I will even give up my childish notion of instant remedy and wait for you as you silently, and imperceptibly do a work in all of us. O God, I need to trust you every day, and believe that you will lead me home.

Be strong. Don't be like those who have no stamina for a fight. You should fight for your position. You should wrestle with God as Jacob did. Jacob, the patriarch, did not receive his blessing without any pain. He suffered many years, and worked many years to obtain his wife Rachel. He stayed away many years from his brother Esau, who was waiting to kill him, for he had cheated his older brother of the blessings of their father Isaac. Jacob did not become Israel immediately. He suffered much, even a dislocation of his hip, before he received the ultimate blessing from God. So be willing to suffer, and wait as long as it takes. For such is the requirement to receive the great blessings of God.

Many who pursue God feel abandoned by God sometime in their lives. Even Jesus Christ felt abandoned by God on the cross. But he recovered from the moment of despair, by placing his trust in God, who never fails. No matter how bad it looks right now, and no matter how alone you feel, know that God is with you and that he will not let you be defeated ultimately. He will carry you if he has to. But he will never leave you and walk away from you. Let your hope in him never die.

If we have failed, we should not give up. It is hard to get up after we fall. But with God we can rise every time we fall. Believe in God. Believe that he wants the best for you. It may not seem credible right now, where you are. But see this failure as what comes before success, and success will surely come, as long as you stay in faith, focused on what God alone can do for you. Whoever trusts in God will not be disappointed in the end.

From our point of view some sins are worse than others. But all sins are sin. And any sin makes us fall short of the glory of God. But Christ has paid for all sins, the small ones and the big ones. In his eyes, all sins are equally damning.

Every day is a blessing. Every breath is a blessing. Every moment of health is a blessing. Every friend we’ve made, and every relationship in our lives is a blessing. Every opportunity to receive God's love, and every opportunity to share it with others is a blessing.

 

This is the truth that we must be aware of: we are the creations of God made to be in union with God. And if we are not united with God we will not find purpose in our lives. But this is our purpose: to know God, to know the one who created us, to know the one who gave us life, who gave us the privilege to live in this beautiful world, who gave us the privilege to be able to think, to be able to wonder, to be able to even ask this question: “Does God exist?”

 

Unforgiveness is among the ugliest things in the world. It is the quality that makes us most human and least divine.

 

 

 

 

Let us slow down and appreciate what God has created to give us joy.

Say, "I am not getting out of this without a fight. I will fight till I am everything that God wants me to be."

Salvation is not based on our performance. Thank God for that.

Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - March 2016, Part 2

Let us stay with God. His promises endure forever. His words will outlast everything. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Let us put our faith in God, difficult as it is. Sometimes we do realize that it is best to place our faith in God. Sometimes we actually experience the rewards of waiting on God. It may not happen always, but sometimes they do happen. Sometimes I have not understood God very well. I have not understood what he is doing in my life. Sometimes I am not able to appreciate what God is doing in my life. But let me trust God with my life. Let me trust his understanding. Let us trust God and his way and his plan, no matter how incomprehensible those things may be. Let us trust in God.

This is what I want to say. This is what I want to convey to the world. Let us give thanks to God for what we have. We may not have much. Some of us actually have little. But there is one thing we will always have, and that is God. Though some of us feel that we have little, though some of us feel that we don’t have as much as someone else has, let us be thankful for what we have. Today I’m thankful for the health that I am still able to enjoy. And I have this to say to God, “Thank you for giving me life. Thank you for letting me live. Today I will not count what is missing in my life. But I will count my blessings."

Let us not say, "Let's sing songs of praise to God" on a day such as Easter, without behaving well with our fellow beings. When we cannot behave politely with others we cannot really worship God.

Evil seemed to have had its day on Good Friday. To spiritually unobservant people, Good Friday appeared to be the triumph of the forces against Jesus Christ. But this was not the case. When Easter arrived, it became clear to all that Good Friday was also a day of triumph. It was the day when God made payment for the sins of his people. It was the day when God’s love was wonderfully manifested in the sacrificial death of his Son Jesus Christ. After the apparent darkness of Good Friday and the dismal Saturday that followed, a stunning reversal of fortune came about on Sunday. Jesus returned, and it was a brilliant return. He returned never to die again. He returned to reign forever. He returned so that we too may reign forever with him. He returned to give us a new, everlasting life with him.

On Good Friday it seemed that Jesus and his message came to an end. It seemed that Jesus did not matter anymore. It seemed that all hope was lost. His apostles surely thought so. They escaped from the scene. They were in hiding. Even the women who came to embalm his body on Sunday morning came to see a dead body. They came to embalm a dead body, but they found no such thing that morning. The tomb was empty, and the stone was rolled away. And then Jesus appeared. He appeared victoriously in a new resurrected boy. He met his disciples, who were overjoyed to see him again. He appeared to them many times, reassuring them of his reality. He gave them specific directions to bring salvation to the world, before he ascended into heaven. Thus, Easter represents the triumph of God over the forces of evil.

Death came as a consequence of sin. Sin came from the heart of man under the influence of the devil. The devil came from an angel made by God. These are the biblical facts. To say that God was not responsible for either sin or death, is to say that God is like man, who creates something without being able to forestall the consequences that emerge from the intricate working of what he creates. However, the human cannot create a sentient being. So his responsibility as a creator is considerably less. God as the one and only divine Creator is far more responsible, and if he should maintain that he is not responsible for either sin or death that emerged from the malfunctioning of what he created, then that will indeed be a surprising conclusion. But the death of God on the cross does suggest that God did take the responsibility for the problem of sin, and did what he alone could do to eradicate it. This comes across as the capable act of a responsible creator.

