Wow, i feel really challenged to have to write this, not because I am fearful that it can't be fulfilled, but I am challenged that maybe this is too small. And I pray that as you read it, you will have a similar response with me, that there needs to be more, and it needs to be bigger......
Matthew 22:37-39 is the very core of the life group. We want to be build upon this principle of Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul and ALL your mind. And then, love your neighbour as yourself. The 2 greatest commandment that God has given us, is very much the same heart beat I have for Judah 7. I remember when we first started Judah 7, it was a small group. I was challenged to really grow it and my motto then, as a leader, was Love God, and Love His people. And many times, when I go through the challenges of leading a unit, with the ups and downs, and things that you expect to go right, goes wrong, I had to come back to the point of Love God and His people. This very fact of Loving God and Loving His people kind of motivated me to keep on leading and never giving up.
As we pushed through, by God's grace, Judah 7 grew, and we saw many lives coming to know Christ, and lives being transformed. Being part of Judah 7 is one that I will never trade with anything else in my life.
Anyway, coming back to the focus of Matthew 22:37-39, I came to realise that our foundations need to be build deep, deep relationship with God, through deep prayer, intimacy and worship unto God. In the recent unit getaway, Judah 7 had a theme of "DEEPER" and it was with a clear focus to really want to encourage all to draw deeper to a next level, in their relationship with God. This theme has actually "disturbed" me for a fair bit of time, before and even after the getaway. It really place me in a real uncomfortable spot, to realise that I need to keep growing deeper. Despite the simplicity of prayer life, quiet time and worship, yet God asks that we keep doing it and going back to it.
Once our foundation is strong, and firm, and as we keep adding on to it the simplicity of prayer, quiet time and worship, the foundation "gains more ground", and with a bigger foundation, we can hold more, and rise up to take on more responsibility - to care and to nurture others. All of this will bring us to the place that we can have the capacity to bring others into life group, that we can share with them, love and care. This will give us a good ground to share the love of God with them too. And of course, this brings us then to the 2nd commandment, which can then be fulfilled - Love your neighbour as yourself.
This 2nd commandment cannot be fulfilled, if we don't do the first bit of building a strong foundation of loving God. Because without that, our love for others will just be our own love, and it will be limited. We need to love with God's love.
Judah 7, you can do it, Love the Lord, and then your love for others will be lifted higher. Let's keep praying that as a group, we will fulfill the call that God has for us as a group, and individually.
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