Today I have been thinking about what it means to be a disciple and "disciple" others.
Jesus said "Go out and make disciples" but I am beginning to think that this is something best done on a small scale. I believe the idea is that we should make disciples one by one. In much the same way as Jesus healed individuals and brought the paraplegic, the blind man, the Samaritan woman to him by means of a one to one, face to face experience. For example, we should concentrate on making disciples one at a time by means of a sustained personal relationship.
We should follow Christ's example and "call out" to a person by name. We should commit to devoting time and patience to love that person, regardless of how different we may be or how difficult it might seem. It is important to spend time together, in conversation or sharing a meal or a hobby and take time to thrash out opinions on life. Communication on a deep level is necessary and we should not be worried about sharing our own hopes, dreams, aspirations with the one being discipled. There is a sense of opening up ourselves and becoming vulnerable in a reciprocal relationship.
We should nurture the image of God we see in each other, affirm the good and address the negative. Truly seek God together.

Over the last few days I have been helping my daughter clean her new flat in London, ready for her to move closer to her job. Commuting has proved very tiring so she is looking forward to more sleep and being able to walk to work, instead of taking a taxi, train and a bus!
The flat is very small but feels safe. There is a good atmosphere in the building. My daughter would not consider herself religious and is "not sure" about God, so I was very pleased when she asked me if I knew how to bless the flat. It is not something I have done before but it was good to ask God's blessing on that place and her life in it. It was good too, to remember, that God is everywhere. He is in that small flat, in the streets that surround it and his loving arms hold us close.

I am a big fan of the internet site Facebook. I think it is a wonderful way to connect with people from all over the world and it is a wonderful tool for evangelism. I have been really heartened to see the growth of popularity of pages such as "The Bible" with over 400 000 "friends" added in the last few months. This is a place to share favourite verses, study and generally build each other up. Similarly with the group "Praying People", over 11000 people have got together to pray for each other and the world. Awesome!
However, there are sad stories attached to the use of Facebook. I have read today about a man who has been accused of murdering his partner after she changed her Facebook status from "married" to "single". There had been arguments about the length of time she spent using the networking site and jealousy had eaten away at her partner. This culminated in a stabbing that has left four children without a mother.
It is possible to become addicted to many different things in this world that, ultimately cam destroy lives. Drink, drugs, gambling and most recently, surfing the internet can all be detrimental to our lives if used to excess.