Yesterday we started to look into our identity in the Kingdom of God and we established that we belong to God’s Kingdom through rescue, adoption, citizenship, and identity in Christ.

Our text today highlight an important fact that just as ancient Israel demanded a king “such as all the other nations have” and 1st-century Judaea expected a military Zealot-Messiah to overthrow Rome, We today face the constant temptation to import worldly tactics into spiritual life. It is easy to want God’s Kingdom while still measuring life by human standards. We naturally evaluate success, security, and status through the lens of the world around us: who has the control, who gets the recognition, and who wins the argument. When we use worldly methods—like outrage, power dynamics, or self-aggrandizement—to accomplish spiritual ends, we betray the nature of the Kingdom we claim to represent.

Notice the phrase in our text:
“Not so with you.” That is a kingdom statement.

Jesus was showing them that the values of his kingdom are different from the values of earthly kingdoms. So when we come into God’s kingdom, our thinking has to change. We cannot belong to one kingdom while continuing to measure everything according to the values of another.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his followers how citizens of his Kingdom actually live. Look at the difference:
Jesus says, “Let your yes be yes” (Matthew 5:37), but the world says, “Say whatever works.”
Jesus says, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44), but the world says, “Get even.”
Jesus says, “Don’t judge” (Matthew 7:1), but the world says, “Call them out.”
Jesus says, “Give in secret” (Matthew 6:3–4), but the world says, “Make sure everyone sees.”
Jesus says, “Pray in private” (Matthew 6:6), but the world says, “Build your image.”
Jesus says, “Don’t store up treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19), but the world says, “Build your security.”
Jesus says, “Don’t worry” (Matthew 6:25, 34), but the world says, “No one will look after you but you.”
Jesus says, “Pray for those who hurt you” (Matthew 5:44), but the world says, “Cancel them.”
Jesus says, “Make peace with your brother” (Matthew 5:23–24), but the world says, “Cut them off.”

Here’s a beautiful truth to hold onto: grace doesn’t just save us; it teaches us.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” — Titus 2:11–12
Notice that the grace that appeared to all people teaches all people . The same grace that rescued you is now your teacher. Every time you choose forgiveness over payback, or quiet kindness over showing off, that’s not just willpower; that’s grace, training you to live like Jesus.

​

<p>The post Into the Kingdom! ² first appeared on House Group.</p>

John fulfilled his ministry to prepare the way for the one coming after him. “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'” Matthew 3:1–2. And when Jesus finally came, he announced that the kingdom of God had come upon mankind (Luke 11:20)

“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, “Here it is,” or “There it is,” because the kingdom of God is in your midst [or within you].'” Luke 17:20–21

The people were eagerly expecting the coming of God’s kingdom but missed it because it didn’t come the way they expected it.

I will advise you to study what happened between when isreal asked for a king and the time of Christ ministry. Particularly the warning that God gave to the isrealites. You will discover the differences in human reality and God ‘s understanding of the kingdom.

So we live in an important moment between what Christ has already accomplished and what he will ultimately complete. Our bodies are still subject to death and decay. Creation is still experiencing the effects of the fall. Romans 8 tells us that creation is groaning, waiting for the day when everything will be made new.
And yet, something has already changed for us.
When we give our lives to Jesus, we become part of his kingdom now. We are still in this world, but we no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness. We have been transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.

Notice the tense in our text. He has rescued us. He has brought us.
These are not things we are trying to achieve. They are things God has already done for us through Jesus Christ.
You are not trying to earn your way into the kingdom. You enter the kingdom by putting your faith in Christ, surrendering to him and making him your Lord and Saviour.

And when you do, three things become true about you.
==> You are part of God’s kingdom.
==>You have been adopted into God’s family.
==>Your identity is in Christ.

None of these is a goal you have to reach. They describe who you already are. You are part of God’s kingdom. Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount with an announcement:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The kingdom belongs to those who come to God in humility and faith. We don’t enter it because of our achievements. We enter it because of what Christ has done.

Yes, our dramatic entrance into the kingdom of God is by adoption. We were brought in by His Son. We are adopted into God’s family.
Romans 8:15 says:
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again. Rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him, we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'”

Being adopted doesn’t reduce or minimise our identity and inheritance in the kingdom. We become co-heir with Christ.

