I’m addicted. Not to the normal vices that one might think. No, I am addicted to my phone. Many times I have tried to break the habit of picking up and checking it throughout the day and night, but many times I have failed. But I bet that I am not alone.

If being a Christian became illegal today, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Would the evidence be circumstantial or would there be a parade of witnesses? What would those witnesses say about you and your relationship with Jesus?

If I asked you to show me how you feel about Jesus with an emoji, which emoji would you choose? I imagine some of you would choose the praise hands or praying hands. Some of you might choose one of the many heart emoji options. But what if I were to ask Jesus to describe how He thinks you feel about Him with one emoji? Which one do you think He would choose?

Mark Twain once said, “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” At first blush, it seems like an odd thing to say, but upon closer examination, we begin to identify with his discomfort.

Growing up in church, it is easy for the personality of Jesus to get lost. He just becomes a series of images or stories. Yet, reading the Gospels without knowing the personality of Jesus is like watching television with the sound turned off. The result is a dry, two-dimensional person doing strange, undecipherable things. Breaking Jesus out of the typical stereotypes is critical if we are to experience God in any meaningful way.