Self Identity

By Pastor Bob Rasmussen

A reminder that we have a bible study on Thursdays at 6:30 PM. If you can attend. We also have our Friday night soak service at 6:00 PM. You can also watch us live on FaceBook, YouTube, or Christian World Media.

I also have it on my calendar to let you know that you do have the ability to support Janesville Apostolic Ministries online. If you visit our website, either on a computer or on your phone, at janesvilleapostolicministries.org, you can scroll down and look for the orange Givelify icon, then click on it. It will take you to a secure website where you can make an online donation.

Being self-employed, weekends like this with a holiday a blessing and a challenge. It is nice to have time to spend with family and get some things done around the house. But when you are self-employed, there are no paid holidays, so to speak.

Now, all of this is my choice for the most part. When I started working for myself, it was more out of necessity. I was at a point in my life when most people were hesitant to hire me. And I have no doubt the Lord Himself directed me in this direction.

I have been doing this for a minute. There are days when I literally think to myself, Why would my boss send me to this job? Then I look in the mirror and think, Oh! That was me!

Because I work at many places and locations all over Wisconsin, I see a lot of things. Some good and some bad.

I have seen poor planning and waste. I worked with a friend and this was during COVID. They wanted to update and move their office, which currently had no people in it. We went through 2 floors of a vast office building, taking out technology that was only 2 years old, and they were sending it off to be recycled – literally throwing it away. 

About 2 months later, they had us come back and install all new technology into a single floor of the office building. Brand new computers and monitors, exactly the same size of the ones we threw out.

Fast forward another month, when they opened back up for the employees, out of the 75 or so workstations, seven people showed up. Insanity!

I heard they then sold that building and had to “get rid” of the equipment again. I have seen some people work on some terrifying situations. I was working on installing some network equipment for some point-of-sale devices at a bar. The man was kind enough and he offered a ladder for me to use. I thought great, I don’t have to carry my heavy little giant in. This is what he brought me;

Um, no. No, thank you. He climbed up there to prove it was solid, but I think it was me praying that kept him alive. 

I have seen a couple of guys climbing an electric scissor lift 20 feet in the air to hand off a tool. Just to save time. I have been working at restaurants where customers have been yelling and assaulting staff.

I have also been the one who shows up when a site closes, and the employees who were there found out as we walked up to retrieve their IT equipment. Super hard and devastating to see.

I also have the opportunity to see how companies work and their policies. During COVID, I had the joy of working at a pharmacy where they were processing all the COVID tests. It was unsettling to see positive results for one person and negative results for another. But as an “essential worker,” I guess that was a blessing.

I also had the recent opportunity to see some HR related information from a company. A simple form, but one that I think have profound impacts on a person.

Here is that form:

Now, I am an LLC, a sole proprietor LLC to be exact. I am the head of operations from an operational and organizational perspective. I have some articles in legalese that I paid someone else to write, but other than that, I have zero policies and procedures – until I saw this form.

Being an inquisitive mind, I thought that I would research what this whole self-identify thing is all about. And it is in my opinion, not good.

Bear with me, I will get to the Word in a moment. If you really want to know what people are thinking, it is not hard to find out. Grab manual.

I have in my hand a manual that tells you how you can self identify. Isn’t it interesting that the first thing on that picture is Gender? As a veteran, it saddens me that a company that is able to operate, make money, and make choices, although I may not agree with them, does so with the lives that were given and served the very country they operate in. I mean, c’mon.

And Gender is the first self-identification.

I digress. So I have this manual; shall we take a little adventure together? I apologize in advance.

So effective today, I will participate in a corporate-like move myself – I will fill out my own Self Identification form. There are 4 subjects on that form I showed you. Gender, Race, Disability and Veteran .

I am a male, not a female – that is all there is. There is only a man and a woman in the Word of God. I am not to add to it or take away from it.

• Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

I am telling you this right now. People are playing around like none of this matters. They can run around and openly mock God about who they are, but there is a day and a time coming where they will have to answer for everything in their life. It is not a joke, they are playing with fire.

• Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

What race am I? I am the human race, the race that the Lord Himself created. Pastor Jeff preached a very good message on this: there is only one race! There are no scriptures that I know of that refer to different races. Not a single one. I look to what God says about us as a whole, all of humanity.

• Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

This is how I self-identify!

• Veteran status, I served, that one is easy for me. Check
• Disability – I claim none on that one.
• I am He. I am a brother. I am Dad. I am a husband. I am a grandfather. I do not identify with that which I am not, I identify as how God made me, amen?
• Genesis 1:26-27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

It is so frustrating to see people being indoctrinated in the world. The world is calling a sin a right. And by doing so, they are making perversion a normal thing. It is pushed from the government, or at least it was – thank you, President Trump, for killing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion disaster. 

But again, if someone challenges that sinful behavior, we are called aggressive. We are stuck in the past. No, we are stuck in the Word. We choose to be in a relationship with a loving father who wants all of His children to come to Him.

• 2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

He is patient. He is kind. Jesus is loving and will help us. He is waiting for all to come unto Him. 

However, there is a time coming, coming for each and everyone of us, where we have been given a choice to receive Jesus as our Savior and live a life pleasing to Him. Or to live according to and in the world. Amen?

