From Doing Things for God to Living Life With Him

Communion, spiritual awakening, and the invitation to walk with Jesus

There is a difference between doing something for someone and doing it with them. We understand that distinction in our closest relationships. A husband can spend an entire Saturday completing projects for his wife without spending meaningful time with her. Parents can work tirelessly to provide for their children while becoming so consumed by responsibilities that they miss the joy of being together. Good intentions and hard work are valuable, but neither can replace a relationship.

The same thing can happen in our relationship with God.

We can become so busy serving Him, attending church, volunteering, and fulfilling responsibilities that we gradually lose sight of the relationship giving those activities meaning. We begin treating God as the One who assigns the work rather than the One who desires to walk alongside us.

During Communion Sunday at The Remnant Church this past weekend, Pastors David and Cathy Sellstrom shared insights from their trip to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Pulpits Ablaze gathering. The event brought together pastors representing all 50 states, united by a desire to see spiritual awakening spread across America.

The gathering marked the culmination of an extraordinary journey by Sri Veerabathini, founder of Pulpits Ablaze, who traveled across all 50 states seeking pastors and churches to join a nationwide movement of prayer, spiritual renewal, and revival.

Amid the worship, testimonies, and conversations, one truth emerged repeatedly: God has not called us merely to work for Him. He has invited us to live and work with Him.

That distinction changes how we understand communion, ministry, prayer, and everyday life.

Communion Is an Invitation Into Fellowship

Communion is one of Christianity's most familiar practices. We gather, receive the bread and cup, remember Christ's sacrifice, and give thanks for His death and resurrection. Yet familiarity can sometimes prevent us from recognizing the extraordinary invitation contained in this sacred moment.

At the Omaha gathering, Pastor Larry Morello shared a teaching on communion that made a lasting impression on David and Cathy. They brought his reflections home, emphasizing that communion represents much more than remembering something Jesus accomplished two thousand years ago.

At its heart, communion celebrates the restoration of fellowship between humanity and God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, humanity's relationship with God was fractured. Sin introduced separation and shame into a relationship originally characterized by fellowship with the Creator. Throughout the Old Testament, God continued revealing His desire to dwell among His people, but the fullness of reconciliation awaited Jesus Christ.

Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the way for us to approach the Father.

Hebrews 10:19–22 explains that believers can enter God's presence through the blood of Jesus and draw near with confidence because of what Christ accomplished. The veil that once symbolized restricted access to the Most Holy Place was torn when Jesus died.

We are no longer standing outside, hoping someone else can approach God on our behalf. Through Christ, we are welcomed into His presence.

Communion reminds us of the price Jesus paid to make that relationship possible. The bread represents His body given for us. The cup represents His blood shed for the forgiveness of sins and the establishment of the new covenant.

But His sacrifice was never intended merely to secure a future place in heaven. Jesus came to restore our relationship with the Father, beginning now.

Communion is not merely remembering what Jesus did for us. It celebrates the fellowship He made possible with us.

Seeing Jesus in the Passover

One meaningful part of the communion teaching explored connections between Jewish Passover traditions and the death and resurrection of Jesus.

In many Jewish Passover celebrations, three pieces of unleavened bread, called matzah, are placed together. During the meal, the middle piece is broken, and a portion known as the afikoman is wrapped and hidden. Later, children search for it, and its return becomes part of the celebration.

Christians can see a striking illustration of Jesus in this tradition. The broken bread recalls His body given for us. The wrapped and hidden portion brings to mind His burial, while its return suggests the joy of resurrection.

These are Christian interpretations of Passover imagery rather than claims that the Jewish ceremony was originally designed to portray the crucifixion. Nevertheless, they invite us to consider how deeply the themes of redemption, sacrifice, deliverance, and covenant run throughout Scripture.

The unleavened bread can also remind believers of Isaiah's description of the suffering Messiah:

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." — Isaiah 53:5, NKJV

Another Passover tradition involves a special cup associated with Elijah and the expectation of future redemption. For Christians, that expectation points toward its fulfillment in Jesus, the promised Messiah.

When Jesus gathered with His disciples for the Last Supper, He took familiar elements of the Passover meal and revealed their significance in relation to His approaching sacrifice.

Luke 22:19 records His words:

"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." — Luke 22:19, NKJV

Jesus revealed the cost of the new covenant and invited His followers to remember the love that would carry Him to the cross.

The remarkable truth is that the Messiah did not merely send an invitation to the table. He came to the table Himself.

Working for God or Walking With God?

