Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - June 2016

All of us have something to be thankful for. Some of us have a lot to be thankful for. And if we are not thanking God, then we are being ungrateful, plain and simple.

Love your family members whether they believe in God or not. Love everyone in the world regardless of their faith or lack of it. Love everyone in the same way you would want others to love you. And this is the way we should love. We should love others because they are our brothers and sisters in this world. This is so because we all have the same Father. And he is God.

Believe in the improbable dream. No matter how hopeless it looks, God can fulfil it. If your dream was put in your heart by God, then he will bring it to pass. Just hold on to it, and never let it slip away. For God who let you dream will also let you enjoy the fulfilment of your dream. He is your Father, waiting to give you the joy you have been waiting for. Don't forget this today.

You are a child of God. You have the favour of God in your life. Believe it and say it today. God loves you and cares for you. Don't forget that ever.

It is not too late for you. God has a good plan for you. There is a time for everything in your life. So if your time has not yet arrived, don't panic. Don't lose hope. Our God is a miracle worker. He knows how to do what you think is no longer possible in your life. Just hang in there with hope. God will not break the heart of the one who trusts in him.

Don't get anyone to believe in God. That's not your job. Tell them about God as you see him, as you have experienced him. And if they are drawn to God after that, may God be praised for even that.

Don't forget to bless all people today. Everyone is important, even the one you do not know, and may never know. Just bless everyone, especially the one you hate and despise. For if you were to bless such a person, it will be truly special. When you bless like that, you will move beyond your human limits into the realm of God.

Don't feel hopeless no matter how hopeless your situation seems. God is working on your case, and you will see what he has done in plain sight one day. If you have suffered a lot, don't be sad. For God has seen fit to let you go through this suffering. It is because you are his special warrior that you have been given this great trial. Think like that. Go on like that.

Are we behaving well is not as important as why are we behaving well.

I don't try to write what I cannot write. I don't try to speak what I cannot speak. Knowing my limits is as important as knowing my strengths.

Let us try to see a loving. accepting God today, not a critical, disapproving one. Only love compels sincere behaviour. A disapproving, overbearing nature may bring about obedience, but it will be a compliance without willingness and a service without love. Such things are best avoided.

Some prayers have been answered. But are you happy with those answers today? Are you giving thanks for what has been granted to you?

Today try to love what you have, and be grateful for it.

Do good always, as well as you can do it. If sin is in it, let it be so. For sin is never out of it till you get out of this world. Sin cannot be done away with in human strength. It is better to pursue God than to run away from sin.

The only justification for positive thinking is that there is a God in this world, who loves us all. and cares for us, and is waiting to reveal his goodness to us. But positive thinking alone is not enough. We must walk towards God, so that he may walk towards us.

The one who mourns today will be comforted later. I can only wonder what will happen to the one who rejoices today.

Life is a journey. It cannot be conducted again. It is travelled once. The decisions that one makes during this journey cannot be reversed. One should live with the consequences of such decisions, and move on, without crying over spilt milk. For much milk is spilt, and there is little time to cry over all of it, while we intend to move forward. For such is the goal of the journey. One needs to move forward, until one is halted abruptly, usually without much warning. We need to move on today. We cannot afford to sit and cry, at least not for too long.

Not all are healed. Some sit in wheelchairs all their lives. Some never recover their mobility, despite many trips to miracle crusades. Some people never change. Some never accept God no matter how much you pray for them. Some prodigal sons never return. Some believers turn into unbelievers later, for the contradictions are too much to bear. Some God lovers turn into world lovers for the world is too attractive to them. Some faith healers themselves die without healing. Some prayers are never answered. Sometimes one receives evil for good. These are the facts concerning the life of faith. You either face them or walk away from them, bearing your own sugar-coated version of what is reality for others.

How do you help people? You help people by telling the truth, as you see it, and you tell it as sensitively as possible.

Knowing where suffering is from is not as important as the realization that a life for God involves suffering. "In this life you will have many troubles", said Jesus. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" says the Bible. One need not debate the place of suffering in the Christian life any further.

As much as there is needless suffering there is needed suffering. Jesus Christ told us to carry the cross and follow him. That is not a life without suffering.

Praising God is simply acknowledging the goodness of God. It is no insincere, exaggerated statement of God's doings in your life. It is stating the facts as they are.

Welcome to all my new friends. And greetings to all my old friends in the love of Christ. I have prayed to God that my messages should reach all people in the world, especially the young. May God enable the young to come to me, and may they connect with the message of love, which God has placed in my heart. I encourage everyone to be my friend. Yet life is neither easy nor straightforward. Reaching out to people is often frustrating. But I go on with the hope that my work will overcome man-made barriers and reach the places that God has purposed for it. May his will be done in the world, and in my life and my work.

