God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
It’s been a crazy year. I did things I never thought I would ever do. Things, that for me at least, were very hard things. Part of the reason for that is I’m trying to focus more on actually loving people like Jesus, and less on blogging about loving people like Jesus. That being said, I still blogged. And of all the blog posts from 2023, below you’ll find a list of the top 10.
#10: Seeing Like Jesus
When I wrote the book Love Like Jesus, I left out one important piece. Fortunately someone else did an amazing job of covering that part of how Jesus loved people. If you’re interested in learning how Jesus saw people and how to see like Jesus, you can learn more here: Seeing Like Jesus.
#9: Life is Fragile
Someone I know and love asked me a question about the end times, and I shared the answer in this blog post: Life is Fragile.
#8: The Best Possible Friends–Acts 18:18
In short, this blog post covers how to go about finding the best possible friends: The Best Possible Friends–Acts 18:18.
#7: I’ve Been Ignoring Certain Jesus Followers for Way Too Long
I’m a reader and a study-er and a person who likes to engage with other Jesus followers. But there’s a certain group of Christians I’ve been ignoring, until recently. You can learn more about that here: I’ve Been Ignoring Certain Jesus Followers for Way Too Long.
#6: Father Knows Best (and the rabid bat that bit the baby)
A little before Father’s Day I had our Father on my mind. Because a young family member–a family member who happens to be one of my favorite family members–was visiting with us and he asked the question:
If God is all good and all powerful, then why is there evil and suffering in the world?
I really appreciated his question. And you can find out how I answered in this, our #6 blog post: Father Knows Best (and the rabid bat that bit the baby).
#5: Paul on Mars Hill and My Favorite Atheist–Acts 17:16-34
This summer I had a really great conversation with an atheist friend of mine. And the thing is, this atheist friend of mine believes something I also believe. He believes in universal moral truth. If you’re interested in where we agree, and where we differ, you can learn more here: Paul on Mars Hill and My Favorite Atheist–Acts 17:16-34.
#4: How They Were Singing in Their Suffering–Acts 16:19-25
In Acts chapter 16 we see Paul and Silas locked up in stocks, in the inner prison. And while they were suffering these dire circumstances–they were singing. How did they do that? To find the answer check out our #5 blog post from 2023: How They Were Singing in Their Suffering–Acts 16:19-25.
#3: Is the Unseen Real?: Acts 16:16-18
Is the unseen world described in the Bible real? Something a Roman scholar in 116 B.C. thought of really makes me wonder. If you want to learn more, read our #3 blog post: Is the Unseen Real?: Acts 16:16-18.
#2 You Hold the Key to Setting Yourself Free: Acts 16:25-34
Setting yourself free. Apparently there are a large number of people interested in this topic because this blog post was second most popular in 2023. If you’re one who’s interested in learning how to set yourself free, you’ll find some answers here: You Hold the Key to Setting Yourself Free: Acts 16:25-34.
#1: Can there be morality without God?
I’ve been following (or attempting to follow) Jesus for a long time. Rarely have I found myself in apologetics related conversations, until 2023. One such conversation is outlined here in our #1 most popular blog post for the year: Can there be morality without God?
I so appreciate all of you who journeyed with me through 2023. I hope and pray you’ll be awash in the love of Jesus in 2024. And I hope and pray all those around you will see the Spirit of Christ in you as you follow Jesus closely, and love others as Jesus loved.
May our God richly bless you with more of Himself.
Your co-laborer in Christ,
Kurt
Available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
- Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
- How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
- The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
- How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
- How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
- How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
- How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
- How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
- How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
