In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it can be easy to forget to prioritize what matters most, including your relationship with God. When it comes to following Jesus, the heart behind our actions is just as important as our actions themselves. In this post, we’ll explore how to follow Jesus intentionally, making space for practices that nurture a deeper connection with Him while avoiding the trap of going through the motions. These practical steps will help you align your daily routine with your desire to truly follow Jesus and grow in your relationship with Him.
Intentional Organization Can Help You Follow Jesus
I have to be honest; I do like a good check list. There is something so satisfying about crossing off accomplished tasks. I learned a long time ago that life is too busy to try and remember everything. My task list helps me to accomplish much of the most important work I do on a day-to-day basis.
I have even found that check lists help me in my personal life. For example, life gets so crazy that sometimes I need a reminder to call my parents and check in. It’s easy for me to go weeks without reaching out. I know that communicating with them is important, so I set a reminder. I also have a reminder every so often to do something extra special for my wife. It’s not that I don’t want to do extra special things for her, it’s just that I need a little help remembering that it has already been a few weeks. There are certain crucial, relational things that are too important to forget. So, I write them down and send myself reminders to do them.
Keep Your Focus on the Heart as You Follow Jesus
In light of all this, I do have a deep appreciation for those who prioritize following Jesus in a similar way. Life is busy for all of us—probably too busy. Having reminders that help you prioritize a healthy relationship with God is not inherently a bad thing. That being said, I know many of us have heard statements from the pulpit like, “You shouldn’t read the Bible just to check it off your list.” This is a well-intentioned statement, and I affirm it.
Now you may be wondering, how is that possible? I know it sounds like I just shared two opposites and told you both are true. That’s not my intent. Rather, I am intending to share the same idea from two perspectives. The thing that separates these perspectives is a very simple one-word question: Why?
When I send myself a reminder to do something special for my wife, I do not act on that item simply because I want to check it off my list. No! The reason that I act is because I want to love my wife. One way to love my wife well is to do something special and out of the ordinary for her.
This same paradigm is true in following Jesus. It is not wrong of me to have a check list in my mind of ways to follow Jesus well. It’s not wrong for me to set a reminder to pray or read my Bible. This is just me keeping my priorities straight. In the busyness of our world, I can neglect God almost as easily as I can neglect my parents. Having reminders or a check list helps me to avoid this. That being said, because we are human, it is easy for us to turn these good intentions into man-made religion. This is what we must avoid. Having a check list is totally fine—having a man-made religion is not.
When you get your reminder each evening at 7pm to turn off the TV and read your Bible, are you doing it because it is the next task on the list? Or because you want to follow Jesus well? When you get your reminder each morning to spend time praying, do you pray to check it off the list? Or because you want to talk to God? The why matters because it reveals your heart.
Practical Steps to Follow Jesus Every Day
That is a really long but necessary intro to this article. If you approach this list with a “just do the task” attitude, these practices will mean very little to you. These practices are affected by the intent of our hearts. Just “doing the task” won’t necessarily help you. It is the practice plus the “heart” that will help bring growth.
So, here’s some ideas you may consider as you seek to follow Jesus.
1. Prioritize your relationship with Him.
Spend time daily with Jesus. Pray, read your Bible, participate in a local church, sing worship songs, or still yourself in quiet. The list goes on. These practices are essential for anyone who really wants to follow Jesus. How will you follow someone you don’t love? And how will you love Him if you don’t trust Him? And how will you trust Him if you don’t know Him. It is in these up-close times that Jesus teaches us who He is, and therefore who He wants us to become.
2. Implement what you learn
Practice what Jesus preaches. I have two students in my youth group who are very knowledgeable about the Bible. They can answer almost any trivia question, they can tell you crazy obscure facts, and they know who Shamgar was. BUT they are also two of the meanest kids in the group. They bully the other kids. A couple weeks ago I took them aside and asked them this question: “What good is all your Biblical knowledge if it doesn’t change you?” They took my question seriously. I hope it’s one we all will take seriously. Knowing a lot about Christianity or the Bible isn’t the goal—the goal is to become like Jesus. So, if you want to follow Jesus you need to do what He taught.
3. Surround yourself with Godly community
Seriously, you can’t follow Jesus alone. You need others. I have been amazed by how quickly I grow spiritually when I am surrounded by mature followers of Jesus. When we are together, we spur one another on to boldly and sacrificially follow Jesus—it just happens.
4. Count the cost
Following Jesus is NOT free. I know that sounds heretical. It’s not. Let me clarify. Salvation is a free gift. You are saved by the grace of God—by what Jesus did on the cross. This freedom from the consequences of your sin is not something you can earn, so there’s no need to try. That being said, Jesus clearly teaches us that following Him will come at a great cost. See Luke 9, Luke 14, and Matthew 8. What these passages (among others) make very clear is that following Jesus will be very hard. You should not expect life with Jesus to be easy. It is wonderful and satisfying, that’s true! But it is not easy.
5. Engage the daily reality of following Jesus
It can be easy to think of the first four things on this list as “one time” or “once in a while” acts. That’s not true. Following Jesus is a daily choice. I daily spend time with Him. I daily obey His commands, I daily engage the cost of following Jesus, and as often as possible, I surround myself with fellow believers. Honestly, sacrificially loving Jesus is easy for like three days; but try three months, three years, or three decades. That changes the story. When we engage Jesus daily, we are following Him the way He intended. Don’t leave your Christianity to Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights. Follow Jesus every day.
If you are looking for more practical next steps, consider checking out Multiplying Movements. It is a Forge resource designed to help the everyday follower of Jesus grow, mature and multiply to others.
