Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George - May 2017

Sometimes you will have to do it late to do it best.

There will always be those who deny that Jesus Christ is God. And they will use the Bible to discredit his divinity. That divinity is unquestionably clear in the Bible. We have situations in the Bible, where the word "God" is made distinct in reference from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. But this is simply on account of the inadequacy of language. God is One and in three. Consider the words in Genesis, when God says, "Let Us make man in Our image." This reveals a great mystery to me. And the word Elohim in that context, refers to a plural God.

The God of the Old Testament is also Jesus Christ. He is also the Holy Spirit. The three are One.

If Jesus is not God, who is he? Is he just another son of God, like an angel or a spiritually regenerated human? Is he simply a messenger? Is he just a prophet or a holy man, as some people say? Or is he something worse, a deceiver or a lunatic perhaps? Consider the words of John. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word Was God." Consider the words of Jesus, as he refers to himself. "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Consider Isaiah's words, "And he shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace." Consider Paul's words, "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to." I see no reason to discredit the divinity of Jesus. And I don't discredit it myself.

Good speech is not just a skilful observance of rules, it is also a respectful awareness of the other person.

You cannot speak well, without being well-mannered.

A good learner is someone who changes his behaviour appropriately.

It is unethical to record people's conversation without letting them know in advance.

Mockers will only hear silence from God. It is when the last shred of their human foolishness is lost, that God will respond.

If you want God's help, ask for it humbly. And wait for God to respond.

As a human being, I cannot respond to everyone who knocks on my door. But may God do what I cannot.

It is not in having more that happiness lies. Happiness is being satisfied with whatever we have, and sharing it with others.

Be grateful for what God gives you today, and don't be envious of someone who has more.

God's purposes are good, even if we don't like them.

Break out of the mould. People do it time and again. Lives change. You don't have to be stuck with anything.

To journey from fear to faith, everything that supports you must be thrown away.

As I lie in bed, I address my fears. I write reminders on my smartphone and share it with others.

Do it for God, and you will be happy. Do it for yourself, and you will not be happy.

Only a man born of God can speak for God.

Know your inadequacy, and then you will know God's adequacy.

God alone will take care of you. And this you will know when everyone exits the scene.

Fear happens when you focus on what you can do. Faith happens when you focus on what God can do.

Fear is when you believe in what the world tells you. Faith is when you believe in what God tells you.

If you've done no wrong, you have no reason to fear. But, if you've done wrong, confess it to God, and he will forgive you.

Face your fears. There is no other way out of them. But face them with God, knowing that he will never leave you alone.

We are all instruments in God's hands. But only some of us are willing to be used.

You cannot see white properly without seeing black beside it. To see white in its purity, you need the knowledge of blackness.

The longing for the day overcomes the lusts of the night.

You cannot value the day without the night. The night makes the day desirable.

In my search for God, I met the devil first.

Seek God even as the devil walks beside you.

You cannot​ have God without the devil bothering you.

To see God, you must see the devil first.

Don't be dismayed by the devil in you. Only God can make you see the devil in you.

Man wants to be like God. But he is more like the devil. The more he desires the divine nature, the more he recognises his devilishness.

When giving hurts, it is far more meaningful and closer to the heart of God.

You truly help when you deprive yourself of something that you will surely miss.

Pray always, but whenever possible, you should do more. When you can do more, don't stop with praying.

Praying for someone is not as difficult as helping that person in a time of trouble.

Who is Jesus Christ? He is the Saviour of the world. He is the Messiah, who came to bind the oppressor and set captives free. He came to lay down his life for the sins of this world, so that people may be justified with God and spend eternity in Heaven. It is by his blood that our sins are washed away. It is by his stripes that we are healed — spirit, soul and body. In him, we are more than conquerors. Through him we can do all things. With him, we are seated in the heavenlies. But without him, we will live in darkness, and we will always be captive to sin. We will die, and rise again to an eternal life of shame, pain and separation from God. This is the essence of the Christian faith. And those who believe in it are reassured of a new life, abundant with love, joy and peace, and all the good things that God wants to give his children. They will live with Jesus Christ and like Jesus Christ even on earth.

Those who turn to Jesus Christ are the sheep who hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his people. He was crucified on a cross for the sins of the whole world, and his blood washed away the sins of all human beings. But humans need to believe in Jesus Christ, to receive their salvation. Salvation is free, but it is not cheap. The people of God should believe in the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. They should accept the forgiveness of God that comes through this sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. And they should confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead. When they do so, they will be the sons and daughters of God, who will live eternally with God. By faith, they travel from darkness to life, and overcome physical death to inherit everlasting life with God. Their road is narrow and difficult. Their path to God is filled with strife and pain. They do not =reach the pearly gates of Heaven, without shedding many tears on earth. But God holds them firmly in his grasp, and comforts and strengthens them in their distress. Christ himself lives with them through his Spirit, and enables them to live like him. Through his Holy Spirit, they are spiritually renewed every day, so that they become more like Christ. And with the Sprit of Christ in them, they overcome every challenge in their way. In Christ, they become new creations, dead to sin, and alive to God. They are able to overcome their sinful nature, as they daily submit to God, who reigns in them. Truly the Kingdom of God is established in their hearts. And they live like Jesus Christ even on earth.

Not all of us turn to Christ. Very few of us run to him. Even fewer find him and live with him. Many of us in this world are not aware of the terrible plight in which we find ourselves. We are not consciousness of the terribleness of sin, and its eternal consequences. Many humans believe that they are a little flawed, but they do not believe that they are terribly flawed and powerfully drawn to sin. They do not realize that they are slaves to sin. They are not aware that they are destined to go to hell, a place of eternal separation from God, if they are not justified before God. They do not recognize that they are under a divine curse that only the Son of God can lift. They do not recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of God. They do not acknowledge him as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. They are not aware that it is in the spilling of his blood that payment for the sins of humanity is made. They do not recognize that it is Jesus Christ alone that can save them, therefore they do not seek him. And they live their earthly life without him, and they die, only to rise again in a dark world separated from him forever.

Why do we want to live like Jesus Christ, when what he did on earth, is way beyond our ability to emulate? Why are we drawn to be like someone who is not like anyone on this earth? The thoughts and ways of Jesus Christ are far removed from human experience. Yet, why do we desire the extreme difference of Jesus Christ? Perhaps we are fed up with being human. We were made in the image of God, and we desperately desire his godliness. But we are trapped helplessly in selfish living. We are under the yoke of sin. And sinfulness is a great burden to bear. That is why we turn to Christ. We run to him, because he takes our sins away, and makes us right before God. He also enables us to live a godly life through the power of his Spirit, working in us. Through him, we are reconciled to God, and restored to the original image in which we were made.

How did Jesus Christ live? What is so good about his life, that people should want to emulate it? Jesus Christ lived for God, in obedience to God, doing God's will in this world. He spoke only what he heard from God. He did not do anything, which God did not want him to do. He never transgressed God's law while he was on earth. He helped all people. He particularly cared about the socially marginalised people. He was kind and considerate, and did not turn anyone away. He healed sickness, and raised people from the dead. He performed many miracles. But, his greatest act was to lay down his life for the entire world. When we consider all that Jesus did in this world, we realize that no human being can emulate the way Jesus Christ lived. But, we still have the desire to live like Jesus.

Is it possible to live like Jesus Christ? It is not possible in human strength, but with God it is possible. Is it desirable to live like Jesus Christ? The answer may vary from person to person. As far as I am concerned, it is not a bad idea to live like Jesus Christ. In fact, it could be the best kind of life a human being can live.

Never be ashamed of what you have. Be proud of what you have. Because what you have was given to you by God. And what he has given must be displayed with joy.

Life is a great gift. Life is a privilege. Let us acknowledge how precious this gift is, before it is too late. And let us bless the Lord who gives us life. All life proceeds from him. We cannot be alive without God. Shall we bless the Lord today? Shall the living people bless their Lord today?

I bless the Lord today. I thank him for my life. I thank him for the lives of all his people. I thank him for life, the life that I see all around me. I bless him today. I thank him.

A hateful heart should learn to love. And there is only one teacher as far as love is concerned. His name is God. Those who hate should know God. Ironically, some God believers are the ones who hate the most. People who say they believe in God do such hateful acts. They destroy other people’s lives. The question that must be asked is, “Who is God? What does he want us to do?” As far as I am concerned, God is love. And God has put us on earth, so that we may live together in harmony. We should not end up killing one another. That is what is happening in the world today. And before the situation gets worse, let us who know God is love, show what love is. Let us show by example what love is, so that others may learn from us. It is our job to show the world love.

