I find that I do not mind solitude - I enjoy my early morning runs – alone. I can work with no one around. I really don’t mind silence. I don’t run with an I-Pod and I rarely have music playing in my office. I enjoy the quiet. However, solitude and silence do not guarantee intimacy or even a connection with God.

Connection and intimacy with our heavenly Father requires intentionality. It doesn’t just happen. Even though we are in a place of solitude and there is no noise, the noise in our minds can be so loud it is impossible to hear the voice of God. Noise from things left undone; noise from unresolved strained relationships – the “silent” conversations can be incredibly loud; the noise of hurtful remarks or an unjust decision. It requires effort to push those sounds – those voices – aside in order to hear the whispers of God.

I leave Friday morning for a personal prayer retreat – to spend time over the week-end in some solitude and silence. I am looking for rest from the regular noises; time alone to pray; time away from questions about ministry or marriages, strategies and problems; a time to simply connect and draw close to my Father.

We were taught prayers that we memorized – “God is great; God is good; and we thank Him for this food.” “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” I don’t remember being “taught” these prayers but I remember praying them at meal time and bed time.

I wasn’t very old when I first decided I wanted Jesus in my life. It was just after that decision that my mother began to talk with me about forming my own prayers rather than simply repeating those I had memorized. She quizzed me about things I was concerned about and told me to simply tell Jesus about them. She reminded me to thank Him and praise him but also told me I could bring anything to Him I wanted.

Her instructions began a journey of discovery about prayer and about God that has continued through the years. I’m thankful for a mother who thought it was important that her children learn to pray. I am also thankful for a mother who prayed – who prayed for her children all through their childhood, college, and marriage – who prayed until cancer took her life and the Lord received her into His presence.

Switch gears a bit. As you think about creating a movement of multiplying disciples of Jesus, what is your role? Are you the leader or are you one of the first followers? If you are the leader, can you see the first followers – who are they? How will you encourage them? If you are not the leader, who are you following and who are those most likely to be influenced by your actions as an early follower?

In attempting to create a movement, do we place too much emphasis on being leaders? As leaders, are we willing to fade in prominence as followers come along?

The Apostle Paul boasted of the perseverance of the Thessalonians. He held up the perseverance of Christ as a model. He said that the signs and wonders done by the apostles were done with great perseverance. He told the Romans that suffering produces perseverance. Peter wrote that we are to add perseverance to our faith. James said that the testing of our faith develops perseverance and that the finished work of perseverance is maturity.

James and the author to the Hebrews said that we need to persevere in order to receive what God has promise and we are urged to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

There is something difficult implied in the word – it suggests effort, determination, resolve. It reminds me of the athlete who must push through pain and fatigue to run the race or play the game. It is not a welcoming concept.

My nephew was urging/encouraging his daughter in some task that she did not want to do. He told her that sometimes we must simply persevere. Her response, “I only like to persevere every other day.” I laughed out loud when my sister told me the story.

However, I wonder if her comment is a reflection of many of us. I can persevere today but I’m not sure about tomorrow. Perhaps that’s O.K. When tomorrow comes, I can choose to persevere through it as well. I’m not sure skipping a day really counts as perseverance. But I can persevere for the next hour and then the next or today and then tomorrow. I may only “like” to persevere every other day but I must persevere today. Tomorrow, I’ll start anew.

Noah was entrusted with preserving man and beast during a universal flood. Abraham was entrusted with the promise of a son. God trusted Moses with the responsibility of leading the Jews out of Egypt. Both Saul and David were trusted to lead the nation of Israel. Prophets were entrusted with the message of hope of the Messiah.

The disciples were entrusted to create a movement of multiplying disciples. Paul was given the message of Christ to be taken to the Gentiles.

All of them faced adversity. For Adam and Eve it was a direct affront from Satan; challenging what they understood about God. For others the obstacles ranged from ridicule to violence and temptation to discouragement and apparent failure.

And yet most of them overcame the obstacles, endure the ridicule and violence, overcame the temptation and discouragement and succeeded in carrying out the plans of God.

In II Corinthians 1:18ff Paul described a time when he even despaired of life itself. He says he felt the sentence of death. Paul looked at his experiences – terrible as they were and said, “this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God.” He never wavered. God had entrusted a mission to him and he would rely on God to see the mission to completion.

I have preached numerous messages encouraging people to put their trust in God. Perhaps there is an alternative message. It begins with the question: “Can God trust me?” Can He trust me to persevere regardless of how tough the going gets – not just to remain a “believer” but to remain on task – to stay on mission. We have an assignment to make disciples. Will we do it, no matter what?

As my daughter and I talked about it, we realized that this simple game of baseball really has more to it than we think. Those of us who have been around the game for a long time know how the game is played, know what to expect and what the players should be doing on the field. It is a simple game if someone explains it, teaches it and spends time helping you learn it.