True strength emerges from how you perceive yourself. It shouldn't matter what anyone thinks or says about you. What people do is their business. And what you should do is to see yourself as God sees you. You are his child, uniquely gifted and with a purpose that only you can fulfil, and he is in control of your life, no matter how tortuous your road is. You should not only see this in your mind, but also see it repetitively, until it becomes a part of you. And then every thought, word and deed of yours will be filtered through that perception.

It is weakness that keeps me desiring strength.

No one possesses the whole truth. Truth emerges from many men and women, and from their collective experiences. And even then, truth may not emerge in its completeness. For man is incomplete in understanding and partial in his knowledge. Even Saint Paul who wrote decisively about the Christian faith said, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part". Let us not forget this assessment, as we grapple with truth, even biblical truth.

I should let people live their lives. This is my greatest act of love for them.

Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - May 2016, Part 2

God created everything. God created Lucifer. When Lucifer was created, he was perfect. But one day evil was found in him. And his evil spread to one-third of his fellow angels. And from Lucifer, evil was transmitted to the first man Adam, and through Adam, the entire world was affected with evil. So can it then be said that God is the author of evil? God is the creator of Lucifer, yet not the creator of Lucifer's evil. Lucifer alone authored his evil. His evil resulted from ambition and greed. The fruit of his evil is revolt. He revolted against God and his ways, and his revolt is ongoing. When God says that he authored both light and darkness in Isaiah 45:7, he is saying that both good and evil are under his control. Lucifer is under God's control. The devil cannot do anything without being allowed by God. Ultimately God controls everything, so he is the one from whom light and darkness proceed. This does not implicate God as the author of evil, but it certainly places him as the controller of everything, both good and evil. Yet God is not evil. John says categorically that God is light and is without darkness. And we are further told that God is love. So, for us to believe that God is the creator of evil or is evil himself is to negate the statements of John, the apostle of Jesus Christ. And if we do that we will cease to be believers in Christ.

It is he who restrains himself, who is most deserving of your attention. And it is he who is least willing to inconvenience you, who is the best reason for you to inconvenience yourself.

Bluntness may appear attractive. But if it does not serve the purpose of making another person correct his mistake, it is of no use. In addition, if it causes injury to another person, it is most unhelpful. It is best to speak sensitively, as gentleness is a fruit of God.

If only God had said, "Don't worry about sin. I have taken care of it. Only be mindful of its harmful effects", it would have been a great consolation to those who have nearly lost their sanity over their obsession with sin. Sin must be understood and avoided. It should not be feared, and certainly should not be the cause of terrible despair in life. The Bible is lamentably not clear about this, and it takes years for a person to work out the actual truth.

What shall I do with do with the half messengers of light? Should I entertain only the full messengers and discard the half messengers? Should I not feed from light wherever I find it? One is not given all the light. One is given only some of the light. Light is beyond complete understanding and retention. We may find light only here and there. And when we find it we should not reject it.

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. 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 never to find contentment. 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.

Don't run away from what scares you. Don't turn away from what tempts you. Face your fear and go through your temptation, knowing that God is at your side, and even inside you. His strength shall see you through.

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

We should question and test everything. No knowledge is as satisfactory as that which is proven in experience.

"It is good to be positive", they say. For good things happen to positive people. Does that mean good things will not happen to negative people? Some negative people outlive the positive. Some negative people enjoy far more than positive people do. Some negative people have created philosophies from their negativity. Some negative people have made a ton of money with their negative prognostications. Is the negative then really undesirable?

Sometimes God seems distant from us, though He is really quite near. Our prayers don't seem to reach Him, though He actually hears them. Yet His apparent silence and inactivity send the wrong signals to us. So we must persevere in faith and expect Him to intervene and save, though there seems to be little hope of that happening.

To unlearn is to relearn without former mistakes.

Why do I continue to make videos that have little or no profit for me? This is a question that reveals much.

The human body is a beautiful creation of God. The naked body is nothing to be ashamed of. But shame comes from the knowledge of our inner corruption. In our minds, we have corrupted what is beautiful, and made it ugly in our eyes.

God does not prohibit pleasure when it is good. For that is the kind of joy that God designed this life for. But God is certainly against the pleasure that promises more than it delivers. Such pleasure will surely wreck the one who experiences it. It is against this pleasure that God is decidedly against.

An honest sinner is more in God's territory than a lying saint.

We cannot connect with God without honesty.

As long as we pray less and discuss more, we will continue to have our problems with us.

There is a price to be paid for every curse that we utter. Conversely there is a reward to be received for every blessing that we speak.

Why did Jesus tell us to bless those who curse us? When we bless those who curse us, we render powerless those curses that were uttered to us. When we bless the one who cursed us, we do something that ultimately benefits us.