I stand in the light, but I live in a very dark world. There is much hatred in this world, hatred arising from intolerance. Some people cannot tolerate difference. They cannot live with difference. So, they try to obliterate difference. They try to destroy difference. And this results in terrorist activities.

Terrorism is intolerance. People terrorize others because they cannot stand them. They cannot stand otherness. They cannot stand difference. This darkness comes from hatred.

Let those who love humanity stand up against those who hate them. Let those who want to preserve diversity in life stand up firmly against those who want to obliterate every difference. There is strength in unity, and there is greater strength in love, when it binds diverse people. Let the heavenly strength of love stand up against the demonic power of hate. In such a conflict, love will overcome deadly obstacles. But let love go hand in hand with God. Let us say a prayer to the Maker of this world, and let us ask us him today and every day to deliver us from evil. For evil in its purest form can be brought down only by God, the ultimate preserver of order in an unfathomable universe.

Murders and killings are a part of human history right from the very beginning. Much blood has been spilt because of intolerance. Carnages are reported in holy books such as the Bible. God himself is reported as having ordered some of the worst blood baths in history. But one cannot be certain how accurate these accounts are. Jesus Christ came into the world to show us love. He came to bring forgiveness and not condemnation. This loving-kindness and unlimited forgiveness together form his significant revelation about God. And as Jesus said, he who has seen him has seen God. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I say that God is indeed light, and that there is no darkness in him at all. Whatever darkness we see in God, is human misperception, resulting from our inherent limitedness. The God I have come to know, is not on the side of those who terrorize and murder people for being different from them. He is not an advocate of lawlessness and bloody violence. He is a lover, who is waiting to save everyone, who will come to him, of his or her own accord. But if people want to turn away from God, and follow their human stirrings, they are likely to submit to the hatred that is rife, where divine love and tolerance are absent. Such hatred is from the devil, for he who spurns God is a person who is more like the devil, than he or she may realize.

There is guidance and there is misguidance. Those who are guided are people who love. Those who are misguided are people who hate. We are alive in this world to help one another make sense of a troubled life. We need the help of one another to go on, even as life throws its endless challenges at us. We cannot burden ourselves further by hating one another, just because we cannot be the same in every way. We should realize that difference is in everything, and that there is much variety in all that we find in this world. We should value difference and even desire it, for it makes life far more interesting than it would be if all of us were alike in every way. Let religion or any other consideration, not attempt to homogenize a heterogeneous world population. Such an attempt will never succeed, and if forced upon humanity will cause great distress.

You should value human life. To be able to do this, you should value your own life, and see it as a gift from God. If you don't believe in God, then see life as a gift that should be appreciated and guarded, as much as you can. It may be a gift from no one in particular, if you are an atheist, but life does not cease to be a gift because you have no theistic belief. Enjoy the gift of life and let others enjoy it as well. We are not here on earth to be identical in every respect. We humans are different and varied in our beliefs and lifestyles. Let us enjoy our differences even as we seek similarities. Let us not be dismayed by difference, and try to set it right intolerantly through deadly violence. Let us not dare to destroy other people's lives, just because they are different from us. Such actions do not stem from love. And love is what will keep us alive in this world, as long as life is possible on earth.

If you think that there is something wrong in the world today, you cannot correct it through violent actions that ensue from hateful intolerance. You should share your knowledge of life with people respectfully and sensitively, and hope that your approach to life strikes a chord with those who hear you. If people do not find your approach desirable, then you should let them live according to their own wishes, without encroaching on their freedom, and troubling them in any way.

Let us be ruled by love and tolerance, and let us promote life rather than destroy it. Those who destroy human life for the sake of religious belief, are guided by hatred and intolerance. Such qualities no longer appeal to a majority of human beings as divine in origin.

You should not take your own life, for it is a gift from God. And you should not take the lives of others as well, in the name of God. Such killings are reported in holy books, but they don't have any approval anymore either from God or from Man.

The father of the lost son in the Bible, did not tell his son how to behave. He let the young man misbehave, and when the son returned repentant for his wrongdoing, the father accepted him wholeheartedly, without a single word of censure. This person, above all, truly represents the character of God. Jesus Christ is the author of this portrait, and it must count. But God is often seen, and even portrayed in the Bible, as harsh and vindictive. And this image stays longer in the mind than the image of the forgiving father.

"This is what I've done for you" is a glorious line, if you say it once. But if you say it every day, it will become despicable.

It is important to say, "I love you", and repeat it as many times as necessary. But it is self-defeating to say, "I love you, so do what I want you to do." And when repeated, this will be counter-productive. It will turn the loved one away.

Don't try to impress people with words, which are uncommon and long. Always choose words that convey your meaning directly and without distortion.

A beginner needs help as much as anyone else, and probably even more. There are levels of difficulty in life, and the higher we go, the more difficult it gets. But there is nothing as difficult as the beginning of a learning process. If you are a beginner, then your initial steps will be wobbly and unsteady.

A love that constantly reminds you of what it did for you, is no love at all.

From complexity to simplicity is the progression of knowledge.

Your work in life will not be completed.When you die, you will leave something incomplete. So rest in your incompleteness today.

Those who are in the hands of God do not care about themselves.

I don't spend too much time writing anything. I let the words tumble out of me. There will always be a better expression. But I try to come up with a sincere expression as quickly as possible. I don't go after the elusive best. I stick with the spontaneous and not- so-perfectly-formed expression.

Language proficiency is power. But how do we use this power? Do we use it to denigrate others? Do we use it to point out their deficiencies and thus emphasize our superiority? Do we use language to highlight differences and widen the bridge of separation that has already given rise to a divided humanity? Should we not use language to heal wounds and bind up those who are wounded by the consciousness of their own perceived differences?

It is not learning to speak English that has made me happy. Initially it did bring happiness. But now my happiness lies in understanding others and helping them discover themselves. Everyone is uniquely gifted and can do something worthwhile in this world. If language learning helps someone do this, then it is indeed a worthwhile occupation. But let language proficiency not be an end in itself. Let the ability to speak a language lead to greater searching and sharing. Let us use language to minister to the needs of others and harness their hidden potential. Let us enable them with language to do the same for those who are still undiscovered.

Just be direct. Say what you want to say, and nothing than that. Say it politely. Say it clearly. Don't try to speak something for the sake of effect. The only effect that you should have on others is an air of sincerity. There is nothing as charming as a sincere expression, no matter how flawed it may be in other ways.

When you are in trouble help someone else. When you are in need of inspiration, inspire another person. When you need urgently to pray for yourself, urgently pray for someone else. Think about someone else today.

If you try long enough, if you persist long enough, you will succeed. You will do what you want to do. This is what discovered. I will not give up even if I fail a few times. I will not give up even if I fail many times. I will not give up. I will not give up. And I don't want you to give up today - whatever you are trying to do.  

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

Moderation is best. In belief and practice, in thought, feeling and speech, don't move to the extremes.

Stay in the middle. Stay in the zone of not knowing enough. For incompleteness is the lot of Man. And moderation is his safest zone.

Smile today and help someone else smile. Your future is in God’s hands, and he will not fail you. So don’t lose your joy today.

Fortunate is he who can celebrate God daily.

Look away from your achievements. Look at your Maker, the giver of all abilities. He is the reason for everything you prize.

It's poverty to be labelled where God is concerned. What he feels for us, and what we feel for him overflows man-made containers.

Labels cannot contain what I feel for God.

Don't alienate anyone, by favouring someone. Receive all with the same warmth. Let no one feel less than another.

For a change to take place you must feel the hurt of your mistakes. If you are not bothered by your faults, you will not change.

The first thing in education is: be aware of the person next to you. Let your behaviour not inconvenience the other person.

It is when you are aware of your mistakes, that your are not likely to repeat them.

Some learn only from their own mistakes. And there are some who learn from the mistakes others make.

Some people are starving for love. Don't hesitate to be generous with your smile today.

Don't resist the one who tries to help you, even if he hurts you in the process.

Some pains will have to be borne. But all things will work together for your good, if you trust in God. May God give you the strength to endure your suffering.

Don't be too hard on yourself. We all lose our head from time to time. That's why we need to support each other in this thing called life. Just try to do good whenever you can.