It appeared to some people that Jesus and his movement were crushed on Good Friday. It appeared that Jesus and all that he represented came to an end on Good Friday. His disciples dispersed in many directions. They ran away to save their lives when Jesus was arrested. All were in hiding. The work of Jesus Christ seemed to have come to an end on Good Friday. Many people thought that that was the end of the Jesus movement. Those, who considered Jesus a heretical teacher, were glad that his false teaching had come to an end. There were others who thought that Jesus was utterly defeated on Good Friday. But Jesus shocked all of them by coming back into this world. Easter represents the coming back of the Lord Jesus Christ. Easter represents the triumphant return of a God. Easter represents a stunning victory after a terrible defeat.

Easter represents God’s triumph over death. It is God who commanded death to enter this world. It is God who cursed human beings to die. It is God who subjected all creations on earth to death. And it is also God who triumphed over death. And he did this many years ago one Sunday morning. And that is what we celebrate as Easter.

Good Friday is the day on which human beings killed their God. It ought to be the worst Friday of all. Still it is good from a divine point of view. It achieved the result God wanted. God wanted the perfect, once-for-all atonement for human sins. And Jesus Christ offered the ultimate sacrifice for human sins.

Rejoicing in God is really rejoicing in life, and all that one is able to do.

We all need prayers. So let us not fail to pray for one another. Let us pray for the saints of God, battling the forces of evil. These people are everywhere, and they all need help. God's help. And they need it as much as we do. So let us pray.

I don't care who my enemies are, as long as God is my friend.

It is when something appears impossible that it becomes possible for the one who believes in God. I cling to this hope. But let God be god. And let me be a man who will always hope in Him.

If God fails to help me this time, it will not change how I essentially regard him. What I have learned from him has enhanced me decidedly. From God I have learned to distinguish between black and white. I have seen my original darkness and his intrusive brightness. I long for the gifts of God and will wait for them even indefinitely. I cannot turn from this path. If I should turn away, where will I turn? There is no alternate path worthy of pursuing, as far as I am concerned.

Don't believe in God before you consider disbelieving in him. Don't trust in God before you consider distrusting him. Otherwise belief and trust may be wispy things that cannot stand the test of time and the storm of affliction. And belief and trust should not be only theoretical constructs. They should be empirical truths governing our lives. Our daring to believe in God should bring forth the desired results. Our risk in trusting him should be validated by divine acts of rescue. And though it will not be easy for us to experience these results, it is surely the road to a secure faith.

Wear God in you heart, not on your sleeve. What you wear on your sleeve matters less, as long as God reigns in your heart.

A man wavers in faith only because he doesn't know God very well. Anyone who knows that God is faithful and able will not waver in his faith. If God denies a man's prayer, because that man's faith does nor rise to his expectations, then such an act cannot reflect the understanding and compassion we attribute to God. God may well not use the quality of faith as a measure for approving or denying a prayer request. He may even grant the secret wish of a person who does not even pray, because that could be the only way God can reach such a person.

Some things may not be possible even for God. Not all human beings can be led to the point of accepting God. There are some who will never accept God or bow down to him in this life time. If God indeed granted free will to humans, he probably relinquished control over the way humans decide. So God cannot control human beings, while he lets humans make their own decisions. However, the control that God exercises in the human heart takes place only as human beings allow God to influence them. Thus several constraints are placed on God's intervention in human affairs, and as a result, this world seems to be outside the effective control of God.

Who are the children of God? And where are the children of God? Do the children of God necessarily carry a label, such as Jew and Christian? Are they located geographically in certain pockets of the world? A child of God is any human being who is going through a process of regeneration, which began when his spirit was transformed into divine likeness by the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit. Such a transformed person cannot carry any other label than the child of God, and any man-made label such as Christian or Jew or anything else is 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 humans existing everywhere and anywhere in this world.

I welcome all of you to my home. And home is where God is. And God is love. And when you come to stay with me, may you find God's love, and experience it without fear.

Humans in their natural state are consumed with lust for what God made. And they have no love for God at all.

Some of us just want to play with God's toys. We want nothing to do with him at all.

What the world needs is not criticism. What the world needs is love. Can we love without criticising? That is the question.

 

Worse than hypocrisy is the unseemly pride of the former sinner who flaunts his sanctification as though it were an accomplishment in his own strength. But then again, is that former sinner, truly former in nature? Is any sanctified human being in a perfectly sinless state while on earth? If he is let him cast his many biblically sculpted stones. Otherwise let him shut up and examine his own proud and foolish heart.

 

 

 

Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George , March 2016, Part 1

"It is not a sickness that will lead to death", said Jesus about his friend Lazarus. Still Lazarus died. Yet it was not a death that was to be final. Jesus did raise him from death a few days later. So Lazarus did not die the first time. He died later, as all humans do. And that death will be ended later permanently. The statement of Jesus has a deeper level of meaning. He referred to the human condition, which can be described as a sickness. Yet it is a sickness that will not end in death. By death, he meant spiritual death. Because of the redemptive work that he was about to do, the moral sickness of human beings will not end in spiritual death, for a spiritual rebirth will take place on account of Christ's atonement for human sins and his subsequent victory over death. This spiritual rebirth will pave the way for the resurrection of all human beings after their physical death. This is a promise that we find repetitively in the New Testament, and also in the Old Testament, when Job declares in the middle of his suffering, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God". So the sickness that will not lead to death, is the seemingly hopeless human condition, which will be transformed into a state of eternal life by the power of God.

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

When in trouble I observe myself and learn from all my fears.

