"The mission of Jesus is to show us the good heart of God and then to rebuild the trust we need to be intimate with him."-Rick Lawrence, The Jesus-Centered Life

It's easy for us to mold and form Jesus into our ideas about him. These ideas can be based on what we've heard others say about him. ("He's a nice man.") Or what culture says about him. (ex. "He was a good teacher.") Or what our circumstances may cause us to conclude about him. (ex. "If he cared more about me, these bad things wouldn't be happening.")

But Rick shares in this video, above, that these ideas about Jesus are flawed. The only way to really know Jesus is to answer the same question he asked his followers when he was alive:

Who do YOU say I am?

The journey toward answering this question includes slowing down and letting Jesus tell us who he is through his words in the Bible, and also through his words spoken to our heart through his Spirit.

Try this 5-minute idea:

Grab a pen and a piece of paper and open your Bible to the Gospel of John. Find the sections where Jesus is talking (commonly shown in red text) and write down every word or phrase he uses to describe himself. Once you have a few on your list, ask the Holy Spirit to make a connection between his description and your life. What do you hear?

For more ideas like this, plus other Jesus-centered thoughts and ideas, download a free sample chapter of The Jesus-Centered Life.