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.

In our last post from Romans we saw how both Jesusand Paul hated hypocrisy and spoke out against hypocrisy. (If you’re interested, you can read more here: Jesus and Romans 2:17-24.) In today’s post we’ll look at what Jesus said about the inner person vs. the outer person, and how it relates to what Paul wrote in Romans 2:25-29.

Romans 2:25-29

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Jesus and Romans Chapter 2

As I was reading Romans 2:25-29, I was reminded of the time Jesus said,

For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Inside vs. Outside

A few years ago I was visiting a friend of mine (I’ll call him Peter) after he experienced a serious accident. He was working on a remodel project on the outside of his house when he fell off his ladder. He was in terrible shape. He broke several bones. He couldn’t walk. It was really bad.

During our visit, Peter’s wife asked some questions about the Love Like Jesus book, and we were talking about following Jesus, and what that means, and at one point, my friend Peter said, “Following Jesus means absolute and total surrender.”

Peter is a talented musician and song writer, and later in the conversation, he shared about how he recently quit his old band and started writing and performing music for Christ.

Peter’s also a talented carpenter and builder, and yesterday I learned he just started a job in a Christian not-for-profit, mentoring young men in the construction trades.

Peter is an example of someone who’s not a whitewashed tomb. He’s a man who is all in.

He’s given his whole heart to Jesus.

Peter’s circumcised inside.

“Absolute and total surrender.”

“Oh Lord, have mercy on me and on the dear person reading this right now. Bless us with circumcised hearts. Fill us with the love for You that Jesus has for You. Make our hearts like Jesus’ heart.

“Bless us with absolute and total surrender, to You.

“In Jesus’ name we ask this of You, Lord.

“Amen.”

Available on Google Play Books and 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. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and the ebook is now available on Google Play Books.)