One of the strongest themes David and Cathy brought home from Omaha was the distinction between doing things for God and doing them with God.

Christians are often people of action. We recognize needs, develop plans, organize ministries, and work diligently to accomplish worthwhile goals. Those are good things, but activity can gradually become a substitute for intimacy.

Pastor David acknowledged his own tendency to move quickly into action. When something needs doing, his instinct is to get started and accomplish it. Yet the message from Omaha challenged that approach. Instead of rushing ahead and asking God to bless the results, what would happen if we first invited Him into the process?

Jesus described the foundation of fruitful Christian living in John 15:5:

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." — John 15:5, NKJV

Branches do not produce fruit through determination or independent effort. Their fruitfulness comes from remaining connected to the vine.

The same principle applies to our spiritual lives. We cannot manufacture Christ's life through activity. We receive His life through fellowship with Him, and fruit grows from that relationship.

This does not diminish the importance of serving God. It changes the source of our service. Rather than attempting spiritual work through our own strength while occasionally asking for divine assistance, we learn to recognize the Holy Spirit's presence, listen for His direction, and respond in obedience.

The goal is not to become more efficient at working for Jesus while spending less time with Him. The goal is to know Him so deeply that our work becomes an expression of our fellowship.

Learning to Include God in Everyday Decisions

Cathy shared an ordinary experience that made this principle memorable.

She recalled planning to repaint their deck. Her intention was straightforward: visit the hardware store, purchase the same paint color they had used before, and complete the project. She knew what needed doing and was perfectly capable of accomplishing it.

Then David offered to accompany her.

While shopping, he suggested choosing a different color. Cathy hadn't considered it because she had already decided how the project would proceed.

That experience became a picture of her relationship with God.

How often do we approach life with our plans already established? We know what needs to happen, how we intend to accomplish it, and what the finished result should look like. We may even ask God to bless the project without allowing room for Him to suggest something different.

Yet walking with God means remaining open to His direction, including when He leads us beyond familiar routines.

Proverbs 3:5–6 encourages believers to trust the Lord rather than rely entirely on their own understanding, acknowledging Him in all their ways.

That invitation extends beyond major life decisions. It includes ordinary conversations, daily responsibilities, unexpected interruptions, and seemingly insignificant opportunities.

God is not interested only in the spiritual activities we schedule. He desires fellowship with us throughout our lives.

Divine Encounters Begin With Availability

Cathy also described how she and David approached a previous vacation in Hawaii. Without their usual schedules, they began their mornings by asking God to arrange opportunities to encourage or minister to someone.

They were not organizing a formal outreach event. They were making themselves available.

One morning, a change in breakfast plans led them to another restaurant, where they struck up a conversation with a man who had worked as a Hollywood stunt performer. Despite his impressive career, he carried deep emotional wounds from military experiences and believed he had done too much to receive forgiveness.

David and Cathy listened, showed compassion, and spoke to him about God's grace.

That encounter illustrates something important about evangelism. Sharing Jesus doesn't always begin with a microphone, a prepared presentation, or a scheduled ministry event. Sometimes it begins with an ordinary conversation and a willingness to recognize the person God has placed before us.

The same principle guides The Remnant Church's outreach to people experiencing homelessness in downtown Olympia. Providing meals meets an immediate physical need, but the ministry's purpose reaches beyond food. It creates opportunities for relationships, prayer, and expressions of Christ's love.

Pastor David emphasized that reaching even one person makes the effort worthwhile.

Jesus repeatedly demonstrated that personal attention. He stopped for blind beggars, spoke with people others avoided, and noticed individuals overlooked by crowds. His ministry was never too important to make room for one hurting person.

One Man, Fifty States, and a Vision for Revival

The Pulpits Ablaze gathering was especially meaningful because of the journey preceding it.

Sri Veerabathini, an Indian-born Christian pastor and evangelist, had ministered extensively in India before eventually making his home in the United States with his wife, Christine, and their family. According to the account David and Cathy shared, Sri had already established a fruitful ministry when he sensed God calling him to undertake a new assignment.

He believed the Lord was directing him to travel throughout all 50 states, identifying a pastor and church in each state to participate in a coordinated movement of spiritual awakening.

It was an ambitious calling requiring extensive travel, new relationships, personal sacrifice, and trust in God's direction.

The vision was not merely to gather fifty pastors for a single event. It was to connect churches that could become centers of prayer, discipleship, biblical proclamation, and spiritual renewal within their communities.