God does not expect us to cut off our hands or gouge out our eyes, whenever we employ them in sin. When Jesus Christ spoke of physical dismemberment of this kind, he was graphically highlighting the terribleness of sin. Sin is highly detrimental to the human being. Its effects are cancerous in nature. It spreads in many ways and consumes our whole being. But to think that it is only the hand or the eye that sins is simplistic. It is in the heart that sin is born. It is in the mind that sin is allowed to play. If sin begins anywhere, it comes from a place deep inside of a human. So let us just say this. Sin is terrible. It's consequences are many. It's pollution is thorough. But Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all our sins. So as long as we confess our sins and accept God's forgiveness, we can rest assured that we are saved from the penalty for sin, which is eternal separation from God. Having done that, let us then not be worried about the consequences of sin anymore.

God's love has nothing in it to scare us, so we should not respond to it with fear.

No surprise lurks under the cover. Peel away the cloth covering and the body underneath is unsurprising. What God made then He still makes. The human body is not unlimited in its appeal. Once you have seen it in its many shapes, sizes and colours, there is nothing more to see. Once you have experienced its many textures and smells there is nothing more to experience. Those who seek to unlock the delights of the human body should soon curtail their efforts. For there is nothing, truly nothing in a human body worthy of a life-long, all-consuming devotion.

The wealth one amasses weighs one down. Beyond a point wealth turns into a burden. With wealth comes the responsibility for its management. It is impossible to manage wealth for wealth finds a way to manage its possessor. Money masters the money lover and makes him endlessly desire it. In this slavery there is no joy with or without money. For no amount of money is enough, so it is always less than enough. The desire intensifies to madness. The madness culminates in total darkness.

The love for power is an endless pain. Will a little control be enough? The one who has learned to control will not want to relinquish control. He who unleashes power will not want to relent. The power seeker is doomed to never find rest. The more he acquires the more he finds lacking. What he lacks he will seek at any cost. He shall walk on hearts and snuff out lives. He shall pay the bloodiest price to climb the ladder of power.

I let people in not because I trust them. I trust God who sends them to me. I know he is always in control of everything that happens in my life. If people misbehave God will be in control of that misbehaviour as well. And he will let me serve him without being ruffled by such conduct.

I don't need the admiration of the devil. The rebuke of God will do for me.

God is with you. He responds to every call. That is all that matters.

Everything happens for a reason, especially the bad things.

Casting my cares on God means that I stop worrying about what I entrusted to him.

Celebrate what you have. That will take your mind off what you do not have.

Today I remember women who are married to drunken men. I ask God to protect these women from their brawling, violent husbands. May these women find strength to live their lives bravely in the face of domestic discord and endless turmoil. May God grant them the will to go on. May God hear their prayers and save their husbands from self-destruction. May God help these women to take care of their children in difficult circumstances.

 

Those who trust in God should allow God's will to be done. They should let God make something right, even when they are motivated to correct the situation themselves. They should place their burden before God and wait expectantly for him to take care of it. And they should wait as long as it takes.

I welcome back everyone who ran away from me, just like God welcomed me when I ran away from him.

Where there is honesty, there is no need to conceal.

 

Controlling emotions is a sign of strength. But denying the pain is certainly counter-productive.

 

This world is big and its people are diverse. There are many things that divide us. It is not right to stay in one place, and to have one frame of mind, and to have one approach of the heart, and then try to bring together the pieces that don't fit.

 

There is something to learn from everything, and there is something to be gained by going everywhere. I don't want to stay in my pond always.

 

I look at what is beautiful and what unites rather than divides. I seek the middle position.

 

I avoid sensationalism of all kinds. I avoid extreme positions and irreconcilable differences. I want to look at what is beautiful and rejoice in that. I want to look at what unites people and not at what tears them apart. I want to do whatever I can to bind people together in love.

 

In loving people one will have to learn to deal with indifference and rejection. When you want to love people, you will try to know them. And you will find out that some people don't want to be known by you, and don't want anything to do with you. If you accept this and respect their choice, and move on to someone else who accepts your love, you have indeed learned an important lesson in the art of loving.

 

God will not be what we want him to be. We want God to be kind to us all the time. We want him to smile at us always, no matter what we do. We want him to pet us, and let us do the things we like. We want God to be the father who never denies a gift to us. We want God to look the other way when we do something wrong. We want God to stay out of our way while we do the things that matter most to us. But God will not be like that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - February 2016, Part 2

Let us not turn our worship of God into wheedling and coaxing techniques. Let us not approach him with insincere praise just to get him to listen to our requests. Let us not think that God will respond to such flattery, and grant us our needs, just because we have made the right noises. If we approach God like this, we cannot call it worship. It is an insult to God who prizes true and genuine prayer. Let us speak to God as we would expect someone to speak to us. Let us be truthful and say what is exactly on our minds, even if it does not seem like praise or worship. God will be more pleased by our painful honesty than by our pleasing dishonesty.

Let us not try to manipulate God with praying techniques. Let us not think that God is moved by a false spiritual attitude that tries to coax him into giving. No one likes a flatterer, least of all God. Let us go to God with a genuine heart. Let us speak to him what is innermost in our minds. Let us spare our false hallelujahs and talk plainly to him. Let us confess our many sins, and our constant need of his grace. And then let us ask for his help without flattery and insincere sentiment.

If God made Man crooked and then demanded that he be straight, then it is not fair. But if God made Man right but Man destroyed himself through disobedience, and lost his connection with God, then it is fair on God's part to try to restore a disfigured creation. It is right on his part to look for the lost, which is what he does. God is good. He is a responsible creator. He wants to save a lost humanity and restore it to its original glory.

