God Running

Jesus and Naps

Jesus diet exercise rest

Jesus napped. (Luke 8:22-23) Seems kind of weird to think about that, doesn’t it?

And he not only napped, but he also walked regularly, exercised if you will. And he not only napped and walked, but he didn’t eat fast food or processed food either. (Okay, so there wasn’t any fast food or processed food when he was walking the planet, but still, it’s true.) The point is, when Jesus was in human form like you and me, he took care of his human body.

I see so many today taking care of their bodies but in a way that becomes consuming and obsessive. The focus of their life is their diet, or their sleep rhythms, or their exercise program. And that’s not the way Jesus did it. The point of taking care of our bodies isn’t to become obsessed with diet, or sleep cycles, or exercise. The point of taking care of our bodies is to do it, so we can do more for God’s kingdom.

So yes, take care of your body. Rest, eat right, exercise. But do it as an investment of your talents. Then take the return on that investment and use it to bear fruit for your Father in heaven. (Matthew 25:14-30)

Jesus did.

You can too.

[You might also like Love Like Jesus–Diet, Exercise, and Rest. Really?]

[Image via buhny – Creative Commons]

 5 Comments

 Posted on October 16, 2013 by

 How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too

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Love Like Jesus–A Quarterback for Christ Responds to an “Accuser”

criticism accusation love like JesusDavid Ducked

David was just a kid, but he was on a roll. He was a rookie in Israel’s military but performing like a superstar. Every time he went out on a campaign he lit it up. The army grunts loved him, the officers loved him, the people loved him–he captured the imagination of the nation. If Twitter were around in those days the top trending hashtag would have been #David.

He was an amazing man, David. And multi-talented too, because not only was he Israel’s superstar warrior, but he was also one of their best musicians. Sometimes king Saul would have him play at the palace, performing a private concert just for him. But Saul wasn’t well. He was sometimes overcome with a spirit of evil intent toward David, born of envy. One of those times he picked up his spear and threw it at David, in an attempt to pin him against the wall and kill him. David responded by eluding Saul’s spear and fleeing. Then it happened again, and again David didn’t retaliate but, simply evaded Saul’s spear and fled. David would not raise his hand against Saul for anything. (1 Samuel 18)

How Jesus Loved People

Speaking of Jesus, Matthew 27 says,

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. (Matthew 27:12-14)

So Jesus is under fire. The religious leadership of his day is cranking out false accusations like only politicians can. And they’re the government, so there are consequences, serious consequences. And the way Jesus handles it is to say nothing in response. He doesn’t defend himself, not even against one single false charge.

An NFL Quarterback, a Fire Chief, and a Pastor

A friend who used to work security in a football stadium told me about this encounter he saw between a Chicago Bears’ quarterback and a homeless guy. Read More

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 Posted on October 12, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too

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Chiefest of Sinners

Chiefest of Sinners

Skunk by vladeb — Creative Commons

I was angry yesterday afternoon. Some problems stacked up over the week, stupid problems, relatively small problems. But as they built up I finally became angry and frustrated. So, as I often do when I’m angry and frustrated, I went for a walk with my Lord. I hiked up a trail that leads to a place called Hobart Bluff. It’s a beautiful viewpoint at a high elevation, more than 5,000 feet. So as I’m hiking and praying and listening to what our Father has to say, I’m getting a distinct and definite word from Him that goes like this: Read More

 3 Comments

 Posted on October 8, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study

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Love Like Jesus–How Jesus Loved Judas to the Very End

Suspicion, by leafhopper77 – Creative Commons

Content for this article was taken from the new book Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus). For more articles included in the book go to Love Like Jesus Book. Love Like Jesus is due to be published in 2018.

Don’t Mess With Me!

When I was new to the position of Captain there was this older more senior firefighter on the same shift. He hadn’t made Captain yet, and he liked to take shots at me. I handled it either by ignoring him or by simply taking his digs good-naturedly. Until one day, a well-meaning supervisor shared that he was concerned I didn’t realize this older firefighter was putting me down.

Man, did that ever mess with my head.

Instead of giving the older firefighter the benefit of the doubt, Read More

 2 Comments

 Posted on October 5, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too

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Chuck Smith Moved

One of God’s great teachers passed away today. Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement died this morning around 3 AM. Chuck Smith had a huge influence on this blog through his book Living Water. In fact almost any God Running blog post concerning the Holy Spirit has borrowed heavily from Chuck Smith. Of course like many of you, I’ve listened to his teachings on the radio for years.

I also loved reading about his work in his book Harvest. I don’t know how anyone could read that book and not come away with a view of Chuck as one of the best examples of fruit bearing ever. (Today there are more than 1,600 churches born out of the Calvary Chapel movement.) He was a man whose ministry truly pointed to Christ and glorified God.

Oh, and the title: Chuck once said, “One day you will read in the paper that Chuck Smith died. Don’t believe it. It should say, ‘Chuck Smith Moved.'”

RIP Chuck. No doubt you’re welcomed in heaven, but you’ll be missed here on earth.

More about Chuck Smith:

Bob Coy, Remembering Pastor Chuck, Calvary Chapel Blog

Ed Stetzer, Chuck Smith Has Died, Christianity Today

Chuck Smith’s Website, The Word For Today

Great video about Chuck Smith and his work on The Comfort Zone with Ray Comfort:

Pastor Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel Reached Hippies With Gospel, Christian Post

 6 Comments

 Posted on October 3, 2013 by

 News

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Love Like Jesus: Living in a Mexican Prison Cell–Voluntarily

Love Like Jesus serve othersLiving in a Mexican Prison Cell–Voluntarily

I just heard this story for the first time and it blows my mind. Mary Clarke was a beautiful blonde living in Beverly Hills who describes her life there as “glamorous.” Then in 1969 she had this dream, and in her dream she was a prisoner at Calvary and was about to be executed. But then Jesus appeared and offered to take her place. She refused his offer, touched him on the cheek, and told him she would never leave him. Her life has never been the same since.

