Jesus taught about Behaviour

Watch the Bible story video or read all or parts of Matthew 6:1-18 from the Bible.

A custom is a practice or behaviour that is unique to a particular group. Different countries and cultures around the world have different customs. For instance, in some countries, the custom of burping after a meal can actually be a compliment to the chef! (Though we don’t recommend trying this at home.)

Jesus taught that every believer is part of a better, truer Kingdom: God’s kingdom. As citizens of God’s kingdom, He has called us to live in a different way. The behaviours we practice should reflect of our residency in His kingdom—and that often means they are very different from the world around us.

How do we live out these behaviours? Second Peter 1:3 tells us that God has “given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” Jesus showed us what it looks like to fully obey God, and God has given every believer His Spirit as a helper to make them more and more like Jesus. The more we know Jesus and what He has done for us, the more we want to imitate His ways and the more we depend on the Spirit to transform us. Our prayer should be that God would change our words, thoughts, and actions to look more like Jesus so that the world can see Him more clearly.

Jesus taught people what it means to follow Him. He taught how people should interact with God and others. Believers live to honour God—not to earn God’s favour but because they already have it.

Pray: God, help us to grow in our love for Jesus so that our words, thoughts, and actions would become more and more like Him. Help us to remember that we don’t obey to earn your love, but we want to obey because you have freely loved us through Jesus! Amen.

PRAYING TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE WEEK

• Think about all the things you know about Jesus—who He is, what He has done, how He is at work in you. Ask God to increase your love for Jesus so that it overflows into your behaviour today. How does loving Jesus help us to obey Jesus?
• Ask God to help you forgive others. Ask Him to help you get over the hurt and be able to love that person as He loves him. How is forgiving others a behaviour that models Jesus to the world?