Please be neat in the way you work. Don't take care of one thing and leave out the other. Make it right also. Will you not eventually make everything right? Let me have some evidence of your work. Let me know that you will do what I have asked you to do. Let me not doubt that you are doing something, for you appear absent and even unconcerned many times. Is it because you are tired or have too much to do for so many people that you give me so little attention? Then again I wonder: are these impressions true? Are you really pressed for time? Are you really not methodical in your work? Am I right in thinking that you will disappoint more than please? Why do I not rejoice when I hear your promises? Why do I wish to avoid thinking about them? O please let me believe in you. It is so hard right now.

Be happy where you are. That's the secret of happiness.

God's people are those who find happiness in the most unhappy situations. They are the ones who smile when there is no reason to smile. They are the ones who offer hope to others when their own hearts are breaking.

Be strong and face the trouble in your life. Don't be a coward and try to run away. No one conquers anything by running away.

I didn't say tolerate people who do wrong. I said let God handle them. Let us not try to do what only God can and should do.

Other people may fight with us. But we don't have to fight with them. Let us not give them the pleasure of a satisfying fight.

Help those who have hurt you by saying nothing negative to them. Encourage them to do the good that they can, and if you cannot do so at least remain silent, so that you may not incite them to do wrong.

Bring out the best in others, even those whom you don't like and who have hurt you. Don't stand in their way of doing something good.

Don't let your mind be upset. And don't let your heart be troubled. Life is difficult. You don't have to make it more difficult by being upset and troubled. Don't give in to the urge to feel sorry for yourself. But be strong in the Lord, and accept trouble as his gift to you. God never sends anything without the intention to help you become a stronger and better person. Trust in him today and try to smile.

Leave it to God. Don't try to do what God alone can do. If some trouble has come into your life, it has not come without God allowing it. So God is aware of what is going on in your life. Turn to him in your suffering. Tell him about it. And wait for him to respond and give you the strength to continue in this situation. But please do not act on your own, and do something without the approval of God.

We only reap what we sow. And if we have reaped what we do not like, let us examine what we sow. And let us not deny that we have not received according to what we gave. We can begin to sow carefully even now.

Don't try to save your little things. Hold on to what is important. And what is important is God, and you can never lose him. Set your mind on heavenly things, and you will not worry when you lose your earthly belongings.

Don't feel sad about your disability. Thank God for what you are still able to do. Recognize your strengths, and exercise them as well as you can. Give joy to others, even as you struggle with your pain. Let the pain not take over the joy you can still have and share with others.

There is no point in talking about what cannot be repaired. Let it alone. Focus on the good in your life, and be happy about it. That is the way we give thanks to God for life.

Find joy from within your heart. Don't expect it from other people. They may not rise to your expectations.

God is here and alive. He is waiting for us to acknowledge him. Yet many of us are too busy for him. And even when we notice him, he does not impress us. He seems far too limited and restricted in his functions. He will not work until we go to him. He will not transform us until we submit to him. He will not usually effect an instant makeover, for his divine hands make all things beautiful in his time, and this means that it will take a very long time, a period much longer than many humans are willing to endure. Frustration is inherent in such a set up. Failure is more likely than success, given divine restraint and human impatience. This is the sad way the life of faith appears to me. This is probably why faith has limited appeal to the world. Faith of this kind has little appeal for those who are keen on guaranteed remedies and instant miracles. They are simply not ready for the disappointment and the heartbreak that faith often includes.

Will some people ever change? I have prayed for them. Will prayers be answered the way we expect them to be? Sometimes prayers are heartbreaking experiences. Hopes are dashed to pieces, and the worst answer is received. How can one pray on, especially for those who seem incorrigible? They seem so hardened in their behaviour that they don't even care about what is wrong with them. They seem impervious to polite correction. Their behaviour appears to get worse. And those who promised to change are still unchanged. The leopard surely cannot change its spots. And God appears impotent in the task of changing certain people. Still it is not right to throw in the towel. The testimonies of others, and the stories of their miraculous transformations keep one going and praying. These relatively rare occurrences keep one hoping for a repeat. But it is a process fraught with failure and frustration. It is simply not easy to pray for change, when such change is rarely forthcoming.

"You are God and you know best. So I go through the seemingly endless troubles in my life knowing that you are working out something that I cannot see. I put my trust in your peerless workmanship. Still there are times like now when I feel hope draining away. Lord, are you really in charge? Are you really doing something here? Nothing seems to change. Everything appears to get worse. Is this the worst of your test? Or does it get even worse?" The questions go on for a while. And then I say to myself. "Don't lose hope. God is in control." But it is a very strange kind of control. It is not control as humans exercise it. It is a totally different kind. And it is frightening to go through. For God appears absent. Or even impotent. Yes these are the unmistakeable impressions. Nevertheless I shut out the doubts and throw out the fears. This is the way God usually leads his people. And I am one of them. And I need to walk on without turning back.

Love the people God has sent to you. Love the life he has called you to live. Love what you are and what you have been given. Turn away from your own unfulfilled desires, and stop looking for what will never come.

Welcome the one who knocks on your door, even if he seems inappropriate or undesirable. Don't turn away from him to wait for the one who may never come. Accept the people who come to you and do your best for them, as though these are the very ones you were waiting for.

From great carnality great spirituality may arise. Both are often found together. The deeply spiritual may also be greatly carnal. And the flames of their spirituality are fuelled by the unlimited fuel of their carnality. After satiating the fleshly lusts, there arises a great hunger for spiritual food.

A great love for light may emerge only from a long stay in the darkness. A great love for God may emerge only from a life of deep sinfulness. It is the one who is forgiven more who loves more. It is the one who has sinned more who seeks righteousness more.

I've put my heart and soul into this. The rest is up to you O Lord.

Jesus said, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." We need to believe this every day.

In this life let us not aim at giving as much as we have received. We can never give as much as we have received, for we have received from God, and he cannot be outdone in giving.

We cannot outdo God in giving. What we give to God is a mere fraction of what we have received from him.

