Jesus’ Last Moments
Jesus hung there on the cross between the two criminals. The sign Pilot ordered, hung over Jesus’ head, it said, This is the King of the Jews. The bible says the Jewish rulers were “sneering” at him. “He saved others,” they said. “Let him save himself if he’s God’s Messiah.”
One of the criminals who hung there with him also sneered. He said, “You’re supposed to be the Messiah? Save yourself and save us too.”
Darkness came across the land.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Then Jesus called out loudly, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
And then he died.
(Luke 23)
How God Said It
In the story of Jesus’ death we see him mocked and sneered at while he hung there to die. Before that we feel his pain as we see him falsely accused, and whipped, and crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cross. We see it, we feel it, we experience it. That’s the way the bible is written. Have you ever noticed that? Have you ever noticed all the sensory experiential language in the bible?
- Jesus’ first miracle had to do with tasting. He turned the water into wine. And the master of the wedding feast tasted it and said, This is the best tasting wine of the feast.
- “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” Psalm 34:8 says.
- Jesus said, I am the bread of life, he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. (John 6:35) In fact most of John chapter 6 is about Jesus explaining how we must eat and drink of him.
And there’s also all the talk about Jesus our bridegroom, and how we’re his bride.
- Jesus said, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?” (Matthew 9:15)
- The bible says in Revelation, “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready…” (Revelation 19:7-9, see also Revelation 21:2, 21:9-11)
- And Jesus tells the parable of the virgins and the bridegroom in Matthew 25.
And those are just a few examples. So why does the bible push all this sensory and experiential language on us? What is God saying to us?
What God Wants
What is he saying to us? What does God want? Here’s what He’s saying to us: Read More
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Smurfs and the Genuine Seeker of Truth (Part 1)
Smurfs May Lead to “Harder” Entertainment Media
So, your parents forbid you to watch the Smurfs and you think that is one of the stupidest things ever, right? But take a breath and think this through with me. Somewhere, down deep inside, you know in your heart that it was when the Smurf high faded, it became the gateway television show that led you to your use of “harder” entertainment media. Come on, admit it. We’ve all heard the stories about Smurf watchers graduating to Harry Potter books and even engaging with others in the sport of Quidditch.
I even heard that one poor soul tried out for the position of Seeker. He was last seen in a deserted alley, chasing imaginary Quaffles and Golden Snitches.
Clearly it was the Smurfs cartoon that led to your ruin.
A Genuine Seeker of Truth
Okay so you’re probably right about the impact of the Smurfs on your childhood. But while we’re on the topic of the position of Seeker… I was on Google+ one time and I saw this post comparing an Egyptian mythological character named Horus to Jesus. The guy who posted it said that the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life were just ripoffs of this Egyptian legend. It seemed pretty compelling so Read More
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Posted on January 11, 2014 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Seeker
Bible, bible real, C.S. Lewis, God exist, Hobbit, Is Jesus real, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jesus, Jesus copy, Jesus myth
How Did They Do That? — Courage in the Face of Cancer
What people need to know to survive a trial: A lesson from Mike and Pam Worley
Sometimes a person responds to bad news with such grace and strength, we think, “I want to know how they did it. Because if I ever face a storm like that, I want to be as strong.”
That’s the way I felt when my friends Mike and Pam Worley learned that Mike had cancer. Pam wrote this on Mike’s Caring Bridge site:
We just got back from meeting with Dr. M getting the results from Mike’s biopsy. I wish the news had been better than what we got, BUT it could be worse! Mike has multiple myeloma. It is a cancer of the plasma in the bone marrow… Chemotherapy will more than likely have to be done.
It could be worse? It’s cancer! Well, that’s probably what you just thought you were supposed to say, and now you’ll lock yourself in a dark room and have a breakdown, right? Read More
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Posted on January 8, 2014 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary
cancer, Christian, depression, divorce, grief, How do I get through this, Jim Davis, suicide, Survive Trial Cancer Jim Davis why me, Why Me?
The Most Important Words Ever Spoken
Jesus is the Son of God. He said, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” Then he said, “From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” A few moments later he just came right out and said it, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:6-9)
So think this through with me. If Jesus is who he said he is, then who on earth is more important? He is the Creator of the universe. He’s the Creator of the 100 trillion cells that make up my body. He’s smarter than I am. He’s smarter than anyone–ever. He’s God. Why wouldn’t I want to hang on his every word? I mean really, whose words are more important?
