G. Archer Frierson
Austin Seminary Board of Trustees
• CLICK HERE for a complete, online copy of this season's devotionals.
• CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary
Advent Devotional for December 2
• 2 Peter 1: 1-11
Where do you imagine God to be when you pray? Maybe God stands in front of you as you kneel or sits next to you on your bed. Perhaps you like to stand and look up, praying to God above. What would it be like if instead you imagined yourself encircled by God all around? How would your prayers change if you were to pray from within God rather than to God.
In Advent, the fires of hope are kindled as we look toward God’s birth as a human child. Jesus Christ, flesh of our flesh, makes way for us to dwell within God. It is through the incarnation of God in Christ that theologian Catherine Gunsalus González says, we become “part of the body of the second person of the Trinity.” There is no more intimate a space than being part of another’s body.
As intimate, invited ones, we no longer must pray kneeling before, standing in front of, or sitting at a distance from God. Rather, we can pray from within the life of God, because we dwell inside the circle: Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is God’s promise and God’s gift to us.
We are, as 2 Peter proclaims, partakers of the divine nature. It is from within God that we wait, we pray, we cry out for the world to be made whole. It is from within God that we are transformed into likeness with God. We fail, we faint, we rise, we try again. The whole time God encircles us. We are running a marathon and God surrounds us: cheering us on, handing out water, ready to help us if we fall. God is there from beginning to end: above us, below us, within us, and all around us. And we are within God.
The Reverend Erica Knisely
Director of Programs, Educaton Beyond the Walls
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.We hope that you are preparing the way for the Lord in your life as you read these meditations and prayers. And, we hope this Advent season is a meaningful one for you. Please know that Austin Seminary’s dedicated, diverse, and loving community of faith is not complete without you. Did you know?
• Students in our masters-degree programs receive up to 85% need-based tuition aid.
• Historically, more than 80% of our graduates are called to congregational ministry.
• Our students come from more than a dozen denominations.
• Our alumni serve in ministry in forty-eight U.S. states as well as in twenty different countries across the world.
Your gift to Austin Seminary contributes to scholarships, housing, computer equipment, library materials, and other resources needed by seminarians as they fulfill their calls to Christian service and leadership.
Your support underwrites the finest theological faculty and an administration committed to upholding the highest standards possible with respect to the unique vocation of ministry.
Every gift is significant and is appreciated. They are put to work right away and make a real impact. Please send your gift today.
• CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary
No comments:
Post a Comment