The lack of money is a big motivation for seeking God in this world. Everywhere I look I see promises of the monetary and material gifts that God is ready to bestow on those who show the tiniest faith. I myself sought God for material comforts and earthly well-being. But after a few years of losing steadily all that I valued and possessed, I have come to the realization that what God wants to give to me is not identical to what I want from God. I am now experiencing the unseemly aspects of the faithful life, and my situation is declining steadily. Still I hope that I will not hit rock bottom before I learn a thing or two about the dark and moist places that I sought in fleshly lust. Yes my spiritual madness blossomed in the midst of a fleshly madness. A spirit seeking life emerged from a flesh-desiring mire of filth. And after I learn that, I hope that there is another place to go to.

"Be prosperous. God wants you to be prosperous. Seek the abundant and over-flowing life. Declare and it will happen." This sounds wonderful to every desperate, impoverished creature in this world. And when we see those who say it, and notice their bright smiles and even brighter clothes, and when we take in their exaggeratedly opulent settings, we believe in their message, and seek the lush life. Still what resemblance does such a life bear to the one that Jesus Christ lived? Did he not carry a cross and ask us to carry one? Did he not tell us to sell all our belongings and give the money to the poor and follow him? What does the prosperous life have to do with Christ? Little.

My present precarious condition may have been brought about by unwise, ungodly choices in life. Yet in this darkness, I am not totally groping. There is a strand of light, and I am still holding on to it. Even in this darkness, I speak of glowing light and I am given the privilege of speaking it out loud to the passers-by.

It is better to be poor and needy in this world. It is better to live a life of difficulty and strife. It is better to taste large amounts of pain. For in such unpleasant and hostile circumstances human beings emerge from darkness to light, from unbelievers to God-seekers, and from worldly despair to unworldly hope.

It is not a good thing to be an employer or a master. It is better to be an employee and a servant. And God kindly makes us both.

Acknowledge God and you are well, though you may be poor and needy. Deny God and you are dead, though you may be alive and physically well and financially stable.

All human effort is God-enabled, for humans are the works of God. All energy within a human comes from God. Yet when humans exert energy without acknowledging God as the source of their energy, their energy is reduced in worth. But there is a greater energy and a greater capability that exists outside humans inside God, who is the giver of all ability. Such energy adds to the human, and makes him superhuman, and God-enabled.

The fruit of your trying is more satisfying but less wonderful than the fruit that came free.

All help is inconvenient. When help is convenient, it cannot be help.

Stop trying and you'll do well.

It is dishonest people who have a problem with being frank. Honesty always seeks openness.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - February 2016, Part 1

We worship God best by loving one another.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - January 2016, Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

True love continues to give beyond rejection.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - January 2016, Part 1

When all of us are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God, it is pointless to find out who among us is the greater sinner. It is pointless to point out certain misbehaviours and say that these are not acceptable to God. Nothing about the human being is acceptable to God. The human heart is rotten to the core, and the human body is incapable of being made right. When such is the case, let us not waste our time finding fault with others. There is much in us that is reprehensible in the eyes of God. The best approach to take is one in humility, acknowledging our failures and tolerating the weaknesses of others, which are not more serious than our own shortcomings.

It is not a great thing to be a human being first of all. A human is sin-ridden by nature. Nothing about the human is acceptable to God. Sexuality is just one of the items in a very long list of what makes the human not right with God. The only one who makes us right is Christ. His love overcomes all our sins, and his blood pays for all our transgressions. So let us look at what makes us right instead of pointing out what makes us wrong.

You are a mixture of things. So be grateful for everything that makes you what you are. Be thankful for the black as much as you are for the white. It is the impurity in you that makes the purity stand out.

Don't respond to every provocative statement, even if it is something that you think is helpful. You don't have to prove your love for what you care about. Let your heart convey your deepest feelings, and let your outward language be without useless repetition and needless emphasis.

Be glad about everything that adds to you, even about that little thing that normally escapes your notice. Cultivate the art of gratitude, and the tendency to give thanks for everything that makes you what you are today.

One's performance inside one's family is more important than one's performance outside it.

God is not going to measure us by the size of our wallets but by the size of our hearts for him.

Many people are going through a difficult time in their lives. I too am in a lot of difficulty right now. I have chosen to do a work for God in the last nine years, forsaking many things, including my career and every money-making opportunity to do a work for God. This work has been kept going by God despite hardships of many kinds. I have had the support of family and friends. God has been good. I count on his goodness at all times, and particularly now as I go through many difficulties. I know that God will remain faithful to me. I await his help once again. May God continue to provide not only for me, but for all those who are calling out to him in great need.

God, support your people, who work for you. Help those who have given up many things for you. Help those who serve you full-time, forsaking money-making opportunities in the world. O Lord, come swiftly and help us.

Spiritual poverty is the requirement for spiritual advancement. It is only the spiritually destitute who find a home in God's land.

The more you know your weakness the more you crave strength. The more you are aware of your moral depravity, the more you long for a righteousness outside you.

Great weakness brings about a great humility.

God became our father even before we became his children. And he will remain so without any further help from us.

A life full of trouble inspires in some human beings a desire for a life without troubles. Such a life is available to many who hold a religious belief. This life is in a place called heaven. And it is an unending life overflowing with joy and health and in it there is no place for suffering and pain and death. Heaven is the hope that keeps many seeking God.

Those who will not believe in what they cannot see will not believe in either heaven or God who is said to live there. Heaven is a place that cannot be seen with human eyes. It is a place which we hear about in the Bible, and in other religious books. The truth of heaven can be only perceived as a matter of faith. If people believe in God, they are also likely to believe in heaven. The terrible realities of life on earth make heaven highly desirable to some people, but to some others the same realities make heaven a most unlikely place and a figment of spiritual imagination.