Don't be content to be a sinner. But be prepared to be a saint. For that is how God sees you, after Jesus washed your sins away.

Don't try to deserve God. But try to receive his forgiveness without condemning yourself.

God knows who you are, and what you've done. And​ he still loves you. So, be at peace with yourself.

Don't approach God with guilt. Approach him with gratitude.

Don't be desperate to know people. Be desperate to know God.

Let a book not become a god. Let God not become a book.

God is in places which you may not like to visit. God is in people whom you may not like to meet.

If you can hear my words, you are already being taught by me.

I will be a teacher to those who want to be taught.

I write so that I may be understood. So I try to strip away everything that hinders understanding.

Let the weak say, "I am strong." If you confess your weakness daily, weakness is where you will stay.

The more time you spend away from the light, the more you are to be pitied. You think you have found shelter in darkness. But the truth is that you are afraid of coming into the light. For you do not belong to the light.

Those who see the mixture — the god in the devil, and the devil in the god, have gone far enough.

Don't totally reject the ugly. For they have something beautiful in them. Don't totally accept the beautiful. For they have something ugly in them.

When you get close to someone, you will have show that person the other side of you, which you zealously guard from being seen by others.Closeness calls for disclosure of what you normally hide.

There is good in the bad, and there is bad in the good. Mixture is the essence of life.

When you need help, you will be ready to help anyone.

Be encouraged, for God is not heartless. Our very hearts are his creations.

Let your cry for help go to God again and again till he responds to you. But if he does not respond, as you want him to, maybe there is another response from him, which you cannot hear now. Just seek him, knowing that he is good, and that he will not disappoint the one who places trust in him.

When harmful desires diminish in power, they pave the way for inner peace.

We must learn to live peacefully, thankful for what we have, without complaining continually about what we do not have.

Every woman has a mother in her, and this she should celebrate, whether she is biologically a parent or not.

There are no care-givers in the world as lavish as mothers. May God bless all mothers today. May he increase their joy.

The love that comes after the rage is greater than the love before it. The peace that comes after the turmoil is greater than the peace before it.

What you say in rage cannot matter more than what you say when you are calm. The hasty words spoken in anger will be cancelled by the remorseful wisdom that comes when the rage is long gone.

We cannot be always calm, in the face of every challenge that life throws at us. Often, we lose our temper, and sometimes we totally lose our peace over something, which we later find inconsequential. It is when we suffer from the consequences of our great rage, we gradually detach from it. Calm arrives after much suffering. And such calm will prevail over future troubles.

Small mistakes can bring about a great fury. The sheer foolishness of some mistakes is hard to take.

Help others take care of you. Don't hinder the process by complaining. Life is difficult for all people. Even those who help you have their problems. Be sensitive to others, even as you are suffering with your own problem.

My safety lies in God. I can take all the precautions and still fall. Or I can dare the devil and still survive. With God.

Jesus is already here. He is in you. He is in me. Don't look for him in the sky.

We are all bad. Calling ourselves bad is telling only half of the truth. We are also good. If God lives in us, we are good. And that is what we should proclaim every day.

Be encouraged. You have a God who never wants you to be discouraged.

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

Grace is where I am.

I welcome back those who run away from me, just as God welcomes me when I run away from him.

I am troubled by me. That is why I go to God.

It is hard, but God makes it easier day by day. This is what we should believe as we submit our failures to him daily.

Keep trying hard, but before that say a prayer to God, and ask him to help you to get what you want.

We all prefer the fake look of strength to the genuine look of weakness.

We are all pretenders. Some of us are great pretenders.

The prayer that I said after my breakfast ​today was probably more robust than any I could have said before it. Often it is better to say a prayer while well-fed than to say one while starving.

It is not the physical posture, but the state of your heart that is crucial to the effectiveness of your prayer. A sincere prayer said sitting down or lying in bed is more effective than a insincere one said while kneeling down

A chronic excuse maker is more blame-worthy than anyone whom he or she blames.

Any human being who blames another person for a job not well done, is more to blame than the one who is blamed.

Sometimes you have to obey God even if you disagree with him.

It is never a bad idea to ask for forgiveness, if you have​ wronged someone. You don't have to wait for the other person to be willing to forgive you.

Good day to you friend. Make this day count. Use what you have. Don't be disheartened by what you don't have. Gladden someone. Lighten that person's burden. Show that person a way out of trouble today. Remember, your own happiness lies in making someone happy today.

God can help you with anything, provided you need his help. But his help doesn't always come the way you expect it. Most of the time, your own mind works out the answers. And your mind, like every other part of you is a gift from God.

Children of God, who have experienced many a heartbreak in this life of faith, I wish you the very best that God has in store for you. May he answer your prayers today in the way you want him to.

Don't strain too much. You cannot know everything. You need to be happy with the little that you will eventually know.

Happiness lies in accepting one's limitedness, and in being content with incompleteness of experience.

Just speak to God. Tell him what you want. And believe that he will give it to you, if it is according to his will. When you make requests to God, be willing to accept any answer from him. Submit to his plan for your life, and ask for his will to be done at al times.

Outward appearance without inner worth is a sad self-deception. It may not deceive the onlooker, but it may deceive the one who wears that look.

What's meant to be will be. Who's meant to be with you will be with you. You don't even have to try. What comes without effort is indeed what is destined.

If your interest in something doesn't last long, you can forget it. You will probably not get it, and if you do, you won't know what to do with it.

I don't know whether I believed in myself at first. I was just very attracted to something and l pursued it and I wouldn't quit until I could lay my hands on it and make it my own. Self-belief if it ever entered the picture was a late entrant. This is how I came to know what I know, and be what I am.

You don't need to know if you can do it. Part of the excitement of life is in discovering that you can do it.

We are all both learners and teachers in the lesson called life. Many times we learn, sometimes we teach.

Those who want more are always unhappy. The secret to being happy then is to be content with what you have.

Love will attain its object, if it is relentless. If the romantic pursuer will not abandon hope, there is a good chance that his love will be requited.

I leave often, but I always return, until now at least.

I have little time and much work. I do my very best to be useful, but I always fall short of my own expectations. But that's the nature of life.

Sometimes impatience does find its object. But many times, patience has a better chance to seize its object of desire.

The best communication is conveying much by saying little.

Leave no room for bitterness. Get what comes to you with gratitude. Leave what refuses to come with a blessing. Use what you have to produce even more. Do good as much as you can, without feeling remorseful for what you cannot do.

I am a student first, then a teacher. I consider myself a learner, who will not stop learning as long as I live.

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George , April 2017

Don't let anything or anyone disturb you when you are in the zone. Let inspiration alone be your companion.

 

It is better not to try shortcuts. You just might meet with an accident if you do.

 

To be able to love someone even when that person does not return the love is the kind of freedom that should be particularly desired.

 

To be able to love anyone without expecting anything in return is an enviable freedom.

 

Not to care about results is a great freedom, which may even improve one's performance.

 

True freedom is to be able to do something without expecting any response from anyone.

 

Don't wait for someone to do the dirty work. Do it yourself if you care about the mess.

 

God does not always speak. Nor is he always silent. That is why it is hard to turn away from him.

 

Sometimes you just have to keep quiet. The undesirable will leave on its own.

 

Moderate desire will not get you to the top. If you want to climb an impossible peak, you need to be madly passionate about getting there.

 

Prayer is not a matter of uncertainty, but certainty. Almost certain is not certain. Total certainty is total abandonment.

 

You cannot be a sensible person of faith. You can only be a crazy person of faith. In this world, the true people of faith are perceived by the faithless as lunatics.

 

If you do something because you have to do it, it is better for you not to do it. It is good for you to do something only when you want to do it.

 

Life may seem hopelessly complicated. Some may even find it meaningless. The world is an evil place, some think. Yet God loved the world so much. What did he see in this world that captured his heart? He saw his own children without a sense of identity. He saw human beings misled by the devil, who usurped the role of father. God saw people behave like their satanic father. And he had to do something to redeem his children from the clutches of this murderer. If he had done nothing, that would have shown us that he did not love us. But he actually did something, which changed the course of history. He sent his only Son. Jesus Christ came into this world. He came to take us all back to God. And his sacrificial death for us on the cross, establishes beyond doubt the love that God has for us. That God is love is an eternal truth. That God loves human beings is the specific truth that Jesus Christ demonstrated to us. Whether we believe in the truth of God's love is up to each and every one of us. We may not be convinced of any truth regarding God. But if we would only believe, despite our doubts, that will do. And God will be pleased.