​1 John 3:1–2 says,
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Notice the emphasise “And that is what we are!”

Spiritual life begins with understanding who you are in him; living faithfully is the result of operating from this secure position rather than striving to attain it.

You are already a child of God, an adopted heir, and a citizen of God’s Kingdom right now: not at some point in the future. Your position is fully accomplished by Jesus (rescued, brought in, adopted), not earned through human merit or effort. Your identity is anchored in Christ, separate from your past, failures, circumstances, or others’ opinions.

<p>The post Into the Kingdom! ¹ first appeared on House Group.</p>

What does a healthy church look like? Church where people are devoted to the word of God, fellowship, prayer and the presence of God. The early believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They wanted to know God, understand his ways and allow his word to shape their lives.

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” John 8:31 This is crucial, because the word gives us truth to believe, wisdom to live by and direction for our journey with God.

A healthy church creates a hunger for the word. People grow in their understanding of God and become increasingly confident in living according to his truth.

Our text also says that they devoted themselves to fellowship! Fellowship is more than being in the same room. It is sharing life together. It is relationship, participation, partnership and belonging. A place where people know one another, care for one another, encourage one another, pray for one another and serve one another. A community where faith is lived out in ordinary life, where people can sit together, talk together, eat together and celebrate what God is doing.

Prayer was not an occasional activity for the early believers. They devoted themselves to it.They knew they needed God. They sought him together. They trusted him together.They expected him to move. And when the church prayed in the book of Acts, something happened:

“Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed through the apostles.” Acts 2:43
Then:
“All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Acts 2:44
And:
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46.
And the result was:
“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47

This is a beautiful picture of church life.

<p>The post a healthy church first appeared on House Group.</p>

This is direct and sharp!

The spirit of God is saying don’t allow what you have or don’t have to determine your sense of security. Be content, trust God and remember that his presence and faithfulness are greater than anything money can provide.

The letter to Hebrews was written to Christians who were experiencing pressure because of their faith. The letter repeatedly speaks about suffering, endurance, persecution, reproach and the temptation to draw back from Christ. By chapter 10, some believers had endured public insults, imprisonment and the loss of property because they identified with Christ (Hebrews 10:32-34). So Hebrews 13:5 is not being spoken in a comfortable vacuum.

Telling someone who has lost everything to “be content” sounds harsh if it just means “stop complaining.” But that is not what it means. It is saying your safety and worth do not come from what you own or what you lost. Possessions can be wiped out in a second, but God does not leave. Real security comes from his presence, not your stuff.

The same promise was given to Joshua, but it came with a different instruction. The Lord said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” *”Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you…*” Joshua 1:5,7

At a glance, you can say Joshua is being told what he must do in the face of what lies ahead, while the Hebrews are being told how they should respond to what they have or don’t have. But both instructions address how God’s promise of his presence speaks into different kinds of human insecurity.

Our response to insecurity will look different depending on what we are facing. God’s presence is the answer to human insecurity. But his presence did not mean we had nothing to do. We have a response to make.

Keep your mind right and do what you have been instructed to do.

When the Hebrews were facing insecurity about what they had or did not have, they were told to be content and keep themselves free from the love of money. When Joshua was facing what lay ahead, he was told to be strong, courageous and careful to obey what God had instructed him.

God’s presence does not remove our responsibility. It gives us the security to respond rightly.

<p>The post Response To Insecurity first appeared on House Group.</p>

Don’t step into the circle. It isn’t true. Rejection hurts, and if it goes on long enough, we start to believe it. We ask, What is in me that repels? How bad must I be for everybody to avoid me?
Then we begin to misread everything. Every missed invitation, every overlooked moment, even a sincere oversight becomes proof that we are unwanted. So we pull back, hide and stay guarded, and that isolation feels like confirmation. The lie gets stronger.

But the circle is built on a false verdict. The labels people gave you were their words, never your identity. You are not too much, not too little, not the one who doesn’t fit.
You don’t have to wait for people to change their minds before you know who you are. You are “accepted in the Beloved”. God’s word over you was spoken first, and it is still true: you are wanted, chosen and loved.