There are heavens and not just one heaven. The first verse of the Bible makes that clear. There could be at least three heavens as far as the Bible is concerned. The first heaven is the earth's atmosphere. The second heaven is what lies beyond earth's atmosphere and includes the stars and the planets. The third heaven is where God himself lives with his angels and other living creatures. The third heaven is what lies beyond what can be visibly seen. It can be reached only through spiritual means, as Paul the Apostle experienced in his life. Not all this is crystal clear in our reading of the Bible. But some believe that these assumptions can be made.

Heaven is described by Jesus as his Father's house. He said that his Father's house has many rooms or mansions. And he said that he would go there to prepare a room for each and every one who believes in him. And he said that he would come back and take his people to their respective mansions later. Jesus mentioned heaven on a few occasions. His disciple John met him in heaven, when a revelation was given to him. Paul the apostle speaks of being caught up to the third heaven. So there is much in support of a place called heaven in the Bible. It is described as a place with pearly gates and a golden street. It is certainly a place out of this world, and nothing like it can ever be seen or even imagined on earth.

Heaven is also the place where people faithful to God expect to go after their death. Those who believe in Jesus Christ hope to enter heaven, on account of their faith in Christ's redemptive death and victorious resurrection. Even those from other faiths believe that there is such a thing as heaven, and hope to enter that place of total happiness and unending life, after their earthly journey is concluded. But they believe that they will get there on their own merit and not because of any redemptive act of any divine figure on their behalf.

Heaven is a place where God lives eternally with his loyal angels and any other living creature loyal to him. It is a place where there is no darkness or evil. And it is a place where there is no injustice and unfairness. It is a place where someone can be totally happy without any regret. This is my most rudimentary description of heaven. A more detailed description of heaven would include other places where spiritually wicked powers dwell, something that emerges from Saint Paul's understanding. It seems to me that Satan and his cohorts are not in hell yet. They are all in heaven still, but probably not in the heaven where God lives.

God's heart is no doctrine. He revealed it clearly in Jesus Christ. And his heart is one of love. His justice, and its requirements were met in Jesus Christ's sacrificial death, and beyond that death nothing more needs to be paid. So let guilty human beings rest. We are all guilty. And our guilt has been erased. We can either believe this and rest or not believe this and fret away till we die.

No one can keep God's commandments. This is the plain truth. We satisfy God's requirements only by being in Christ, who is the only one who could keep God's commandments.

Doctrinal correctness will matter little to God. What will matter and what does matter is the heart that seeks God and cannot live without God. If a man or woman has that heart and nothing else, God will still have him or her.

Don't do anything on your own. Just let God do it for you. It will not be clear to you now. But remember this. Nothing that you do on this earth will ever add to your worthiness before God. Our worthiness does not come from our actions. Our worthiness comes from our placing our trust in God and his Son, the Lord Christ.

Only God makes us righteous, And he does that if we will simply believe in what his Son did for us.

A love of God flows out of a love of all human beings. We cannot love God without loving human beings. We cannot honour God without honouring human beings. We cannot see God without seeing him in each and every one of us.

Phobia of many kinds characterizes the average believer in God. One should learn to worship God without the terror of being doctrinally wrong. God alone is to be worshipped. But God is in all of his saints. All those who are in Christ reflect God and each and every one should be honoured as God himself is honoured.

Mary, Mother of Christ, is the most blessed of women. Generations have called her blessed and they will continue to do so. To approach her and to ask her to intercede for us is not very different from asking another person to pray for us. As such she is a most eminent intercessor. Asking Mary to intercede does not amount to the worship of Mary. God alone is to be worshipped.

This work we do for God is not about success and failure. This is about trusting in God and doing what he inspires.

Be thankful for all your gifts even if they don't satisfy you.

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

When someone curses you don't curse back. Remain silent and forgiving. Bless that person. Ask God to reveal his great love and mercy to that person. And may he or she be transformed by that love. Every time someone curses us we have the great opportunity to bless. And when we bless the one who cursed us we render impotent the evil effects of the person's curse. For we overcome evil not with evil but with good.

The love of God endures all forms of human coldness. Let us aspire to love like God, without expectation and without letting our love be defined by human response.

Don't worry about what people think about you. They will always find something about you that they do not like. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, calmly assess what others think about you, and see if there is any truth to it. Make changes to suit their expectations if you can or if you are willing. But if you are convinced that you are right in being what you are, then go ahead and be yourself no matter what the cost of that is. It is more important to please oneself than to please others.

A new year is not new until every day of it is new in our eyes.

Cultivating a kind, appreciative heart should be the goal of every person who desires appreciation from others.

We should keep our excitement regarding life going every day, not just on New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Day but every day. The mark of newness is to feel new even when circumstances appear old. This newness is brought in by God, when we embrace the will of God and seek him. We will then come into the newness which he alone can bring about in a most effective way. Happy New Year to all who desire this God-made newness. May God bless you all.

Is God going to bring in the new in our lives? Or are we going to do it all on our own? Are we going to change ourselves by our own efforts? Do we really believe that we can change without God’s help? A year is only a marker of time. It may matter very little from an eternal perspective. I believe every day is important. Every moment is significant. We should not be excited about the new year. We should be excited about this new moment. We should be excited about every moment. And this excitement should go on every day as long as we live.

We have all seen the passing away of a year and the coming of a new year. What does a new year mean to us? Is it simply a matter of making resolutions and failing to keep them? Is it simply a fresh attitude that lasts for a while and disappears? How excited are we about a new year? What possibilities do we see in this new year? Is anything really going to change in our lives? Or are we only going to imagine the change? Or are we going to effect that change in our own strength? Or are we going to ask God to help us move to a new place and to a new way of thinking and to a new way of living?

