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Advent devotions 2007

November 28 - Lost in the moment
By Bryce Bow, a junior physical education major from Muncie, Ind.

Scripture: Psalm 122 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete scripture.

Devotional:
"May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels." Each one of us can recall a time in our lives that we have felt secure and completely and utterly content with where we are at that moment. Words cannot possibly describe the sheer and unwavering pleasantness of that time. A time when, like children, we forget about our problems and worries, and bask in the simplicity of being lost in a moment. How precious and encouraging are those moments?

Personally, I yearn for these times, for the peace and security of knowing that, despite the abundance of imperfections and flaws in my life and in this world, everything is exactly how it is supposed to be. Sometimes these moments come to us through the simplest of activities, the "little things in life." But often these moments happen when we can feel God's presence in our lives, when we can feel our Creator at work. Knowing that, although we may trip and stumble through the adversity and trials we face in this life, the love shown to us is unwavering and greater than any word we could ever attempt to describe it with. I believe those moments of peace and security are among the closest things to God's love we can experience in this life.

Stop and reflect for a second. Can you recall the last time you experienced one of those moments? Attempt to describe it in your head. It is hard, isn’t it? These surreal experiences in our lives are a gift from a good God, an omniscient and omnipresent God that loves each one of us more than we could ever know, a God that has a unique plan for each person in this world.

Right now, say a short prayer asking that during the upcoming month you and everyone you love will feel God’s peace and security, that you will be, however brief, lost in the moment and blanketed by God’s unwavering love.

Scripture: Psalm 122 (NRSV)
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
I was glad when they said to me,
'Let us go to the house of the Lord!'
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
'May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.'
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, 'Peace be within you.'
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

Posted at 17:20 #