So step out of the circle. Don’t believe the lie, and don’t hide from the truth. “Who told you that you were naked?”
God asked Adam and Eve this in Genesis 3:11. But it was too late. They had already bitten the fruit. Separation had come, and it resulted in hiding.

The enemy’s aim was never just to make us fall. It was to keep us in a circle of lies about who we are, so that he could enslave us.
A man who doubts his identity will always be managing it. He will perform, hide and strive for approval, and he will never be free. So the enemy keeps the lie going round and round: You are unwanted. You are defective. You are not enough. Each rejection feels like proof, and each proof tightens the chain.

Sadly, after the fall, man’s pursuit of happiness relied on acceptance.
Human identity and value change in the light of who is seeing them. Much of our sense of worth is formed in other people’s eyes. A child seen with warmth grows up feeling inherently valuable. A child seen with contempt often carries that lens for decades.

This is what, at the end of ages, the enemy is exploiting in Facebook, Instagram, etc. You have got to stop believing the enemy and reaffirm your identify in Christ. Break the circle today.
John 8:32 says, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Say it loud and clear, “I am a child of God and have nothing to hide!”

<p>The post Nothing to hide, I am a child of God first appeared on House Group.</p>

In the garden before sin, Adam and Eve identity was fully received, they were naked but not ashame? (Gen2:25) but the moment they choose to sin they felt the effect of separation from God. They felt exposed, defective and inadequate. Their following action says,”I am exposed, defective, not enough” Luke 15 explained what separation from the Father looks like. A young man full of life suddenly returned broken. Not wanted, not happy, not adequate!

In both cases man sinned and what they believed about how God saw them changed — and that belief alone was enough to shatter their entire emotional world.

Human unmediated identity was given by God.

Adam and Eve had done nothing to earn any of it. They contributed nothing to their own existence. Their entire identity was gift . That’s why nakedness was nothing to them — there was no gap between who they were and who they appeared to be. No image to manage. No standard to meet. Nothing to hide.

Shame is the terror of being seen as deficient. And it only exists where identity is believed to be conditional. In Genesis 2, identity was unconditional; they were fully accepted, so there was simply no room for shame. But the moment they bit, they experienced for the first time what every human since has lived with: an identity they now had to construct and defend themselves.

Actually, the deepest agony of the cross was not physical pain, but absolute rejection. When Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, He absorbed the
ultimate rejection from the Father. Because he was forsaken, you never will be!

<p>The post unmediated identity first appeared on House Group.</p>

Paul makes something very clear in Ephesians 2. We are not saved because of our good works. We are saved by grace through faith. “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). But having been saved by grace, we have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works. This means that good works are not the foundation of our salvation. They are the purpose and evidence of the new life God has created in us.

The question then is, what are these good works?

The life of Jesus gives us one of the clearest pictures. Peter summarised the ministry of Jesus by saying: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” Acts 10:38. Notice how Peter describes it: doing good and healing. Healing was part of Jesus going about doing good.

Jesus described his works as works from the Father. When people were preparing to stone him, he said: “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” John 10:32. Then he went further: “Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works” John 10:37-38. Jesus was pointing people to what they had seen. His works were bearing witness to the Father who had sent him. This is also why Jesus said: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16. The purpose of the works is not to draw attention to ourselves. People see the works and God receives the glory.

When John the Baptist sent messengers to ask whether Jesus was the one who was to come, Jesus again pointed them to what was happening: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear…” (Matthew 11:4-5). The kingdom was not merely being announced with words. It was being demonstrated through the works of God.

This is important for the church because Jesus did not intend his works to end with his earthly ministry. He said: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” John 14:12.

The early church therefore continued both proclaiming the gospel and demonstrating the power of God. Paul said: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5. Hebrews describes God himself bearing witness to the message: “God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” Hebrews 2:4.

So when we come back to Ephesians 2:10, we begin to see the breadth of what Paul is saying. We have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Those works include loving people, serving people, giving to those in need, caring for the vulnerable, forgiving, encouraging and living holy lives. James says: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” James 1:27. Paul says that we should be “rich in good deeds” and “generous and willing to share” (1 Timothy 6:18).