Is a new year a new number in the calendar? Is that all? Is that the end of the story as far as a new year is concerned? A new year is not about the number. Some people believe in numbers. Some people swear by numbers. Some people believe that certain numbers are lucky numbers. I don’t believe in numbers. I believe in God. I believe that it is God who keeps us going. It is God who keeps every man and woman going. And it is God that I will trust any day. And I believe that God will guide me to the places where he wants me to go. He will lead me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. And surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This is my belief and my hope as I step out of this year and move into another.

What pain you have had to bear all these months! And you bear it very well. May God grant you the strength to go through this trouble. It is my prayer that He heals you soon. Do not give up. Keep on believing in a miracle, no matter how long it takes. Do not give up until God grants you the relief that you seek. Give no peace to God. Knock on His door until He opens it and grants you the blessing that you seek. Fight on my friend. God is on your side. He will neither leave you nor forsake you. Just hold on to this promise: "He will be with you in trouble. He will deliver you and honor you. With long life will He satisfy you and show you His salvation."
God bless you with a healthy and happy New Year.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - December 2015, Part 2

Children should know the meaning of Christmas, and the way Jesus Christ entered into this world to better understand and appreciate God.

Celebrate what you have. That will take your mind off what you do not have.

We need to remember the blessings of God, and we should make a habit of giving thanks to God. Our faith is directly proportional to our thanksgiving, and it is our faith that enables us to receive from God. So the more we remember the blessings of God, the greater will be our thanksgiving, and the greater will be our receiving. Such a habit will also help us give thanks to God in difficult circumstances, when it is least natural to thank God.

A certain question is being raised. Should Christmas be celebrated? Is it really the time when Jesus Christ was born two thousand years ago? This may well be a serious question to some people. This is what I think. If people celebrate the love of God and Jesus Christ who came to convey that love in concrete terms, then there is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas. At least there should be nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas. If it is God’s love that people remember at Christmas, if it is Jesus Christ who is celebrated, then there should be no regret regarding Christmas.

There are more questions that we should ask ourselves as we celebrate Christmas. Do we convey a message to the world when we celebrate Christmas? Do we say something about ourselves when others see us celebrating Christmas? Are we affirming something when we celebrate Christmas? Are we sharing someone when we celebrate Christmas? Christmas should not only be a time of celebration. It should also be a time for reflection. Above all it should be a time for sharing. We share with one another our love for God. We show one another how much God means to us. We particularly show those who do not believe in God how much God means to us. Christmas should be essentially a time for sharing. And we should share Christ during Christmas. And we should share him especially with those who do not know him. We should share him with those who do not believe in him. We should share him with those who are antagonistic to him. We should share him lovingly. We should share Christ as he would share himself with us.

At Christmas time, other questions need to be asked. What does Jesus Christ mean to the people of the world? What does Christ mean to you and me? What did Christ bring into the world? What did he achieve through his life? What did we gain on account of Christ? Christ came into the world to convey the love of God to the people of this world. Christ came into the world to wash away the sins of humankind. Christ came into the world to reconcile God and human beings. So it is important for us to share Jesus Christ with others so that they may know what Christ did for all of us. And all of what Christ did started to happen one night in Bethlehem many years ago. Whether that night happened exactly at this time thousands of years ago is not a crucial question. Are we thankful for this night, are we thankful for Jesus Christ, these are crucial questions.

It was God who chose Mary. God chose her before he told her anything about Jesus because he knew that she was the right choice. Mary worshipped God and cared about God. She was in agreement with God. Though she did not offer her womb to God before she was told about Jesus we can say that in a sense she eventually offered herself to God. Mary is known for her remarkable words of acceptance. She said, "May it be done to me as how God has willed. I'm the servant of the Lord." She offered herself to God because she was honoured to be considered by God. So Mary received the honour of being the mother of Jesus while she was unmarried. Though it was risky for her to carry a child in her womb in an unmarried state, Mary took that risk for the sake of God. So when I see Mary, mother of Jesus, I see a woman of faith and daring, who was willing to be pregnant before her marriage, because she trusted in God. We must learn from Mary and show faith in God even when he seems to lead us to a dangerous path.

Mary phobia is as undesirable as Mary worship. We are never asked to worship Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ in the Bible. Nor are we asked to neglect the role of Mary in the story of God. Mary played a major role in the story, and without her readiness to be a servant of God, and submitting her virgin body to the working of God, Jesus Christ may have never entered the world. Even her son recognized the importance of his mother on the cross, and gave her another son to love, and assigned his own disciple the task of taking care of his mother. It is the belief of some that John alone was not given this sonship, and that all disciples like him were given the same role. I don't go as far as that. But I believe that Mary should be honoured as a servant of God. Indeed she is the most blessed of women, for blessed is the fruit of her womb. Honouring her in this way is not worshipping her.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, thank you for agreeing to be the handmaiden of God. Thank you for submitting to God's will. If you had not submitted to God's will, we would have never seen Jesus. We would not be where we are today, justified in the eyes of God. Mary, you are an example of daring faith. May we have the courage to believe in God, as you did, and may we submit to him today, as you did. Thank you.

A friend remarked to me earlier this month, “Should I celebrate Christmas? I just heard that it is not the birthday of Jesus Christ. I’m saddened by it. I don’t know whether I should celebrate Christmas or not.” My response to this person is, “Celebrate Jesus Christ every day in your life. We need to celebrate Jesus every day in our lives. And if we choose to do so on the 25th of December, it is not something, which we should be troubled by. We need to celebrate God every day, even on Christmas Day. If we have this attitude, if we choose to celebrate God on a daily basis, if we choose to remember the love of God every day, then Christmas Day is not different from any other day.  

