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I just returned from an amazing camp in Texas. Every night, God’s presence was tangible and the young people were responding to Him. We focused on the cross (”For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the Power of God” I Cor. 1:18).

The highlight for me though came on the 3rd night. During worship Nate and the guys (some of my favorite worship leaders in the world) were finishing up with “Mighty to Save” when I knew it was time. I knew that was the moment of salvation for some of those in that room. So, I quickly shared the gospel message and invited people to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and begin a relationship with God. Because the lighting was blinding I could not take an accurate count, but many young lives gave themselves over to Jesus that night. It was a powerful moment.

From that moment on, “Mighty to Save” became an anthem, not for the camp alone, but for the people in the world that don’t yet know Christ. Those that are looking for something to bring fulfillment. Those trying to escape their past or break an addiction. As a body hundreds strong, we began to declare over the earth that God is “Mighty to Save”.

I really believe that God did something deep in the young people were at that camp. They are going to live authentically, pray aggressively, and make history. God is in the process of changing them, and through them others will be changed.

My God is mighty to save.

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Meditate on Proverbs 3:2-3 today.

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.”

Can that be said of me? Do I walk in love and faithfulness? Am I faithful to my friends and family? Can they count on me? Can God? What about those people that are difficult to be around? Am I faithfully showing the grace, mercy, forgiveness, and kindness of God to those that I don’t like (you know who you are…j/k).

“Lord, may love and faithfulness never leave me.”.

This week at my church we began a campaign called “One Prayer”. This is an interesting series because for the next four weeks ours is just one of over 1,300 all around the world that are going to be exploring the concept that Jesus prayed “Make them One” in John 17.

This being the first week, the pastor who originated the series Craig Groeschel out of Oklahoma visited my church via video. As he launched the series there were two things that really stood out to me and I want to share them with you.

In the first statement he said, “Instead of asking God for everything that we want, perhaps we should focus on becoming the answer to HIS prayer.” That really hit me. He prayed for us to walk in love. To be unified. Sounds like a good goal for me today.

The second thing that caught my attention was the concept that for us to really walk in unity, we really need to be focused on One enemy. Instead of fighting each other we need to fight the one who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. The church that has slightly different doctrine is not my enemy. The person I play basketball who hates my faith with is not my enemy. The anti-Christian movement that calls me an infidel is not even my enemy. I have one enemy. He is the one who is bound for hell and is trying to take as many with him as possible. He is the one who steals hope and suggests suicide. He is the one who offers fear and shame. He is the only enemy I have..and the only one we have as Christians. And, if we are ever going to be who God has called us to be and truly impact the world with the truth of the gospel of Christ, he is the one that we must stand against.

He is our enemy, but don’t forget he is defeated. If you resist him he will flee. If you stand in truth his lies are exposed and deemed powerless. He can not stand in the presence of Jesus and if Christ lives in you, greater is He who is in you then he that is in the world.

I was really challenged with those two things yesterday and thought i would share.

Sean

For the past couple of weeks God has been stretching my vision. Because I know that He wants all men to come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (I Timothy 2:4) my heart has been burning. I know that God is on the brink of something big. The urgency of my prayers has increased and today I feel like I hit a pinnacle of expectancy.

There are some things boiling inside of me that I am praying over. Overall, my prayer is that God would be lifted up and exalted. The people would see a true picture of Jesus. That they would respond to His love and grant Him His desire for relationship.

There is more coming…but I can’t share just yet. But, if you are asking the Lord to reach your city, your country, or the world…we are praying similar prayers and I believe will be able to enjoy watching God move together.

Even greater victories are coming. I can’t wait.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” II Corinthians 5:14-15.

“If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” II Corinthians 5:13

Have you ever been accused of being out of your mind? Has your passion ever been so high that people didn’t get you and actually tried to talk you out of being aggressive, expressive, and focused? You are in good company. I am with you.

People don’t understand passion that is different than theirs, but if it is directed at Christ you are in a good place. He ignites passion and inspires faithful commitment. If you walk with Him, you will stand out. you will be different, but that is not something to run from, but something to embrace.

When someone says, “You are out of your mind!” You can say, “thanks for noticing.”

Have a great weekend.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to announce that my favorite (that I have written) and best selling book is going to be rereleased next week.

“I Want the Cross!” has been out of print for a couple of years now, but no longer.

I think the reason that I really like this book is because I got such great feedback from it. I wrote it for a teenager who was wanting to stop the roller coaster motion of their faith. Those people that are up one minute and down the next need to embrace the principles that help them find steady and stable ground the lead to growth. These are the principles that I learned through the years (couldn’t necessarily articulate them, but began to apply them) that took me from a bored, apathetic Christian kid who knew everything but didn’t know how to apply much of it to a person who was focused and ready to gain ground with God.

Even though I wrote this book for teens, people of all ages have embraced it. Several college ministries used it in their small groups and I even received letters from prisons where the inmates had passed it around and been touched by it.

The first chapter outlines a time in my life when I was arguing with God…not about His goodness, but about my chronic failures and the discouragement that brought. It was a pivotal time for me as it was the moment when I really dug in my heals and decided that I had to figure out how my faith should affect my life.

Well, I don’t want to share too much about it here, but I want you to know that it will be available on the website in the next couple of hours. Check out the bookstore at www.groundwire.net to order your copy. And, let me challenge you with this. What about ordering an extra copy (or a couple) to give to young people that you know are working through their faith? No pressure, just something to think about.

Have a great weekend.

Sean

I chatted this morning with a father in Australia. Hannah, his 18-year old daughter took her own life in January. He approached us wanting to know how he could help us get the word out about our coaches that are available to help young people deal with the issues that eventually became too much for his daughter to handle alone.

As you can imagine, I was touched by his story. My heart went out to him, then joined with his in determination to offer support and assistance to as many as is possible, whenever they need it.

Today, I was reminded of how incredibly important our mission is.

Would you join me in praying that the Lord would continue to open doors so that when the Hannahs of the world are looking for support, they would somehow find one of our coaches prayerfully ready to offer the hope, perspective, and encouragement that they need?