Some Encouraging Thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

Love and Sacrifice

• A true friend should be a person who can adjust with our ideas. Being honest, frank, trust-worthy, caring, loving can win us a true friend. (Gal. 3:29; Phil. 1:21; 1 Pet. 4:12).

• Real friends are with you in all your ups and downs. (Prov. 17:17; Phil. 11:12; 1 Sam. 18:3).

• Keep your eyes on the Lord; He never takes His eyes off you. (Is. 30:20; Ps. 123:2; 121:1).

Wisdom

• Having the wisdom from God is better than having worldly wisdom. (1 Sam 2:3; Prov. 1:7; Rom. 11:33).

• We should praise God not only for what He has done for us, but also for what He is to us. (Ps. 107:43; 34:1).

• We should not only hear or read God’s word, but also put it into practice. (James. 2:17; Acts. 17:11).

Other situations

• A smile that is not from your heart will pain your face. (Heb 4:13; Jer. 17:10; Ps. 4:7).

• No one is useless while he has a friend. (Eccles.4:9; Luke 10: 30-35).

• A Christian home is earth’s sweetest picture of Heaven! (Eph. 5:30; Matt. 19:6; 1 Cor.7:30).

Some Encouraging Thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

God’s sufficiency

• Good can come from anything when God is in charge. (Esther. 3: 5-6; Acts. 12: 1-3; 1 Sam. 18: 7).
• To receive God unconditionally is the greatest gift we can ever possess. (Luke 19: 6; Ps. 37: 5; Is. 30: 15).
• With the Lord we are never alone. Even in our greatest troubles He is with us. (Matt. 28: 20; Jer. 15: 18-19; Is. 43:1-2).

Character Improvement

• Instead of having our environment shape us, we are to shape our environment according to God’s guidance. (Rom. 8:35; John. 13:1; Gal. 2:20).
• Our creator takes hold of our shattered lives and shapes us in the way He wants. (Prov. 16:3; Ps. 37:5; 1 Pet.5:7).   
• God saves us not for what we are, but for what He can make of us. (Ps. 135:4; Eph.1:4; Ps. 33:12).

Relax in God

• It is such a comfort to drop the tangles of life into God’s hands and leave then there. (Ps. 55:22; Prov. 16:2; 1 Pet.5:7; 1 sam.2:3).
• If Christ holds the anchor of our life, we will always be in very safe hands. (Phil. 4:13; Ps. 55:16; Eph.6:10).
• Waiting upon God brings us to heights that we find impossible to soar. (Is. 8:20; 40: 31; Ps. 25:3).

Some Encouraging Thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

Hope

• God can convert your ‘bundles of burden’ into packages of joy’. (1 pet. 5: 7; Ps.66: 12; Matt. 11:25).
• All is not hopeless when your hope is in God. (1 Thess. 4: 13, 17; Prov. 23: 18; Rom. 5:5).
• “The promises of God are certain, but they do not all mature in ninety-days”. (Ps. 75: 2; John. 2:4; Luke. 1:13).

God’s Intervention

• “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God”. (Gen. 18: 14. Matt. 19: 26; Luke. 1:37; 18:27).
• The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still. (Ps. 43:5, 6; Matt. 11:29; Jer 15:20).
• God transforms trials into triumphs. (John. 16:33; 1 Pet. 4:12; 2 Cor. 4: 17; Job. 19: 26). 

Right Responses

• Telling others about our heavenly father’s dealings with us is a way of truly praising Him. (Ps. 62:1; 102:16-18).
• The nearest way to gain respect is to earn it by good conduct. (Josh. 3:7; 2 Sam. 5:10; Job. 22:21).
• The way to change others’ mind is with affection, and not anger. (John. 13:1-2; 15:9, 13).

Some Encouraging Thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

Faith

• Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. 16: 13; Eph. 3:16; 6:10; 2Cor 12:9; Is. 40: 31;2 Tim.2:1).
• More prayer, more exercise of faith, more patient waiting, and the result is blessing in abundance. (Ps. 25: 3; Job.13:15; 1Sam.13:8; Is.8:17, 18; 30:16; Prov. 20:22).
• Whatever our faith says, God is and He will be. Faith that goes forward will triumph. (Mark. 5: 28; 10: 52; Luke. 7:9).

Prayer

• Delays are not denials. Jesus tests our faith before working out His good purpose in our lives. (Ex.32: 1; Matt. 25: 4; Gen.16:2).
• Prayer is a part of the armour of God, which a believer should put on. (2 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 4:27; 6:18; James. 4:7).
• God who prepares the answers to our prayers also prompts the asking. (Ps. 50:15; James. 5:14; Jude 20).