 

God is love. We are his children made in his image. Yet, we are so full of hate, you say. And God does nothing to stop this hatred from spreading like wildfire. What about wars and genocides? What about evil tyrants who gas their own countrymen? Why does God not intervene, when innocent children are abused and killed? Didn't God himself order genocides, you ask. Didn't God himself order the killing of all Canaanites, children included, in the Bible? If he is like that, how could he be described as a lover of humanity? This is my response: let Jesus Christ be a mirror to God. Whatever Jesus is, God is. Whatever Jesus is not, God is not. Did Jesus order genocides? Did Jesus advocate cruelty of any kind? Did Jesus not lay down his life for all human beings? Does that not show his love for us? Did he sacrifice himself so that we may perish on earth, and even go to hell? No, he did that, so that we may live with him in heaven. Only God loved us so much that he did not want us to perish. Also, consider how patient God is with the world. The first century Christians expected Jesus to return in their own lifetime. Twenty centuries later, we are still waiting for the end of all things. Why is God taking his time? I believe he is waiting on account of his love. He loves us so much, that he does not want to put an end to everything, without giving everyone a chance. This may not still convince you of God's love, But God does not want to convince anyone of his love. He wants us to believe in his love, even when we think we see the opposite of it.

 

God is all-powerful. Yet he seems to do nothing, when we want him so desperately to help us. He even seems not to care about us. Did he not walk away from his disciples, when they were tossing about in that wild sea? Why does God behave like this? God wants to build our trust, you say. God wants us to enlarge our faith. Did he not reprove his disciples for the little faith they showed? Yes, that could very well be the case. In difficult times, God seems distant and uncaring. It is at that time, we must hang on to the eternal truth that God does not abandon his children. No one who trusted in him was ever disappointed. But, there are many cases of disappointments with God, you say. That however, is the short-term picture. But in the long-term, from an eternal point of view we ought to believe that if we place our trust in God, he will not disappoint us, no matter what happens while we undertake the journey from earth to heaven.

 

God is good. But his goodness is not easy to understand or appreciate. He is good in a way human beings​ cannot conceive. His goodness may come across to us as its very antithesis. But let us remember that we see very little right now. And much of our understanding is coloured by our selfishness. If God did not do what we wanted, he is just not good, we think childishly. But if we want to know God's goodness, we have to give up our childish way of thinking. We need to believe in more than what we can see. We need to believe in the eternal truths of God.

 

Trust in God even though the pain is great and inexplicable. How can a good God allow such turmoil and disorder? How can he remain indifferent to pain? Could God be not as powerful or good as we thought? Such questions may linger in your mind. But relegate them to the periphery. Let faith alone be your greatest impulse, and let the eternal truths about God occupy the centre. And let our hope in the eternal virtues of God rage like an inextinguishable fire.

 

Should I be happy that I am popular? Should I be happy about my influence on others? I derive happiness from whatever popularity and influence that I have in this world. However, let my chief happiness not consist in statistical achievements, but in God-ordained and meaningful​ connections that help save lives.

 

Marriage makes little sense if you have a child while you are still engaged. It​ is unfair to the child that will be born. And it completely overrides God's design of the holy union, which marriage ought to be. People should be willing to wait for great blessings, and should consider them very sacred, that they don't trivialise it by doing it their own way.

 

You cannot understand God all the time. There will be times when you will totally misunderstand him. There will be times when God will seem insensitive and cruel. But remember this in your darkest hour. God is on your side, and always good, as long as you keep trusting in him. All things, even terrible things, will work together for your good in the end, if you will only hold on to your faith.

 

Don't focus on your disability. But focus on your ability and be happy that you can still do something useful today.

 

Be happy about what you can do. Don't be sad about what you can't do. This is how you get the most out of your life right now.

 

The world is not your own. Even the piece of land that you may own right now will have to be relinquished on the day of your death. So, live your life knowing that you own nothing. And be aware that you are owned by God. Your soul belongs to him. So, you belong to him. Live knowing that you are owned by God, and if you have anything now, it is God who has given you temporary control over it.

 

The best way to live is to be grateful for every day as if it were our last.

 

A very hard part of life is dying. And when you have die to early and suddenly and painfully, it has the power to destroy you utterly. But it can also be a golden opportunity to overcome fear and hopelessness and embrace the life that is everlasting with greater passion and tenacity than would be the case when a person dies in ripe old age.

 

Paul never intended his letters to be a part of the Bible. They were included in the Bible many years later. We need to read them carefully because there are many personal opinions in these letters, along with God-given instruction. We should ask the help of the Holy Spirit to make a distinction between personal opinions and divine instructions.

 

The biblical writers do not always speak for God. Sometimes they speak their opinion. We need to make a distinction between God's words and human opinion And we cannot do this without​God's help.

 

Only God knows what is right for you. Let him decide it in his own time in his own way. But if you are in a rush, you may do it your way. But you will have to live with the consequences.

 

The purposes of God are beyond human understanding. Suffice it to say, if it is meant to happen, it will. But if it doesn't, accept God's no with grace. And even that grace must come from him.

 

I didn't know who I was until ten years ago. And it has been a steady unravelling of God's plan in my life. I discovered myself, as I was actually doing what the Holy Spirit inspired in me. It started with a casual video recording of the Lord's Prayer with my limited smartphone camera. Now it has emerged into compulsive video-making, churning out message after message, generated by some invisible mechanism that works even in total darkness. My tools and output have evolved in time. I talk and write at a pace that I cannot fully understand. It looks like I have more energy and direction than I expected from myself.

 

Let the Holy Spirit guide you. He is your Master, and he is at work in you. When he empowers you and directs you, you will know that somehow. Your work will display a quality, which you never had before. It will benefit others in ways in which you had never imagined before. Do not train yourself to do this. But let the Spirit train you up in God's ways. And he is a most unconventional teacher. He may guide you in total darkness, but he will eventually bring you out into everlasting light.

 

When you are a child, you will be a child. You are a growing child with growing awareness of who you are and what you should do. You are by no means grown up until God completes his work in you. You will discover yourself more and more, as the Spirit's inner work makes outward manifestations.

 

We are all rebels. We all rebel against God daily. We fail him daily. We deny him daily. But he will forgive us daily, if only we would admit our failings and return to him seeking his grace.

 

Don't worry about failing God. Every disciple of Jesus Christ failed. The greatest among the disciples denied him three times, to save his own skin. But Jesus Christ restored him to his position, when he received three tearful assurances of love from that person. When Jesus Christ could welcome betrayers back again, you need not worry about your own betrayal of God.

 

The greatest discovery we can make about ourselves is that we belong to God. He paid a high price for us, to secure our souls, so that we may live forever. When we realize this, our old perception of us will cease to matter, degree by degree, until our old way of life will make way for the new way.

 

You are a child of God. There is nothing more to find out about yourself.

 

It is not enough if you pray for peace. You should also work for peace.

 

Not everyone knows the language of the heart. Some know only the language of the wallet. It takes time to develop the heart, and those who know the language of the heart should teach it to those who do not know it. And they should do so patiently, allowing time for learning.

 

Let us thank God for his precious Son, Jesus Christ. May Good Friday be a day when Man and God will connect meaningfully. Let the Calvary scene inspire lost sons and daughters to return to their Father.

 

Knowing that Jesus Christ died for us is not enough. We need to experience why He had to die for us. We need to experience sin, and why it is impossible for us to make atonement for our own sins. When we recognize that, we will be able to appreciate what Jesus Christ did on the cross. And we will be able to respond desirably to His Father, who sent him to us. May Good Friday be a day of such responses. God bless you all.

 

Till then let me not give up this struggle. I will not cease to do what God tells me to do in my heart. I have walked far and abandoned much. If I wanted to turn back, it will be too late. But I do not want to turn back. I want to go where this path leads me. And though there are horrible disturbances and impediments before me, I will overcome them all with the strength of God. For when I am weak, then he is strong in me. Let the people of God continue to trod in troubled paths. For God himself goes with us, and he is near us, when the journey becomes unbearable.