#bible
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Posted on January 8, 2014 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Bible, bible study, Christian, God's word, Jesus, Jesus important, why is the bible important
Love Like Jesus and the Resurrected Christian–How a Man Came Down From Mount St. Helens, “Died,” and “Rose Again”
A Man Came Down From Mount St. Helens and was “Resurrected”
It was March of 1980. Mount St. Helens was showing signs of an imminent eruption. Bryan Flora, a firefighter in Medford, Oregon was curious about the volcanic activity. His jeep wasn’t running at the time so he borrowed his father’s car and drove to the volcano in Washington. For months before the big eruption there were earthquakes and steam venting from the North face of the mountain. USGS scientists felt it was too dangerous for the general public and convinced the local authorities to close the area. So when Bryan arrived, a Skamania county sheriff was there to greet him. He was denied entry into the park. But Bryan knew the country. And the perimeter is so large it was impossible for law enforcement to cover it all. It wasn’t long before Bryan found a way in. He parked and hiked to the timberline where he spent the night. During his time on the mountain he could feel the earthquakes and hear the mountain making popping noises. But he managed to survive.
However the next day Read More
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Posted on January 4, 2014 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
abide in Christ, Imitating God in Christ, Jason B. Hood, Jesus resurrection, Jesus vine, John 15, Mt St Helens, resurrected Christian, resurrected Savior
7 Ways to Draw Closer to Christ in 2014
The Problem With Poinsettias
The problem with poinsettias is you have to water them. Kathy was away visiting family and one of my jobs while she was gone was to water the beautiful live potted poinsettias she bought as part of our Christmas decorations. Some may find this hard to believe but–I forgot. It wasn’t until a few days before Kathy’s return that I noticed the poinsettias were looking pretty bleak. Again you may find this hard to believe but this was not the first time I forgot to water plants in Kathy’s absence. Having experience with this problem I used my go to recovery plan: dump copious amounts of water on the plant and hope it recovers before Kathy returns.
Well the plan worked and the poinsettias did recover. However in the process of picking off the dead leaves to make the poinsettias look better, I accidentally severed a branch. It’s the one in the photo at the top of this post. It didn’t fare well after it was separated from the vine. It wasn’t long before it shriveled and died.
In John chapter 15 Jesus says plainly, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
1) Practice His Presence
“…without Me you can do nothing.” And that brings us to our number one means of drawing closer to Christ in 2014: Read More
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Posted on January 1, 2014 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Marriage
Christian, closer to Christ, closer to God, closer to Jesus, Holy Spirit, How can I draw closer to God, How do I get closer to God, How do I get closer to Jesus, prayer
2013’s Most Popular Posts on God Running
What a blessing it has been to write for our Father in 2013. I thank Him for the privilege, and I thank you for reading and for your support. I’m also excited about what’s coming in 2014, but more on that later. Below you’ll find 10 of the most popular posts of 2013, on God Running.
By far our most popular post in 2013. This article shows how you can know for certain you will receive God’s Holy Spirit baptism. Look for the book by the same title to come out in 2014.
2) The 5th Day of Creation–The Holy Spirit and Bearing Fruit
God’s Holy Spirit is also the topic of our second most popular post in 2013. This post explores God’s creation of marine life as it relates to bearing fruit by the Holy Spirit. It includes some surprising findings from the Census of Marine Life project, a ten year study with the mission of finding new species. You’ll see how scientists concede they grossly underestimated the quantity of diversity of marine life in the ocean. The rate at which the Census of Marine Life project has discovered new species is amazing. What does that have to do with God’s Holy Spirit? Read the post and find out.
If you want to stay in your comfort zone, don’t read this post. Read More
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Posted on December 28, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
2013 Most Popular God Running, Best of 2013, envy, God Running, Holy Spirit, Jesus Old Testament, Love like Jesus, luke warm Christian, Marriage Mom Dad, Senna, why do bad things happen
The Reason for Tragedy
I’ve come to believe one of the reasons for trials and tragedies is that God wants a sort of divine blindness to come upon us. Because when things are normal, we’re so afraid God will take the self-life away from us, when we see Him coming we run and hide. But when we experience tragedy the eyes of our souls are so filled with tears, we don’t see Him coming–at least not in the same way we do when life is without trials.
And it’s then that He can connect with us in a way that He can’t when things are normal.
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Posted on December 24, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
depression, Psalm 119, why, why did this happen to me, why do bad things happen
What Jesus Gave For Christmas
Surrender by “Ancient History” – Creative Commons
The thermometer said 3 degrees and there was snow and ice on the roads. We were experiencing some unusually low temperatures here in Oregon and it was during that cold snap, I was reluctant to leave the nest to go to church. Inside, my house was warm and cushy. There was food in the fridge and games on TV. The lure of the self-life called strong. I didn’t want to give up that comfort to go worship Jesus corporately.