It seems that being a disciple of Jesus is so simple until you begin asking the question: “What does it really mean to be a disciple?” Jesus spent three years identifying, challenging and teaching men what it meant to follow Him. He then told those disciples to invite others into this same life.

Making disciples doesn’t always fit in our fast-paced, instant world. It takes time to build relationships, to teach, to equip. Discipleship, like baseball, is not complicated but it is impossible if someone doesn’t walk with us and teach us and show us what it means.

It seems that location matters – not a specific location but your location – your place to meet with God. For Jesus, it was frequently a mountain or a mountain garden. For me it is an area in the basement – not nearly as spectacular as a mountain but nevertheless, it is my place with my heavenly Father. I can pray other places but this is our regular meeting place.

But what about posture. I have read about praying walking; praying during the commute to work (I would assume the posture is sitting). Some have argued that it matters little if one is standing, sitting, kneeling and lying on the ground. Others insist that kneeling or lying prostrate on the floor are expressions of humility that are important to prayer – not to impress God but rather to change our hearts.

When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His arrest and crucifixion, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed. The outcome did not change. The Father’s plan was still the same. This cup would not pass.

For the past several years I have had the practice of walking through the church early Sunday morning, praying in each part of the building – walking between the rows of seats and praying for those would be sitting there.

Last Sunday, I sensed a clear prompting to kneel – so I knelt at the front of the church and prayed for the service; for the worship team; and for those who would soon gather for worship. To say it was a “good service” begs the question, “What constitutes a good service?”

Did the posture of kneeling make it a “good service?” Or was the posture of kneeling more about me and my relationship with the Father. Is posture about outcomes – getting God to do what we want or is it about our attitude toward Him? I think the latter.

Perhaps posture matters less to God than it does to us. There are times to stand and shout praises. There are times to sit and meditate on his Word and listen. There are times to kneel and times to fall on our faces in utter desperation. In these moments we are changed – changed to be a clearer reflection of Him.

In February, our grandson turned 7. During his grandmother’s conversation with him on the phone on his birthday he said, “so are you sending me money in a card or are you bringing it to me?” How he received it was unimportant. It was important that he received it.

There was little or perhaps no doubt in his mind that the money would come. He was more interested in how it would arrive. He knew that he had received money in the past and fully expected to receive it again.

It prompted some thoughts about prayer. To what extent do I come to my heavenly Father with expectancy to receive. What would happen if, instead of asking IF He would answer a particular prayer, we would come asking Him HOW He would answer the prayer.

Do we have confidence in our understanding of the things that are on His heart that we can ask the HOW question instead of the IF question. Just as I was delighted (even a bit amused) with my grandson’s confidence and boldness, I think our heavenly Father is pleased when we come boldly to His throne with requests for the things we know He delights to give.

Over the holidays, it was natural to study the accounts of His birth and childhood. I was reminded of such statements as “he learned obedience;” and He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

It appears that Jesus had an understanding of who He was at age 12 when He was in the temple. Yet it is after that experience the Scriptures say, “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them;” “And Jesus grew in wisdom.” It appears there was personal growth and development in His life after the time in the temple.

Some questions that come to mind as I think about these early years of Jesus and their significance for me:

• What did Jesus learn about Himself in those first 30 years?
• What do we need to learn about ourselves in preparation for making disciples?
• What did He learn about His heavenly Father or did He know it all intuitively?
• What do I need to know about my heavenly Father before I begin making disciples?
• What did He learn about obedience?
• What do I need to learn about obedience?
• What other things might Jesus have learned in those first 30 years of His life that prepared Him for ministry?
• What are the implications for us?

Jesus became the greatest leader who ever lived – creating a movement that is still alive today. Can we learn anything from those first 30 years of preparation that might be helpful to us in sustaining the movement?

His last instruction to those followers was to make disciples. The one priority for believers today is to make disciples – to encourage, challenge, and instruct others to follow after Jesus.

As I studied and prepared for messages through the advent season, I was reminded of the detail given regarding Jesus’ identity. Matthew gives the extended geneology. Luke gives details regarding His birth. John tells us that He came, dwelled among us and “we beheld His glory; the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” At some point the Gospel writers, a few decades after Jesus’ ascension, were convinced that these details were important for early followers of Jesus to know.

As I work to make disciples today, I am asking my self several questions:

1. As a modern-day disciple-maker, what do I need to know about Jesus?
2. What do those I disciple need to know about Jesus?
3. What of these nativity stories is important for disciples to know? Why?
4. As I consider what Jesus might have experienced as a child, is it important and why?
5. What of Jesus’ experience is at all helpful to me?