 

The disciples of Jesus quarrelled among themselves. There were rivalries and jealousies among them. I notice the same spirit of strife in my home. People are constantly warring and competing. There is no time or desire for giving and serving. If service is rendered, it is often done grudgingly and complainingly. In such an environment, God has allowed his desert flower to grow within me. Not only have I bloomed in hostile ground, others have also seen me and been delighted by me. This is my great consolation as I toss around on a sleepless night, which threatens to go on without end.

 

I have spoken of strength despite a terrible weakness in me. I have spoken of light despite a great darkness within me. I have spoken of peace, even as war raged in me and out of me. I have spoken of godliness, even as ungodly anger and discord surrounded me nearly uninterruptedly in my life. I feel I must speak of what I have not experienced, because even if it is not true in my life, it is true according to God and precious in his sight, and what matters to him matters to me.

 

I go through the Jesus experience every day. When I pray, the people around me are often sleepy and weary. But I continue to pray. I continue to hope in a new day, when the ugliness will be dispelled, and the suffering will cease.

 

I will not let the attitudes of people shape my worship of God. I will worship God as I am led by his Spirit. Even if people around me are sleeping, or not paying attention, and even if people are fighting and quarrelling bitterly, I will continue to read the Bible, and say prayers for the well-being of all. This is my labour. This is my cross. But it is a pretty small cross compared to another I bear silently.

 

Even an excellent depiction of Jesus Christ does not automatically lead to salvation of souls. People may receive the message and fail to respond to it with their hearts. The act of conveying a message is twofold: one, the ability of the communicator and two, the receptivity of the receiver. The success of communication lies equally with the receiver, whose mental and spiritual states are vital to his receiving the message. So ultimately success in the process of conveying Christ to others does not lie in the hands of the communicator, but in the hands of God who alone facilitates both the communication and its reception.

 

If miracles happen every day, they may not qualify as miracles. Still, it is not a bad idea to think that miracles happen every day. It helps us develop gratitude for small blessings.

 

A madness is overwhelmed only by another. You cannot sweep it away by rational arguments.

 

You cannot rationalize a mania. Even if you try, you cannot lessen its severity.

 

Jesus had to fall from a place of adoration to a place of disgrace for the sake of human beings. It is because of that fall we get to rise to the level where God is. Somebody had to fall to get us to rise. Somebody had to be punished for us to be exonerated.

 

The sudden fall of Jesus took place because God had ordained it. Spiritual forces obedient to God’s will were at work in the life of Jesus, particularly in those final days of his life. They orchestrated the catastrophic events that culminated in the Calvary moment. Even though the Roman governor, Pilate, tried to save Jesus from his deadly fate, he could not prevail over the clamorous mob who unequivocally demanded that Jesus Christ be crucified. The Good Friday moment was above all spiritually induced. It was not brought about by the argumentative skills of Caiaphas and his priestly cohorts or the mob they so successfully incited against Jesus Christ. They might have had a small role to play in the way the events played out. But powerful spiritual forces were the ones that dictated the course of events in an unalterable way. These unseen forces are ultimately responsible for the Messiah falling into disgrace, and being sentenced to a form of death reserved for the worst criminals in the Roman empire. For such was the will of God, that his only Son should suffer the worst death as the worst criminal ever on earth. Let human beings who observe this terrible fall of the greatest man who ever lived remember that this ignominious fate was thrusted upon him for our sakes. Jesus suffered and died in the worst possible manner to save us from sin and death. And let us not forget that he fell from a great height to a great depth, so that we may rise from a great depth to a great height, by God’s grace.

 

The fall of Jesus Christ is the rise of Man.

 

As you wave your palms exuberantly today, don't get lost in the ritual, but try to remember the truth that Christ must be king in your life. Or you will only be an onlooker and not an inhabitant in his kingdom.

 

Reaching people should not be the goal. Helping people should be the goal.

 

You can pray a most fervent prayer and still receive a negative answer. Jesus Christ discovered that the day before his death. Answers are ultimately in God's hands, and not always in the quality of our prayers.

 

You cannot discard your past, because the present is all that matters. Learn from the past, and avoid past mistakes in the present. If you do this, your future will be better.

 

When you wait for something and it finally happens, it may give you some joy. But when you are tired of waiting for something, and it finally happens, it may fail to give you any joy.

 

When something doesn't happen when you want it to happen, it does not make a great impact when it finally happens.

 

I'm from a place of trouble, so I believe I can understand those who are in trouble. Trouble varies from person to person, but the reaction to trouble should be the same. You should face it bravely and calmly. And you should hope that your life will get better. If you are a believer in God, you should rely on God to solve your problem. No matter how terrible your situation is, believe that God will help you find a way out of it eventually. Stand firm then, and stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. Otherwise, you will be in worse trouble than you are in right now.''

 

You need to weather your storm. And if you believe in God, trust in him, and cast your cares on him. Your worry will only make you feel worse.

 

You are small only if you want to be. Think of yourself as big and capable of handling the troubles in your life.

 

Many in this world have problems. And some have many problems. But it is not to your advantage when you buckle under the weight of your problems. You need to face them, and do even better. You need to overcome them. That is what true living is all about.

 

Does love your neighbour mean only love a fellow believer? If you love only believers, what is the great achievement in that? Jesus Christ told us to love our enemies. But how do we love our enemies? We pray for them. We ask God to be gracious to them. We pray that God would show mercy to them. But should we live with them as best friends? I don't think so. We should try to get along with all kinds of people. But we cannot live with people who hate God, unless we are forced by circumstances. Sometimes, in a marriage, people find themselves unequally yoked in the spiritual sense. That is when people need to stay faithful to their marriage vows despite spiritual differences. In all other cases, it is best to maintain a distance between the believer and the unbeliever. But distance in this sense does not mean frostiness or hatred. It just means a physical and mental space brought about by spiritual incompatibility. And this may be necessary for most spiritual humans, who are vulnerable to the evil of others.

 

God is doing something new in your life every day. So be ready to see the new. He asks you to do something new today, something you have never done before. Be willing to be used in a new way.

 

In this life with God, be prepared to see your weakness thoroughly exposed. It is when you know your utter inadequateness, you will discover God’s overwhelming adequateness.

 

God rarely asks you to do what is easy. Many times he asks you to do something, which you find very challenging. But you should be willing to do what God asks of you, for he will provide you with the resources to do his task. But to be enabled by God, you need to trust in him more than in your own intelligence.

 

Seldom do people stay and prove through their actions what they passionately said.

 

We don't like to be called servant. We'd rather be called worker or something even less disparaging. But God has called us to be servants. God himself became a servant, and he served us by doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. So let us not be dismayed by the label servant. It is mightier to serve in heaven than to reign on earth.

 

A poor talker who is a great doer, is better than a great talker who is a poor doer. Actions always matter more than words.

 

You serve God by serving his creations. You honour God by respecting the works of his hands. You worship God by sharing his love with those who have never known him. You live for God by dying for all that you desire selfishly for yourself. You work for God by doing what many others are unwilling to do, for such work is beneath their self-image, and offers no gain that they value.

 

We need to walk dry roads to reach wet places. We need to travel with parched mouths for a long time to reach a place where our thirst will be permanently satisfied. We need to experience lasting pain to receive a joy that cannot be taken away from us. This is heaven's design for earth. And the sooner we realize it, the better for us.

 

Don't spend your time seeing what you have seen before. But devote your time to seeing what you have never seen before. When you have seen the old, turn to what is new, and always be in search of the new.

 

Don't criticize your servant. Be willing to serve like her, and do what she is not able to do. Show your servant by example how to serve.

 

Talk less and do more. The greatest doers are the least among talkers. Action is what matters in the end. Your words will amount to nothing, if they are not superseded by action.

 

Instead of complaining about what someone has not done, do the work that is incomplete or unattempted, and don't even complain about it. This is what will make you a great worker.

 

We should learn to be happy with what we have accomplished in less-than-ideal circumstances. Instead of berating the flawed process, we should be grateful for the end result.

 

The best way to worship God is by giving thanks for the life he gave you. The best way to give thanks to God for life is by enjoying the life he gave you. The best way to enjoy life is by expressing the gifts that God gave you. The best way to express the gifts you have is by sharing them with with others. It is by making others happy that you are happy. And you cannot worship God without being happy in this life.

 

Take care that you don't spurn your brother on your way to worship God today. Make things right with your brother so that everything is right between you and God.

 

You cannot love God without​ loving people. You cannot worship God without honouring people. You cannot have a good relationship with God without having a good relationship with the people around you.

