Week 1
Monday
Welcome to your new life!
Does that sound weird? Believe it or not you are a different person. Now I know
what you’re thinking, “This guy doesn’t even know me? How can he know if I’m
different?” OK, you got me there. I don’t know you.
Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryan and I have been helping
students learn about Jesus Christ for over ten years. If you’re reading this,
it is because you just accepted Jesus and someone has given you this guide to
help you understand the decision you made. (BTW it was a good decision!)
Let’s talk about this new you. Why are you new? I want to show you a place in
the Bible that says so. Get your Bible and find the book of 2 Corinthians. It’s
in the New Testament. Go to Chapter 5 verse 17. Now read it.
Did you catch that? You are a new creation! The old life you lived is dead! You
are now someone who knows God. Isn’t that awesome! Now what does that mean?
What did you hate about your old life? Were you angry or depressed? Were you
violent? Maybe everyone took advantage of you or you were the person no one
liked? Like everyone else, including me, you are a person with a past. God set
you free from that past. In fact, it is the old that has gone. You are new
because you began a relationship with Christ!
Take a few minutes and re-read that verse 2 Corinthians 5:17.
What are you leaving behind in your old life? Take a few minutes to release
those things to God. Tell him “thank you” for setting you free to live a new
life.
BTW, welcome to your new life!
Tuesday
Definition time:
Dead- 1: deprived of life: having died: 2: lacking power to move, feel, or
respond
We generally don’t like to talk about death. Death is usually a topic reserved
for quiet talk surrounding a coffin, or in moments of great fear, when death
seems close and you can’t avoid it. Occasionally, death is something to
celebrate. For example, how do you feel about bread? Personally, I like a good
sandwich, or a biscuit, or a thick, fluffy pancake. All of those things require
something. A seed had to die. Did you know that’s where wheat comes from? A
seed is planted, it dies, and wheat is born from its death.
Yesterday, we talked about your new life, a new beginning that you get to enjoy
because of Christ. Today, we need to talk about the part of you that died. When
Jesus came into your life, He destroyed a part of you that had been there a
long time. It’s called sin. What is sin? Well, it’s missing the target. It’s
falling short of the way God wants us to live our lives. Sin is lying, getting
drunk, being cruel, not having compassion, and all kinds of other things. The
good news is, those things died in you.
How’s that you say? Get your Bible and open to Romans 6:11-14. Read those
verses twice.
Did you get that? Your sin was keeping you from God and Jesus killed it. You are
dead to sin. Your sins do not control you anymore. You are free but temptation
does not end. That is the scary part. Every day your old sins are going to try
to come back. They are going to try to drag you back into the old way of life.
Every day for the rest of your life, you have a choice to make. Are you going
to continue in the freedom you have been given in Christ or are you going to go
back?
How do you keep from going back? Choose to follow what God’s word says. When you
want to go back to the old way - pray, talk to a friend who is a Christian, get
out of the place where you are thinking about going back to your old ways.
Take a few minutes to think abut what you know was in your old life that was not
in line with God. Pray and ask God to protect you from those things.
You never knew death could feel so good, did you?
Wednesday
Take a few minutes to think about traveling. Have you ever been on a
“destination unknown” trip, one of those hop in the car, drive in any direction
until you get somewhere kind of trips? Life can be this way. We get to a point
where we are not sure where we’re going to end up. That is scary. You’ve been a
Christ follower for a few days now. Time to talk about destinations where this
life ends and the next life begins.
Because you know Christ, you have a new destination for your life. Open your
Bible to Matthew 7:13-14. Read those verses at least twice.
Now the narrow gate is where you are. You took that road when you met Jesus and
asked Him into your life. Going down that road means your future is secure.
When this life ends, you will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus.
You used to be on the wide road. The one Jesus says leads to destruction. That
place is called hell. People who refuse to accept Christ end up there after
they die. What is it like? The Bible describes it as a place of pain and
sadness where people are eternally separated from God. Not a place, you’d
really want to go. Amazing, isn’t it? That one decision, to ask Christ into
your life, has eternal, life changing consequences.
Go back and read Matthew 7:13-14 one more time. Then take some time and
thank God for leading you to the narrow gate. Thank Him for saving you from an
eternity in hell. Express your gratefulness to Him for your salvation.
Thursday
You may not remember the old Nintendo Entertainment System, but I grew up
playing Super Mario and Metal Gear (before it was Solid) on that old gray box.
The best part about the NES was the little button to the right of the power
button. It was called the “RESET” button. If you got stuck and couldn’t get out
of the game, you could reach down and hit “reset” and BOOM you were right back
at the beginning.
That button is remarkably like your life. When you asked Jesus into your heart
you hit the RESET button in your soul. You got the once in a lifetime
opportunity to begin again. Don’t believe me? Check out your Bible.
Open up to Ephesians 4:22-24. Read those verses a few times.
The “new self” you see there is the RESET button. Your old life has been erased.
God no longer remembers your sins, failures, or past. All of that junk was put
on Jesus and you get to begin again.
So, what does that mean for today? It means you can get rid of the guilt of your
past. It means you can leave your house today knowing that the God of the
universe no longer remembers your past or counts it against you. You are free!
Take a few minutes and read that passage one more time. Then take some time to
pray. Thank God for setting you free from your past. Thank Him for sending
Jesus to take all your sin. Ask God to give you the strength to begin again.
Friday
It’s Friday! The end of a week and the end of the beginning of your journey of
knowing Jesus better. How do you feel? You should know that what you have been
reading, thinking, and praying about over the past week is beginning to shape
you into something more like Jesus. It’s exciting to realize that you know more
about God today than you did five days ago.
The Christian life is like a journey, which never stops. You will not stop
learning and being shaped. People who have followed Christ for 50 or 60 years
still learn more about God everyday. You have taken the first steps over the
past few days, but you are just beginning.
Believe it or not, that’s in the Bible. Grab your copy and open up to Philippians
3:10-16. Read those verses a couple of times.
Paul had been following Jesus for many years when he wrote those words. Notice
that he tells the reader to “press on” and to shoot for a “goal.” That goal is
not a trophy or a pile of cash. It is greater knowledge of Jesus. (Look at
verses 10 and 11.)
Your life with Christ is a journey. It is going to have ups and downs. You will
grow weary and be excited. The point is, don’t quit. The new life you have is
precious. God wants to use you and teach you. That’s what happened to you!
If you have not already met with a spiritual mentor this week, print off Mentor
Guide One and find someone from your church that you can do the study with this
weekend. There are four Mentor Guides, one a week for four weeks. The studies
require no preparation. They are designed to help you ask questions and deal
with issues that are unique to a new Christian.
Weekend One
During the weekend take some time to meditate on scripture. Write down what God
taught you this week. If you are reading the Bible in a book, rather than on
this CD, circle key words that seem really important as you read through the
scriptures for the weekend. If there is one verse that stands out, underline
that verse so you can easily find it later. Here are scriptures for Saturday
and Sunday.
Saturday: Psalm 116
Sunday: 1 Corinthians 13