But the good works of the New Testament also include the supernatural works of the Holy Spirit: healing the sick, deliverance, miracles, signs and wonders and the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus went about doing good and healing. The apostles continued doing good and healing. The church was created and empowered by the same Spirit, and the purpose remains the same: that people might see and glorify God.

This gives us a different understanding of Christian ministry. We are not simply saved to attend meetings, hear sermons and wait for heaven. We have been created in Christ Jesus for works that God has already prepared for us to walk in. There are people God wants us to serve. There are people he wants us to encourage. There are people he wants us to give to. There are people he wants us to pray for. There are people who need to hear the gospel, and there are people who need to experience the healing, deliverance and power of God.

The world is looking for evidence. We cannot manufacture miracles, and signs and wonders are not given for our glory. They are the works of God, distributed according to his will. But we should not be afraid of the supernatural either. Jesus said, “Believe the works.”

The challenge is therefore very simple: Are we walking in the good works for which God created us? Not merely talking about Jesus. Not merely attending church. Not merely believing that God can heal. But actually allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us so that people can encounter the goodness and power of God. We are his workmanship.

This is a call to pray that we would stand out in doing good works.

In Acts 2, the first Christians received the Spirit: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” Acts 2:4. Peter then stood up boldly and testified about Jesus to the crowd. In Acts 3, they demonstrated the power of Jesus. Peter and John encountered the lame man at the temple: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” Acts 3:6. The man was healed, the crowd saw it and Peter preached Jesus. In Acts 4, persecution came! The authorities arrested Peter and John because they were preaching Jesus and because the healing had created such a public testimony.

When they were released, they did not pray for persecution to stop. They prayed: “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” Acts 4:29-30. They asked for boldness to preach and God’s hand to heal and perform signs and wonders.

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31). And the result was: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all” Acts 4:33.

We have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works. We must pray as they did! That we may do the work of our Father.

<p>The post Created for Good Works first appeared on House Group.</p>

What a beautiful thing it is to give.

In the house of God, giving should not be something we do because we feel pressured to do it. It should come from the heart. Paul says that each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.

I love that.

God looks at the heart behind the gift.

Everything we have has come from God. Paul asked,

“What do you have that you did not receive?”
1 Corinthians 4:7

David understood this when he was preparing for the building of the temple. He said,

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” 1 Chronicles 29:14

That is such a powerful way to look at giving.

We are not giving God something that originally belonged to us. We are giving back to him from what he has first placed in our hands.

David went on to say,

“I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things.” 1 Chronicles 29:17

“I have freely offered.”

That is the heart of cheerful giving.

We give because God has been good to us.

We give because God has provided for us.

We give because we are grateful.

We give because we love him.

And ultimately, we give because God first gave to us.

The greatest example of giving is Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”
John 3:16

God’s love was expressed through giving.

Paul says,

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9

Before we gave anything to God, God gave himself for us.

We do not give to make God love us. We give because we have already experienced his love.

When we look at Jesus, we see that love gives.

Jesus said,

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13

So when we give, we are responding to the generosity of God.

Sometimes we need to stop and remember what God has done for us.

David said,

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Psalm 103:2

There is something powerful about remembering.

Remember where God found you.

Remember what he brought you through.

Remember the prayers he answered.

Remember the doors he opened.

Remember the times he provided when you did not know where the provision would come from.

Remember the times he protected you without you even knowing what he protected you from.

When we remember the goodness of God, thanksgiving rises in our hearts.

The psalmist asked,

“What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?” Psalm 116:12

After all God has done for us, we begin to ask, “Lord, what can I give to you?”

Our giving can become an expression of thanksgiving.

Every offering can simply say, “Lord, thank you.”

Paul says,

“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8

Notice that God’s provision is not simply so that we can have more for ourselves. He gives so that we can abound in every good work. God blesses us so that we can become a blessing.

This is why giving is part of the work of God.

Paul describes believers as,

“God’s fellow workers.”
1 Corinthians 3:9

God allows us to participate in what he is doing. When we give to the work of God, we are helping the gospel move forward.

Someone can hear the gospel.
Someone can receive prayer.
Someone can be taught the word of God.
Someone can find a church family.
Someone who is discouraged can be strengthened.
Someone who is hungry can be fed.
Someone who is struggling can receive help.
Someone who feels alone can discover that they are not alone.

