What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
In first century Israel, you would regularly see rabbis walking along the road
or teaching at your local synagogue. They were revered teachers, not just
of the Torah, but of life. Behind the rabbi would be a group of students,
called talmidim. This word literally means Student, Disciple, Learner, or
Follower. Many scholars argue the best word for disciple in the English
language is apprentice.
The goal wasn’t to learn about something, but to become someone.
In this message, we talk about looking at the seasons of your life like The
Dow Jones Index. What have been the highs and lows of your life. The goal
is for the investments of our life to produce higher highs and higher lows.
What types of investments will yield that return?
What types of habits will produce higher highs and higher lows?
In many respects, these habits are the secret to unlocking health and
holiness for your home. We’ll give a preview of nine habits to help you grow
in your relationships with Jesus and others.

• Sabbath, Scripture, Prayer, Fasting, Solitude
  
  
• Community (Friendship), Service, Witness, Generosity
  
  

Most people have reduced these habits down to a casual commitment to
attend church. Attending church is the starting point, but it isn’t enough to
grow us.
Ultimately, every relationship is nurtured and sustained by healthy habits.
Tune into this message and learn to embrace holy habits. It is a no regret
decision.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

In first century Israel, you would regularly see rabbis walking along the road or teaching at your local synagogue. They were revered teachers, not just of the Torah, but of life. Behind the rabbi would be a group of students, called talmidim. This word literally means Student, Disciple, Learner, or Follower. Many scholars argue the best word for disciple in the English language is apprentice.
The goal wasn’t to learn about something, but to become someone. Unfortunately, most of the formation in our life is unintentional. There are six primary forces that act upon our formation positively and negatively.
- Our Relationships
- Our Environments
- Our Stories
- Our Habits
- Our Experience
- The Passage of Time

It’s time for us to transition from unintentional formation to intentional formation. These many ways to influence our formation, but nothing influences us more than three driving goals: Be with Jesus, Become like Jesus, and Do what He did. It’s our responsibility to turn these goals into habits. We can’t have a holy life without holy habits. At the end of the day, we’re only as healthy as our habits. This message ends with the following evaluation questions:
- WHO am I BECOMING?
- Do you LIKE who you are BECOMING?
- WHAT will improve WHO you are the most?
- WHAT will improve YOUR TRAJECTORY the MOST?

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

In first century Israel, you would regularly see rabbis walking along the road or teaching at your local synagogue. They were revered teachers, not just of the Torah, but of life. Behind the rabbi would be a group of students, called talmidim. This word literally means Student, Disciple, Learner, or Follower. Many scholars argue the best word for disciple in the English language is apprentice.

The goal wasn’t to learn about something, but to become someone.

Kids started at 5 years old at Bet Sefer or The House of the Book. The primary textbook was the Bible. It was an oral culture. By 12 or 13, most students have memorized the Torah.

At that point, most students went home to apprentice in family business or work the family farm; but the best of the best would to a second level of education. It was called Bet Midrash, The House of Learning. By 17 years of age, they would have memorized the Old Testament.

At this point, the vast majority were done. But the best of the best of the best would apprentice under a rabbi.

One’s entire life was organized around three driving goals:
To be WITH your rabbi (Jesus).
To become LIKE your rabbi (Jesus).
To DO as your rabbi (Jesus) did.

These three goals should drive our life today and everyday.

In this third and final week of Peace Beyond Christmas: A Priority Time Series, Karin Conlee
wraps up this series with an important finale. Finding peace beyond Christmas starts with
allowing your heart to attach to God each day, both before and after Christmas. It is often very
practical things that prevent people from growing in their relationship with the Lord. Where do I
start in the Bible? How long should my Priority Time be? What if I don’t understand everything I
read? Karin addresses common barriers and misunderstandings about spending time in the
Word and in prayer, and then uses Matthew 1:22-25 to help every believer see how a few
simple tools can turn familiar passages we often read without expecting real-time application
into meaningful moments with the Lord and into application for our lives today.

In part 2 of Peace Beyond Christmas: A Priority Time Series, Karin Conlee uses the Christmas
account found in Matthew 1:18-22 to both bring the Christmas story to light and to show how the
four ingredients of a Priority Time provide some simple best practices that take your time in the
word from an academic exercise to a personal encounter with the Lord. God does not provide
the inspired word of God to simply increase our Bible IQ, but as a love letter to His children. As
Karin unpacks the “How” of a Priority Time and its benefits, the ancient account of Joseph
becomes a relevant passage for each of us to personally apply to our own lives.
​
So often in church, we are told to read the Bible and pray without any guidance. A Priority Time,
a daily, unhurried time to get to know God through the Bible and prayer, is a simple yet powerful
approach that will help every believer grow in their connection to the Lord.
​

Want to try using the tools in your own Priority Time? Don’t miss the 10 Day Christmas Priority
Time Plan at karinconlee.com so you can try it for yourself. This 10-day resource will help you
walk through other Christmas passages in a fresh way every Christmas season.

In Peace Beyond Christmas: A Priority Time Series, prepare for a one-two punch. The
Christmas season is often so full of activities to celebrate with friends and family that we neglect
the very relationship we are celebrating. We arrive at Christmas morning more disconnected
from Christ than we want to admit. In Peace Beyond Christmas, Karin Conlee will take biblical
accounts of the Christmas story and the tools of a Priority Time to model what it looks like to
spend time in the Bible and prayer in a way that allows us to see how God wants to apply the
timeless truths of the nativity scene in a very relevant way to each believer’s life.
​
So often in church, we are told to read the Bible and pray without any guidance. A Priority Time,
a daily, unhurried time to get to know God through the Bible and prayer, is a simple yet powerful
approach that will help every believer grow in their connection to the Lord. In this first message
of the series, Karin confronts the most important question and provides a very unexpected
answer to “Why should you have a Priority Time?”
​
The truths of this message resonated so deeply with the Conlees nearly 30 years ago that they
have continued to fuel their personal time with the Lord ever since. Prayerfully, it will have just
as lasting an impact on each listener.

2025 Ep. 336 Faith Now = Future Now Pt. 10