 

Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas are man-made holidays. We need to think about God every day. We need to celebrate Jesus Christ every day. We need to think of the birth of Jesus Christ every day. We need to remember the death of Jesus Christ every day.

 

We worship God by honouring one another. We celebrate God by celebrating one another. If we fail in interpersonal relationships, we will also fail in our relationship with God.

 

God is with us. No matter what is against us, it cannot succeed. So, let us not be afraid. Let us trust in God today.

 

Being in Christ means believing that we have a Saviour called Jesus Christ, who saved us from our sins, and who conquered death for us, and made us right before God, and gave us his Spirit, who lives within us, revealing to us the mind of God, and enabling our mind to agree with God's mind, as we submit to him degree by degree.

 

The commandments of God will never cease to be important. Only perfect obedience to them will not be by us, but by Jesus Christ, who has already done it for us.

 

The commandments of God cannot be obeyed perfectly by anyone. Only Jesus Christ could obey. And if we are in him, we have also obeyed perfectly.

 

It is the law that gives sin its power. It is the Spirit that frees you from the power of sin.

 

You should consider yourselves dead to the law of Moses. You died to it when you were born of the Spirit. If you still live under the law, you are under its curse. For no human except Jesus Christ was justified by keeping the law. You now live in the Spirit by the grace of God. But if it is the law that you prefer, you will find out that it will arouse every desire that it forbids.

 

When we are born again, it means that we have died already. When we are born of the spirit we have already died to the flesh.

 

God is good. In difficult times, he has helped me once more. He turned my wailing into dancing once more.

 

The advise that I give is first for myself and then for others.

 

I minister to myself, thus I minister to others.

 

The more you look at something, the less remarkable it becomes.

 

If you are happy about what you received today, even though it is little, you surely have a big heart.

 

Sin is dead. God is alive. This is the truth that overrules every worldly reality, if you are born of the Spirit.

 

You don't always have to do good. You don't always have to enthuse others. Sometimes you should just sit down and take care of yourself. If you cannot take care of yourself, you cannot take care of others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George, March 2017

To trust in God is equal to saying, "I don't like this. But I will let God do this anyway, for I trust him to be good eventually."

 

We say, "Thy will be done" and secretly hope that it is our will that will be done. The essence of trusting God lies in accepting what we do not like, and letting it shape us into the people that God wants us to be,

 

Don't be anxious about anything. But pray about everything that frightens you. Thank God for being near you. He won't let you be harmed by anyone or anything. He is the guardian and the protector of your soul. Believe in the one to whom you have entrusted your precious life. Trust in God today. Believe that he will guide you to a safe place. And boldly affirm your confidence in this manner, "If God is for me, who can be against me? Who can prevail over me? The Lord will not permit his child to suffer more than he or she can bear. The devil may hassle me for a while, but God will save me in the end. I belong to God, and that fact will never change."

 

Find out why you are scared, and what you are scared of. And place it before God. But know God in advance. Be still and know that he is God. There is no force in this world or out of it that can stand against God. If you believe like this, nothing can shake you. But you will be tested severely and many attempts will be made to shake you. You may even stumble and fall, but with God you will rise again. And in the end, you will remain standing, provided you wear the armour of God.

 

God is with you. Learn to speak the words of God. Learn Psalm 91 by heart and speak it to yourself. It is what I did when I came under an anxiety attack in 2010. It saved me. That's why I am still here. So put your trust in God. Say like King David, "A thousand may fall at my side, ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me." God will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Believe and speak the words of God over your life.

 

Know that God is with you, and he is beside you even now. Whatever fear is troubling you, know that God is greater than anything that threatens you. Greater is God in you than the devil in this world. Believe that and say that. And you will find a new strength enter your mind and body, when you confidently affirm the greatness of God. Keep saying to yourself, "God is great. He will never leave me or forsake me. I am his. No one can pluck me out of his hand." Ask God to give you a faith from above. Desire God desperately. And he will not fail to respond to you.

 

To say nothing, to spare the venom, and to let the offender go - these are the lessons that I have learned in my years with God.

 

Thankfulness does not just satisfy God. It also satisfies human beings, who have much to endure in this life. Gratitude is what keeps us sensible in difficult times. And it is what keeps us going, when we would have otherwise given up and admitted defeat.

 

Thanklessness and ungratefulness may be more natural to human beings than thankfulness and gratefulness. But God clearly prefers the thankful and the grateful. In fact, the Creator expects human beings to be thankful in all circumstances. What that means is that humans are required to be thankful even in dire situations. In hard times humans should find something to be thankful about. They have to do something extraordinarily out of character to satisfy their God.

 

Even as you suffer in life, be thankful for the joy that still remains with you. Always be thankful regardless of the circumstances. Find something to be grateful for. Consciously attempt at being grateful always. Even when you are tempted to complain about the bad in your life, speak glowingly of the good that you still observe around you.

 

To enjoy life, we need to laugh more at ourselves, at how petty and ridiculous we are. We need to see the lighter side of our terrible lives, and feel grateful for what we cannot endure.

 

Following your heart is the best use of your time. But beware, your heart can utterly deceive you.

 

I don't think much about the end of the world. End time prophecy is riddled with embarrassing mistakes, and I want to stay out of that area. But I do think about the end of life, which will happen to all of us. I think sometimes about my death, but I don't dwell on it. I think about life right now, about the good I can do, and how to make the best use of my time.

 

Life is rarely what we want. It is mostly what we do not want. If we could like what we do not want, we would be masters at living well.

 

Be happy where you are, even if you don't like it. Some things in life are hard to appreciate. But we should accept them with gratitude.This attitude will preserve us till the end.

 

If our ultimate aim is not pleasing God, we will find out that pleasing ourselves will not satisfy us in the end.

 

If you could worship God without speaking the truth, your worship would amount to nothing. But if you could speak the truth without worshipping God, your truth will still stand.

 

If only people would love who they are, they would also love who others are.

 

To make this world a better place, the people in this world need to be happy with themselves.

 

It is not wrong to love ourselves. In fact, it is a must. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot love others.

 

If I could love myself as a narcissist would, my life would be a lot easier. Rather, I am often my worst critic.

 

What I celebrate is not me, but God in me.

 

Even as I nurse my long-lasting, wounds, and contest in this dogfight against my own terrible nature, I am able to attend to the sufferings of others, and offer words of consolation to them. This is nothing short of a miracle.

 

I try to know myself. There is probably more darkness in me than I suspect. But I'd like to focus on the light, and what God does in me. I try to see the better side of me, though it is not easy.

 

I am not selfless. But I am not as selfish as I used to be.

 

Don't ask me what my religion is. Ask me what my motivation is. My motivation is to give something in return. I have received many good things from God. And I want to share these good things with my fellow human beings.

 

Where I come from is really not important. What I am and what I want to do for you, these are pertinent questions. I am your friend, and I want to accompany you on this journey called life. If I can help you, I will help you. If you can help me, I would gladly receive your help. This is all that we need to think about.

 

Someone told me not to question God. But I question him often. I tell him plainly what I think. I quarrel with him sometimes, and disagree with him. But he quickly draws me back to him. And I walk with him again with renewed strength.

 

Mistakes are painful but necessary. Don't feel ashamed of them. We cannot progress without them.

 

Even my own father may not have accepted me, but I know that God accepts me just as I am. People may judge me and reject me, but with God I do not fear judgement and rejection, for I know that I have been made right before him by Jesus Christ.

 

What love does, discipline cannot know.

 

Jesus was both liberal and conservative. He was more liberal than the liberals of his day, and more conservative than the conservatives of his day.

 

Going to church will not not save you. But going to God will.

 

Doctrines will not lead us to God. A simple heart, aware of its emptiness and desperately in need of God is all that is required.

 

To have everyone come to God, we should be willing to discard every doctrine that divides us.

 

Some of us know God, but do not live with him. Others do not know God, but live with him without being aware of it.

 

On a day when blessings​ seem scarce count the earlier ones.

 

You can't solve a problem by worrying about it. But you can feel better by trusting in God for its solution.

 

Some people are better human beings without religion than those with it.

 

A crisis may be the best gift from God for a person who is struggling in faith.

 

We will go through crises but when we go through them with God, we come out happier.

 

Love is the ability to embrace all without reservation.

 

If you could love the one you're with and not look in longing at the one you're not with, your happiness might just last.

 

A liberal mind is broader than a conservative mind.

 

The best way to get appreciation is by appreciating others.

