End of the Beginning

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 every day. 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 tired sometimes and be excited sometimes. The point is, don’t quit.
The new life you have is precious. God wants to use you and teach you. The
process by which we learn to follow Jesus is called discipleship. A disciple is
kind of like an apprentice who is learning a new trade or like a student who
sits with a tutor. You are learning from someone who has been there before.
Jesus had twelve disciples that he taught (to read about them look in Mark 3:13-19) and they discipled others
after Jesus was resurrected. To help you to become a disciple we have included
some materials for you and a spiritual mentor to go over together.

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.