When Sri's journey brought him to Washington, Pastor Ken Ramey connected him with The Remnant Church in Tumwater. Ken had developed a relationship with David and Cathy through his work connecting with churches across Washington. When asked about a church sharing the Pulpits Ablaze vision, he recommended The Remnant.

That recommendation eventually led to David and Cathy's participation in Omaha, where pastors and representatives from across the country gathered for worship, fellowship, prayer, and a shared commitment to carry the gospel into their communities.

The gathering, called The Table, was an appropriate setting for an event centered on relationship and unity in Christ. The pastors represented different states, backgrounds, and ministry experiences, yet shared a desire to see Jesus exalted.

Sri's journey illustrates the message itself. Rather than remaining where his ministry was established, he responded to what he believed was God's direction and went. His willingness to travel and form relationships helped connect churches that otherwise might never have met.

We may not be called to travel to all 50 states, but every believer can respond to God's leading wherever He has placed them.

A Spark Must Be Tended

During the gathering, Pastor David shared an image of spiritual fire spreading across the nation. Drawing on biblical passages involving fire, flint, and the work of a blacksmith, he described the participating pastors and churches as potential points from which revival could spread.

His central challenge was that receiving a spark is not the same as sustaining a fire.

A spark can disappear if no one tends it. It needs fuel, attention, and a continuing source of oxygen. Likewise, spiritual enthusiasm following a conference or powerful worship service can fade unless it produces lasting changes in how we live.

The fuel of spiritual renewal includes repentance, prayer, worship, obedience, and faithful discipleship. These are not methods for manufacturing God's presence. They are ways believers respond to His work and cultivate lives attentive to Him.

Paul encouraged Timothy to stir up the gift of God within him (2 Timothy 1:6). Spiritual gifts and responsibilities should not be neglected.

We cannot rely on pastors, worship leaders, or visiting speakers to sustain our spiritual lives. Each believer has a responsibility to pursue Christ, remain grounded in Scripture, and respond to the Holy Spirit.

Revival Begins Closer Than We Think

When Christians pray for revival, we often imagine something happening on a large scale. We picture crowded churches, transformed communities, and thousands coming to Christ.

Those are worthy desires. Yet spiritual awakening begins much closer to home.

It begins when someone chooses repentance over compromise, forgiveness over resentment, or obedience over convenience. It grows when families pray together, believers reconcile broken relationships, and Christians care more about knowing Jesus than maintaining appearances.

It also becomes visible through compassion.

The person experiencing homelessness, the struggling family, the lonely neighbor, and the individual who believes forgiveness is beyond reach all need more than religious activity. They need to encounter the love and truth of Jesus through people who know Him.

That is why communion and revival belong together. At the Lord's Table, we remember the sacrifice that restored our fellowship with God. From that fellowship, we are sent to love and serve others.

We receive His life so that His life can flow through us.

The church cannot give the world a relationship with Jesus while its members are neglecting themselves. If we want spiritual awakening in our communities, we must begin by cultivating genuine fellowship with Christ.

Living With Him Changes Everything

Perhaps the most important question this message raises is not whether we are doing enough for God. It is whether we are making room to live with Him.

Are we inviting Him into our plans before they are finalized? Are we listening when He interrupts our routines? Are we attentive to people needing compassion? Are we allowing Scripture to shape our priorities and the Holy Spirit to direct our responses?

Communion reminds us that Jesus has already made the relationship possible. Through His sacrifice, the barrier of sin has been addressed, and those who belong to Him are welcomed into fellowship with the Father.

We do not earn that invitation through greater productivity or impressive ministry accomplishments. We respond through faith, gratitude, surrender, and obedience.

Sri Veerabathini's journey across America, the gathering of pastors from 50 states, the testimonies shared in Omaha, and the renewed understanding of communion all point toward the same invitation. God is calling His people beyond religious activity into a deeper relationship with Him, one that naturally overflows into the lives of others.

Rather than spending our lives trying to accomplish great things for a distant God, we can learn to walk faithfully with the living Savior who has drawn near.

We were never called merely to do things for God. We were invited to live our lives with Him.

Continue the Journey

Pastor David Sellstrom's books offer additional encouragement for believers seeking to grow in biblical truth, deepen their relationship with Jesus, and remain spiritually focused.

Weapons of Mass Distraction examines the distractions competing for our attention and challenges believers to recognize what pulls them away from God's purposes.

The Authentic Gospel calls readers back to the Jesus revealed in Scripture and a gospel grounded in biblical truth.

The Way, The Truth, The Life points readers toward Jesus Christ as the foundation for faith, daily living, and lasting hope.