God should be celebrated every day, even on Christmas Day. And there is nothing wrong with that, as far as I am concerned. And I have no problem with celebrating Christmas this year, on the 25th of December. And I recommend the celebration of God on a daily basis. That’s what we need to do. We who have received God’s love graciously, we who are benefited by the grace of God, should celebrate him every day.

If Christmas is special, it is because the whole world celebrates the birth of Jesus on a certain day. So when we join with others in celebrating Christmas, it feels special. Celebrating God on Christmas Day feels special. But in truth, we need to celebrate God every day. And I see Christmas Day as not different from any other day. I see it as just another day to celebrate the goodness of God.

Every day is a good day to give thanks to God. And we should give thanks to him every day for Jesus, and for all the other gifts he has given us. Christmas Day is not a special day to give thanks to God. It is just another day. There is nothing wrong in giving thanks to God, and there is nothing wrong with celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, on Christmas Day. Some people may find it uncomfortable to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. But I don’t. I celebrate Jesus every day. So Christmas Day is just another day to celebrate Jesus.

Christmas Day is another day when we can rejoice in what God has done for us. Let us not be concerned with the idea of the appropriateness of observing the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. Let us give thanks to God on Christmas Day, just as we would give thanks to God on any other day. Let there be no hesitation in doing this.

Let those who are grateful for Jesus Christ give thanks to God every day. Let every day be a good day for giving thanks to God. Let no day be an inappropriate day to say “thank you” to God for the great gift of Jesus. Without Jesus there is no access to God. He is the only way to God. He is the only one who can justify us. He is the only one who makes us right before God. So let us give thanks to God every day for Jesus. Let us do so also on Christmas Day. The origin of Christmas Day is debatable. Yet it is another day to give thanks to God. Yet it is another day, when we can say confidently, “We are new creations in Christ. Christ has saved us. He has made us right before God."

Someone said to me this year, “God is displeased by the celebration of Christmas. He is saddened by it. Christmas Day is not really the birthday of Jesus Christ. It is pagan in origin, and therefore it should not be celebrated by those who love God.” I see no harm in remembering the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. Jesus is God’s greatest gift to human beings. And humans have chosen to celebrate this gift on a certain day. And they do it regularly every year. I see no harm in this as long as Christians remember Jesus, and celebrate the love of God, which is expressed in Jesus.

Let us see God during this Christmas. And let us remember that God will surprise us as he did two thousand years ago. We can never ever claim to know him. We just know that he is essentially love. And he expressed his love through Jesus Christ. Let us be grateful for that love. Let us thank God, and let us truly celebrate Christmas by celebrating his love. I wish you all a blessed Christmas.

This is the truth. This is the Truth whom we call the Lord Jesus Christ. When we see him, we see the one who sent him. We don’t know the one who sent him. This world doesn’t know God. But Jesus came into the world to reveal God to us. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah, who came in a way in which no one expected him to come, and who went away in a way in which no one expected him to go. Everything about him was remarkable. This is the Christ that we will remember during this Christmas. He defies our expectations. His love is beyond description. His grace is beyond our belief. He loves us beyond measure. He forgives us of all our sins. This is Jesus. And he represents God. When we see Jesus we see God.

This Christmas I have this message to convey to the world: we have certain expectations of God. We believe that we know God. Those who have studied God and have read about him have this idea that they can work out God. Jesus proved to everyone that God’s mind cannot be worked out. He was an exceptional manifestation, he was a shocking manifestation of God. One of his own disciples asked him at a certain time, “Show us the Father”. And Jesus said, “How can you even ask such a thing? The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”

The message of the Lord Jesus Christ was nothing like the message that was preached by people before him. It was remarkable. He preached forgiveness. He preached loving one's enemies. He preached that people should bless their enemies and pray for their enemies. This is a remarkable message. One doesn’t hear this message in anything that came before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Enjoy this moment. The next will come in due time.

Last year I witnessed another Christmas programme involving children. On that occasion, I was surprised to find a priest who was very appreciative of the children who performed. He was smiling continually and cheering the children on. He even danced with them later, as they played a popular film song. This priest greatly impressed me, and today I cannot help thinking, after being at another kids' Christmas programme, officiated by a rather strict and judgemental priest, that the jolly young priest I saw last year could be more similar to Jesus Christ who lived two thousand years ago than the severe one I saw today.

Today I was at a church to witness a children's Christmas programme. There were very young, earnest children trying to do what they were taught to do. And they did a good job as far as I was concerned. Some others may not have found their singing tuneful or their performance well rehearsed. But I found them genuine and sincere. And I was delighted by just being there to witness them. However the priest, who was in charge of the proceedings, spoke unkindly about some of them. And I couldn't help wondering whether Jesus would have spoken his words or acted like him today. I have always maintained that God looks at the heart and is not moved by outward performance. I believe that our performances will not matter in the end. It's only our hearts and the longing for God contained within them, that will truly make a mark in the eyes of God.

Be healed in the name of Jesus Christ. Let his health flow in your body from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. Say this, "By his stripes I am healed." And believe that you are.

My greatest weakness has led to my greatest strength. And even now the weakness remains, though I have tried to cast it out many times. It still keeps me going towards the only strength that overcomes it bit by bit day by day. It also keeps me humble for I know who I am deep within, and if I have done anything of note, it is because of someone else who stirs within me and rises to the surface every now and then to give expression to something more characteristic of himself than of me.

The thing that you believe that most hinders you may well be the one that spurs you on to something truly good. So accept the undesirable behaviour that keeps you going on the right road.

Try not to make impulsive decisions. The thing that you discard today may well be the one that you need tomorrow.