With Him: The Life Jesus Invites Us Into

There was a time when I thought following Jesus meant trying harder and measuring how much I was accomplishing for Him. Whenever I thought about my walk with the Lord, it was always about what I should be doing more of. I should read my Bible more. I should pray more. I should volunteer more.

And somewhere in the middle of all those thoughts was the question I asked Him over and over again:

Am I doing enough for You?

My focus wasn’t on a relationship with Jesus or even on spending time with Him. Instead, I was focused on whether I was doing enough and whether my life resembled what I thought a Christian should look like.

But I’ll be honest with you; there is no such thing as making yourself into the kind of person a Christian should be. That only happens as the fruit of the Holy Spirit grows in our lives through knowing Jesus.

And that begins by knowing Him.

When we begin to know Him, we learn to love Him.And as we love Him, we begin to trust Him — because let’s face it, we only truly trust those whom we love.And when we trust Him, we can obey Him, because we will only obey someone we trust and love.And then we begin to abide in Him, which is exactly what He asks of us.

And by abiding in Him, our lives begin to glorify God.

One morning the Lord showed me something that surprised me. I was baking cookies and quietly obsessing over the same question that had followed me for years; whether I was doing enough for Him, and whether I was missing something.

In that quiet moment, the Lord gently spoke to my heart and asked me a single question:

“Did I ever say to you that it was not enough?”

That question stopped me.I thought about it for a moment and answered quietly, “No, Lord… You never did.”

Then the Lord showed me something that I have carried in my heart ever since.

He showed me that when He looks upon me, and upon every believer, He sees us as holy unto the Lord. We have been set apart for Him. And in the picture He gave me, it was as if each of us had a headband across our forehead that read:

“Holy unto the Lord.”

He reminded me that we are not invited into a life of trying harder. We are invited into a life with Him. Jesus never said our first calling was to accomplish things for Him. Instead, His invitation is always the same:

Follow Me.

Come to Me.

Abide in Me.

What we do for the Lord always comes after being with Him, not before. Again and again throughout Scripture, the invitation of Jesus is the same:

Walk with Me.

He never says, Perform for Me.

He never says, Impress Me.

Over time the Lord began teaching me something that changed my faith in the most beautiful way. The most important part of Christianity is not what we do for Jesus. What we do matters, of course, but it is not the first thing. And it is not the most important thing.

What Jesus cares most about is whether we are walking with Him and coming to know His name.

Are we with Him in the quiet moments of the day?

Are we with Him in the questions we carry?

Are we with Him in the ordinary rhythms of life?

Or are we only giving Him a few scattered moments here and there or turning to Him only when life becomes difficult? When we begin to live our lives with Him, our faith stops feeling like pressure or failure or striving. Instead, it begins to feel like what it was always meant to be:

A relationship.

A deeply beautiful relationship. This idea of being with God runs throughout the entire Bible. God walked with Adam in the garden. Enoch walked with God. Abraham was called a friend of God. (And you cannot be a friend unless you know someone.) And Jesus Himself walked daily with His disciples.

In John 15, Jesus gives one of the most beautiful invitations in all of Scripture:

“Abide in Me, and I will abide in you.”

In other words:

Live your life with Me.

This is the heart of A Message of Hope Ministry. Everything we share here is meant to help you learn how to live life with Jesus; not just on Sundays, and not only in difficult moments, but in the quiet, ordinary moments of everyday life.

Together we will explore what it means to:

• Meet with Him

• Walk with Him

• Pray with Him

• Grow with Him

If you are longing for a deeper relationship with Jesus…If your faith has felt distant or dry…If you simply want to learn how to meet with the Lord in your everyday life…

You are in the right place.

Because everything we do here is centered on one simple invitation:

Life with Jesus begins by walking with Him.

So wherever you are today, take a small step and walk with Him. That step does not have to be large. Sometimes it simply begins by opening His Word and spending a few quiet moments with Him.

And that is exactly what we are going to do together. Over the next 30 days, we will walk through a journey called Hope in the Resurrection. Each day will be an opportunity to meet with Jesus, reflect on His life and His love, and remember the hope we have because the tomb is empty.

Because the resurrection of Jesus changed everything.

It is the reason we have forgiveness.

It is the reason we have new life.

And it is the reason we can walk through every season of life with hope.

So I invite you to begin this journey with Him.

Let’s spend the next 30 days discovering the hope that comes from walking with the risen Christ.

You can begin with Day One of the 30 Day Journey of Hope in the Resurrection.

With Him,

Maria

Begin 30 Day Journey