Day 6: Godliness

A continual attending to the presence of God

Jesus is our exemplar of godliness. Hebrews 1.3 speaks of Jesus as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature…” Godliness then, as Jesus showed us, is the reflection of the nature and glory of God in our lives. How did Jesus reflect the nature and glory of God? He did so through a continual attendance to the presence and will of the Father. We are called to do the same, to live in a perpetual response to an omnipresent Father. As daunting a task as this may seem, we must be reminded that Jesus manifested godliness as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 42.1-7, Acts 2.22-23). Even better, Jesus promised us the ability to do as He did, even more, through the power of the Holy Spirit and His divine agency at the right hand of the Father (John 14.11-21).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you into a deeper awareness of His presence?

God is most likely inviting me into a deeper awareness of His presence is the small, everyday things in life. While I have always held that there are no coincidences in life, there are times when I miss some of the small miracles of everyday God. I am so caught up in doing what it is that I have to do in a given day, that even the most obvious acts of God seem to go unnoticed by me. I want that awareness, too. I have often said that I feel connected to God in a way that most people aren’t privy to. My friends tease me about having the “sixth sense,” but I truly believe that God speaks to me through my intuition. I have gotten so good at listening to Him when it comes to the “big” things in life; family, kids, school choices, career considerations, ministry guidance, that He has become something of a guidance counselor and not my personal Lord.

• How is God inviting you to practice a deeper attendance to His presence within your community?

I know several individuals within my church that have mastered being able to see God in every detail of life and feel His presence around them at all times. I think God would be pleased if I were to strike up dialogue with those folks regarding their awareness. I also believe that even though it is likely to be a recurring theme throughout an exercise like this, I have absolutely got to make more time available for spending with God. There is a very good chance that I am already at a spiritual plateau in my life and do not realize it. Until I begin to experience some new filling of the Holy Spirit, I will never know.