This world gets so caught up in labels and titles… it helps to classify you, so we don’t really have to get to know anyone. My name is __________ and I am a ___________. What else does the world need to know?

To serve you coffee… nothing

To sell you something… nothing

But if they want to get to know you, they must go deeper. Social media tends to cheapen that process because we can hide behind filters and memes!

So how do we really get to know someone? We spend time with them. We hear about their life. We ask questions and really listen. We discover truths about them that the world may miss because they hasten to place labels…

What about Jesus Christ?

First, how does the world label Him? Some call him a good man that lived a long-time ago. Others call him a myth. Some say he was just a prophet and nothing more. There are more labels but that will suffice for now.

So how do we know the truth and not some sound bit or cliche? We get to know Him! We read what He wrote… we listen to His story… we spend time talking with Him. What will you call Him once you get to know Him?

Let me tell you what I call Him –

Savior! He saved me from the mess I made

Transformer! He took me at my worst and began a work in me that changed everything.

My Strength! On my own, I am powerless over this world but in Him I am powerful!

Conqueror! He conquered the enemy and the power of death over humanity!

My Protector!

Friend! He tells that if I do what He tells me to do in His word, I am His friend.

The more I get to know Him, the more I want to be like Him!

He is my all – Do you know Him? Would you like to get to know Him? Just call out to Him in faith – he Hears you!

The world wants to define me as…

Whatever suits their purpose… if they want to sell me something, they want to influence or manipulate…

If they want to judge me… they look at my past and label me

If they want to get something from me… they may flatter me

If they want to have nothing to do with… they can categorize me

But if they want to understand me… they have to get to know me, but…

What would they discover if they really got to know me?

They would discover that I am not very religious, as the world defines it…

The Bible defines religion as visiting the orphan and the widow, while living a life unspotted by the world. I am not very religious….

But I am very much into my relationship with Jesus Christ… I spend time with Him everyday… we talk and I read what He has written. He moves me and I move… I get it wrong, miss some things but I believe by making a mistake in the right direction, trying to help or make a difference, I am still growing in this relationship, as He grows in me…

So, who am I …

I am a seeker… I seek the Son of God and His mysteries, along with the calling He has put on my life

I am transformed, daily… If you had known me before, you wouldn’t recognize me today! Jesus has done a work in me that I can’t easily explain… except to say that I am a new man, new creation and the old has passed away… the old me has died!

I am a stumbler… I fall every day! Glory be to God, He is there to pick me up… it’s part of the relationship of love that He has with me… it brings me to tears to consider that much love… for me. It’s like a mother or father of a special needs child, they will do anything to protect that child and just know that they must be there with them forever… I am very much a special needs child in this world and my Heavenly Father loves me, unconditionally… even as a stumbler!

There are things that I do but they are not me. There are things that I have and don’t have but they do not define me.

I am who Jesus says I am…even if I struggle…

I am stronger than I can comprehend (Philippians 4:13)

I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

I am loved… (The Whole Bible is a love letter He wrote to me!)

Cliff…