Let’s savour the good things of God. Let’s say to God, “You have done well.” And we’re not lying when we say that because God has done well. He has done well with this world. He has done well with us. If we can sit here and acknowledge the goodness of God, surely God has accomplished his purpose. Yes.

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

Sayings Of Samuel Godfrey George - May 2016, Part 1

May all mothers rejoice in their great ability to love. Their love is an expression of God's love for his children. May mothers continue to express love. May children be grateful for their mothers' love and celebrate their mothers every day.

I wish all mothers could be seen as friends by their children. But there are mothers who are not perceived like that. Many mothers are great care-givers and lovers without being intimately connected with their children. Many people are not comfortable with revealing their innermost thoughts and desires to their mothers and fathers. It is the rare parent who transcends the parental boundaries, and enters into the realm of friendship. It has been said that there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. I will dare to say that there is a friend who sticks closer than even a mother.

Thank you God for my mother. Thank you God for all mothers. Thank you God for loving us so much, and we see your love in the love of our mothers.

I remember all mothers today. Every mother has done a lot for her child. Every mother has done a lot for her children. Mothers are the great care-givers of the world. Mothers are the great lovers of the world. There is no love in the world as sweet as mother's love. And we, the people of this world, should not fail to give thanks to our mothers, not only today, on Mother's Day, but also every day of our lives. We should give thanks to God for our mothers every day of our lives.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." The man who is believed to have written these words, himself departed from his father's teaching. Solomon was not half the man that David was. And David himself was half a man of God. Life is tough and treacherous. I would like to have had a child. I would have loved to hear my child call me "Dad". The privilege of hearing that alone is enough for me. Ultimately, the joy in parenting is about expectations. Expect nothing, and you may have everything. Expect everything, and you may have nothing. Be grateful for even the little things. Then nothing can upset you. But insist on everything being what you want it to be. Then everything can potentially disappoint you.

No joy is pure joy on earth. All joy is alloyed with sadness. All joy allows for heartbreak. So take care with joy. Enjoy with care.

A good day to all God's children. Whatever you are going through today, know this. God loves you. And he is with you always. So walk boldly and happily today.

Give thanks to God when you have to. In fact, give thanks to God always. Nothing is possible without him ever.

Don't focus on the offender. You show love. And love conquers all.

We should acknowledge our need of God every day. This is the meaning of weakness. And this is what Saint Paul was referring to when he said, "When I am weak, then I am strong." He meant that when he acknowledged his need of God, it prompted him to seek God, and God responded to him by granting him strength graciously. And since God's gracious help is always sufficient, Paul could triumph every time he was in trouble, because of his human weakness.

With God all good things are possible. Without God no good thing is possible.

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

Sometimes it takes just one prayer from one person, who does not believe so much. God particularly pays attention to the lost son's inarticulate pleading.

If you are living with an unbeliever, I think God wants you to stay with this person, so that you may learn to love him. You should love him despite his faults. You should accept him just as he is. You should be Christ to him. And maybe then he will believe.

God knows how to reach out to people. I hope the overzealous servants of God don't stand in the way of that. Even then, God will have his chosen ones.

The one you are worrying about may be closer to Christ than you think. Don't estimate the inner condition of a human. No person is equipped to do that. And one more thing. Don't believe that you are in a better place than someone. That kind of thinking will not please God.

You should not try to make anyone believe in Jesus Christ. You should show Christ in the way you live. And if people see Christ in you, and if they like what they see, they will go where you would like them to go.

Even Jesus Christ had to endure religious fools. There is little hope for the Jesus follower who wants to avoid that fate.

To say that a man does not belong to God because he denies God can be a misjudgement. Even I denied God once. Now I cannot deny him, even if I try. Some of us already belong to God without our knowing it.

There is a great danger of following Christ to the letter, without knowing his heart. And his heart is love. When you know his love, and receive it, in all your unworthiness, you will be transformed into a new person. That is a part of being born again.

The idea of being born again came from God. But the label "born-again Christian" came from Man. Spiritual birth is what takes us to God. Yet to classify ourselves as "spiritually born" could be an exercise in distinguishing ourselves from others. Such an attempt is both unnecessary and unhelpful. Everyone who belongs to God is born again.

Sometimes the best thing an ardent Christian can do for his unbelieving neighbour is to leave him alone.

Don't give up on anyone. For God will not give up on you.

Always aim to see the other person as God see him or her. Ask God to show you how. And learn to accept people just as they are. Learn to love the one you will normally hate. Learn to bless the person whom you will normally curse.

Don't try to change people to be like who you are. Accept them the way they are. And do your best for them. That is love.

True worship is to experience thankfulness and then express it simply without exaggeration and insincerity.