 

If you love something, you will always find time for it.

 

If you want a good life, then start to appreciate the life that you have now.

 

Do you want to love? Love yourself first. Love what you are, and who you are. Love God who created you for a certain purpose. And the purpose is to know the love of God who loved you enough to put you on this planet. He loved you enough to let you see the wonder of life. Now see that wonder, and appreciate your life. Do what you are able to do, and do it well, and do it happily.

 

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

 

Luck has something to do with every human life. Luck is a combination of events that can go one way or the other. A believer in God, who does not believe in luck, may find himself knocked down by a vehicle on the road, which suddenly lost control and rammed into him. Or he may perish in some other unfortunate way. There are a few miracle stories of supernatural rescue, but these are offset by many tragic stories of bad things happening to good people. It is my belief that such sad events are not predetermined by God, but they happen by chance. Unfortunate and unlucky these events seem to be.

 

Could God have stopped an accident from happening? Could God have prevented a tragedy from happening? Could God have stopped a human from carrying out his evil intention? God could have done all this. But in my understanding, I do not see him doing anything like this. God allowed human beings free-will. So, he lets humans do what they want, even if human actions have criminal intent. He lets humans make mistakes, and sometimes these mistakes have serious consequences.

 

Accidents happen not because of God but because of humans. Human imperfection gives rise to human error. Human error is often the cause of accidents. And when accidents happen, God has nothing to do with them.

 

Let it be between God and you, and not between God and someone and you. You can approach God directly. You can speak to him now. You can ask him yourself. And he will answer you.

 

Everything is ordained by God. Every accident is in God's plan. Every train derails, and every plane crashes, and every ship sinks because God planned it. Every ant that is smashed under human feet today is also predetermined. This line of reasoning is ridiculous.

 

If it's not in the Bible, it's not in life. That's a severe limitation in thinking.

 

You wonder why the good live short lives while the evil live up to a ripe old age. This is what I think. None of us are good. It may seem that some of us are better than others. As Jesus put it, "Only God is good." Life is difficult, and unpredictable. Accidents happen: Inexplicable events take place. The people who seem good meet with untimely deaths. The people who seem bad go on living for an inordinately long time. This may not exactly happen the way it appears to us. One can be confident that bad luck affects all of us. But it does appear to some of us that the good suffer more than the bad. The Bible states that many are the afflictions of the righteous. Jesus Christ warned that in this world there will be many troubles for those who put their trust in God. I believe that there are troubles for all of us in this world. That is the way it is. We need to accept the unpredictability and unfairness of life and make the most of our time, whatever may be the length of our lives.

 

Why should the people of Christ show kindness to those who don't deserve it? We were told by Jesus Christ to be a light in this dark world. We should let our light shine so that people may know Jesus Christ who shines through us. We love others, not because they are loveable or lovely. We love them despite who they are. We are told to love the most unlovable people. We are told to show kindness to the cruellest people. We are told to do the impossible thing. We are told to forgive the unforgivable. But why we should we do these things, when people don't deserve our kindness and our love and our forgiveness? We do this because we belong to Jesus Christ. And he loves and forgives and shows kindness to the most wretched people in the world. He showed kindness and love and forgiveness to us, when we deserved nothing but his condemnation. If he lives in us, we should show him to others by living like him.

 

God loves the world so much. It is this love that led him to send his Son to this world to lay down his life for the sins of humanity. Let all human beings know this love and accept it without reservation. Let this love guide them closer to God. Let those who have received this love also share it with everyone they meet.

 

Let hell not be the reason why you go to God today. There may be a hell where unbelievers and rebellious spirits go ultimately. But let not the fear of going to hell be the reason for your going to God today. God is your Maker, and without him you are incomplete. Let your search for completeness lead you to God today.

 

Let fear not be your motivation to believe in God. It is better to be a fearless unbeliever than a cowardly believer.

 

Don't hold on to the past. Let it go, even if it was wonderful. God is doing something new in your life. Focus on this, and accept the new opportunities and challenges that you are about to face. Whether it is good or bad, easy or difficult, accept the new and live it with the grace God will certainly give you.

 

My child, all of us go through troubles. The children of God suffer the most. They are chosen to suffer, because suffering is probably the greatest teacher in life. Nothing moulds us and transforms us into the image of God like suffering. And we suffer most, when we think that God is not with us. But this is the truth. God never leaves or forsakes his children. It simply cannot be, though it looks very much like that. If we would only believe in God more than we do in what we think or feel, we would make considerable progress in this spiritual journey.

 

You may not be able to relive the past, even if you have the same people in your life. Time has passed, people have changed, and you need to move on to something else in your life.

 

God will not give us everything that we want. But he will give us everything that he wants for us, if we want it too. There is much that we want in life, that God does not want for us. And there is much we do not care for in this life, that God wants for us.

 

How do you know that God is speaking to you? Is he saying to you, "Don't be troubled. I'm here for you. I care for you. And I will take care of you. I will supply all your needs. You can count on me"? If you are hearing this, no matter who you are and what you have done, you can be sure that God is speaking to you. For this is what he has been saying to all of us since the day Jesus Christ ascended into heaven to sit beside his Father. And this is what he will continue to say to his children in the years to come, as long as he wants to. I see no reason to doubt this fact.

 

Don't try to worship God. Just speak to him, believing that he is near you. Believe that he is near you, as you believe that the air you breathe will keep you alive. And know this. Nothing on earth or in heaven can separate you from God.

 

Don't hear the condemnation of people. Hear the approval of God. If you are trying to know God and worship him, he will welcome you into his arms, regardless of the path that you take to reach him. The people of God do not travel the same path to God. But God knows who we are, and where we are, and he will reach out to us, when we get lost.

 

If you are concerned about God and the things of God, it is likely that you have God in you.

 

When God looks at us, he does not see us as Protestants or Catholics or anything else. He sees us as his own children, bought by the blood of his Son Jesus Christ. And this is how we should see ourselves.

 

The best kind of meeting is arranged by God. When I am with God, I don't try to meet people. People come to me, and I meet them.

 

Church is where believers in God are. If only two of us are joined together in our faith in God, we are a church most pleasing to God.

 

Being Catholic or Protestant is not important. Being a child of God is important. This is what you need to be every day.

 

The question that we need to ask today is: "Do we know whom we worship? What does he want from us? Are we doing what he wants us to do?" Let us not be stuck in man-made theories of God, But let us look at Jesus Christ, and experience the love of God that he so unforgettably conveyed to us. Then we will be transformed by that love into the people God wants us to be.

 

Thanks to Wi-Fi, I can place my laptop on my bed and type my messages. There is always something to thank God for. The need of every day is to find that reason, and act on it.

 

Does someone have to write an entire book to say that God takes his time to transform human beings? It takes time to grow physically. It takes even more time to grow spiritually. None of us is transformed instantly. Some changes appear sudden. But nothing is full grown in an instant. Change is a long, drawn out process. Some of us who are undergoing spiritual growth feel that not much has happened over the years. We are still prone to the same evil tendencies. We still remain addicted to worldly lusts. But in truth, we are moving on, even if we cannot feel it. We are moving like the earth, which moves beyond superficial detection. We are moving forward, even if we cannot see any progress. God is an efficient worker. He made the universe. He can make us be like him, if we would only believe in the miracle of time, his time. He makes all things beautiful in his time. In this we should lay to rest all our doubts and start believing in what seems impossible to our human minds.

 

You worship God in your heart. You worship God in your mind. You worship God in you. You worship God in the people you meet. You worship God in every created thing. When you worship God like that you don't need to go to a church to worship him.

 

When you learn to be grateful for every little drop that trickles your way, you have attained a spirit of gratitude.

 

God does not only love us. He hurts us by making us aware of our unworthiness. It is when we see how irredeemable we are that we respond to his gracious love, the only thing that can save us. God cannot embrace us before he hurts us. And we should not recoil from the hurt, hating God even more for showing us our hopelessness. We should return to him, trusting in his love, and desiring it, for there is no other way out of the hell we are destined for.

 

Love changes everything. Love is the greatest motivator for change. It is undeniable. But love without hurt may not amount to anything. When love changes us, it is aided by hurt. We are hurt by the fact that we don't measure up. We are hurt by the knowledge that we don't deserve the love. It is that hurt which ultimately makes us embrace the love and be transformed by it, for nothing else can save us so well.