A few years after that dream, she moved into a Tijuana prison. Yes, you read that correctly, she actually moved into a Mexican prison, with the drug dealers, thieves, and murderers incarcerated there. She made her home in one of the prison’s sparse 10′ wide cells. She went there to serve the prisoners, and 25 years later she’s still there! Read More

 5 Comments

 Posted on September 28, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too

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Favorite Football Quote

“A good football coach needs a patient wife, a loyal dog, and a great quarterback-–but not necessarily in that order.” –Bud Grant, former head coach Minnesota Vikings (Via All Pro Dad)

Couldn’t resist sharing this. Even though I’m a Bears fan, I have to hand it to Bud Grant–well done.

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 Posted on September 27, 2013 by

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Billy Graham Writes Letter to Iran’s President

billy graham letter to iran president

American Pastor Saeed Abedini and his family.

Billy Graham wrote a letter to the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani. He’s asking him to release American Pastor Saeed Abedini from prison. As Billy Graham put it, Abedini “…was in Iran working to build an orphanage when he was arrested and later sentenced to eight years in prison. His situation has been receiving an increasingly high level of attention in the United States. Unfortunately this publicity has been entirely negative for Iran, with the belief that the primary reason for Pastor Abedini’s imprisonment was because of his Christian faith.” (Graham, Letter to Iran’s President, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

According to his wife, Abedini has been tortured Read More

 1 Comment

 Posted on September 25, 2013 by

 News

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Love Like Jesus–A Burning Hand, Luck, Nike, and a Sundial in the Shade

Take Risk Love Like Jesus

Risk

So you’re trying to figure out what God wants to see you doing with your life. You’re trying to figure out what it is you’re supposed to be doing. You’re always wondering what that might be, and you’re worried your true talent will remain undiscovered: “a sundial in the shade,” as Benjamin Franklin once put it.

But when you mentioned your idea to that family member, he raised an eyebrow. When you told that friend about your dream, it was met with criticism. And that made you afraid. You’re afraid of what people will say, and what people will think. You’re afraid you’ll fail. And, maybe most of all, you’re afraid of leaving the familiar. You know you can keep doing what you’re doing, currently. But that other path, that other life, well, you just never know what bad thing might befall you.

Move or Die

Late one night my friend Mitch Arnold was on the nozzle at a fire in a large sprawling old house, just outside of town. He had two other firefighters backing him as he made his way up the stairs to the second story bedroom where the fire was. But just as he passed through the doorway into the burning room, the roof collapsed, tearing the nozzle out of his hand, stripping off one of his gloves, and cutting him off from the other two firefighters. He was also cut off from his exit. The room was filled with fire, and the hose, his source of water and protection, was now buried under the rubble. Immediately he felt the heat on his unprotected hand. To shield it, he curled up face down on the floor, pressing his hand tightly against his chest. As long as he remained in that position, his hand was protected from the heat. He stayed that way for a few moments. And then, he told me, this thought came into his mind, Read More

 6 Comments

 Posted on September 21, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too

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Love Like Jesus–How a Shrink Radically Changed My Perspective on Fatherhood Forever

parenting father dad love like Jesus

The Part of Us That Wants to Avoid Our Kids

For some of us dads, the responsibility of getting our kids to undress, take a bath, jump into their PJs, brush their teeth, and get into bed is ours, and ours alone. One writer describes the situation this way,

As far as they’re concerned, asking them to perform any of these tasks–rather than, say, letting them watch television or play video games–flies in the face of natural justice. They puff themselves up with moral indignation, outraged that I should have so little regard for their feelings, even though this has been the ritual every day of their lives.

The phrase ‘herding kittens’ doesn’t do it justice. It’s like trying to herd a group of tiny lawyers, all convinced that ‘herding’ is a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. (Toby Young, The Telegraph, Why men don’t want it all)

I remember when my kids were in diapers. I looked for opportunities to trade shifts with other firefighters, Read More

 9 Comments

 Posted on September 14, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage

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Love Like Jesus–Stay Married

Marriage Christian Love Like Jesus“When I married my wife, I had hardly a smidgen of sense for what I was getting into with her. How could I know how much she would change over 25 years? How could I know how much I would change? My wife has lived with at least five different men since we were wed–and each of the five has been me.

The connecting link with my old self has always been the memory of the name I took on back there: “I am he who will be there with you.” When we slough off that name, lose that identity, we can hardly find ourselves again.” -Lewis Smedes

How Jesus Loved People Read More

 2 Comments

 Posted on September 7, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage

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The 5th Day of Creation: The Holy Spirit and Bearing Fruit

5th day of creation Holy Spirit Bear Fruit

From the archives, one of our most popular posts:

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. -Genesis 1:20-23

Scientists are conceding they have grossly underestimated the quantity and diversity of marine life in the ocean. Research scientists from 80 different countries are undertaking a huge census of ocean life around the world. Called the Census of Marine Life, the census effort began in 2000, and ten years later, scientists continue to be amazed at the numbers and varieties of new species they’ve found. In the first three years of the study 160 new species of fish were found each year. That’s about 3 new species discovered every week. As the census has progressed, new species of marine life are being discovered at an even greater rate. One study found 700 new species of crustaceans in an area the size of a small bathroom. (Census of Marine Life) Read More

 1 Comment

 Posted on August 31, 2013 by

 Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis

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