Every time I doubt the existence of God, I should think of how I was led to meet my father just before his death. A most disturbing dream impelled me to meet my father and do something uncharacteristic. I, who was at loggerheads with my father nearly all my life, was finally moved to apologize to him for my many faults. This humbling must have given him some relief. It surely gave me relief from my guilt, which had I not apologized would have been unbearable. He gave me his blessing before the end. So every time I wonder whether God is real, I should ask myself, "How did I meet my father just before his death? What made me say the words that freed both of us from the yoke of discord? This cannot be just a fortuitous event."

When you have God living in you, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Where the Lord dwells is indeed a holy place. And he dwells in you. So don't be ashamed of what you find in yourself. The Lord can accept it. Why can't you?

Knowing my own weakness is crucial to my knowing where my strength comes from. And my strength comes from God.

My goal is this: as long as I am alive and am able, I will do whatever I can to bring out the good in me, as a tribute to God who points me to the good and for the benefit of those in the world who may need my good.

When we worry, we waste time and energy. Instead of worrying we could do something good that would bring benefit to our lives or to another person's life.

Is God waiting to punish people in this world? The answer to the question lies in the story of the prodigal son, which Jesus told in the Bible. This is the story of a man who longs for the return of his rebellious son. And when that son returns to his father defeated and repentant, that father is already waiting and ready to receive him and restore him to his position in the family. The forgiving father, brimming with gracious love, is the representation of God, and the sinful, prodigal son, who disgraced himself thoroughly, is the representation of the sin-ridden humanity. If the human father in Jesus' story could forgive his son, so could the divine father forgive every human child, who returns to him with a heart laden with remorse.

It is perilous, this business of correcting others. We will do better correcting our own mistakes. More grace is required for that. Moreover, this is what pleases God. He wants us to inspire others simply by the way we care about ourselves.

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

Sometimes it takes just one prayer from one person, who does not believe so much. God particularly pays attention to the lost son's inarticulate pleading.

If you are living with an unbeliever, I think God wants you to stay with this person, so that you may learn to love him. You should love him despite his faults. You should accept him just as he is. You should be Christ to him. And maybe then he will believe.

God knows how to reach out to people. I hope the overzealous servants of God don't stand in the way of that. Even then, God will have his chosen ones.

The one you are worrying about may be closer to Christ than you think. Don't estimate the inner condition of a human. No person is equipped to do that. And one more thing. Don't believe that you are in a better place than someone. That kind of thinking will not please God.

You should not try to make anyone believe in Jesus Christ. You should show Christ in the way you live. And if people see Christ in you, and if they like what they see, they will go where you would like them to go.

Even Jesus Christ had to endure religious fools. There is little hope for the Jesus follower who wants to avoid that fate.

To say that a man does not belong to God because he denies God can be a misjudgement. Even I denied God once. Now I cannot deny him, even if I try. Some of us already belong to God without our knowing it.

There is a great danger of following Christ to the letter, without knowing his heart. And his heart is love. When you know his love, and receive it, in all your unworthiness, you will be transformed into a new person. That is a part of being born again.

The idea of being born again came from God. But the label "born-again Christian" came from Man. Spiritual birth is what takes us to God. Yet to classify ourselves as "spiritually born" could be an exercise in distinguishing ourselves from others. Such an attempt is both unnecessary and unhelpful. Everyone who belongs to God is born again.

Sometimes the best thing an ardent Christian can do for his unbelieving neighbour is to leave him alone.

Don't give up on anyone. For God will not give up on you.

Always aim to see the other person as God see him or her. Ask God to show you how. And learn to accept people just as they are. Learn to love the one you will normally hate. Learn to bless the person whom you will normally curse.

Don't try to change people to be like who you are. Accept them the way they are. And do your best for them. That is love.

True worship is to experience thankfulness and then express it simply without exaggeration and insincerity.

Celebrate your mother while she is still with you.

Every time I doubt the existence of God, I should think of how I was led to meet my father just before his death. A most disturbing dream impelled me to meet my father and do something uncharacteristic. I, who was at loggerheads with my father nearly all my life, was finally moved to apologize to him for my many faults. This humbling must have given him some relief. It surely gave me relief from my guilt, which had I not apologized would have been unbearable. He gave me his blessing before the end. So every time I wonder whether God is real, I should ask myself, "How did I meet my father just before his death? What made me say the words that freed both of us from the yoke of discord? This cannot be just a fortuitous event."

When you have God living in you, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Where the Lord dwells is indeed a holy place. And he dwells in you. So don't be ashamed of what you find in yourself. The Lord can accept it. Why can't you?

Knowing my own weakness is crucial to my knowing where my strength comes from. And my strength comes from God.

My goal is this: as long as I am alive and am able, I will do whatever I can to bring out the good in me, as a tribute to God who points me to the good and for the benefit of those in the world who may need my good.

When we worry, we waste time and energy. Instead of worrying we could do something good that would bring benefit to our lives or to another person's life.

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.