What Jesus Gave
Have you ever thought about what Jesus gave up, to come to us? He didn’t leave a warm home on a cold day, he left heaven. He left his Father. He left his throne. He left multitudes of angels who supported him at his every turn. He left a place where there’s no pain, a place overflowing with joy. He left a place so magnificent we can’t even imagine it. He gave it all up so he could come to our place, planet earth, to bleed on the cross, because it was the only way to reconcile us with our Father.
Jesus gave up everything for us. He gave it all.
What I Give
That’s what we celebrate on Christmas. I’ve been thinking about that lately, what He gave up and what I gave up. He gave up everything, I gave up–not much. I became a Christian a long time ago but there has always been some something I wanted to hang onto. Oh I wanted to be a Christian to be sure, so I could make it into heaven. But I didn’t want to let go of certain things.
I wanted to remain a Christian but… Read More
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Posted on December 21, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Christmas, Christmas surrender yourself to God, Surrender Yourself to God
Overwhelmed by God–Book Review
I don’t write many book reviews on God Running but the timing of Steve Mays’ book, Overwhelmed by God, was pretty incredible. About a year ago, my two and one half year old grandson Andrew developed a lump on his right shoulder. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. His pediatrician thought it was just an unusually large swollen lymph gland. But after three treatments with three different antibiotics the lump was still there. All those treatments, all those trips to the doctor, they took time. Months passed. Eventually his parents took him up to Oregon Health & Science University where the lump was misdiagnosed again. Finally his dad and mom sent an MRI down to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, to the same doc that did the surgery on his skull for craniosynostosis. (That was one radical adventure. If you’re interested you can learn more about it here.)
So now a year has gone by. The doctor at Phoenix Children’s says, Hey, they missed the diagnosis up at OHSU. We need to take that tumor out right away and have it diagnosed by a pathologist. “Diagnosed by a pathologist.” I’m not a doctor (nor have I ever played one on TV) but even I know what that means. That means they need to check it for cancer. Read More
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Posted on December 14, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
depression, Overwhelmed by God, Overwhelmed by God book review, Overwhelmed by God review, Steve Mays
What God Wants
Jesus’ Last Moments
Jesus hung there on the cross between the two criminals. The sign Pilot ordered, hung over Jesus’ head, it said, This is the King of the Jews. The bible says the Jewish rulers were “sneering” at him. “He saved others,” they said. “Let him save himself if he’s God’s Messiah.”
One of the criminals who hung there with him also sneered. He said, “You’re supposed to be the Messiah? Save yourself and save us too.”
Darkness came across the land.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Then Jesus called out loudly, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
And then he died.
(Luke 23)
How God Said It
In the story of Jesus’ death we see him mocked and sneered at while he hung there to die. Before that we feel his pain as we see him falsely accused, and whipped, and crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cross. We see it, we feel it, we experience it. That’s the way the bible is written. Have you ever noticed that? Have you ever noticed all the sensory experiential language in the bible?
And there’s also all the talk about Jesus our bridegroom, and how we’re his bride.
And those are just a few examples. So why does the bible push all this sensory and experiential language on us? What is God saying to us?
What God Wants
What is he saying to us? What does God want? Here’s what He’s saying to us: Read More
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Posted on December 7, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Christian, Christian living, Psalm 63, Surrender Yourself to God, What does God want?, what does Jesus want
What Would You Ask of Jesus?
Christmas is coming. The celebration of Jesus’s birth is coming. And people are asking others for gifts.
Jesus asked the two men, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
If you were sitting by the road,
And Jesus was passing by,
And you could ask him for anything,
What would you ask?
[Image via Peter2010 – Creative Commons]
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Posted on December 4, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
What would you ask Jesus?
Love Like Jesus–Love the Unlovable
(One of our most popular posts–from the archives)
When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:16-17
How Jesus Loved People
Jesus loved people by spending time with them, in spite of their sinful lifestyle.
How to Love Like Jesus
There’s a blog I follow called Not Ashamed Of The Gospel. Not long ago, they posted a three part series about a ministry which reaches out to sex industry employees. I couldn’t help but notice there weren’t many comments offered on the last post in the series, An Insider’s Look — “Awkward!” I think for most people, that post was just too hot to handle.
Finally, one person posted and as best as I could tell he used scripture to infer this post about the sex industry ministry was an example of ungodly men perverting the grace of God.
I couldn’t help myself. I had to comment.
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Posted on November 30, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Christian, Christian living, how Jesus loved people, legalism, Love like Jesus, Mark 2
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