We may not always see the connection between our giving and what God does with it, but that does not mean there is no connection.

Giving is like sowing seed.

When a farmer puts seed into the ground, he does not see the harvest immediately. But he knows that the seed has gone somewhere. There is a future attached to it.

Our giving can be like that.

We release something from our hand because we believe God can use it for something greater than what we can see at that moment.

But we should never treat giving as a way of buying something from God.

We do not give £100 so that God owes us £1,000.
We do not give to manipulate God.
We give because we love God.
We give because we are grateful.
We give because we want to see his work continue.
We give because we want to bless others.

And we give because we recognise that everything we have came from him in the first place.

The early church gives us another beautiful picture.

Acts says,

“All who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Acts 2:44-45

This was not simply about collecting an offering. It was about people caring for one another.

Acts later says,

“There was not a needy person among them.” Acts 4:34

That is what a family does.

If one person has enough and another person is struggling, we help one another.

Paul says,

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

So giving is not only what happens when an offering is taken in church.

Sometimes giving is buying someone food.
Sometimes it is helping someone with a bill.
Sometimes it is giving your time.
Sometimes it is giving practical help.
Sometimes it is opening your home.

Sometimes it is quietly helping someone who cannot give anything back to you.

Love gives.

John says, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
1 John 3:17

This is why the church should be a place where we can both give and receive.

If somebody is going through a difficult time, they should not be ashamed to say so.
If food is short, speak.
If the bills are pressing, speak.
If there is a genuine need, speak.

We are a family.

There will be times when one person is able to give and another person needs to receive. And there will be other times when the situation is reversed.

That is part of being the body of Christ.

Paul says,

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4

The Macedonian churches also show us something beautiful about generosity.

Paul says,

“Their abundance of joy and their deep poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”
2 Corinthians 8:2

They had very little, yet they were generous.

Then Paul says,

“For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord.” 2 Corinthians 8:3

And then he tells us where it began:

“They gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”
2 Corinthians 8:5

That is where giving begins.

We give ourselves to the Lord first. When our hearts belong to him, our possessions no longer control us.

Jesus said,

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Our giving therefore becomes an expression of where our heart is.

Jesus also said,

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35

There is a joy in knowing that something God has placed in your hand can become a blessing in somebody else’s life.

The Macedonian believers gave willingly out of what they had, and their generosity became an example to the church.

So when we give, we should not always be thinking about what is leaving our hands.

We should also think about what God can do with it.

The lesson is not that giving guarantees a particular outcome we can see or measure.

The lesson is that nothing willingly surrendered to God is insignificant.

God sees the heart.

God sees the sacrifice.

God sees the generosity.

God sees what other people do not see.

So when you give, give because you love the Lord.

Give because you are grateful.

Give because you want to participate in his work.

Give because you want to see people reached.

Give because you want to help your brothers and sisters.

Give because God has been generous to you.

And give cheerfully.

Remember that God gave first.

Jesus gave himself for us.

The Macedonian believers gave willingly.

The early church shared with those who had need.

All of these passages bring us back to the same truth.

God can take what we place in his hands and use it for his purposes.

So do not despise what God has placed in your hands.

You may not be able to do everything.

But you can do something.

You may not be able to meet every need.

But you can help somebody who is in front of you.

You may not be able to finance everything God is doing.

But you can participate.

And when we all bring what God has placed in our hands, the work moves forward, people are helped, needs are met and the gospel advances.

Above everything else, God is glorified.

Father, thank you that everything we have comes from you.

Thank you that you gave your Son for us when we had nothing to give in return.

Give us generous hearts.

Teach us to give without reluctance and without compulsion.

Help us to remember your goodness.

Help us to see the needs of others.

Help us to recognise that what may look small in our hands can still be useful in yours.

Like the Macedonian believers, help us to give willingly and joyfully.

Make this church a family where there is generosity, care, sacrifice and love.

Let there be no needy person among us.

Let our giving help the gospel advance, let lives be changed and let Christ be glorified.

And may we discover the joy of becoming more like the one who gave everything for us.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

<p>The post The Joy of Giving first appeared on House Group.</p>

When you do good and receive evil in return, the temptation is for the evil response of others to rob you of the inward benefit of having done what is right.

