28 Day Journey-Day Seventeen

Wednesday 12//21//02
17 Connected

[OK, the Christmas crunch is here and the comments are dwindling...are you guys with us??]

Now that we've gotten that out of the way....Today's question: What do these people have in common?
Emily from Wartburg College in Iowa (Go Knights!)
Douglas from Rhodes University in South Africa
Amy from the University of Central Oklahoma
Benjamine (do you go by Ben?) from Marshall University in West Virginia
Megan from Vandy (Go Doors!)
Rodolfo, a college leader from Rio (as in de Janeiro, Brazil)
Katherine from Samford

Yep, good guess! They all registered for Passion06 in the last few hours and are headed to Nashville. The message today: you are not alone! You may be at Auburn, surrounded by hundreds (if not thousands) of followers of Jesus or you may be one of the relative few at Washington University in St. Louis who claim the Savior of the world. But, in either case you are part of a massive army, countless thousands, hundreds of thousands, running after Him with everything they've got.

That's one of the things I love most about Passion. It's a neutral ground connecting spot for people from different churches and campus ministries representing every kind of campus in the nation. We all come from different streams, but our common bond is Jesus Christ. He is the corner stone on which all of our hope is built. His unique life, matchless atonement, distinct grace, historic resurrection and unending reign are the source of our rejoicing. That's why His name is our desire and His anthem our loudest song.

That's why it's not enough for us to champion 17,000+ people packed in an arena. We have added smaller Community and Family Groups to the mix so that you can link your journey with other students from places you may have never heard of before and leave knowing you've got a lot of company as you seek to live for Jesus. We're glad you're coming with the people you see everyday, but we also want you to meet someone who's living the same faith, but in a completely different part of the country/world.

So come ready to connect with others who are seeking a deeper faith and a louder voice. Who knows, maybe Douglas will be in your family group and you'll leave with a new pal from south of the equator.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6.

Today's prayer:
How cool would it be to pray for the others who you are going to be in a Family Group with befoe you ever meet them. God knows the names of the 8-10 people in your group already, so ask Him to prepare them for the days in Nashville and give them a fresh awareness of Himself during Christmas.
Pray for your Community Group facilitator and worship leader as they prepare to help you process what God is during during the days of Passion06.
Look for the chance to connect with someone in the middle of the mass at Passion06 who needs to know they're not alone. Come ready to unite...and with one loud voice glorify Jesus Christ.

Father, thank You for connecting us through the Holy Spirit, kniting us forever to You in Christ. While we celebrate our various streams and distinctives, we boldly rejoice in our common Savior. Release a spirit of unity in our midst and tear down competition and pride for Jesus' sake. You have made us one and one we will be for You. For a louder shout of His name. Amen

Through the day: I'm in a big, big family.