Facing Difficulties

• God, who cares for His children 24 hours a day, can sometimes get our attention only during thosesleepless night hours. (Matt. 25: 13; Rev. 16: 15; James. 5:7).
• Circumstances that look like obstacles are really opportunities when we let God work. (Acts. 11: 19; 2 Cor. 7: 10; Rev. 1:9).
• Christianity is a way of life marked by joy even in difficult situations. (Acts. 5:41; Is. 29: 19; 1 Pet. 4:2). 

Some Encouraging Thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

Wisdom

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. (John. 14:1-2; Prov. 17:22; Ps. 37:4)

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. (Matt. 23:14; Luke. 17:19; Mark. 5:19)

Christ seeks not the circumference of our life, but its very centre. (Prov. 23:26; 1 Cor. 6:17; Gal. 5:24)

God’s Sufficiency

Patience is enjoying the journey. It’s not climbing the mountain to get to the top; it’s climbing the mountain to enjoy the climb. Enjoy the process of your own life. (1 Pet. 5:7; Ps. 37:5; 55:22)

We may not always understand God’s ways, but He will illumine our path and prove to be a faithful guide. (Nah 1:3; Ps. 18:20; 32:8)

We need not fear the perils AROUND us as long as the eye of the Lord is UPON us. (Ps. 34:15; 32:8; 2 Chr. 16:9)

God’s Intervention

When God is going to do something wonderful, He begins with a difficulty. If He is going to do something really wonderful, He begins with an impossibility. (1 Thess. 5:18; Heb. 13:15; Job. 1:21)

God may not give us an easy journey to the Promised Land, but He will give us a safe one. (Gal. 3:13; Rom. 6:18; Ps. 59:15)

The world may ask you to hit-back and get it out of your system, but God asks you to sit-back and get Him into your system, allowing Him to handle things. (James. 5:10; Heb. 10:36; 5:8, 9)

Some Encouraging thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

Love and Sacrifice

• Preaching the gospel calls for a simple life style and a serious purpose. (2 Tim. 2:2; Luke. 14:26; John. 8:31)

• Serving the Lord, is saying ‘no’ to self will and ‘yes’ to His will constantly. (Phil. 4:2; 1 Tim. 1:18; Neh. 3:1)

• Real love does not calculate the cost. (2 Cor. 10:17; Matt. 25:21; 1 Cor. 4:2)

Relax in God

• The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still. (Jer. 15:19; 1 Sam. 17:47; Is. 41:12)

• More prayer, more exercise of faith, more patient waiting, and the result is blessing in abundance. (Luke. 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:16; Eph. 6:18)

• Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. (Job. 5:1; Like. 2:15; Is. 40:31; Ps. 37:7)

Character Improvement

•  It’s good to be battered, if eventually you’re bettered. (Jer. 18:1-5; Matt. 14:25; 15:25)

• Endure hardships as discipline; God is treating you as His son. (Acts. 14:22; 1 Tim. 3:12; 1 Pet. 2:21)

• The turning-lathe that has the sharpest knives produces the finest work. (Rom. 8:30; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:10) 

Some Encouraging thoughts from Johny (Late John George Samuel)

Hope

• The glory of tomorrow is rooted in the drudgery of today. (John. 15:2; Acts. 14:22; Esther. 8:15)

• Can I call it suffering when the Lord is there to comfort and guide me? (Is. 40:1; 1 Chr. 7:22; Rom. 15:4)

• We don’t know how the Lord works; but of one thing we’re sure, He works! (Is. 35:3-4; 55:8-9)

Faith

• Delayed answers to prayer give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in Him under apparent repulses. (Job. 42:1-3; Deut. 8:2; Ps. 11:5; Job. 23:10) 

• Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. 16:13; Eph. 3:16; 6:10; 2 Cor 12:9; Is. 40:31; 2 Tim. 2:1)

• If you start something in faith, keep the faith. Your faith will win out in the end. (John. 5:24; Acts. 14:22; Heb. 6:12; Heb. 12:2-3)

Prayer

• Prayer is the telephone system between my heart and God. The Bible is His way of communicating with me. I need both. (1 Pet. 21:1; James. 1:22; Jer. 23:19)

• Allowing God to answer our prayer in His own way, in His own time, is well worth the waiting. (Ex. 33:20; Deut. 3:26; 1 Cor. 12:8)

• God is there to hear us when we have a special need. But how pleased He must be when we come to Him just because we want to talk. (1 Chr. 16:11; Ps. 63:1; Ps. 119: 2-4)