The devil wants you to become bitter, discouraged or regretful and begin thinking, “Why should I do good to people again?”

But the bible teaches us not to allow another person’s response to determine the condition of our soul.

Paul says:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Galatians 6:9

The enemy would want the wrong response of others to make you stop doing what is right. But their response does not cancel your reward from God.

Jesus puts it even more strongly:
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

So the victory is not merely that you continue doing good. It is that you refuse to allow the evil you receive from others to spoil your soul. You keep your heart free, continue in love and leave the recompense with God.

<p>The post not weary in doing good first appeared on House Group.</p>

Jesus was eating in the house of Simon the Pharisee when a woman known in the city as a sinner came into the house. She stood behind Jesus, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet. She wiped his feet with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with fragrant oil.

Simon looked at the woman and saw her past.
Jesus looked at the woman and saw what grace had done.

Simon could not understand why Jesus would allow such a woman to come near him. So Jesus told him about two people who owed a creditor. One owed a great amount and the other owed much less. Neither could repay, so the creditor forgave them both.

Jesus asked Simon:

“Which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

Jesus said, “You have rightly judged.”

Then Jesus pointed Simon towards the woman.

Simon had given Jesus no water for his feet, but she had washed his feet with her tears. Simon had given him no kiss, but she had continually kissed his feet. Simon had not anointed his head with oil, but she had poured fragrant oil on his feet.

Then Jesus said:

“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:47

Jesus was not saying that her love purchased her forgiveness. Her love was revealing what she had understood about the forgiveness she had received.

She knew she had been forgiven.

She understood the mercy that had been shown to her.

And what she had received from Jesus overflowed in the way she responded to Jesus.

This gives us the principle:

He who is loved much and realises how much he is loved, loves much.

John gives us the foundation for this.

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.”
1 John 4:16

Notice those two words: known and believed.

God’s love is not merely something we are supposed to know intellectually. We are called to know it and believe it.

There is a difference between knowing that God loves people and personally knowing that God loves me.

There is a difference between being able to quote verses about God’s love and allowing that love to become an established reality in my heart.

Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus:

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

Paul’s prayer is remarkable.

He does not simply pray that they will know more about God.

He prays that they will comprehend the dimensions of Christ’s love.

He wants them to be rooted and grounded in love.

Why?

Because what we are rooted in will eventually determine what flows out of us.

If I am rooted in rejection, I may constantly seek approval.

If I am rooted in fear, I may constantly protect myself.

If I am rooted in performance, I may constantly try to prove myself.

But if I become rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, something changes.

I no longer have to spend my life trying to earn what God has already given me in Christ.

I can receive his love.

I can rest in his love.

I can believe his love.

And then I can begin to love from a place of having been loved.

This is why John says:

«“We love him, because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19»

The direction matters.

He first loved us. Then we love him.

The Christian life begins with receiving, not earning.

The woman in Luke 7 came into that house and poured out love because something had already happened in her heart.

Her tears were an overflow.

Her kisses were an overflow.

The oil was an overflow.

Her love for Jesus was expressing what she had come to understand about Jesus’ love and mercy towards her.

And this is what I believe God wants to do in us.

Not simply make us people who know that God loves us, but people who know and believe his love so deeply that we become rooted and grounded in it.

Because when I know I am loved, I don’t have to manipulate people to love me.

When I know I am loved, I don’t have to perform for God’s approval.

When I know I am loved, I can serve without needing recognition.

When I know I am loved, I can forgive.

When I know I am loved, I can give.

When I know I am loved, I can love people who cannot give anything back to me.

The revelation of God’s love does not make us passive.

It makes us free.

Grace received becomes love expressed.

So perhaps the question is not only:

“Do I love God?”

There is another question we need to ask:

“Do I realise how much God loves me?”

Because the more deeply we know and believe his love, the more freely we can love him and love others.

Lord, help me to know and believe your love. Root me and ground me in the love of Christ. Let me comprehend its breadth, length, depth and height. Take me beyond simply knowing that you love me into actually receiving your love. Let the reality of your love become so deep within me that love begins to overflow from my life.

He who is loved much and realises how much he is loved, loves much.

<p>The post Loved Much! first appeared on House Group.</p>