 

Sometimes we hurt people to get them to think radically. A big change issues out of a big impact. And one of the biggest impacts on the human soul is a hurt.

 

I am what I am today because of the hurts that I suffered in my life. People hurt me inadvertently. I absorbed those hurts and made them my greatest motivators to reach a certain destination.

 

If you always sugar-coat your words, you may fail to make an impact on others. Euphemistic language serves a purpose only up to a certain point. Beyond that point, you should a call a spade a spade.

 

Great change can issue from great hurt. Offence can transform a person like nothing else.

 

The idea of using offensive words is to offend. If you are not offended by them, they have failed in their purpose.

 

What did Jesus Christ mean when he said that he came so that we might live a full, abundant life? Was he primarily referring to material well-being, or spiritual well-being? If we examine the context of the statement, Jesus was talking about the devil, and drawing a contrast between the murderous Satan and the life-giving Christ. So the focus of Jesus' abundant life cannot be material prosperity, but a certain inner, spiritual well-being. God does add the material things to us, but only when we seek his kingdom and his righteousness above every other thing. The Christ kind of abundance therefore is a richness in God, and not a richness in the things of this world.

 

People who want religion may go for Christianity. I go for Christ, without the trappings of religion.

 

What is my religion? I am asked this question often. I follow Jesus Christ. I even work for him. What does that make me? It is anyone's guess.

 

To the one who said that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not call his children idiots, I say that he called them worse names. He has called his chosen people a prostitute who pays others for sex. Jesus Christ, his Son used labels such as vipers and dogs. The Bible contains many difficult words, and often refers to humanity in unflattering terms. God and his people come across as particularly impolite and scathing in their interaction with people.

 

There is wisdom in calling a spade a spade. Anything more or less is a distortion of truth. Jesus Christ labelled the world an adulterous generation. He referred to non-Jews as dogs. On other occasions he addressed the learned men of his community as vipers. St. Paul addressed a church as "foolish Galatians". Sometimes hard words are required to bring out the truth. When such words are used by Jesus Christ and those who serve him, it is for the purpose of highlighting truths, which cannot be effectively expressed using less severe words.

 

A good teacher may have bad students. When you call a student an idiot, it may not reflect on the wisdom of his teacher.

 

We only know what has been revealed to us. Even that we do not well. But the one who thinks he knows everything, when he only imperfectly knows what has been partially revealed is a pitiable idiot.

 

Every sanctimonious person is an idiot. Anyone who thinks he knows God well is a bigger idiot.

 

When you want to point out someone's folly, think about how someone else did not point out that you are an idiot.

 

We should love ourselves. And we should love others as we love ourselves. This is the fitting way we glorify God who made all of us so well.

 

Loving yourself is not a bad thing at all. Just don't forget to love others in the same way.

 

A loud, bragging faith is less appealing than a calm, self-deprecating, seeking of God.

 

Let the godly man look at his own despicable heart before he throws light on the lostness of a brother.

 

A balanced, sensible faith in God will attract more people to God than strident fanaticism.

 

Religious fanaticism will probably come across as lunacy to many onlookers. It is best to temper religious fervour with secular balance, so that faith may not appear ridiculous to the faithless.

 

Ultimately we should attract the faithless through our faith, and not repel them. Balance is what is required. Fanaticism should be avoided at all costs.

 

Faith should be a balanced, beautiful experience and not an idiotic fantasy, which will repel onlookers.

 

Some believers denigrate their god more through their shameless fanaticism than do the most disparaging atheists.

 

We are all slaves to one thing or the other. Some of us are slaves to the bottle, while some others are slaves to the syringe. Some are slaves to sexual desire, while some others are slaves to currency. Some of us are slaves to God, while some others are slaves to religion. Ultimately, no one is truly free, and everyone should decide for himself who his master should be. And we should aim to make the most of our slavery without regret.

 

A holier-than-thou believer is more obnoxious than a mocking atheist.

 

We are all slaves to one thing or the other. Some of us are slaves to the bottle, while some others are slaves to the syringe. Some are slaves to sexual desire, while some others are slaves to currency. Some of us are slaves to God, while some others are slaves to religion. Ultimately, no one is truly free, and everyone should decide for himself who his master should be. And we should aim to make the most of our slavery without regret.

 

In life there are restrictions. There may even be a bondage or two. A life which attempts to achieve despite suffering and to work within restrictions is the kind of freedom that is available on earth. Such a way of living may not always meet with success, but it is always consistent in finding a way to do something good, without offending and restricting others.

 

A free act is done with love, without expecting any reward for it, except the joy of doing it.

 

Freedom of speech is needed. But it cannot mean that we can speak anything, anytime in any way we want. We need to speak properly, considerately and politely. We should also know when not to speak.

 

I am free to admire flowers today. But I am not free to pluck them. I am free to appreciate the world today. But I am not free to impose my will on it.

 

There is no such thing as unlimited freedom. All freedom is limited. The freedom of one should be curtailed for the sake of accommodating others.

 

A free human being is one who is not bound by the thinking of others. Agreement with others in his case is not a must, but it comes only when minds genuinely meet.

 

To be free is to be able to be what one is, without the fear of offending others.

 

Freedom is to do what one likes without hurting others or restricting their freedom.

 

We have waited 2000 years. But God doesn't wait. He is out of time, and he knows the end from the beginning without travelling through time, for he sees them both even now lying side by side. But we who cannot see the timelessness wonder why he is delaying his return. We come up with reasons for his delay. However, it is better not to guess the mind of God. He is giving us time to repent, you say. Time is a double-edged sword. Along with the time to repent, comes the time to do even greater evil. More people are born. More evil proliferates. No, it is better not to guess the divine mind. God is now reconciled to the world through the blood of his Son. And humans are no longer in enmity with God. This is the vital fact that every God-aware human should bear in mind. God's return happens every day as we recognize his great love for us. Every day God returns to the recognizing heart.

 

Let's remember the good that we have received from God. That's how we go on. The troubles in our life have increased, and we are praying to God more urgently to help us overcome our great problems. Even as we continue to struggle in life, let us not forget that God has been good to us. He has answered our prayers, and granted us relief many times. May God grant us help again. May we receive grace in our time of need. May God strengthen and prosper us in every way. Let's not give up doing this today.

 

Is Jesus in a statue? Is Jesus in a massively proportioned statue on top of a mountain? Can Jesus be found as an infant in the hands of his mother, sculpted by a human being? Can Jesus be touched by placing our hands on sculpted wood and rock? Are we not guilty of worshipping God today as we did thousands of years ago? Are we not guilty of worshipping idols when we bow before the statues of Jesus and his mother, not to mention the plethora of his saints? Can Christ not be found anywhere else?

 

Do you need to see clouds in the shapes of horses and lions to visualise the second coming of Jesus Christ? Do you need to hear the massive blow of a trumpet to get prepared for Jesus who is coming to take you away with him to heaven? Do you need to see a grand cosmic event in the sky to ratify the biblical prophecies concerning the return of Jesus Christ? Are you nor ready to accept Jesus now without pomp and fanfare? Are you not ready to welcome the wretched, beggarly Jesus standing in front of you, waiting for your help?

 

How does it feel to fail again and again? How does it feel to have your weaknesses exposed again and again? How does it feel to know the truth and be powerless to enact it in your life? How does it feel to see the light and not be able to step out of your darkness? How does it feel to take a few steps forward and then take many backward?

 

I choose not to be critical of other faiths, for I have not experienced them personally. I choose to look at my own faith sympathetically, for little good may come from being critical of it. Today, I need to rejoice in life, and in God who has revealed himself to me through the Bible. And I should share this joy with others, so that they too may know God as I do. And I should do this respectfully and sensitively without offending anyone's deeply held beliefs.

 

You shouldn't force yourself to believe in God. From the beginning to the end, belief in God is a work of God. God will help you believe in him, as he helped me to believe in him. I had no belief in God once. I now believe in God, but my belief is not without its moments of doubt. All believers go through those moments. But God will help you rise above those doubts every time. You should trust him to do that. Don't panic if you don't have belief now. Just ask God to help you believe in him.

 

Does it matter whether a page grows or not? I cared about such things once, and maybe even now I fall into that error. Does it really matter what following a page has on Facebook? All that matters is that the thoughts and words and works that God inspires in a worker reaches others, who are desperate for answers that will save lives. I hope I have not let down God in that respect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messenger of Love - Samuel Godfrey George