TonyScott.org

If you missed this weekend at TheChurch on Strayer…

The REASON!

The focus of this season of the year is the birth of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. 

Isaiah 9:6 (AMP)  ⁶For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given: …and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Identity has always been important to God.  Just as identity defined Jesus’ purpose, so also does identity define His purpose for you.

• “Adam” means “earthy or of the earth” revealing God’s purpose for him to rule, dominate the earth.
• “Eve” means “life spring” indicating her purpose as mother of life.
• “Jesus” means “Savior,” the very purpose of His birth, life, death, resurrection, and second coming.

The reason Jesus came was to give us back our identity so that we could live the life He designed us to live.  Jesus knew who He was and is.  In Acts 9, Paul asks Him, who are you, Lord?  And He said, I am Jesus…Jesus knew the reason of His life.

Nothing is more critical to a life of significance than knowing our God-given identity.  Do you know the “Reason” God put you on earth?  Do you know your “true God-assigned identity?”

Revelation 2:17 says God will give a white stone to everyone who overcomes.  On that stone is a new name.  It is new in the sense that it is different than how the world sees us.

On that stone you won’t find names such as stupid, idiot, liar, thief, prostitute, adulterer, failure, alcoholic, etc.

It is His name for you – a white stone not colored by our past, our sins, our failures, our mistakes.

It is “pure you” as God designed you to be, fully alive and living your purpose.  It is your “Reason” for living.

So when you look at the manger during the Christmas season and see the Christ-child, you can truly have a Merry Christ[mas] because of who He made YOU to be.

God’s Unconditional Love

All of us are, to some degree, the sum total of our loves.

We grow into the image of what we love most.  Love by its nature is a creative force – it shapes, molds, conforms, and changes.  Our loves dictate our behavior and command our passion.  We become like those we love most.

For God, love is not a feeling – it is a responsibility.  When he met chaos in the beginning, He displayed confrontational and transformational love.

He so loved the world He brought order out of chaos.

Unconditional Love is pure – no hidden motives, no strings attached.  It is full of grace and mercy.  It is love that reaches, teaches, knows no limits, and has no restraints.

Unconditional Love is intentional – Jesus’ intent was and is to love us into becoming like Him.

It was not the nails that held Him on the cross – it was His Unconditional Love for all mankind.

Because God is love – it is His very nature – and He has placed a piece of Himself within each of us, all of us have a life-long need for love.

Unconditional Love is the deepest longing of our being.

His love for us is not based on who or what we are, but who He is.  Our value comes not from our possessions, our position, nor our prominence – it comes from who possesses us.

His Unconditional Love, will never stop pursuing us, reaching for us, caring for us and patiently waiting for us to be loved unconditionally.

To be loved unconditionally, by a confronting and transformational God until we stand with Him in the likeness of His Son, is God’s supreme desire for each of us.