I am grateful that He is long-suffering. I look back on some of the times in my life, and I was a wretch. Filthy before the Lord, living only for me. And now we are His children, and we live life differently. We are called His sons and daughters, with a ransom paid for with His blood for the penalty of who we were, and when we mess up now, amen? His sacrifice for our sins. Hallelujah and amen!

• 2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Time is running out. I do not know the day or time, but I do know that we are in the time before Jesus comes back. The clock is not increasing; it is decreasing.

That is why I am choosing how I self-identify, different from the way the world tells me to do it. I am going to do it the way He says to do it.

They had four sections. Since I have my own business, I think I will add more than they have! I self-identify that I am no longer a slave! Slave to what? A slave to sin. 

• AMP Romans 6:6 We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.

I self-identify that I am part of a wonderful family. A family of believers who want to be closer to Jesus every day of our lives!

• 1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.

In a world that is so fragmented and disparate, I am part of a family whose central figure is Christ, not the world.

So many family dynamics are changing because of the influence of the enemy and in the world. The world is trying to destroy the family dynamic with things like same sex parenting. There are an excessive number of divorces, and it has become a widely accepted practice.

The family of Christ, no matter how diverse, we all have a common bond: Jesus Christ. I self-identify that I am adopted into His family. And in that relationship with Jesus, we are now His children, adopted through His blood! We are all His sons and daughters, members of the royal family! We are joint heirs with Jesus!

• Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Through His sacrifice, we are promised all that His Word has for us, if only we continue to walk with Him daily – picking up and carrying our cross and finishing the race that is set before us, amen?

With my self-identification in Jesus, we are linked to God’s Kingdom, not the earthly nations we see around us. Striving to live more like Him, to love like Him, to forgive like Him. We are citizens of heaven, that is our self-identity – not the world around us.

• Phillipians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Yes and amen! We are not focused entirely on everything that is happening here, in the present, all around us. We are called to live to a different standard than the world. We have goals and aspirations that are so much more than the titles of this world. 

• Romans 12:12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

There is so much that Jesus wants to do in our lives. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace as we try to transform into what Your Word declares.

Thank You, Jesus, that You do not leave us where we were, and where we are at. Thank you, Jesus, for helping us change our perspective, realizing that our identity in You is so much more important than the world. Keeping our hearts and minds focused on heavenly things so that we can live in a new identity. And although I served in the Army in this great nation, I self-identify in the Kingdom of God as a spiritual warrior.

• Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

We realize that the enemies around all of us are not people – well, some people if I am honest – but there is something larger at work. Demonic forces are trying to influence the world, and they are succeeding – but we stand in the gap for all of humanity.

We pray, we praise, we preach the Word, and we prophesy. We fast because that is inherent in our identity. Whatever we can do to draw closer to Jesus and separate ourselves from worldly things. 

The world may not understand, but we recognize that we have greater responsibilities. Responsibilities that we gladly bear because of the great sacrifice and promise given to us by Jesus. The promise of salvation gives us the courage and determination to be Kingdom workers and warriors, amen?Which is why I self-identify as a non-conformist of this world. 

• Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Amen! So in the end, I am a man who is part of a race, the human race. A veteran, yes, but more importantly, a warrior for the Kingdom of God. An adopted son in the family of God, a joint heir with citizenship in heaven. I am free, not a slave, focused not on this world, but on the things of Jesus and heaven. That is how I self-identify.

As many of you know, we were part of a young woman’s life at the end of her race. She has passed away, and they are having the funeral in Michigan, where she was from.Here is her obituary.

• Brandy Lynn Cox ( Mourufas) passed away peacefully at her home on August 23rd 2025 surrounded by her family. Brandy is survived by her partner Kent McCutcheon, Sister Marie Cox (Chris), Mother Jaana Cox, Son Luca Posteraro, Grandmother Irene Mourufas, Aunts Helen Mourufas, Sandy Gervais, Mary Geriakos(Manuel), Uncles Nick Mourufas, Sam Mourufas (Delis), Cousin & Caregiver Jenine Brown, Nephews Tristen Hurley, Dakota Hurley & Mark Garlinghouse.
• Brandy grew up in Grand Rapids where she also attended school. At an early age Brandy fell in love with Art. You would often see her drawing or doodling on any paper left in front of her. From art, Brandy was able to see a more colorful and beautiful world. Everything was a drawing.
• Brandy spent her summers in Sault Sainte Marie, Mi with her family, where she would move to as a young adult. There she met Kent, the love of her life and then they ended up settling in Janesville, Wi in 2023. Last year they traveled to Italy to formalize their relationship in a commitment ceremony in front of friends and family.
• Brandy was a beacon of hope for women around the world with breast cancer often joining groups online to give inspiration.
• Brandy & Kent opened their home to foreign exchange students. She treated them like her own, often traveling with them to show the beauty of the United States and mentoring each and every one of them.
• Brandy loved adventure, always up for a hike or drive to see the beauty of this world. Her kindness did not go unnoticed by people she met. Her smile and laughter were contagious. Brandy saw everyone’s beauty within them and would often uplift people. Her laughter, smile, positivity and kindness will be greatly missed by many.
• Brandy is preceded in death by her Grandfather William Mourufas, Cousin Melissa Mourufas, Steven Lamothe, Uncles John Gervais & Chuck Gravelle.
• Service will be held at Sault Christian fellowship on Saturday, September 6th @ 1 p.m. followed by luncheon at the VFW.

The altar is open